Do Celebrity Care – NO!

[kobecat]

It's indirectly caused by differing laws. The consumer protection laws in the UK, Australia, etc. give consumers more rights than in the US. RCCL chooses to "even the score" so to speak, by having additional restrictions.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Well in this case people from the UK and Australia get less rights; US bookings can cancel with full refund up to final payment date which I think is about 90 days out; for us 151 days out.

 

As long as it is covered in the small print, you are accepting their contract when you book a cruise. You have no argument.

 

Beryl

[Mark_K]

Well in this case people from the UK and Australia get less rights; US bookings can cancel with full refund up to final payment date which I think is about 90 days out; for us 151 days out.

 

As long as it is covered in the small print, you are accepting their contract when you book a cruise. You have no argument.

 

Beryl

The TPA gives you additional rights in relation to the cruise line, and their practices, that we in the US do not have.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[sandancer]

What is the TPA and what protection does it give us here in the UK? I've never heard of it.

[ORV]

"Unfortunately the buffet in the Ocean View appeared to be the same for every breakfast and lunch we went to, the selection never seemed to change, except for the small section, aft on the port side, which was marked British / English Food, which was so bad it never got eaten, you would have thought that after a couple of days when it was left untouched they would get the message, but no."

 

I thought that was the idea with British food. :D

[lawgirl]

Thought I would chime in.

 

First, I agree cutbacks are everywhere on every line and do make me a bit sad. I know flowers or live music at dinner, ice sculptures, the midnight buffet or midnight passed treats are not the most important things. But they did add a little finesse to cruising. Sad to see them go, but frankly I think every mainstream line did away with these niceties to save money.

 

As to food and service, there are some ships better than others....and likely the same ship is different at different times. We have had good and bad service experiences on various lines. Frankly, we have better service overall on RCI than X, but I think overall, X food is better. As an example, On this last X cruise, we booked a suite, but never saw the infamous butler...never, not once.

 

As to the main point of the OP thread, X was very responsive to us as to a recent Solstice cruise which went awry. I believe it was, in part, due to my TA who is Awesome! She really helped and insisted they address my issues, which they did. I am, therefore, sailing agin with X over Christmas on Equinox to give them another try.

 

So far, I haven't been impressed with X, but the ships are so beautiful and I do think we just happened to be on cruises that went awry which can happen on any line. I am willing to give them another try and am very excited about the Equinox! I suggest the OP try going through his TA. Frankly, I used to book directly, but now always use this TA because she gets the job done!

 

On a final note, thank you to OP. I appreciate everyone's opinions, good and bad, as they help me make informed cruising decisions!

[EGG]

While your complaints are true, many of us find them mostly trivial (like flowers on the table) and by putting them all together it makes it sound like you are just a complainer. I have not cruised on Celebrity for many years, mostly because we like to play bridge and they stopped the bridge program. But we can usually find something to do when there are no activities with finding a lounge chair anywhere on the ship and reading and napping high on the list.

 

As to them clearing the table in the buffet, that is a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for the cruise lines. If they left unwatched flatware on the tables there would be complaints that the tables were not cleaned fast enough. DH and I either take turns or go to the dining room for breakfast. I never though to complain about this.

 

As far as the lecturers, we just had the same situation on Queen Elizabeth. No lecturers on Norway and I just did not like the topics of the other lecturers. In fact one of the lecturers was standing room only. He must have been famous in the U.K. I felt guilty sitting there. The best place to complain about a lecturer is the comment card. One of the lecturers mentioned to us that they get rated by the comment cards. This is not really the cruise directors fault.

 

As far as food quality, we all feel your pain. DH and I usually order things we know we will like (and never order steaks or chops) and sometimes share a vegetarian dish as a side to help if we don't like the main dish. We've often sat with people who routinely order an extra dinner. As others have said, the cruise lines are keeping the price down by serving average large venue food and if you are a foodie you should go to the specialty restaurants.

 

With your being from Australia, you may have paid a much higher price than others on the cruise. Unfortunately, from what I read on these boards, all the cruise lines are taking advantage of you.

 

Most of the scenarios you've described we've experienced on RCCL, HAL, Princess and Cunard. We are happy that the price is so reasonable and that we can afford several cruises a year.

 

Our last cruise, 14 days to Norway was on Queen Elizabeth and while the ports were amazing and the bridge and afternoon tea was good, the food for those of us not in the expensive Grilles classes was average and I did not like the lectures. For all this I had to play dress up every night. We just try to go with the flow, each cruise has its highs and lows. I do suggest you try another cruise line. If nothing else, you seem to be bored with Celebrity.

[Priya2]

"Unfortunately the buffet in the Ocean View appeared to be the same for every breakfast and lunch we went to, the selection never seemed to change, except for the small section, aft on the port side, which was marked British / English Food, which was so bad it never got eaten, you would have thought that after a couple of days when it was left untouched they would get the message, but no."

 

I thought that was the idea with British food. :D

oooh, cheeky! From the land that brought us MacDonalds and Dunking Donuts, the most tasteless food in the world! ;)

[spookwife]

oooh, cheeky! From the land that brought us MacDonalds and Dunking Donuts, the most tasteless food in the world! ;)

 

hey now. an apple spice Dunkin' Donut is NOT tasteless. nor is their Boston Creme....

 

and sometimes you are just so hungover that the only thing you can eat is a Big Mac....:p

[Priya2]

hey now. an apple spice Dunkin' Donut is NOT tasteless. nor is their Boston Creme....

 

and sometimes you are just so hungover that the only thing you can eat is a Big Mac....:p

Washed down with warm British beer LOL!

[CruisingChick]

and sometimes you are just so hungover that the only thing you can eat is a Big Mac....:p

 

or a Quarter Pounder with cheese.

[kobecat]

The TPA gives you additional rights in relation to the cruise line, and their practices, that we in the US do not have.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

TPA?? Trade Practices Act???

 

Trust me, we have no additional rights in regards to the cruise lines. They state their terms and conditions, we buy and accept them, done deal.

 

Beryl

[The_Big_M]

TPA?? Trade Practices Act???

 

Trust me, we have no additional rights in regards to the cruise lines. They state their terms and conditions, we buy and accept them, done deal.

 

Beryl

 

Have to laugh. Good luck calling up Celebrity, and filing a complaint because something did not meet the TPA - an act which no longer exists it should be noted! :rolleyes:

[MicCanberra]

oooh, cheeky! From the land that brought us MacDonalds and Dunking Donuts, the most tasteless food in the world! ;)

 

Hey, do not knock these two industries that have put many a teenager/ young adult through college/University even if the food is barely edible.:D

[ozzycruiser15]

I don't think we are being unreasonable to ask for the option to transfer ( exchange ) a deposit that we have not used yet?? remember.. we are not asking for a refund!

it seems that they have no desire to keep our business with them.. nor do they have any flexibility.. remembering that we are planning to sail on the same ship as everyone else regardless of which country or agent they booked through.. and the ship is owned by the same company..

is there no thought?

[kitty9]

Blueboro, the problem is, it's the same Mexican fare, same Indian, same pasta etc. And remember, not everyone likes the ethnic fare offered. I feel for those who are vegan or have dietary issues. And then there's the poor dessert offerings in the buffet. It's either jello, some kind of mystery puddings or cookies. But desserts, IMHO, have always been a weakness. Thank heaven for really good fruit selections.

[cruise love]

We are in Australia.. Told no refund, no transferring over phone with the australian service desk..they didn't even want to hear our reasons.. As I posted, we have emailed celebrity directly, and are now waiting for a response.

 

I have a booking that I made on board and emailed captains club to change the booking from April 2013 to 2014 and now changing to 2015. I received an auto response and about a week later a personal email. When I made the first change there was no problem b email - just transferred the booking and deposits. This time the email has informed me that I have to call their US 1800 number but in the email that they would transfer any deposits and payments made to the new booking and I would keep the same booking number

 

Cruise Love

[ozzycruiser15]

I have a booking that I made on board and emailed captains club to change the booking from April 2013 to 2014 and now changing to 2015. I received an auto response and about a week later a personal email. When I made the first change there was no problem b email - just transferred the booking and deposits. This time the email has informed me that I have to call their US 1800 number but in the email that they would transfer any deposits and payments made to the new booking and I would keep the same booking number

 

Cruise Love

do you remember who you spoke with? or who replied to your email? .. we got told ..no.. flat..

we are not members of the captains club because we have not cruised with celebrity before.. although we have cruised RCCL, and it appears that they are operated by the same people?? ..

we have emailed the address on the Australian ( .com.au) website, but are waiting for a reply.

[MicCanberra]

do you remember who you spoke with? or who replied to your email? .. we got told ..no.. flat..

we are not members of the captains club because we have not cruised with celebrity before.. although we have cruised RCCL, and it appears that they are operated by the same people?? ..

we have emailed the address on the Australian ( .com.au) website, but are waiting for a reply.

 

They do take a while to reply, I suggest you call and see what they say, (sometimes their answers change depending who you are speaking to and it may suit you to call a few times).:D

[ozzycruiser15]

They do take a while to reply, I suggest you call and see what they say, (sometimes their answers change depending who you are speaking to and it may suit you to call a few times).:D

 

thank you for the suggestion.. we will give them a few more days to reply to our email, then I will call them again for sure..

we have til the end of September before we either pull out, or need to pay any more progress payments if we cancel...... so we still have abit of time..

I will keep you all updated.

[MicCanberra]

thank you for the suggestion.. we will give them a few more days to reply to our email, then I will call them again for sure..

we have til the end of September before we either pull out, or need to pay any more progress payments if we cancel...... so we still have abit of time..

I will keep you all updated.

 

Cheers and good luck.:D

[kobecat]

I don't think we are being unreasonable to ask for the option to transfer ( exchange ) a deposit that we have not used yet?? remember.. we are not asking for a refund!

it seems that they have no desire to keep our business with them.. nor do they have any flexibility.. remembering that we are planning to sail on the same ship as everyone else regardless of which country or agent they booked through.. and the ship is owned by the same company..

is there no thought?

 

If you are happy to send me your email address, I will give you the number for the Operations Manager in Australia. Not sure if it will help but anything is worth a try.

 

We had an issue and got no satisfaction from Celebrity Australia; just got ignored.

 

Have you tried posting your complaint on their facebook page; that brought our response.

 

If you want the contact details my email is berylmorris at upnaway dot com.

 

I'm with you - what's the problem. You don't want your money back. No compassion.

 

Beryl

[spookwife]

Washed down with warm British beer LOL!

 

does Guiness count as a British beer?!

 

I must comment on the buffet complaints about it being boring and no variety,

 

I thought that was the whole point? offer some basic everyday( read..bland and boring) stuff for all the picky eaters who cringe at the thought of eating snails and think duck is for reality TV shows.

 

 

Cereal I don't think( I may be wrong here) is a 'common' breakfast item for adults who don't have kids in school here. and it's expensive. they probably only buy x number of each kind and Mom with the toddler grabs all 5 of the froot loops that gets put out to take on shore excursions to jeep junior happy. leaving the boring rice krispies.

 

I know I certainly do NOT want boring old cereal. Gimme my eggs benedict and my made to order omelet.

[richstowe]

ozzycruiser15

 

Do you have a specific cruise you wish to transfer this deposit to ? I don't know if that works for you but by giving them the actual date you wish to sail, it may persuade them to assist you. Otherwise you would in effect be asking for a unrestricted credit and that would be a tougher issue for them. I am not agreeing with their policy, just looking for a possible solution.

[Priya2]

does Guiness count as a British beer?!

Its Irish, but still served unchilled!

[The_Big_M]

You may not want cereal but that doesn't mean nobody does. It'd be pretty boring if everyone just wanted eggs.

 

In any case, no other mainstream cruise line is so poor as you claim it is expensive, that they have such a limited variety.