Who do I need to write?

[cdbaum]

I am trying to find out the best person to write to at Celebrity regarding an issue that we had on our 5 day cruise on Century in January.

 

We had booked the Underwater exploration and turtle farm tour in Grand Cayman through Celebrity for three adults and my 3 year old daughter. When we got on shore for the excursion we were told that there was a problem with the excursion and there would be a change in itinerary. Apparently the tour operator had moved the semi-submersible vessel the prior evening to a more protected moorage due to high waves and well, they had I guess forgotten to bring it back.

 

Instead of the underwater exploration and turtle farm tour portion of the tour we would go to the turtle farm, tour the island a bit and go to the rum cake factory. The operator had checked and cruise line had decided that they would refund part of the cost if we decided to take the tour or the full cost if we canceled.

 

At this point it was about 9:30 am and our chances of booking an excursion on short notice were not good. I asked what sort of refund was being offered and was told that that was to be determined by Celebrity.

 

We took the tour and for what it was it wasn't bad. My daughter enjoyed the turtle farm but was asking where the fish were. Once back on board I went to the excursion desk to ask about the refund and they had no idea what I was talking about and said to come back later. When I returned I was told that they had decided that they would refund 30% of the tour cost since we had only missed one of the three listed items. I told them that I considered missing the "underwater" portion of the underwater exploration tour (which represented half of the scheduled tour time) more than a third of the tour and that maybe they could explain to a three year old why there were no "fishes".

 

The excursion desk response was take it or leave it. I politely asked if there was a higher authority and was told "NO", while at sea they were the final say. Our final statement did reflect the reduced charge.

 

BTW, the vessel was available for our traveling companions on a different tour roughly an hour later.

 

What department or person would you suggest contacting regarding both the policies that they seem to have in place and the attitude of the excursion staff?

[MEcruzr]

You didn't say how much the 1/3 refund was... but the Atlantis underwater excursion (booked on your own) is $79 for adults and $59 for children. The rum cake factory tour is free. I'd expect to get at least that much back.

[cdbaum]

I don't remember the specifics right off hand but the amount of the 1/3 isn't really the point. The fact that they market the excursion as "underwater exploration" etc. with the expectation that the underwater portion and the turtle farm are the high points, probably in that order, and that we booked this for the underwater portion (an easy way for the little one to see the aquatic world) and then when it suits their purposes the underwater part is only considered 1/3 of the package.

 

Another annoying aspect of the refund conversation was the staff saying "but did you enjoy the turtle farm" every time that I would mention that without the underwater segment the tour wasn't much of an underwater exploration at all.

 

Maybe I should have taken my DD down there with her substantial arsenal of weapons... cue the tears.

[embellish]

I don't think your one-time concern characterizes a parallel situation, but the following link makes for an interesting read:

 

http://www.expertcruiser.com/advice/royal-caribbean-says-get-out-of-here-to-couple/

[j!m]

sounds to me like you have already been fairly compensated for your minor inconvenience

 

i suggest you take a deep breath and call it an experoence

[Sea Island Lady]

That cruise was back in January and it is now the middle of May. Why wait so long to complain? :rolleyes:

[Desertbelle]

This reminded me of a Princess cruise we took and while in Cabo we took an excursion called "Sail and Snorkel". The description said we would board a lovely catamaran and sail to a particular place and snorkel and then "sail" back. Besides the catamaran being quite crowded and in poor shape (the bathroom was beyond horrible) the crew never once put up the sails to sail. We motored the whole way, despite a lovely breeze the whole day. I asked one of the crew members when they would put up sails and sail, and he said it wasn't windy enough, so they wouldn't be sailing. Being an experienced sailer, I told him I thought there was plenty of wind to sail. He said "No, there wasn't" I wasn't going to argue with a crew member who spoke very little English. At the end of the excursion we were asked to fill out comment cards for Princess. When I put on the comment card that I was terribly disappointed that we didn't do the sail part of the "Sail and Snorkel", one of the crew members approached me and told me that my card would get them into trouble and how dare I put that down when it wasn't windy enough to sail. As I held my hat on because of the wind, I told him that they didn't sail because they were lazy. I doubt that comment card ever made it to anyone in authority.

 

When I returned to the ship I went to the excursions desk and told them the whole story including the confrontation with the crew member. They told me they were sorry I wasn't totally pleased with the excursion but that they couldn't refund my costs or even a portion of them because I got a catamaran ride and I got to snorkel and that was all they could promise me. I suggested they investigate whether or not this particular boat ever sailed because I suspected it never did.

 

My feelings were, why call it a Sail and Snorkel if they aren't even going to try to sail on a windy day? When, if not that day, would they ever sail that cat? I didn't let it ruin my cruise, but I was unhappy at the outcome. :(

 

To the OP, at least you did get some refund...it wasn't the best of days but it didn't sound like the worse of days either. :)

[FinelyCruising]

I think the approach by the shore excursions desk was appropriate to the situation based on the options that were available at the time and by the acceptance of the modified excursion by the guest.

 

I have been in similar situations on the pier in Key West and the options were just as clearly described, and were mine to chose.

[cdbaum]

1. No mention was made of wanting additional compensation. My issue was with the attitude by the staff. While I don't think that the offer was commensurate to the amount of the tour that was missed we did accept the offer.

 

2. Yes it is May. We have spoken with customer service on different occasions and were told to wait awhile until any possible refunds to the credit card might go through.

 

3. Yes we did "accept" the modified tour and possible refund since we had no choice. The offer was made while we were standing on the pier as a captive audience and we did want to take our daughter on a tour of some sort. The amount of compensation was not mentioned. We did enjoy the portions that we got.

 

I didn't intend to start a debate about what would be adequate compensation for leaving out the underwater part of the underwater tour. I was hoping that somebody might have a logical contact point at Celebrity to whom we could point the issues with the approach and attitude of the excursion staff.

 

I really don't see any parallel to the Moran's cruising experiences. We are breathing just fine, thank you but I appreciate your concern :)

 

It's not a big deal but we would like to maybe see a little more service in the customer service on Solstice in December.

[Jade13]

What department or person would you suggest contacting regarding both the policies that they seem to have in place and the attitude of the excursion staff?

 

First, the tour operator and Celebrity should have made a fast decision and told everyone the amount of the refund (so you would not run into this). If you missed a third of the activities 1/3 refund was probably fair (even though it was the main event). How much was the tour and how much did it cost you?

 

Second, I am not surprised at the shore excursions staff attitude and would write the letter. We were on Century in February and went on the Stingray Excursion through Celebrity. It was well organized btw and no complaints. We purchased the DVD and were told to go to Shore Excursions once we re-boarded as they should be on the ship by 3:00pm etc. I waited until I was on my way to Sushi (about 5:00pm) and walked over to ask about the DVD. Two Shore Excursion people in unison barked out at me "Just so you know, Celebrity is not responsible for the DVD's". I am not used to any employees on any ship acting this way and just said I was told to come pick them up. They said they did not have them yet but again wanted me to know they were not responsible. I asked what happened and they said one was missing last cruise and the passenger blamed them...

 

 

Anyway, by the time I got back to my cabin I received a call that they had mine and would be delivering them that night.

 

The letter needs to go to Dan Hanrahan. Someone at the headquarters will read it and may get back to you. I totally got your post the first time regarding the issue really being the staff attitudes. We liked the ship, had a nice time, but there is a staff atititude (Management, not stateroom or waiters) problem in general on this ship.

[tbelian]

How would knowing how much the refunded portion would be have made any difference in your decision? Based on what you said, you still wanted to go on an excursion, and didnt feel you had enough time to make an alternate choice. So you either know up front that its only going to be 1/3 and go on the excursion anyway, or decide not to go because it's not enough compensation. ?

[flashdog_1]

Hindsight is always more accurate, isn't it? My hindsight tells me that you should have asked if the submersible was going to be moved (and it was since your acquaintances got the full tour an hour later) and if there'd be room on another time slot.

 

But that's not what happened. Traveling with a 3 year old who undoubtedly would not have wanted to wait another hour could be a chore.

 

From our comment cards, sometimes the excursion is replaced by another tour operator, or they get a different guide to un-do the bad part of an excursion.

 

We had a tour that did not do what it said we would do (part of it was to see the homes and fancy hotel area). Instead of telling us about the flora along the route (Cozumel) the tour guide had us sing La Cucaracha! The blurb had said we'd go inside a ruin. There WAS no inside. It was a rock wall. We were to have had x amount of time downtown to shop, but had to park very far away, so many people chose not to get off the bus because of walking issues. I encouraged a single woman to accompany us (she did not have a mobility problem. She'd said she was afraid. I told her that we'd watch out for her. She did go, and had a good time.

 

To top it off we dropped the transmission on the way back to the pier. We did not delay the ship's leaving, but barely had time to dress for dinner. I'd never have thought to take it up with the Tour Desk, but the experienced single cruiser mentioned above later that day told me she'd recieved 1/3 off, so I wrote it up and also received the credit. And I think today's poster has a more legitimate gripe than we did!

 

True, they told her the options: cancel with no penalty because they could not offer what they advertised "underwater exploration." They accepted the option of a reduced fare. So it does seem to me that the real complaint is about how much was refunded.

 

True, hindsight tells me that the tour operator should have told the customers the exact amount of the fare reduction. And certainly the people at the onboard excursions desk should have known about the whole affair.

 

Good luck.

[Toledo Cruiser]

I'm also having Celebrity customer service issues. We were on the Oct 7th Xpedition sailing to the Galapagos (which was amazing) and donated $250 each to the Charles Darwin Research Foundation. The deal is, Celebrity is to give us a certificate for that amount as credit for a future cruise. I began calling Celebrity in Jan inquiring where our certificate is??? I have been calling every 3 to 4 weeks ever since. Have talked to an amazing number of very nice people who describe various reasons as to why the certificate has not materialized. Lots of promises. I wrote to Dan Hanrahan (certified, return receipt) on March 18 and still haven't received a reply.

 

My last effort involved bringing the Darwin Foundation into the picture. I received next day response from them indicating they had received our donation. They e-mailed Celebrity and copied me telling Celebrity that I am entitled to the $500 credit. That was on May 6 and I still haven't heard from Celebrity.

 

ARE THEY IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE AND CAN'T AFFORD THE $500???

 

DO THEY REALLY THINK I'M GOING TO FORGET ABOUT $500???

 

Any ideas on how I should proceed from here would be greatly appreciated.

 

As far as the general attitude by the management on the Century as being poor, we experienced the same on the Mercury in Feb 2007.

 

I feel like I need to continue to fight for the $500 and use it, but using that certificate may be our last Celebrity experience.

[wvufan]

While I sympathize with plans being disrupted, the hard fact is that cruising is not a great way to travel if you are not flexible and adaptable. There are so many factors which can affect ship schedules, excursions, etc.

 

Granted, the staff should be excpected to be courteous in all situations, but they should not be subject to abuse either. What was the attitude of the OP toward them? Did he overract and berate them? I don't know-he may have been fine-but it is still a question in my mind.

 

It seems the key issue, as it was referred to several times, was that his daughter did not get to see everything they thought they were goint to see (the fishes). This was an excellent time to try to help her learn to deal with disappointment and to keep things in perspective. Missing the underwater portion was a bummer, but not a crisis. I think the OP has blown this totally out of proportion. To give an analogy, often the island of Grand Cayman is missed because of weather conditions. Some passengers accept this as what it is-an unfortunate and unforseen snag. Others rant about how their entire cruise is ruined because they wanted to see the sting rays and now weren't going to be able to do so and they want compensation for their disastrous cruise.

 

Apparently, there were three elements to the excursion. Some may have taken longer than others due to logistics, etc. but there were still three features. They got to see two of them. To some on the excursion, maybe the reason they wanted to go on the excursion was to see the turtle farm and they didn't care at all about the fish. Anyway, the compenstion offered by Celebrity seemed fair to me.

 

A few years ago we booked one of our rare ship excrusions-a spinner dolphin watch and snorkel out of Lahaina. Well, due to excessive and prolonged rains, the channel was so muddy that the dolphins didn't come in there to feed, so we lost out on that part (we would not have booked this excursions except for the spinners). But, we still got a nice boat ride and a fairly good snorkel. Got a small refund on the price, which I considered a nice gesture, and we got on with our fantastic cruise. They did what they thought was fair, and that was good enough for me. Can you imagine the chaos if everyone who was dissatisfied with the decisions the ship staff makes on excursion compensation wrote the home office?

 

Ship happens.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[cdbaum]

Again, the issue is not the refund. Having cruised multiple times on Celebrity we are well aware that you need to be flexible. It all has to do with attitude.

 

Sorry to have taken anybodies time.

 

Thank you