Israel and Mediterranean Celebrity Constellation cruise 22nd October 2015

Approximately 12 months ago we booked the above cruise, really looking forward to 2 days exploring Istanbul followed by 3 days exploring Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem! About 2 months ago the Istanbul section was cancelled with an overnight stay and a direct transfer to the ship together with an extra day at sea replacing it. We were disappointed but we still had the Israel trips to look forward to. About 2 weeks ago the situation in Israel began to degenerate and we were concerned that things may change again. Nothing was heard however, so we assumed everything would be okay, then with less than 18 hours to go before we were due to board our flight we received an e-mail from our travel agent telling us of a change of itinerary. The Israel section of the cruise had been replaced by visits to Rhodes, Santorini, Crete and overnight in Athens and the replacement of 2 days at sea all of which made us less than enthusiastic! We were offered a complete refund of cruise and excursion fees but other expenses such as foreign visa's, etc were not covered. We chose to cancel finding the new itinerary unacceptable and were grateful to our agents for being 'on the ball' as we received no notification from Celebrity until less than 12 hours to go before our flight! Although our cruise fare has been refunded, there are still outstanding expenses and of course the massive disappointment of not going on a cruise we had been looking forward to with great anticipation and I wonder whether there are ground for compensation from Celebrity?

I wonder whether there are ground for compensation from Celebrity?

This has been discussed in lengths already in few other threads.

The answer to your question is no. First of all the cruise line does not guarantee visiting any ports in their contract and secondly the safety of the ship, crew and passengers in situations like these is most important so acts of war or terrorism are considered as force majeure.

Approximately 12 months ago we booked the above cruise, really looking forward to 2 days exploring Istanbul followed by 3 days exploring Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem! About 2 months ago the Istanbul section was cancelled with an overnight stay and a direct transfer to the ship together with an extra day at sea replacing it. We were disappointed but we still had the Israel trips to look forward to. About 2 weeks ago the situation in Israel began to degenerate and we were concerned that things may change again. Nothing was heard however, so we assumed everything would be okay, then with less than 18 hours to go before we were due to board our flight we received an e-mail from our travel agent telling us of a change of itinerary. The Israel section of the cruise had been replaced by visits to Rhodes, Santorini, Crete and overnight in Athens and the replacement of 2 days at sea all of which made us less than enthusiastic! We were offered a complete refund of cruise and excursion fees but other expenses such as foreign visa's, etc were not covered. We chose to cancel finding the new itinerary unacceptable and were grateful to our agents for being 'on the ball' as we received no notification from Celebrity until less than 12 hours to go before our flight! Although our cruise fare has been refunded, there are still outstanding expenses and of course the massive disappointment of not going on a cruise we had been looking forward to with great anticipation and I wonder whether there are ground for compensation from Celebrity?

Above the full refund no, The general opinion on here is that Celebrity are pretty poor regarding communication but the change of ports were put in place because of things out of their control. Yes they have given short notice but how would you look to claim the compensation ? I don't Celebrity would offer anything so would you go down the line of spending your own money to file a claim ?

Thanks for your responses, I appreciate the reasons for the change of itinerary and we have had numerous excellent cruise with Celebrity. I just feel that more notice could have been given as the situation developed over the course of a couple of weeks and better communication (customer service) should be encouraged!

This has been a challenge for all of the cruise lines. No one can predict the future with certainty. For better or worse that is the world we live in.

Keith

I cannot believe that you were offered a full refund of your cruise fare! We were not offered anything on the celebrity silhouette sailing October 17. Not one thing. Not an opportunity to cancel, not one bit of onboard credit to get more Internet time to research the new ports, nothing. We found out 12 hours before boarding.

This does not seem right to me at all. We should've been offered the same thing that you were offered. This is pretty outrageous in my opinion!

Could this be because the OP is from the U.K. not the U.S.? There are different laws regarding vacation protections in the different countries.

Could this be because the OP is from the U.K. not the U.S.? There are different laws regarding vacation protections in the different countries.

Wondering the same, the US get many benefits we don't such as cancellation without losing deposits among many other things and maybe this is one of these examples of better protection in the UK that's often mentioned ?

Wondering the same, the US get many benefits we don't such as cancellation without losing deposits among many other things and maybe this is one of these examples of better protection in the UK that's often mentioned ?

Which would then mean it would fall under the 'major changes' part of the UK cruise contract, and I'm sure I recall some cruisers on that other thread regarding the 'Holy Land' cruise that were from the UK and they never mentioned being offered a full refund for their alterations to the Silhouette itinerary - I'll have to go back and check.

Update - In fact, the OP on the other thread was from Kent in the UK :confused:!

Which would then mean it would fall under the 'major changes' part of the UK cruise contract, and I'm sure I recall some cruisers on that other thread regarding the 'Holy Land' cruise that were from the UK and they never mentioned being offered a full refund for their alterations to the Silhouette itinerary - I'll have to go back and check.

 

Update - In fact, the OP on the other thread was from Kent in the UK :confused:!

But if you scroll through the previous posts of the OP on the other thread, they say: "I am based in the UK, but have a US travel agent that always gets me a good deal".;)

But if you scroll through the previous posts of the OP on the other thread, they say: "I am based in the UK, but have a US travel agent that always gets me a good deal".;)

That must be the answer then :confused:. Wonder if there was anyone offered the full refund that had booked in the UK for that particular sailing on Sillie? It will be interesting to see if anyone comes on here with a reply ;).

Approximately 12 months ago we booked the above cruise, really looking forward to 2 days exploring Istanbul followed by 3 days exploring Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem! About 2 months ago the Istanbul section was cancelled with an overnight stay and a direct transfer to the ship together with an extra day at sea replacing it. We were disappointed but we still had the Israel trips to look forward to. About 2 weeks ago the situation in Israel began to degenerate and we were concerned that things may change again. Nothing was heard however, so we assumed everything would be okay, then with less than 18 hours to go before we were due to board our flight we received an e-mail from our travel agent telling us of a change of itinerary. The Israel section of the cruise had been replaced by visits to Rhodes, Santorini, Crete and overnight in Athens and the replacement of 2 days at sea all of which made us less than enthusiastic! We were offered a complete refund of cruise and excursion fees but other expenses such as foreign visa's, etc were not covered. We chose to cancel finding the new itinerary unacceptable and were grateful to our agents for being 'on the ball' as we received no notification from Celebrity until less than 12 hours to go before our flight! Although our cruise fare has been refunded, there are still outstanding expenses and of course the massive disappointment of not going on a cruise we had been looking forward to with great anticipation and I wonder whether there are ground for compensation from Celebrity?

Hey Robbiew

Have you noticed a bit of interest on this thread concerning why you got a refund and no one else did or could?

What's the story?

To the OP

Sorry to hear about your trip. So disappointing, but you seem have taken your disappointment better than some. I can understand you choosing to cancel, the whole vibe of your cruise had been changed starting when you lost your overnight in Istanbul.

I am going to have to give some serious consideration to our trip booked next July; Istanbul to Rome. Flying to Istanbul adds a considerable expense to our trip, and to lose the overnight would be a difficult pill to swallow. Of course I could add a day or two before cruise to insure we see the Must See sights, but I had planned on adding an extra day or two in Rome. DH has limited vacation time, so I can't add extra days to both the front and back end. At least I have time before final payment before I have to make a decision.

I do hope you next trip goes off as planned.

Interesting.

I am currently on a Seabourn med cruise that departed Monte Carlo on Oct 17. There are two British couples onboard who were originally on the aforementioned Silhouette Holy Land cruise but were able to cancel, get a full refund and join us, instead.

Being from the US, I was surprised to hear Celebrity offered them a full refund. I was following the now closed thread by the disappointed Silhouette passengers and will be on the Constellation transatlantic immediately following that Holy Land cruise with cancelled ports in Israel as well.

It didn't occur to me until later to ask if they were able to join us in Monte Carlo or a port later in our cruise, as they only had 24hrs notice. Hopefully, I will run into them again and get more details.

I mainly cruise Celebrity and my ability to cancel cruises before final payment with no fees is helpful. I didn't realize British citizens were not allowed that.

Interesting.

 

I am currently on a Seabourn med cruise that departed Monte Carlo on Oct 17. There are two British couples onboard who were originally on the aforementioned Silhouette Holy Land cruise but were able to cancel, get a full refund and join us, instead.

 

Being from the US, I was surprised to hear Celebrity offered them a full refund. I was following the now closed thread by the disappointed Silhouette passengers and will be on the Constellation transatlantic immediately following that Holy Land cruise with cancelled ports in Israel as well.

 

It didn't occur to me until later to ask if they were able to join us in Monte Carlo or a port later in our cruise, as they only had 24hrs notice. Hopefully, I will run into them again and get more details.

 

I mainly cruise celebrity and my ability to cancel cruise before final payment with no fees is helpful. I didn't realize British citizens were allowed that.

Hi Mariah. We won't be joining you on the constellation after all sadly. Eric had a mild heart attack on the silhouette and we are still in Rhodes and he is in the cardiac intensive care unit. I think he'll be fine but I don't see any more cruises in our immediate future! So have a drink at the Sunset bar for us!

I mainly cruise celebrity and my ability to cancel cruise before final payment with no fees is helpful. I didn't realize British citizens were allowed that

We recently had to cancel our TA on Reflection.

I was told I wouldn't loose my deposit if I transferred it to a new booking.

I think this is new.

Hi Mariah. We won't be joining you on the constellation after all sadly. Eric had a mild heart attack on the silhouette and we are still in Rhodes and he is in the cardiac intensive care unit. I think he'll be fine but I don't see any more cruises in our immediate future! So have a drink at the Sunset bar for us!

Poor Eric, how awful and can't even imagine what you must be going through! Please know you're both in my thoughts and prayers. Weird week altogether. Did you hear about Fred's surgery this week? He and Diane almost weren't joining us either.

Again, I am just so sorry about this. Not fair when bad things happen to nice people. You're such a great couple and I'll greatly miss having you onboard. Please tell Eric I'm thinking of him and do keep us informed on how he is doing.

Mariah

email: cadburysmom at aol dot com

We recently had to cancel our TA on Reflection.

I was told I wouldn't loose my deposit if I transferred it to a new booking.

I think this is new.

It doesn't appear on the list of Captains Club benefits, but I was told on our last cruise by someone who had transferred a booking that in the UK, Elite and above are now allowed one change without penalty.

Hi Mariah. We won't be joining you on the constellation after all sadly. Eric had a mild heart attack on the silhouette and we are still in Rhodes and he is in the cardiac intensive care unit. I think he'll be fine but I don't see any more cruises in our immediate future! So have a drink at the Sunset bar for us!

Cathy,

I am so very, very sorry to hear this. Best wishes to you both, and I hope you are able to return home soon.

Marie

It doesn't appear on the list of Captains Club benefits, but I was told on our last cruise by someone who had transferred a booking that in the UK, Elite and above are now allowed one change without penalty.

I didn't realise it was an Elite benefit. When we were on Infinity TA in 2013, a future cruise consultant told us that there were efforts to make UK terms & conditions in line with US ones. I assumed that this had happened.

What I was told by the agent when I asked about penalties if we cancelled, was that we wouldn't have to pay £35 for change of our booking, as we were Elite.

I didn't realise it was an Elite benefit. When we were on Infinity TA in 2013, a future cruise consultant told us that there were efforts to make UK terms & conditions in line with US ones. I assumed that this had happened.

What I was told by the agent when I asked about penalties if we cancelled, was that we wouldn't have to pay £35 for change of our booking, as we were Elite.

It must have only just come in then because only a few months ago we had to cancel and lose our deposit.

Hi Mariah. We won't be joining you on the constellation after all sadly. Eric had a mild heart attack on the silhouette and we are still in Rhodes and he is in the cardiac intensive care unit. I think he'll be fine but I don't see any more cruises in our immediate future! So have a drink at the Sunset bar for us!

My thoughts are with both of you. A speedy recovery and hopefully you will soon be home.

It must have only just come in then because only a few months ago we had to cancel and lose our deposit.

My understanding is that if you cancel completely, you still lose your deposit, but if you transfer to another cruise, Celebrity will waive the £35 pp transfer fee that is normally charged in the UK.

But if you scroll through the previous posts of the OP on the other thread, they say: "I am based in the UK, but have a US travel agent that always gets me a good deal".;)

I am sorry that your cruise was changed. It wasn't Celebrity's fault that it has become unsafe in Israel. I am surprised at the people who are still upset. They were offered a full refund or a different( very nice) cruise to more ports than the original cruise was to visit. Celebrity has done more than most people would expect. I don't understand why some people are still angry. If you don't like how Celebrity handled the situation, make other plans in the future. I have a lot of respect for Celebrity trying to keep their guests safe.

Be flexible. Things happen. How you react can or cannot make your vacation good or bad.