JUST IN: CONSTELLATION FEB. 16 EMBARKATION PORT CHANGE

[compuryan]

IF YOU'RE ON THIS SAILING, YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW!!!

 

I am not sailing on this cruise but my mom @koipondis and this e-mail just came in.  The ship is relocating to embark in Dubai on February 16th for a roundtrip Dubai itinerary.  Guests with Celebrity flights will be taken care of in terms of bookings.  Guests travelling independently are on their own with potential for up to $500 in flight change reimbursement PP with receipt submission.  No refund or future cruise credit option on offer.  I am posting this because I sure as hell would want to know as soon as possible.

 

If you've already begun travel to Singapore, you're not going to find a ship there on February 16th.

 

Edited February 11, 2020 by compuryan

[Pirateguy]

A lot of guests were already on their way to Singapore!! I like the way they describe missing Thailand with another “relaxing day at sea”! too many sea days now,,,they don’t want to offer cancellations as everyone would cancel,,,what will happy to the next cruises???

[Jill01]

Yes 4 sea days is not great, but its still a holiday and warmer than here

[upwarduk]

Just now, Jill01 said:

Yes 4 sea days is not great, but its still a holiday and warmer than here

We once had 9 days at sea on a repositioning cruise, Rome to Galveston in Texas.Due to Hurricane Wilma, we were sailing away from the eye of the storm and missed Key West due to flooding.

Fortunately, we were able to listen to a superb ‘Beyond the Podium’ lecturer, who stepped in with additional lectures.

[sgmn]

Anyone travelling from UK will have difficulty getting flights to Dubai next weekend. Its school half term holidays as well as valentine weekend and most flights are full 

Edited February 11, 2020 by sgmn

[nyc2pdx]

That’s pretty horrible. If a last minute flight to Dubai and potentially a hotel the night before is cost prohibitive, then you can cancel with normal penalties?  They changed the embarkation...it isn’t the passengers fault this happened. 

[kentlady]

We were booked on this cruise but have had to cancel as I have broken my ankle and was told I couldn’t travel but we would have been in Bangkok now ready to board the Eastern Oriental train to Singapore so we may not have even seen the email let alone been able to arrange to get to a completely different destination in time to board the ship it would have been a complete nightmare. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Provence55always]

Looks like the cruise has just been cancelled. What a shame for all......we were on this cruise from Singapore to Dubai 17 January to 1st February and had a fantastic time. The staff and crew on board are the best. It’s a shame for the passengers on the way to Singapore.....

[MarkusToe]

not canceled - relocated to Dubai as starting point

[Alushar]

We managed to get a flight out of UK tomorrow to Dubai was surprised we couldn't get nearer the weekend but saw @sgmn post so good reasoning plus I suspect Celebrity Air acted before they sent the email at 3am this morning and will have rerouted some from States to Dubai via London.

 

First world problems very annoying to miss Singapore but rather be safe and after a couple of hours hassling everything is cancelled and hotel, transfers etc booked for Dubai. All at a cost though the air rebook alone was £250 more than Celebrity's contribution

[Jetstreamer]

Changing flights from SIN to DXB won't be cheap.  You are usually on the line for a change fee plus fare difference.  Given the last minute change flights to DXB will be expensive.  I'm very surprised/disappointed Celebrity are not being more accommodating to those with independent air arrangements as $500 probably won't begin to cover it.  Then not giving the option to cancel is just cruel.  I work in the airline industry with high levels of regulation and consumer protection.  If this was a flight itinerary change rather than a cruise the airline would have to give a refund.  Seems there is comparatively little consumer protection with cruises which is rather alarming! 

[Alushar]

Our change from Singapore to Dubai cost us £250 more than the Celeb contribution

[compuryan]

3 hours ago, MarkusToe said:

not canceled - relocated to Dubai as starting point

Where anywhere in this thread did anyone say it was cancelled? 🤔

[Silkroad]

1 minute ago, compuryan said:

Where anywhere in this thread did anyone say it was cancelled? 🤔

Post #8, to which MarkusToe replied with correct information.

[compuryan]

52 minutes ago, Jetstreamer said:

Changing flights from SIN to DXB won't be cheap.  You are usually on the line for a change fee plus fare difference.  Given the last minute change flights to DXB will be expensive.  I'm very surprised/disappointed Celebrity are not being more accommodating to those with independent air arrangements as $500 probably won't begin to cover it.  Then not giving the option to cancel is just cruel.  I work in the airline industry with high levels of regulation and consumer protection.  If this was a flight itinerary change rather than a cruise the airline would have to give a refund.  Seems there is comparatively little consumer protection with cruises which is rather alarming! 

 

Cruise lines are looking at all the ships out there losing money right now not being able to dock either with guests on board in quarantine or no guests on board at all and I'm sure their shareholders are too.  I'm sure this is where the lack of refund options is coming from.

[compuryan]

Just now, Silkroad said:

Post #8, to which MarkusToe replied with correct information.

 

Literally the post above.  Clearly I'm not awake yet this morning.

[smogfarmgirl]

5 minutes ago, compuryan said:

Where anywhere in this thread did anyone say it was cancelled? 🤔

Post #8 said it

Edited February 11, 2020 by smogfarmgirl

[Silkroad]

Just now, compuryan said:

 

Literally the post above.  Clearly I'm not awake yet this morning.

I understand. I’m having one of those mornings too😉

[Silkroad]

5 hours ago, nyc2pdx said:

That’s pretty horrible. If a last minute flight to Dubai and potentially a hotel the night before is cost prohibitive, then you can cancel with normal penalties?  They changed the embarkation...it isn’t the passengers fault this happened. 

It’s not the cruise line’s fault either. They didn’t cause the novel Coronavirus crisis, and they’re trying to make contingency plans without knowing how fast or how far the virus will spread. They do encourage people to book travel insurance coverage, which should reimburse for cancellation and change fees for a modified embarkation port. They also have their own Cruise Air, which guarantees rerouting in cases like these. Those of us (like myself) who prefer to make independent arrangements assume the risk of having to scramble to make last minute changes.
 

Honestly, I’m amazed Celebrity is offering OBC for the missed port & changed embarkation port. I’ve not seen that before. I wouldn’t have minded extra OBC when we had two extra days at sea instead of in St. Petersburg! I feel great sympathy for everyone having to begin their holiday after a stressful few days trying to change travel plans, but these unexpected changes do happen. I hope this turns out to be a wonderful holiday despite the changes and frustration.

Edited February 11, 2020 by Silkroad

[cruiserchuck]

5 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

It’s not the cruise line’s fault either. They didn’t cause the novel Coronavirus crisis, and they’re trying to make contingency plans without knowing how fast or how far the virus will spread. They do encourage people to book travel insurance coverage, which should reimburse for cancellation and change fees for a modified embarkation port. They also have their own Cruise Air, which guarantees rerouting in cases like these. Those of us (like myself) who prefer to make independent arrangements assume the risk of having to scramble to make last minute changes.
 

Honestly, I’m amazed Celebrity is offering OBC for the missed port & changed embarkation port. I’ve not seen that before. I wouldn’t have minded extra OBC when we had two extra days at sea instead of in St. Petersburg! I feel great sympathy for everyone having to begin their holiday after a stressful few days trying to change travel plans, but these unexpected changes do happen. I hope this turns out to be a wonderful holiday despite the changes and frustration.

 

Many travel insurance policies do not cover losses due to pandemics/epidemics.  As such, there might not be any coverage in this situation.

[kinshasa]

We are currently on the ship in Sri Lanka.  We were able to cancel our Singapore to San Francisco flight on United but there's a $450 cancellation fee which will be deducted from our United credit when we rebook.  We can use this credit only from Asia to the US by January 27, 2021 as we already flew the first leg of the itinerary.  Luckily we were able to rebook out of Dubai but will have to stay one night in a hotel.  Of course it is costing us beacoup bucks for a one way ticket.  People are very upset.  When we came back tonight to the ship we saw a couple with luggage leaving.  If I was Australian, I would definitely cut this trip short and leave now.

[cruiserchuck]

6 minutes ago, kinshasa said:

We are currently on the ship in Sri Lanka.  We were able to cancel our Singapore to San Francisco flight on United but there's a $450 cancellation fee which will be deducted from our United credit when we rebook.  We can use this credit only from Asia to the US by January 27, 2021 as we already flew the first leg of the itinerary.  Luckily we were able to rebook out of Dubai but will have to stay one night in a hotel.  Of course it is costing us beacoup bucks for a one way ticket.  People are very upset.  When we came back tonight to the ship we saw a couple with luggage leaving.  If I was Australian, I would definitely cut this trip short and leave now.

 

Celebrity is really being unfair here.  For the Feb 16 cruise, they are not allowing free cancellation or offering FCC to those that cancel.  

[Boltonbabe]

7 hours ago, Pirateguy said:

A lot of guests were already on their way to Singapore!! I like the way they describe missing Thailand with another “relaxing day at sea”! too many sea days now,,,they don’t want to offer cancellations as everyone would cancel,,,what will happy to the next cruises???

Does this mean any guests who are travelling via Singapore will not be allowed on the ship in Dubai

thanks

[Boltonbabe]

Does this mean if anyone is currently in Singapore and they manage to get a flight to Dubai will they be able to embark. No clear

thanks

[MadManOfBethesda]

43 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

Celebrity is really being unfair here.  For the Feb 16 cruise, they are not allowing free cancellation or offering FCC to those that cancel.  

I realize that according to the cruise contract that cruise lines can change or omit ports of call for any and all reasons, but I don't understand how they can change the port of embarkation to a completely different area over 3,000 miles away and require passengers to still take the cruise.  I'm in South Florida and if I book a Caribbean cruise out of the Port of Miami because I can drive to it,  can Celebrity really legally say that they've decided to move the ship to Vancouver and I am now required to either fly to Canada to take an Alaskan cruise or forfeit my money?

 

I'm no lawyer, but I can't believe that would stand up in a court of law (or even an arbitration hearing).