Millennium 3/15/09 Sailing Canceled (Several merged threads)

[Allydaws]

Hi,

 

I just found out that my parents' cruise on the Celebrity Millenuim was cancelled (15/03/09) apparenty due to an issue with the propeller??? I'm wondering if anyone has heard anything???

 

Also, and this is where things get interesting...my parents have already left for Aukland ,New Zealand...and they live in Canada and were obviously counting on this cruise for a big part of their trip. They are retired and were really looking forward to this cruise. Any advice as to what they could do now? Apparently Celebrity will reimburse their cruise cost but as they've already travelled halfway around the world for this cruise, and I haven't been able to contact them, I'm not sure what to do!

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Cruisenouvelle]

Other than the obvious (cell phone, email), call the airline. Give them your parents' names, flight info, etc. Advise that it is urgent that they contact you re: cancellation. Hopefully the airline can page your parents or hava a gate rep flag them with a message to call you.

FWIW, I am so sorry for your parents! We had a cruise cancelled a couple of years ago, but had sufficient notice to change plans. I can't imagine how frustrated and disappointed your folks wil be. All the best.

Also... try to contact Celebrity for the phone number that your parents can call. I know there's a special phone no. set up for rescheduling, but it's an 800 number....

[suzy5555]

have you seen this post yet - it has the toll free number to call

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=942315

[Allydaws]

:eek:Hi,

 

I just found out that my parents' cruise on the Celebrity Millenuim was cancelled (15/03/09) apparenty due to an issue with the propeller??? I'm wondering if anyone has heard anything???

 

Also, and this is where things get interesting...my parents have already left for Aukland ,New Zealand...and they live in Canada and were obviously counting on this cruise for a big part of their trip. They are retired and were really looking forward to this cruise. Any advice as to what they could do now? Apparently Celebrity will reimburse their cruise cost but as they've already travelled halfway around the world for this cruise, and I haven't been able to contact them, I'm not sure what to do!

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! :eek:

[MMDown Under]

Thanks to you both for your response.

 

I didn't realise ships, other than Celebrity, had occasional pod problems.

 

The Millennium cruise scheduled to depart Auckland for Sydney on 15th March has been cancelled due to "mechanical problems".

[terri23]

Did you choose to book the air by yourself? Why should the cruise line be responsible for that? If you let X book your air, I agree they should compensate you. But it appears that you didn't do this. If you made a choice to book shore excursions independently ahead of time, should they compensate you for that "sunk cost" also? Did you purchase travel insurance that would cover the cost of the flight?

 

As far as I can tell, you made choices. Apparently, they turned out to be the wrong ones, and now you appear to want X to give you what you call "appropriate compensation." That's not the term I would use--and as I pointed out in my original post, I have been in the same situation myself.

 

this is one of the most unsympathetic posts I have ever read. Imagine the disappointment of these pax. FTLOG even airlines take responsiblity for mechanical failures.

 

For those of you that booked independent air and the change fees are more than the amount alloted by Celebrity, don't assume you won't get anything. Definitely claim it on your travel insurance as that is what it is for. But also keep all receipts and correspondence with your airline, and then write a letter to Celebrity requesting compensation for the additional reasonable change fees.

 

They typically put a cap on the airline change fees in their announcements because some people would take it as an opportunity to go for the most expensive route (i.e. upgrade from coach to first on their new flights, etc). But if you write a polite letter outlining your additional reasonable costs they will frequently step up and go beyond what they originally announced as compensation.

 

great - that's some helpful input!! hopefully X will compensate everyone appropriately in this most unfortunate circumstance - so sad for all the canceled pax - not quite worst case scenario, but obviously a major disappointment!!!

 

good luck to all of you affected by this problem

[KiwiAtSea]

:eek:Hi,

 

I just found out that my parents' cruise on the Celebrity Millenuim was cancelled.... have already left for Aukland ,New Zealand...and they live in Canada and were obviously counting on this cruise for a big part of their trip. They are retired and were really looking forward to this cruise. Any advice as to what they could do now? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! :eek:

 

How about they do a land trip around NZ (or at least the North Island) and try to book on the April 12th sailing from Auckland to Honolulu? Still see NZ, still get a cruise :)

[jannandjohn]

Hi,

 

I just found out that my parents' cruise on the Celebrity Millenuim

 

I haven't been able to contact them, I'm not sure what to do!

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

don't you have the ph. no. of the hotel they are at before the cruise??

We(everyone) should always leave a number to be reached each day for "back home" emergencies...how else would you contact them if it was a matter of a death in the family etc etc

I do feel for them.

[minz56]

I was surprised and sorry to hear that this cruse has been cancelled. I was on the 18 Jan cruise and didn't notice any problems.

 

Unfortunately it is now getting to the end of the cruise season here (I live in Auckland) so there are really no other cruise alternatives. I would suggest that they look at some kind of land tour. NZ is such a beautiful country and I would hate that they would miss it!

[jackdiamond]

Lysolqn. I concur in your observations.

[Allydaws]

Thanks for the advice.

As my parents didn't make firm plans - other than the cruise and a hotel for the first 2 nights in New Zealand, I don't have a phone number. They were going to try and be "adventurous"....guess this will "teach them..."

K

[agabbymama]

Thanks to you both for your response.

 

I didn't realise ships, other than Celebrity, had occasional pod problems.

 

The Millennium cruise scheduled to depart Auckland for Sydney on 15th March has been cancelled due to "mechanical problems".

 

Guess that answers my question as to whether the lawsuit settled, and a permanent fix had been implemented.

 

Yes, it's terrible, I was just reading the other thread. What a disappointment to all those folks scheduled to sail. All the planning, and there is at least one couple that has already left home (Canada) headed to New Zealand.

 

I know after reading about the Summit and Infinity in '06, I prayed the Constellation stayed healthy, and she did, we had a wonderful New England/Canada cruise. But I don't think I would ever book one of the

M-class ships again after going through that year on tenterhooks.

 

As jannandjohn states, other ships do have the azipod propulsion systems, and they do have problems. I think the big difference here is the Celebrity ships CONSISTENTLY have problems. The others seem to be hit or miss.

[bestz5403]

"Appropriately compensated"? They're giving you your money back, you're getting a free cruise, they're paying toward an airline change fee.

 

I feel bad that it's happened to you. It happened to me, too--4 days before we were to leave for a Mediterranean cruise on Millennium. But there's a difference between appropriate compensation and greed.

 

You assume that your Airline will allow you to change - change to what? I have non-refundable tickets on Air Pacific Business Class, and the $250 won't go very far. I did purchase insurance on the air tickets - maybe they cover the cancellation. I hope so....

[jannandjohn]

Thanks for the advice.

As my parents didn't make firm plans - other than the cruise and a hotel for the first 2 nights in New Zealand, I don't have a phone number. They were going to try and be "adventurous"....guess this will "teach them..."

K

so you must know which hotel for 2 nights, if that booking was made...??

then look up the number for the hotel, before they are due cruise..

you still have 4 days.

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for the advice.

As my parents didn't make firm plans - other than the cruise and a hotel for the first 2 nights in New Zealand, I don't have a phone number. They were going to try and be "adventurous"....guess this will "teach them..."

K

 

Good on them. They are probably having a wonderful time.

 

I always have a chuckle when children are worried about travelling senior parents. Such a role reversal.

[Tricia28]

I am sorry for those who were booked on this cruise. This post is for those worrying about their future cruise on Millie (I am on a sailing in June) and I thought I would let others know a little of my experience with trip insurance. Feel free to skip if you are not interested :)

 

I always buy trip insurance for my cruises through insuremytrip.com and I usually choose CSA as the carrier. When it asks for my trip cost I include my cruise fare and my air and shore excursions as well as pre cruise hotel (especially if I booked a pre-cruise hotel or rental car through hotwire which means I have paid for in full with no refunds) (I book both of these seperately). I print out the policy after I buy it (it is about 20 pages long). I read through it and take it with me in a small 3 ring binder I carry with all my other info in my carry on backpack. I have purchased insurance for the last 10 cruises or so and I had to use it once when we were on the Carnival Conquest out of New Orleans and couldn't go back to the port because Hurricane Katrina was coming in along side us! CSA booked returning airfare for us when I called them from the ship since now I suddenly needed tickets from Galveston (we had to pay for the tickets initially and then they reimbursed us later, important to know because you will have to have sufficient credit on your card to do this).

 

To make a long story short, when I got back I submitted all my receipts for additional expenses incurred and CSA paid me every penny. I even included the Kinko's receipt for all the copies I had to submit to them to get my claim paid and they paid for the copies too. I was more than impressed. I tend to stick with CSA because of this.

 

The important things are: include all costs when you state how much you are insuring the trip for, read the entire copy of the policy and have it with you for detailed info and KEEP RECEIPTS FOR EVERYTHING! Documenting and keeping records is absolutely necessary to get all your money back.

[Andy]

That's one of the problems. Celebrity announced that it is canceling it's 2009-2010 Australia and New Zealand cruises on Celebrity Millennium. The line's final Australia cruise will take place in April 2009.

 

If I thought they would come back to this area, I wouldn't mind waiting a year to travel with them.

 

Hi Suzy !

 

I wanted to say that I am sorry your sailing was canceled.

 

I had a thought, and it's probably a longshot. I noticed that Royal Caribbean has several sailings on Rhapsody of the Seas, next season. Rhapsody sails out of Sydney and Perth. I'm not sure if the itineraries work for you. One big problem is, the Future Cruise Certificate is only for Celebrity sailings.

 

If the Rhapsody itinerary worked for me, I would sure try to plead my case with Celebrity, as they are owned By Royal Caribbean. If this does not work for you, or Celebrity says no, I hope you will be able to find another sailing on Celebrity that will make you happy. Good Luck !

[c-legs]

I don't know about the M class ships but I know on the C class ships the vibration is normal. Have felt it many times and it can be severe. It is caused when the pods are used leaving and coming into port.

 

Hi,

 

'' C '' class do not have pod propulsion; only '' M '' class.

The vibration common on ''C'' class ( I've experienced it on both Mercury & Century ) is not related to pods.

Cheers

[Crusinoars]

Yes, but this wasn't anywhere near port - it was in the middle of the Tasman Sea. It wasn't constant, but was more like an occasional lurch. And no, it was not caused by waves or swell because (for once) the Tasman was as calm as the proverbial mill pond.

 

Celle, it sounds like we both experienced the EXACT same thing. My DH has spent many years at sea while in the US Navy and he says that what we felt was not normal. I believe that we were at table 401

[lysolqn]

Lysolqn. I concur in your observations.

 

Thanks. I didn't mean to sound unsympathic; we had a cruise cancelled a couple of years ago and I know how frustrating and disappointing the whole experience is. Though we always book our own air and will continue to do so, this particular cancellation is clearly the poster child for booking air arrangements through the cruise line - especially in connection with air travel over very long distances and/or at very high cost. It serves as a reminder to everyone that while booking air independently definitely has its benefits, choosing to do so also means assuming responsibility for the associated risks. Once over the initial shock, I suspect most pax will agree the compensation being offered by X is more than fair. Unfortunately, there will always be those who expect to be compensated for everything, right down to the toothpaste and new socks they purchased specifically for their cruise - not to mention their pain and suffering.

[Gitte]

Did you choose to book the air by yourself? Why should the cruise line be responsible for that? If you let X book your air, I agree they should compensate you. But it appears that you didn't do this. If you made a choice to book shore excursions independently ahead of time, should they compensate you for that "sunk cost" also? Did you purchase travel insurance that would cover the cost of the flight?

 

As far as I can tell, you made choices. Apparently, they turned out to be the wrong ones, and now you appear to want X to give you what you call "appropriate compensation." That's not the term I would use--and as I pointed out in my original post, I have been in the same situation myself.

 

 

 

Hello MacThespian,

Do you know in how many countries Celebrity offers cruises with air? :confused:

You do not have always the choice with or without flight!!!.:(

 

Gitte;)

[jewel queen]

Hi Everyone !

 

I'm sorry to be the bearer of disappointing news, but I have just been informed the 3-15-09 Millennium sailing has been canceled. I will post more information as it becomes available.

 

The compensation package is expected to be generous. I should have details on the compensation shortly. For those booked on this sailing, I hope you will be able to re-book on another Cruise soon !

 

Hi. If the ship is drydocked, what are the chances of the 3/29 cruise being cancelled?

Thanks,

jewel queen

[c-to-sea]

If I remember correctly, the drydocks for pod repairs do not usually take more than a couple

of days. Summit was in dock here a couple of years ago for the same problem and was

fixed and back

to work well within the week with only one Alaska cruise being cancelled.

Hopefully, the March 29 cruise will go as planned, as will our April 12 Auckland-Honolulu.

[Pat.bz]

We are on 3/29 B2B2B: our contingency plan: I just spoke with redeployment desk and "they don't think it will be a problem". Next I spoke to my TA at a major online travel agency. They have known about this for a week (as they have 50+ cabins booked on 3/15 cruise). He doesn't known for sure but thinks we are all right for 3/29. We are leaving for Sydney on 3/19 so our arrangements w/ hime are to keep us current via e-mail and to update our file with hotel contact info. We booked our own air, so here is "Plan B": Go to Sydney as scheduled, enjoy our week there and if necessary, do a land tour of Australia, New Zealand and catch the next leg in Auckland. We already contacted a couple who is doing 1st 2 legs with us, and team up on land tour expansion if necessary. Thank God we chose an inexpensive Travel Lodge in financial district in Sydney, so if we had to stay an extra 10 days or so, we'd still be covered by reimbursement (if it comes to that).

[Cruise Junky]

We are on 3/29 B2B2B: our contingency plan: I just spoke with redeployment desk and "they don't think it will be a problem". Next I spoke to my TA at a major online travel agency. They have known about this for a week (as they have 50+ cabins booked on 3/15 cruise). He doesn't known for sure but thinks we are all right for 3/29. We are leaving for Sydney on 3/19 so our arrangements w/ hime are to keep us current via e-mail and to update our file with hotel contact info. We booked our own air, so here is "Plan B": Go to Sydney as scheduled, enjoy our week there and if necessary, do a land tour of Australia, New Zealand and catch the next leg in Auckland. We already contacted a couple who is doing 1st 2 legs with us, and team up on land tour expansion if necessary. Thank God we chose an inexpensive Travel Lodge in financial district in Sydney, so if we had to stay an extra 10 days or so, we'd still be covered by reimbursement (if it comes to that).

 

Good for you....enjoy!