Japan 2024 canceled…

[MandL]

6 minutes ago, pukekolive said:

This list was posted by several people who received it in their cancellation email from Celebrity, advising them of the overbooked situation.

 

Thank you for that. I will look for an email that includes it, so I can send it to my Celebrity contact as a follow up to my other email.

[MandL]

11 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

The roll call for your sailing has members receiving cancellation letters. 

 

Yes, we have six members cancelled that I’m aware of.

[NMTraveller]

5 minutes ago, raananh said:

Do you work for Celebrity? Are you paid by Celebrity to post this type of messages in this forum?

You are in this forum to constantly defend Celebrity.

Are you serious with that question? Even Celebrity thinks that people should get more than their money back.

Why? Because Celebrity knows it ruined people's vacations and caused many people to have a substantial loss of money for non-refundable flights, hotels, etc.

The issue is that Celebrity is being very very cheap, very cheap, for a premium cruise line,  and only offers $450 / person plus up to $500 / person for any proven loss of money on incidentals. 

I think that this must be LLP.  

Edited April 30, 2023 by NMTraveller

[raananh]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

In the long ago past X oversold our fully paid cruise, sent us notification via a TA that we could still sail, but cancel if we chose, and if we did, we received fully paid cruise fare refunded and 6 wk in the future cruise free.  DH and I agreed that was a no brainer. That was our first X cruise and their offer cemented our loyalty.   I realize they could not do that with so many ships/passenger cabins oversold.  But a little 'extra' to sweeten the taste of being cancelled is IMO the way to treat the customer.  I wonder if X insurance would cover some or all of the 'sweetness'?

So this is not the first time Celebrity oversold a cruise.

I am beginning to think that all those "oversold" incidents, by Celebrity, also Royal Caribbean (parent company of Celebrity), airlines, etc is really intentional... and the reason it to somehow make more money.

[pukekolive]

24 minutes ago, MandL said:

 

Thank you for that. I will look for an email that includes it, so I can send it to my Celebrity contact as a follow up to my other email.

See post #25 but I will check FB as that is where it came from 

[pukekolive]

32 minutes ago, MandL said:

 

Thank you for that. I will look for an email that includes it, so I can send it to my Celebrity contact as a follow up to my other email.

I think I found the original FB post of this list in Captain's Club FB group and the comment it was in was from a travel agent so may have been notifying travel agents of affected cruises? 

Edited April 30, 2023 by pukekolive

[pukekolive]

41 minutes ago, MandL said:

 

Thank you for that. I will look for an email that includes it, so I can send it to my Celebrity contact as a follow up to my other email.

Here is a copy of the actual email received by passengers

[raananh]

7 minutes ago, pmarrsouth said:

Yes, airlines specifically sell more seats on a plane than that plane holds, as X% will not turn up / cancel / change, etc.

Yes. You are 100% correct. We all know that.

But with airlines this practice is not as bad because normally there's another flight to the same destination few hours later. Can't say that about cruises being over-sold.

In any case, this practice of over-selling really hurt people. 

It actually got worse in the last few years where airlines are allowed to cancel flights because the plain was not fully sold.

The issue with oversold flights and cancelled flight became so bad that now I always book a flight 2 days before the cruise starts, paying an additional hotel. And this practice save me from missing a cruise only last year.

Thanks.


 

[patty1955]

Is there any chance we can get back on topic? 

We're on the March 4, Northeast Asia cruise that's included in the group. We booked on Celebrity then transferred it to our big box TA. Both the Celebrity website and the TA's show us as still booked. Those of you who have received an email from your TA, did everything look okay until it wasn't? 

[omeinv]

I had a cruise canceled due to COVID.  I was already in Santiago, Chile, and about 18 hours from boarding time when the cancellation notice came.  Six hours earlier we had been told the cruise was still going forward.  The compensation choices were a full refund or a future cruise credit for 125% off the fare paid. Additionally we’re received $300.00 USD for documented non refundable expenses (my flight back to Denver was about $1200.00). 
 

A full cash refund or FCC for more is all that can be expected in this case.  Could Celebrity do better? Sure.  But you acting like they’ve not been fair is disingenuous.  
 

Of course by writing this post I’ll probably have to give up my retirement and start work with Celebrity.  I hope they let me tele commute.  
 

Harris

Denver,CO

Edited May 1, 2023 by omeinv

[Parkland Hiker]

2 hours ago, MandL said:

 

Do you have any idea where they got this list?  Or did someone simply type up this list on an assumption?

 

We are sailing 3/28/2024 (original booking from way back November 2019, lifted and shifted over and over again).  We always book now with Celebrity directly, and stay with them so I don't have to go through a third party to make adjustments.  One mishap a few years back was enough for me.  I just sent off an email to our contact at Celebrity to see what she knows. Should be interesting to get her take.   

This chart was in the letter we received from Celebrity, advising us that our booking has been cancelled.  It was a form letter sent out to all cancelled bookings for all of the affected cruises.  It listed our cruise, and then if you read across, it provided the 2025 cruises that you could lift and shift to. 2025 didn’t work for us, and even if it had, the 3 cruises we were given the option to lift and shift to were already sold out for equivalent stateroom.  We would either have had to downgrade, or upgrade but pay the difference at prevailing rates.  We chose to cancel and get a refund of our deposit and a FCC.  We had already booked our Japan flights, so have decided to just go and do a land tour on our own 

[MandL]

1 hour ago, pukekolive said:

Here is a copy of the actual email received by passengers

Thank you !! 

[Parkland Hiker]

43 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Is there any chance we can get back on topic? 

We're on the March 4, Northeast Asia cruise that's included in the group. We booked on Celebrity then transferred it to our big box TA. Both the Celebrity website and the

43 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Is there any chance we can get back on topic? 

We're on the March 4, Northeast Asia cruise that's included in the group. We booked on Celebrity then transferred it to our big box TA. Both the Celebrity website and the TA's show us as still booked. Those of you who have received an email from your TA, did everything look okay until it wasn't? TA's show us as still booked. Those of you who have received an email from your TA, did everything look okay until it wasn't? 

Last week, the Japan cruise still showed on the App for us.  I just looked now, and it no longer appears.  I’m not sure when it dropped off, but likely was after our TA notified Celebrity that we had decided to cancel 

[Covepointcruiser]

Celebrity was wrong to oversell the cruises, no doubt about that.    However, the cruises were far enough in the future that final payments were not made, only deposits.   At least now folks reading this thread will learn to never book non refundable or non changeable airline fares.   We are not Zenith, but we have still sailed enough to have many cancellations not even including COVID.   If you are planning your once in a lifetime trip to a certain destination, don’t book a cruise.

[NMTraveller]

19 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Celebrity was wrong to oversell the cruises, no doubt about that.    However, the cruises were far enough in the future that final payments were not made, only deposits.   At least now folks reading this thread will learn to never book non refundable or non changeable airline fares.   We are not Zenith, but we have still sailed enough to have many cancellations not even including COVID.   If you are planning your once in a lifetime trip to a certain destination, don’t book a cruise.

Or just choose a different line...

 

I don't have the time to monkey around with nonsense.  I just want a solid vacation.  Especially for such a long flight...

Edited May 1, 2023 by NMTraveller

[mayleeman]

The compensation probably would be viewed as fair by more of the displaced pax if Celeb had had a comprehensive explanation and a transparent plan moving forward. 

 

Those early compensation offers for covid cancellations, had they been similar to the Japan fiasco, would have involved spreading the word through a few waiters and cabin attendants, slowly expanding throughout the ship. All of whom were giving out contradictory explanations.

 

The biggest differences are that the Japan problems were created solely by Celeb, were solely in Celeb's control, and were not affected by any outside event or force. The compensation for Japan should have reflected that, so yes, wanting to be reimbursed for all damages caused by gross negligence is perfectly legitimate.

[hubofhockey]

Not a fan of defending any cruise line that makes a series of mistakes and compounds the mistakes by offering poor solutions.  Nobody should be defending any of this on Cruise Critic.  That's just being insensitive to people who have had this happen to them.  PLEASE STOP.  

 

There are 2024 Japan itineraries that have unbooked cabins, so those should be offered before offering something two years out.  

[XLVIII]

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

Not a fan of defending any cruise line that makes a series of mistakes and compounds the mistakes by offering poor solutions.  Nobody should be defending any of this on Cruise Critic.  That's just being insensitive to people who have had this happen to them.  PLEASE STOP.  

 

There are 2024 Japan itineraries that have unbooked cabins, so those should be offered before offering something two years out.  

Cruise Critic is full of different opinions. Just because you don’t agree with them doesn’t make them wrong or insensitive. 
P.S. I’m truly sorry about your Bruins. Was hoping to see them go far this year. 😟

Edited May 1, 2023 by XLVIII

[JBare]

5 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

There are 2024 Japan itineraries that have unbooked cabins, so those should be offered before offering something two years out.  

 

Again,they are suggestions that include, many of the other cruises can also be chosen not just the three "suggested".

[hubofhockey]

3 hours ago, XLVIII said:

Cruise Critic is full of different opinions. Just because you don’t agree with them doesn’t make them wrong or insensitive. 
P.S. I’m truly sorry about your Bruins. Was hoping to see them go far this year. 😟

Just like people are free to defend the cruise lines here, I suppose I am free to criticize those people as wrong and insensitive.  The way I feel when I see the people wronged by Celebrity here is that it’s not their fault and it could happen to me.  That’s the only fair to look at it before hitting the submit reply button.  Be grateful you are not walking in their shoes.  I have seen many petty complaints against cruise lines in the several years I have been on Cruise Critic and can promise you these are not that.  

[hubofhockey]

23 minutes ago, JBare said:

 

Again,they are suggestions that include, many of the other cruises can also be chosen not just the three "suggested".

Well, then maybe they shouldn’t just come out and say 2025.  Say, “we will work with you to find any Japan itinerary with open cabins”?  Also, they only gave them until TODAY to act on this, otherwise they’re just refunding and you’re SOL.  At that point, the great deal some may had just gets blown up.  Many of these people were there for Celebrity when Celebrity needed them to book. If they book new cruises, they’ll be subject to Celebrity’s new penalty rates with non refundable deposits.  I’ll tell you somehthing.  I won’t be booking anything with Celebrity after my next cruise that makes me subject to losing 100% of my deposit.  

Edited May 1, 2023 by hubofhockey

[Mark_T]

42 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

Well, then maybe they shouldn’t just come out and say 2025.  Say, “we will work with you to find any Japan itinerary with open cabins”?

It does feel like the implementation and communication to their Agents was patchy and poor... the letter does seem to suggest there were other Asian options, not just the listed Japan cruises...

'select' implies there was a list, 'suggested' and 'include' implies those 3 were not the only options, but it doesn't seem like people calling in were getting too much aside from those being offered...

 

[JBare]

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

Well, then maybe they shouldn’t just come out and say 2025. 

They didn't !

[raananh]

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

Well, then maybe they shouldn’t just come out and say 2025.  Say, “we will work with you to find any Japan itinerary with open cabins”?

In our case, our October 2023 cruise was "oversold" and the only option for S&L is Sept/October 2024.

Well, we can't go at all in Sept/Oct 2024 because of another obligation. I am sure that we are not the only ones: many other people may have other obligations for the only choice given by Celebrity.

So we had to cancel, our vacation plan was ruined + big financial loss (Japan flights.)

If I was Celebrity, and I actually cared about customers, I would offer "any other Celebrity cruise for a big discount to compensate you". Don't you think many will go for that, and actually Celebrity will make money off them, instead of cancellations?

Thanks
 

Edited May 1, 2023 by raananh

[raananh]

3 minutes ago, JBare said:

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

Well, then maybe they shouldn’t just come out and say 2025. 

 

The Sept/Oct 2025 cruises for Japan are not even planned by Celebrity.

We had an October 2023 "oversold" cruise, and we would probably go for an October 2025.

All we were offered was October 2024, and we have other obligations for that month. So we had to cancel.