Celebrity cancelled our cruise - what to do

[upwarduk]

OP,

You are fortunate to gain OBC for your cancelled cruise.

 

In early 2011, I booked a cruise on RCCL's Indy, for my 70 birthday ( a year out)

A few weeks later, I read on these boards that the 18 night Mediterranean cruise was substituted with a 12 night Cannaries cruise.

The original cruise worked out at £45. P.p.p.n.

The Cannaries cruise worked out at £120p.p.p.n!!!!!:eek:

 

This incensed me, as we knew that we had grabbed a bargain Med cruise.

I rang the Travel agent, who was unable to find any information.

We were never informed of the change, it was only because I kept harassing the TA that eventually we were told we could change to a replacement Mediterranean cruise, which was 2 months earlier. This was not acceptable, as were already booked on a land trip.

Eventually, we changed to a Celebrity cruise to Hawaii ( this had been on my husband's bucket list) which was 2 months after my birthday.

No OBC was offered.

The only concession that was allowed, was that a cake was produced on the 2nd night, the only trouble was that the waiters sang 'Happy 70th Anniversary' to my husband & me.

[chief190]

We booked a 8 day southern Caribbean on rccl and 9 months out the ship was chartered. We where able to rebook keep our obc and go from grand suite to owners suite on rccl. And after all said and done we got cruise credits for two cruises at once and to this day they won't fix that. Oh well more credits for us.

 

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[20pluscruises]

Oh dear, think I'm going to have to put my hands in the air as being unreasonable on this one - but that's why I asked for people's opinion. Time to get over it and just sit and enjoy looking at brochures again...preferably with a glass on wine in hand.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments I am going to go back to being Mrs Nice again and just enjoy the fact that we are all lucky to be able to enjoy these wonderful holidays in the first place.

 

I hope you all enjoy your next cruise/holiday wherever it may take you - cheers!

 

I would be upset, too. However, in hindsight I would also be happy I'm not on a cruise that has such a large group onboard.

 

I hope you can get all the dates and couples to together on the next booking.

[jkgourmet]

I did not realize that when you book in the UK then cancel, you cannot get your deposit back - even a year out. That is awful!

 

Is that a Celebrity policy for UK passengers, or does that apply to all of the cruise lines? Is there a justification/reason for this policy? I'm genuinely curious why the passenger cancellation policies would be so dreadful in the UK, but quite generous and reasonable in the US.

 

I sincerely hope you can put your group back together again. It IS upsetting, I'm sure, but I sincerely admire your attitude.

[caro24]

OP,

You are fortunate to gain OBC for your cancelled cruise...........

 

Eventually, we changed to a Celebrity cruise to Hawaii ( this had been on my husband's bucket list) which was 2 months after my birthday.

No OBC was offered.

The only concession that was allowed, was that a cake was produced on the 2nd night, the only trouble was that the waiters sang 'Happy 70th Anniversary' to my husband & me.

 

Oh dear Jackie, what a terrible experience and so stressful. We are truly lucky and that is what I think now as I sit here, home from work on a Friday evening with a glass of wine. How wonderful that you managed to trade the Med for Hawaii despite the expense (maybe only UK will appreciate this comment) and I will try not to laugh at the waiters singing Happy 70th Anniversary.

 

It looks as though you have had some amazing cruises.

[Tommy3putts]

Oh dear, think I'm going to have to put my hands in the air as being unreasonable on this one - but that's why I asked for people's opinion. Time to get over it and just sit and enjoy looking at brochures again...preferably with a glass on wine in hand.

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for your comments I am going to go back to being Mrs Nice again and just enjoy the fact that we are all lucky to be able to enjoy these wonderful holidays in the first place.

 

 

 

I hope you all enjoy your next cruise/holiday wherever it may take you - cheers!

 

 

I would probably be anywhere from disappointed to upset depending how far out I am from the cruise. A year or so ago not so much but now less than five months away after I've booked airfare and hotels I'd be upset. But really in the end "whaddaya gonna do?" Stuff happens. I think everyone knows in travel nothing is for certain.

[caro24]

I did not realize that when you book in the UK then cancel, you cannot get your deposit back - even a year out. That is awful!

 

Is that a Celebrity policy for UK passengers, or does that apply to all of the cruise lines? Is there a justification/reason for this policy? I'm genuinely curious why the passenger cancellation policies would be so dreadful in the UK, but quite generous and reasonable in the US.

 

I sincerely hope you can put your group back together again. It IS upsetting, I'm sure, but I sincerely admire your attitude.

 

This is just something for UK holidays generally and certainly not unique to Celebrity. For almost any holiday, if we book and then cancel we lose our initial deposit. This is why we will look for an initial low deposit holiday eg, $450. I also did not realise that things are different in US and can now understand why most people here thought I was unreasonable. Thank you for responding to my post, it has been good to get the feedback. I now more appreciation for why Celebrity have taken this stance. Have a good weekend.

[24butterfly]

Celebrity have just cancelled our Asia cruise in Feb 2015 on the Millennium as the ship has now been chartered.

 

We are very disappointed in Celebrity in the way they have handled the cancellation of this cruise, their letter and email advising us of the cancellation was surprisingly abrupt. They have given us less than 2 weeks to decide what we want to do as an alternative with the offer of $200 OBC. This I find to be a particular insult as if we had cancelled at anytime we would have lost a minimum of £300 (over $450 US) deposit.

 

I have contacted Celebrity explaining how this already impacts on us with increased cost of travel, trips already booked, arrangements already made and changes to time off work and cover for business. I feel that on a corporate level they are really not interested. It's a money game.

 

As the cruise has been cancelled for a charter it must have been financially beneficial for them, but they do not seem willing to pass on to their customers.

 

We are now torn. We love this itinerary and have spotted a similar Celebrity cruise we could book, but do we want to give our money to them? :confused:

 

It's has also taken some of the shine off the cruise we have booked to celebrate our anniversary in May this year. :(

 

Would be interested to hear experiences of anyone who has been in a similar position or opinion of anyone else booked on this cruise.

 

Oh, go on the cruise that's similar. Life's too short to fret about this sort of thing. Fuggedaboutit. Enjoy the cruise. You may not be able to one day.

[wallie5446]

For down the road, some from across the pond have posted that they have found a way to use a U.S. based agency to book, so to be able to not have to 'take it in the shorts' (loose the deposit) if they ever needed to cancel. I dont know how, but surley someone does.

[cynbar]

Caro, I give you a lot of credit for participating in the ongoing discussion here, often the OP just disappears, especially if he/she is criticized! I think your biggest problem is likely finding a cruise and time frame that all of you can agree on, and I really sympathize with that because I know from experience how hard it is to coordinate even 2 couples! Hopefully that glass of wine (or two) is helping, and you will soon be able to get over much of your disappointment and start planning your replacement cruise!

[upwarduk]

For down the road, some from across the pond have posted that they have found a way to use a U.S. based agency to book, so to be able to not have to 'take it in the shorts' (loose the deposit) if they ever needed to cancel. I dont know how, but surley someone does.

 

Certainly some cruise lines would not allow passengers to book through a US agent.

At one time, you had to have a US address to book with a US agency, but since most bookings are now via the Internet and Invoices are sent by email, I wonder if this still applies.

 

I had to cancel once, due to a knee operation ( the waiting list had been reduced from 1 year to 7 months and my operation was just 2 weeks before our arranged cruise)

I lost my deposit, but fortunately was able to claim all except the excess, on our Travel Insurance. The cruise line would have benefited, as they had my deposit and could re-sell my cabin.

 

I believe we are held to 'Terms & Conditions' set by the UK government and are Atol protected.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Thanks. I did not realise that in the US you would not lose your deposit if you cancelled at this stage. It casts a different light on the way Celebrity are handling this and why to a US customer $200 certainly would seem fair.

Ever wish you had not posted a thread?

 

I think you need to talk with your travel agent. Celebrity does not charge a cancellation fee. Your travel agent is. Don't be fooled. Call Celebrity directly next time and book thru them.

[MVPinBoynton]

caro24,

You did much better than me. Celebrity never contacted me or my TA about cancelling my Century Asia/Japan cruise in April 2015. I would have happily moved to the Millenium cruise you are describing; but there were no offers of anything. They just moved us to a Suez Canal cruise that the Century was going on. If I hadn't followed what was going on with the Century on CC, I wouldn't have known it was cancelled. Also, because I booked the cruise on board, they wouldn't refund my deposit after I cancelled. I was told that I have to book another cruise to use it. I know I will book another Celebrity cruise; but since they cancelled the cruise, they should have refunded it.

 

I have since booked a much nicer itinerary on Oceania that covers more of China and Japan. It cost a lot more than the great price I had on the Century; but it does look like a great cruise. Good luck on picking another cruise.

[caro24]

Caro, I give you a lot of credit for participating in the ongoing discussion here, often the OP just disappears, especially if he/she is criticized! I think your biggest problem is likely finding a cruise and time frame that all of you can agree on, and I really sympathize with that because I know from experience how hard it is to coordinate even 2 couples! Hopefully that glass of wine (or two) is helping, and you will soon be able to get over much of your disappointment and start planning your replacement cruise!

 

Thank you cynbar. It's not the end of the world and we are already enjoying the planning, which is always half the fun...and yes, wine helps.

[caro24]

caro24,

You did much better than me. Celebrity never contacted me ........

 

I have since booked a much nicer itinerary on Oceania that covers more of China and Japan. It cost a lot more than the great price I had on the Century; but it does look like a great cruise. Good luck on picking another cruise.

 

Mike. that is terrible. I really have come off very well by comparison. Your new cruise sounds great. Enjoy.

[MVPinBoynton]

Mike. that is terrible. I really have come off very well by comparison. Your new cruise sounds great. Enjoy.

 

I think we will both make lemonade out of the lemon. ::)

[ClaireP]

I was on this cruise. I don't have an issue being told more than a year out, as I haven't done flights, trips....... And I think the compensation is fair

 

The challenge for me, is that the cruise disappeared from my celebrity on jan 21 or similar for some of the roll call and the we heard officially at different times depending on our home location.

 

I am a loyal celebrity cruiser but do not think it unreasonable that celebrity leave the cruise visible until they gave all info and email all passengers at the same time. If they don't, their staff get lots of calls and have no info and passengers feel let down.

 

So am I disappointed, yes. Is the compensation fair, yes. Did celebrity do a good job in communicating, no and it is within their gift. It would be amazing f they improved that,

[sandancer]

It's disappointing but you can't say that if you cancelled your cruise a year in advance you wouldn't be refunded your money. The cruise lines refund 100% if you cancel 90 days before embarkation and many itineraries allow you to cancel up to 60 days before sailing with no penalty.

 

They have given you a 200 OBC to use for another cruise for the inconvenience.

 

Hope you can find another cruise to your liking on Celebrity or another cruise line that probably has a similar sailing at the time you planned to go.

 

Not in the UK. It does not matter how far out you cancel - the cruise line keeps the deposit if the cruise was booked in the UK.

[theborders]

I think you need to talk with your travel agent. Celebrity does not charge a cancellation fee. Your travel agent is. Don't be fooled. Call Celebrity directly next time and book thru them.

 

Sorry you have given incorrect information

 

You have different rules in the States, In the UK as many UK cruisers have already said in this thread you loose your deposit end of story. It does not matter if you book with a TA or direct with Celebrity you will loose the deposit. As the OP said they book when there is a low deposit (as they know it is non refundable), it is not just celebrity but all cruise lines and any holiday land, air or sea. That is the way it is done here like it or lump it.

[smtcan]

I think you need to talk with your travel agent. Celebrity does not charge a cancellation fee. Your travel agent is. Don't be fooled. Call Celebrity directly next time and book thru them.

 

In North America Celebrity doesn't charge cancellation fees. However, one of the large online TAs has started to charge a cancellation or change fee of $50 pp. They are quite up front about this. We have used them in the past because of their generous OBC and frequent group rates. However, we will only book last minute cruises with them now because of this policy. The decline of the Canadian dollar also affects our decision to use them.

 

Sheila

[Haynecourt]

caro24,

You did much better than me. Celebrity never contacted me or my TA about cancelling my Century Asia/Japan cruise in April 2015. I would have happily moved to the Millenium cruise you are describing; but there were no offers of anything. They just moved us to a Suez Canal cruise that the Century was going on. If I hadn't followed what was going on with the Century on CC, I wouldn't have known it was cancelled. Also, because I booked the cruise on board, they wouldn't refund my deposit after I cancelled. I was told that I have to book another cruise to use it. I know I will book another Celebrity cruise; but since they cancelled the cruise, they should have refunded it.

 

I have since booked a much nicer itinerary on Oceania that covers more of China and Japan. It cost a lot more than the great price I had on the Century; but it does look like a great cruise. Good luck on picking another cruise.

 

Hi, im in tne same boat, booked on board, from century round japan, transferred to dubai to rome 2015, i have usd 900 in place for 9 pax and usd 600 obc from booking on board. Our schedule wont allow us to cruise in 2015, but possibly yes in 2016.

 

1. Will celebrity allow me to transfer to a booking for europe in 2016? I believe the earliest this can be done is march 2015?

2. If i cancel, i lose usd 900?

[MVPinBoynton]

Hi, im in tne same boat, booked on board, from century round japan, transferred to dubai to rome 2015, i have usd 900 in place for 9 pax and usd 600 obc from booking on board. Our schedule wont allow us to cruise in 2015, but possibly yes in 2016.

 

1. Will celebrity allow me to transfer to a booking for europe in 2016? I believe the earliest this can be done is march 2015?

2. If i cancel, i lose usd 900?

 

What my TA told me to do was to change the booking to another cruise before the final payment date and then keep changing until you are ready for another cruise.

[Haynecourt]

What my TA told me to do was to change the booking to another cruise before the final payment date and then keep changing until you are ready for another cruise.

 

Thanks so much! Im glad to have communicated with you. My TA wont give me this answer, i felt he was shying away from the work of rebooking 9 names, over and over... Now i know what to do, he can either do it or lose it. Thanks!,

[beentothere]

If an airline has the same issue, they supply another plane and/or there are

nearly comparable choices within plus or minus one day. Same with a hotel.

But with a cruise, the logistics may or may not be so simple based on personal

commitments and needs surrounding the date. With no date or logistics correlated plans, such disruptions are not likely to be a big deal. BUT to others

in can be. Schedule a wedding and a honeymoon around a cruise. Special

dates where friends and family are travelling together may never be able to be

rescheduled. So what is fair is often personal and others may not have the

compassion to accept others harm. SUGGEST cruise lines fulfill a reasonable

choice with trip cancel insurance where you can buy the amount that reflects

the choice damages. This could work for any ship related issue, like rescheduling for mechanical reasons and more. Thus if date flexibility is limited

or non existent, then insurance to the loss degree would be appropriate. Sounds like life insurance, buy the amount that fits the personal conditions.

 

So make the punishment fit the crime, demand Cruising companies support such insurance and at least proper risk and reward are MORE equitable.

 

Just my thoughts from 50 years of major travel.

[Project_gal]

Celebrity have just cancelled our Asia cruise in Feb 2015 on the Millennium as the ship has now been chartered.

 

We are very disappointed in Celebrity in the way they have handled the cancellation of this cruise, their letter and email advising us of the cancellation was surprisingly abrupt. They have given us less than 2 weeks to decide what we want to do as an alternative with the offer of $200 OBC. This I find to be a particular insult as if we had cancelled at anytime we would have lost a minimum of £300 (over $450 US) deposit.

 

I have contacted Celebrity explaining how this already impacts on us with increased cost of travel, trips already booked, arrangements already made and changes to time off work and cover for business. I feel that on a corporate level they are really not interested. It's a money game.

 

As the cruise has been cancelled for a charter it must have been financially beneficial for them, but they do not seem willing to pass on to their customers.

 

We are now torn. We love this itinerary and have spotted a similar Celebrity cruise we could book, but do we want to give our money to them? :confused:

 

It's has also taken some of the shine off the cruise we have booked to celebrate our anniversary in May this year. :(

 

Would be interested to hear experiences of anyone who has been in a similar position or opinion of anyone else booked on this cruise.

 

We are also from the UK and our 2014 transpacific was cancelled by Celebrity because they chartered the ship. We finally booked the cruise for a year later and many of the people affected on your cruise also booked the 2015 transpacific.

 

What Celebrity and many other Cruise Critic members fail to understand is the differences between the US and UK. As you point out, Celebrity hold a non-refundable deposit when we book and, therefore, it seems even more one sided.

 

Expenses in the UK can be incurred earlier and be higher. In our case, we risked losing almost £2,000 for travel insurance. The fact that we did not loose money was because our insurers valued our business more than Celebrity did. Our insurers bent their rules to refund most of the premium.

 

The conditions in the original cancellation from Celebrity were far too restrictive because, to get the compensation, you had to book a cruise in the same category stateroom/suite. Because our cancellation was not announced until later in the year, there was no equivalent accommodation left at the time - on any ship.

 

I understand how you feel because it soured our view of Celebrity as well. However, we came out OK in the end because of the concessions those in the US managed to get from Celebrity. I suggest that you do what I did and follow the others on your Roll Call to see what they manage to achieve. It took me 8 months but we finally managed to get the same concessions as those in the US. However, I also have to give credit to our PCS and Captain's Club representative in the UK who helped us with booking a holding cruise until the new season cruises were released. With the working practices at Celebrity UK now, I doubt we would be helped in the same way.

 

All I can say is follow your Roll Call and have faith. The effort it takes to ensure that you do not take a financial loss so that Celebrity can improve their bottom line will result in you feeling worse about the company before it starts to get better - but you will feel less agrived eventually.