My letter to Celebrity on Mercury March 17th/the phone response from Customer Service

[Black Obsidian]

You're correct that I came here with a fairly positive view of Celebrity (beautiful ships and the very appealing "Concierge Class" service). And while I know that one should ignore some unhappy comments (the people who come along and make outrageous accusations as their first post, for example), but two entire botched cruises with no (or even worse, selective) compensation... is a bit much.

I'm sure that Celebrity can and does run great cruises. But for a first-time cruiser (or anyone not heavily invested in sailing with Celebrity), the market is super-saturated with choices. A dozen major lines, sailing a hundred ships, and that's not counting the smaller guys. If you're looking to make a choice and have a lot of good options, you look for even small things to help you decide. And Celebrity's apparent turn towards "When it's good, it's great, but when it's bad, may your deity of choice help you" is not exactly a small thing.

And yes, Celebrity did choose this path themselves. The passengers/sailings that they've agreed to compensate, they're most likely doing it less to make those people happy, and more so they can point and say, "See! If things go wrong, we'll take care of you!" when and if the issue blows up in the media (assuming it hasn't already).

 

Oh, and thank you very much for the happy wishes! We've narrowed down the destination to Alaska (although still have plenty of choices about line, ship, and itinerary), and either July or August 2007. We're getting married the 23rd of June, and don't feel the need to leave on honeymoon right away; we'd rather spend some time moving in together, getting settled, buying a car, and all the little details of newly-married life that probably haven't even occurred to us yet.

[Ma Bell]

Nan - you mentioned in another thread about RCCL stockholders. You know, I bet you most of the people that cruise Celebrity are stockholders - whether they know it or not. It is certainly a stock held in many mutual funds, 401Ks, etc. Makes it harder for invididuals to opt out but, they could certainly start letting their fund managers know there displeasure. Imagine the losses to RCCL if these giant funds and retirement programs decided to divest themselves of this stock!

 

I do think the repercussions Celebrity will experience from this fiasco with be widespread and long lasting. And could have been so easily avoided!

 

Yes, let's all hope an excellent cruiseline goes out of business because they had a norovirus situation that was controlled by overzealous cleaning.

 

I was on your side up to this point, but this is far from a fiasco that will be widespread and lasting. I'm sure if you get some compensation, all will be forgiven and if it isn't why should they bother. Yes your cruise was compromised and it could have been handled better, but this is a little over the top. I hope they give you something because it's a shame you had the problem but this really is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

[JohnVC]

I think that it is amazing that your have remained so calm in spite of all the circumstances you have so eloquently written about. I am also new to cruising. I will be going on my very first one this August, on RCCL's Explorer. We booked our trip last December, and like many people in the modern computer age - I went online to research our choices before making a decision. One of the best sites I ever could have found was this one, and even though we are sailing on RCCL I still read posts for many of the other cruise lines.

 

We are sailing with 5 people this August, have 2 balcony cabins at a cost of around $9,000, have already put down $2,000 for excursions and I am guessing will spend another couple of grand on board for drinks etc...

 

I am the type of customer they will lose (or never get a chance to get) if they fail to pay attention to this board, proper customer service or folks like you.

 

Keep on fighting for what you believe in.

 

John

[NanD]

Ma Bell~ I'm sorry we're losing your support. You've commented on this thread a number of times and have always been very fair, even in disagreement. Thank you.

Nan

[SandyMc]

See - that's why I said Nan was the levelheaded one here for the 3/17 cruisers!

 

I am so sorry you took offense at my discussion of stockholders. It certainly was not stated to be a threat or an assumption that they could or even should be forced out of business. I was just voicing a thought after reading many complaints in various threads on this board where the poster indicates they are RCCL stockholders.

 

As amazing as it may seem, this issue does not rule my life and I will continue to love cruising, compensated by Celebrity or not. What drives me most here is just the blatant disregard for their passengers. Do I want them to go out of business - of course not! For many people they are the cruise line of choice and I think they should love Celebrity forever (or until they too have a customer service issue - whichever comes first).

[CruiserJen]

It's sad to say, but it looks like the lesson learned is, if a major problem ever arises on ship again -- call the news media and corporate immediately. :eek:

 

Yes... let's all pledge that if Noro of some other major issue arises during our cruise.... we'll email Celebrity while on board (many times)... and personally invite Dan down for the next Noro party...

 

woo hoo.........

 

Sorry to hear of your 3/17 illness... We just returned from Galaxy and there was no apparent illness among pax during our cruise... X did leave letters in each stateroom stating that Noro had been a problem in previous weeks on board Galaxy & they were working with CDC to eliminate the problem. They announced precautions against Noro like a broken record the first few days, then let up. The staff was religious in ensuring everyone used the sanitizers before entering the dining room. There was lots of evidence of cleaning common areas that were unoccupied. The vigilence seemed to work.

 

That being said... I overheard a staff member telling one of the officers towards the end of our cruise that the illness rate was up to 10-12 crew members per day & they were working out a schedule to cover all the necessary duties... So maybe it isn't coming from the passengers as X always implies ...

 

Jenna

[cmecruise1962]

As I mentioned in previous posts...I too was a first time cruiser on the 3/17 bleach cruise...but I had my second cruise already booked with my sister on Carnival. I made a big deal about how I was going to be treated "famously" on my first cruise...and then be on the "Walmart" cruise second. I leave in two weeks, and I can only say...it will probably be easy for Carnival to do better than Celebrity...and I will make sure that everyone knows that. I am really a talker! :eek:

[Texasannie]

Hope you have a wonderful time on your Carnival cruise! My first cruise was on the Carnival Celebration many years ago and I definitely had a much better time than on the 3/17 bleach cruise. And that was a Spring Break cruise that no one should have to endure!!!!

 

I have waited patiently for almost a month now for a response from Celebrity and have received not a word. (They did respond to my complaints to a major cruise agency where we purchased our tickets, but it was no more than "it wasn't their fault there was a virus aboard our ship" kind of response.)

 

The best kind of ship is one where everyone (the crew, the room staff, the waiters, and the bartenders) remembers your name, what you drink, the group you travel with, where you're from, and the things you have done while on their ship.) We have found that always with Holland America, which makes them pretty special in our book. They certainly put the customer first in every situation. Celebrity obviously never trained their personnel to add the "personal" touch to any of their services. We were deeply disappointed in our first Celebrity cruise, not only because of the outrageous way they handled the bleaching, but because they treated the pax as if they were part of the problem on board. Certainly not "famous" as they advertise!):(

[tarheelmjfan]

Hope you have a wonderful time on your Carnival cruise! My first cruise was on the Carnival Celebration many years ago and I definitely had a much better time than on the 3/17 bleach cruise. And that was a Spring Break cruise that no one should have to endure!!!!

 

I have waited patiently for almost a month now for a response from Celebrity and have received not a word. (They did respond to my complaints to a major cruise agency where we purchased our tickets, but it was no more than "it wasn't their fault there was a virus aboard our ship" kind of response.)

 

The best kind of ship is one where everyone (the crew, the room staff, the waiters, and the bartenders) remembers your name, what you drink, the group you travel with, where you're from, and the things you have done while on their ship.) We have found that always with Holland America, which makes them pretty special in our book. They certainly put the customer first in every situation. Celebrity obviously never trained their personnel to add the "personal" touch to any of their services. We were deeply disappointed in our first Celebrity cruise, not only because of the outrageous way they handled the bleaching, but because they treated the pax as if they were part of the problem on board. Certainly not "famous" as they advertise!):(

 

We were on the 4/7 Mercury cruise. We were less than thrilled with our experience, as well. That said, you should give one of Celebrity's other ships a try. The Mercury experience was not representative of what we've experienced on the other ships. We have been treated wonderfully on the other ships. So much so that even though we won't be sailing Mercury again anytime soon, we have 2 Century & 1 Summit cruise booked & can't wait to go. :)

[AFT_LOVER]

But you are getting the same low ball treatment as I am getting from Celebrity. I was on 11.20 Summit sailing Trans canal. 4th day into the cruise in Acapulco, after watching the cliff divers, we return to the ship & a very long line, mostly senior reboarding. 98 degree at 1PM & they did have refreshments & iced towels to chill down. But the garbage cans were on opposite sides of the gangway. So cups go left, towels go right & the gangway comes smashing my left foot cracking 3 toes & tearing ligaments from ankle to toes. Husband is yelling to get it off my foot as it is moving digging deeper feeling like I may lost my toes. People jumped in to lift the gangway off my foot, no crew members. But one did show to wrap an iced towel on my foot & tell us to get bags of ice for my foot in our stateroom. I asked where the Doctor's office was & he said I won't need it. Husband was ready to carry me when another older man in Celebrity jersey showed & they got me into the ship. The Purser saw my foot & called the Doctor who told us to come right in. No accident report was filed by the crew so he called Head of Security named Robert to write on up. We booked this 15 months in advance to get the CC AFT stateroom. We had 9201 on Constellation & Infinity & there was no noise, no pressure washing of floors & furniture. My TA was quite ticked when all 5 of her booking filed complaints & got shrugged off.

 

A month later, after I mailed Dan Hanrahan & Richard Fain letter of the accident & how bad our $6000 Concierge Class AFT stateroom was with teak floor bar atop us, never told to our TA, and they pressure wash it twice a night making for garbage & very smelly water drying on it & our padded furniture.

 

My husband called the Hotel Director to move us immediately, no response, then the injury & 10 days in bed I might as well go home. They refused to get us home. We also had the Member cruise of 5/20 booked in same stateroom, which we know we are not doing twice. So we canceled it with the booking agent onboard.

 

Even our $400 shipboard credit wasn't there, Celebrity moved it to 5/20 sailing, and our TA got us dinner to the Olympia restaurant which

Celebrity charged us the next day $120 for it. So I have nicknamed it Carnival Summit with how bad the ship & its crew were.

 

To this date I have received -0- from them for the injury, the bad stateroom, the actions of their employees. No word from Hanrahan or Fain, just a letter from Joan Bernheimer telling me I am getting 20% off my next cruise. What an insult! CSA travel insurance gave us 10 days credit.

 

So I booked Jewel of the Seas 5/14 Scandinavia/Baltic cruise & as Diamond members we got diamond pins, diamond member luggage tags, we get FREE cappuccino, letter, espresso 24/7 & 5-9PM free top shelf cocktails nights, free excursion valued at $156 (nice gift). Elite members of Celebrity pay for theirs. Will be a great member cruise with gift exchange at their CC meet everyone 5/15.

 

Now Celebrity is offering S Pacific & New Zealand/Australia cruises out of Honolulu and it better be Constellation, the greatest ship they have, doing it. Never again on Summit.

[NanD]

Black Obsidian~ Thanks for the additional details...an Alaskan cruise sounds wonderful. With all the research you've been doing, I know when you make a final decision on the ship/itinerary, etc., you'll be comfortable with the choice. Just six weeks until June 23rd! Congratulations!

 

JohnVC~ Your encouragement is greatly appreciated. We'll keep trying to get Celebrity to do what we believe is the right thing. You're certainly correct about the value of sites like CC. There's tons of information and a ready supply of folks willing to put in their two cents. On our first cruise I was so prepared, and would argue it was the equivalent of having an extra day of vacation. If we'd just shown up at the ship with our luggage and smiles, I think we'd have been initially overwhelmed with all the info on possibilites. As it was, we were ready to hit the ground running. Hope everything on the Explorer is wonderful. Let us know.

 

MACOP~ I'm sorry you had so many problems on the Summit cruise. To find so many things unsatisfactory and be injured, as well, is a lousy combination. All this apparently didn't cure you from cruising... glad your last experience was so much better. I would agree Celebrity could improve customer service. Many on our cruise who wrote immediately upon our return almost seven weeks ago have heard nothing, so guess it's no surprise that our group letter sent two weeks ago is in the same status.

 

 

 

Nan

[SandyMc]

I haven't received my letter yet but read what you received. What can I say? It saddens me that they have so blatantly discriminated again a whole cruise ship of passengers and I do think we should continue to pursue the issue.

 

Since we returned from our trip, I feel the whole tone of this board has changed and that Mercury passengers are not the only ones unhappy with the total lack of customer service offered by Celebrity. To date, we have never received any acknowledgement of our first letter sent shortly after the cruise.

 

This is supposed to be an upscale cruiseline but even their owner, RCCL, is more responsive to its passengers. I am so sorry they have apparently fallen so far but, given our experience, I can certainly understand why!

[NanD]

SandyMc~ Needless to say, I'm disappointed. Many people have been kind to compliment me on my calm style in taking on this issue. Since we are aware others on our cruise with identical circumstances have received compensation, I wonder if what our group needed was a more strident voice. The main issue of the letter was a comparison of 3/17 and 3/27, and X says one was worse. It's hard to prove otherwise. However, compensating some and not others on our cruise is another matter. When our group letter was written, we were unaware of this. That point appears to be the issue now. Frankly, had we known the facts earlier, it would have been the initial issue. I'll be thinking.

Nan

[Ma Bell]

I'm sure you must all have each others' email addresses and think you really should keep pursuing this together. I would imagine that even on the same cruise there were some whose problems were worse than others. How many of the 1800 people aboard signed your group letter? Are you asking for compensation for everyone on board? Since we have only heard from a few people who were on board I was curious as to how many were looking for compensation.

[SandyMc]

I cannot speak for everyone of the 3/17 cruisers who signed Nan's letter to the cruiseline but I absolutely believe they owe compensation to ALL the passengers on that cruise - not just a few.

 

Since my biggest issue here has been the discrimination shown by the cruiseline over this issue, it would never occur to me to expect less!

[NanD]

Hello Ma Bell~ I can answer a couple of your questions. There were 38 signatures on the letter. An additional eight contacted me too late to be added. The vast majority were people who were part of our original roll call. The request was made for everyone who was on the ship for the 3/17 sailing, not only those who signed the letter. The people on our cruise who came forward to me about having received compensation were very clear they had not been ill or had damages. Examples are a case where the TA complained to X and the result was future cruise vouchers; another person sent me copies of their personal letter letter, with enclosures of press stories, CDC cleaning protocol information, etc. Celebrity awarded them 25% off a future cruise. Their situations aboard the ship were truly the same as the rest of us, but their approach brought a better result for them.

Nan