Did you know Celebrity can "bump" you from your cabin?

[tabby50894]

We're sorry about this unusual situation, and we will work with our guests to make this right. This includes providing them with a full refund and a future cruise credit so they may sail with us soon.

 

I think it would be helpful to know how this situation happened. Was their a problem that took the cabins out of service, like water damage? Was there a charter that took priority? Was it a computer problem that created the overbooking?

 

Barring an emergency - damage to the cabin that makes it uninhabitable - I am horrified that Celebrity would bump passengers at the last minute.

[villauk]

I think it would be helpful to know how this situation happened. Was their a problem that took the cabins out of service, like water damage? Was there a charter that took priority? Was it a computer problem that created the overbooking?

 

Barring an emergency - damage to the cabin that makes it uninhabitable - I am horrified that Celebrity would bump passengers at the last minute.

 

I doubt very much it was water damage, or such like, as one of the bumped pax was told someone else was given their cabin.

[NLH Arizona]

I think it would be helpful to know how this situation happened. Was their a problem that took the cabins out of service, like water damage? Was there a charter that took priority? Was it a computer problem that created the overbooking?

 

Barring an emergency - damage to the cabin that makes it uninhabitable - I am horrified that Celebrity would bump passengers at the last minute.

I think most would like to know how and why the cruise was overbooked, especially since it was way after final payment, and is overbooking a normal practice for Celebrity? Also, how were those chosen to be bumped; was it random or first come first served? And I guess, most importantly, how can we, as Celebrity customers, ensure that we won't run into the same situation and be bumped from our future cruises?

[scubacruiserx2]

I have a theory:

The President's Cruise sets sail on May 5th.

Maybe the bumped cabins are being prepared for the 'Miami suits!'

 

Good point , this raises a question . Is it possible that a rich , famous , or influential individual ( like the President ) or a large group of latecomers could bump prepaid passengers or individuals ?

[Ma Bell]

In 23 years we've been sailing on Celebrity this is the first time I've ever heard of this happening so I would say it's unusual. I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone but I also wouldn't be worrying about it happening again.

[Ma Bell]

Thank you for replying to this post. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be that 'unusual' as many cruises seem to suddenly disappear when chartered by someone else ...

 

Many of us book 15 months in advance to make sure that we get the cabin and cruise that we want as we are limited to when we can sail. Not sure if Celebrity get that. Sailing with the cruise line again is ok but it doesn't fill us with reassurance.

 

When you've waited 15 months a full refund really is not good enough as a late change means that it is almost impossible to book another holiday / cruise as some passengers are limited to a certain time. It really is not that easy to change.

 

Oh well ------- we have just booked another cruise for August 2018 after the original one was cancelled and are trusting that lightening won't strike twice in the same place !

 

This is not the same situation at all.

[Selion]

You said it. It's "modern" luxury cruising.

 

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[midwestchick]

Review Your Travel Agent on a social media page is a great way to evaluate the good, the bad and the ugly of Travel Agents. Some TA's are just $$$ collectors while others are AMAZING at creating a memorable vacation experience. There is no way to know who to go to. Thankfully the Social Media and great sites like this help advise passengers of some of the pitfalls of traveling.

 

 

That page won't open for me. I know you can't say what social media site because of CC rules...darn.

I got the name of my TA from a poster on CC who had his email listed and he cruised a lot and always spoke highly of his TA. I emailed him for the name. I've also referred a number of people to her who love her. She also has a way of tracking my cruises for price drops...not every agent has or utilizes that capability.

[mringenoldus]

Actually, every TA who has registered with the cruise lines' travel agent portals has access to all pricing and promotions. I have found that some TAs don't inform clients of price savings following their deposit because it decreases their commission.

 

The trick to finding a great TA is to locate one who does not have so many clients they have no opportunity to closely monitor your reservation for pricing, cabin locations, promotions than can be applied to existing bookings, etc. if your TAs commission matters more than your booking - find a new one!

 

 

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[BananaAnna]

So glad we have given up on Celebrity. Over the past 25 years we have seen their priority change from customer service to profit and an overall decline in the experience.

 

And yet you're here...

[sandyss]

We're sorry about this unusual situation, and we will work with our guests to make this right. This includes providing them with a full refund and a future cruise credit so they may sail with us soon.

 

I think most would like to know how and why the cruise was overbooked, especially since it was way after final payment, and is overbooking a normal practice for Celebrity? Also, how were those chosen to be bumped; was it random or first come first served? And I guess, most importantly, how can we, as Celebrity customers, ensure that we won't run into the same situation and be bumped from our future cruises?

 

All that Celebrity did in their post was apologize, and nothing more. They have given us no explanation as to why this happened on this particular cruise, and if it might happen again on other cruises - and how Celebrity will handle overbooking in the future. There is lots of concern as to whether this could happen again, and Celebrity needs to address these concerns.

[fshagan]

Disclaimer: I help manage social media for a software company, so I'm a bit defensive of companies in Celebrity's position. Social media posts have an outsized impact on the reader because the scale of the problem isn't revealed. I'll use some math from my company to show you what I mean.

 

Let's say you are looking for a company to send your business email. Company A has a public Facebook Group and company B doesn't. You see 100 posts from people who say they didn't get an email delivered from Company A. The visual impact of that long list of complaints would make you think that company has a "delivery" problem. But in reality they achieve an industry-leading 99.99% of all email delivered. And let's say this fictional company A sends 15 million emails a day. They actually miss 1,500 emails, but you think it's a huge problem because of less than one-tenth of that in posts.

 

And there are very good reasons they can't reveal exactly what happened. Let's say a large, national, privately held TA firm is having financial problems, and that fed into this because deposits didn't get forwarded, or their computer system broke down. Celebrity cannot divulge that problem without violating either contractual terms, ethical standards or various laws.

 

They can try to make it right, and apologize. And that's all they really can do in public.

[SoCalTraveler]

I think the level of customer service varies tremendously. We had a problem a few years back and our TA negotiated a great resolution. We can't mention the ship. Sorry. We gave our word.

 

On the other had, we had a problem with RCCI on which our TA got nowhere. I took over and was finally worn down to take a $300 FCC, Worn down in that RCCI insisted it could not find my letters (yes, plural) and was not interested in getting PDFs from me. Then we booked a cruise, got the $300 credit on the contract, signed it and sent it in, and RCCI decided that what we really had was a $300 future OBC and that the original guy I spoke to had no right to offer an FCC. And that the RCCI rep who said we could not use the FCC/OBC on a sister line was just wrong. Our TA had been in the middle of these deals and had print outs of the FCC.

 

We cancelled the RCCI cruise and demanded a cash refund. A senior RCCI rep said he could not believe we'd make a fuss over $300 when we'd spend that on board. (We get other credits as well, so $300 was not going to be the only OBC.) I said I refused to do business with folks who could not keep their word. In the end, they wrote a check for $300. And the cruise we cancelled? It sailed less than full, so they lost money on this deal.

[laslomas]

All that Celebrity did in their post was apologize, and nothing more. They have given us no explanation as to why this happened on this particular cruise, and if it might happen again on other cruises - and how Celebrity will handle overbooking in the future. There is lots of concern as to whether this could happen again, and Celebrity needs to address these concerns.

 

Well this thread was running for a few days before any response from Celebrity and as you say they actually did not say anything other than to apologise for this one situation. I also would like to know the cause. Also how they decide who they 'bump'. I always book well in advance and feel that those doing so should not have to worry for a year or so about whether their cruise will actually happen at all. So I am awaiting the explanation. :confused:

[villauk]

Disclaimer: I help manage social media for a software company, so I'm a bit defensive of companies in Celebrity's position. Social media posts have an outsized impact on the reader because the scale of the problem isn't revealed. I'll use some math from my company to show you what I mean.

 

Let's say you are looking for a company to send your business email. Company A has a public Facebook Group and company B doesn't. You see 100 posts from people who say they didn't get an email delivered from Company A. The visual impact of that long list of complaints would make you think that company has a "delivery" problem. But in reality they achieve an industry-leading 99.99% of all email delivered. And let's say this fictional company A sends 15 million emails a day. They actually miss 1,500 emails, but you think it's a huge problem because of less than one-tenth of that in posts.

 

And there are very good reasons they can't reveal exactly what happened. Let's say a large, national, privately held TA firm is having financial problems, and that fed into this because deposits didn't get forwarded, or their computer system broke down. Celebrity cannot divulge that problem without violating either contractual terms, ethical standards or various laws.

 

They can try to make it right, and apologize. And that's all they really can do in public.

 

I think it has more to do with the way the problem was handled at the onset. The line at the bottom of your post which states 'try to make it right' is the poignant one - they didn't consider it thoroughly enough or they wouldn't have contacted pax, at random?, a few days prior to sailing and informed them they were now cancelled from that sailing! As others have pointed out, several major mainstream players do this on a regular basis and ask for willing passengers to move to other sailings, compensating them in a mutual agreement.

 

Just like the United debacle, the initial handling was where the whole issue began - they have also apologised far too late. The problem/mistake was there, but the effects of their actions were not considered when they decided on their resolution. I think it always helps if one takes themselves out of company shoes and expresses how they would feel in the same circumstances. For some not a problem to change, for others it would be a complete nightmare (if you're still working and have to book leave time up to 12 months prior to your vacation, then this would be a major disaster).

 

Mistakes happen, after all we're only human, however isn't the 'proof of the pudding' in how you deal with those mistakes?

[Presto2]

This is not the same situation at all.

 

Good grief, what did I do to deserve that put down?

 

FYI I can't recall saying that it was the same, just similar - booking a cruise, booking a cabin and then someone else comes along and they suddenly cancel your cruise and that someone else has the ship for their cruise.

[npb]

And yet you're here...

Yep. We have sailed "X" 39 times and have met many people from around the world that I like to follow. Is that "ok"?

[Fouremco]

So glad we have given up on Celebrity. Over the past 25 years we have seen their priority change from customer service to profit and an overall decline in the experience.

You might want to update your profile, where you still list Celebrity as your favourite cruise line. Unless, of course, you've given up on all the other lines too and simply consider Celebrity your favourite of a bad bunch! 😎:D

[BecciBoo]

Yup, they did it to us a few years ago. We had booked a balcony cabin that was one of 4 similar cabins onboard. The balcony was humongous! It was located next door to a Royal suite. A week or so before sailing my travel agent notified me there had been a fire in that cabin so they were relocating us (of course, it was a less desirable balcony size). When we boarded, I decided to go check out our original cabin. It had a welcome letter on the bed welcoming my husband and me. So we went to Customer Relations to inquire why we were switched as there obviously had not been a fire in that cabin. The answer I got was that that cabin was taken out of inventory and it wasn't even on the manifest. Long story short, it turned out that a celebrity (Kate Jackson) had booked the Royal suite next door and didn't want anybody in the cabin on the other side so she booked both. Celebrity gave us a measly little $25/pp OBC.

 

I'm afraid I'd have had to do some sleuthing and possibly initiate a conversation with Ms. Jackson:mad:

 

This is totally unacceptable. Soon, thanks to Dr. Dao the airlines will not be able to do this anymore, hopefully this will be extended to all passenger carriers. Simply no excuse. You realize that in United's case, a simple airplane charter for its 4 employees of a few thousand dollars would have been preferable to to a million+ lawsuit....lesson learned.

 

Course, there's always that pesky cruise contract:rolleyes:

[richsea]

fahagan, thank you for you perspective. The points you raise are valid & remind us that there is always underliying reasons in every situation. However, as someone else has said, the manner & timing of their notification to the affected guests only made a bad situation worse.

[Ma Bell]

Good grief, what did I do to deserve that put down?

 

FYI I can't recall saying that it was the same, just similar - booking a cruise, booking a cabin and then someone else comes along and they suddenly cancel your cruise and that someone else has the ship for their cruise.

 

Hardly a "put down". This is an unusual situation. All cruise lines have cruises that are cancelled for various reasons including the ship being chartered, changes to itineraries, repairs etc. I've been affected a few times and they have always been more than fair in resolving the problem. This particular situation is the first I've ever heard of in 23 years of sailing with Celebrity and 16 years on these boards.

 

The only people they owe an explanation to in this case are the people who were affected. As usual, when something happens the first place some people run is to a public message board...even before there has been any attempted resolution. It's always a good idea to let the dust settle before going off the deep end.

[kimlovesfl]

All that Celebrity did in their post was apologize, and nothing more. They have given us no explanation as to why this happened on this particular cruise, and if it might happen again on other cruises - and how Celebrity will handle overbooking in the future. There is lots of concern as to whether this could happen again, and Celebrity needs to address these concerns.

 

Has anyone considered that perhaps the company has a rule against posting such things on social media and websites, like Facebook and Cruise Critic? I'm not defending them, I just know from experience with the company I work for that there is only so much you can say online, unless you are way high up in the food chain.

 

 

I'm curious as to why this happened, and I'm sure somehow the truth will come out, especially if the ones affected contact the news channels or papers. Hoping this doesn't happen to me for my cruise in September.

 

 

I was offered a move over from Princess on our last cruise, it was a fantastic offer, but 2 days before we were to set sail, and we just couldn't change our vacation time like that. A week ahead, maybe, but not 2 days. The problems of still being in the work force, I guess, and not retired.

[Presto2]

Hardly a "put down". This is an unusual situation. All cruise lines have cruises that are cancelled for various reasons including the ship being chartered, changes to itineraries, repairs etc. I've been affected a few times and they have always been more than fair in resolving the problem. This particular situation is the first I've ever heard of in 23 years of sailing with Celebrity and 16 years on these boards.

 

The only people they owe an explanation to in this case are the people who were affected. As usual, when something happens the first place some people run is to a public message board...even before there has been any attempted resolution. It's always a good idea to let the dust settle before going off the deep end.

 

Perhaps you came across as being a bit 'short' re your reply to my post.

 

I didn't think I was going off at the deep end, though I have to say that it only seems to be Celebrity that cancels whole cruises that we have heard of in the past.

 

Oh well, off to check our hotels from Venice now and dream of holidays

[Fouremco]

I have to say that it only seems to be Celebrity that cancels whole cruises that we have heard of in the past.

We had a HAL cruise cancelled on us a couple of years ago, and it's an issue raised on many of the CC boards. It's certainly not exclusive to Celebrity.

[fshagan]

fahagan, thank you for you perspective. The points you raise are valid & remind us that there is always underliying reasons in every situation. However, as someone else has said, the manner & timing of their notification to the affected guests only made a bad situation worse.

 

I was only speaking to the objection that the Celebrity rep didn't provide more information and "only apologized". I agree the situation was handled very badly and their regular method of handling these things is not very good compared to what we've heard from other cruisers about how Princess handles things. I don't give them a pass on that at all.

 

In fact, we are looking forward to our first X cruise this fall, but we're a bit worried about it now. We sail Princess, Disney and NCL, and we have never even heard of passengers being bumped a week before a cruise or so many people seeing fraudulent charges on their credit cards (detailed elsewhere here on the board, and it appears to be a RCL and X issue exclusively). I'm not saying those don't happen elsewhere, but I think you would have them mentioned in the other boards as well. At least on the NCL board where there is a lot of complaining about the company.