Ascent Private Charter for Just 600 Passengers

[jelayne]

55 minutes ago, rotoal said:

I hope I didn't miss the answer to this question - but I think that a 12 night cruise was cancelled (after some people had purchased plane tickets and had made other arrangements), what happens to the ship the rest of the time?   Does it take that long for the crew to clean up after 600 very privileged guests?

The people booked on this cruise were notified about the charter late September 2023.  From what I can determine from the roll call, which was not very active, some moved to other sailings, some moved to the same itinerary for this year.  
 From past experience we have had price protection to move to a select number of sailing, reimbursed for air changes and mileage reinstatement  charges and some OBC.  No details on the Roll Call on exactly what they were offered.   
 

As to the 6 days without passengers, it possible that the charter fell within the 12 day period, not necessarily coinciding with the start of the original itinerary,  it could be the charter was for what would have been day 4 - day 9.  Not leaving enough days for a sailing that many would book.  Pretty sure the charter paid for the lost revenue for the extra days, the cost of accommodating already booked passengers and staff salaries for the entire 12 days.
 

 

 

[Jeremiah1212]

On 9/29/2023 at 8:21 AM, Jeremiah1212 said:

Everyone booked gets cancelled. The ‘partial charter’ that gets mentioned here is not a thing. A charter is the full ship. Anything else is a group.
 

Disappointing for sure, but this is very uncommon especially within a year from the sail date and since the sailing was relatively full. Someone paid a huge amount of money for this. They are paying for the ship + meeting revenue goals for the ship + canceled guest compensation. 

 

 

This is what I had posted back in September when guest cancelations went out. Now we know who it was that paid the huge sum. The original sail date as May 27th and the next sailing isn't until June 8th. It's possible another group has the ship in between but I can't find anything. 

 

Considering Katy Perry and Guru Rundawa are onboard entertainment I can't imagine paying an extra 6 days would put a dent in anyones account. 

[GeewizX4]

My wife and I had this sailing reserved which coincides with our 30th anniversary. We received the below letter. We were able to book the same itinerary departing September 2nd but it was honestly a nightmare as what was originally booked never migrated to the new reservation e.g. all-included, original rate, etc. It took several calls to resolve all of these issues and to see the OBC applied but all good for now (changing flights was a whole different story. Fingers crossed. It is good to finally see who bumped us!

 

Dear Celebrity Guest, 

 

We are reaching out to inform you that, regrettably, due to high demand for onboard venues by various large groups and to ensure the best experience for all guests onboard, we must cancel our Celebrity Ascent® May 27, 2024 sailing. We understand the time and effort that go into planning a cruise, and we sincerely apologize for the impact to your vacation plans. We are here to support you and provide immediate assistance with rebooking you on another Celebrity cruise or making it easy for you to make alternate arrangements.

 

Options Available to You: 

• Rebook any Celebrity Cruises sailing in 2024 or 2025 at the same rate as your Celebrity Ascent sailing, in the same stateroom type (the only exceptions are Holiday* or Galapagos sailings). Once you have decided on your new sailing, you will also be provided with an onboard credit of $400 per standard stateroom or $800 per Retreat stateroom. 
• Any promotions included on your deposited Celebrity Ascent reservation will also be honored on your new sailing reservation. 
• If you have already purchased airline tickets or pre-purchased transportation to make it to your cruise, we will be happy to reimburse change fees up to $350 per person. Just email a copy of your receipts to refunds@celebrity.com Attn: “Re-accommodation Desk AT 5/27/24” 
• If you are unable to rebook your cruise at this time, we will provide a full refund to your original form of payment for any amounts paid on the reservation. 

 

Please feel free to contact our specialized assistance desk at 1-800-556-8209 to adjust your cruise reservation to a new sailing by October 11, 2023. If we do not hear from you by this date, to make this process easier for you, we will refund any monies paid on your reservation to the original form of payment. Thank you for understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you aboard soon for an unforgettable vacation experience.

 

Sincerely,

Celebrity Cruises 

 

[mahdnc]

23 minutes ago, GeewizX4 said:

My wife and I had this sailing reserved which coincides with our 30th anniversary. We received the below letter. We were able to book the same itinerary departing September 2nd but it was honestly a nightmare as what was originally booked never migrated to the new reservation e.g. all-included, original rate, etc. It took several calls to resolve all of these issues and to see the OBC applied but all good for now (changing flights was a whole different story. Fingers crossed. It is good to finally see who bumped us!

 

Dear Celebrity Guest, 

 

We are reaching out to inform you that, regrettably, due to high demand for onboard venues by various large groups and to ensure the best experience for all guests onboard, we must cancel our Celebrity Ascent® May 27, 2024 sailing. We understand the time and effort that go into planning a cruise, and we sincerely apologize for the impact to your vacation plans. We are here to support you and provide immediate assistance with rebooking you on another Celebrity cruise or making it easy for you to make alternate arrangements.

 

Options Available to You: 

• Rebook any Celebrity Cruises sailing in 2024 or 2025 at the same rate as your Celebrity Ascent sailing, in the same stateroom type (the only exceptions are Holiday* or Galapagos sailings). Once you have decided on your new sailing, you will also be provided with an onboard credit of $400 per standard stateroom or $800 per Retreat stateroom. 
• Any promotions included on your deposited Celebrity Ascent reservation will also be honored on your new sailing reservation. 
• If you have already purchased airline tickets or pre-purchased transportation to make it to your cruise, we will be happy to reimburse change fees up to $350 per person. Just email a copy of your receipts to refunds@celebrity.com Attn: “Re-accommodation Desk AT 5/27/24” 
• If you are unable to rebook your cruise at this time, we will provide a full refund to your original form of payment for any amounts paid on the reservation. 

 

Please feel free to contact our specialized assistance desk at 1-800-556-8209 to adjust your cruise reservation to a new sailing by October 11, 2023. If we do not hear from you by this date, to make this process easier for you, we will refund any monies paid on your reservation to the original form of payment. Thank you for understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you aboard soon for an unforgettable vacation experience.

 

Sincerely,

Celebrity Cruises 

 

 

Thank you for sharing the letter.  I am sorry you were impacted.