Japan 2024 canceled…

[anniegb]

4 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

Celebrity Cruises may flag their vessels in Malta or Ecuador but they are a US based company. For starters, this oversell situation on X and RCL (Wonder of the Seas) is the first time I have ever seen this situation on a cruise line. The reasons the airlines have been mandated to pay certain amounts is because they overbook as a standard practice and the government has realized that passengers need to be appropriately compensated for a situation that was 100% in control of the airline.

 

Perhaps, the cruise industry needs to be held to the same standard, especially if operating out of a US port. It is unreasonable to expect a person to purchase travel insurance to protect them against the cruise line. Insurance is a protection of the person against illness and injury. As such, any cruise line that forcibly boots a passenger due to an oversell should be on the hook for at a minimum, all non-refundable expenses incurred....full airfare reimbursement (does not matter if you purchased super saver economy or first class), hotels......etc! For airline passengers, they get up to $1550 for over a two hour delay for bumps and essentially fly for free, so perhaps the cruise line should be comping you a similar cruise of your choice. It seems like a fair ask for the level of inconvenience they have caused. 

This is not the 1st time, RCCL group have oversold cruises.

 

IIRC. 2017 and the Royal Princess in the Med?? IIRC. some Celebrity TAs in Apr 2017 were also impacted.

 

Generous compensation was paid but we now live in different times.

 

Annie

[tscoffey]

We transferred from Japan to Greece for next year.

Too much worrying over possible lost airfare, etc.

 

Japan in 2026?  Maybe.

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, tscoffey said:

We transferred from Japan to Greece for next year.

Too much worrying over possible lost airfare, etc.

 

Japan in 2026?  Maybe.

No doubt you'll enjoy the new cruise and you can try again later for Japan.

[rmalbers]

Sure seems like X's IT department strikes again, I can't believe they didn't notice it sooner rather than later. 

[sqrl18]

I just wrote a detailed letter to my rep, repleat with app screenshots and a copy of the airline booking with the booking date of 4NOV for a 29SEP flight.   I also explained my theory of poorly QAd code - of which I also find amazing it not being picked up sooner.  We'll see what the result it.

@tscoffey, when did you book your Japan cruise? If it was an older booking, did they honor the rates from last year as the per day rate or just move your monies to the new cruise at current rates?  Just curious what has actually occurred for when they come back with a less than favorable response (what can I say, just thinking ahead!).  If my code theory tanks, it will be interesting if they share what the issue actually was. Anyway, going on the Constellation on 5/2 and I'll see what pearls I can pick up from the staff there - they are always helpful.

Thanks to all for the info on this thread.  I keep forgetting what a neat tool CC is when opinions are requested.  Good luck to all those impacted and happy and safe travels to everyone!

[patty1955]

8 hours ago, Emmauk said:

Just my two cents, if one check the Yokohama cruise terminal schedule 

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/yokohama-japan-cruise-ship-schedule.html

 

It shows all the cruise ship scheduled to depart from there. March 2024 and April 2024 (up to 21st) schedule shows no Celebrity cruise ship at all. So it is highly unlikely these cruise are going to happen. 

Did you click next? Sorry, wrong month

Edited April 20, 2023 by patty1955

[raananh]

59 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

Celebrity Cruises may flag their vessels in Malta or Ecuador but they are a US based company. 

Trust me that I want the cruise lines to be regulated as for how they handle bookings and how they compensate customers for booking mishaps like this one.

I agree that cruise lines, RCL, Carnival and Norwegian are US-Based in the sense of their headquarters and primary operations are based in the United States. 

The cruise lines avoid paying taxes to the USA with their ships registered outside the USA. Hence they got a BIG ZERO relief funds from the USA for them needing to shutdown during Covid (unlike the airlines which got tons of $$$$).

I think that if the USA tries to regulate the cruise lines as for how to compensate customers, the cruise lines will move the booking operation over-seas.

And the USA knows that. That's why my impression is that cruise lines are totally not regulated by the USA government.

[raananh]

General question: we purchased Travel Insurance for the October 2023 cruise that was just cancelled on us. The insurance is NOT through Celebrity.

We always purchase insurance for our vacations, but, thankfully, we never ever had a claim against Travel Insurance.

So, in this particular case, where Celebrity is offering a ridiculous tiny $500 refund for flights, can we place a claim against the Travel Insurance? Sounds like a paperwork nightmare of getting the proof-of-payment for the flights then claiming $500 from Celebrity, then claiming the difference from the Travel Insurance.

Also, how do Celebrity or Travel Insurance know if  flights are refundable/changeable or not? I have to get a letter from the airline that the flight is not refundable/changeable?

[raananh]

Another general question: if we  purchase Travel Insurance from Celebrity during booking, and they cancel on us, will Celebrity give us any of the $450 or whatever they offer per-person for them cancelling a cruise? Any advantage of Celebrity Travel Insurance in such cases?

Anybody who got cancelled and had Travel Insurance with Celebrity for their cruise which just got cancelled?

[sqrl18]

the ticket should indicate if it's non-refundable on the passenger copy.  if you are unable to see it online, then call res and they should be able to email you a copy.  if you're on aa, when you view your reservation there will be a banner that states if you can makes changes. if no, that will include refunds.

[sqrl18]

if i'm reading the letter posted on page 2, CEL states you get the money back - OR - a refund of your future cruise credits +$450.  the $450 doesn't apply to both conditions.  they'll give you the money back, but will only give you the bonus if you agree to this potential dance again. #outstanding!

[lostchild]

Are people who got booted booked directly with Celebrity or used a TA?   Or a mix of both?   I wonder if they are more likely to cancel the people who booked directly with them (because no one is backing them up), or more likely to cancel the people who booked with a TA (because they want to encourage people to book direct to maximize profit).

 

I was just in Maui recently and one of the tour guides was telling us that when the car rental companies were all overbooked for their cars after covid, they would boot the ones who booked early at lower price (in order to maximize profit), but they would not dare to boot anyone booked with certain warehouse store travel agency names start with a C.    He said the travel industry knows not to mess with them.

[pukekolive]

53 minutes ago, raananh said:

General question: we purchased Travel Insurance for the October 2023 cruise that was just cancelled on us. The insurance is NOT through Celebrity.

We always purchase insurance for our vacations, but, thankfully, we never ever had a claim against Travel Insurance.

So, in this particular case, where Celebrity is offering a ridiculous tiny $500 refund for flights, can we place a claim against the Travel Insurance? Sounds like a paperwork nightmare of getting the proof-of-payment for the flights then claiming $500 from Celebrity, then claiming the difference from the Travel Insurance.

Also, how do Celebrity or Travel Insurance know if  flights are refundable/changeable or not? I have to get a letter from the airline that the flight is not refundable/changeable?

Last time in 2020 I had to cancel/ change my flight and provide the resulting airline invoice showing the refund amount and change/ cancellation fee to the cruiseline to support my claim for ancillary costs. I had insurance but did not need it as I did not lose my whole airfare.

[cruisestitch]

9 minutes ago, lostchild said:

Are people who got booted booked directly with Celebrity or used a TA?   Or a mix of both?   I wonder if they are more likely to cancel the people who booked directly with them (because no one is backing them up), or more likely to cancel the people who booked with a TA (because they want to encourage people to book direct to maximize profit).

 

I was just in Maui recently and one of the tour guides was telling us that when the car rental companies were all overbooked for their cars after covid, they would boot the ones who booked early at lower price (in order to maximize profit), but they would not dare to boot anyone booked with certain warehouse store travel agency names start with a C.    He said the travel industry knows not to mess with them.

So far around 30 people have reported cancellations, Spread across October November March and April cruises .They have been a mix of travel agent and celebrity direct bookings, a mix of earlier and later bookings, a mix of guarantee and assigned stateroom, and spread out over several decks. So nobody can really find a pattern.  
 

The most bizarre ones were one case where there were six state rooms booked together all linked, and three of them got canceled and another case where there were two state rooms booked together, again with the reservations linked, and one got canceled. And at least one case where there was a back to back situation but only one of the cruises just got canceled and not the other.

[sfaaa]

I suppose if X cancels people randomly, it cannot be accused of discrimination. Just a thought.

[Parkland Hiker]

4 hours ago, maryann2 said:

 

Not necessarily.

Some people have been upgraded from lower categories. Some cancelled.

We were deck 7, and received a cancellation notice.  We were never upgraded from a lower category- that was the stateroom we had booked all along, over a year ago, on the lift and shift from the 2022 cancelled sailing 

[Covepointcruiser]

One would hope all of the comped cabins for Blue Chip members would be the first canceled.   Anyone on a comped cruise should go before those paying full fare.

[hubofhockey]

19 hours ago, clojacks said:

It appears that the most likely answer, barring some poor info provided by Celebrity, is that NO CRUISES are cancelled, but a significant number of passengers had their cruise cancelled due to overbooking of certain cabins.

Thank you for answering my question.  I had booked 4/21/24 cruise and that is just about sold out.  I canceled and moved to 5/15/24, which has much more cabins that aren't booked yet.  Just wanted to double check.  

[Tarwood3]

UPDATE!!!!  Ok folks, Im the Original Poster.  Friends of ours were also booked on this cruise and have also been canceled.  They finally got through to Celebrity a few mins ago and talked to the head lady of the Concierge Team.   She said anyone booked after October 2021 in Verandas (for the most part) would be canceled (this is for the April 9th cruise at least…I don’t know about the others).  That is the date when the lift and shift was done.   Their system for some reason saved the reservation but didn’t pull cabins out of allocation. We had booked 14mos ago…spring 2022…so naturally we were chopped.  

 

In hindsight, Celebrity really should ask for volunteers first to do another lift and shift rather than doing forced cancelations.  That might not have resolved the entire problem, but perhaps it would have lessened the impact on so many people??? 

[sfaaa]

Regardless of what X does from this point on, X messed up big time and the damage is done. I wouldn't be surprised some heads are going to roll in its IT department. 

[cruisestitch]

10 minutes ago, Tarwood3 said:

UPDATE!!!!  Ok folks, Im the Original Poster.  Friends of ours were also booked on this cruise and have also been canceled.  They finally got through to Celebrity a few mins ago and talked to the head lady of the Concierge Team.   She said anyone booked after October 2021 in Verandas (for the most part) would be canceled (this is for the April 9th cruise at least…I don’t know about the others).  That is the date when the lift and shift was done.   Their system for some reason saved the reservation but didn’t pull cabins out of allocation. We had booked 14mos ago…spring 2022…so naturally we were chopped.  

 

In hindsight, Celebrity really should ask for volunteers first to do another lift and shift rather than doing forced cancelations.  That might not have resolved the entire problem, but perhaps it would have lessened the impact on so many people??? 

I completely agree. Asking for volunteers would have been a much better procedure.

[maryann2]

On 4/18/2023 at 4:57 PM, EllaDuChien said:

The October 24, 2023 was supposed to be my son's HS graduation cruise, but since he graduated in 2020, its been cancelled twice and rebooked.  We have two cabins, my sons (25 &21) in one cabin and my mom and I in the other (ages redacted!).  We had originally booked a balcony cabin, but just this afternoon got a call from Celebrity to move to Concierge Class because of the overbooking issue. 

I came here to see if anyone else had gotten a call and I am so sorry to see some people got cancelled! 

 

On 4/19/2023 at 3:23 PM, EllaDuChien said:

 

Well they cancelled my sons cabin.  No email but they called, I am on the phone waiting for a supervisor now, but I do not have a lot of hope.  Now to just see how I can make this better for my son. 😥

 

[maryann2]

So sorry that this happened to  you  EllaDuChien

[maryann2]

2 hours ago, Parkland Hiker said:

We were deck 7, and received a cancellation notice.  We were never upgraded from a lower category- that was the stateroom we had booked all along, over a year ago, on the lift and shift from the 2022 cancelled sailing 

I did not mean you but at least one other person was upgraded to concierge class.  

See post 272

[sscohen]

Just to add some more drama.  I've checked multiple cruise port schedules and future literary sites and there is a window missing for the Millennium.  It arrives in Singapore on March 4th, 2024 then nothing until April 21st from Yokohama. I've checked each port on the cruise I'm on and no Celebrity ships are in any of them during that time.