Celebrity Canceled our cruise

[HokiePoq]

Their TA did not drop the ball. The OP stated they heard on the roll call then called their TA who had to call Celebrity to get the confirmation.

 

I had a cruise cancelled earlier this year on Az and my TA was not notified. I found out on our roll call too. I called her then she called the cruise line, the rep answering didn't know that the cruise was cancelled or why it wasn't showing on their web site any longer. We had to wait a few days to get confirmation that we initiated.

 

As much as you follow the boards, I'm sure you've seen lots of posts where the same thing has happened to a lot of people who were neither notified nor were their TAs.

 

OP, using the AMX card and getting a refund shouldn't be a problem. I had something similar happen and I gave them the Citi Costco card number for the refund. I suspect that if they tried to issue a credit to the old card, AMX may pass it along to Citi. But I'm not positive of that. Perhaps you could call your big box TA or the Costco credit card company for clarification.

 

You are correct on all counts. After my first posting, I called Costco Visa. The refund will go on the old AMEX and then AMEX will transfer to the new card. This will take 30 days. I will have to be vigilant to see that this happens and the shore excursion refunded as well that I had already purchased.

You are also correct on how the cash back is handled. We usually use ours to pay for whatever we're buying that week and they always give you the rest in cash.

[HokiePoq]

That is really disappointing. And the TA has to call Celebrity upon your inquiry, instead of being informed in advance. I hope Celebrity is still deciding how those affected will be compensated.

 

 

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Yes. It would be much better customer service had notification come out with alternate dates offered rather than just deleting reservations before sending notice to TAs. I would not mind to change the date if necessary but, unfortunately, this date was the only one for this particular itinerary.

[HokiePoq]

How is it a one-way street? OP had the right this far in advance to cancel the reservation with no penalty. To me, that is very much a two-way street: either party can cancel without penalty up until a certain point. Now if Celebrity had cancelled close enough that the deposit (or more) was non-refundable, then I agree that they should be bound to offer compensation at a similar level. But your approach would put us on the British system where deposits are non-refundable from the get-go.

 

Does that mean that those on our roll call from the UK are losing their deposits due to this cancelation?

I will eventually get my money back but that really seems out of line if it's not the passenger canceling in the UK. Or do you just mean if a passenger cancels they cannot get their $$ back in the UK?

I have no doubt about my refund from X.....not so sure what is going to happen with the $800 we spent on the TAs insurance (not X). Transferred it to another trip one time when we were the ones to cancel but not sure what happens in this case where the cruise is linked to a land tour. Problem for the passenger goes beyond the cruise itself where it is no doubt crystal clear legally that this can happen.

[ChucktownSteve]

I have no doubt about my refund from X.....not so sure what is going to happen with the $800 we spent on the TAs insurance (not X). Transferred it to another trip one time when we were the ones to cancel but not sure what happens in this case where the cruise is linked to a land tour. Problem for the passenger goes beyond the cruise itself where it is no doubt crystal clear legally that this can happen.

 

That's one of the reasons why I now only buy trip insurance based upon the amount of the deposit. Then as I hit other charges, such as final payment, I increase my insurance coverage and pay just the added premium difference. Because I initially bought the policy within the required number of days from deposit, I'm still covered for preexisting conditions.

 

I learned that on the CC Insurance Board and from Steve at the TripInsuranceStore. I used to buy direct from the insurance companies and paid the full future value of the trip.

 

Another tip, if you don't mind me suggesting, is to make sure your trip insurance is primary coverage. That means you don't need to submit to your other insurance, wait for their denial even though you know they won't have coverage but you must be denied before submitting to your trip insurance company. If primary, you immediately submit for trip insurance reimbursement. That could save you a month or more.

[Bo1953]

Nonsense, we've had cruises cancelled on Celebrity long before "Princess Lisa". I group decides to charter a ship so be it. It happens on all lines.

 

Man, are you coming off as really negative towards X lately. Maybe it's time to try another line, Oceania maybe? I've always liked your input and respect your opinions, but the last couple of weeks you have been a bit of a downer regarding Celebrity.

 

We sailed on Eclipse right after you and had a totally different experience.

 

Sorry

 

o - maybe he had too many sailings cancelled due to charters? :)

 

bon voyage

[Jade13]

Why couldn't they have done this a month ago before air was available? I get that charters happen but most international airlines open up before US airlines do. Cathay Pacific is open through the third week of December. People could easily have booked their air.

 

 

Agree. My issue is canceling after air becomes available. Most cruise lines will only pay airline change fees, usually only up to $250 per person. That doesn't help if you are not interested in taking another cruise with that cruise line and/ or the airline does not go where You want to go and the flight is non-refundable.

 

 

To the Op, we just flew to Bali earlier this year and took an overnight flight to the closest town near Komodo and enjoyed a private tour including private boat to two of the Komodo Islands, then we flew back to Bali. It was great.

 

 

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[sippican]

I'm not purchasing expensive cancel for any reason insurance or refundable air tickets to make this easier if my booked cruise gets cancelled on me. If that happens the cruise line will be making it right.

 

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Please do let us know how that approach works for you if you are ever in that position!!

[Bo1953]

Please do let us know how that approach works for you if you are ever in that position!!

 

s - just listen for the primal scream, then we will know for sure how it was handled.... :)

[vtcruising]

That's one of the reasons why I now only buy trip insurance based upon the amount of the deposit. Then as I hit other charges, such as final payment, I increase my insurance coverage and pay just the added premium difference. Because I initially bought the policy within the required number of days from deposit, I'm still covered for preexisting conditions.

 

I learned that on the CC Insurance Board and from Steve at the TripInsuranceStore. I used to buy direct from the insurance companies and paid the full future value of the trip.

 

Another tip, if you don't mind me suggesting, is to make sure your trip insurance is primary coverage. That means you don't need to submit to your other insurance, wait for their denial even though you know they won't have coverage but you must be denied before submitting to your trip insurance company. If primary, you immediately submit for trip insurance reimbursement. That could save you a month or more.

 

Thanks for the insurance tips, ChucktownSteve, and for the Costco cash back tip. You are on the same cruise that we are on in 3 weeks - maybe you should do a cruise tips lecture ;).

 

OP, I feel for you! I have had cruises chartered or cancelled and it is like a punch to the gut. Besides having your dream cruise taken away, you have the stress of trying to land on your feet financially if you have other things paid for and with arranging another cruise hopefully (while many others are competing for cabins on similar cruises). In your case it sounds like there isn't a similar replacement cruise, which makes it more disappointing. Good luck to you in sorting this out.

 

I know that charters are a reality in the cruise business (and I have enjoyed a chartered cruise), but hopefully cruise lines can help ease the pain by developing a consistent and timely approach for notification and in their support and compensation for the people affected.

[4774Papa]

Millennium Asian cruises are susceptible to charter. We had or Around Japan Millie cruise for September 2015 cancelled due to a charter. Also, the next cruise after ours, also Around Japan was chartered.

 

It was frustrating, however, Celebrity offered us four other cruises in Asia to transfer our booking (at the same prices we had booked the cancelled cruise). We picked the Japan and China cruise that had five Japanese ports. We saved $500-$600 because of this and our cruise was one of our favorites since we also visited Shanghai, Okinawa, Taiwan ended in Hong Kong. Another benefit was that our flights were open jaw into Tokyo out of HK and cheaper than RT Tokyo.

 

I didn't like being bumped by charters, but Celebrity has that right and they did make up for it with the freeze on prices for a more expensive cruise.

 

Calls for more regulation of the cruise industry are double edged. More rights for travelers, and costs would likely go up. I prefer it the way it is now. If Celebrity doesn't please me, I will find another cruise line.

[Bo1953]

Thanks for the insurance tips, ChucktownSteve, and for the Costco cash back tip. You are on the same cruise that we are on in 3 weeks - maybe you should do a cruise tips lecture ;).

 

OP, I feel for you! I have had cruises chartered or cancelled and it is like a punch to the gut. Besides having your dream cruise taken away, you have the stress of trying to land on your feet financially if you have other things paid for and with arranging another cruise hopefully (while many others are competing for cabins on similar cruises). In your case it sounds like there isn't a similar replacement cruise, which makes it more disappointing. Good luck to you in sorting this out.

 

I know that charters are a reality in the cruise business (and I have enjoyed a chartered cruise), but hopefully cruise lines can help ease the pain by developing a consistent and timely approach for notification and in their support and compensation for the people affected.

 

What type of compensation is it you would suggest from a cruise line who charters the ship one year plus in advance and displaces passengers? As well, what type of compensation do you envision for passengers who cancel more than 90 days in advance, mainly here in the U.S. as in other parts of the world deposits are largely non-refundable.

 

Generally, usually, most cruise lines offer alternative sailings to those displaced along with additional OBC. Not sure if the OP has had the offering or not, yet they indicate nothing was forthcoming from X on this front, which is unusual based on several previous postings concerning canceled sailings due to charters.

 

Are they sailings to the OP's preference, quite possibly not based on the itin, yet I agree some offerings need to be offered for them to turn down or accept.

 

bon voyage

[HokiePoq]

That's one of the reasons why I now only buy trip insurance based upon the amount of the deposit. Then as I hit other charges, such as final payment, I increase my insurance coverage and pay just the added premium difference. Because I initially bought the policy within the required number of days from deposit, I'm still covered for preexisting conditions.

 

I learned that on the CC Insurance Board and from Steve at the TripInsuranceStore. I used to buy direct from the insurance companies and paid the full future value of the trip.

 

Another tip, if you don't mind me suggesting, is to make sure your trip insurance is primary coverage. That means you don't need to submit to your other insurance, wait for their denial even though you know they won't have coverage but you must be denied before submitting to your trip insurance company. If primary, you immediately submit for trip insurance reimbursement. That could save you a month or more.

 

Yes. I am using Steve for our upcoming trip....learned about that source after booking this canceled one. It is primary coverage. This is good info for everyone, thanks for sharing.

[HokiePoq]

What type of compensation is it you would suggest from a cruise line who charters the ship one year plus in advance and displaces passengers? As well, what type of compensation do you envision for passengers who cancel more than 90 days in advance, mainly here in the U.S. as in other parts of the world deposits are largely non-refundable.

 

Generally, usually, most cruise lines offer alternative sailings to those displaced along with additional OBC. Not sure if the OP has had the offering or not, yet they indicate nothing was forthcoming from X on this front, which is unusual based on several previous postings concerning canceled sailings due to charters.

 

Are they sailings to the OP's preference, quite possibly not based on the itin, yet I agree some offerings need to be offered for them to turn down or accept.

 

bon voyage

 

Don't know if anything will be offered or not. That is not my concern so much as losing this unique opportunity to see three bucket list places with only one long flight from the US (Angkor Wat on the land portion; Bali, and Komodo Island.) X was not listing any other cruise with Bali and Komodo Island when I looked last week. Circumnavigation of Australia with HAL offers those two ports; RCCL only Bali. There may be others I have not yet researched....Will see what the agency comes up with as they are the ones with the added Angkor Wat trip which drew us to this cruise in the first place.

[HokiePoq]

Millennium Asian cruises are susceptible to charter. We had or Around Japan Millie cruise for September 2015 cancelled due to a charter. Also, the next cruise after ours, also Around Japan was chartered.

 

It was frustrating, however, Celebrity offered us four other cruises in Asia to transfer our booking (at the same prices we had booked the cancelled cruise). We picked the Japan and China cruise that had five Japanese ports. We saved $500-$600 because of this and our cruise was one of our favorites since we also visited Shanghai, Okinawa, Taiwan ended in Hong Kong. Another benefit was that our flights were open jaw into Tokyo out of HK and cheaper than RT Tokyo.

 

I didn't like being bumped by charters, but Celebrity has that right and they did make up for it with the freeze on prices for a more expensive cruise.

 

Calls for more regulation of the cruise industry are double edged. More rights for travelers, and costs would likely go up. I prefer it the way it is now. If Celebrity doesn't please me, I will find another cruise line.

 

Glad to hear your trips worked out all right. Did you have a thread about this when it happened? I can remember someone posting about being bumped a second time from the Japan itinerary.

[Bo1953]

Don't know if anything will be offered or not. That is not my concern so much as losing this unique opportunity to see three bucket list places with only one long flight from the US (Angkor Wat on the land portion; Bali, and Komodo Island.) X was not listing any other cruise with Bali and Komodo Island when I looked last week. Circumnavigation of Australia with HAL offers those two ports; RCCL only Bali. There may be others I have not yet researched....Will see what the agency comes up with as they are the ones with the added Angkor Wat trip which drew us to this cruise in the first place.

 

h - As you may be aware or not, here in the U.S. the offerings are usually equal or better. In the past I have read where some passengers received sailing offers which were 'better' than they selected, although in your case it may not be 'better' than due to the bucket list...

 

I trust all will work out in your favour regardless...

 

bon voyage

Edited December 28, 2016 by Bo1953

[CHUCKIE50]

I too am on this cancelled cruise and feel betrayed by X. I have not heard from my agent which is the largest advertiser on this board.

For those who say there is no downside to airfare do not book like I do using points. I booked the first segment for JFK-Sin on Nov 22, 2017 Business class using points as the first part of an open jaw itinerary since I am doing a b2b on the Dec 10/2017 as well. When they become available I will book the second segment Hkg-JFK on Cathay Pacific when it become available in January. My insurance will not cover any change fees for points tickets since I did not pay cash for the tickets in the first place.

A company should not sell something to a buyer and then sell it to someone else for a supposedly higher price. I know the cruise contract allows them to do it but I feel it is a sleazy practice. What we need is a cruisers bill of rights to prevent this type of thing happening.

[ChucktownSteve]

When our 14 day Azamara Greek Isle/Amalfi coast cruise was cancelled because it embarked from Istanbul, they gave us $500 OBC and agreed to hold our cruise price originally booked that was transferred to a 12 day Baltics cruise. Although it was two days shorter, the price was still higher than the original booking.

 

I hope sister Celebrity treats you similarly.

[OCA REP]

Another tip, if you don't mind me suggesting, is to make sure your trip insurance is primary coverage. That means you don't need to submit to your other insurance, wait for their denial even though you know they won't have coverage but you must be denied before submitting to your trip insurance company. If primary, you immediately submit for trip insurance reimbursement. That could save you a month or more.

 

Thanks for sharing this tip.

 

On a Pacific Coastal Cruise earlier this year, I had a little mishap in Santa Barbara and had to see the on-board doctor for x-rays, medications, etc. I contacted my trip insurance company and they explained that I had to file with my primary health insurance first and then their coverage would kick in. Much to my surprise, my health insurance, via work, covered everything at 100% so I did not need to mess further with the trip insurance.

 

But, your tip is a good one for sure!

[ChucktownSteve]

Thanks for sharing this tip.

 

On a Pacific Coastal Cruise earlier this year, I had a little mishap in Santa Barbara and had to see the on-board doctor for x-rays, medications, etc. I contacted my trip insurance company and they explained that I had to file with my primary health insurance first and then their coverage would kick in. Much to my surprise, my health insurance, via work, covered everything at 100% so I did not need to mess further with the trip insurance.

 

But, your tip is a good one for sure!

 

That's great your health insurance covered it. I suspect that's because you were still in the U.S. Had you been in a foreign port, would they still have covered?

[cruisers0708]

We use our Costco card for some of our travel because of the 3%.

 

The catch is that the cash back us in Costco dollars.

 

 

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No catch! Just take your rewards check to member services and get cash. We do this every year :)

[4774Papa]

Glad to hear your trips worked out all right. Did you have a thread about this when it happened? I can remember someone posting about being bumped a second time from the Japan itinerary.

 

Yes, our cruise Around Japan for March 2015 was also cancelled because the Century was being sold to a European company, so we transferred to a Singapore to Dubai cruise was went very well. Ultimately, the European sale fell through and the ship was sold to a Chinese company, but our Singapore to Dubai cruise still went on.

 

There was a lot of discussion on cc and our roll calls.

[vtcruising]

What type of compensation is it you would suggest from a cruise line who charters the ship one year plus in advance and displaces passengers? As well, what type of compensation do you envision for passengers who cancel more than 90 days in advance, mainly here in the U.S. as in other parts of the world deposits are largely non-refundable.

 

Generally, usually, most cruise lines offer alternative sailings to those displaced along with additional OBC. Not sure if the OP has had the offering or not, yet they indicate nothing was forthcoming from X on this front, which is unusual based on several previous postings concerning canceled sailings due to charters.

 

Are they sailings to the OP's preference, quite possibly not based on the itin, yet I agree some offerings need to be offered for them to turn down or accept.

 

bon voyage

 

I was speaking more to improvements in the consistency and timeliness of the process of cruise cancellation by some companies. Many of us have found out about our cruises being chartered on Cruise Critic or have seen bookings disappear and have called the cruise line to be told that it is not chartered (and later found out it was).

 

Recently, I had a cruise cancelled that was handled beautifully. The first I heard about the cancellation was when I received an email from my TA notifying me (more than 1 year in advance), Celebrity made the next steps clear and offered us $200 OBC for our trouble. I would hope that all charters/cancellations could be handled as smoothly and in a timely manner. I came out feeling positive about Celebrity.

 

I won't comment on the amount of compensation - that seems to be a business decision that balances the bottom line with keeping present and future cruisers happy. I'm just not sure that some companies have a consistent policy - from cruise critic reports, it seems some come out ahead and others lose.

 

I know I have a limited understanding of how to best deal with charters/cancellations, but I can always hope for a better process. :)

[Host Jazzbeau]

I was speaking more to improvements in the consistency and timeliness of the process of cruise cancellation by some companies. Many of us have found out about our cruises being chartered on Cruise Critic or have seen bookings disappear and have called the cruise line to be told that it is not chartered (and later found out it was).

 

Recently, I had a cruise cancelled that was handled beautifully. The first I heard about the cancellation was when I received an email from my TA notifying me (more than 1 year in advance), Celebrity made the next steps clear and offered us $200 OBC for our trouble. I would hope that all charters/cancellations could be handled as smoothly and in a timely manner. I came out feeling positive about Celebrity.

 

I won't comment on the amount of compensation - that seems to be a business decision that balances the bottom line with keeping present and future cruisers happy. I'm just not sure that some companies have a consistent policy - from cruise critic reports, it seems some come out ahead and others lose.

 

I know I have a limited understanding of how to best deal with charters/cancellations, but I can always hope for a better process. :)

 

Another possibility is that social media is getting the word out about changes to cruises (itinerary changes as well as charters) before the cruise line has set up its procedures for notification. In other words, Celebrity hasn't contacted customers or TAs on this one yet but they would have soon. I would guess this is two different departments, and in a big corporation these things take a little time to execute. But now the rumors start flying the minute the cruise disappears from the website, and it "seems" that the cruise line dropped the ball. [i'm not an apologist for Celebrity, but I have the perspective from my previous work life of being blamed for not doing things that were already in process -- and then the blamers take credit for "forcing" you to act.]

[Bo1953]

Another possibility is that social media is getting the word out about changes to cruises (itinerary changes as well as charters) before the cruise line has set up its procedures for notification. In other words, Celebrity hasn't contacted customers or TAs on this one yet but they would have soon. I would guess this is two different departments, and in a big corporation these things take a little time to execute. But now the rumors start flying the minute the cruise disappears from the website, and it "seems" that the cruise line dropped the ball. [i'm not an apologist for Celebrity, but I have the perspective from my previous work life of being blamed for not doing things that were already in process -- and then the blamers take credit for "forcing" you to act.]

 

 

Makes perfect sense to me, even though at times I do not make any sense, but I assure all that my thoughts are in tact!

 

LOL Thank you HJ - bon voyage

[vtcruising]

Another possibility is that social media is getting the word out about changes to cruises (itinerary changes as well as charters) before the cruise line has set up its procedures for notification. In other words, Celebrity hasn't contacted customers or TAs on this one yet but they would have soon. I would guess this is two different departments, and in a big corporation these things take a little time to execute. But now the rumors start flying the minute the cruise disappears from the website, and it "seems" that the cruise line dropped the ball. [i'm not an apologist for Celebrity, but I have the perspective from my previous work life of being blamed for not doing things that were already in process -- and then the blamers take credit for "forcing" you to act.]

 

I'm too believe that is part of the problem. I can just hope that with technological advances some genius can figure out a way to make it a smoother process. :)