Celebrity, We Hope You're Listening - HELP!

[Aussie Cruisers]

G'day Everyone,

 

Just wanted to fill everyone in on how X has been dealing (well, ignoring) our damaged bag saga. If anyone remembers - Katy and I were on a round-the-world trip, and before coming home to Sydney we dropped by NYC. We purchased two brand new suitcases and then filled them with goodies/presents etc, then cruised on the 8th January Infinity sailing from Florida to the Western Caribbean.

 

Had a lovely cruise, however when we left the ship and were collecting our bags, one of the medium sized cases had a corner of it totally ripped off - the wheel was missing completely, and the reinforcing steel had been severed. It must have been caught in a goods lift or something like that and been forced through, totally ruining the brand new bag. The contents of the bag were exposed. I spoke with an X representative, who while was very nice, had no resources to 'band-aid' the problem. The tape she gave was inadequate, and since we had been around the world and had many fragile things, we were worried about damage. Well, we filled in the reports and when we came home fortunately there was no breakage in the suitcases (thanks Qantas!!). I was asked to find a bag that was similar here in Australia to quote a replacement cost. We did, $100 would have replaced the bag. Then I had to get the cost of transfering the cheque from US to AUS dollars ($20) so I faxed them the details that it would cost them $120. Well, this was in January 2006.

 

Well, after writing, faxing and making several expensive calls - WE HAVE HEARD NOTHING! We have simply given up and while we liked our trip, the post cruise customer service STINKS. Maybe they think Non-Americans are so far away that we are not worth looking after. I can only guess since every call I get they expect me to jump through hoop after hoop. They even wanted a picture, letters and the rest of it. I told them that their own staff member viewed the bag, and filled in the report. Surely that would be good enough? Well I think they were hoping that we would just give up - and we have.

 

Thanks a lot Celebrity. You can tell that these two little first time customers will be taking their second time cruise dollars somewhere else.

 

If anyone knows of anything else we can do - please let us know!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Mark and Katy.

[suntan]

Mark and Katy: sorry to hear about your luggage problem. A word of advice: DO NOT GIVE UP. That's what they want you to do. Keep on them to reimburse you for your damaged luggage caused by their crew. If you booked your cruise through a travel agent, have he/she call Celebrity for you.

 

We filed a complaint with Celebrity in 2004 after our sailing on the Summit. Celebrity's first "attempt" at appeasing us took about 3 months. We felt that their offer was not satisfactory and neither did our travel agent, who took it upon herself to write to Celebrity and express her views and how she would present Celebrity in the future to prospective Celebrity cruisers. After another 2 months we got what we felt was the appropriate compensation.

 

Good luck!

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

Celebrity ruined a brand new bag that I have, when I disembarked off of Century a few weeks ago. I spoke with a woman in the loss assesment department right after the Cruise. She was as rude as could be, and it was obvious, she could clearly care less. She was even carrying on a conversation with someone else (I suppose at the next cubicle) and not listening to anything I said. So much for customer service.

 

Anyhow, she told me to fax them a letter explaining the damage, and I would hear back from them "soon". It has been about 3 weeks since the phone call, and I have not heard anything. Of course, I will be patient, and give it a few more weeks before I pursue it further.

 

My TA said I can file a claim with the insurance company, but I truly feel Celebrity should take care of it, as they did the damage. I hope it will get resolved, but I am not holding my breath.

 

Other than this small problem, we had a fantastic time on Century.

[LDeBord]

We just came home from our cruise. We had two pieces of luggage damaged. The one piece had a big gouge taken out of the corner and the other piece of luggage had the metal part at the bottom missing. I was upset because this was a brand new set that we received for Christmas. Another couple had wheels broken of their new set. After seeing them throw the luggage around....it doesn't surprise me. I agree that you shouldn't give up....that is what they want you to do.

[Moeve]

Did you perhaps have travel insurance that covers luggage too or you might check into your home insurance (I know I am missing the right word here) but there might be coverage there too. We have gone to buying cheap luggage since we loose at least one piece a year to airline or cruiseline damage.

[jerseygirl3]

I thought the baggage handling was done by the Port Authority. Am I mistaken? If that is the case, then Celebrity would not be responsible.

 

I'm assuming you had travel insurance for such an extensive cruise. You should be able to file a claim with them.

[Aussie Cruisers]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Katy and I have travelled a lot and while we had top travel insurance, we won't be making a claim from them as there is an excess that needs to be paid (more then the cost of a new bag). So, we will speak with our TA. However, there is no X office here in Oz. They have subcontracted their office to another company, and I don't think they will be too interested to help as prior to the trip we had a few special requests that never eventuated when we boarded. No biggies, but we got the idea that X gave no concern to us at all. While we enjoyed our trip, we feel that it was not a premium line, but rather above average. We are thinking of trying Princess next time as our family went with them and when comparing the two, they are very very similar - except the price (X is much more expensive).

 

Good luck to everyone else in getting your claims fixed! Next time we will be taking our solid plastic samsonite luggage that is totally indestructable! Only thing is it weighs 7 kilos, and since we are limited to 32 kilos, it is not the best option.

 

I work for Qantas airways, and their policy is SUPURB when dealing with damaged bags. Twice when travelling (on full fare, not staff travel) my bags were damaged (not on the Qantas sector, but AA) and they replaced the bags with ones of similar cost both times, within 24 hours. Once when AA lost my bags they were couried to my home hours after arriving back into Sydney.

Celebrity if you are reading this - we are definately telling people here in Oz to think more than twice before thinking of cruising with you. Your staff absolutely STINK when it comes to fixing up baggage damage claims!

 

Well everyone, have a Happy Easter and I think we will be building a bridge and getting over it.

 

Mark and Katy.

[ocngypz]

Unlike travel insurance policies issued here in NA, other policies worldwide do have deductibles.

 

Depending on the manufacturer, some offer warrantees. I had a set by American Tourister which was damaged. They were very good about at first fixing the damage. When they couldn't fix it, they replaced it. At that time, they considered "gorilla" handling to be normal event and built their luggage withstand the turmoil.

 

My current set of Samsonite (soft side) has held up great these past 5 years. I have witnessed handling which would have broken my bones, and this set hasn't ripped or otherwise broken. Wheew...

 

Good luck.

[Aussie Cruisers]

Thanks mate, but I don't think we even have the receipt anymore. We are just over it, and to be honest, we have more improtant things to do than spend more money chasing it up with expensive international phone calls. To date, the calls and faxes have cost about $20. So, the more we chase it up the more it will cost us and the more they will stonewall us.

 

Anyway, we will just go with Princess next time. The money we save will go towards a new bag!

 

Happy Easter.

[bassque]

Aussie Cruisers--Sorry to hear of your loss but you are correct in your views regarding X's complete disregard of passenger complaints. If you check my post regarding money and jewelry burglarized from safes on Century you will see that we have received the exact same "stonewalling" and total lack of communication you have experienced. No one has bothered to contact us in any manner. Yours is not a unique problem. Good luck.

[Aussie Cruisers]

Sorry to read about your probs bassque - I would not know what to do as obviously they close ranks (or as you Americans would say - circle the wagons) when they are in strife. It seems as though they just think firstly that everyone is a liar, and since most people give up, they think that since people give up they must have been to begin with.

 

Good luck with your complaint.

[Andy]

Unlike travel insurance policies issued here in NA, other policies worldwide do have deductibles.

 

Depending on the manufacturer, some offer warrantees. I had a set by American Tourister which was damaged. They were very good about at first fixing the damage. When they couldn't fix it, they replaced it. At that time, they considered "gorilla" handling to be normal event and built their luggage withstand the turmoil.

 

My current set of Samsonite (soft side) has held up great these past 5 years. I have witnessed handling which would have broken my bones, and this set hasn't ripped or otherwise broken. Wheew...

 

Good luck.

 

Hi Everyone !

 

One comment about American Tourister.... The bag that I mentioned that was damaged by Celebrity, is an American Tourister bag. When I called them (in case Celebrity would not take care of this), they said I had to drop off the bag at an official American Tourister repair center (not a dealer). The nearest place is about 90 minutes from here, and they said it had to be dropped off, AND picked up when it was repaired. In all honesty, I feel that is pretty ridiculous. I asked if there was ANY other way, and they said no. At the end of the day, I feel that the warranty is basically worthless, the way they have it set up, and I would never buy American Tourister luggage again.

 

I still feel that Celebrity should repair the bag, as it is less than a year old, and was in excellent shape before this happened. That is all I want. It has been over a month since my letter to Celebrity, and there has been no reply. I will probably give them a call next week, and see if they have any plans to respond, or assist me.

 

Would I sail with Celebrity again because of this ? Of course I would :). But, I do feel they should show that they care... even just a little.