Silhouette Trip Report (Yes, that Israel one!) October 2015 (Very Long)

[compman9]

What do you want? Do you want Celebrity to refund the fate of your cruise, or do you want to continue arguing with all posts contrary to your point of view??

 

I have not argued with anyone. I have debated views on my experience with posters, but it is not my intention to argue with anyone.

 

I would like this issue highlighted and in the cruising public's focus until I receive a suitable reply from Celebrity. This will hopefully create a neatly squared circle.

 

As this is called Cruise Critic, and there are still millions of people who have not cruised before, these are the sorts of incidents that will provide cautionary tales.

 

I would hope many would consider this thread more interesting than some of the more syrupy love-ins that proliferate these boards. All of which are available for your perusal if that is your preference.

[compman9]

Yet, you are using murder statistics from various cities in the U.S. to try to make a point. Why is this wrong but your murder statistics right? Is this the same conflation you are talking about? Israel has numerous enemies; it is just not a Palestine/Israel issue.

 

As I mentioned in my original post that I agree that Celebrity could have handled things better from a disclosure standpoint. How to remedy the situation, I am not sure.

 

It is always an interesting debating topic when comparing situations, but to make my view clearer, I believe Israel to be completely safe for tourists while under the supervision of experienced tour guides. Certainly as safe as any major city. And a lot safer than a few US cities, some of which are visited buy cruise ships.

 

And for most on the ship, the bigger issue than the cancellation of the Israel portion of the cruise was the handling of the situation. Although fully aware of their alteration plans they deliberately left informing passengers of their intentions until after the European offices had closed on the Friday night before the Saturday cruise, and until after US and Canadian passengers would have left their country.

 

And how to remedy the situation is very easy - treat customers how you would like to be treated yourselves.

Edited November 6, 2015 by compman9
spelling

[parallax]

While we have a difference of opinion on the decision to cancel the ports of call and your statistical analogies, we are in agreement that this was poorly handled. I just do not know what reasonable remedy would be. There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration. However, one should be able to find a reasonable middle ground.

[JFontaine]

Please don't conflate an evil Isis attack with the Palestinian/Israel troubles

 

I'm not. Some posters suggested that the ship should have gone to the "safer" Egypt; my point is that, apparently, what appears to be safe one day, isn't all that safe in this region of the world.

[compman9]

While we have a difference of opinion on the decision to cancel the ports of call and your statistical analogies, we are in agreement that this was poorly handled. I just do not know what reasonable remedy would be. There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration. However, one should be able to find a reasonable middle ground.

 

I suppose this is the crux of it - when multi-billion dollar corporations learn the only fair and proper way of dealing with a situation is going to cost them they often retreat into their financially and legally protected shells and do nothing at all.

 

For much smaller issues that are cost negligible, cruise lines are often generous - if for example they run out of the Pinot Noir on your Classic Drinks Package, a nice sommelier may bring out the Pinot from the Premium package.

 

Yet, when the only justifiable solution to the a problem such as that faced by the 3,000 passengers on our trip, is to tell them all as soon as they know their decision and provide alternatives or refunds, that is never going to happen.

 

So, you are absolutely right, it really should be all about that middle ground.

 

Celebrity breached their own passenger charter by not providing timely information, so they should compensate all passengers on board. I have not spoken to anyone on the cruise that would not have been grateful for a gesture. Nothing major, just a gesture.

Edited November 7, 2015 by compman9
spelling

[odysee]

I was also on this cruise. And while I fully understand and accept the decision to avoid Israel during a very sensitive situation, I completely do not approve of the way Celebrity handled this situation. As other passengers pointed out, this cruise changed completely in nature. For me it did not have the excitement of travelling to and reaching distant ports. On the contrary we were just floating forth and back between different close points. Sometimes we even joked that the captain really had to stand on the brakes not to overshoot the destinations. Often we arrived already in the middle of the night in the harbor instead of in the morning. For this reason -changing the nature of the cruise and not just any missed ports, and being aware that this new cruise could have been bought a lot cheaper than the one originally advertised -I think Celebrity should have made some kind of gesture. By doing something, some gesture ; free drinks (o.k. does not work for those with a drink package), some OBC to spend onboard (which would only have cost X a fraction of the nominal value), future cruise credit, etc. they would have created a lot of acceptance and goodwill.

Now, Celebrity will have to realize that a cruise that starts/ends in an EU country also falls under EU passenger rights - even if US company and disclaimers in their contracts - and they might have be faced with claims.

Edited November 7, 2015 by odysee

[mrsgoggins]

Now, Celebrity will have to realize that a cruise that starts/ends in an EU country also falls under EU passenger rights - even if US company and disclaimers in their contracts - and they might have be faced with claims.

 

Now that would be interesting - Small Claims Court maybe?

 

I once had to start action against easyJet (large European budget airline) with the Small Claims court before they took notice and settled out of court! I do have a gagging agreement that prevents me from giving details :D

Edited November 7, 2015 by mrsgoggins

[HokiePoq]

Thank you Compman9, for this outstanding report. I am most appreciative as we are on a 2016 Israel cruise. Our previous cruise to Israel was in a time when there were rockets coming from Gaza. We docked at Haifa overnight instead of Ashdod and did the tours from there. All was well. You are so correct about security in Israel. There are nice young soldiers in all the public places and I felt safer than I'd feel on many streets here in the USA.

Good luck. It seems UK law is on your side.

[zanity]

The OP did an excellent job being balanced and was very gracious toward Celebrity, to be honest. As someone on this same cruise, I'd just like to add some things:

 

The idea that a lot of people agreed with the change is so false. Of all the dozens and dozens of people I talked to, only 1 said she appreciated Celebrity's decisions to not go to Israel for safety reasons. She was a regular Oceania customer who appeared to travel frequently. Everyone else was very, very disappointed and this put a HUGE(!) damper on the entire cruise. You could feel it everywhere. Most did their best to make the best of it and be pleasant anyway, some were nasty about it, but all felt it. Many people said they would not have booked at all, as I would not have. Not that I wouldn't have wanted to go to Italy and Greece, but like many others I would not have invested the time or money for the trip we ended up with.

 

Some of the posters in this thread really don't seem to understand that for many this WAS to be the trip of a lifetime--or one of a few such trips. The vast majority of people had not been to Israel before--I only met 2 who said they had been to Jerusalem--1 was one of the speakers for the Christian group and the other was leading his family members there. Everyone I spoke to was either Jewish or a committed Christian and thus this trip was to be a spiritual pilgrimage--NOT just another tourist destination. This is what Celebrity needs to understand. We met a couple in their 90's making a pilgrimage, a woman in her late 70's who had recently been healed from 42 tumors who was going to make her thanks, people on anniversaries, major birthdays, family reunions, etc., all planned for Israel. Celebrity could have done better on their alternative ports, but ultimately there is no real substitute for the Holy Land.

 

Most of the posters on this thread have contributed meaningfully, but a few of you come across as arrogantly out of touch. Comments such as "you should just fly there" or "just go on your next cruise" may make sense for those of you with massive pensions or inheritances who go on several trips a year, but not all of us on the trip fit that category. Like the singles who were paired up with others they hadn't previously met in the Christian group to keep costs down. Unless one lives next to a huge airport (NYC, ATL, e.g.), this was a $10,000+ per couple trip from the U.S. (with moderate shore excursions and a pre and post night hotel in Rome). Those of you thinking a $300 OBC would make up for that are extremely generous or extremely wealthy! Maybe from the EU, but not from the U.S. Personally, we have no paid vacation, no pensions; I work 3 jobs, my husband worked 7 days a week for 2 months before we left (manual labor) to be able to go. We saved our frequent flier points for over 4 years to cover the airfare. We can't just take a trip like this every year. Hopefully we will have another chance, and we will stay on land, for longer, but that is not guaranteed. (I did go on a Celebrity cruise back in 2006, but Celebrity doesn't seem to have good records as they don't recognize me as a past passenger.) A little less condescending "advice" and more understanding would be nice.

 

Aside from the costs, there is the age factor. As mentioned above, many people were not young chickens who can just pop back over to Israel tomorrow. For many, this was it in this lifetime. No one booked THIS cruise thinking they were going to Disneyland. We were willing to take the risk. Those few who weren't should have been offered a chance to stay on board or even be dropped off at another port.

 

Also, I am rather over-educated in world religions/affairs, Arab/Western relations, Iran, etc. We purposely booked this trip NOW knowing that the whole Middle Eastern situation is coming more and more to a very precarious place as the tentative "balance of power" issues that have held large-scale hostilities mostly at bay for decades are being knocked off equilibrium, potentially leading to much more serious threats in the near future. I'm not an expert on the on-the-ground situation in Israel, but a friend that lives there said it had improved, and the professional guide we had booked with wrote to us the same day the Celebrity canceled and said not to worry, they had been monitoring the situation with the government and things were fine. I thought that we might curtail our planned tour of Bethlehem in the Palestinian territory, for the sake of prudence, but certainly not skip Jerusalem.

 

Finally, the communication on board was almost non-existent. Most of the crew were friendly--though certainly not all--but very few were informed about much of anything! They misdirected us and others and often just said they didn't know. Had I known hundreds of passengers were flying to Israel, I probably would have tried to go as well, but we weren't informed about anything. Not even at the shows were they informative, and there were no informative announcements (I did hear the captain's joke announcements twice--he was funny). I had planned for a mix of relaxing days at sea and intense touring days seeing places we've wanted to see for a lifetime. It turned out to be neither. Free internet for the duration, plus free laundry at least twice (because our packing was all wrong based on itinerary change), could have made the great uncertainty/stress of the beginning and the unpleasantness of continual dirty clothes at the end (despite lots of handwashing--things just didn't dry well in the weather) a bit better. But a massive credit of some sort would be in order as well.

 

The ship itself was very nice. Breakfasts and lunches were very good. Dinner OK but not great. Entertainment not so hot, but we don't go overseas for the shipboard entertainment. Some of the ports were great. But my overall impression with Celebrity on this trip is that they care about their bottom line--not their guests--and just wanted to keep our money and get the trip over with.

[cruisemom42]

 

Some of the posters in this thread really don't seem to understand that for many this WAS to be the trip of a lifetime--or one of a few such trips. The vast majority of people had not been to Israel before--I only met 2 who said they had been to Jerusalem--1 was one of the speakers for the Christian group and the other was leading his family members there. Everyone I spoke to was either Jewish or a committed Christian and thus this trip was to be a spiritual pilgrimage--NOT just another tourist destination. This is what Celebrity needs to understand. We met a couple in their 90's making a pilgrimage, a woman in her late 70's who had recently been healed from 42 tumors who was going to make her thanks, people on anniversaries, major birthdays, family reunions, etc., all planned for Israel. Celebrity could have done better on their alternative ports, but ultimately there is no real substitute for the Holy Land.

 

Most of the posters on this thread have contributed meaningfully, but a few of you come across as arrogantly out of touch. Comments such as "you should just fly there" or "just go on your next cruise" may make sense for those of you with massive pensions or inheritances who go on several trips a year, but not all of us on the trip fit that category. Like the singles who were paired up with others they hadn't previously met in the Christian group to keep costs down. Unless one lives next to a huge airport (NYC, ATL, e.g.), this was a $10,000+ per couple trip from the U.S. (with moderate shore excursions and a pre and post night hotel in Rome).

 

 

I am in agreement that Celebrity handled this badly. No doubt there.

 

But what I don't understand is this: If the trip was such a once-in-a-lifetime experience and was going to be such a huge outlay of funds, I would have researched the HECK out of it and would no doubt have come across the many, many instances in the past 4-5 years where ports in Israel have been cancelled by various cruise lines -- sometimes a long way in advance, but sometimes with little notice.

 

And I also, if the cost was such a stretch, would have looked at a land tour for comparison. Almost any way you slice it, a land tour of Israel lets you see more of the country and costs less. Plus there is much less risk of cancellation. I just had a quick look and there are currently 8 and 9 day land tours of Israel available that cost around $2000 per person including airfare from the US.

 

I have visited Israel on a land trip and on a cruise, and there is no comparison. Hands down the land trip was a better and more fulfilling experience.

 

It is silly to say (as some people have) that one shouldn't cruise for the itinerary. I certainly cruise for the itinerary and so do many others. But the finer point is that if any ONE place or port is overwhelmingly important to your experience, it is far better to take a land trip.

[TxnAquarian]

However, I believe Celebrity knew they were walking a fine line and any admission of guilt, which an offer of compensation would have been, would open a can of worms for them.

 

 

I want to thank the OP for such a composed and detailed review of this altered cruise. I completely understand someone's disappointment due to these changes. However, it really sickens me when someone acts as if a trip was "ruined" by a change in ports. Disappointment is understandable. But people yelling at the Captain or letting their displeasure known to Guest Relations really shows the kind of clientele that Celebrity is attracting, and it's not the right kind of clientele. It is still possible to enjoy a cruise with a dramatic change in ports. Not being able to shows a serious lack of appreciation and a certain amount of self-absorption.

 

I think the OP is out of line for claiming that Celebrity is "guilty" of something. I do think, though, Celebrity (from what I have read) didn't handle the situation best to their abilities. I have been on a couple of cruises on other lines in which a bucket list destination was cancelled and the itinerary was changed last minute due to similar reasons....the cruise lines I was on offered OBC as compensation. However, those lines (Crystal and Regent) certainly weren't "guilty" of anything. A cruise line has every right to make changes due to whatever circumstances they deem appropriate. However, cruise lines also have to realize that they are a customer service business, and at the end of the day, it's about the care and empathy you show towards your guests.

 

I'm not a Celebrity "cheerleader".....(in fact, we are moving away from Celebrity due to various reasons on our recent cruise), but I think this whole thing is a bit blown out of proportion. I guess I just feel lucky enough to have the time and money to take amazing trips and am able to make the best out of what situations come my way.

 

 

 

Michael

[TxnAquarian]

I was on the same cruise as the OP.

 

I booked a Holy Land cruise.

I paid a premium for a Holy Land cruise.

Instead, I received the Greek Island Marathon.

 

Celebrity notified me 2 hours before I left for the airport. I was not allowed to cancel without 100% penalty.

 

Once onboard, I requested 20 minutes of internet time to book new tours, cancel my Israeli tours, and notify Kusadasi of the change of date. This was refused. Instead I was offered a single free phone call (limit 5 minutes) to call my daughter so she could do the internet legwork for me.

 

I am not faulting the cancellation of Israel, but Celebrity's treatment of justifiably disappointed, paying customers left a lot to be desired.

 

 

Thanks for your comments. You are the only person who has reported back from this trip who have put my feelings about this situation the best. It's very bizarre that Celebrity handled things so poorly once the change was made. It would cost Celebrity very little to extend sympathy and reasonable compensation.

 

 

Michael

[sylmack]

Thanks for your comments. You are the only person who has reported back from this trip who have put my feelings about this situation the best. It's very bizarre that Celebrity handled things so poorly once the change was made. It would cost Celebrity very little to extend sympathy and reasonable compensation.

 

 

Michael

 

Thank you

 

The disappointment of the average passenger can best be illustrated by the large amount (over 10%) that left the ship 4 days early in Athens to finish their holiday in Israel on their own. This was done at a huge expense to them.

 

The mood on the ship can best be illustrated by the heckler (yes, HECKLER) during the Captain's welcome toast..... and the Captain's subsequent disappearance for the rest of the 2 week cruise.

 

 

 

I am faulting Celebrity with their treatment of their customers, not their decision regarding Israel.

 

Should I get compensation from Celebrity ? Yes

Am I expecting it ? No

 

I, like many others, will just quietly go away and move on.

 

 

 

The whole experience has turned me off of cruising in general.

[Haworth]

I have stated before that we were on this cruise:

 

One heckler left the ship at the next port, I doubt the truth of that departure will come out, did they leave or were they pushed?

 

The disappearing Captain was seen most lunch times eating at the buffet as well as giving a well attended and humorous lecture on navigation.

 

yes we were frustrated but we made the most of it and enjoyed our cruise and will continue to cruise with our prefered cruise lines including Celebrity.

[compman9]

I want to thank the OP for such a composed and detailed review of this altered cruise. I completely understand someone's disappointment due to these changes. However, it really sickens me when someone acts as if a trip was "ruined" by a change in ports. Disappointment is understandable. But people yelling at the Captain or letting their displeasure known to Guest Relations really shows the kind of clientele that Celebrity is attracting, and it's not the right kind of clientele. It is still possible to enjoy a cruise with a dramatic change in ports. Not being able to shows a serious lack of appreciation and a certain amount of self-absorption.

 

I think the OP is out of line for claiming that Celebrity is "guilty" of something. I do think, though, Celebrity (from what I have read) didn't handle the situation best to their abilities. I have been on a couple of cruises on other lines in which a bucket list destination was cancelled and the itinerary was changed last minute due to similar reasons....the cruise lines I was on offered OBC as compensation. However, those lines (Crystal and Regent) certainly weren't "guilty" of anything. A cruise line has every right to make changes due to whatever circumstances they deem appropriate. However, cruise lines also have to realize that they are a customer service business, and at the end of the day, it's about the care and empathy you show towards your guests.

 

I'm not a Celebrity "cheerleader".....(in fact, we are moving away from Celebrity due to various reasons on our recent cruise), but I think this whole thing is a bit blown out of proportion. I guess I just feel lucky enough to have the time and money to take amazing trips and am able to make the best out of what situations come my way.

 

 

 

Michael

 

"it really sickens me when someone acts as if a trip was "ruined" by a change in ports."

 

I am very sorry that you are sickened by this. It is a very strong emotion. You clearly have a far better understanding of the situation the paying customers experienced from the comfort of your armchair.

"people yelling at the Captain or letting their displeasure known to Guest Relations really shows the kind of clientele that Celebrity is attracting, and it's not the right kind of clientele."

 

I could not agree more that shouting at the captain is not appropriate, but you have no awareness of this man's feelings or the reasons for those feelings. Nor indeed, what actually happened. You are entitled to comment, but surely you realise your thoughts on the clientele are really quite disrespectful.

"It is still possible to enjoy a cruise with a dramatic change in ports. Not being able to shows a serious lack of appreciation and a certain amount of self-absorption."

 

I really do not know how to address this, except to wonder why someone should appreciate something they have not purchased or did not want. If you are referring to my Trip Report, it was a mere account of events and my feelings relating to them. I am sorry if you consider the raison detre of Cruise Critic to be a measure of my self absorption.

"I think the OP is out of line for claiming that Celebrity is "guilty" of something."

 

You are welcome to your opinion.

[portcbob]

Sorry Michael you are wrong mate.

The whole problem is that Celebrity did not inform their clients of the drastic changes to the itinerary till it was to late to do something about it. If I were to travel huge distances to a port for embarkation and particularly after paying premium dollars for a product I wanted to do and not getting that product I paid for or worse still not being notified until it was to late I would be really annoyed.

The poster has got all the right to be angry in this circumstance.

Shame on you Celebrity.

[compman9]

The OP did an excellent job being balanced and was very gracious toward Celebrity, to be honest. As someone on this same cruise, I'd just like to add some things:

 

The idea that a lot of people agreed with the change is so false. Of all the dozens and dozens of people I talked to, only 1 said she appreciated Celebrity's decisions to not go to Israel for safety reasons. She was a regular Oceania customer who appeared to travel frequently. Everyone else was very, very disappointed and this put a HUGE(!) damper on the entire cruise. You could feel it everywhere. Most did their best to make the best of it and be pleasant anyway, some were nasty about it, but all felt it. Many people said they would not have booked at all, as I would not have. Not that I wouldn't have wanted to go to Italy and Greece, but like many others I would not have invested the time or money for the trip we ended up with.

 

Some of the posters in this thread really don't seem to understand that for many this WAS to be the trip of a lifetime--or one of a few such trips. The vast majority of people had not been to Israel before--I only met 2 who said they had been to Jerusalem--1 was one of the speakers for the Christian group and the other was leading his family members there. Everyone I spoke to was either Jewish or a committed Christian and thus this trip was to be a spiritual pilgrimage--NOT just another tourist destination. This is what Celebrity needs to understand. We met a couple in their 90's making a pilgrimage, a woman in her late 70's who had recently been healed from 42 tumors who was going to make her thanks, people on anniversaries, major birthdays, family reunions, etc., all planned for Israel. Celebrity could have done better on their alternative ports, but ultimately there is no real substitute for the Holy Land.

 

Most of the posters on this thread have contributed meaningfully, but a few of you come across as arrogantly out of touch. Comments such as "you should just fly there" or "just go on your next cruise" may make sense for those of you with massive pensions or inheritances who go on several trips a year, but not all of us on the trip fit that category. Like the singles who were paired up with others they hadn't previously met in the Christian group to keep costs down. Unless one lives next to a huge airport (NYC, ATL, e.g.), this was a $10,000+ per couple trip from the U.S. (with moderate shore excursions and a pre and post night hotel in Rome). Those of you thinking a $300 OBC would make up for that are extremely generous or extremely wealthy! Maybe from the EU, but not from the U.S. Personally, we have no paid vacation, no pensions; I work 3 jobs, my husband worked 7 days a week for 2 months before we left (manual labor) to be able to go. We saved our frequent flier points for over 4 years to cover the airfare. We can't just take a trip like this every year. Hopefully we will have another chance, and we will stay on land, for longer, but that is not guaranteed. (I did go on a Celebrity cruise back in 2006, but Celebrity doesn't seem to have good records as they don't recognize me as a past passenger.) A little less condescending "advice" and more understanding would be nice.

 

Aside from the costs, there is the age factor. As mentioned above, many people were not young chickens who can just pop back over to Israel tomorrow. For many, this was it in this lifetime. No one booked THIS cruise thinking they were going to Disneyland. We were willing to take the risk. Those few who weren't should have been offered a chance to stay on board or even be dropped off at another port.

 

Also, I am rather over-educated in world religions/affairs, Arab/Western relations, Iran, etc. We purposely booked this trip NOW knowing that the whole Middle Eastern situation is coming more and more to a very precarious place as the tentative "balance of power" issues that have held large-scale hostilities mostly at bay for decades are being knocked off equilibrium, potentially leading to much more serious threats in the near future. I'm not an expert on the on-the-ground situation in Israel, but a friend that lives there said it had improved, and the professional guide we had booked with wrote to us the same day the Celebrity canceled and said not to worry, they had been monitoring the situation with the government and things were fine. I thought that we might curtail our planned tour of Bethlehem in the Palestinian territory, for the sake of prudence, but certainly not skip Jerusalem.

 

Finally, the communication on board was almost non-existent. Most of the crew were friendly--though certainly not all--but very few were informed about much of anything! They misdirected us and others and often just said they didn't know. Had I known hundreds of passengers were flying to Israel, I probably would have tried to go as well, but we weren't informed about anything. Not even at the shows were they informative, and there were no informative announcements (I did hear the captain's joke announcements twice--he was funny). I had planned for a mix of relaxing days at sea and intense touring days seeing places we've wanted to see for a lifetime. It turned out to be neither. Free internet for the duration, plus free laundry at least twice (because our packing was all wrong based on itinerary change), could have made the great uncertainty/stress of the beginning and the unpleasantness of continual dirty clothes at the end (despite lots of handwashing--things just didn't dry well in the weather) a bit better. But a massive credit of some sort would be in order as well.

 

The ship itself was very nice. Breakfasts and lunches were very good. Dinner OK but not great. Entertainment not so hot, but we don't go overseas for the shipboard entertainment. Some of the ports were great. But my overall impression with Celebrity on this trip is that they care about their bottom line--not their guests--and just wanted to keep our money and get the trip over with.

 

Thank you for posting this. It made me very sad. Your experiences sound far harsher than my own, so I very much hope you find some peace with this.

 

May I ask, if you communicate with Celebrity, or know of anyone else that does, to add to this thread so those on this trip can compare replies and experiences of Celebrity's customer Service going forward.

[sylmack]

Thank you for posting this. It made me very sad. Your experiences sound far harsher than my own, so I very much hope you find some peace with this.

 

May I ask, if you communicate with Celebrity, or know of anyone else that does, to add to this thread so those on this trip can compare replies and experiences of Celebrity's customer Service going forward.

 

 

I agree completely. Please post your ongoing communications with Celebrity so we all know what works and what doesn't.

[HLN500]

Very interesting thread.

We too booked this as a last minute B2B only due to Israel.

We were concerned by the nightly news reports preceding our upcoming cruise.

Were we surprised when we came on-board and found out no Israel? Disappointed yes but not that surprised. Any person following the news would have realized the dangers to tourist in ALL the places we would have visited if we made these ports.

Were many people disappointed? Yes, but we found that most we spoke with understood X's decision.

In speaking with mid-level staff who just boarded this cruise, THEY were told up til the time they got on board that the ship was still scheduled as planned.

Regarding choice of substitute ports. Do people think docking a cruise ship is like parking a car....see a spot and pull in.

On this same ship in June we were not allowed to dock in Wales at the last minute. X apologized and wanted to go to another UK port but none was available...so we spent 2 days in Leharve instead.

Management first had to see which ports might have docking space, how far;near each one was and whether the tour operators could accommodate us. If anyone thinks this is easy just recall how much planning you did for this trip with excursions, flights, shuttles etc and magnify that by the size of the ship.

If X couldn't inform us til the last minute it probably was due to trying to sort out the logistics...which included resupplying the ship at the new ports.

As to the person yelling during the Captains toast... This was while Captain D was readying to toast the voyage and he remained silent during the tirade while the audience booed the heckler. He got off at the next port of his own accord.

Senior staff were totally visible throughout the entire cruise.

We were supposed to continue onto the TA but since my wife was not feeling well we decided it was not worth the risk and so flew home from Barcelona.

While some form of recompense might have been nice I don't think X is obligated to do anything more.

[Karynanne]

Very interesting thread.

We too booked this as a last minute B2B only due to Israel.

We were concerned by the nightly news reports preceding our upcoming cruise.

Were we surprised when we came on-board and found out no Israel? Disappointed yes but not that surprised. Any person following the news would have realized the dangers to tourist in ALL the places we would have visited if we made these ports.

Were many people disappointed? Yes, but we found that most we spoke with understood X's decision.

In speaking with mid-level staff who just boarded this cruise, THEY were told up til the time they got on board that the ship was still scheduled as planned.

Regarding choice of substitute ports. Do people think docking a cruise ship is like parking a car....see a spot and pull in.

On this same ship in June we were not allowed to dock in Wales at the last minute. X apologized and wanted to go to another UK port but none was available...so we spent 2 days in Leharve instead.

Management first had to see which ports might have docking space, how far;near each one was and whether the tour operators could accommodate us. If anyone thinks this is easy just recall how much planning you did for this trip with excursions, flights, shuttles etc and magnify that by the size of the ship.

If X couldn't inform us til the last minute it probably was due to trying to sort out the logistics...which included resupplying the ship at the new ports.

As to the person yelling during the Captains toast... This was while Captain D was readying to toast the voyage and he remained silent during the tirade while the audience booed the heckler. He got off at the next port of his own accord.

Senior staff were totally visible throughout the entire cruise.

We were supposed to continue onto the TA but since my wife was not feeling well we decided it was not worth the risk and so flew home from Barcelona.

While some form of recompense might have been nice I don't think X is obligated to do anything more.

 

 

A very balanced perspective of this cruise.

 

I hope your wife is feeling well now.

[POA1]

Are you allowed to substitute passengers at the last minute? Because if someone got sick and couldn't sail, that's basically the passenger version of the itinerary change.

[rogfam]

We just returned last week from a two week land tour of both Israel and Jordan. It was great. There was concern for safety, but we were assured by the tour company that it was safe to travel (they have had tours weekly this fall and didn't cancel one tour). We always felt safe on our tour.

 

We visited all but one sight including the Western Wall, Old City of Jerusalem, and even the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Even spent 5 days visiting Jordan, including Amman and Petra. We just didn't go to the Temple Mount because of the possibility of potential safety concerns.

 

Why did Celebrity cancel? Maybe they have more lawyers!

[gershonk]

I have carefully read all the posts on the Oct 17 sailing.

 

It appears that there are a few overzealous Celebrity Loyalists who believe that Celebrity can do no wrong. Many of them do not cruse on other lines and have no comparative. They knock all those who review the cruise as substandard and continue with their "Kum-By-Ya" narratives. There are even some Israeli citizens on the cruise who have commented that " if you want to see Israel, go for 2 weeks not 2 and a half days" They obviously do not understand other people.

 

We cruise for many reasons: superb dining, great entertainment including dancing, excellent steward and dining services, fun casino, late snacks, ability to do many ports without repacking, etc. We do not choose a cruise based on sleeping, catching up on reading, playing cards, or watching movies.

 

In most cases the ports are not that important as many are repeats anyway. However, in the case of Israel, this is a bucket list port and a first time visit. There are many Christians and Jews who look for this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity to visit their religious roots. Most of us are retired and on a fixed income and the loss of this port is very hurtful to many. The onboard Celebrity staff was robotic and insensitive in their responses. The Captain, in a jovial tone, noted that the substitution with many Greek ports is not due to the fact that most of his executive staff are all Greek.

 

We tried to "make lemonade out of the lemons" served. Celebrity made this very difficult: The only services onboard that were acceptable were the Room Steward and the Room Service breakfast. The Dining room services were very slow and talking to the dining room management meant only change of tables -service was still slow. The food for 5 of the 14 days was very good. The selection and quality in the other 9 days was poor at best. We tried the Tuscan Grill at $45 per person - mediocre at best (BTW other cruise lines charge $25 to $30 for specialty dining). We loved Celebrity in the past for the food quality and service. No more (carnival does a better job).

 

Entertainment was never a plus for Celebrity. In this case, they are consistent. Photos @ $25 ea?? Walking past the cruise shops onboard, being accosted by sales people from the shops and future cruse travel agency sure lowered the level of the cruise. Exorbitant costs in Canyon Club for services did not help either.

 

Overall, it appeared that Celebrity is in a belt tightening mode and as a result the only seem to be concerned about revenue increase and not customer satisfaction. They did not offer any form of compensation in the form of future cruise to Israel discounts, cabin credit, specialty dining, tours of substitute ports -- NADA!

 

Although we are Elite members of the Captain's Club, and with no comments from Celebrity regarding corrections of the deficiencies we will probably never book on Celebrity in the future. This has now become a very bad investment. There are many other Cruise lines that appreciate our business.

 

These are my personal thoughts only and for those who are an their first cruise ever ore only cruise on Celebrity, there are many other cruise lines, including Celebrity's parent Royal Caribbean who can offer a substantially better cruise experience than Celebrity.

 

See you on another roll call (not Celebrity).

[gershonk]

i think i can sum this up in a couple points:

 

1. This was a stupid decision by celebrity. There could be a better word but i just can't find it. Narrow minded, short sighted, arbitrary, insensitive treatment to some very valuable customers. Celebrity's corporate response makes carnival problems from a couple years ago look like genius in comparison. And that's carnival! This is management not even 101, this is management 001, the prerequisite to being the lowest person in charge. If everyone effected says your decision is wrong, listen to them. Use all the ideas you have to consider the fallout and craft a solution.

 

2. It was the way we were treated. I've cruised with costa before and was not surprised to be treated like i was and without any rancour i won't go on costa again. I thought celebrity was different, but i was wrong, everybody this is what costa treats their customers like. There, i've taught you something you won't have to learn for yourself, your welcome. Nobody in the corporation (who made this decision) did anything but have the ship crew deal with all of us who were angry about it. This is just foolish! Everything i've ever seen in corporate damage control of a bad situation was done badly. In fact it was completely opposite of what has been learned about handling these kind of situations.

A. Blame the customer.for instance why would everyone be expecting something in the way of compensation? Because we are all greedy? No most of us have enough money that a bottle of wine isn't going to change our life but its kind of what we expect.

B. We were all wrong for what we observed. Why was everyone mad about the exact same thing? This was to be a holy land cruise, not a tour of italy and greece.

 

The answer to both of these questions is no. Just like when your child does something just so awful and then continues, you just say, "i expected better from you..." in expecting better i'm not going to trust you again.

 

If i were celebrity i'd:

1. Stop treating the most loyal customers like commodities, you'll eventually be competing with cheaper cruise lines on price and that's not good. If you want to be a first class cruise line and attract 1st class money, you can't treat customer's this way. Ignore your lawyers and listen to your salesmen.

2. Get a better beyond the podium speaker. I love at-sea days for these presenters, the guy they got was just dreadful. How dreadful? I could have done better, and you just don't want to open that can of worms. But then again as i don't really expect to choose celebrity again, do what you feel like.

3. Learn to react as carnival did when they had problems.

 

very well stated! Thank you.

[sylmack]

I have carefully read all the posts on the Oct 17 sailing.

 

It appears that there are a few overzealous Celebrity Loyalists who believe that Celebrity can do no wrong. Many of them do not cruse on other lines and have no comparative. They knock all those who review the cruise as substandard and continue with their "Kum-By-Ya" narratives. There are even some Israeli citizens on the cruise who have commented that " if you want to see Israel, go for 2 weeks not 2 and a half days" They obviously do not understand other people.

 

We cruise for many reasons: superb dining, great entertainment including dancing, excellent steward and dining services, fun casino, late snacks, ability to do many ports without repacking, etc. We do not choose a cruise based on sleeping, catching up on reading, playing cards, or watching movies.

 

In most cases the ports are not that important as many are repeats anyway. However, in the case of Israel, this is a bucket list port and a first time visit. There are many Christians and Jews who look for this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity to visit their religious roots. Most of us are retired and on a fixed income and the loss of this port is very hurtful to many. The onboard Celebrity staff was robotic and insensitive in their responses. The Captain, in a jovial tone, noted that the substitution with many Greek ports is not due to the fact that most of his executive staff are all Greek.

 

We tried to "make lemonade out of the lemons" served. Celebrity made this very difficult: The only services onboard that were acceptable were the Room Steward and the Room Service breakfast. The Dining room services were very slow and talking to the dining room management meant only change of tables -service was still slow. The food for 5 of the 14 days was very good. The selection and quality in the other 9 days was poor at best. We tried the Tuscan Grill at $45 per person - mediocre at best (BTW other cruise lines charge $25 to $30 for specialty dining). We loved Celebrity in the past for the food quality and service. No more (carnival does a better job).

 

Entertainment was never a plus for Celebrity. In this case, they are consistent. Photos @ $25 ea?? Walking past the cruise shops onboard, being accosted by sales people from the shops and future cruse travel agency sure lowered the level of the cruise. Exorbitant costs in Canyon Club for services did not help either.

 

Overall, it appeared that Celebrity is in a belt tightening mode and as a result the only seem to be concerned about revenue increase and not customer satisfaction. They did not offer any form of compensation in the form of future cruise to Israel discounts, cabin credit, specialty dining, tours of substitute ports -- NADA!

 

Although we are Elite members of the Captain's Club, and with no comments from Celebrity regarding corrections of the deficiencies we will probably never book on Celebrity in the future. This has now become a very bad investment. There are many other Cruise lines that appreciate our business.

 

These are my personal thoughts only and for those who are an their first cruise ever ore only cruise on Celebrity, there are many other cruise lines, including Celebrity's parent Royal Caribbean who can offer a substantially better cruise experience than Celebrity.

 

See you on another roll call (not Celebrity).

 

Ditto

 

As someone who only cruises Celebrity, I have especially noticed all of the new sales pitches on board which really annoyed me. Sales pitches by the Qsine chef WHILE I WAS EATING DINNER is not my idea of a good time.

 

Sorry Celebrity, but even without the Israel debacle, you have turned me off cruising with you.