Does anyone else feel cheated?

[bubbapk1]

Long story cut short.... We booked three years ago for the British Isles cruise out of Dublin. That was in 2020 when everything got canceled. We rebooked for the following year (2021), which was eventually cancelled again. Third time being the charm, we booked for May of 2022, but leaving out of Amsterdam, but still going to Dublin along the way. Everything was looking good, till last night. We received an email from Celebrity saying that due to Covid-related issues, we will not be stopping in Dublin, but giving us an overnight in Liverpool. We really wanted to go to Dublin, so we are very disappointed. 

 

I decided to look at what was the hold up in Dublin as they no longer have any testing requirements. It seems that as early as May of 2021, Dublin's port authority said no to cruises over a certain size, in turn pissing off the shop owners and businesses. 

 

So, why didn't Celebrity tell us about that a year ago? I understand itineraries change, but this was known for a long time......

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, bubbapk1 said:

Long story cut short.... We booked three years ago for the British Isles cruise out of Dublin. That was in 2020 when everything got canceled. We rebooked for the following year (2021), which was eventually cancelled again. Third time being the charm, we booked for May of 2022, but leaving out of Amsterdam, but still going to Dublin along the way. Everything was looking good, till last night. We received an email from Celebrity saying that due to Covid-related issues, we will not be stopping in Dublin, but giving us an overnight in Liverpool. We really wanted to go to Dublin, so we are very disappointed. 

 

I decided to look at what was the hold up in Dublin as they no longer have any testing requirements. It seems that as early as May of 2021, Dublin's port authority said no to cruises over a certain size, in turn pissing off the shop owners and businesses. 

 

So, why didn't Celebrity tell us about that a year ago? I understand itineraries change, but this was known for a long time......

People have been cruising now for months, if you read CC you will see many many many state that ports of call are cancelled mid-cruise, can't go here so we'll go there and on and on.  The lines can and do do it, it's in the contract that we all sign.

[Denny01]

we Love Dublin and  would feel a loss also. But none of us can be aware how much discussions there were between Cruise Lines and ports to 2nd guess when to cancel and so on. 

 

As to Liverpool, that is a great port also. We did a private tour of North Wales and it was fantastic. Great fun. Another port call, we did the Beatles tour and that is a great experience if you like the Beatles, but also an excellent intro to Liverpool. It doesn’t just focus on the Boys!.\

 

den

[kearney]

Perhaps they were hoping that the government would change their view... I had similar questions about why Key West and Grand Cayman weren't officially canceled on some cruises.. In the Key West case the locals had voted to cancel cruising... later the state came in to over rule and now there are some but not all cruises coming to KW. GC extended their ban recently..  So it can be hard to know when to officially pull it from the schedule. Also it can take a lot of time to find a replacement...you don't want to announce the change until you have both pieces in place. I understand your disappointment... but you would also have been disappointed if they canceled Dublin...you canceled your cruise and then something happens and they allow cruise ships in Dublin and Celebrity adds the stop back in...

[leaveitallbehind]

My 2 cents worth is that as everything is fluid with the ongoing global situation - in particular with the cruising restart - that the cruise line was waiting until essentially the last minute to announce the change as that is the point at which they know for sure the final situation with any given port of call.  They likely have been in discussions hoping for a change and monitoring the situation until the decision to make the itinerary change had to me made.

 

Would I feel cheated?  No.  Disappointed?  Yes.  But given the state of the world in the past year or so I would understand the nature of the decision.  Think of what the cruise lines are going through in trying to restart and the frustration with these types of things that they must feel - not to mention the continued financial impact from this!

[bubbapk1]

yeah, maybe cheated was too harsh.... I'll go with disappointed....

[Virginia100]

Agree, my 3/26 Reflection cruise still has Cayman Islands on it. But I doubt we go as Cayman is really being unreasonable about the restart. About the only island now being so. Celebrity  will wait until the last minute I’m sure to change hoping for more clear thinking to prevail.

[kearney]

3 minutes ago, bubbapk1 said:

yeah, maybe cheated was too harsh.... I'll go with disappointed....

I really do understand.. one reason I hesitate about traveling to Europe to cruise. Frankly in the Caribbean if you miss a stop... really not losing much and you can always come back (if you live in the states)... but if I make the trip to Europe.. I really want to see what I came to see...

[leaveitallbehind]

1 minute ago, bubbapk1 said:

yeah, maybe cheated was too harsh.... I'll go with disappointed....

I get the frustration.  I'm sure everyone on these boards can provide their history of booked, cancelled, rebooked, and canceled again cruises in the past two years - myself included for sure!  Including our most recent December Holiday cruise with one port of call canceled two weeks prior to departure and a second canceled on board the morning we we scheduled to arrive in the port.  It happens.  

 

I think we just have to accept that for the near term at least this is all likely to continue, so we either enjoy the cruises we've booked for the sake of being back on board and roll with the punches, or continue to push out our plans until a brighter day.  As for me, I'm choosing the former....

[terrydtx]

I feel your frustration, we have 6 canceled Europe and Mediterranean cruises canceled in the last 2 years, one booked as early as 2018. If it's not Covid it's the possibility of war between Russia and Ukraine, which is why WE canceled our Baltic cruise this year, because of the possibility of missing St Petersburg, our main reason for going. We replaced the Baltics with a cruise RT from Rome of Italy and Croatia followed by a 14-night Greek cruise that we have booked and had canceled 4 times in last 2 years.

[mom says]

38 minutes ago, bubbapk1 said:

It seems that as early as May of 2021, Dublin's port authority said no to cruises over a certain size

You may want too keep current on these happenings in the future. Dublin isn't exactly alone in this.  Ports have already restricted cruise ship sizes in Venice, Key West, and Bora Bora. I'm sure more will follow as ports weigh environmental impact vs financial benefit. 

 

It's a tired and worn out saying, but it's true nonetheless: if a particular port is really important to you, and missing it would adversely impact your enjoyment of a  cruise, then do a land visit there instead.

[jagoffee]

22 minutes ago, bubbapk1 said:

yeah, maybe cheated was too harsh.... I'll go with disappointed....

Certainly understandable.  At least with Celebrity you still have time to cancel, but it does not eliminate the disappointment.

My DW and I have enjoyed 3 cruises since September.  We struggled with our decisions on whether to go ahead with the cruises.  We are older and we were just tired of being locked down.  We figured we wanted to get away and mostly enjoy the ship.  We did one US based river cruise, a TA, and a Caribbean cruise.  We enjoyed every one of the cruises.  We feel we made the right choice for us.  If any particular port was the number one priority for the cruise, we would have delayed our cruises.  Each cruise involved numerous adjustments.

 

If you have not already made your final decision, you might want to consider taking advantage of the CWC terms.

 

The bottom line for us is that if we knew in advance about all the changes and adjustments required for our cruises, we would have still taken each cruise.

 

Best of luck

 

[mikewomb]

20 minutes ago, kearney said:

I really do understand.. one reason I hesitate about traveling to Europe to cruise. Frankly in the Caribbean if you miss a stop... really not losing much and you can always come back (if you live in the states)... but if I make the trip to Europe.. I really want to see what I came to see...

The Caribbean.          we are happy to stay on the ship…nothing worth seeing again.

 

Europe a totally different situation. I would be disappointed also. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by mikewomb

[Lastdance]

It is difficult for all of us who enjoy cruising, making it feel that some of your life has been taken because of Covid.  The truth is that everything that happens in life is a lesson, teaching us something about ourselves.  What we do have is tomorrow and the hope that things will not only improve, but that sense of excitement will return with new and exciting experiences!  Have your glass half full because it is a choice.

[JeanieC,Aston]

People comparing this to cancelled Caribbean port are way of beam.

Celebrity said it’s COVID related,,,it’s not!
Its a decision made by and no doubt conveyed to cruise companies over 2 years ago,the cruise lines knew of these plans.

If it is due to Irish COVID protocols has no one told Celebrity that Waterford Is also in Ireland,,,,,,X cancelled Dublin & Cork and replaced them with Waterford.

 

Its about time cruise lines started being straight with their customers.

From March 2019…..

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwir6LK84oT2AhXbEcAKHWnkDOYQFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Fdublin-port-defends-decision-to-restrict-cruise-ships-1.3833857&usg=AOvVaw1yXVWuPKgf-zztI-1IcLac

Edited February 16, 2022 by JeanieC,Aston

[judla]

35 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

Agree, my 3/26 Reflection cruise still has Cayman Islands on it. But I doubt we go as Cayman is really being unreasonable about the restart. About the only island now being so. Celebrity  will wait until the last minute I’m sure to change hoping for more clear thinking to prevail.

We are on the same cruise.  

[Bo1953]

16 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

People comparing this to cancelled Caribbean port are way of beam.

Celebrity said it’s COVID related,,,it’s not!
Its a decision made by and no doubt conveyed to cruise companies over 2 years ago,the cruise lines knew of these plans.

If it is due to Irish COVID protocols has no one told Celebrity that Waterford Is also in Ireland,,,,,,X cancelled Dublin & Cork and replaced them with Waterford.

 

Its about time cruise lines started being straight with their customers.

From March 2019…..

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwir6LK84oT2AhXbEcAKHWnkDOYQFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Fdublin-port-defends-decision-to-restrict-cruise-ships-1.3833857&usg=AOvVaw1yXVWuPKgf-zztI-1IcLac

It sounds like you needed to have spoken up to make sure that X knew this... especially with all of the changes (health and closed ports for example) they are having to deal with around the world. Something was bound to be overlooked.

 

In fact, maybe you could have co-ordinated the new port of call on X's behalf, as you knew this started two (2) years ago.

 

Then again, whatever reason one may provide for not doing so is a shrug off IMO... Maybe they require a new Logistics Manager in Miami who can deal with all of the changes to keep us all happy???

 

bon voyage

[mfs2k]

I was once on a 7 night cruise with 3 scheduled ports and they were all cancelled while we were on board for various reasons. We ended up having a 7 night cruise to no where and still had a good time. The on board credits helped us have a better time. 
I’d rather be on a cruise to nowhere than sitting at my desk in my office at work reading cruise critic. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by mfs2k

[TheWanderingViolet]

We are booked for a 12 night on Apex June 26th and disappointed is an understatement for me. Im a frequent cruiser so totally get things can change but we had three changes to our itinerary and the main reason we booked this specific itinerary was for Dublin. We are losing a port day making almost half of the cruise sea days. We also only had waterford added an cork cancelled. Im totally good with the Iceland change bit the Ireland changes have really been disappointing. 

 

 

[mikewomb]

48 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

It is difficult for all of us who enjoy cruising, making it feel that some of your life has been taken because of Covid.  The truth is that everything that happens in life is a lesson, teaching us something about ourselves.  What we do have is tomorrow and the hope that things will not only improve, but that sense of excitement will return with new and exciting experiences!  Have your glass half full because it is a choice.

Yes, but time is wasting. We are getting older and feel like we have lost too much time. 

[smbt1]

1 hour ago, bubbapk1 said:

Long story cut short.... We booked three years ago for the British Isles cruise out of Dublin. That was in 2020 when everything got canceled. We rebooked for the following year (2021), which was eventually cancelled again. Third time being the charm, we booked for May of 2022, but leaving out of Amsterdam, but still going to Dublin along the way. Everything was looking good, till last night. We received an email from Celebrity saying that due to Covid-related issues, we will not be stopping in Dublin, but giving us an overnight in Liverpool. We really wanted to go to Dublin, so we are very disappointed. 

 

I decided to look at what was the hold up in Dublin as they no longer have any testing requirements. It seems that as early as May of 2021, Dublin's port authority said no to cruises over a certain size, in turn pissing off the shop owners and businesses. 

 

So, why didn't Celebrity tell us about that a year ago? I understand itineraries change, but this was known for a long time......

Cruise lines seldom change their schedules until they receive formal notice that they will not be allowed.  After all you still have cruise lines descriptions showing cruising along the Antarctic Peninsula  in spite of the changes to the Polar code, you have ships showing KW, Cayman Islands that will not be calling there.  Ships still showing Bora Bora is spite of the change limiting the number of daily cruise ship passengers to 1200.  This is pretty normal.  Reason why one should research all of the ports that their cruise is expected to visit.

 

The tendency of local ports to restrict the size and number of cruise ship visits is growing.  Next will be Bar Harbor in 2023 when it is expected they will reduce the number of ships visiting by a substantial amount.

[smbt1]

18 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

It sounds like you needed to have spoken up to make sure that X knew this... especially with all of the changes (health and closed ports for example) they are having to deal with around the world. Something was bound to be overlooked.

 

In fact, maybe you could have co-ordinated the new port of call on X's behalf, as you knew this started two (2) years ago.

 

Then again, whatever reason one may provide for not doing so is a shrug off IMO... Maybe they require a new Logistics Manager in Miami who can deal with all of the changes to keep us all happy???

 

bon voyage

Based upon the track record of cruise lines in general to respond to changes in visits by various countries and cities, it seems like more of a strategy, instead of something being overlooked.

[Jordanyaya1]

I’m very disappointed too. I’m booked on Apex departing Amsterdam on June 7 which included a stop in Dublin. Yesterday I received an email from Celebrity that our stop in Dublin was cancelled due to Covid protocols. I found this troubling since the Republic of Ireland dropped many of their Covid mandates last week. I started doing some investigation and discovered this change was known by Celebrity as well as other cruise companies  since early 2021. It has nothing to do with Covid but rather that the Port of Dublin refused docking to cruise ships. There are lots of articles on Google. I’ve posted one of them below. Celebrity’s blaming it on Covid is a PR black eye for Celebrity. They knew they weren’t stopping in Dublin and yet continued to sell it with Dublin included until yesterday. 

Tourism groups have hit out at Dublin Port's announcement that no berths will be available for large cruise ships next year. The port company says it has no space because of demands produced by Brexit. ... Now the port berths will not be available at all next year except for ships under 200m which can use berth 18.May 27, 2021

 

[ladylemondrop]

It is always a risk of cruising that planned ports will be missed or change, for various reasons, weather, security, covid, etc etc, as someone else said, we have to just be glad to be on a ship, and go with the flow, it’s disappointing but not something to dwell on too much. 

[JeanieC,Aston]

 

 

In fact, maybe you could have co-ordinated the new port of call on X's behalf, as you knew this started two (2) years ago.

Hi Bo

In fact maybe once in your life you could see Celebrity blaming COVID for this cancellation is total tosh.

If Celebrity had said the reason was its inability to secure a berth due to Dublin port decision to reduce the number of cruise ships it allows to berth,,,,,,that would have been more honest.

 

But whilst cruise lines have customers who will never have anything bad to say about them the pulling the wool over the paying customers eyes will continue.

 

ps,I thought your reply to me was a bit condescending,,,alas never mind.