Should Celebrity give us something for missing the Holy Land on a Holy Land cruise?

[boogs]

Exactly! I know what the contract says. It just would have been good PR.... doesn't give me any reason to book with them for my next cruise.. a future cruise credit..even 100.00 would have..like I said it was a missed opportunity on their part.

 

I'm shaking my head in disbelief! Apparently you will now base your future cruise decisions on whether you were given a few dollars in "PR" instead of considering the rest of the cruise experience which was probably excellent. Seems your priorities are a bit twisted, in my opinion. To each her own, I guess.

[Croooser]

I'm shaking my head in disbelief! Apparently you will now base your future cruise decisions on whether you were given a few dollars in "PR" instead of considering the rest of the cruise experience which was probably excellent. Seems your priorities are a bit twisted, in my opinion. To each her own, I guess.

 

X2 You want to blame someone else for your decision to travel in the Middle East when there is consistent unrest over the last few years.

 

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[Alg63]

Sorry that happened, but i have to agree with the majority. Unforeseen circumstances.

Regarding the tours, that is. The risk we take when not booking non ship organized tours .. Often the ship tours are more expensive, larger busses, longer waits for everyone on that large bus to go to the bathroom etc.. But you don't. Have to hassle with trying to contact a 3rd party in case of changes ..and the ship will always wait for passengers that are running late with a Celebrity tour..

[Cruising89143]

No ports are ever guaranteed on a cruise. If going to a specific place meant that much to you then you should have made alternative travel plans. Also, had Celebrity cruised to those ports and something happened would you have then have blamed the cruise line?

[jackdiamond]

I agree with the majority consensus.

[kkorman]

Just back from the Celebrity Silhouette.

 

It was my dream cruise. I saved up for this one and used my savings to pay for it. I believed we would go to the port of Ashdod for two nights, and Haifa for one night.

I understand for safety reasons these ports were cancelled.

 

Yet, no future credit toward a cruise was given, no internet use for a day or hour to let our planned excursions know about the cancellation..no on board credit..nothing was given.

 

Am I wrong to think Celebrity missed an opportunity to keep a future customer?

 

I was booked on this itinerary,but canceled when things started getting iffy in Egypt and was happy I did. If I had stayed, I would have been sure to make sure my tours were refundable due to the uncertainty... Ad the cancelation of Isreal is certainly a not a surprise.

 

I feel badly that you missed the opportunity to visit Isreal, but celebrity do not think they should have given anything. There was a reason this cruise was priced so inexpensively... No one knew where it was going to go.

[C2CMH]

I was booked on this itinerary,but canceled when things started getting iffy in Egypt and was happy I did. If I had stayed, I would have been sure to make sure my tours were refundable due to the uncertainty... Ad the cancelation of Isreal is certainly a not a surprise.

 

I feel badly that you missed the opportunity to visit Isreal, but celebrity do not think they should have given anything. There was a reason this cruise was priced so inexpensively... No one knew where it was going to go.

 

 

 

We were also on this sailing of the Silhouhette and have cruised many times and are well aware that ports can be missed. We were watching as the sailing got closer and the cruise lines did nothing to change the itinerary in advance so that anyone who was mostly interested in Israel could cancel if they had dropped it before departure. As a matter of fact, Celebrity lead us on while on board, all the way up to the day before arrival in Israel before they told us that we would be spending one day at sea and an overnight in Istanbul. I think since they waited so long to let us know it kind of made us unsure as to how "unsafe" the cruise lines really thought it was.... why wait so long? There were large groups on board from various Churches and many with family in Israel that all had extensive plans and believed fully that we were going in up till the day before when they cancelled it.

 

Anyway, this was a hard lesson learned on missing ports, (since we had been to most of the other ports on this itiinerary, including Istanbul and Celebrity did miss a PR opportunity. Of course they dont HAVE to DO anything.... but imagine if they did, it would have lightened the mood and brought back 3000 pasengers for another go at it or on another sailing on Celebrity. As the airlines always say "there are lots of choices out there for travel, and we are glad you chose us" Same goes for the cruise lines.

[WhansaMi]

We were also on this sailing of the Silhouhette and have cruised many times and are well aware that ports can be missed. We were watching as the sailing got closer and the cruise lines did nothing to change the itinerary in advance so that anyone who was mostly interested in Israel could cancel if they had dropped it before departure. As a matter of fact, Celebrity lead us on while on board, all the way up to the day before arrival in Israel before they told us that we would be spending one day at sea and an overnight in Istanbul. I think since they waited so long to let us know it kind of made us unsure as to how "unsafe" the cruise lines really thought it was.... why wait so long? There were large groups on board from various Churches and many with family in Israel that all had extensive plans and believed fully that we were going in up till the day before when they cancelled it.

 

Anyway, this was a hard lesson learned on missing ports, (since we had been to most of the other ports on this itiinerary, including Istanbul and Celebrity did miss a PR opportunity. Of course they dont HAVE to DO anything.... but imagine if they did, it would have lightened the mood and brought back 3000 pasengers for another go at it or on another sailing on Celebrity. As the airlines always say "there are lots of choices out there for travel, and we are glad you chose us" Same goes for the cruise lines.

 

I'm sorry, but I've read many, many times a variation on this theme: "We skipped Israel (Rome/St. Kitts/etc/etc/ etc) and all they did was give us $100 OBC! Well, that is NOT good enough!!!"

 

You say that it would have brought 3000 people back, but it wouldn't have.

[cruzsnooze]

Just back from the Celebrity Silhouette.

 

It was my dream cruise. I saved up for this one and used my savings to pay for it. I believed we would go to the port of Ashdod for two nights, and Haifa for one night.

I understand for safety reasons these ports were cancelled.

 

Yet, no future credit toward a cruise was given, no internet use for a day or hour to let our planned excursions know about the cancellation..no on board credit..nothing was given.

 

Am I wrong to think Celebrity missed an opportunity to keep a future customer?

I think they should have something for you. It wasn't their fault but I feel good customer service requires they do something since they missed the ports that are really why people book this cruise. If they knew in advance they should have offered a full refund so the choice to go ahead with the cruise would be yours to make.

[cruzsnooze]

..and the ship will always wait for passengers that are running late with a Celebrity tour..

Absolutely not true. It just happened recently to an RCL cruise where the ship couldn't wait for one of their own excursions. It is usually true they wait but not ALWAYS!

[Natasha708]

I think they should have something for you. It wasn't their fault but I feel good customer service requires they do something since they missed the ports that are really why people book this cruise. If they knew in advance they should have offered a full refund so the choice to go ahead with the cruise would be yours to make.

 

Thanks for your kind words. Bottom line..this was advertised as a Holy Land Cruise. We did not go to the Holy Land. I understand it would not have possibly been save. Yet land tours were landing in Tel Aviv the same time and were all safe.

Anyways.. it's 'water under the bridge' now. I will cruise again...but..there is no reason for me to only look at Celebrity itineraries... this is where a future cruise credit would have made the difference.

 

Thanks again to everyone that took the time to post...

[Alg63]

I think they should have something for you. It wasn't their fault but I feel good customer service requires they do something since they missed the ports that are really why people book this cruise. If they knew in advance they should have offered a full refund so the choice to go ahead with the cruise would be yours to make.

"Good customer service" does not mean compensation. Good customer service means that you had all the information up front. You knew that X can change itinerary or skip ports, and if you think they (X) take that lightly, think again. It is a huge amount of work for them. Had this been another cruise line, they probably would have made the same decision. Of course people booked the cruise because of certain ports, but war or civil unrest is not a Nintendo game. You can't stop or pause it. Up until the very moment X made their decision, the situation could have escalated or a cease fire could have come.

[phoenix_dream]

If this were due to issues on Celebrity's part (mechanical or the like) then I would argue that despite the contract wording, some type of compensation would have been good PR. But when they cancel a port due to a safety issue? Sorry, but I agree with the majority. Believe me, they are losing revenue already when canceling a port and risking disappointed passengers, so they absolutely do not make that decision lightly. When one books a cruise itinerary in an area know for periodic uprisings of violence, then one knows upfront that there is a risk the ports will change. It is also a risk people take when they book their own shore excursions - being that port stops, including times, may change - a risk you decide to take when you make the decision to go on your own. I sincerely sympathize with the OP for missing their dream ports, but under the circumstances I absolutely do not agree that they are owed any type of compensation, PR or otherwise. The precedent that would set in the way of lost revenue would ultimately impact all of us cruisers in the way of higher fares. I would consider that unfair!

[zactak]

Exactly! I know what the contract says. It just would have been good PR.... doesn't give me any reason to book with them for my next cruise.. a future cruise credit..even 100.00 would have..like I said it was a missed opportunity on their part.

 

I too am sorry the cruise was not able to stop at the ports you were planning on stopping at. Unfortunately that's a part of cruising. I agree with everyone else that X doesn't owe you anything. Even $100 would be a major loss in revenue for X considering the number of people on the cruise. A free drink or two from the bar may have been a nice touch, but surely not something they should feel obligated to give you. It's important to stay on top of the issues in very volatile areas so you can plan accordingly. You could have postponed your cruise until the problems in the area improved.

 

I disagree with the fact it was a missed opportunity on their part.

[flames9]

Yes it does suck and I guess that is the rules, but thats sort of because people allow it. Cruise ships do have to pay $$$$ to go into port--I wonder if they get that $$$ back when due to safety they are unable to go in? I know when I was in the Cdn Navy--it cost us $$$$ to go alongside foreign ports. So if the ship does get some of that $$ back, it would be great PR for them to return a small OBC to cruisers--or allow them to make a few phone calls or internet. It is funny with some of peoples tone on here, almost nasty, but again everyone reads a persons email differently. Best of luck

[richsea]

Sorry you missed the Holy Land, however, Celebrity did give you something; Istanbul. They could have just added sea days.

I just can't see how the lack of a $100 credit would make anyone not consider a cruise line in the future. IMO, that's just being petty.

[Christine Frances]

Other than the missed ports, how did you like the cruise? How was the food? Did you eat in the MDR, Aqua or any Specialty Restaurants? Did you have good weather? How were your tours in the other ports?

 

 

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[boulders]

How many on the ship? 3000? That's $30,000 in loss, in addition to the excursions. And, missed ports happen with some regularity. How much in losses would you say that comes to?

 

Actually, $100 x 3000 passengers is $300,000. That's not pocket change.

[WhansaMi]

Actually, $100 x 3000 passengers is $300,000. That's not pocket change.

 

Yep. You are right. Long day yesterday. :-)

 

But, dropping those zeros can make a BIG difference. :-)

[Hawks11]

We over nighted in Istanbul, a port I had already over nighted at and do not consider it a Holy Land Port...

 

I have visited the Holy Lands and understand your disappointment but the likelihood of a cancellation has been on the cards for some time if you had been following the news.

As to, "and do not consider it a Holy Land Port", I have always wanted to visit Istanbul and always considered it to be the centre of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times until it became an Islamic stronghold. I live in the UK and thought that the best time to visit was late Sept and October when the temperatures more favourable to getting about.

[jacketwatch]

I am feeling sorry that you missed out on what was supposed to be perhaps the trip of a lifetime, one that you seem to have extended yourself financially. This has to be hugely disappointing. We were fortunate enough to see the holy land last yr. though our Ashod port got cancelled at the last moment this necessitating us to spend 4 nights there from Haifa. This resulted in considerable extra cost as we had private tours and the cost to see southern Israel, or Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Masada skyrocketed due to the extra gas, about $10.00 per USG then. Bear in mind Haifa was not even on the itinerary when we booked but got added when Alexandria was cancelled due to the politics there, a prudent decision to be sure.

 

So what should I have done? You can't blame X as this was put of their control and I sure cant petition Hamas for the rocket attacks that caused Ashdod to be closed. You just have to accept it as bad luck and move on.

 

What would you do if X did not cancel the stop and you went ashore and became injured due to the violence then? Would you say X should have known they were sending you into a war zone? Sorry about the disappointment but you are ok, X substituted a great stop in Istanbul and did the best they could. The breaks tend to even themselves out. Better luck next time. Keep traveling :)

[Kamloops50]

Just back from the Celebrity Silhouette.

 

It was my dream cruise. I saved up for this one and used my savings to pay for it. I believed we would go to the port of Ashdod for two nights, and Haifa for one night.

I understand for safety reasons these ports were cancelled.

 

Yet, no future credit toward a cruise was given, no internet use for a day or hour to let our planned excursions know about the cancellation..no on board credit..nothing was given.

 

Am I wrong to think Celebrity missed an opportunity to keep a future customer?

 

The cruise contract states that they can change ports for any reason . The only thing you would of seen or received is a refund of the port taxes.

[Redtravel]

Celebrity owes you NOTHING. Be happy that they kept you SAFE!!! I know people who were on land tours in Israel and wanted out. Too risky. I commend Celebrity for not putting you in harm's way. I have missed many ports for lesser reasons...windy, low tides, etc. Sure I was disappointed. It happened. Be real.

[Godsonsafari]

Many years ago I bought a book by Robert Young Pelton called "The World's Most Dangerous Places", which was written mostly by war journos about travel to what where at that time the most dangerous places on earth. One section about preparation was prefaced with a imaginary (but oft repeated in reality) story about adventurous travelers seeking to visit new exciting democracies that had just emerged after years of war and strife only to end up squarely in the middle of civil war after they had arrived. There were two morals to this story - one is that emerging democracies are often unstable and collapse. The other, more important moral, is to understand where it is you are going.

 

The fact of the matter is that the current political state of Israel, the occupied territories, and the semi-autonomous regions that make up the pseudo-nation state of Palestine have been a mess of epic proportions since the end of the second World War. This isn't to say it is your fault for wanting to visit and booking a trip with a company that has managed to go there with many thousands of travelers over the years. However, rationally, you have to accept the realistic possibility that Bad Things Happen and that the likelihood that they may happen there is much greater than the average port of call. If you don't, you aren't being realistic about where it is you just bought a ticket to visit. Ultimately Celebrity Cruises didn't want to take any chances with the lives of its crew or passengers, and chose not to purposely put you at risk. Compared to some of the alternatives (watch the Anthony Bourdain special from Lebanon sometime), time in Istanbul with your cruise ship is hardly oppressive or unfair.