Disappointed in Celebrity.

[Tealing]

Wasn’t going to bother complaining about our experience with Celebrity but I am in Barbados right now and it is raining a bit today so with too much time on my hands, I thought I would share.

We were originally booked on Equinox for December 2020 which was, of course, cancelled. We then rebooked for the same cruise in November 2021. Unfortunately due to a medical issue, I asked if we could extend the final payment for a few days when we would know the diagnosis and treatment needed. Celebrity agreed, without hesitation, but unfortunately we cancelled two days later because treatment had to start almost immediately.

When I called to cancel, the agent I talked to was very sympathetic and said the deposit would be refunded but it would take 30 to 60 days. After approximately 75 days without the refund I called and was told it was in the system but it would be a few more days and I would receive an email advising me. Again nothing. 
I called again at the beginning of January after resigning myself to the fact that they weren’t going to refund the deposit and booked a Hawaiian cruise for May 2023. The agent I talked was extremely helpful and said no problem and we proceeded with the booking. I was then put on hold for about thirty minutes and he came back and said that I could only use that deposit for cruises in 2022. I questioned why it had taken them five months to tell me this and was put on hold again. The reason given was that I exceeded the ninety days after final payment was due. I felt sorry for the agent I talked too and he couldn’t have been more helpful but he was only the messenger.

I really don’t want another cruise this year as we have cruises booked with a very Nice Cruise Line who allowed me to move cruises into 2023 without any problem. We will end up eating this but it is the last time with Celebrity. Pity, as up until now I enjoyed sailing with them.

[RealBatman]

Was it a non refundable deposit (NRD) that you made initially? 

 

We had a cruise booked (it left yesterday - without us) with a NRD and when we exercised the "Cruise with Confidence" offer from Celebrity due to COVID issues, we were given our cruise fare back within a few days. It went directly to our next cruise in 2023 (within 1 year of the original cruise). However, we did not receive the $960 (CDN) that we used as a deposit, as it was non refundable. 

[Lastdance]

2 minutes ago, RealBatman said:

Was it a non refundable deposit (NRD) that you made initially? 

 

We had a cruise booked (it left yesterday - without us) with a NRD and when we exercised the "Cruise with Confidence" offer from Celebrity due to COVID issues, we were given our cruise fare back within a few days. It went directly to our next cruise in 2023 (within 1 year of the original cruise). However, we did not receive the $960 (CDN) that we used as a deposit, as it was non refundable. 

Is this because you are in Canada that all of your deposit less $200 was not returned?

[Tealing]

I was under the impression that it was refundable as I was told that by all of the agents I talked to. I was quite willing to use that deposit for another cruise but only for 2023 and beyond. What upset me more was that it took them five months to tell me this and they never contacted me to let me know. I wasn’t aware that the conditions were different for Canadian and American cruises.

Anyway, Celebrity’s cruises are so predictable and never seem to vary from year to year. Only one I fancied was the Hawaiian cruise. Now booked that with a very Nice Cruise Line. You can only cruise the Caribbean so many times. Much prefer now to spend extended periods on an island. 
And yes I know Barbados is in The Atlantic Ocean.

[jagoffee]

14 minutes ago, Tealing said:

I was under the impression that it was refundable as I was told that by all of the agents I talked to. I was quite willing to use that deposit for another cruise but only for 2023 and beyond. What upset me more was that it took them five months to tell me this and they never contacted me to let me know. I wasn’t aware that the conditions were different for Canadian and American cruises.

Anyway, Celebrity’s cruises are so predictable and never seem to vary from year to year. Only one I fancied was the Hawaiian cruise. Now booked that with a very Nice Cruise Line. You can only cruise the Caribbean so many times. Much prefer now to spend extended periods on an island. 
And yes I know Barbados is in The Atlantic Ocean.

It would be worth your effort to review your original invoice/booking to see if your booking was prices as NRD or not.  It would have been a significantly higher price.  

[bEwAbG]

First, you need to find out what you booked and under what conditions.  This should all be spelled out in the paperwork that you got when you booked the cruise.  Even if they extended the final payment date,  you're still bound by those booking conditions, which is likely what the agents are holding to when they review your record (you didn't cancel until after the final payment deadline).  I feel it's important for you to know the terms under which you booked so that you can understand their perspective.

 

You should then call and ask to speak to a supervisor rather than dealing with whoever answers the phone.  If they cannot help you, I would then appeal to the executive offices for an exception based on the medical circumstances.  If it was serious enough to not delay treatment and if your doctor will back that up with a letter, I think you'll get farther with them, especially if you're just asking to move the deposit with no penalty.  Don't tell anyone you're booking with another line because of the treatment.  They don't care about that.  

Edited January 31, 2022 by bEwAbG

[cruisin_123]

I also tried to cancel my upcoming Hawaii cruise, that has a $200 non-refundable deposit on it. This was a carry-over from my 2021 cancelled cruise. The rep told me I had to use this deposit on a cruise that sails before December 31, 2022, and we are unable to book anything else this year. I had already picked a cruise for 2023, which was before the May 4 deadline (according to cruise with confidence, you have 1 year from the date of sailing, or 12/31/2022, whichever is later). The rep said that because this deposit was a carryover from 2021, that it expired by the end of this year. We are still deciding whether or not to cancel and eat the deposit.

[leaveitallbehind]

It seems to me that Celebrity was very negotiable and responsive to your particular situation and requests regarding a delayed payment and eventual refund.  Other cruise lines may not have been that considerate.  What may have gotten lost in the translation is that there also may have been terms and conditions relative to those requests that resulted in the timeframe for rebooking.  They typically are very flexible with deferred bookings - I have done that several times in the recent year or so with the current situation and have never had an issue with that.  

 

You also say the your were under the impression that your deposit was refundable.  You should have known that with certainty with your booking as refundable deposits v NRD are clearly indicated at the time of booking.  And BTW, the default with Celebrity (and many others) is NRD, as that results in the lower booking rate.  There are most definitely T & C's associated with that that likely would have come into play with your situation if it was a NRD.  

 

In any case, most cruise lines are more similar than dissimilar when it comes to deposits, timelines, T & C's, etc., but  - as mentioned - others may not have shown the same consideration to you with your requests.  The grass may not necessarily be greener elsewhere.

 

I offer my comments not as criticism but just as another perspective.  It sounds like you would have been moving away from Celebrity anyway, and that is fine and certainly your decision.  You need to do what sits best with you. Just hope it is for the right reasons.

[Tealing]

Thank you for the lecture.

My main concern is that after being told on three separate occasions by three different agents that I would have my deposit returned, it took them five months to tell me otherwise.

If they had told me that from the start, I would have accepted it and made the effort to rebook something else within the time frame. When I cancelled, cruising was probably the last thing on my mind.

[leaveitallbehind]

If you are referring to me, it was not a lecture - as I indicated it wasn't meant as criticism, just my perspective.  I can appreciate your frustration. As I said it does seem that something got lost in the process and the result was not as hoped - I get it.  I just thought that Celebrity was trying to be responsive to you where others may not have been - who knows?  I just hope it works out for you.

Edited January 31, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, Tealing said:

Thank you for the lecture.

My main concern is that after being told on three separate occasions by three different agents that I would have my deposit returned, it took them five months to tell me otherwise.

If they had told me that from the start, I would have accepted it and made the effort to rebook something else within the time frame. When I cancelled, cruising was probably the last thing on my mind.

Did you at least receive a FCC?  It does seem a little strange that it has not been communicated or reflected on your on line account after five months.  
 

If not then Celebrity might  make an exception for you.  I have certainly noticed that various companies actually mean a “credit” (Air voucher, FCC, etc) for a refund and not necessarily “cash”.  

[Tealing]

I never even received an FCC. Strangely enough, when I looked at our past cruises feature, it showed us actually having taken the cruise in question but had not been allocated any Captain Club’s points.

Pretty much resigned myself to losing this battle.

As to Celebrity not caring about us using another cruise line, they must do, because I have at least one email per day from them with special offers.

[intr3pid]

If you move it to a cruise later this year (2022), a dummy cruise, you may find that, come later this year, they may extend the FCC dates into 2023.  Nothing to lose.

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 hour ago, Tealing said:

I never even received an FCC. Strangely enough, when I looked at our past cruises feature, it showed us actually having taken the cruise in question but had not been allocated any Captain Club’s points.

Pretty much resigned myself to losing this battle.

As to Celebrity not caring about us using another cruise line, they must do, because I have at least one email per day from them with special offers.

My mother in law gets daily emails from Celebrity marketing department.  No issue to me as they go to her old email.  

Oh yeah, she died in 2019.

I do think you need to speak to either the executive offices or Captain's Club rep.  Celebrity like every other cruiseline has mostly inexperienced agents that were trained remotely.  I use a TA.

However,  always demand a written confirmation of any change.  Without that you have no contract.

[barneyboy]

If you cancelled because of a medical issue would this not be a travel insurance claim?  Maybe insurance works differently in the US. 

[Tealing]

I did contact Captain’s Club but never received a response and I have no idea how to contact the executive offices as the only number I have is the one on the web site.

Good idea about the dummy cruise. As you say I have nothing to 

lose so will try that.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Maybe I can salvage something out of this.

[jagoffee]

16 hours ago, Tealing said:

I never even received an FCC. Strangely enough, when I looked at our past cruises feature, it showed us actually having taken the cruise in question but had not been allocated any Captain Club’s points.

Pretty much resigned myself to losing this battle.

As to Celebrity not caring about us using another cruise line, they must do, because I have at least one email per day from them with special offers.

Something does not seem right.  How much was your deposit?  Assuming it was more than $100 a person, you should have received at least received an FCC for any amount over the $100.  Or perhaps you were in the penalty phase although Celevrity extended the final payment date. I would not give up, something does not make sense.

[cdn_tbird]

On 1/31/2022 at 11:12 AM, RealBatman said:

However, we did not receive the $960 (CDN) that we used as a deposit, as it was non refundable. 

Personally I would be challenging them on this. My understanding is that the T&Cs for Canada are the same as the US so at the most you'd be out $200 CDN. Yes, on this one thing we get a better deal than our American friends. 😄

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

23 minutes ago, cdn_tbird said:

Personally I would be challenging them on this. My understanding is that the T&Cs for Canada are the same as the US so at the most you'd be out $200 CDN. Yes, on this one thing we get a better deal than our American friends. 😄

 

Totally agree…we cancelled our Jan 24 cruise about 5 days before sailing and we’re able to apply the full amount paid to an Alaska cruise in Sept. We didn’t lose our deposit, which was NR. We didn’t even have to pay a deposit on the new booking, our CVP just applied the entire amount owed to the new booking. We will get our taxes and port fees refunded from the cancelled sailing to the credit card. 

[bEwAbG]

17 hours ago, Tealing said:

As to Celebrity not caring about us using another cruise line, they must do, because I have at least one email per day from them with special offers.

 

My advice to stop mentioning that you're booking with someone else is because you have to drop your  attitude when dealing with them.  Bees, honey, and all that.  It is not important to your case and works against anyone wanting to help you.

[LGW59]

18 hours ago, Tealing said:

I never even received an FCC. Strangely enough, when I looked at our past cruises feature, it showed us actually having taken the cruise in question but had not been allocated any Captain Club’s points.

Pretty much resigned myself to losing this battle.

As to Celebrity not caring about us using another cruise line, they must do, because I have at least one email per day from them with special offers.

Sorry to burst your bubble but you're not special to Celebrity, regardless of ones cruise frequency, everyone and anyone who has cruised with them gets the same emails, day after day after day.  

[Shadow9612]

9 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Sorry to burst your bubble but you're not special to Celebrity, regardless of ones cruise frequency, everyone and anyone who has cruised with them gets the same emails, day after day after day.  

I think  I get emails two times a day after two times a day after two times a day 😂

[Algebralovr]

14 hours ago, Tealing said:

I did contact Captain’s Club but never received a response and I have no idea how to contact the executive offices as the only number I have is the one on the web site.

Good idea about the dummy cruise. As you say I have nothing to 

lose so will try that.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Maybe I can salvage something out of this.

To contact the executive offices, go to the Chris Elliott website, he is a consumer advocate in the US.  His site lists executive contacts for Celebrity and gives guidance on how to write them an email.

 

I used that site (it is a dot org) and emailed the first contact.  Got a phone call from a nice person who helped me out in November when we had to cancel my son’s room a week before we were to cruise.  They didn’t expect to vacation before Dec 2022, and that office helped me to get the FCC issued quickly and then transferred to me (I had paid for the cruise). 

[Froufie]

On 1/31/2022 at 11:12 AM, RealBatman said:

Was it a non refundable deposit (NRD) that you made initially? 

 

We had a cruise booked (it left yesterday - without us) with a NRD and when we exercised the "Cruise with Confidence" offer from Celebrity due to COVID issues, we were given our cruise fare back within a few days. It went directly to our next cruise in 2023 (within 1 year of the original cruise). However, we did not receive the $960 (CDN) that we used as a deposit, as it was non refundable. 

I booked with a non-refundable rate and all was included in the FCC used for our upcoming/rebooked cruise?

 

[sayvan]

 

On 1/31/2022 at 11:04 AM, Tealing said:

Wasn’t going to bother complaining about our experience with Celebrity but…. 

… you did anyway…. “Sigh” …. I’ll be in the Martini Bar….