Cancelled cruises on the beyond

[smeck]

Celebrity has cancelled five months of European cruises with no compensation. If you rebook you have to take the prevailing rate not the rate you originally booked your cruise at.  I’m cruising Celebrity for the first time  and thought they were a class cruise line unfortunately that is no longer the case. 

[hrhdhd]

Being discussed in many threads already, including this one:

 

 

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, smeck said:

Celebrity has cancelled five months of European cruises with no compensation. If you rebook you have to take the prevailing rate not the rate you originally booked your cruise at.  I’m cruising Celebrity for the first time  and thought they were a class cruise line unfortunately that is no longer the case. 

I’ve only had one cruise canceled by Celebrity but I wasn’t happy at the time and I’m still unhappy about it.

Edited June 30, 2023 by zitsky

[awhcruiser]

On 6/30/2023 at 1:25 PM, zitsky said:

I’ve only had one cruise canceled by Celebrity but I wasn’t happy at the time and I’m still unhappy about it.

Time to move to a different cruise line. 

[zitsky]

35 minutes ago, awhcruiser said:

Time to move to a different cruise line. 

Because I had one cruise canceled or because I don’t like private islands?

 

I like Celebrity because they all call me “Sir”.

[BlackLion 213]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Because I had one cruise canceled

 

 

I know your posts are mostly tongue in cheek, but I'll say it anyway, merely because I'm truly as frustrated as you appear...

 

Because X handled the pax on the canceled cruises horribly, and has shown a terrible disregard for their customers.

 

[MMMCruiser]

I'm planning to try Celebrity for the first time next summer (in Europe) and this is really giving me pause.  Do I want to book an entire vacation (flights, hotels, tours) around a cruise that they might cancel?  

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, BlackLion 213 said:

 

I know your posts are mostly tongue in cheek, but I'll say it anyway, merely because I'm truly as frustrated as you appear...

 

Because X handled the pax on the canceled cruises horribly, and has shown a terrible disregard for their customers.

 

Yes I think the island could be rolled out in a successful way if they had found a way to not cancel so many cruises.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, MMMCruiser said:

I'm planning to try Celebrity for the first time next summer (in Europe) and this is really giving me pause.  Do I want to book an entire vacation (flights, hotels, tours) around a cruise that they might cancel?  

Do you have a specific ship you want to cruise on?  That’s important.  Because there will almost certainly be some ship available maybe not a new one.

[jelayne]

Unfortunately all cruise lines change itineraries, cancel cruises, change ships.  Jumping from one to another doesn’t guarantee you won’t have another unexpected change or cancellation.

We have cruised on 5 different lines each has cancelled or significantly changed a booked cruise.

We booked a trip of a lifetime then after booking hotels, air, etc they cancelled the cruise.  We were offered refund but less than 3 months after cancelling  they offered the identical cruise 12 months to the day later.  We had not received our refund so asked about moving our booking to the new date.  No, not possible unless you pay the current rate ($4k  more). 
Times seemed to have changed and price protection or compensation for air fare change fees seem to be a thing of the past.

[MMMCruiser]

16 hours ago, zitsky said:

Do you have a specific ship you want to cruise on?  That’s important.  Because there will almost certainly be some ship available maybe not a new one.

Yes.  I'm booked (for the moment) on the Apex for next summer.  Had seriously considered the Beyond as well.  I'm not interested in trying out one of the older ships at the moment.  

 

I'm used to ports sometimes shifting around, but not from the Eastern Med to the Caribbean.  Those are two completely different vacations in my opinion.

[Lastdance]

2 minutes ago, MMMCruiser said:

Yes.  I'm booked (for the moment) on the Apex for next summer.  Had seriously considered the Beyond as well.  I'm not interested in trying out one of the older ships at the moment.  

 

I'm used to ports sometimes shifting around, but not from the Eastern Med to the Caribbean.  Those are two completely different vacations in my opinion.

I really loved my Beyond cruises in Europe; thought it was the perfect ship and my best overall experience.  I haven’t been to the Caribbean in decades, but had Beyond booked for a cruise in the southern Caribbean for December for the ship itself; PPPD price is just over $420 in a suite equivalent to an S1 Sky Suite for a ten day cruise.  Of course, now it is so much higher.  I totally agree about the shift from Europe to Caribbean, as they are two completely different experiences...Shocking and frustrating, but all about profit/shareholders/paying down debt!   

[MMMCruiser]

Yeah, not trying to say that a Caribbean cruise is terrible, but it's not for everyone.  And they certainly aren't equivalent.  If I'm planning a trip to Europe then going to a few islands with beaches isn't what I'm looking for (and vice versa).

[RD64]

On 6/30/2023 at 11:41 AM, smeck said:

Celebrity has cancelled five months of European cruises with no compensation. If you rebook you have to take the prevailing rate not the rate you originally booked your cruise at.  I’m cruising Celebrity for the first time  and thought they were a class cruise line unfortunately that is no longer the case. 

Why do you feel you require financial compensation for cruises that are a year away?

[Honolulu Blue]

23 hours ago, MMMCruiser said:

I'm planning to try Celebrity for the first time next summer (in Europe) and this is really giving me pause.  Do I want to book an entire vacation (flights, hotels, tours) around a cruise that they might cancel?  

There's always a chance of cancellation with any cruise. What I do about it is favor paying later when possible, avoiding nonrefundable arrangements, paying attention to the terms and conditions, and considering travel insurance.

[BlackLion 213]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

Why do you feel you require financial compensation for cruises that are a year away?

 

I am not speaking for the op. Certainly they can do so. However, I believe compensation might not be the proper word, but in general...

 

An offer of price protection from Celebrity would be appreciated. Many of us have booked the affected cruises months ago, and at rates that are significantly lower than what the "comparable options" are going for. Sure, it's business, but it's not customer service.

 

To be advised "scramble to find & book an acceptable option sometime in the next 14 days, pay the new inflated rate, or we'll just hand your deposit back" is a complete disregard for your customers that you hope will stay with you.

 

[CruiserMickey]

56 minutes ago, BlackLion 213 said:

 

I am not speaking for the op. Certainly they can do so. However, I believe compensation might not be the proper word, but in general...

 

An offer of price protection from Celebrity would be appreciated. Many of us have booked the affected cruises months ago, and at rates that are significantly lower than what the "comparable options" are going for. Sure, it's business, but it's not customer service.

 

To be advised "scramble to find & book an acceptable option sometime in the next 14 days, pay the new inflated rate, or we'll just hand your deposit back" is a complete disregard for your customers that you hope will stay with you.

 

Exactly this. Price protection would have been very welcome. As it is, my 14 night transatlantic (Beyond) has turned into a 10 night Greece, Turkey and Malta cruise on an older ship (Exquinox) for more $. Will I enjoy this cruise…yes. Am I happy about having to pay more $ instead of the rate I paid for 14 nights? Absolutely not.

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, RD64 said:

Why do you feel you require financial compensation for cruises that are a year away?

Good question, but it is my understanding that some of the cancelled cruises were for April 2024.  This is within the flight booking window.  I think a cruise cancelled within 10 months deserves compensation,  it has worked that way for me.  Some kind of price protection or generous OBC.

[BlackLion 213]

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Good question, but it is my understanding that some of the cancelled cruises were for April 2024.  This is within the flight booking window.  I think a cruise cancelled within 10 months deserves compensation,  it has worked that way for me.  Some kind of price protection or generous OBC.

 

Perhaps if you were directly affected by what had happened, you would appreciate the answer much better!

 

[Silkroad]

15 hours ago, MMMCruiser said:

I'm used to ports sometimes shifting around, but not from the Eastern Med to the Caribbean.  Those are two completely different vacations in my opinion.

Quite so. And most people on this forum don’t seem to understand that those of us booked on Beyond for the 2024 Transatlantic and European cruises were not even offered the option of keeping our reserved cabins/prices for any of the new cruises in the Caribbean. 

 

We had a b2b booked for the spring TA and the Greek Isles/Turkey, and had intended to spend a few days in Rome afterward.This was our third attempt at celebrating a special anniversary. We had splashed out on a Sky Suite for both legs, which is not something we always do. We ultimately decided to transfer the Transatlantic leg to Ascent, and snagged the same Sky Suite. We’re excited about sailing on Ascent, but we were unable to find a good transfer option for our second booking. Had Celebrity not restricted us to four ships, we would have considered Infinity for Greece & Turkey.
 

Having been forced to transfer at prevailing rates, we’re paying $700 more for a 13 night TA than we would have paid for the 14 night TA, but we will receive $400 more in non-refundable OBC, and we’ll end up in Barcelona instead of Civitavecchia. Under Celebrity’s restrictions, we could not transfer our second booking to any of the 2024 cruises that interested us in other regions (South America, Panama Canal for example) so we’re taking the refund of our deposit. The end result for us is that we won’t have the anniversary celebration we’d wanted, but we will have a wonderful time on our highly modified journey. The end result for Celebrity is that instead of paying them appropriately 13k for the second leg of a b2b, we’ll spend some of that money on European lodging, dining and cultural attractions.

[D. B.]

On 7/1/2023 at 7:02 PM, MMMCruiser said:

I'm planning to try Celebrity for the first time next summer (in Europe) and this is really giving me pause.  Do I want to book an entire vacation (flights, hotels, tours) around a cruise that they might cancel?  

Celebrity is Not the only cruise line to Cancel whole seasons of a ships schedule.

 It has happened a lot lately with other cruise lines as they try to position ships where they believe the demand will Be in the future.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 minute ago, D. B. said:

Celebrity is Not the only cruise line to Cancel whole seasons of a ships schedule.

 It has happened a lot lately with other cruise lines as they try to position ships where they believe the demand will Be in the future.

Agreed.

 

And every time I have asked anything about airfares on here to a one people have said DO NOT BOOK RIGHT WHEN IT COMES OUT (exception being Southwest) because rates will drop. So choosing to book it the second it drops for international is all on that person.

[jagoffee]

9 hours ago, BlackLion 213 said:

 

Perhaps if you were directly affected by what had happened, you would appreciate the answer much better!

 

Perhaps.

[BlackLion 213]

3 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Quite so. And most people on this forum don’t seem to understand that those of us booked on Beyond for the 2024 Transatlantic and European cruises were not even offered the option of keeping our reserved cabins/prices for any of the new cruises in the Caribbean. 

 

We had a b2b booked for the spring TA and the Greek Isles/Turkey, and had intended to spend a few days in Rome afterward.This was our third attempt at celebrating a special anniversary. We had splashed out on a Sky Suite for both legs, which is not something we always do. We ultimately decided to transfer the Transatlantic leg to Ascent, and snagged the same Sky Suite. We’re excited about sailing on Ascent, but we were unable to find a good transfer option for our second booking. Had Celebrity not restricted us to four ships, we would have considered Infinity for Greece & Turkey.
 

Having been forced to transfer at prevailing rates, we’re paying $700 more for a 13 night TA than we would have paid for the 14 night TA, but we will receive $400 more in non-refundable OBC, and we’ll end up in Barcelona instead of Civitavecchia. Under Celebrity’s restrictions, we could not transfer our second booking to any of the 2024 cruises that interested us in other regions (South America, Panama Canal for example) so we’re taking the refund of our deposit. The end result for us is that we won’t have the anniversary celebration we’d wanted, but we will have a wonderful time on our highly modified journey. The end result for Celebrity is that instead of paying them appropriately 13k for the second leg of a b2b, we’ll spend some of that money on European lodging, dining and cultural attractions.

 

@Silkroad I'm just reading your changes and want to check something with you.

 

It looks like you had two Beyond sailings that were affected, but only rebooked one, and took the refund for the other. My understanding (of what I read in my email) is the OBC is per cabin (or suite, in your case). So for one rebooked, that's $200.

 

Did Celebrity give an additional courtesy, as little as it may be? Are you receiving $400 OBC?

 

I truly hope your Anniversary celebration is wonderful from this point forward.

 

[BlackLion 213]

48 minutes ago, D. B. said:

Celebrity is Not the only cruise line to Cancel whole seasons of a ships schedule.

 It has happened a lot lately with other cruise lines as they try to position ships where they believe the demand will Be in the future.

 

No argument there, but I have never read about other lines (or even Celebrity in the past) being so callous about doing so.

 

  

45 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Agreed.

 

And every time I have asked anything about airfares on here to a one people have said DO NOT BOOK RIGHT WHEN IT COMES OUT (exception being Southwest) because rates will drop. So choosing to book it the second it drops for international is all on that person.

 

Part of the offer from Celebrity is up to $350 pp reimbursement to guests with independent air arrangements.

 

So Celebrity is conscious of that issue. That doesn't preclude them from not offering it (the same way they have not offered price protection this time) the next time they make a redeployment decision.