We NEVER received our luggage on Infinity 14 night Panama Canal, 10.28.07

[hermang]

No, that's not correct. Yes, it would be better to have had cruise insurance, but the original poster's messages seem to indicate that he doesn't because he's considering filing a homeowner's claim. Local small claims courts have jurisdiction over contracts entered into in the area. If a local travel agent was used, the small claims court judge has the authority to hear the case. You do not have to sue your travel agent to sue a cruise line. Small claim courts are courts of equity, and passengers have won and collected judgements against cruise lines. I've noted in the past that some CruiseCritic members try to argue that this isn’t an option, but they are not informed because I've witnessed in person (we have friends who have won, and I attended one trial myself), so I do know what I'm talking about. The cruise lines have done a good job of brainwashing consumers into thinking they have absolutely no rights though, and that's unfortunate. As an alternative, determining the name of the Celebrity contractor may be another solution. Most companies have some type of insurance, and it might be possible to file a claim with that company.

 

Contracts are not one-sided. Companies such as Celebrity are responsible for the actions of employees despite the mounds of paper that creates a David vs. Goliath situation for consumers confronting the vast resources of a cruise line. There is no contract in the world that can protect a company against fraud or incompetence.

 

Most local small claims courts (including mine) do not have on-line records, but here’s proof of a judgement won and collected against NCL for breach of contract. I don’t agree with filing suit over every little incident but do think that these courts are a great resource when a company refuses to take responsibility or make right a situation that they are responsible for, and the original poster's situation may fall into that category.

 

Donna

 

http://www.ventura.courts.ca.gov/ven...erFrames18.htm

Click on Continue to get through the Disclaimer page

Click on Civil, Small Claims & Probate to Search

Under name, select “Participant Name”

Select Participant Name from the drop down box. Enter the name Frankel in the Last Name box and Emily in the First Name box; select Case Category - Small Claims; press Search

See case number SH99710

“The court finds judgment for EMILY FRANKEL against NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE in the amount of $1090.00 principal, $29.00 costs - After Hearing - Judgment contested on 05/26/2004.” NCL lost the contested appeal too and had to pay (see the court's note that judgement was satisfied after being paid by the cruise line).

 

Emily Frankel received a 50% refund because that’s what she asked for. Others on that sailing demanded and received a full refund.

 

Several years ago I attempted to sue a "client" for non-payment. Client was in NY and my business was in CT. Went to Small claims here and they told me I would have to file in NY - which of course - figuring time and hassle was not worth it - which is what I suspect is why most people didnt. Second case - I filed in CT against a client - I actually won and got a judgement - guy told me stuff it and he would not pay. Judge said I would have to hire a sheriff to serve him to try to enforce th judgement. Again cost of time and agravation made it not worth while - Where is Johnny Cochran when ya need him

[dbh62ark]

Several years ago I attempted to sue a "client" for non-payment. Client was in NY and my business was in CT. Went to Small claims here and they told me I would have to file in NY - which of course - figuring time and hassle was not worth it - which is what I suspect is why most people didnt. Second case - I filed in CT against a client - I actually won and got a judgement - guy told me stuff it and he would not pay. Judge said I would have to hire a sheriff to serve him to try to enforce th judgement. Again cost of time and agravation made it not worth while - Where is Johnny Cochran when ya need him

I hear you and am sorry you had a bad experience with your local small claims court. Passengers from around the country have sued and won against cruise lines in their local small claims courts, and the only ones who didn't collect in the NCL fiasco (a really bad sailing) were located in Miami. Go figure. :)

 

Happy travels,

Donna

[tomatopa]

On our Hawaii cruise on the summit we put our luggage out at midnight and saw the crew take it away...the last time we saw our biggest suitcase...it was not in the large room you claim your luggage from....was told that it would probably beat us home...just go on to the airport...which we did after filling out all the papers for lost luggage....50# suitcase never showed up and X only paid $300.....we did have travel insurance....would still like to have my clothes and other items back....been almost 2 years....

Judy

[HAM]

There is NO WAY Celebrity was not responsible for your loss and they still have the chutzpah to only pay $300. Sounds like the new Celebrity, is this any way to run a cruise line?

[FinelyCruising]

Hey kids...one of the things I just learned as a result of the fuel surcharge thread is that there are limits in the contract to what the cruiseline will cover..BUT....it seems possible that if you declare the value in advance of your cruise of the contents of your suit cases, then that's a different story....find the contrract on the website and take a look for that section.

 

I have to really re-read it and if it what I think from the first glance I will probably declare the contents value for every cruise from here on out.

[FinelyCruising]

I just re-read it again...the limit is definately $300 per passenger unless you declare and pay in advance 5% for the amount above $300 you want to declare limits to $5,000 in value.

 

Insurance might be the better way to protect much more than loss of luggage at an overall better value.

 

I do get why the cruiseline is such a stickler to the amounts they pay up to. It's in the contract, that's their fall back...and I for one have only just stated really reading it.:o

[hcat]

I am still hoping this will have a happy outcome. We have had several luggage incidents--most post cruise & one when our luggage never arrived in our embarkation port after flights on SWA...they all worked out so I am hoping that this does too.

 

Reading this has me stressed out so I can imagine what you had to go through & are still experiencing.. I had decided in our airline fiasco incident that if the luggage did not come we'd cancel the trip but luckily it did arrive,,,by taxi in the middle of the night

 

Moral is to keep your luggage with you as best you can! Whenever walk off is offered we will do it even if it is burdensome! Here you had no choice!

[Bfson]

HAM-I got an e mail from X asking for detailed comments on most aspects of our cruise. At the end there was a section for other comments. I wrote this:

 

"One member of the CruiseCritic group had his luggage lost by Celebrity. It never arrived to his cabin. The saga of Celebrity failing to come to his assistance and its failure to offer him reasonable compensation is a very active thread on Cruise Critic. Someone ought to read the thread and then do the right thing. Trying to be cheap with him for your error makes Celebrity look uncaring and cheap."

 

Hope it helps

[HAM]

Hello Bob, thanks for adding your comments concerning our ongoing luggage saga to your cruise review. Your efforts to shed light onto our plight

can only help us arrive at a fair outcome. Sandy and I continue to not be discouraged and continue to make our case. We continue to feel our situation is unique; one that would allow the liability limits to be expanded in the name of customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Thanks again, one and all, for all of your comments, insight, suggestions, and support.

 

George (the man with new underwear)

[HAM]

..............Santa brought us luggage for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

[FinelyCruising]

Wooooo Hooooo!!!!

I hope everything was intact too.:

[HAM]

Sorry I gave the wrong impression; I was just saying that I recieved new luggage as a gift to replace the luggage that was lost on our cruise. My fault.

Hello FinelyCruising, we lived in Mountainside, N.J., before making our way to Tampa (Bayside, Queens before that).

[FinelyCruising]

Awwwww...I was so excited for you for a moment there. So how is the new luggage...even though empty, did it come with a tracking device?;)

[many cruises]

HAM: My advice to you is to only talk to someone in a management position at Celebrity...like the head of customer relations. Celebrity should pay for your luggage and its contents and give you Future Cruise Certificates to cover the cost of what this cruise cost you, because simply stated, you didn't get the cruise you paid for. Keep an accurate detailed accounting of everything that happened to you and Celebrity's response to your problem(s) both on and off the ship. When we sailed on the Infinity in 2006, we had major problems too. Although the situation was very different from yours, we continued to work our way up the Celebrity ladder until finally someone agreed with us. In other words, don't give up...they will try to wear you down with their phone calls...be persistent and someone in management will eventually call you and solve the problem to your satisfaction.

[Desertbelle]

Amazing how Santa always knows just what we need! Before too long your horrid experience will become the great and amazing "how we cruised for 12 days without any luggage" story. :)

 

Keep up the good fight, you know you have right on your side, don't forget it!

[HAM]

Hello Desertbelle, I hate to be picky, .....but that would be "how we cruised FIFTEEN days without luggage" story.

[Desertbelle]

Hello Desertbelle, I hate to be picky, .....but that would be "how we cruised FIFTEEN days without luggage" story.

:D:D

I knew I was wrong but was too lazy to read back over the previous posts to get the correct number of days! I stand corrected....my lazy bad!!:o

[j!m]

this is a terrible situation and i am sorry for these folks. the luggage was in the care and custody of X and they are responsible but have apparently limited their liability in much the same way as airlines do.

 

it sounds to me like the poster has received all he will ever get from X and its time for a claim on the homeowners policy. no sense beatin a dead horse.

 

we had a piece of luggage lost once on the way home and the airline would pay us only $300 if i remember correctly. homeowners policy covered the remainder.

 

X has apparently given more than they feel they have a legal obligation to pay so it is highly unlikely more calls or letters will produce any positive results.

 

most of the posters are experienced travellers and we all know things happen that arent supposed to happen. everything doesnt always work properly. thats part of the adventure of travelling. its really annoying at the time of the event (i woulda bin really mad with no luggage) but nobody died and now there is a story to tell. its time to make an insurance claim on the homeowners policy and get on with life.

 

as for X customer service, i think it could be a LOT better than it is. they are frustrating folks to deal with and not all that responsive. however i have to say that they eventually have handled any issues i have had with them in a satisfactory manner.

 

the thing i find most frustrating with X is that there are problems. problems that are initially easily resolved but are permitted to escalate.

 

on our recent south american cruise (lotsa at sea days) the tv in our living room did not work. it did not work when we got on the ship? i watch tv a lot when at sea so i asked for it be fixed (4 or 5 times). i was told i could watch tv in the bedroom because that one worked. after several days (6 if i remember correctly) and a friendly chat with the hotel director when i explained our accomodations were supposed to include 2 tv's and i assumed that meant working tv's, it was finally replaced. not at all like lost luggage but annoying to me. anyway 2 weeks after we returned from our month long trip, i received a call from X, they apologized again and gave me $1350 of future cruise credits for the inconvenience. i would have preferred the tv was in working order when we boarded the ship but was delighted to receive the $1350. i also would have preferred $1350 of on board credits at the time of the problem (would have paid part of the bar bill) but i didnt ask for compensation, i just wanted a working tv.

 

anyway i really do feel sorry for the folks who lost their luggage and know X can be a problem to deal with but like i say, call the insurance coy and get on with life. i think X is unlikely to go any further.

[j!m]

this is a terrible situation and i am sorry for these folks. the luggage was in the care and custody of X and they are responsible but have apparently limited their liability in much the same way as airlines do.

 

it sounds to me like the poster has received all he will ever get from X and its time for a claim on the homeowners policy. no sense beatin a dead horse.

 

we had a piece of luggage lost once on the way home and the airline would pay us only $300 if i remember correctly. homeowners policy covered the remainder.

 

X has apparently given more than they feel they have a legal obligation to pay so it is highly unlikely more calls or letters will produce any positive results.

 

most of the posters are experienced travellers and we all know things happen that arent supposed to happen. everything doesnt always work properly. thats part of the adventure of travelling. its really annoying at the time of the event (i woulda bin really mad with no luggage) but nobody died and now there is a story to tell. its time to make an insurance claim on the homeowners policy and get on with life.

 

as for X customer service, i think it could be a LOT better than it is. they are frustrating folks to deal with and not all that responsive. however i have to say that they eventually have handled any issues i have had with them in a satisfactory manner.

 

the thing i find most frustrating with X is that there are problems. problems that are initially easily resolved but are permitted to escalate.

 

on our recent south american cruise (lotsa at sea days) the tv in our living room did not work. it did not work when we got on the ship? i watch tv a lot when at sea so i asked for it be fixed (4 or 5 times). i was told i could watch tv in the bedroom because that one worked. after several days (6 if i remember correctly) and a friendly chat with the hotel director when i explained our accomodations were supposed to include 2 tv's and i assumed that meant working tv's, it was finally replaced. not at all like lost luggage but annoying to me. anyway 2 weeks after we returned from our month long trip, i received a call from X, they apologized again and gave me $1350 of future cruise credits for the inconvenience. i would have preferred the tv was in working order when we boarded the ship but was delighted to receive the $1350. i also would have preferred $1350 of on board credits at the time of the problem (would have paid part of the bar bill) but i didnt ask for compensation, i just wanted a working tv.

 

anyway i really do feel sorry for the folks who lost their luggage and know X can be a problem to deal with but like i say, call the insurance coy and get on with life. i think X is unlikely to go any further.

[Jade13]

double post

[Jade13]

Here's a quick update. We returned from cruise on 11.11.07. Next day,

(Monday 11.12.07), we compose lengthy record of events, and send e-mails to Richard Fain, CEO and Chairman,RCCI; Daniel Hanrahan, President and CEO,

Celebrity Cruises, and to executive correspondence(Cfeedcci@celebrity.com)

for Celebrity Cruises. In addition, called customer service to speak with

Resolution specialist,luggage support. He is off on Mondays, will be in Tuesday, 11.13.07.

At 12 noon of 11.13.07, receive e-mail from Dan Hanrahan. He will have one of his senior team members reach out to us. Early afternoon, receive

phone call from Susan, Executive Rep., Corporate Office. According to her, she has no influence re: reimbursement for lost luggage but offers us future cruise vouchers "as a gesture of good will".

I call customer service again. Albert, resolution specialist is in, but can't speak to me. The person I"m speaking to must e-mail him to let him know I called, and Albert will get back to me IN 24 TO 48 HOURS!!!!

Albert calls back 48 HOURS LATER, 11.15.07. He tells me, in his best Stepford

Wives monotone, that Celebrity will offer us $300 each ($600 total) for our

missing 3 pieces of luggage and contents, as per section 2© of the cruise

ticket contract. That's $300 per person, not per piece of luggage. Albert goes on to tell me that this is a generous offer since we were already given

a $200 onboard credit while on the Infinity. He is not concerned with how long I've been cruising with Celebrity, how many cruises, how many people we have organized to go on these cruises. I realize I'm getting nowhere with Albert, so I ask to speak to his boss. Even though he guarentees me he speaks not only for his boss, the company, and the president of the company,

I insist I want to speak to his boss. Once again,an e-mail must be sent to his boss, Donna, and she will contact me. That was nine days ago and not a word from Donna Brown.

This update is meant to give anyone interested a rough idea of what has transpired since our return, not a minute by minute account, nor an indication of how PISSED I am. Additional calls and e-mails have been sent

in attepting to come to a satisfactory resolution (as far-fetched as that seems at this point).

My wife and I appreciate the interest, concern, and ideas that many of you have contributed. We have followed-up on many of your suggestions in regards to who to contact to get the word out; i.e., local T.V., newspapers, travel sections, travel magazines,etc.

Celebrity has let us know that while on the ship and since our return they

have been in contact with all parties involved with handling our luggage from the luggage bay of the bus to the ship. As might be expected, everyone did their job as required. If anybody screwed up, no one is fessing up. In answer to SailAway78, we had not heard any reports of luggage rolling towards the water, but I will say that there seemed to be alot of confusion on the pier, based on my experience

The bottom line, from my point of view, is that Celebrity does not want to assume any responsibility for our lost/stolen luggage and therefore are only willing to compensate us as far as their liability limits outlined by the cruise ticket contract. Buyer beware! It still baffles me how they can treat their customers this way. It seems more like customer dis-service.

 

 

George

 

So, basically Celebrity was giving you $800.00 total even though you did not purchase insurance? I believe the amount is more than you would get with the insurance. The amounts are usually not enough to cover the actual cost of the luggage. Unfortunately any amount does little because you can not get back your vacation, much of it spend in ports looking for clothing.

 

I am sure you will agree that the biggest issue with Celebrity is their poor customer service in dealing with you and the situation, the length of time it took anyone to get in touch with you. They are legally within their limits as far as the compensation, but the way you have been treated, well I'm sure you have no plans to get on a Celebrity ship again.

 

Btw, we always bring our luggage to the ship ourselves, so we know it makes it to the ship (assuming it made it on the airlines).

[Jade13]

this is a terrible situation and i am sorry for these folks. the luggage was in the care and custody of X and they are responsible but have apparently limited their liability in much the same way as airlines do.

 

it sounds to me like the poster has received all he will ever get from X and its time for a claim on the homeowners policy. no sense beatin a dead horse.

 

we had a piece of luggage lost once on the way home and the airline would pay us only $300 if i remember correctly. homeowners policy covered the remainder.

 

X has apparently given more than they feel they have a legal obligation to pay so it is highly unlikely more calls or letters will produce any positive results.

 

most of the posters are experienced travellers and we all know things happen that arent supposed to happen. everything doesnt always work properly. thats part of the adventure of travelling. its really annoying at the time of the event (i woulda bin really mad with no luggage) but nobody died and now there is a story to tell. its time to make an insurance claim on the homeowners policy and get on with life.

 

as for X customer service, i think it could be a LOT better than it is. they are frustrating folks to deal with and not all that responsive. however i have to say that they eventually have handled any issues i have had with them in a satisfactory manner.

 

the thing i find most frustrating with X is that there are problems. problems that are initially easily resolved but are permitted to escalate.

 

on our recent south american cruise (lotsa at sea days) the tv in our living room did not work. it did not work when we got on the ship? i watch tv a lot when at sea so i asked for it be fixed (4 or 5 times). i was told i could watch tv in the bedroom because that one worked. after several days (6 if i remember correctly) and a friendly chat with the hotel director when i explained our accomodations were supposed to include 2 tv's and i assumed that meant working tv's, it was finally replaced. not at all like lost luggage but annoying to me. anyway 2 weeks after we returned from our month long trip, i received a call from X, they apologized again and gave me $1350 of future cruise credits for the inconvenience. i would have preferred the tv was in working order when we boarded the ship but was delighted to receive the $1350. i also would have preferred $1350 of on board credits at the time of the problem (would have paid part of the bar bill) but i didnt ask for compensation, i just wanted a working tv.

 

anyway i really do feel sorry for the folks who lost their luggage and know X can be a problem to deal with but like i say, call the insurance coy and get on with life. i think X is unlikely to go any further.

 

$1,350 because one of two TVs did not work for so many days? You must have written a letter with other issues, no?

[63galaxie]

Gosh, I am so sorry you had to deal with this! We had a bad experience on a five-day Zenith cruise. The carpet in our cabin was soaked with water, to the point where we couldn't walk around in our stocking feet (and we had two young children with us). The smell was horrendous. After two days, we were given another room. We had many more problems in those five days. When we wrote to Celebrity post-cruise, we were given a total of $500 in Future Cruise Certificates for the four of us. We felt this was more than reasonable.

That said, I personally don't feel that Celebrity is "stepping up to the plate." In fact, I think they will lose more business because of the bad publicity.

I hope that they will offer you something much more reasonable.

Please let us know if you ever receive appropriate compensation!

Hopefully, 2008 will bring you many good things!

Karen in Kentucky

[hermang]

Our friends just returned from a week in San Juan minus a very expensive piece of luggage. My friend received a piece of Swiss Army luggage as a gift for 45 years of employment with his company. His AA flight was delayed for several hours in San Juan and apparently his luggage was sent head. When he finally got to NY - luggage was not there. AA says it is the Port Authority's problem as once it leaves the plane - security is not their responsibility and they run the baggage claim. Sooo who replaces the luggage. Sure - AA should because they delayed the flight and security sucked - good will and all that - but so far they are breaking them off on my friend - WHY does anyone think X should be more responsible? Once the porters grab the bags it's anyone's guess as to what will happen. File a claim with your homeowners and in the future take travel insurance - - NOT worth the angst

[Jimsgirl]

I realise I am flogging a dead horse, but I still feel that we the public and the poster who suffered the loss of the luggage are not being told the truth by Celebrity.

So again I feel that the cruise line should answer the following questions.

1/ Who was the rep on board the bus?

2/ Which company employed her?

3/ Ditto for the driver

4/ What did these so called "sub contracters " do after they dropped off the passengers?

5/ If it can be proved that they handed the luggage over to the cruise line, then clearly the cruise line must accept the fact that they are employing a thief or thieves. so they should provide adequate compensation not hide behind "sub contractors" or phases like "everyone did their jobs".

 

My own personal opinion is that after dropping off the only passengers, the rep and the driver conspired together to steal the luggage.

 

I believe that the law is that if you get paid for delivering a service (in this case transportation and delivery of luggage TO THE SHIP) you must pay compensation to the VALUE of the item if you fail to fulfil the terms of the transaction? The passenger paid Celebrity for this service therefore Celebrity is responsible for fulfilling the terms of the transaction.