marshallbarrister

Hi Sherylc, thanks for the info. We added the Machu Pichu extension with Celebrity original booking. What travel agency did you use for the extension?

Hi Sippican, Celebrity is cancelling this particular Xpedition sailing for the Flora. In addition to scheduling, we chose this sailing because of the inner loop. The Flora will take over the inner loop and the Xpedition will only have the northern loop and the southern loop. We didn't mind paying for the cost of a suite with Celebrity as this was going to be the trip of a life time. However, here we are...

Hi sherylc, thank you for your post and info. Celebrity is not getting rid of Xpedition. The Flora is replacing the 2 smaller ships that's already been sold. Celebrity cancelled the May 2019 sailings. We were informed that sailings are available from January 2019 - April 2019, and after June 2nd, 2019. The June 2nd sailing is already fully booked.

My husband and I booked a dream cruise to Galapagos and Machu Pichu on the Xpedition for the May 19, 2019 sailing back in November 2016. We are experienced cruisers with many cruises under our belts and previous Celebrity cruisers. We chose this particular sailing because it was for our daughter's college graduation and perhaps a last family vacation before she starts her full time career. In addition, booking early allowed us to select the suite and location we desire. Location is everything, even on a cruise ship. This trip costs close to $38,000 before airfares. In addition, due to existing health conditions, we purchased trip insurance that's non refundable. Yesterday, Saturday November 18, 2017, I received a phone call from a Celebrity representative around 1pm PST to inform us that this particular sailing has been cancelled because the new ship FLORA was coming online. We have a choice of either to cancel our booking or if we choose to keep our booking for another date, Celebrity will be happy to give us a measly $1000 discount off our cruise. We have until November 30, 2017 to make our decision. The call I received was on the Saturday afternoon before Thanksgiving holiday. The rep was only able to book another sailing only with a "guarantee" suite room, not a specific room. She wasn't able to help us because most Celebrity departments/offices were already closed that day, which was very convenient on the part of Celebrity. I was informed that they will only be open Monday and Tuesday following the Saturday call due to Thanksgiving. My husband and I are VERY upset at this point. The $1000 discount is insulting and now we don't even know if changing the sailing date will be workable due to our daughter starting a new job after graduation! In addition, what a terrible business model and a terrible way to treat your customers! The cost of a cruise on the FLORA is much higher than the Xpedition so it is not profitable to transfer existing Xpedtion resevations. Therefore let's just kick out those who are paying less and booked years in advance, even though our trip was going to cost us over $40,000, including airfares. We chose our trip based on what would work for us. This is a bait and switch! We have another cruise booked with Celebrity for December 2018 that we are now going cancel and will book with another cruise line!