Are you happier with the new overnight on the cruise you had booked?

[janewe]

I have sent everyone of these very constructive comments to the office of the CEO in the hope someone may persuade them to change their minds re caribbean. I wouldnt cancel but do feel sad that so many people are. Its all very well for one caustic cruise critic person to say put up or shut upbut actually lots of peoplebooked their cruises for specific itineraries and have every right to comment

Thank you for taking the initiative in doing that.

[fielddreamer]

We are still up in the air on our 10 day cruise. We are leaning on changing to a better port to spend the night or just going to a different cruise line. This was handled very poorly and it goes to show you that the cruise lines do not really use their heads all the time !

[riredsox]

I am loving the overnights! I feel as safe in a Caribbean port as I do in alot of US cities. I think Celebrity got this right... I am now overnighting in St Maartin and am looking forward to a relaxing first day not worrying about missing the ship, a sunset cruise and maybe dinner at a nice French restaurant...

[janewe]

I am loving the overnights! I feel as safe in a Caribbean port as I do in alot of US cities. I think Celebrity got this right... I am now overnighting in St Maartin and am looking forward to a relaxing first day not worrying about missing the ship, a sunset cruise and maybe dinner at a nice French restaurant...

To each their own and I hope you enjoy it. For us, already paying air, hotel, taxi, two week balcony cruise cost, excursions (although saving on Bonaire with it being cancelled behind our backs) gratuities, booze package, we can't find the justification of "paying" for two sets of dinner and drinks on the same night. We would prefer to put that money towards our next trip but I realize not all are the same as me.

[Prewelli]

Well said Jane! The food on board the ship is great. I have eaten all over France and whilst I have had some very good meals mostly it is overated and Having paid a goodly amount of money to cruise and be waited on certainly wouldnt want to pay more money for a meal which could be mediocre and possibly not hygenic!

[Soca Queen]

I am loving the overnights! I feel as safe in a Caribbean port as I do in alot of US cities. I think Celebrity got this right... I am now overnighting in St Maartin and am looking forward to a relaxing first day not worrying about missing the ship, a sunset cruise and maybe dinner at a nice French restaurant...

 

 

Aha but would you still feel the same if it was Cartegna ? Losing Belize has upset my Sister and Hubby's 1st Cruise Plans for meeting old Army friends in Belize. Yes we would be ok with St.Maartin stop over our choice, the fact we lose St.Kitts prevents me seeing my family and friends thou, due to the cost it's either land holiday were the prices to St.Kitts are £800.00 per flight or a wonderful saved for cruise, again I work long hours to pay for my yearly or two yearly get away

[riredsox]

Well said Jane! The food on board the ship is great. I have eaten all over France and whilst I have had some very good meals mostly it is overated and Having paid a goodly amount of money to cruise and be waited on certainly wouldnt want to pay more money for a meal which could be mediocre and possibly not hygenic!

 

Not hygenic? I know you're upset about the overnights but eating on an Island is certainly safe, I and countless others have done it quite a bit.

[pistnbroke]

I feel the bottom line is poor consumer laws governing the cruise industry.

No company should have right to do as they wish by hiding behind legalize

drafted by their own lawyers.

Witness the goings on with the Infinity charter bumping all those booked passengers.

Now that's a travesty !

[K.T.B.]

Not hygenic? I know you're upset about the overnights but eating on an Island is certainly safe, I and countless others have done it quite a bit.

 

Agreed.

 

I've eaten at numerous restaurants in Cozumel (La Choza is my fave by far) & Playa del Carmen and I've enjoyed them all! I've had NO problems, too.

[Prewelli]

Ok perhaps the british point of view is different to the US but it is certainly confusing to me why you book a cruise which is basically all inclusive and costs quite a bit of money and then go out and eat? And drink? If you want to do that why not book a hotel on the islands- just slightly confused - perhaps cruising is cheaper from the US than the UK and perhaps y'all have more money!

 

Anyway we all agree to differ its a done deal and we have to take the cruises we have booked or lose money. But will certainly look at other lines for 2018.

[C 2 C]

I feel the bottom line is poor consumer laws governing the cruise industry.

No company should have right to do as they wish by hiding behind legalize

drafted by their own lawyers.

Witness the goings on with the Infinity charter bumping all those booked passengers.

Now that's a travesty !

 

I believe that once an itinerary is opened for booking, the company should not be allowed to resell to a charter thereby cancelling all those passengers who have already booked. The revenue department should approach various charter groups before they establish their itineraries for sale to the retail market.

 

And I know individuals in certain markets can cancel without penalty but one individual cannot determine the outcome for everyone else that has booked.

[Christine Frances]

Ok perhaps the british point of view is different to the US but it is certainly confusing to me why you book a cruise which is basically all inclusive and costs quite a bit of money and then go out and eat? And drink? If you want to do that why not book a hotel on the islands- just slightly confused - perhaps cruising is cheaper from the US than the UK and perhaps y'all have more money!

 

Anyway we all agree to differ its a done deal and we have to take the cruises we have booked or lose money. But will certainly look at other lines for 2018.

 

I am also confused lol. I know people from the UK cannot cancel without losing their deposit but there has been numerous posts whereby people have been able to "transfer" their booking to another cruise without penalty. Not cancelling and rebooking - just a straight transfer. Can anyone confirm? It might help some people

[Tiggertastic]

I'm in the UK and twice transferred, once in 2012 and once in 2013 providing it was before final payment but lost all perks in doing so. I tried this year and was told it could no longer happen and I would lose my deposit. Only 1 example and I'm sure others have a different experience

[texkan]

I believe that once an itinerary is opened for booking, the company should not be allowed to resell to a charter thereby cancelling all those passengers who have already booked. The revenue department should approach various charter groups before they establish their itineraries for sale to the retail market.

 

And I know individuals in certain markets can cancel without penalty but one individual cannot determine the outcome for everyone else that has booked.

 

I am in agreement with your post 100%. I was bumped from Infinity Oct 17, 2016, and still no email from Celebrity to say they were sorry :(

Edited June 8, 2015 by texkan

[shipshape sam]

I am in agreement with your post 100%. I was bumped from Infinity Oct 17, 2016, and still no email from Celebrity to say they were sorry :(

 

Not sure they are sorry. They made a business decision that makes them more money. For sure, I think, they would like both their cake and eat it too! Have a charter and your booking transferred to a non chartered sailing. I do not believe they made this decision because it was in passengers best interest.

 

Kinda hard to not take bookings on the hope a charter will materialize as one poster suggested. Maybe not open bookings so early. That would tick some off too. Not sure there is a solution that resolves all issues to everyones satisfaction, thus, we are where we are.

 

I would like to see something along the line of after 'x" cabins are booked, cruise line cannot cancel those booking without some hefty penalties paid to affected consumers to move to a charter for that sailing. Booking would have to be defined too, i.e. a paid deposit, not a reservation by a TA or a block of cabins held by a TA or consolidator. Or maybe, within 'x' days of sailing, a cruise cannot be converted to a charter. These comments would assume that some government would be required to strong arm the cruise industry.

Edited June 9, 2015 by shipshape sam

[Soca Queen]

Ok perhaps the british point of view is different to the US but it is certainly confusing to me why you book a cruise which is basically all inclusive and costs quite a bit of money and then go out and eat? And drink? If you want to do that why not book a hotel on the islands- just slightly confused - perhaps cruising is cheaper from the US than the UK and perhaps y'all have more money!

 

 

 

Anyway we all agree to differ its a done deal and we have to take the cruises we have booked or lose money. But will certainly look at other lines for 2018.

 

 

We can't either transfer or rebook, due to 1. The great deal we got onboard for two couples, the adjoining cabins 2. The price hike on other Celebrity, also checked out other Cruiselines no way near perks and suitable dates

[phoenix_dream]

I am loving the overnights! I feel as safe in a Caribbean port as I do in alot of US cities. I think Celebrity got this right... I am now overnighting in St Maartin and am looking forward to a relaxing first day not worrying about missing the ship, a sunset cruise and maybe dinner at a nice French restaurant...

 

But those are the kind of things you expect to do when you stay on an island in a hotel, not when you are cruising. When I am cruising I expect to eat on the ship for dinner, use my drink package instead of racking up a big bill on land, etc.. If I wanted a land vacation, I would have booked a land vacation. To each their own and all that - glad it makes some people happy. Me, not so much. Curacao overnight holds no appeal to me whatsoever. At worst, I wish they had overnighted us in Aruba if they had to pick an island. I am very bummed about missing Bonaire - we cruise the Caribbean often and it was exciting to have a new port on our cruise. Now it's gone:(

[dznymom]

I just wanted to report that after much consideration we switched cruises. We have been to St Maarten many times, and always enjoy it, but we have done most everything we care to do there whereas Dominica is an island that we want to explore more.

 

Also I was not pleased that we would be tendering in already overcrowded St Maarten for our first day. That would likely keep us onboard that evening, and for us there are already sufficient days at sea on the itinerary.

 

So we decided to re-do the Silhouette cruise that we so enjoyed last February. It is also saving us a ton of money.

 

I feel terrible for the folks from outside the US that aren't able to make a switch, as in my opinion, this is a significant change to what was purchased.

[LF2C]

We sail on the Eclipse 8th Jan 2017. It took a while to get clarification from Celebrity but they finally confirmed an overnight in Curacao at the expense of St Kitts (I think) not been to S Caribbean before so really don't have an opinion, but I'm sure it won't detract from our cruise or make it any less enjoyable

[janewe]

We sail on the Eclipse 8th Jan 2017. It took a while to get clarification from Celebrity but they finally confirmed an overnight in Curacao at the expense of St Kitts (I think) not been to S Caribbean before so really don't have an opinion, but I'm sure it won't detract from our cruise or make it any less enjoyable

I see you are from Leeds. When I think of Leeds my thoughts go to one of Footballs / Soccer best ever Billy Bremner '59 to '76 but I am dating myself.

 

From looking at your itinerary you will be having two days docked in Curacao and missing not St. Kitts but Antigua. We have done a number of visits to Antigua including land based ones. The Nelson Dockyard at English Bay is well worth a visit. You will just have to put that on your bucket list.

[LF2C]

I see you are from Leeds. When I think of Leeds my thoughts go to one of Footballs / Soccer best ever Billy Bremner '59 to '76 but I am dating myself.

 

From looking at your itinerary you will be having two days docked in Curacao and missing not St. Kitts but Antigua. We have done a number of visits to Antigua including land based ones. The Nelson Dockyard at English Bay is well worth a visit. You will just have to put that on your bucket list.

 

That dates me too! My first game was in1959 when John Charles came back from Italy.

I couldn't remember which island we missed but as I said it doesn't matter to us as we've never been to any of them. Also we're doing this cruise with the famous original Martini Mates 😜

[Oceangoer2]

If youare unhappy please please bombard Dondra ritzthaler on fb, please. Please mail cpncerns@celebrity.com, please post on fb and twitter. Unfortunatelyvwe cannot contact the new ceo but if Celebrity keep getting negative posts they might take notice- so ill thought out- europe is brilliant for overnights bur NOT the caribbean- I for one would not feel safe orcwish to pay for an excursion to a seedy bar when I can have luxury onboard!

Thank you for the email address. I've sent my concerns along with a quote from your note which says quite a bit IMHO.

 

"so ill thought out- europe is brilliant for overnights bur NOT the caribbean- I for one would not feel safe orcwish to pay for an excursion to a seedy bar when I can have luxury onboard! "

[GottaKnowWhen]

Ok perhaps the british point of view is different to the US but it is certainly confusing to me why you book a cruise which is basically all inclusive and costs quite a bit of money and then go out and eat? And drink? ...

 

Sunk cost. Once I have paid for my cabin and my seat at a table in the MDR, that money is gone. I can't reclaim it if I skip a meal, if I leave the cruise early with a medical emergency, even if I never get on the ship at embarkation. It is money spent.

 

Now I have a choice as to where to eat for dinner. I can go to the buffet, or to the MDR. I can pay extra for a Speciality restaurant, or I can eat a large meal ashore and maybe skip a meal or two on the ship. Those are choices I make that involve me finding a balance between cost (ranging from zero to $100±) and value to me of the food, ambiance, etc. The fact that I have paid $1000 or $5000 or whatever for the cruise is irrelevant to that decision as that is money already spent. But one of the things I have purchased is the opportunity to address a range of dinner options that I would not have had if I stayed home.

[LF2C]

Ok perhaps the british point of view is different to the US but it is certainly confusing to me why you book a cruise which is basically all inclusive and costs quite a bit of money and then go out and eat? And drink? If you want to do that why not book a hotel on the islands- just slightly confused - perhaps cruising is cheaper from the US than the UK and perhaps y'all have more money!

 

Anyway we all agree to differ its a done deal and we have to take the cruises we have booked or lose money. But will certainly look at other lines for 2018.

 

I do agree but when you get a drinks package, free gratuities and OBC it's nice to spend the latter on a little indulgence 😀

[Jdpapillion]

 

One of the things we look forward to while cruising is the sail-away from port and the evening activities at sea. We also love walks on deck, or sitting on our balcony at night, just staring out to sea. This just wouldn't be the same while docked at a port. We also love having coffee on the balcony in the morning while the ship pulls into port.

 

I also agree with others that the Caribbean offers little appeal in terms of overnight activity compared to some European cities where we've overnighted in the past such as Venice. I'd much rather be on the ship enjoying the food and entertainment we've paid for and this is just more fun while cruising and not while tied up at the dock.

EXACTLY! This is the MAIN REASON we enjoy a Caribbean Cruise.