Live from Millie 6/30-7/12- Damage

[Susan-M]

No, they were still selling the 12/10 cruise on the website even after it was canceled.

 

Then my effort at finding a positive note in all of this negative speculation has failed.

[sasset]

 

And for those souls that missed Flourence: a reason to cruise again! If you needed one, that is.

 

Don't mean to be so flippant, but as it has already been stated: it sucks muchly, but is not the end of the world. Sounds like X is trying to do the right thing with the credits and what not, but that is never adequate for missing a much planned and highly anticipated vacation.

 

Whereever humans and machines interact, much misery will follow from time to time.

 

 

No, it's not the end of the world. But it is significantly more of an issue for those that are going in several days early or have booked something post cruise on their own. Celebrity has never done anything for those issues. Refunding your cruise and giving a somewhat restrictive future credit is fine. But air done separatley isn't usually covered nor are those hotels that had to be pre-paid, or have a cancellataion penalty. Keeping those booked on the July 12 in the dark severly limits their ability to make other arrangements

 

Regards

[CLEMM]

I know Celebrity can only refund money and can't repair the emotional impact, but they can certainly try to accomodate their passengers by giving them as much notice as possible so they can make other plans. I booked my cruise well over a year ago and have been reading, researching, planning and anticipating ever since. Every Christams gift my husband and I exchanged, as well as birthday gifts were cruise related. The cruise is for our 30th anniversary so being able to avoid the disappointment of having to reschedule for a future date cannot make up for the disappoitment. The money is not the only aspect of the trip. These very boards would not exist but for the excited travellers who come here pre cruise to learn and anticipate and get excited. If a cruise is to be cancelled or altered then knowing as soon as possible so that disappoimtment can be minimized is tantamount. I hope Celebrity is paying attention. I realize that they are a business, but good customer service would do more to insure future profit then the loss of passengers who may opt to make other plans this one time.

[jcarlone]

SO sorry of your mishap- I for one think you truly missed out on not seeing Florence- to me one of the best places in Italy! But it does leave you something to go back to- so do so when you can- you'll be glad you did!

[editor@cruisecritic]

Just got off the phone with some folks at Celebrity and have good news -- there's no problem anticipated with the repairs holding firm not only for next cruise but for those that follow. As well, we got some interesting details about the repair effort. So stay tuned; we'll post the new news item in our news section in about an hour. And p.s. if anyone needs info about Corfu, since the itinerary didn't originally include that island, feel free to check out (or forward) our port profile. It's a fantastic island, lush and gorgeous. Here's the link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=176.

Best,

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor

Cruise Critic

[larronry]

Then my effort at finding a positive note in all of this negative speculation has failed.

Sorry about that. :( Although Carolyn does have some good news and I am looking forward to reading it.

 

I will say that when the 12/10 cruise was canceled my friends were given I think it was $100 each for their plane fair which I believe covered the fees to make changes to their reservations. These were reservations not made through Celebrity.

 

Anyway I hope the news is good and you guys end up on your wonderful cruise and I can live vicariously through all of you until I can take my own European or Mediterranean cruise. (Something I've been wanting to do for at least 20 years). My grandparents did it on freighters in the 50s or 60s. Boy times have changed.

[Lois R]

I hope everything works out for everyone and sorry this particular

cruise had these problems.

 

Larronry, I do remember your sailing last year because I was on

the following week, Dec 17th. Everyone on our roll call kept waiting

to see if our cruise was going to be cancelled too.....we went

on as scheduled.

Good luck with everything this time around:)

[Kane]

Just got off the phone with some folks at Celebrity and have good news -- there's no problem anticipated with the repairs holding firm not only for next cruise but for those that follow. ... clip

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor

Cruise Critic

 

I think the techs that effected the repairs are to be commended. I had earlier wondered how they would replace a large component like the propeller, but they apparently have accomplished this.

 

When I later read that components were sitting on the dock with divers, it sounded like things were looking up. I wouldn't imagine they would send the components along with divers if there was no chance that it could be done.

 

"Hats off"!

[Susan-M]

Sorry about that.

 

No apology necessary .... you were giving info based on your experience & I was surprised to hear that Celebrity had not taken the Dec. cancelled cruise off of their web site.

 

Hope you get to enjoy a Med cruise soon .... it was my favorite - and Millennium was a wonderful ship to do it on. :)

[larronry]

Larronry, I do remember your sailing last year because I was on

the following week, Dec 17th. Everyone on our roll call kept waiting

to see if our cruise was going to be cancelled too.....we went

on as scheduled.

Good luck with everything this time around:)

I've seen video from your cruise on YouTube. Looked like a great cruise. :) Have to tell you we saw the ship in port as we left on the Caribbean Princess and it didn't look to good. It looked like not only to be having pod problems but to be having black out problems. And Yep we checked when we came back and saw that it was ready to load up with passengers.

 

susan, never could figure out why it was never taken of the web except that they never told that dept to take it down. It was really confusing and upsetting.

 

We were really looking forward to that Tholosotherapy (sp?) pool. It was horrible leaving my son for a week and the Caribbean Princess' Internet connection was challenging at best so getting intouch with grandma was problematic. With one e-mail a day we went over 120 minutes. So now we are bringing him and that means little to no time in the T pool. :(

 

My husband isn't into traveling I'm the one that has been a big traveler my whole life. We got married late in life. I've got to show him some of the videos from the travel channel and convince him. But not until my son is older. I think it would be great to show him some of the things & places he has studied in school.

[iandjm]

Just got off the phone with some folks at Celebrity and have good news -- there's no problem anticipated with the repairs holding firm not only for next cruise but for those that follow. As well, we got some interesting details about the repair effort. So stay tuned; we'll post the new news item in our news section in about an hour. And p.s. if anyone needs info about Corfu, since the itinerary didn't originally include that island, feel free to check out (or forward) our port profile. It's a fantastic island, lush and gorgeous. Here's the link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=176.

 

Best,

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor

Cruise Critic

 

Really looking forward to reading the news update, can you post the repair information here too please?

 

Ian

[keela1eva2]

Sorry about all the problems with the Millennium and for those of you on board right now. Also those on the next cruise and the uncertainty.

 

I agree with Caroline Corfu is a beautiful island and I know that you will enjoy it. Also the Dubrovnik is being an unscheduled port. This is my favourite of all the Mediterranean Ports. I have been there on I think 5 or 6 occasions and I never tire of it. This is a great substitute.

 

Hope the repair is completed by now and you can set sail again tomorrow.

Sue

[editor@cruisecritic]

You can find the follow up item here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2109.

I agree with Sue's sentiment. I love Corfu but I'd be really, really bummed if it was my trip and we had to miss Athens and Naples and Santorini (not sure if a lot of folks onboard were able to make the trip to Florence after all). I'd be so bummed.

But the thing is and we all know this -- on a ship stuff goes wrong. This one (which they say is electrical in cause) could, by the way, explain some of the earlier issues people raised about power outages.

Anyway, my thoughts are with those of you onboard -- and sure am glad it looks like it's smooth sailing for the next series of cruises on Millennium.

Now about those pods? I'd say it's bad karma to even RAISE the issue!

Carolyn

 

Sorry about all the problems with the Millennium and for those of you on board right now. Also those on the next cruise and the uncertainty.

 

I agree with Caroline Corfu is a beautiful island and I know that you will enjoy it. Also the Dubrovnik is being an unscheduled port. This is my favourite of all the Mediterranean Ports. I have been there on I think 5 or 6 occasions and I never tire of it. This is a great substitute.

 

Hope the repair is completed by now and you can set sail again tomorrow.

Sue

[berryhappy24]

To clear up a few things first. The ship did offer busses to Florence this morning, 4 hours each way. But many people, including ourseleves, were left to fend for ourselves as there were only 6 busses available. We ended up taking the train. The city of Florence was beautiful and I am glad that we went. I wasn't happy to pay 160 euro for my Dh and I to travel round trip. At least they're refunding 1/2 our fare. That will cover the extra expenses.

 

The captain must be listening to you on here because communication has improved. We came back to our room to find 4 update letters, one every 2 hours this evening. They have also updated the shore excursions for Naples on Saturday and added some for Corfu.

 

As for those updates, the captain reports that the electrical problems on board had something to do with the collision with the underwater rocks. We have had 2 blackouts this trip. Out of the 5 damaged propellers, 4 needed to be replaced. Those 4 came in from US and another country (sorry, but the letters are in my room) and are sitting on the dock now. They have successfully removed the bolts from all 4 damaged props, having difficulty this evening with the 4th. He stated that the new props will be installed this evening and tomorrow. We can watch the work from 10 aft, many crew members, a crane, old and new props and huge underwater lights. It has been keeping everyone intrigued.

 

As for those that tell me to "buck up," this trip has been in the works for a long time with a lot of money invested. Maybe you have over $10,000 to invest in a vacation every year, but I don't. I have never been to Europe and have dreamed of visiting Santorini for many, many years. We selected this cruise based on the port in Santorini in addition to the other ports seemed perfect for our first trip to Europe. Yes, I will get to come back someday, but I don't forsee it for a long while. Celebrity may give me 50% off a cruise, but are they going to pay the other costs as well? no. I would rather have the ports and they can keep their money.

 

For those of you coming on this cruise soon, the mojitos are great, the chocolate crossoints are to die for, some shows have been great and the Coverdales sound awesome...and are cute too. Hopefully you'll get to use the casino. It has been closed for us for the past 2 1/2 days, at least right before we docked in Rome I won $250 playing slots. Yeah, something good.

[LauraS]

Here's our latest update for you

 

Laura

[berryhappy24]

From the news update "Complaints that Celebrity hasn't kept onboard folks updated seem odd -- at least from the four different "repair updates" they sent over to our office"

 

The event happened on Monday. We have not received more than maybe one update per day and the first didn't happen until Tuesday. Today, Thursday evening, we finally started receiving regular updates.

[Lois R]

Hi Carolyn, thanks for the update.

Question, you know in the last paragraph if I may quote:

 

"Finally? Re the electrical malfunction back in Villefranche: the captain says that they're investigating its cause further. "We immediately contacted the manufacturer of the electrical system and we have their technicians onboard right now addressing that issue. They are providing us with guidance that will prevent a situation like this in the future."

 

What happened about the ship running into a rock???:eek:

I was under the impression that is what started this whole thing.

[hcat]

Great update--the link has it all! If CC has all this info maybe Celeb should put them in charge of keeping everyone posted.... It must be a bit chaotic on board-- In April on century, with just one cancelled port & trying for a new one with new excursions it kept everyone hopping..

I hope the new arrangements will lead to some pleasant times even if the planned for experiences were scrapped. Also hope they help people cancel non-ship's excursions--that always makes me nervous so we always take our excursions with the cruise line--even if it is "the large bus with the usual two to four people who straggle at every stop & make everyone else wait for them!!!"

Hope those now on board have a good vacation from this point onward!!

[HISTORY]

Leaving on the July 12th cruise. Thank-you for the information. I'm going back to packing.

[dkjretired]

Here's our latest update for you

 

Laura

 

Good work, Laura and crew

[trawleroh]

Berryhappy24,

I agree with you totally. This problem started on Monday and you didn't get any update until Tuesday and then each update was vague or non responsive. Celebrity only got their act together because they started taking heat. I think it is a stretch for the editors here to question the lack of communication issue. You lived it and the editors didn't. I hope the folks on this forum don't forget that this is called the "Cruise Critic" and simply go with the corporate line from Celebrity. I have never criticized on this forum; I use it as a resource for me and to give information to others. I don't plan on starting to criticize ships, cruiselines, etc. At the same time it is now Thursday in the United States and these folks have largely been kept in the dark. I just returned from the June 18th sailing and had a wonderful time. These passengers deserve fresh information on a timely basis and that should have started at the outset. The update provided on this website implies an over reaction by the passengers. That is just wrong.

[andysnovel]

Here's our latest update for you

 

Laura

 

Laura, great job!!!!!!!!!!!! this should relieve alot of people right about now...I am soooooooo glad the next cruise is a go..............andy:)

[cruisinelsewhere]

It sounds like good news for next weeks pax and a change for this week folks. I know I should bite my tongue about now, and yes, I will probably be flamed for this one, but here it is. I understand the huge dissapointment when a cruise has cancellled ports or cancelled sailings (yes, I was booked on Millie 12/10 which was cancelled a few weeks out...heard about it here, by the way. I got proactive, called X, rescheduled and X called me 3 days later to let me know that it had been cancelled lol go figure) Anyway, here is where I will get flamed....the ship is a piece of machinery, like a really big car. Stuff happens. This is why any TA worth their salt will advise first time sailors that your ports can change for any reason that the cruise line feels is appropriate. I have seen Bermuda cruises sail to New Jersey or Nova Scotia instead (granted, these were weather issues). I know that the dissapointment is heartbreaking when it happens but it is something that we should all, as cruisers, be prepared for. I would rather be safe on a ship than have an uncomfortable or disastrous voyage just to make a scheduled port. Do not misinterpret what I have said, I truly feel sorry for these passengers as well as those who have had similar experiences and I sincerely hope that they manage to make the most of the extrordinary cruise that they are on inspite of the troubles. Sorry for the rant....back to lurking.....

[sasset]

From the "news" update:

 

'Millennium has organized free motor coach transportation to both Rome (about 1.5 hours away) and Florence (a four hour drive -- though if you consider that it's about 1.5 hours from Livorno, passengers are only going 2.5 hours further. And though that's still five hours out of the day, roundtrip, it beats the alternative of missing Florence altogether'

 

Eight hours on a bus to see probably four hours of Florence? That's a party.

 

The "news" seems more of a Celebrity press release saying how they're working really hard on something that wasn't their fault so cut some slack, with a dose of Cruise Critic editorial happy talk thrown in.

 

I still put more faith in a report from someone onboard and will wait to see how it works out in the end.

 

Regards

[kidznp]

I would assume that after the incident occurred it probably took quite some time for X to locate the engineers, divers, etc. needed to assess the damage and, once that was done, even more time to locate and arrange for the transport of these huge parts, equipment, personnel, etc. to where they are now so that the attempt at repairs could be done. During this time, no one at X probably knew the outcome in advance and passengers were apparently told "we're working on it" but this was apparently not satisfactory. I don't know what else they could have done at that time and it appears that now that the situation is a little more clear they are providing more information.

 

Any type of travel, domestic or international, is inherently subject to complications due to a variety of factors including weather, accidents, terrorism, equipment breaking down, etc. I do feel for those aboard who missed parts of their trip due to the damage to the ship and hope they are able to return to the area some time in the future and see the ports they were not able to see on this trip. Having spent more than one night stranded in an airport sleeping on the floor due to cancelled flights, ice storms, hurricanes etc. I can certainly relate to the frustration that the airline just doesn't seem to be DOING anything and have seen supposedly mature adults make complete fools of themselves cussing out some ticket agent at the counter.... not that it changed anything:(

 

As an aside, can anyone comment on how the handling of this problem overall ( in terms of communication and compensation) compare with the handling of the Star Princess fire last year? Both unexpected occurences that had an effect on both those aboard at the time and those booked for immediately subsequent cruises...