Is the infinity having propulsion problems???

Really?? If we’d not been having propulsion problems we could have gone to Falkland Islands??And you know this because you’ve studied at a maritime school, or you understand navigation maps, or you were on the bridge seeing all of the readouts, technology etc and made that pronouncement. And you understand where another port is and whether their schedule would allow us to dock and the ripple effect that would have on arriving on time for disembarkation?

Very tired of reading these disparaging comments.

I was on this cruise, and the one before it (back-to-back). Let me shed some light on this.

* We were told in advance, while on the first cruise, as were those who would board for The Antarctica Cruise, that there were propulsion problems and Port Madryn would therefore be cancelled. A) There was never a safety issue; B) we would still have a good speed but, over the longer haul, the small change in speed mounts up so we would not go to Port Madryn; and C) Celebrity was refunding us for one day and for any shore excursion we’d booked there, because this change was due to the ship itself.

* This was primarily an Antarctica cruise and people booked it to visit the 7th continent and go around Cape Horn. Celebrity delivered and did so fantastically. Micky-Live, their naturalist was amazing and spoke live, piped in to areas around the ship and all cabins over ship tv as we did these amazing places. Captain went slowly around Cape Horn insuring all areas of ship could see it by his turning the ship. Paradise Island in Antarctica was incredible - Captain did two slow doughnuts (turn arounds) enabling everyone in all areas of the ship to have close-up views. Weather was great (not always the case). When we arrived at Elephant Island (where Shackleford’s men were stranded) it was so foggy we could see nothing. Captain waited and waited and waited....and fog lifted slowly and he waited..and then lifted completely. Agin, two slow doughnuts so everyone could see. It was amazing, And understand here, this was the purpose of the cruise - to see Antarctica.

* Yes - we were late to Ushuaia and people set out on excursions at 4:30 and some returned at 11. My understanding was currents and winds were against the ship going there, affecting the arrival. I know of two people who cancelled their excursions when they learned of the late arrival, and were refunded.

* Falkland Islands — gale-force winds (not just “because of winds”) and “extremely rough seas”- and in good conditions this port is a 45 minute tender. Captain sent letters to every cabin, announced, and showed maps etc on tv station. Those with private excursions booked were given a free phone call from Guest Services to alert them. Those who booked excursions with Celebrity were refunded in the manner they were booked: if you booked it before the cruise using ship board credit, you were refunded in ship board credit or if before the cruise by credit card, your credit card was refunded. If you reserved on board, you got an onboard credit. This was a very large and extremely dangerous weather system that was becoming apparent as we sailed...and indeed, we still had some rough seas as we skirted it. To assume that we would have missed the storm if we’d had full propulsion is not factual.

* I was in the library where the head of Concierge class was at his desk. As with Guest Relations, Celebrity assumed people would want to vent and had their desks staffed early. I witnessed people being belligerent to staff, sometimes as many as 20 at a time crowded in the library with voices raised. Same thing at Guest Services. Our wonderful cabin attendant was yelled at and had a door slammed in his face.

And let me be clear — which is not what you’re reading in these threads, people were angry because they did not see penguins. Penguins. Not because they wanted one more land stop...They are angry and threatening class action suits, because they did not see penguins. Staff are on 10 month contracts, away from their families, so we can cruise....missing their family...always smiling....and people were furious because they didn’t see penguins. Antarctica was the billing and main reason for the cruise....our safety, excellent and always pleasant service....and people are yelling because they didn’t see penguins??? Let’s have some perspective here. I understand disappointment. We’ve all been disappointed at times — but this kind of vitriolic anger because an Antarctic cruise didn’t have penguins up close?

*Last point: crew were incredible through the entire cruise. Added shows in afternoons and evenings with amazing performers who put together extra performances...orchestra members, singers, etc who learned new shows on the fly, practiced extra so they could deliver...more activities, more of everything on board while many people were rude and belligerant.

I for one commend Celebrity for their service, their commitment to safety, commitment to the environment, support of non-profits, training program and support of their staff, visibility of officers all over the ship, every day and evening, visibility of staff continually cleaning the ship...etc etc etc.

We will continue to sail Celebrity and are so grateful for our wonderful Antarctica cruise.

Really?? If we’d not been having propulsion problems we could have gone to Falkland Islands??And you know this because you’ve studied at a maritime school, or you understand navigation maps, or you were on the bridge seeing all of the readouts, technology etc and made that pronouncement. And you understand where another port is and whether their schedule would allow us to dock and the ripple effect that would have on arriving on time for disembarkation?

 

Very tired of reading these disparaging comments.

 

I was on this cruise, and the one before it (back-to-back). Let me shed some light on this.

 

* We were told in advance, while on the first cruise, as were those who would board for The Antarctica Cruise, that there were propulsion problems and Port Madryn would therefore be cancelled. A) There was never a safety issue; B) we would still have a good speed but, over the longer haul, the small change in speed mounts up so we would not go to Port Madryn; and C) Celebrity was refunding us for one day and for any shore excursion we’d booked there, because this change was due to the ship itself.

 

* This was primarily an Antarctica cruise and people booked it to visit the 7th continent and go around Cape Horn. Celebrity delivered and did so fantastically. Micky-Live, their naturalist was amazing and spoke live, piped in to areas around the ship and all cabins over ship tv as we did these amazing places. Captain went slowly around Cape Horn insuring all areas of ship could see it by his turning the ship. Paradise Island in Antarctica was incredible - Captain did two slow doughnuts (turn arounds) enabling everyone in all areas of the ship to have close-up views. Weather was great (not always the case). When we arrived at Elephant Island (where Shackleford’s men were stranded) it was so foggy we could see nothing. Captain waited and waited and waited....and fog lifted slowly and he waited..and then lifted completely. Agin, two slow doughnuts so everyone could see. It was amazing, And understand here, this was the purpose of the cruise - to see Antarctica.

 

* Yes - we were late to Ushuaia and people set out on excursions at 4:30 and some returned at 11. My understanding was currents and winds were against the ship going there, affecting the arrival. I know of two people who cancelled their excursions when they learned of the late arrival, and were refunded.

 

* Falkland Islands — gale-force winds (not just “because of winds”) and “extremely rough seas”- and in good conditions this port is a 45 minute tender. Captain sent letters to every cabin, announced, and showed maps etc on tv station. Those with private excursions booked were given a free phone call from Guest Services to alert them. Those who booked excursions with Celebrity were refunded in the manner they were booked: if you booked it before the cruise using ship board credit, you were refunded in ship board credit or if before the cruise by credit card, your credit card was refunded. If you reserved on board, you got an onboard credit. This was a very large and extremely dangerous weather system that was becoming apparent as we sailed...and indeed, we still had some rough seas as we skirted it. To assume that we would have missed the storm if we’d had full propulsion is not factual.

 

* I was in the library where the head of Concierge class was at his desk. As with Guest Relations, Celebrity assumed people would want to vent and had their desks staffed early. I witnessed people being belligerent to staff, sometimes as many as 20 at a time crowded in the library with voices raised. Same thing at Guest Services. Our wonderful cabin attendant was yelled at and had a door slammed in his face.

 

And let me be clear — which is not what you’re reading in these threads, people were angry because they did not see penguins. Penguins. Not because they wanted one more land stop...They are angry and threatening class action suits, because they did not see penguins. Staff are on 10 month contracts, away from their families, so we can cruise....missing their family...always smiling....and people were furious because they didn’t see penguins. Antarctica was the billing and main reason for the cruise....our safety, excellent and always pleasant service....and people are yelling because they didn’t see penguins??? Let’s have some perspective here. I understand disappointment. We’ve all been disappointed at times — but this kind of vitriolic anger because an Antarctic cruise didn’t have penguins up close?

 

*Last point: crew were incredible through the entire cruise. Added shows in afternoons and evenings with amazing performers who put together extra performances...orchestra members, singers, etc who learned new shows on the fly, practiced extra so they could deliver...more activities, more of everything on board while many people were rude and belligerant.

 

I for one commend Celebrity for their service, their commitment to safety, commitment to the environment, support of non-profits, training program and support of their staff, visibility of officers all over the ship, every day and evening, visibility of staff continually cleaning the ship...etc etc etc.

 

We will continue to sail Celebrity and are so grateful for our wonderful Antarctica cruise.

Thanks for sharing that and putting some light on the facts. I'm on the February 18th sailing and looking forward to seeing Antarctica, as that was the whole point of booking the tour, to see the 7th continent up close and personal.

It sucks about the weather, but it happens, One of the Captains I spoke with last year mentioned that weather/visibility is always a tricky issue with the Antarctic voyages, that's one of the reasons they do them so infrequently and always have double or triple the amount of lookouts on the bridge during those voyages, as conditions can change very quickly.

Couple of years ago on a TA on Silhouette weather was awful and gale force winds and high seas kept everyone inside for 4 days, sadly no one can predict when or where.

We received the note about them cancelling Port Madryn on our upcoming voyage, hoping we don't get any other cancellations, but anything is possible especially in that area of the world.

Also they spell out the uncertainties possible in cruise contract (below)that we all agree to

Luckily they don't deviate too often of the the iteneraries, but it does happen on some of these more exotic voyages..

As long as they keep me safe and have the positive attitude that you mention, I know we'll enjoy it as much as you did, and thanks again for sharing your thoughts on the voyage, and can't wait till ours.

6. Carrier may for any reason, at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing or port of call, or substitute another vessel or port of call, and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Passenger by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation.

In connection with a CruiseTour, Carrier may for any reason, at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance,postpone or deviate from any scheduled departure or destination, or substitute another railcar or bus or destination or lodging or other component of the CruiseTour, and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Passenger by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation. By way of example, and not limitation, Carrier may deviate from any scheduled sailing and may otherwise land Passenger and his property at any port if Carrier believes that the voyage or any Passenger or property may be adversely affected as a result of hostilities, blockages, prevailing weather conditions, labor conflicts, strikes onboard or ashore, breakdown of Vessel, congestion, docking difficulties or any other cause whatsoever.

Similarly, by way of example, and not limitation, Carrier may at its discretion elect not to visit a location shown on your itinerary. Carrier reserves the right to substitute a hotel for the planned hotel, provided that Carrier shall make commercially reasonable efforts to provide a comparable hotel.

To be clear, we saw 100's of Penguins on our Ushuaia excursion, and several more on Ice-burgs later. This was not the source of our disappointment.

Our disappointment stems from the dramatically reduced port stops and excessive sea days -- we lost 50% of daylight time at Ushuaia (compared to the original itinerary) all of Port Madryn (previously communicated) and all of the Falkland Islands.

Facts: 1) We left knowing that the ship's propulsion was comprised 2) Departure was delayed from BA. 3) According to the Met office site uk.gov (which provides hourly wind and gust info) Weather conditions on our originally scheduled Falkland Island stop (the day prior to the storm) would have allowed tendering.

So I think any reasonable assessment would conclude that the Root Cause for all the lost stops was propulsion. Weather is always a risk, but we would have avoided it on this trip had the original itinerary been maintained in a ship with full propulsion.

I also want to be clear that the staff did a great job, they hated having more sea days as much as we did, but continued to provide great service, I'm sure in the face of much frustration.

We enjoyed Mickey Live and seeing Antartica, but we would never have booked the itinerary we ended up sailing -- we booked because we wanted a balance of Port time, Sea days and Antartica.

The fine print is very clear, which is one of the reasons we will not join any legal action. I just think X made a mistake continuing the cruise -- it appears that reduced propulsion makes late port departures and/or modest wind increases difficult to make up (as demonstrated with Ushuaia) hence my closing comment in my earlier post: "I would not rely on any long haul schedule integrity until dry dock."

And let me be clear — which is not what you’re reading in these threads, people were angry because they did not see penguins. Penguins. Not because they wanted one more land stop...They are angry and threatening class action suits, because they did not see penguins. Staff are on 10 month contracts, away from their families, so we can cruise....missing their family...always smiling....and people were furious because they didn’t see penguins. Antarctica was the billing and main reason for the cruise....our safety, excellent and always pleasant service....and people are yelling because they didn’t see penguins??? Let’s have some perspective here. I understand disappointment. We’ve all been disappointed at times — but this kind of vitriolic anger because an Antarctic cruise didn’t have penguins up close?

 

Can I just say, for us it wasn't just about the penguins, they were a major contributing factor in us booking the cruise but it was the complete itinerary that sold it to us in January 2016. We feel very humble at seeing Antarctica but this cruise was also about the wildlfe. Fortunately we we able to see some in Ushuaia but we saw nothing of the town itself because it was close to midnight when we returned and also dark!

I understand and appreciate the need for safety and can only applaud the crew for their dedication in what was a tough time for them.

While I think of it, nobody has mentioned the Argentines who had booked the cruise as a means of paying their respects to fallen family members in the 80's conflict. I maybe wrong but am given to believe that was the essense of the lawyers original involvement.

We had a great cruise but it was blighted by a chain of events which stemmed from the propulsion issue.

Sounds like the root cause of the problems was the weather....not the propulsion. When the seas are up and stronger winds, two engines don't matter. How many have missed the sting rays in Grand Cayman due to weather (answer: lots). How many have missed Lisbon due to weather (answer: we have). Sounds like folks really would have Celebrity cancel a cruise due to the weather forecast....which of course is both silly and would never happen.

I understand disappointment, but I don't think the engines caused all of the problems the OP (and others) attribute to them......

I guess there's a lawyer somewhere who thinks they'll get some publicity out of filing a class action....or figures that celebrity will decide to settle a suit out of court....but unless one can clearly create a case based on safety, I don't think there's a chance in hxxx that anyone other than the lawyer will (or based on what I've read here, should) get a penny through the legal system. If the case is about not stopping in the Falklands, someone really needs to do their homework on how many ships miss that port.

Sounds like the root cause of the problems was the weather....not the propulsion. When the seas are up and stronger winds, two engines don't matter. How many have missed the sting rays in Grand Cayman due to weather (answer: lots). How many have missed Lisbon due to weather (answer: we have). Sounds like folks really would have Celebrity cancel a cruise due to the weather forecast....which of course is both silly and would never happen.

 

I understand disappointment, but I don't think the engines caused all of the problems the OP (and others) attribute to them......

 

I guess there's a lawyer somewhere who thinks they'll get some publicity out of filing a class action....or figures that celebrity will decide to settle a suit out of court....but unless one can clearly create a case based on safety, I don't think there's a chance in hxxx that anyone other than the lawyer will (or based on what I've read here, should) get a penny through the legal system. If the case is about not stopping in the Falklands, someone really needs to do their homework on how many ships miss that port.

As stated before, I do not agree that the legal action will stand, given the fine print. But don't blame the weather.

The weather did not turn bad until late pm the 30th Jan, after we would have left Stanley on the original schedule. MickeyLive made several comments about the fact it was so calm for the first week, even to the point that he was disappointed we didn't see more wind at several points. We were still 7.5 hours late getting to Ushuaia versus normal schedule and 2.5 hours after the modified schedule.

We were very lucky with weather. We only had a period of less than 24 hours of bad weather.

 

And let me be clear — which is not what you’re reading in these threads, people were angry because they did not see penguins. Penguins. Not because they wanted one more land stop...They are angry and threatening class action suits, because they did not see penguins. Staff are on 10 month contracts, away from their families, so we can cruise....missing their family...always smiling....and people were furious because they didn’t see penguins. Antarctica was the billing and main reason for the cruise....our safety, excellent and always pleasant service....and people are yelling because they didn’t see penguins??? Let’s have some perspective here. I understand disappointment. We’ve all been disappointed at times — but this kind of vitriolic anger because an Antarctic cruise didn’t have penguins up close?

Having reflected on the cruise and your observations, I felt compelled to respond. All my posts were factual. We also felt really bad for the crew who faced the wrath of upset guests. But your assertion re Penguins is at best inaccurate. Sure it read nicely, but....

We wanted to see the ports as much as Antartica, in a large part because we grew up in the UK during the terrible conflict that cost so many lives in the Falklands war. Apparently the Argentinan lawyer lost family members there too – so very sad. We met a couple from Wales who were visiting, to pay tribute to the Welsh Guards who lost 32 lives on the Sir Galahad.

And you attributed all our disappointment to Penguins. Penguins? Really?

I. Not sure the Infinity is going to make it to the planned repair date with these issues. They are still sailing her for tow more mo the with these issues?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

An associate of DHs and the gentleman's wife just got back from their Infinity to Antarctica cruise. He mentioned the ship did have some slow going but it also had some 60MPH gales and 30 foot seas. We experienced this in 2015 when we did the trio of six weeks on Infinity. They were not upset at all, and felt they had been treated very well and fairly. They missed Cape Horn, we happened to have made Cape Horn. The next day the blinding fog, which was our experience also.

I am not a "cheer leader" for any cruise line but I do try to be cognizant of what is fair, and from what we have heard from those first time cruisers, they loved it and will be booking again with Celebrity.

Stuff happens and the cruise contracts are written to cover those events.

As stated before, I do not agree that the legal action will stand, given the fine print. But don't blame the weather.

 

The weather did not turn bad until late pm the 30th Jan, after we would have left Stanley on the original schedule. MickeyLive made several comments about the fact it was so calm for the first week, even to the point that he was disappointed we didn't see more wind at several points. We were still 7.5 hours late getting to Ushuaia versus normal schedule and 2.5 hours after the modified schedule.

 

We were very lucky with weather. We only had a period of less than 24 hours of bad weather.

The ship was compromised, doing consistently 14 knots a lot of the time this was being watched by passengers with sailing knowledge and software. Not everyone was on the cruise for Antarctic of Penguins others were on the ship for the ports and I still have difficulty as to why it took so long for us to divert away from the storm in this day and age with satellite weather reports. There were a lot of frighted passenger on the ship during that time.

Bottom line is if the ship had not been having difficulty we would have been in the Falklands before the storm. Hence the reason was not only weather. I have commended the staff for working through difficult times and thanked many of them personally on the ship. I watched a gentleman be abusive and pushed a security guard when there was no call for it. I later met that security personal and thank him as it was totally uncalled for and he told me it happens all the time.

Glad you have such faith in Celebrity. There will be extra staterooms available as many of us will never cruise with them again. The ship is is such good shape that they have to pull it out of service and cancel a cruise, but it was just fine for ours???

We paid for a properly working ship and they gave us one what was broken. It appears that they find that acceptable to them. Doesn't work for me. I'll just vote with my feet.

Happy cruising.

Really?? If we’d not been having propulsion problems we could have gone to Falkland Islands??And you know this because you’ve studied at a maritime school, or you understand navigation maps, or you were on the bridge seeing all of the readouts, technology etc and made that pronouncement. And you understand where another port is and whether their schedule would allow us to dock and the ripple effect that would have on arriving on time for disembarkation?

 

Very tired of reading these disparaging comments.

 

I was on this cruise, and the one before it (back-to-back). Let me shed some light on this.

 

* We were told in advance, while on the first cruise, as were those who would board for The Antarctica Cruise, that there were propulsion problems and Port Madryn would therefore be cancelled. A) There was never a safety issue; B) we would still have a good speed but, over the longer haul, the small change in speed mounts up so we would not go to Port Madryn; and C) Celebrity was refunding us for one day and for any shore excursion we’d booked there, because this change was due to the ship itself.

 

* This was primarily an Antarctica cruise and people booked it to visit the 7th continent and go around Cape Horn. Celebrity delivered and did so fantastically. Micky-Live, their naturalist was amazing and spoke live, piped in to areas around the ship and all cabins over ship tv as we did these amazing places. Captain went slowly around Cape Horn insuring all areas of ship could see it by his turning the ship. Paradise Island in Antarctica was incredible - Captain did two slow doughnuts (turn arounds) enabling everyone in all areas of the ship to have close-up views. Weather was great (not always the case). When we arrived at Elephant Island (where Shackleford’s men were stranded) it was so foggy we could see nothing. Captain waited and waited and waited....and fog lifted slowly and he waited..and then lifted completely. Agin, two slow doughnuts so everyone could see. It was amazing, And understand here, this was the purpose of the cruise - to see Antarctica.

 

* Yes - we were late to Ushuaia and people set out on excursions at 4:30 and some returned at 11. My understanding was currents and winds were against the ship going there, affecting the arrival. I know of two people who cancelled their excursions when they learned of the late arrival, and were refunded.

 

* Falkland Islands — gale-force winds (not just “because of winds”) and “extremely rough seas”- and in good conditions this port is a 45 minute tender. Captain sent letters to every cabin, announced, and showed maps etc on tv station. Those with private excursions booked were given a free phone call from Guest Services to alert them. Those who booked excursions with Celebrity were refunded in the manner they were booked: if you booked it before the cruise using ship board credit, you were refunded in ship board credit or if before the cruise by credit card, your credit card was refunded. If you reserved on board, you got an onboard credit. This was a very large and extremely dangerous weather system that was becoming apparent as we sailed...and indeed, we still had some rough seas as we skirted it. To assume that we would have missed the storm if we’d had full propulsion is not factual.

 

* I was in the library where the head of Concierge class was at his desk. As with Guest Relations, Celebrity assumed people would want to vent and had their desks staffed early. I witnessed people being belligerent to staff, sometimes as many as 20 at a time crowded in the library with voices raised. Same thing at Guest Services. Our wonderful cabin attendant was yelled at and had a door slammed in his face.

 

And let me be clear — which is not what you’re reading in these threads, people were angry because they did not see penguins. Penguins. Not because they wanted one more land stop...They are angry and threatening class action suits, because they did not see penguins. Staff are on 10 month contracts, away from their families, so we can cruise....missing their family...always smiling....and people were furious because they didn’t see penguins. Antarctica was the billing and main reason for the cruise....our safety, excellent and always pleasant service....and people are yelling because they didn’t see penguins??? Let’s have some perspective here. I understand disappointment. We’ve all been disappointed at times — but this kind of vitriolic anger because an Antarctic cruise didn’t have penguins up close?

 

*Last point: crew were incredible through the entire cruise. Added shows in afternoons and evenings with amazing performers who put together extra performances...orchestra members, singers, etc who learned new shows on the fly, practiced extra so they could deliver...more activities, more of everything on board while many people were rude and belligerant.

 

I for one commend Celebrity for their service, their commitment to safety, commitment to the environment, support of non-profits, training program and support of their staff, visibility of officers all over the ship, every day and evening, visibility of staff continually cleaning the ship...etc etc etc.

 

We will continue to sail Celebrity and are so grateful for our wonderful Antarctica cruise.

Glad you have such faith in Celebrity. There will be extra staterooms available as many of us will never cruise with them again. The ship is is such good shape that they have to pull it out of service and cancel a cruise, but it was just fine for ours???

 

We paid for a properly working ship and they gave us one what was broken. It appears that they find that acceptable to them. Doesn't work for me. I'll just vote with my feet.

 

Happy cruising.

They are taking the infinity out of service when it reaches Florida and Nassau where they have the dry dock. It’s possible if not likely there wasn’t a capable dry dock available in South America prior to your cruise.

I guess you would have them taking the ship out of service and cancelling all the south america cruises after yours.....even though the ship is quite capable of safely doing cruises on one engine.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Maybe they should inform guests sailing between now and dry dock that the ship is limping and will likely not make all the ports on the schedule and give people a chance to cancel with full refund. Not everyone reads here and most folks probably don’t know that the ship they are about to sail on is broken.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Just for the record, this was what Celebrity sent out 2 weeks prior to sailing. As you can see Ushuaia got put back to 2:00pm from its original 9:00 am slot. This was then pushed back to 4:30pm arrival with the excuse of poor weather.

Port Stanley was originally allocated 9 hours which went to 12 on the revised itinerary. We could easily have managed a short stop somewhere if Celebrity had our best interests at heart.

We were short changed!!!

on top of that there was some weather around the Falkland Islands which in turn they had to cancel our stop at the Falkland Islands. In other words, a 14 day cruise with four original ports of call, has now turned into 10 days at sea and only two ports to visit.

 

 

There has been several meetings on the cruise among many other passengers in reference to initiating a class action lawsuit against celebrity. This is being orchestrated by several attorneys that are on the ship.

 

 

.

A law suit based on what? A 14 day cruise with only 4 scheduled port stops and one of those being Falkland was most likely only going to be 3 port stops to begin with. My understanding is that Falkland Islands is one of the most canceled ports in the world due to high winds.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Glad you have such faith in Celebrity. There will be extra staterooms available as many of us will never cruise with them again. The ship is is such good shape that they have to pull it out of service and cancel a cruise, but it was just fine for ours???

 

We paid for a properly working ship and they gave us one what was broken. It appears that they find that acceptable to them. Doesn't work for me. I'll just vote with my feet.

 

Happy cruising.

Here here TNC, I believe you are in the right. Just turn it around: “Celebrity, I do not have any pounds to give you, but I will pay you in dollars, they are just a little bit slower but you can still spend them safely. So instead of paying you 2700 pounds per person, I will give you 2700 dollars per person.” See if that flies ok with Celebrity.

I can’t say that I will NEVER, sail with Celeb again, I have learned that never is a looooong time, so I am careful how I use that word. But Celeb will not be my first choice, or go out of my way to sail with them. But hey things are constantly changing, maybe tomorrow Celeb will learn from this and become a better cruise line.

Cheers.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We were on Infinity last Oct...there are other things that failed sporadically on our cruise. That's probably because the ship and its parts are old.

There were sewer system smells and issues in various areas.. Towards end of our 8 nite cruise in AQ, we lost AC in our hallway and cabin..fixed once, failed again...

Our shower had excessive mildew..although bleached cleaned and we kept shower and bathroom doors open,

If they fix the pods and upgrade the decor of the ship, not sure all the systems will be changed out...We had a great cruise but will stick with S class and EDGE in the future.

Sorry folks missed out on ports sounds like a combo of factors...

I'll pray for those on these additional cruises prior to drydock. The consequences if the one working unit was to fail??? Ifthey only need one engine, why did they have two installed on the ship? Why is the ship going out of service for an emergency dry-dock?

They should have canceled thecruise I was on. At a minimum, fully disclose the problem and offerrefunds for those who would not want to go on a broken ship.

They are taking the infinity out of service when it reaches Florida and Nassau where they have the dry dock. It’s possible if not likely there wasn’t a capable dry dock available in South America prior to your cruise.

 

I guess you would have them taking the ship out of service and cancelling all the south america cruises after yours.....even though the ship is quite capable of safely doing cruises on one engine.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Just for the record, this was what Celebrity sent out 2 weeks prior to sailing. As you can see Ushuaia got put back to 2:00pm from its original 9:00 am slot. This was then pushed back to 4:30pm arrival with the excuse of poor weather.

Port Stanley was originally allocated 9 hours which went to 12 on the revised itinerary. We could easily have managed a short stop somewhere if Celebrity had our best interests at heart.

We were short changed!!!

 

[ATTACH]414260[/ATTACH]

Amen

This is the letter we sent. So far, they have said they would not do a thing for us. Interesting that they are giving 50% off on a future cruise to those who were cancelled for 4/2. Fact that they did cancel that cruise proves that there really was as problem. We, and our friends who were also on that trip, would be interested in any suits.

February 6, 2018

Dear Ms. Lutoff-Perlo,

We are Elite Plus cruisers on Celebrity, Captain’s Club #700500850. We have just returned from the January 21, 2018 Antarctic sailing on the Infinity. As I am sure you are already aware, this cruise was extremely disappointing and, we feel, very mishandled by Celebrity from before we started.

First, I would like to start with the good news. The staff, especially cruise director Alejandro and his team, were outstanding and did all they possibly could to keep us entertained and help to make the best of a bad situation. This holds for everyone from the dining room, housekeeping, the kitchen staff, Paulina the Captain’s Club hostess, Javier the concierge liaison and guest relations. Sadly, they were constantly berated by very upset passengers for a situation that was totally beyond their control.

The problems began with your decision to continue this sailing with a damaged ship, resulting in the initial cancellation of Puerto Madryn, 2 days before we left for Buenos Aires. We were told by Mickey Live, who was a major contributor to any success the cruise had, that Antarctic itineraries were only completed as originally scheduled 40% of the time! Knowing these odds that it was likely to have to miss another destination, makes it especially unconscionable to have had to proactively cancel one of only 4 planned stops. It was obvious the ship was running on one engine, causing it to not be able to maintain necessary speeds to reach the other destinations on time. Perhaps if this had not been the case, we would have reached Pt. Stanley prior to the bad weather setting in. Apparently a competing line was in the area and was able to complete their total itinerary, including Puerto Madryn and Pt. Stanley.

Due to the need to reduce speed, we also got to Ushuaia a few hours later than scheduled. We were told that this would be compensated for by staying in port longer. However, with shore excursions not beginning until 5 pm and most not returning until 10:30, the town was completely closed down when they concluded and so staying until 2 am was useless and again put us even further off schedule. In essence, on a 14 day cruise we had 1.5 ports and missed having the up close wildlife experience that most of us had come for.

But for us, that wasn’t all. Our third day in Buenos Aires pre cruise my husband was mugged in a supposedly good part of town, losing an expensive watch and sustaining much bruising to his arm. Apparently, about 20 other similar incidents occurred with passengers on this ship. On February 1, the captain sent out a letter of warning about this type of activity in Buenos Aires. Clearly, this was a known problem as many of the entertainers and staff “joked” about it. This warning should have been posted prior to any passengers arrival in Buenos Aires, perhaps on your website.

Then, on the final day we participated in the Tigre River excursion with airport drop-off. As we approached the airport, the guide informed us that all our luggage had been transported to Terminal A. Passengers who had flights from Terminal C, which we did, were to get off the bus, get their luggage and return with it to the bus to be driven to Terminal C. We were encouraged to leave carry ons and personal items on the bus as the driver would remain. When we returned to the bus, number 18, with our luggage, it had left without us, but with my husband’s leather jacket clearly visible on his seat and our carry on with all his medication (he is diabetic) and our jewelry!!! Fortunately, bus 19 was still there and was able to call ahead and make sure that bus 18 waited for us to get there. But the tour guide, Gabriela, was very clearly negligent in not being aware that people were missing.

In speaking with fellow passengers it was agreed that Celebrity missed a tremendous opportunity to diffuse some of the disappointment and verbal abuse of their staff by offering something like free drink packages or unlimited internet for the remainder of the cruise. Not even one free drink was offered!

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we will never repeat. We expect Celebrity to make major compensation for this disaster up to a refund for the cost of the cruise, and/or a major credit to a future cruise. We had reserved 2 additional cruises on board before the major problems began, but are seriously debating whether to continue our relationship with Celebrity.

Looking forward to a timely response,

Great letter

quote=Luvtocruise8;55243444]This is the letter we sent. So far, they have said they would not do a thing for us. Interesting that they are giving 50% off on a future cruise to those who were cancelled for 4/2. Fact that they did cancel that cruise proves that there really was as problem. We, and our friends who were also on that trip, would be interested in any suits.

February 6, 2018

Dear Ms. Lutoff-Perlo,

We are Elite Plus cruisers on Celebrity, Captain’s Club #700500850. We have just returned from the January 21, 2018 Antarctic sailing on the Infinity. As I am sure you are already aware, this cruise was extremely disappointing and, we feel, very mishandled by Celebrity from before we started.

First, I would like to start with the good news. The staff, especially cruise director Alejandro and his team, were outstanding and did all they possibly could to keep us entertained and help to make the best of a bad situation. This holds for everyone from the dining room, housekeeping, the kitchen staff, Paulina the Captain’s Club hostess, Javier the concierge liaison and guest relations. Sadly, they were constantly berated by very upset passengers for a situation that was totally beyond their control.

The problems began with your decision to continue this sailing with a damaged ship, resulting in the initial cancellation of Puerto Madryn, 2 days before we left for Buenos Aires. We were told by Mickey Live, who was a major contributor to any success the cruise had, that Antarctic itineraries were only completed as originally scheduled 40% of the time! Knowing these odds that it was likely to have to miss another destination, makes it especially unconscionable to have had to proactively cancel one of only 4 planned stops. It was obvious the ship was running on one engine, causing it to not be able to maintain necessary speeds to reach the other destinations on time. Perhaps if this had not been the case, we would have reached Pt. Stanley prior to the bad weather setting in. Apparently a competing line was in the area and was able to complete their total itinerary, including Puerto Madryn and Pt. Stanley.

Due to the need to reduce speed, we also got to Ushuaia a few hours later than scheduled. We were told that this would be compensated for by staying in port longer. However, with shore excursions not beginning until 5 pm and most not returning until 10:30, the town was completely closed down when they concluded and so staying until 2 am was useless and again put us even further off schedule. In essence, on a 14 day cruise we had 1.5 ports and missed having the up close wildlife experience that most of us had come for.

But for us, that wasn’t all. Our third day in Buenos Aires pre cruise my husband was mugged in a supposedly good part of town, losing an expensive watch and sustaining much bruising to his arm. Apparently, about 20 other similar incidents occurred with passengers on this ship. On February 1, the captain sent out a letter of warning about this type of activity in Buenos Aires. Clearly, this was a known problem as many of the entertainers and staff “joked” about it. This warning should have been posted prior to any passengers arrival in Buenos Aires, perhaps on your website.

Then, on the final day we participated in the Tigre River excursion with airport drop-off. As we approached the airport, the guide informed us that all our luggage had been transported to Terminal A. Passengers who had flights from Terminal C, which we did, were to get off the bus, get their luggage and return with it to the bus to be driven to Terminal C. We were encouraged to leave carry ons and personal items on the bus as the driver would remain. When we returned to the bus, number 18, with our luggage, it had left without us, but with my husband’s leather jacket clearly visible on his seat and our carry on with all his medication (he is diabetic) and our jewelry!!! Fortunately, bus 19 was still there and was able to call ahead and make sure that bus 18 waited for us to get there. But the tour guide, Gabriela, was very clearly negligent in not being aware that people were missing.

In speaking with fellow passengers it was agreed that Celebrity missed a tremendous opportunity to diffuse some of the disappointment and verbal abuse of their staff by offering something like free drink packages or unlimited internet for the remainder of the cruise. Not even one free drink was offered!

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we will never repeat. We expect Celebrity to make major compensation for this disaster up to a refund for the cost of the cruise, and/or a major credit to a future cruise. We had reserved 2 additional cruises on board before the major problems began, but are seriously debating whether to continue our relationship with Celebrity.

Looking forward to a timely response,

I totally agree with this post. I was also on the same Jan 21 sailing. Celebrity used to be our favorite cruise line. I'm still hoping that Celebrity will do the right thing and compensate us and/or provide credit to future cruise.

Great letter.

 

quote=Luvtocruise8;55243444]This is the letter we sent. So far, they have said they would not do a thing for us. Interesting that they are giving 50% off on a future cruise to those who were cancelled for 4/2. Fact that they did cancel that cruise proves that there really was as problem. We, and our friends who were also on that trip, would be interested in any suits.

February 6, 2018

 

Dear Ms. Lutoff-Perlo,

 

We are Elite Plus cruisers on Celebrity, Captain’s Club #700500850. We have just returned from the January 21, 2018 Antarctic sailing on the Infinity. As I am sure you are already aware, this cruise was extremely disappointing and, we feel, very mishandled by Celebrity from before we started.

First, I would like to start with the good news. The staff, especially cruise director Alejandro and his team, were outstanding and did all they possibly could to keep us entertained and help to make the best of a bad situation. This holds for everyone from the dining room, housekeeping, the kitchen staff, Paulina the Captain’s Club hostess, Javier the concierge liaison and guest relations. Sadly, they were constantly berated by very upset passengers for a situation that was totally beyond their control.

The problems began with your decision to continue this sailing with a damaged ship, resulting in the initial cancellation of Puerto Madryn, 2 days before we left for Buenos Aires. We were told by Mickey Live, who was a major contributor to any success the cruise had, that Antarctic itineraries were only completed as originally scheduled 40% of the time! Knowing these odds that it was likely to have to miss another destination, makes it especially unconscionable to have had to proactively cancel one of only 4 planned stops. It was obvious the ship was running on one engine, causing it to not be able to maintain necessary speeds to reach the other destinations on time. Perhaps if this had not been the case, we would have reached Pt. Stanley prior to the bad weather setting in. Apparently a competing line was in the area and was able to complete their total itinerary, including Puerto Madryn and Pt. Stanley.

Due to the need to reduce speed, we also got to Ushuaia a few hours later than scheduled. We were told that this would be compensated for by staying in port longer. However, with shore excursions not beginning until 5 pm and most not returning until 10:30, the town was completely closed down when they concluded and so staying until 2 am was useless and again put us even further off schedule. In essence, on a 14 day cruise we had 1.5 ports and missed having the up close wildlife experience that most of us had come for.

But for us, that wasn’t all. Our third day in Buenos Aires pre cruise my husband was mugged in a supposedly good part of town, losing an expensive watch and sustaining much bruising to his arm. Apparently, about 20 other similar incidents occurred with passengers on this ship. On February 1, the captain sent out a letter of warning about this type of activity in Buenos Aires. Clearly, this was a known problem as many of the entertainers and staff “joked” about it. This warning should have been posted prior to any passengers arrival in Buenos Aires, perhaps on your website.

Then, on the final day we participated in the Tigre River excursion with airport drop-off. As we approached the airport, the guide informed us that all our luggage had been transported to Terminal A. Passengers who had flights from Terminal C, which we did, were to get off the bus, get their luggage and return with it to the bus to be driven to Terminal C. We were encouraged to leave carry ons and personal items on the bus as the driver would remain. When we returned to the bus, number 18, with our luggage, it had left without us, but with my husband’s leather jacket clearly visible on his seat and our carry on with all his medication (he is diabetic) and our jewelry!!! Fortunately, bus 19 was still there and was able to call ahead and make sure that bus 18 waited for us to get there. But the tour guide, Gabriela, was very clearly negligent in not being aware that people were missing.

In speaking with fellow passengers it was agreed that Celebrity missed a tremendous opportunity to diffuse some of the disappointment and verbal abuse of their staff by offering something like free drink packages or unlimited internet for the remainder of the cruise. Not even one free drink was offered!

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we will never repeat. We expect Celebrity to make major compensation for this disaster up to a refund for the cost of the cruise, and/or a major credit to a future cruise. We had reserved 2 additional cruises on board before the major problems began, but are seriously debating whether to continue our relationship with Celebrity.

Looking forward to a timely response,

We were also disappointed with the response or lack of response from Celebrity. We should have been given the option to cancel and rebook next year perhaps.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Having reflected on the cruise and your observations, I felt compelled to respond. All my posts were factual. We also felt really bad for the crew who faced the wrath of upset guests. But your assertion re Penguins is at best inaccurate. Sure it read nicely, but....

 

We wanted to see the ports as much as Antartica, in a large part because we grew up in the UK during the terrible conflict that cost so many lives in the Falklands war. Apparently the Argentinan lawyer lost family members there too – so very sad. We met a couple from Wales who were visiting, to pay tribute to the Welsh Guards who lost 32 lives on the Sir Galahad.

 

And you attributed all our disappointment to Penguins. Penguins? Really?

And they should know that Falklands gets canceled 50% (I think more) of the time. It seems this was about missing Falkland Islands.

I can also understand not being happy hearing about the cancelation first from private excursion companies before the captain has made an announcement.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

While I think of it, nobody has mentioned the Argentines who had booked the cruise as a means of paying their respects to fallen family members in the 80's conflict. I maybe wrong but am given to believe that was the essense of the lawyers original involvement.

.

And that was their fault for relying on the ship to get them to Falklands for a one day tender stop when that port is one of the most canceled on any cruise itinerary.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums