Celebrity Millennium November 23 Sailing – Change in Itinerary (Threads Merged)

From The Celebrity Website:

November 21, 2014

 

Celebrity Cruises prides itself in conducting its business in compliance with the law and in accordance with the highest standards of business ethics. Doing so protects our company, our crew, and our guests.

 

We regret to inform our guests booked on the November 23 sailing onboard Celebrity Millennium that a dispute has arisen with local Indonesian authorities of a nature that we believe puts those legal and ethical standards at serious risk. Because of this dispute, we have been advised that local officials may either prevent guests from disembarking the ship in Bali, or prevent the ship from departing. We refuse to put our guests and crew at such risk.

 

While we have escalated this matter to the national level with the Indonesian government, we regret to inform our guests that resolution is not expected until after their scheduled Bali itinerary stop, forcing the cancellation of the stop. We have therefore rescheduled our itinerary with other destinations that we believe guests will find equally relaxing and appealing. Details of that itinerary may be found below.

 

We understand – and, in fact, share – our guests' frustration. Your holiday is important to us. But so are our legal and ethical responsibilities.

 

We apologize for this unforeseen complication, and assure you we will all do our very best to deliver you a wonderful, enjoyable vacation, and send you home with memories that will endure.

 

The revised itinerary will now be:

 

DAY PORT ARRIVAL DEPARTURE

Sunday Singapore

Monday Singapore 5:00 PM

Tuesday At Sea

Wednesday Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 7:00 AM

Thursday Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 6:00 PM

Friday Bangkok (Laemchabang), Thailand 6:00 PM

Saturday Bangkok (Laemchabang), Thailand 11:59 PM

Sunday At Sea

Monday At Sea

Tuesday At Sea

Wednesday Phuket, Thailand

Thursday Langkawi, Malaysia 7:00 AM 10:00 PM

Friday Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Saturday Singapore 7:00 AM

Guests who purchased a shore excursion in Bali and Komodo, Indonesia, through Celebrity Cruises will have those funds refunded to them in the form of an onboard credit. The credit will be made directly to their onboard account and may be applied to any other shore excursions or purchases onboard. Any unused portion will be refunded. Our Shore Excursion staff would be happy to assist guests with additional activities and excursions in Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, which are new ports of call on the itinerary.

 

For those guests who purchased entry visas for Indonesia, our Guest Services team will be happy to provide a full refund for the amount paid.

That's not the right itinerary even. You'd think they could post it right on their own website :(

Truly disappointed.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jx210mpimizstja/Change%20of%20Itinerary.pdf?dl=0

Hard to say "happy sailing" when we're flying to the "premiere" stop on the cruise :cool:

Jenna

Sad, but in a way not surprising

When we were on Solstice, we were subject to an incident that left a really bad taste in my mouth re Bali.

Tendering was delayed for 3 hours, then the first tender over was held in choppy water for another hour and then sent back. The issue was that the port officials were demanding extra payment from the cruiseline before they would allow disembarkation. The words bribe and corruption were used by one senior officer. I believe because of a medical emergency and a guest had to be taken off quickly this fee was paid in part. Maybe Celebrity are now taking a stand against this kind of behaviour, but I am so sorry for those who are missing a part of a cruise.

I have a cruise on Azamara booked for next year that includes stops so I can see the Komodo dragons, so I know how I would feel if that went.

Changes in ports always have an impact, but in Asia I can see it would be especially so for guests who planned once in a lifetime trips. I wonder if other lines, such as HAL are having these issues.

Celebrity has had problems with indonesian authorities since their first cruise there. On our cruise, two years ago, we rerouted so that our entry point to Indonesia was Lambook rather than Bali. The earlier (first) cruise spent hours waiting for clearance in Bali..a real mess. I guess that hasn't changed and while we don't know the details, personally, I would prefer rerouting to VietNam (Saigon is very interesting) over sitting doing nothing while authorities fight it out and play the blame game. BTW, I'm sure it's no consolation but Bali was not all that interesting...but you don't know that until you've visited....we all remember the pictures and of course the musical south pacific. On the other hand, missing Komodo is disappointing....that's a unique stop....and was one fo the key drivers to book that cruise.

The new itinerary is different, but still interesting....it could have been far worse. I think Celebrity did pretty well, given that they decided that they had to miss indonesia.

Unfortunately, a number of cruises get rerouted and/or miss stops. The Antarctica cruise that never was able to get there; the galapagos problems; We missed Lisbon on our recent TA due to weather.... Stuff happens......

Very sad to miss Lisbon...I adore that port. Thanks for filling in some history GHStudio of Indonesia....I didn't realize there were Galaopagos issues, now I have some research to do.

Skipping a port can happy but it's not the same as skipping Indonesia on the "Gems of Indonesia" cruise. This issue is not new but why did Celebrity not change the ports until the day before the cruise? Sounds to me that they didn't want to be subject to lots of second guessing about 4 port days being changed and requests for refunds. I am scheduled to be on their next cruise to Bali and I am not a happy cruiser right now.

Sorry about last minute changes but if the port is not safe or subject to unsavory practices..to..best to miss it,.

Even if they announced it a week or two earlier, one couldn't cancel the cruise...terms of contract. I suspect celebrity was trying to work things out while planning an alternate cruise and when it didn't work out they made the announcement. Unfortunately the officers and crew will get the wrath of the passengers, even though they had no control of the situation.

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Very sad to miss Lisbon...I adore that port. Thanks for filling in some history GHStudio of Indonesia....I didn't realize there were Galaopagos issues, now I have some research to do.

Galapogos, earlier this year (maybe last fall?) they had an inspection and the authorities found some frozen lobsters in the kitchen that were on a list of banned species on the ship, so their license was pulled for a few weeks as punishment.

June 2013 celebrity's permit for the Galapagos park was revoked for 45 days because (according to news stories) an inspection found legally purchased lobster tails in the ship freezer after the Galapagos lobster season closed. It always sounded fishy, but a number of cruises had to be cancelled. Some have suggested that celebrity wasn't greasing those with palms outstretched. The Indonesia situation sounds potentially similar in its cause...but that's pure conjecture.

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Thanks, I completely missed the Galapagos issue.

Like Rusty, I too am not a happy cruiser. I posted a note on our RC regarding the Galapagos issue which was particularly troubling since we had done that cruise a few months earlier so the subject and memories were fresh. It would seem that with all the connections of Chandris and RCI these things could be solved or better yet, prevented. Why is it that we never hear of any of these issues with other cruise lines? Are they immune or willing to pay the piper whatever is required?

Komodo was the main draw for this cruise and I've been training carrying my wife piggy-back while running just in case a dragon got away from the ranger. ;)

It would be a long way to fly to not see what you set out to see. We can make up Bali or substitute Tahiti at a later date but seeing live dragons in the "wild" was going to rank up there with see blue footed boobies and giant tortoises.

Maybe we're jumping to conclusions, but the timing is not working in our favor for getting this resolved in a little more than a month.

Not many cruise lines call in Bali really. Princess, Seabourne, HAL, and X on just a couple occasions.

Maybe the other lines are paying up, or Bali doesn't think they are big enough to bother, or they call regularly enough that they let them go without issue, but with X's few stops there, X becomes a target.

Our government doesn't pay ransoms, why should we expect Celebrity to pay up.

The question to displaced X travelers, is how much extra are you willing to pay to payoff the local authorities to make the stop? $100, $200?

Doubt many would want to pay a dime extra to "pay off" the authorities.

I've had itineraries changed on me too. I was looking to traveling thru the Suez Canal this spring, but X changed the final Century sailing to go back to Singapore instead. I was looking forward to being on Connie this weekend with my brother and niece for a long weekend getaway in the PH, but X canceled that one for maintenance.

$#|+ happens, it sucks, nothing can be done about it.

Had X not made changes to the itinerary, ilea you all would just be sitting on an anchored ship for a full day to do nothing...at least now SOMETHING is happening.

Sounds to me that they didn't want to be subject to lots of second guessing about 4 port days being changed and requests for refunds.

For either of these to have been an issue, they would have had to change the itinerary more than 2 months ago to a time before final payments are due. Clearly, this is something that came up last minute or was an issue they thought was resolved, but suddenly found itself unresolved. They don't want to make such changes any more than passengers want to experience them.

Of course those who bought "cancel for any reason insurance" do have the ability to protect themselves. Those that chose to instead "self insure" may not be happy about the financial circumstance to make such a decision and likely will still go and enjoy a fantastic cruise.

Reading between the lines, it would appear Celebrity is being asked to pay a bribe to visit the port without difficulty. There is an important point.

A company with operations in the US cannot "choose" to engage in an act that would be bribery or a corrupt practice involving an agent of a foreign government. That behavior is specifically banned by the laws of the United States. Celebrity is thus in a position where their only legal option is to avoid the port.

Regardless of the inconvenience to passengers, or the amount of any "gift" the practice is banned. It is to the point that customs officers from a port country are allowed to eat only in the buffet, or have that food served, while aboard performing their official duties. It was determined food akin to that from the specialty restaurants could be considered an attempt to curry favor.

As disappointing as it would be to be an affected passenger, I'm glad that - unlike other large US companies - Celebrity is endeavoring to follow our country's law, as well as behaving as a responsible corporate citizen of the world.

Harris

Denver, CO

Reading between the lines, it would appear Celebrity is being asked to pay a bribe to visit the port without difficulty. There is an important point.

 

A company with operations in the US cannot "choose" to engage in an act that would be bribery or a corrupt practice involving an agent of a foreign government. That behavior is specifically banned by the laws of the United States. Celebrity is thus in a position where their only legal option is to avoid the port.

 

Regardless of the inconvenience to passengers, or the amount of any "gift" the practice is banned. It is to the point that customs officers from a port country are allowed to eat only in the buffet, or have that food served, while aboard performing their official duties. It was determined food akin to that from the specialty restaurants could be considered an attempt to curry favor.

 

As disappointing as it would be to be an affected passenger, I'm glad that - unlike other large US companies - Celebrity is endeavoring to follow our country's law, as well as behaving as a responsible corporate citizen of the world.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Wow, what a very good point, especially in regard to a Publicly Traded Company as X is via RCI. I had forgotten all about this, something I learned when doing business in Egypt several years ago, made it almost impossible to do business in Egypt unfortunately....

Komodo was the main draw for this cruise and I've been training carrying my wife piggy-back while running just in case a dragon got away from the ranger. ;)

You joke...but the rangers carry no weapons...just a long stick which they poke at the dragons to keep them at bay. There is essentially nothing between you and their teeth other than your group's guard and that stick (note: there is no s on guard or stick). Several guards and workers on the island have been bitten (and evacuated to hospitals).

It is an interesting stop and you're right...it really is the main draw of that cruise. Bali sounds more interesting, rustic and interesting than it is.

It's unfortunate but no worse, IMHO, than missing the antarctica or the Falklands.

Hopefully, Celebrity will work this out quickly at least for the next visit.

BTW, I'm sure it's no consolation but Bali was not all that interesting...but you don't know that until you've visited....we all remember the pictures and of course the musical south pacific. quote]

 

This is very true; on a trip around the world years ago, I thought Bali would be the high point, so I booked a week in a beachfront luxury hotel. After three days on Bali, I checked out and headed for better destinations. I came, I saw, and I left. But I'm sorry folks won't be able to see for themselves on this trip.

I've done some web research and I now doubt if bribery is involved in this situation. Indonesia has some pretty strict anti-bribery laws....and they are actively trying to build cruise business. So I now don't even have a guess at what the issue is between celebrity (or perhaps royal Caribbean corp) might be. We'll probably never know what drove this change in itinerary.

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...we all remember the pictures and of course the musical south pacific.

And of course Bali is nowhere near the South Pacific. Bali Ha'i in the musical was based on an island in Vanuatu, almost 6000km from Bali. Throw away any romantic images of the place - it's basically a tourist trap full of drunk Australians, although the Balinese are wonderful people.

I've done some web research and I now doubt if bribery is involved in this situation. Indonesia has some pretty strict anti-bribery laws....

 

 

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And it is well documented that like China, on the face of it there is this legislation but that the reality is a million miles away in Indonesia.

Given the wording of the release - otherwise why use the words ethical - and I suspect we will hear no more detail as wording the follow up communication might be an issue - I still believe as there has been an issue on several previous trips that some payment to local officials was the barrier.

If it had been safety issues, say with the tender operations or onshore, why were the words ethical used

Throw away any romantic images of the place - it's basically a tourist trap full of drunk Australians, although the Balinese are wonderful people.

Totally agree. And if you are, at all, an animal lover, you will be horrified by the stray dogs literally starving to death on the streets. Also, make no mistake, corruption is rife in Indonesia, regardless of whatever the laws may be.

Of course, when you have been really looking forward to visiting a place, you will nonetheless be very disappointed by an itinerary change.

Hope it works out to the satisfaction of all onboard.

When I was going through immigration in Bali, the official standing over our luggage smiled and said, "Do you have something for me?" We gave him a box of chocolate macadamia nut candy bought from the inflight shop and he let us go through.

So a bribe was my first thought on reading the X travel alert ths weekend.

I have to agree that visiting Komodo Island was a once in a lifetime experience. We arrived on a small Society Expeditions ship and walked with our ranger to see the dragons kill a goat.

My sister-in-law wanted something to buy for her son back home, but there were no stores. One of the rangers had a friend who made carvings, and went to find him. She bought a magnificent dragon about 4’ long carved of wood found only in that part of Indonesia. Today my nephew still displays it in his office.

We invited them back to the ship by tender for drinks in the lounge (this was a different day & age). They loved it and one of them gave me his cap with the national park seal on the front, something I've treasured ever since.

?.. personally, I would prefer rerouting to VietNam (Saigon is very interesting) over sitting doing nothing while authorities fight it out and play the blame game....

 

The new itinerary is different, but still interesting....it could have been far worse. I think Celebrity did pretty well, given that they decided that they had to miss indonesia. ..

True. Unfortunately, some of the passengers who had booked B2B ended up doing the same cruise twice. On this forum, Need2BeSpoiled has been posting about it, and has made plans to fly to Bali for a few days and then I believe rejoin the ship.