INFINITY is broken down again

[Moeve]

I bet some folks over at Rolls Royce are now having permanent nightmares!!!! since they are the only ones left being sued...... The way things look now X will probaly get the 4 ladies free and a stack of cash to go... Pity since I love the M class and prefer them if I have the choice...

[Lightsluvr]

I found an August 2003 news release which stated:

 

"Celebrity Cruises yesterday filed a $300 million lawsuit against Rolls Royce and Alstom Power Conversion. The lawsuit was filed in state court in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

The lawsuit charges that the Rolls Royce and Alstom Power Conversion pods, brand-named Mermaid, have failed repeatedly, resulting in cancelled cruises and thousands of disappointed guests. These recurring failures cost the company hundreds of million of dollars, for which the lawsuit seeks restitution.

Mermaid pods are installed on four Celebrity ships--Millennium, Summit, Infinity and Constellation. Celebrity says all four had one or more mechanical or electrical problems with the pods, which caused the ships to be taken out of water--and out of service --to repair."

 

I haven't found a later release indicating that the suit was tried or settled...this may still be ongoing litigation?

 

Does anybody know?

 

LL

[Lightsluvr]

Sorry, another dreaded duplicate post.

 

LL

[cechase]

I haven't found a later release indicating that the suit was tried or settled...this may still be ongoing litigation?

 

Does anybody know?

 

Lightsluvr, the answer to your question can be found in the Form 10-Q filed by Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the quarterly period ended 9/30/2006. In Note 7 of that document under the heading "litigation", RCCL stated that in January, 2006 that it entered into a partial settlement of $38 million dollars, and dismissed Astrom [Alstom?] from the lawsuit. They further reported that the suit will remain pending against Rolls Royce.

 

Of further interest, is the earliest Celebrity statement concerning its quandry posed by the pod failures that I could find was contained in the 3/27/2002 edition of The Bearing News. [if you go to post #50 above there is a link to this article.] The following is a quote from that article:

 

"Celebrity President Jack Williams said 'the ships are operating safely, but unless those repairs are made, we cannot guarantee the integrity of our advertised itineraries."

 

That certainly is a strange statement from a company which allegedly has attempted to "cover-up" its pod problems. Note the statement was published over four years ago.

[Kruizefan]

As far as I heard from friends onboard the ship, the engines were switched off at 11 a.m. local time for an hour again. Reason for that was an inspectation.

 

Now she´s doing 17 kn, maybe she will get to Valparaiso in time.

[B4andAFT]

These continuing problems with Infinity have me rethinking our April 22 cruise on her to Hawaii. This is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation for us, and I don't think I'm willing to take a chance that it "may" go smoothly. Time to start looking at other cruiselines.

[Nurse Bambi]

As far as I heard from friends onboard the ship, the engines were switched off at 11 a.m. local time for an hour again. Reason for that was an inspectation.

 

Now she´s doing 17 kn, maybe she will get to Valparaiso in time.

 

Thanks petergrebe for the update. Please keep us posted as to what is happening. A lot of people are concerned about what is going on.

[Rev22:17]

Lois R,

 

MIT?

 

Yes, that's the little technical institute... you actually have heard of it??? ;-)

 

You might be able to fix the problem all on your own

 

The best "fix" actually would be to build replacements with conventional rudders and shafts, then send these monsters to the scrappers (they probably are worth more as scrap metal than on the used ship market due to the chronic problems with the pods). Unfortunately, that's impracticable from an economic standpoint. The company could not come close to recouping its investment in these ships, and replacements with conventional shafts would cost about as much after adjustment for inflation.

 

Norm.

[Lois R]

I would say most people have heard of it:p

 

I was trying to keep things light.......

 

Awwww....so now you are saying scrap them? And here

I thought you could fix them:D

 

Back to the regularly scheduled topic-------->

[Rev22:17]

Nurse Bambi,

 

The common sense answer here for Celebrity to stop trying to pretend that pod problems do not exist and step up to the plate and at least warn potential customers about what could happen. With four pod problems in just over six months, I don't think I even need a GED to figure out that there is a serious problem here, and it need to be addressed.

 

I don't see any evidence of denial that there's a serious problem. Rather, Celebrity is taking very aggressive action through a major lawsuit against the manufacturer of the defective pods. Unfortunately, courts of law move very slowly and Celebrity's hands are tied until the court renders its judgement in this case. I honestly believe that the manufacturer of the pods would do well to cut its losses by admitting to the defect and settling the case, but that would cost a small fortune because Celebrity's damages include reimbursement for both loss of revenue and all of the compensation given to passengers on affected cruises.

 

A extra, 1 ,2 or three days at sea might be great for some, but I cruise to go somewhere. If I did not want to go anywhere, I would just stay home! I expect to receive what I have paid for (when it is, or should be, within control of Celebrity).

 

In that case, you might want to read the contract of passage very closely before you book your next cruise. On most cruise lines, the contract of passage states that the cruise line may deviate from scheduled itineraries, including substition or cancellation of ports of call, for any reason whatsoever. Thus, you can't rely on the published itinerary in the first place.

 

Norm.

[Drew B]

I don't see any evidence of denial that there's a serious problem.

 

Many people have said that when they ask customer service reps on the phone about the history of the pod issue, they are told that there have only been one or two instances of these problems. Assuming that these reports are accurate, that is a blatant lie and for customer service to lie like that is unforgiveable! I would posit that Celebrity has a much bigger problem with incompetent land-based customer service personnel than they have with the mechanical issues of the pods. Whereas the pod problems affect a limited number of sailings, bad customer service affects every single passenger that encounters them!

[Canes Rule]

I would posit that Celebrity has a much bigger problem with incompetent land-based customer service personnel than they have with the mechanical issues of the pods.

 

Are they incompetent or are they reading from a prescribed script as authored by Celebrity management? Most customer service reps have a cheat sheet in front of them with the required responses to various questions.

[greatam]

Ship left Lima last night about 11:00PM. Captain announced about 7:30PM repairs were completed earlier than expected, but we couldn't leave as there were still people off the ship.

 

Not to worry anyone, BUT

 

DH is an electrical engineer by schooling and a super diesel mechanic by vocation. He truly believes the ship had a "band aid" applied. This morning, 4 hours before the stop for inspection, the port pod was pulling about 90% of the propulsion. Starboard pod is slightly better after the inspection this morning, but still not running at full capacity. You can definitely see it in the wake (we have an aft FV cabin). The ship is running fine, it just isn't running "right" (correctly in DH opinion). Now these are only his opinions-AND we have "band aided" some of our semi trucks together and they have lasted a VERY long time with a "band aid" repair.

 

DH has repeatedly stated today that X can't take the chance "around the horn" on a badly running ship. The Drake Passage is just too dangerous. So IMHO, IF the ship makes it to Valparaiso on time (no reason to think we won't), and leaves for the next trip, X must be pretty confident the "band aid" is a good one.

 

No one actually knows if the fix is permanent for whatever the problem really was. Not much you can do-all the Machu Pichu people made it off the ship yesterday. Not much grumbling from anyone. The proactive $500.00 soothed a lot of feelings. And we missed Arica only-not a loss.

 

 

Keep your spirits up. The chances are great that your cruise will come off without a hitch.

[Canes Rule]

the Machu Pichu people made it off the ship yesterday.

 

I'm curious - if you were in Lima for 30 hours why couldn't they do their excursion to Machu Picchu then, albeit a day late? I don't know much about the area so perhaps somebody could enlighten me.

[Captain Cosmo]

Greatam - thanks again for taking the time to keep us appraised of Infinity's progress. With no new word from Celebrity's office we're relying on posts from onboard to keep us informed. We leave tomorrow morning at noon for Santiago and are sure hoping that our cruise is going on as planned. Someone in contact with another passenger who is onboard Infinity stated that the ship was only making 17 knots instead of 22 knots. If she is only going 17 knots then its probably a good bet that our itinerary may be altered, so if you have time to post that information it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

[marksocal]

I too am booked on the December 3 sailing from Valparaiso and I am very worried about leaving on a flight from San Francisco only to find that the ship won't be able to sail.

 

I just called Celebrity, the person who answered the phone said that there was nothing wrong with Infinity and that no sailings had been impacted. I told her that I was aware that the ship was at port in Lima for 30 hours and also that the online webcam doesn't put the ship at Arica, where it was supposed to be today. She put me on hold and then came back and told me that the call center had heard NOTHING from Celebrity regarding any problems or possible delays with Infinity and that we should fly to Santiago and expect to sail when scheduled.

 

Like many others here, I am more than a little stressed by this turn of events. I certainly hope the ship is fixed, I've been dreaming about this cruise for a long time and I consider cruising around Cape Horn a trip of a lifetime.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed...

 

Mark

[Drew B]

Are they incompetent or are they reading from a prescribed script as authored by Celebrity management? Most customer service reps have a cheat sheet in front of them with the required responses to various questions.

 

Then I would include whomever wrote the script under the heading of incompetent. It's NEVER a good idea to lie to your customers if you are trying to build loyalty and goodwill.

[C 2 C]

I just tried to call Captain's Club but their office is closed due to a snow storm..

[Lois R]

I too am booked on the December 3 sailing from Valparaiso and I am very worried about leaving on a flight from San Francisco only to find that the ship won't be able to sail.

 

I just called Celebrity, the person who answered the phone said that there was nothing wrong with Infinity and that no sailings had been impacted. I told her that I was aware that the ship was at port in Lima for 30 hours and also that the online webcam doesn't put the ship at Arica, where it was supposed to be today. She put me on hold and then came back and told me that the call center had heard NOTHING from Celebrity regarding any problems or possible delays with Infinity and that we should fly to Santiago and expect to sail when scheduled.

 

Like many others here, I am more than a little stressed by this turn of events. I certainly hope the ship is fixed, I've been dreaming about this cruise for a long time and I consider cruising around Cape Horn a trip of a lifetime.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed...

 

Mark

 

Mark, I am going to make a suggestion...rather than

calling Customer Service, try the Main Offices down

in Miami (tomorrow morning).

I think they might have a more accurate answer

for you, rather than the Customer Service

area out in Kansas.

I wish you smooth sailing...In All The Ways

That Count The Most.

[Host Anne]

I vote for incompetent because if they are reading from a script there is an obvious problem with their reading abilitites since no two CS reps ever seem to tell customers the same thing.

 

This is the same issue facing more than just cruise lines. Has anyone (I know you all have) tried dealing with airline custom service these days? You seldom get someone who has any idea what is really going on. When someone mentioned the "call center," that's exactly what you are getting. You aren't really getting customer service folks who know what's really going on.

 

For the life of me, I'll never understand in this day and age of technology why cruiselines, airlines, etc., can't get their messages straight and uniform to ALL employees. Post the info on their computers so everyone has the same info.

 

By the way, I never call the cruise line myself. I always let my TA handle it. I absolutely trust her and it's much easier for her to deal with customer service and the run around you often get (and I'm referring to all cruiselines .... not just Celebrity). Unless my TA is on vacation herself, she is always available to assist us in situations like these. A good TA can save you a lot of hassles. That's why I'll never book direct with the line.

 

Custom service, or lack thereof, is everywhere. Sure wish someone would find a way to turn it around.

[Captain Cosmo]

Classic Celebrity customer service. 1900 people are waiting to find out if their cruise is happening or not and most are getting ready to fly half way around the world to meet the ship, so of course X closes the Captains Club (like the calls couldn't be forwarded to Miami?). Most large corporations have a back up plan for communication, but not Celebrity - because basically they just don't care. Imagine if the airlines operated this way...

[Nurse Bambi]

Many people have said that when they ask customer service reps on the phone about the history of the pod issue, they are told that there have only been one or two instances of these problems. Assuming that these reports are accurate, that is a blatant lie and for customer service to lie like that is unforgiveable! I would posit that Celebrity has a much bigger problem with incompetent land-based customer service personnel than they have with the mechanical issues of the pods. Whereas the pod problems affect a limited number of sailings, bad customer service affects every single passenger that encounters them!

I can assure you that I have called now four times and the first three times I was told that there had been only one pod failure on the M-class ships, since their introduction. The last call that I made was after the last Infinity pod problem started and the story had changed to there have been two pod failures, since introduction. Another poster also posted that they had called today and were also told there had only been two failures since the M-class was introduced. So maybe some of you can see why I am a little dubious about the openness of Celebrity about this subject.

One poster has mentioned that there was an article about this in eBearing news in 2002, but somehow I would doubt that the average cruiser reads this magazine.

[Host Anne]

Captain ~ the airlines operate exactly the same way. In fact, there are too many instances I can refer to this year alone that would support my feelings. But it's just not worth re-hashing it all. In fact, I just went through this very same issue in Atlanta with Delta on Sunday. Bottom line -- NONE of them care anymore! :( By the way, one instance was a cancelled flight on the way to a cruise that the airline never notified me of! Totally messed up the plans to meet up with other cruises to share a ride from Houston to Galveston. Fortunately, our car service was awesome and re-arranged their schedule (by about five hours) to assist us. My best advice (because I seriously have not yet found a way to make anyone care) is to be prepared for stuff to happen and know how you'll deal with it if it does. Otherwise, it really can ruin a vacation.

[amyr]

I'm curious - if you were in Lima for 30 hours why couldn't they do their excursion to Machu Picchu then, albeit a day late? I don't know much about the area so perhaps somebody could enlighten me.

 

The way the ship tours operate, a Machu Picchu excursion takes three days, which is the absolute minimum you can do it in. It's all very carefully coordinated. A flight from Lima to Cusco, an overnight in Cusco, a train to MP for the day, another overnight in Cusco, and a morning flight back to Lima and then connecting to wherever the ship has moved on to. In this case, Arica, which was missed. I'm sure that's why the MP excursion folks had to disembark, there was no chance to catch the ship.

 

Hope that helps:)

[CStorm]

I just tried to call Captain's Club but their office is closed due to a snow storm..

 

Are they in Kansas also? If so, they are definitely closed. Take it from a mom of 3 in Missouri, we are getting HAMMERED with ice and the snow is coming. Relatives in Kansas say it is snowing 2 inches an hour.... LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW :)