Suspicious Cruise Itinerary Change

[jagoffee]

5 hours ago, jwlane said:

Without ANY research on your own part?  Fascinating!

No, I did some minimal research. Do you see  see where other cruise ships are still scheduled?

Edited February 11, 2023 by jagoffee

[kguerriero]

Attaching the email. As indicated, the change was voluntary by Celebrity. 

 

Happy for the whales, but would be happier if they felt like throwing some additional OBC our way for the change. We booked dinner with some local friends we hadn't seen in a while that had to be cancelled. 

 

 

[MISTER 67]

11 hours ago, D C said:

I have yet to read a thread where port fees were voluntarily returned to customers.

We have never been on a cruise that the port charges were not credited back to our account for missed ports.

[terrydtx]

Was your cruise also stopping in Monterrey? This last week Monterrey City Council voted to curtail cruise ships using city services and effectively ending stops there. This goes into effect March 1.

Edited February 11, 2023 by terrydtx

[webecruzin2]

To the OP, sorry your plans were ruined.   We've been on cruises that have skipped ports for various reasons and each time they said port fees will not be refunded.  I'm pretty sure 2 of them were on RCCL.
I myself would be happy to skip SFO, with the state of that city these days you'd need to carry disposable gloves,  sanitizer, a can of mace and antibiotics just to walk around certain parts.  And watch where you're stepping.  😬

[Charles4515]

8 hours ago, kguerriero said:

Attaching the email. As indicated, the change was voluntary by Celebrity. 

 

Happy for the whales, but would be happier if they felt like throwing some additional OBC our way for the change. We booked dinner with some local friends we hadn't seen in a while that had to be cancelled. 

 

Possibly you could have lunch with your friends. 

 

The change is not suspicious at all. It is not to cut costs. You might say it is poitical or regulatory.It is voluntary but if they don't do it voluntarily,  if they don't make concesions on their speed they probably would be forced to make that change or worse. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Charles4515

[CalTexCruiser]

54 minutes ago, webecruzin2 said:

To the OP, sorry your plans were ruined.   We've been on cruises that have skipped ports for various reasons and each time they said port fees will not be refunded.  I'm pretty sure 2 of them were on RCCL.
I myself would be happy to skip SFO, with the state of that city these days you'd need to carry disposable gloves,  sanitizer, a can of mace and antibiotics just to walk around certain parts.  And watch where you're stepping.  😬

 

SF's unhoused population will take issue with your insensitive remarks.  Where else can they go to the bathroom?

[TeeRick]

This happened to us a couple of years ago on a Canada/NE cruise on Summit.  The North Atlantic Right Whale is an endangered species and breeds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  We had to adjust our ports and cruising speed by mandate of the Canadian government.

[mayleeman]

14 hours ago, RTShaker said:

The modified itinerary extends the cruising time from SF to Victoria (PNW area) by a whopping 15 minutes. That will sure make for a noticeable reduction in cruising speed

 

It looks like the modification is for the leg TO San Francisco, not to the end.

[jwlane]

12 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Do you see  see where other cruise ships are still scheduled?

Sure---with altered itineraries!  Even with evidence of WHY this is occurring, you still call BS?

[Alakegirl]

19 hours ago, finstotheleft said:

In the last 48 hours, we were informed by Celebrity Cruises of an itinerary change on the 6 May 2023 sailing of Celebrity Millennium from Los Angeles to Vancouver.   Specifically, an overnight stay in San Francisco was cancelled, citing the company's need to be sensitive to the migration pattern of whales, a phenomenon of which mariners have been aware for centuries.  It is implausible that a company with the resources, technology, and sailing prowess of Celebrity failed to consider this annual rite of passage in their planning.  Worse, Celebrity waited until inside 90 days to make the disclosure.  Many of us on this sailing had made arrangements with substantial financial commitments for the evening we were scheduled to be in San Francisco and Celebrity, as expected, has disavowed any responsibility.  In an age of rampant cost-cutting, my cynical mind is pointing in the direction of docking fees and a quick way to avoid them.  Either that or the whales are doing a poor job of giving advance notice of their travel plans.    

Who did you share your substantial and expensive plans with? Sounds like someone is out to get you.  I’d be suspicious too.  I beg of you, monsieur, watch yourself. There are vultures, vultures everywhere!  Oh wait, that’s a different port🤪🥴😳😲

[sewingbee]

On 2/10/2023 at 10:34 PM, blackshirt said:

You do realize you pay port fees and if a port is skipped or in your case shortened, you should get a corresponding refund. Shortening the port stay won’t save Celebrity anything. Whatever fees they are avoiding will be returned to the passengers.

I've spoken to celebrity about this and so has my Travel agent and have been told, no port fees to be returned as they don't pay extra to be there overnight, it's just a set fee to dock, so no refund to come! This was the port we were most looking forward to so gutted it's been shortened!

[Sigyn]

If the financial outlay you mention for the night in SF includes tickets to an event, you can likely sell those tickets through a third party broker. 

[kdkstormy]

On 2/11/2023 at 3:15 AM, MISTER 67 said:

We have never been on a cruise that the port charges were not credited back to our account for missed ports.

In 2020 we missed Antigua due to wind on the Reflection.  Inquired at customer service about getting port fees refunded and was told NO refund.  

Edited March 8, 2023 by kdkstormy

[Arizona Wildcat]

On 2/10/2023 at 3:26 PM, jagoffee said:

Must be more to the story.  Perhaps a new SF regulation?  But then no ships should be stopping in SF.  I say B.S. in Celebrity.

The change really stinks and I would also be upset.

Really?

Monterey effective March 1st closed the port by cutting off all on shore staff.  Not the fault of Celebrity 

The whale issue with slower speeds is new for 2023.  Obviously effects schedules.

How are either of these the fault of Celebrity.   

I would hope that any passenger who is unhappy could cancell without penalty. 

[iandjm]

I am also on this cruise. To initially lose Monterey and have that substituted by Catalina island was disappointing (Catalina island is a few miles from Los Angeles, where we board, so we spend 17 hours drifting around before anchoring there)
To now lose one whole day in San Francisco and have the port stay in Catalina Island extended so the ship can now travel painfully slowly from what is a port that nowhere near warrants a whole days visit, is pretty bad.

I appreciate the reasoning of slowing down for whale migration (which has been known about for centuries) but I believe this is just being used to justify the fuel and port charge savings that Celebrity wishes to achieve. 
To be honest I would have rather skipped Catalina island and drifted to San Francisco to have two days there. San Francisco is one of the highlights of the whole trip. Now we have only 8am - 5pm there, which is just not adequate for a city of that size. The ship could easily have been scheduled to cruise at the lower speed and arrive the evening before, allowing us an evening out in the city.

I have worked out the speed we now need to maintain after leaving Catalina island to get to San Francisco at the new time and it’s under 8 knots! 
Celebrity need to realise that we are not as naive as they think!

Edited March 8, 2023 by iandjm

[iandjm]

1 hour ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Really?

Monterey effective March 1st closed the port by cutting off all on shore staff.  Not the fault of Celebrity 

The whale issue with slower speeds is new for 2023.  Obviously effects schedules.

How are either of these the fault of Celebrity.   

I would hope that any passenger who is unhappy could cancell without penalty. 

The reason we feel it is celebrities fault is that they have also extended the port stay at Catalina island, which does not warrant more than a few hours stay. If we had left there mid afternoon we could still have cruised at a slower speed and arrived at San Francisco the day before, allowing an overnight in the city. 

[iandjm]

4 hours ago, sewingbee said:

I've spoken to celebrity about this and so has my Travel agent and have been told, no port fees to be returned as they don't pay extra to be there overnight, it's just a set fee to dock, so no refund to come! This was the port we were most looking forward to so gutted it's been shortened!

That has to be total rubbish. Ships pay to be in port by the hour so Celebrity are saving a small fortune halving the port stay. 

[maggie.1008]

I am on Oceania May 11th for seven nights. Our Monterey stop has been cancelled and rescheduled as a sea day. Our SFO overnight has not been cancelled yet.

we are not going to Catalina so we might be on the ship to Ensenada and nothing else.

Cruise to nowhere on Oceania will still be fine with me. Cheers 🥂 

[iandjm]

15 minutes ago, maggie.1008 said:

I am on Oceania May 11th for seven nights. Our Monterey stop has been cancelled and rescheduled as a sea day. Our SFO overnight has not been cancelled yet.

we are not going to Catalina so we might be on the ship to Ensenada and nothing else.

Cruise to nowhere on Oceania will still be fine with me. Cheers 🥂 

Any cruise on Oceania is fantastic 😁

[terrydtx]

42 minutes ago, iandjm said:

That has to be total rubbish. Ships pay to be in port by the hour so Celebrity are saving a small fortune halving the port stay. 

Not rubbish, in the US most ports charge docking fees in 24 hour blocks, not by the hour.

This is from the website Cruisehabit.com

Edited March 8, 2023 by terrydtx

[iandjm]

Just now, terrydtx said:

Not rubbish, in the US most ports charge docking fees in 24 hour blocks, not by the hour.

So I guess celebrity have saved a fair amount by cutting our stay from 2 days to one compared to the original itinerary? 

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, iandjm said:

So I guess celebrity have saved a fair amount by cutting our stay from 2 days to one compared to the original itinerary? 

How much do you think it costs to be cruising in circles on the missed day in fuel use alone?

Edited March 8, 2023 by terrydtx

[iandjm]

21 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

How much do you think it costs to be cruising in circles on the missed day in fuel use alone?

8 knots only requires the smaller diesel generator which they added to the M class a few years ago.  It is a capable of propulsion up to 9 kn and the hotel supply on its own.

[Shiba_Lover]

I worked at an oil company that did offshore drilling / exploration.  Please no comments on that.  The only reason I am stating it is because yes - once you realize there are certain species migrating through or breeding in the area in which you are operating.  You cease operations.  Immediately.  Even if it is costing you millions of dollars.  It does disrupt things, but it is what you do for the good of the environment and the animals.

Edited March 8, 2023 by ehall