Summit Alaskan cruise disappointment (MERGER OF 5 THREADS ON THIS TOPIC)

[Drew B]

. I could understand a partial refund because many people cannot cruise again within the time period offered but a full refund...ridiculous. I wouldn't take it if offered because I would feel like a thief.

 

That's what I said whilst people were demanding it. I DON'T think $200 per stateroom was the right number, though. When they added the 30% off the future cruise, I was pretty satisfied, but would have been much more so if that had been done in the first place...

[carolmacey]

Carol, Lloyds of London is a major insurance carrier and ship's registry for ships as is a company called Assuranceforingard. Both companies require vessels to be inspected no matter where in the world the ship is at. What you were told about Lloyds had nothing to do with the problems that occured with the pods. It so happened that RCI/Celebrity had to let the Lloyds inspectors look at the ship in San Francisco. These are routine inspections and should not be considered whether or not they were considering it seaworthy.

 

 

Anita

 

Maybe I was wrong in my understanding. Does anyone else from the cruise remember being told the inspection was routine or scheduled, or was it to check out the pod?

Carol

[cechase]

If this is supposed to be the real story why don't you just let the people from this cruise tell their story.

 

Apparently you guys who were not on the cruise seem to feel that the people who were on it are not allowed to have an opinion that differs from how you think you would react to the same cruise experience. You were not there and you don't know what the conditions were really like and you really do not know how you would react unless you were there.

 

No wonder Celebrity is in such bad shape these days - it seems to have a loyal bunch of people who will put up with anything Celebrity is dishing out that day. However, it appears from this Board that huge numbers of people are now speaking up and all they get is a flaming response from you rather than any support. So they will go elsewhere for a better cruise experience and you will be left with your backside sticking up in the air asking Celebrity to stick it to you once again keeping things just as they are.

 

If you look at the most common threads for any other Board you will not see the complaints that you are seeing on Celebrity these days. Something is obviously broke and if you don't let these people speak up it will never get fixed.

 

A large number speaking up!!!!? I can count the number on this board thus far on one hand and have some fingers left! No BS. And those of us who have cruised on Celebrity for a number of times are entitled to our opinions and will not be silenced. It should be noted, that the complainers that we have seen posting are posting their first, second, third, forth postings on Cruise Critic. Makes one suspicious - hmmm!

[Drew B]

I have no idea. I thought that they probably had to inspect anytime anything mechanical went wrong in order to make sure it's safe (could you even IMAGINE the liability if a ship full of people were all killed, God forbid?).

 

I believe wholeheartedly that the ship was safe, but that's only part of the equation...

[Drew B]

A large number speaking up!!!!? I can count the number on this board thus far on one hand and have some fingers left! No BS. And those of us who have cruised on Celebrity for a number of times are entitled to our opinions and will not be silenced. It should be noted, that the complainers that we have seen posting are posting their first, second, third, forth postings on Cruise Critic. Makes one suspicious - hmmm!

 

I don't know if I'm being counted among the "complainers" or not, as I have had both good and bad things to say. Onboard, I was definitely NOT a complainer, and was frankly quite annoyed with how the complainers interfered with my enjoyment.

 

HOWEVER, I think it's important to understand that people are much more likely to post about something like this that is dramatic and volatile than just to say "Had a great time. Loved the souffle."

 

For me, this is the first cruise I've taken since I discovered Cruise Critic. While I have certainly posted more than a handful of times prior to the cruise, it makes sense to me that I'd post more afterwards. I don't think there's anything suspicious about people who haven't posted much suddenly doing so, and I don't think that makes their point of view less valid.

[griswalds]

I see we disagree and that is ok. My settlement is based on the following:

1. X knew the ship had problems before they left home port.

2. X withheld info to passengers

3. M ships have a history of breakdowns

4. This is not a weather issue

5. They missed the Hubbard glacier by 5 miles

 

If this was a weather related issue I would be happy with anything from a sorry over the PA to a free sasparilla, nothing more.

 

I expect a true Griswald experience when I cruise.

 

Griswalds

 

 

 

 

If I were on the cruise I would be very happy to have a $200 onboard credit and the 30% off a future cruise. I could understand a partial refund because many people cannot cruise again within the time period offered but a full refund...ridiculous. I wouldn't take it if offered because I would feel like a thief.

[FinelyCruising]

MaBell....but it we thought of it as an upgrade...then WOW, what an upgrade! Woohooo!!!

 

Seriously, I am with you, I think what was provided was fair and appropriate, based on the circumsatnces, all things considered.

 

But then again...I don't make friends too easy... :o

[florida_cruiser]

And those of us who have cruised on Celebrity for a number of times are entitled to our opinions and will not be silenced.

 

I guess I must have missed that part in the cruise contract or does that become your right after having Celebrity stick it to you so many times. Explain to us exactly how you know what it was like on that cruise and that it couldn't possibly have been as bad as the people who were there are stating. Are you also trying to say that we are not allowed to have opinions unless we have cruised Celebrity a number of times. Once is enough for most of us and we are just trying to spread the word to unsupecting non-corrupted new cruisers in the spirit by which these boards were created - sharing of information.

[Ma Bell]

I see we disagree and that is ok. My settlement is based on the following:

1. X knew the ship had problems before they left home port.

2. X withheld info to passengers

3. M ships have a history of breakdowns

4. This is not a weather issue

5. They missed the Hubbard glacier by 5 miles

 

If this was a weather related issue I would be happy with anything from a sorry over the PA to a free sasparilla, nothing more.

 

I expect a true Griswald experience when I cruise.

 

Griswalds

 

!. I doubt that they even knew the extent of the problem.

 

2. What would you like them to say? We may have a problem, but were not

sure.

3. Yes they do and most of the cruises are uneventful. I've been on 23 and never had a breakdown while on board. One was canceled a couple of months before.

 

4. There are lots of other problems besides weather.

 

5. They saw it, just not up close. It's a shame they couldn't make it.

 

6. They completed the sailing and the passengers were fed and entertained and saw most of the ports. The service was good and if they wanted to, the passengers had a wonderful time.

 

7. They got a $200 on board credit and 30% off a future cruise as well as an open bar for two hours. As I said a partial refund would not be out of the question.

 

There is no way they deserve a full refund for this cruise.

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I hosted a group of 24 people on the Summit. We had a great time, the crew was excellent and I could recommend the ship EXCEPT for the miserable PR displayed by management. Let me point out some facts.

 

#2. Management purposely docked the ship in Vancouver at an commercial facility in the middle of no where to avoid expected publicity coverage. Baggage, transportation, embarkation was a disaster. This punished the 1200 non-mutiny travelers such as ourselves to protect their selfish interests. We had no where to go. Our planned day of touring Vancouver was spent sitting at the airport for 6 hours.

 

We knew before departing that Ballantyne Pier was where we were scheduled to dock. Found it on Port Vancouver website

http://www.portvancouver.com/vanAlaCruise/content/schedule/index.php

and you can see it there still. Ballantyne Pier is only a mile or two from Canada Place. Sorry you missed touring Vancouver due to debarkation problems. We missed our Quickshuttle to Seattle also. Fortunately Quickshuttle transported us to another one they diverted from being a downtown and ports shuttle to an Express to Seattle/Tacoma Airport.

 

#3. Offering each passenger $100 and an hour of free drinks (at noon

time!) is insulting. They may as well offered free food for the rest of the trip. The later addition of a "possible 30% discount" on a future cruise sounds like GM & Ford advertising. This is not an option for the approximately 700-800 foreign travelers who spent heavily to see all of what the trip was supposed to offer.

 

It was actually $100 + $15.68 taxes returned per passenger. The Open Bar was for TWO hours.

 

The 30% discount on a future cruise within 18 months WAS a fact and was put in writing in a letter delivered to each stateroom. The certificate is to be mailed in 4 to 6 weeks. As to the value of this to some passengers, that's another story.

 

Capt'n Cruise and the Crewsers

 

Not to cause controversy, just correcting information.

[florida_cruiser]

Your post has me wanting to ask a few follow-up questions for you, as the host of a 24 pax group and everyone else who was booked on Summit:

1. Did you not know that Summit has a pod/bearings issues in the past and this specific mechanical problem has a history of reoccuring?
   
2. Did you not know that in the spring of 2002, three different M-Class ships had to either alter their intenararies including missing/changing ports and/or cancelling cruises?
   
3. Did you not know that RCI and Rolls-Royce has a pending $300 million lawsuit over the pod bearing issues and Rolls-Royce's inability of find a permenant and lasting fix to the problems?
   
4. Did you know that Milli was the first to have pod issues back in 2001.
   
5. Did you know that a simple search of Google can locate about 300,000 difference pages with the words "Celebrity Pod Problem History"

 

Again are you trying to suggest that if people are aware of these conditions that they should not book the cruise? Are these ships then simply for people who do not take the time to verify that they have mechanical problems and that the chances of sh** happening are far greater than on other cruise lines or ships?

 

Would seem to me if Celebrity was such a great company with great customer service that they would post a note on the itinerary of these ships indicating that for the past few years they have had to curtail ports, cancel cruises etc due to an inherent mechanical problem with their ships. To me that would be a fair warning and then the customer could decide whether they were willing to take a chance.

[FinelyCruising]

....sure like booking the MD80 and suggesting that while they have had some crashes that resulted in multiple passenger deaths, they have installed fixes to the rudder problems, but disclaim that they may not have been 100% effective in their fix...so....Fly at your own risk.

 

Given the mechanical transportation failures that can take place, I'd take the missed-port-pod-problem...and forego the worst-case-scenairo part, plus the discounts offered to cruise the line again after not hitting the iceberg.

 

But that's just silly old me....

[florida_cruiser]

....sure like booking the MD80 and suggesting that while they have had some crashes that resulted in multiple passenger deaths, they have installed fixes to the rudder problems, but disclaim that they may not have been 100% effective in their fix...so....Fly at your own risk.

 

This is essentially what Celebrity is saying - we have no permenant fix for our problem so cruise at your risk and if we do break down - tough luck you should have known better

 

If the M class ships were airplanes the FAA would have grounded them years ago. The cruise lines register their ships in foreign countries to avoid being regulated by the US and its consumer protection laws for conditions just like these.

[fleckle]

The continual problems on this cruise, day after day, were hardly a matter of only missing two ports. To set the record straight, a complete description of everything that went wrong throughout the cruise would fill numerous pages. The details will probably become public after all the legal issues are resolved.

 

Those of us who have loved cruising with Celebrity in the past know very well how wonderful "The Celebrity Treatment" can be. Unfortunately, we did not receive it on this cruise.

 

Much of the display of passenger discontent was a direct result of the way we were treated by the ship's Hotel Director and Cruise Director. Piled on top of the mechanical problems the ship was experiencing, their condescending and insufferable attitude only exacerbated the situation by adding insult to injury.

 

For many of the passengers who had come from distant countries throughout the world, and probably even for some Americans and Canadians, this was a once-in-a-lifetime Alaska cruise. The routing and schedule changes caused the passengers to miss much of the itinerary's best opportunities for viewing scenery and wildlife. Many of us had researched the route in detail and chose this particular cruise specifically for its itinerary. We were well aware of the scenic attractions that were missed, as well as those that we cruised past in the darkness of night, unable to see them despite being right there.

 

The majority of the passengers on this cruise were deeply disappointed and frustrated, first because they did not receive the cruise they had purchased and paid for; secondly because they felt they had been deliberately deceived; and thirdly because of the despicable way they were treated when they tried to voice their concerns in a civil and orderly manner.

 

Now they are being criticized by some because they were unwilling to stick their heads in the sand (or in this case, the martini bar) and pretend that everything was just hunky-dory when clearly it was not.

 

Perhaps the minority, like the poster who claimed to be pleased with the $200 onboard credit, either had very low expectations, or else were simply oblivious to all the things that went wrong on this cruise. I wonder if these people display that same cheery, Pollyanna attitude, declaring that they will accept and enjoy whatever they get and make the best of it, when they purchase a vehicle or appliance that turns out to be defective.

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Maybe I was wrong in my understanding. Does anyone else from the cruise remember being told the inspection was routine or scheduled, or was it to check out the pod?

Carol

 

Hi Carol,

 

That is the way I remember it. No mention of pod or maintenance.

[Old Sea Legs]

The cruise lines register their ships in foreign countries to avoid being regulated by the US and its consumer protection laws for conditions just like these.

 

Unfortunately the cruise lines cannot register their ships in the US unless they are built in the US, US owned, and crewed (I think the requirement is 90%) by US citizens. "NCL America" is an exception to the the first requirement (US built) due to a deal between the CEO of NCL and a certain senator from Hawaii. NCL did have to form a separate corporation (NCL America) for their Hawaii ships but the rest of their fleet may not be us flagged.

[aarrcc2]

Perhaps the minority, like the poster who claimed to be pleased with the $200 onboard credit, either had very low expectations, or else were simply oblivious to all the things that went wrong on this cruise. I wonder if these people display that same cheery, Pollyanna attitude, declaring that they will accept and enjoy whatever they get and make the best of it, when they purchase a vehicle or appliance that turns out to be defective.

 

I guess I must be one of the people with the Pollyanna attitude but I'm not ashamed of the fact that I appreciated the beautiful weather we had in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, Hubbard Glacier and the Inside Passage. Yes, having that kind of weather (after 3 prior less than perfect Alaskan weather trips), to truly enjoy the beauty of Alaska allowed me to overcome my disappointment at not seeing Sitka and Seattle. Anyone who has researched their trip thoroughly would know that pouring rain and fog are prevalent in Alaska and not conducive to sightseeing. I do not have low expectations when I travel but I am realistic enough to not expect an Alaskan vacation (or any vacation) to be perfect.

 

Please just answer me one question: After being on a 13 day cruise with wonderful service, food, and entertainment, what do you think is fair compensation beyond the $200 cabin credit and 30% future cruise credit we have already received? Just what would it take to satisfy you?

[FlyingTiger]

The continual problems on this cruise, day after day, were hardly a matter of only missing two ports. To set the record straight, a complete description of everything that went wrong throughout the cruise would fill numerous pages. The details will probably become public after all the legal issues are resolved.

 

Those of us who have loved cruising with Celebrity in the past know very well how wonderful "The Celebrity Treatment" can be. Unfortunately, we did not receive it on this cruise.

 

Much of the display of passenger discontent was a direct result of the way we were treated by the ship's Hotel Director and Cruise Director. Piled on top of the mechanical problems the ship was experiencing, their condescending and insufferable attitude only exacerbated the situation by adding insult to injury.

 

For many of the passengers who had come from distant countries throughout the world, and probably even for some Americans and Canadians, this was a once-in-a-lifetime Alaska cruise. The routing and schedule changes caused the passengers to miss much of the itinerary's best opportunities for viewing scenery and wildlife. Many of us had researched the route in detail and chose this particular cruise specifically for its itinerary. We were well aware of the scenic attractions that were missed, as well as those that we cruised past in the darkness of night, unable to see them despite being right there.

 

The majority of the passengers on this cruise were deeply disappointed and frustrated, first because they did not receive the cruise they had purchased and paid for; secondly because they felt they had been deliberately deceived; and thirdly because of the despicable way they were treated when they tried to voice their concerns in a civil and orderly manner.

 

Now they are being criticized by some because they were unwilling to stick their heads in the sand (or in this case, the martini bar) and pretend that everything was just hunky-dory when clearly it was not.

 

 

Bravo, this is the best summing of what happend without going into the details, which indeed would fill pages. It reflects in full my feelings as well.

Thank you.

[aznails]

The continual problems on this cruise were hardly a matter of only missing two ports. ...... a complete description of everything that went wrong throughout the cruise would fill numerous pages.

 

Those of us who have loved cruising with Celebrity in the past know very well how wonderful "The Celebrity Treatment" can be. Unfortunately, we did not receive it on this cruise.

 

Much of the display of passenger discontent was a direct result of the way we were treated by the ship's Hotel Director and Cruise Director. Piled on top of the mechanical problems the ship was experiencing, their condescending and insufferable attitude only exacerbated the situation by adding insult to injury.

 

For many of the passengers who had come from distant countries throughout the world, and probably even for some Americans and Canadians, this was a once-in-a-lifetime Alaska cruise. The routing and schedule changes caused the passengers to miss much of the itinerary's best opportunities for viewing scenery and wildlife. Many of us had researched the route in detail and chose this particular cruise specifically for its itinerary. We were well aware of the scenic attractions that were missed, as well as those that we cruised past in the darkness of night...

 

The majority of the passengers on this cruise were deeply disappointed and frustrated, first because they did not receive the cruise they had purchased and paid for; secondly because they felt they had been deliberately deceived; and thirdly because of the despicable way they were treated when they tried to voice their concerns in a civil and orderly manner.

 

Now they are being criticized by some because they were unwilling to ..... pretend that everything was just hunky-dory when clearly it was not.

 

Perhaps the minority....either had very low expectations, or else were simply oblivious to all the things that went wrong on this cruise. I wonder if these people display that same cheery, Pollyanna attitude....when they purchase a vehicle or appliance that turns out to be defective.

 

This is one of the most honest, well-written, heartfelt, and objective posts I've read regarding this issue. Excellent post, fleckle!!

[blcfree]

I have been reading this thread and would first off like to express my condolonces to those whose vacation did not turn out like they had planned and would like to share a story of my own.

Once upon a time, about 15 years ago, my entire family, parents, 6 siblings and spouses and about 30 children, all rented homes for a week on the Outer Banks of NC.

After day 1, the temp rose to well above 100 degrees. The power went out. The ocean water was full of sea nettels and there was no way one could swim. The freezers in the grocery stores went out(no power) No Icecream...NO ICE, When an ice truck would come, people would swarm it just trying to get a bag of ice. Temps at night never go below 80. The biting flies were out in full force, there was not sitting on the beach during the day, or sitting outside at night because of the mosquitoes. The resturants closed down (No Power).

Oh, we have been evacuated because of storms, we have had entire rainy weeks, but we keep going back cause "We love da beeeech"

And we lovingly all refer to that beach vacation as the "one from hell" We have many funny stories we still tell, over and over, all from that week. Oh yes, we thought of suing the weatherman, the homeowners, the power company, the ice truck...The maker of the Ocean, the GODS.....And we had enough folks on board for a class action law suit. BUT....

There are so many folks on this planet that do not have all the creature comforts we have come to take for granted, much less the opportunity to vacation at all.

Again, I am sorry that the Summit was not what was intended but I hope that the experience gave you some good memories and if not I hope you can make some.After all, that is all we have to take with us on our journeys..

For me, any day at sea beats the heck out of a day on land.

[griswalds]

A review of my posts will show my strong support for the passengers on the ill fated ship. However, I also feel it is important to get opinions from other passengers on what they feel would be a reasonable offer from Celebrity. It really proves my point that Celebrity staff should be empowered to make a fair settlement with passengers while they are on the cruise so it can reduce tension and let people move on with the rest of the cruise. While one can say the Captain has all authority and he does, who wants to sail with Captain Bligh? Celebrity should have a generous contingency plan ready and work to resolve the situation quickly. The more issues you can resolve right away the better. There is no question that the recent settlement on the QM2 has raised the bar on expectations for some passengers. In my opinion the QM2 settlement was very rich under the circumstances and the passengers on that cruise fared much better than the Summit cruise. The passengers on the Summit cruise have a number of valid reasons to ask Celebrity to up the offer. Contracts always have 2 sides and there is an onus on Celebrity to provide a certain quality of cruise and treatment of the passengers.

 

Griswalds

 

 

Well put, florida_cruiser! Don't ya just love it when someone who wasn't even on a particular cruise argues with a poster who says they've had a negative experience?! Personally, I appreciate info regarding specific cruises, whether pro or con, but only when that info is coming from a source who was actually on the particular cruise they are "critiquing".

[FinelyCruising]

This is essentially what Celebrity is saying - we have no permenant fix for our problem so cruise at your risk and if we do break down - tough luck you should have known better

 

 

I don't think they are saying anything of the kind!

 

You know, elevators are mechanical systems that sometimes stop in the middle of working and people get stuck in them and need to be evacuated from time to time.

 

Everyone knows that this can happen, but most everyone takes an elevator though....

[OuiOnboard]

I don't think they are saying anything of the kind!

 

You know, elevators are mechanical systems that sometimes stop in the middle of working and people get stuck in them and need to be evacuated from time to time.

 

Everyone knows that this can happen, but most everyone takes an elevator though....

 

Pehaps Celebrity is saying, essentially--we have no permanent fix for our problem, so cruise--if we have a pod-related propulsion system breakdown and we cancel the cruise you have booked, we will compensate you generously--but if we don't cancel and you complete embarkation, we will compensate you much less generously--you choose.:confused: Oui

[Ilovefuncruises]

Would seem to me if Celebrity was such a great company with great customer service that they would post a note on the itinerary of these ships indicating that for the past few years they have had to curtail ports, cancel cruises etc due to an inherent mechanical problem with their ships. To me that would be a fair warning and then the customer could decide whether they were willing to take a chance.

 

Yeah right, and Royal Caribbean is going to post warnings about passengers gettting drunk and falling overboard, and Princess is going to post warnings about fires on ships, and Celebrity is going to post warnings about pod problems on the Summit, and NCL is going to post warnings about rude American crews, dare I go on.... The cruise industry has always had it's share of problems, you could take any line and there is a history of all of the above. This isn't a line problem, it's an industry problem. Every year I have to contact clients about dropped ports on every cruise line.

[cruiser2004]

Maybe I was wrong in my understanding. Does anyone else from the cruise remember being told the inspection was routine or scheduled, or was it to check out the pod?

Carol

I don't remember if Celebrity said if the original inspection in San Francisco was routine or scheduled. Then it was stated by the Captain that Celebrity had brought in people from Lloyds of London to double check that the pods were alright. As we sailed the Captain anounced thet the Summit was pronounced ready to sail and had passed all inspections.