Ascent Maiden Voyage now not the maiden voyage. Does Celebrity give refunds on this?

[CruiseMrB]

Ascent in now sailing two cruises before the sold maiden voyage, as the build and acceptance went a little better than planned. Does Celebrity, or other cruise lines, give any sort of credit, refund, or price adjustment for those that purchased the erstwhile listed maiden voyage? I know for some folks this is a huge deal. 

 

TBH, it does sound like they got screwed a little bit.

[bEwAbG]

They'll hold you to whatever terms you booked under unless they cancel your sailing.  Not unusual for that schedule to slip one direction or another.  Historically they have added preview cruises as part of the marketing hype leading up to the official launch.  They announced these "pre-inaugural" sailings back in March, so those who booked early would have had time to react. 

 

As with any customer issue, it is up to whoever you complain to as to whether they might give you some OBC to soothe the pain of not being "first" (out of thousands).

[dateacher]

Not sure what "loss" you feel you are suffering because you are not the first on the ship. What difference were you expecting on the maiden voyage from any other?

[CruiseMrB]

15 minutes ago, dateacher said:

Not sure what "loss" you feel you are suffering because you are not the first on the ship. What difference were you expecting on the maiden voyage from any other?

Some cruisers seek these out as a special thing, trying to get as many maiden voyages as they can. Also, they like the idea of being the "first" (possible, but not confirmed) to sleep in the cabin, first with the sheets, first in the bathroom, etc. etc.

 

I am scheduled for Ascent in January 2024, and that's close enough to "new" for us. We would rather wait until the carpets had a chance to outgas a little bit. I know some folks love that "new car smell" equivalent for ships, but those are actually VOC's and other nasty things. It'll probably be a little stinky, but nothing like the ppm concentrations of the first cruises or at the shipyard.

Edited November 19, 2023 by CruiseMrB
grammatic and spelling errors

[riredsox]

Isn’t it still considered the maiden voyage?

[Jim_Iain]

Officially you are still on the Maiden Cruise.   The others are preview cruises and are also often FAM cruises for Travel  Professionals.    The Maiden Voyage will have Celebrations, Special Events and Memorabilia.     They will also be shaking out the little problems that pop up and get the crew trained.

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[PTC DAWG]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Officially you are still on the Maiden Cruise.   The others are preview cruises and are also often FAM cruises for Travel  Professionals.    The Maiden Voyage will have Celebrations, Special Events and Memorabilia.     They will also be shaking out the little problems that pop up and get the crew trained.

 

Exactly, OP doesn’t understand..

[Georgia_Peaches]

16 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

The Maiden Voyage will have Celebrations, Special Events and Memorabilia.

Exactly this.  We knew we weren't going to be on the maiden voyage and have no expectation of grand celebrations or memorabilia...I'm sure that is planned for what Celebrity has called the true maiden voyage.  I look at the preview cruises as like a soft opening that some retail stores do before all the pomp and circumstance of the grand opening.  

 

35 minutes ago, riredsox said:

Isn’t it still considered the maiden voyage?

yes!

 

1 hour ago, CruiseMrB said:

Ascent in now sailing two cruises before the sold maiden voyage

I believe the 2 preview cruises have been available for quite a while now...I don't think it was as if they only recently decided to do this to make up for extra time in the timeline...but I could be wrong.  We booked the 2 previews back in August and frankly, I half expected them to be cancelled due to unforeseen delays.  Thankfully that didn't happen.  Just 3 more sleeps until we embark!

[Spif Barwunkel]

Don't tell me this is going to become a thing. Look up the definition of maiden voyage of a ship or other craft. "The first journey made by the craft in its intended duty." Seven-day cruises are the intended duty for Celebrity Ascent. December 3rd is the first scheduled seven-day cruise, hence, the "maiden voyage." 

 

We are not concerned with carpet off-gassing, celebrations, memorabilia, disappointed passengers etc. Those are not important. We will just have an enjoyable time on a new ship, period. I know, how boring.   

[cruisestitch]

Not so on edge.  I booked the maiden voyage, and then they put in two preview Cruises.  No special parties or souvenirs for us.   Godmother was on the preview not the “maiden.” I was disappointed

[paulh84]

Anything for a little OBC! 

[cruisestitch]

Didn’t ask for any and none was offered.

[mahasamatman]

A few years ago, we were on a Princess ship that was the first one to use the new terminal in San Francisco. However, the "official" first cruise and the fanfare associated with it was actually a couple of weeks later. Really no big deal.

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

Not so on edge.  I booked the maiden voyage, and then they put in two preview Cruises.  No special parties or souvenirs for us.   Godmother was on the preview not the “maiden.” I was disappointed

The Edge had TWO official maiden voyages, Dec. 9th and 16th 2018. I was on the latter for the maiden Eastern Caribbean itinerary We had special souvenirs, nice water bottles, that we still use to this day. And luggage tags.

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by kwokpot

[hcat]

1 hour ago, CruiseMrB said:

Some cruisers seek these out as a special thing, trying to get as many maiden voyages as they can. Also, they like the idea of being the "first" (possible, but not confirmed) to sleep in the cabin, first with the sheets, first in the bathroom, etc. etc.

 

I am scheduled for Ascent in January 2024, and that's close enough to "new" for us. We would rather wait until the carpets had a chance to outgas a little bit. I know some folks love that "new car smell" equivalent for ships, but those are actually VOC's and other nasty things. It'll probably be a little stinky, but nothing like the ppm concentrations of the first cruises or at the shipyard.

thst was our thought as well.. we sail on Jan 28, 2024..can't wait! I expect they will still have some " new ship" goodies for us.

 

[cruisestitch]

31 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

The Edge had TWO official maiden voyages, Dec. 9th and 16th 2018. I was on the latter for the maiden Eastern Caribbean itinerary We had special souvenirs, nice water bottles, that we still use to this day. And luggage tags.

 

Wow I was on 9 December and we got zip

[kwokpot]

2 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Wow I was on 9 December and we got zip

Sorry to hear that. Since we're talking about 5he Edge's maiden voyages, do you remember that Cafe counter in the corner of the Grand Plaza to right of the Martini bar? Do you happen to get any rood from there? Apparently it was such a failure that by our cruise, the 2nd 7 day itinerary ever, it was closed from day 1 and never used. A real design failure. 

[crusinthrough]

It's interesting how people minimize and are dismissive of others comments because it's not important to them.  Celebrity marketed the Dec 3rd cruise as the maiden voyage on their website.  Some booked thinking it was going to be the first sailing in the U.S.  Celebrity then added two cruises before but still marketed the Dec 3rd as the maiden voyage.  Perhaps it should have been marketed as an inaugural voyage.  

[cruisestitch]

26 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Sorry to hear that. Since we're talking about 5he Edge's maiden voyages, do you remember that Cafe counter in the corner of the Grand Plaza to right of the Martini bar? Do you happen to get any rood from there? Apparently it was such a failure that by our cruise, the 2nd 7 day itinerary ever, it was closed from day 1 and never used. A real design failure. 

Actually, I did. I recognized the server there from other Cruises and I made it a point to go see her every day and chat and order something. I might have been her only customer.

[tschwa2]

I will be sailing on the Reflection the same day as the Ascent maiden voyage.  There are 5 ships total leaving that day from port everglades with 4 leaving at 3pm.  DH thinks the president of Celebrity will be there to send it off.  

[Spif Barwunkel]

26 minutes ago, crusinthrough said:

It's interesting how people minimize and are dismissive of others comments because it's not important to them.  Celebrity marketed the Dec 3rd cruise as the maiden voyage on their website.  Some booked thinking it was going to be the first sailing in the U.S.  Celebrity then added two cruises before but still marketed the Dec 3rd as the maiden voyage.  Perhaps it should have been marketed as an inaugural voyage.  

Yes, it is. And I will firmly reiterate, in the total scheme of all things cruising, "those are not important." Perhaps if "some booked" knowing what was what, instead of thinking what was what, we would not be having this discussion. Of course, the easy way to put off one's mis-guided disappointment is to blame others. Not applicable in this case.      

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, cruisestitch said:

Actually, I did. I recognized the server there from other Cruises and I made it a point to go see her every day and chat and order something. I might have been her only customer.

Interesting. (Oh and it was to the LEFT of the Martini Bar,lol) The genesis for the Edge Class Grand Plaza concept was the grand European Piazzas like Piazza Navona in Rome that combine food, drink and people watching. In practice it was duplicative of Cafe Al Bacio and tucked away as to not being visible. For others reading this thread, the first photo below shows a screened off section just to the left of the Martini Bar where there was a food counter with display cases for tidbits. 

 

Oh also in looking back on my photos from that cruise we had special entertainment brought on from Puerto Rico, which was one of the Port stops.  LLP was onboard and introduced this special show. Photos to follow. 

 

Lastly I think I and others interchange an Inaugural cruise with a maiden voyage which certainly can be one in the same but most often not. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

51 minutes ago, crusinthrough said:

Perhaps it should have been marketed as an inaugural voyage.  

I think that's fair...

 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[C 2 C]

3 hours ago, dateacher said:

Not sure what "loss" you feel you are suffering because you are not the first on the ship. What difference were you expecting on the maiden voyage from any other?

Because the ship is no longer a maiden!  Was I the first?  Well, no not exactly.

[Georgia_Peaches]

52 minutes ago, crusinthrough said:

It's interesting how people minimize and are dismissive of others comments because it's not important to them.

Your point is well taken and I am not trying to minimize the comments of others but I would just like to add that the OP indicated they are not on the maiden voyage but rather, sailing on Ascent in January.  It seems OP is perhaps miffed on behalf of those who are actually on the maiden voyage....none of whom I've seen express concern as of yet...at least here on CC.