Cozumel Shorex Frustration

[canderson]

I talked to Celebrity about this a week ago, and was told that due to uncertainties regarding upcoming Cozumel excursions, they planned to pull the current list of "Available for Booking" Cozumel excursions for our cruise date (we'll be there 12/7) until they could verify what was likely to be possible. Needless to say, a week later, they hadn't. I called again and was told just to book whatever I really wanted, and then hope that if it was cancelled I could get another of my choices once aboard the ship. That wasn't satisfactory, so I emailed them for a better answer. Here's the on-line request for help and subsequent email communication from Celebrity. Can anyone else achieve any clarity from the post I received today???

 

-----Original Message-----

From: EARL.ANDERSON@XXXXXXX.NET

Sent: 11/17/2005 12:36:29 PM

To: tgs_shore_ex_cci@celebritycruises.com

Subject: Shore excursions

My Past Cruise Information

Ship: Galaxy

Sail Date: 12 5, 2005

Booking ID: 000XXXX

It would appear that the shorex folks are not reviewing what is and is not possible for Cozumel excursions during our 5 December cruise.

Our first choice for Cozumel is Xcaret. This facility states unequivocally that they will NOT be open until 12 December, yet the shorex system continues to allow bookings for this excursion. At this point, I don't know which excursions will really be possible and which will not. It would be MOST helpful if you'd contact the tour operators and facility management for the various excursions and reduce the current list of "available" excursions to what is actually going to be available.

I don't want to book an excursion only to find out after we set sail that it isn't going to be held, and then find out onboard that my other possible choices have already been filled.

Meanwhile, is there any date by which the list might be cleaned up so that I can trust it and book our excursions there?

Earl Anderson

United States

EARL.ANDERSON@XXXXXXX.NET

 

 

Here is their reply:

 

-----Original Message-----

From: tgs_shore_ex_cci@celebritycruises.com

[mailto:tgs_shore_ex_cci@celebritycruises.com]

Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 1:01 PM

To: EARL.ANDERSON@XXXXXXX.NET

Subject: RE: Shore excursions

Greetings Earl,

Bk# XXXX

GL 12/05/05

Cb 1202

Pax ANDERSON, EARL / CHARLINE

The aftermath situation of Mexico's storm damage is great, but their recovery efforts began almost immediately. They have been working deligently on restorations and great progress is being gained on a weekly basis. Hence, decision is forthcoming at this point subject to the progress acheived.

Regarding facilities sustained damages and the relocation tour and repairs on the park or other facilities or alternatives to the program. If this information is received within the time frame for pre-booking, we will change tours accordingly. Where tour(s) is no longer available refunds will be processed. If we are within the 10 days prior to sailing, from this point, all guests must book once onboard the ship on a first-come first-serve basis or receive refund directly from the ship.

Enjoy your cruise and tours!

Thank you.

[THREAD ID:1-13H07S]

And here is my subsequent reply -- granted, a bit testy, but it doesn't appear that anyone at Shorex is overly concerned about taking any time to get this right:

 

 

 

I am unclear about your sentence that states:

 

"If this information is received within the time frame for pre-booking, we will change tours accordingly."

Do you mean if you receive unsolicited information from the tour operator or facility during the pre-booking period that a tour is not possible, you will then remove it from your list?

Are you expecting Xcaret to contact you to advise that the park will not open until 12 December? Would you like for me to write to them and have them send you an e-mail confirmation of what their web site clearly indicates if one attempts to book an excursion there for dates before 12 December?

This is surely not difficult information for you to obtain using your own expert resources. A pro-active approach would be a more valuable service to your customers. I understand that current conditions are extraordinary, but maintaining contact with your tour operators and keeping your customers abreast of the current situation does not seem an unreasonable expectation. Given that you have now been advised twice by phone of the Xcaret situation (I understand that similar problems exist for Chankanaab for 12/7), would it be unreasonable to expect that someone in your shorex department might contact the tour operator handling Xcaret to verify this?

[Two@Sea]

After first recovering from shock that Celebrity originally responded (even though it made NO sense) in such a timely manner, I am now anxious to find out if and how they respond again.

 

Also, your second email was far less testy than mine would have been! I am amazed that people are actually being PAID for such poor job performance!

 

Marsha

[tadjr]

And I thought our offshore rez offices in Manila and Mexico City butchered remarks in a reservation. Huh?

Translation- Maybe we go, maybe we dont.

[Arubalisa]

"Regarding facilities sustained damages and the relocation tour and repairs on the park or other facilities or alternatives to the program."

 

Too many and's and or's...

 

Would love to know what they mean by an "alternative to the program"??? Send you some place else and just "call" it Xcaret???

 

"If this information is received within the time frame for pre-booking, we will change tours accordingly. Where tour(s) is no longer available refunds will be processed. If we are within the 10 days prior to sailing, from this point, all guests must book once onboard the ship on a first-come first-serve basis or receive refund directly from the ship."

 

Earl, IMHO, I don't think they really read your email. To me this just reads as a "form" email they have been using for anyone with questions regarding Coz in these upcoming weeks. Thus, the reference to "If this information is received within the time frame for pre-booking, we will..."..."If we are within the 10 days prior to sailing..."

 

It is OBVIOUSLY Celebrity has no CLUE what is going on there...

 

Too many if's and and's for me :rolleyes: , only thing missing is the but, but, but...you would get that later when they say, "but we thought, but we were, but if..." Just my 2 cents, not worth much :cool:

[tbelian]

Given the devastation the happened in Cozumel, I think you all need to back off and take a wait and see attitude. Their problems are much more significant than what you are descriibng here. I know my response here is terse, but, It sounds to me like you are expecting the magic wand to go 'poof' and provide all the answers. Wait and see.

 

Cozumel has been one of our favorite ports, and we always look forward to it. We booked a cruise for 2007 with Cozumel on the itinerary, but have no preconceptions about what to expect.

[TEXASMUNK]

They are merely responding with information that is available to them.

 

Gee, a Cat 5 sat over the isalnd for 6 hours. Well, that is too bad! Just demand to know information that no one knows then get upset when you cannot get a clear reply.

 

PS..The folks in Cozumel DON"T KNOW!

 

Searching my memory, I think the term we should all apply is: Patience

[chessbriar]

Keep in mind Cozumel was just blasted by a hurricane. The port just reopened. Businesses as well as the island have been devestated. They are trying to get up and running as soon as possible. But it takes time

 

X could easily say that all excusrions are canceled until further notice and let you know what's up when you get on board. They are at least giving you the option of putting a hold on the tour you want. They could cancel and let everyone book once on board.

 

In the weeks before you cruise, the tour company who runs your tour could get up and running. Wouldn't you hate for X to say the tour company is closed, only to have them reopen by the time you get there, but you've booked with a company that reopened sooner.

 

Try a little patience. Besides, the best ports on your cruise are come after Cozumel. Did the same cruise in January, had a great time. The cruise without Cozumel would not have mattered to me at all.

[bob278]

They are merely responding with information that is available to them.

Earl told them the operator's web site indicated they would NOT be ready. Why is it unreasonable to expect that Celebrity would at the very least go to the same web site he did or call their operator to confirm.?

 

Gee, a Cat 5 sat over the isalnd for 6 hours. Well, that is too bad! Just demand to know information that no one knows then get upset when you cannot get a clear reply.

 

PS..The folks in Cozumel DON"T KNOW!

Actually, it would appear the folks in Cozumel DO know, it's just that Celebrity won't ask them.

 

Searching my memory, I think the term we should all apply is: Patience

 

I saw nothing in the OP's complaint that indicated he didn't understand that the folks in Cozumel have problems. He is simply asking that Celebrity do some minimal level of customer service. At least that's how I interpret it.

 

It reminds me of an old dialog on the Tonight Show between Jack Paar and Charley Weaver ( well, I SAID it was old).

 

Charley had been giving Jack a hard time and Jack said "How about a little respect for the star?" Charley said, "You're getting as little as possible." Replace "respect" with "customer service" and it fits here.

[Arubalisa]

Good analogy Bob! Earl would just like an answer one way or another so he can make alternate plans and not get stuck in the end with NO PLANS!

 

Be even better if I knew who Charley Weaver was :confused: Just gave away my age I guess..I've heard of Jack Paar, but Weaver???

[bob278]

Charley Weaver was the stage name of Cliff Arquette. He is also the grandfather of Rosanna and Patricia Arquette (actresses). His character was "good 'ol country boy".

 

He always wore that goofy hat in the picture. When I googled him, I found out he died in 1974! My lord, I am really showing my age.

 

[tbelian]

Unbelievable. How can you be expected to provide answers to the unknown? I'd like to be able to buy a chunk of THAT crystal ball.

[bob278]

Unbelievable. How can you be expected to provide answers to the unknown? I'd like to be able to buy a chunk of THAT crystal ball.

 

Well,

 

If I am in customer service and I have someone tell me that a website for one of MY providers shows something definite, I would get on the phone and try to confirm it. (And I would be a bit embarrassed that a customer had to tell me something I should know already - but that's just me). I would not reply to my customer with a canned answer that doesn't address the question at hand.

 

The issue, as I see it, is that Celebrity seems perfectly willing to do nothing and hope someone calls them. That is not very good customer service.

 

Maybe they can't call every operator or get an answer from all of the ones they reach, but in this case information was provided TO Celebrity from a customer and they chose not to follow up. I think it is reasonable to expect a customer service operation to at least TRY. If they try and fail because of circumstances, then I have no problem with them. But, to repeat my opinion, not even trying is pretty poor service. No crystal ball needed to simply ask questions.

[chessbriar]

Bob,

 

One thing to keep in mind, a lot can change in 3 weeks, but right now there are no certainties in Cozumel. X's office does everything they can to find out info. Now, the office that is working to get the correct information is not Customer Service. The office that handles the excursions contracts and contacts is not going to pass along information to customer service until they have positive confirmation. That could still take another week or two.

 

People have to be patient with areas that are hit hard with hurricanes. I went to Grand Cayman not long after the port reopened after Ivan. I had chartered a sailboat, but did not bother to contact them until a week before my cruise. The people on the devistated islands have more important things to worry about than my island experience.

 

Right now X is focusing on working with the agencies on a day by day basis. Let's see if they are running today. They could skip the whole thing and write off all excursion. But no they continue to gather information. It is slow going and we have to be patient. Would you expect all things to be up in running in New Orleans in less than two months. NO. Well guess what, as an area New Orleans was much more prosperous than Cozumel. It takes time to rebuild. Grand Cayman was closed for over three months and they have better finacial resources than Cozumel. I'm amazed they've reopened already.

 

It amazes me how people worry so much about their one day at a port when the people are struggling to survive in that area.

 

Maybe they should offer a rebuilding excursion. Everyone can sign up to donate time and money to helping these people rebuild. Believe me they can use it. Maybe every guest on the ship should donate one outfit to the people of the island. You figure 3 ships 4-5000 people. That's a lot to help reclothe the people of Cozumel.

[Arubalisa]

Charley Weaver was the stage name of Cliff Arquette. He is also the grandfather of Rosanna and Patricia Arquette (actresses). His character was "good 'ol country boy".

 

He always wore that goofy hat in the picture. When I googled him, I found out he died in 1974! My lord, I am really showing my age.

 

 

NOW if you had mentioned "Hollywood Squares" I may have been able to put 2 and 2 together :) http://www.classicsquares.com/weaversquares.html

[Two@Sea]

We are still personally recouperating from Jeanne and Frances, so I can relate to the devastation in Cozumel. I did not interpret the OP to be uncaring of those who have suffered such major losses in the itinerary ports. I understood it to be an expression of the general lack of Celebrity customer service only.

[Chick's pal]

Customer service aside, shore excursions represent a profit center for a cruiseline. You would think they would be on top of the situation in order that they can plan for their own bottom-line issues.

 

Xcaret is no mom-and-pop business. They probably have contracts with the cruiselines. There has to be some language in those contracts about acts of God and other reasons why they might not be able to satisfy the needs of cruise passengers booking via ship excursions. I suspect this is the case with other excursion providers as well.

 

It is kind of crazy to tell people to go ahead and book without knowing if you can deliver. The PR is much more difficult when you are trying to allay the disappointments of your customers. Perhaps it would be better to say, "we won't book anything until you get on board, so be sure and make the Excursions Desk one of your first stops!" Wouldn't most passengers understand?

 

We are scheduled to sail on 11/24 with our first stop being Cozumel and I'm quite surprised that we are stopping. I assumed that if the cruiseline could not sell enough excursions that they would not stop there.

 

And of course, I'm concerned about the hurricane victims, and wonder if it wouldn't be better for their re-building efforts to have ships and tourists out of the way, leaving resources available for the rehab.

[bob278]

Bob, .............Maybe they should offer a rebuilding excursion. Everyone can sign up to donate time and money to helping these people rebuild. Believe me they can use it. Maybe every guest on the ship should donate one outfit to the people of the island. You figure 3 ships 4-5000 people. That's a lot to help reclothe the people of Cozumel.

 

Now there's a great idea. I would go for that in a heartbeat. Imagine how much good would come out of just a few ship's visits. The only losers would be the cruise line losing out on excursion revenue, but the benefits to the people on shore who get help and those who would feel like they contributed something would be awesome.

[SS Cruise Lady]

I can understand your frustration at the ambiguity of Celebrity's response, but I think it is almost impossible for them to provide a more definitive answer when there is much uncertainty regarding what will be available at the time you are in Cozumel. When we were in Cozumel during December 2002 we did not book our excursion for that port until we were aboard the ship and space was still available for almost every one. Therefore, you probably don't have much to worry about.

[canderson]

They are merely responding with information that is available to them.

 

Gee, a Cat 5 sat over the isalnd for 6 hours. Well, that is too bad! Just demand to know information that no one knows then get upset when you cannot get a clear reply.

 

PS..The folks in Cozumel DON"T KNOW!

 

Searching my memory, I think the term we should all apply is: Patience

Interesting that you use the phrase "availableto them" -- Actually, Jim, they are evidently waiting for the information to come to them, rather than trying to solicit it from their tour operators with whom they have contracts. That's the only reason I can think of to explain why I can find out that my first two preferences, while Celebrity continues to list them, simply aren't going to be available. I took the simple step of checking. The people in Cozumel DO know, at least in the two cases I wished to know about. If you like, I can point you to the information that both the Xcaret and Chankanaab facilities have posted with very specific dates for reopening, both of which are after 12/7/05.

 

As for patience, if I recall the timetable, I have only 4 days remaining to book these online, after which I take pot luck when we get to the ship.

[canderson]

I can understand your frustration at the ambiguity of Celebrity's response, but I think it is almost impossible for them to provide a more definitive answer when there is much uncertainty regarding what will be available at the time you are in Cozumel.

As I said to Jim, if they'd even take a pass through the list of operators with whom they've got contracts, they'd at least have some idea. And again, my first two choices are anything but uncertain. The Xcaret facility has provided a hard date of 12/12, and Chankanaab of 12/15.

 

All I'm saying is that if I can find this out as a basic nobody with minimal effort, Celebrity can surely call the people with whom they have contracts for these excursions with and get that same information and make adjustments to their lists.

 

The sensible thing to have done would have been to pull down the lists and only reinstate the tours on that list as it was determined that the operators had reasonable confidence in a particular date for a restart. At least it would be a good faith effort to provide information, even if it proved impossible to get it 100% right.

[canderson]

Try a little patience. Besides, the best ports on your cruise are come after Cozumel. Did the same cruise in January, had a great time. The cruise without Cozumel would not have mattered to me at all.

As noted, the "patience" issue is rather moot -- just recounted -- I think I have 7 days remaining until they cut off online bookings altogether for a 12/5 cruise. In once sense, I agree. I refer to this port as "Cozumel" only because that's the port where the ship stops. We get the heck off the island ASAP. Our feeling is that the best stuff is on the mainland via ferry, and a good pick there can rival much of what comes later in the trip.

[canderson]

It amazes me how people worry so much about their one day at a port when the people are struggling to survive in that area.

Let's not start with the attempted guilt trip here, Chessbriar. If I wanted to take that approach, I'd have backed out while there was time and sent the entire refund to a relief effort. Let's stay focused here. There is poverty and misery everywhere. I fail to see the relevance between that and questions regarding customer service and unintelligible emails. The logic, extended, says "If there are such big problems in the world, no one providing less than acceptable service should be taken to task for it".

 

That wasn't a personal attack, Chessbriar. I know you too well from the boards here to want to make it that. Let's just not let our emotions overrun reason.

 

Maybe they should offer a rebuilding excursion. Everyone can sign up to donate time and money to helping these people rebuild. Believe me they can use it. Maybe every guest on the ship should donate one outfit to the people of the island. You figure 3 ships 4-5000 people. That's a lot to help reclothe the people of Cozumel.

Now if Celebrity could actually assure this "excursion" would HAPPEN, that's something that I COULD sign up for in the 4 days left. Feed me lunch and I'll help move the debris with the best of 'em. Think there'd be enough interest to make it work?

[canderson]

And of course' date=' I'm concerned about the hurricane victims, and wonder if it wouldn't be better for their re-building efforts to have ships and tourists out of the way, leaving resources available for the rehab.[/quote']Actually, I think they're very anxious to get the cash flow back on a positive footing as soon as possible in order to help facilitate the costs of renovation. That means getting the tourists back as soon as is practical.

 

I've been reading the trade papers from Cozumel proper and one from the Yucatan in general, and while they really do have their hands full, they're coming up on their peak season and really hope they can fill whatever percentage of their facilities they are able to get up and running. It's going to be a real race, but I'm thoroughly impressed with effort to date.

 

I think a lot of people are going to be very surprised at the level of turn-around in such a relatively short period of time -- especially when compared to some other areas that have been hit hard in the last couple of years.

[canderson]

Unbelievable. How can you be expected to provide answers to the unknown? I'd like to be able to buy a chunk of THAT crystal ball.

No quote, so can't tell to whom you refer this, but reading back, it appears to be me.

 

If it were indeed an "unknown", I wouldn't be silly enough to expect an answer. It is the fact that it could become known through my own direct inquiries (something Celebrity's shorex people should be doing on my behalf), that caused me to bother Celebrity with this issue in the first place. As I'd been reading the trades for Cozumel, I ran across a hard date that conflicted with Celebrity's claim to availability. This got me to wondering. When I further went directly to the facility's site, the facility confirmed this as their re-opening date. That's about as "known" as it gets for now. As someone pointed out, these ain't no Ma and Pa businesses -- in the case of Xcaret, we're talking something on a scale larger than a Disney operation (and in my opinion, darned near as perfectly maintained -- great place for a visit!)

[chessbriar]

Canderson,

 

I don't take it as a personal attack and if you thought it was a personal attack it wasn't. Too often people, and I'm not saying you, take some of the inconvienences of cruising and turn it into a ruined cruise. This year has been a good lesson to me to go with the flow when taking a cruise. When I originally booked the cruise you were on, it went to Belize and not Costa Maya. Belize was what I wanted the most. As it turned out we had a great crusie. Really loved Costa Rica.

 

With regard to Xcaret, if it is due to be open, could you catch the ferry and head over yourself. Skip the cruiselines tour and save youself the aggrivation and a little $$$$.

 

By the way, you know me from the boards.... Oh Boy, I'm in trouble, hehe. I got on the boards at the start just to blend in. I guess if people know me, I've failed that one. Oh well, it's been fun. Guess I keep posting and having fun.

 

When you see Stewart (ACD)and Melanie(soHo) on your cruise, tell them Rick and Kathy from the Millie in April said Hi. Stewart will know, we've sailed with him 3x in the last year and a half