Summit Cancelled Jan 31?

[mitttocs]

I spoke with Celebrity -- they said the cruise IS STILL ON.

 

They said someone would be in touch with us on MONDAY to resolve all the problems.

[eetonaee]

I called Celebrity again. The agent said that the cruise was still on but there would be an announcement on Monday.

 

To be safe I reserved a cabin on the Caribbean Princess that leaves February 1. They're giving me until Monday to make the payment.

[CathyCruises]

I am not booked on ANY cruise at this point, but in reading these threads and all of the INCREDIBLY conflicting information that you guys are getting, I am getting so frustrated! THIS IS RIDCULOUS! It's on, It's off, It's Cancelled, It's not, It's chartered, It's not--doesn't ANYONE at Celebrity know what they are doing??????

 

This is the worst thing I have ever heard from a cruise line--to leave you guys hanging and then getting a different answer from every single person you talk with is just not acceptable business practice in ANYBODY'S book!

 

Forget how they screwed me on my fares--this is way worse!!! It just proves to me that Celebrity's office management is in terrible shape--good thing the people on the ships know what they are doing, because if the actual cruises were run the way their offices are being run, they wouldn't have a passenger left to maltreat!

 

I really can't believe what I am reading and am very reluctant now to ever book a Celebrity cruise again--but obviously they don't give a d***!

 

Cathy

[RealDeal]

Cathy: I am right there with you. I'm not booked on this cruise, but what I'm reading is totally absurd.

 

I don't have extensive experience with a lot of cruiselines, really only Princess and X, and have had customer service issues with both. Maybe it's an industry problem...

[BEAV]

I'll say it again ... until Celebrity publically announces, supposedly on Monday, what's going on, then everyone should be prepared to hear a variety of different answers today and over the weekend.

[eetonaee]

I am not booked on ANY cruise at this point, but in reading these threads and all of the INCREDIBLY conflicting information that you guys are getting, I am getting so frustrated! THIS IS RIDCULOUS! It's on, It's off, It's Cancelled, It's not, It's chartered, It's not--doesn't ANYONE at Celebrity know what they are doing??????

 

This is the worst thing I have ever heard from a cruise line--to leave you guys hanging and then getting a different answer from every single person you talk with is just not acceptable business practice in ANYBODY'S book!

 

Forget how they screwed me on my fares--this is way worse!!! It just proves to me that Celebrity's office management is in terrible shape--good thing the people on the ships know what they are doing, because if the actual cruises were run the way their offices are being run, they wouldn't have a passenger left to maltreat!

 

I really can't believe what I am reading and am very reluctant now to ever book a Celebrity cruise again--but obviously they don't give a d***!

 

Cathy

 

It is frustrating. This is to be our first cruise on Celebrity and I was looking forward to comparing it to Princess and RCI.

 

Because of the changes I now have a room booked in San Juan for February 6 because the cruise was initially shortened by one day. (This is confirmed on their website but I'm not sure if people have been notified yet.) I also have a room reserved in Seattle on February 7 where we are staying after our flight from San Juan on Saturday.

Now I have made a tentative reservation on the Caribbean Princess on February 1 if in fact the Celebrity cruise is cancelled. This would mean I would have to change the February 6 hotel room in San Juan to January 31. I would have to cancel the room in Seattle and drive back immediately to Vancouver, assuming I can change my American Airlines return flight from February 7 to February 8.

 

I hope I can keep all of this straight. And of course there is my job which I've been ignoring while I make and consider all of these possible changes.

 

I'm also wondering if I will be compensated for any of the charges I will have for the flight and hotel changes I'm making?

[eetonaee]

I'll say it again ... until Celebrity publically announces, supposedly on Monday, what's going on, then everyone should be prepared to hear a variety of different answers today and over the weekend.

 

 

You could be right - perhaps the Monday announcement is just to tell people that the cruise has been shortened by one day. This is confirmed because I got the new itinerary off the MyCruises section of the website. It appears that no one has been advised of this in writing or by phone call from the company or their travel agents.

 

I am making tentative alternate arrangements anyway so that I don't get caught when the official word does come on Monday. My wife has that week off from work and we can't change it.

[wrp96]

eetonaee, instead of switching to Caribbean Princess (which means you have to change airfare too), have you looked into Serenade of the Seas which sails the same day Summit was scheduled?

[Doughnut Dolly]

I posted this on the other thread, but thought I'd share it again in case some pax are following just one or the other:

 

------------

 

Our 12-day Med cruise on Millenium was cancelled in the summer of 2007 - they ran one of the props into rocks off of a French port. The folks aboard at that time suffered through a miserable 9 days.

 

Best part was that NO ONE, NOT EVEN OUR TRAVEL AGENT, was notified of the problem when it happened. I was not a C Critic member at the time or I would have known about it (those were the only reports getting out).

 

Most unbelievable part is this: our cruise was cancelled, and my TA was notified, BY FAX, FOURTEEN HOURS before we were to get on the plane to Italy. No phone call! No other contact!! (What if the fax had been missed? TAs get 100s of faxes a day!! I know, I used to be one!!!) We were the lucky ones; we had made our own air/hotel arrangements but were only flying two days prior to boarding. Plenty of other pax who made their own arrangements, and were already in Venice, were NOT EVEN NOTIFIED. That's right; they showed up at the pier to find NO SHIP.

 

=X= returned all of our $$ (within a week) and gave us all (there were 7 of us) certificates good for a free cruise - it had to be used within the next 12 months - which was precisely what they should have done. Unfortunately, they really dropped the ball on everything else, IMHO.

 

I have lots of empathy for all of you - so sorry this happened!!!

We were also on the cancelled Med cruise in 2007. They called us the day before. Our TA got on the phone and Celebrity refunded all our money and gave us a FREE 14 day Baltic cruise that was out of this world. Russia was wonder ful both St Petersburg and Moscow, it was a cruise we wloud have liked to take some day, but hubbies would have complained. They coudn;t then cause it was free. We took the Med Cruise this summer 2008 and loved it. I have been very pelased with Celebrity's response to us.

[wvufan]

We had this happen to us once before, and Celebrity compensated us most generously. NOte that it had to be used on RCCL or Celebrity.

 

If you are among those who can't alter your vacation plans and will have to book on another ship for that period of time, be ready to strike quickly as there is a chance that with increased demand the prices on other sailings may go up.

 

In the past, they have usually had toll free number specifically for those affected. You'll find info on these boards either on the threads or under news before your TA does.

 

Hope all can find satisfactory alternative arrangements.

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[hylasgirl]

I posted this on the other thread, but thought I'd share it again in case some pax are following just one or the other:

 

------------

 

Our 12-day Med cruise on Millenium was cancelled in the summer of 2007 - they ran one of the props into rocks off of a French port. The folks aboard at that time suffered through a miserable 9 days.

 

Best part was that NO ONE, NOT EVEN OUR TRAVEL AGENT, was notified of the problem when it happened. I was not a C Critic member at the time or I would have known about it (those were the only reports getting out).

 

Most unbelievable part is this: our cruise was cancelled, and my TA was notified, BY FAX, FOURTEEN HOURS before we were to get on the plane to Italy. No phone call! No other contact!! (What if the fax had been missed? TAs get 100s of faxes a day!! I know, I used to be one!!!) We were the lucky ones; we had made our own air/hotel arrangements but were only flying two days prior to boarding. Plenty of other pax who made their own arrangements, and were already in Venice, were NOT EVEN NOTIFIED. That's right; they showed up at the pier to find NO SHIP.

 

=X= returned all of our $$ (within a week) and gave us all (there were 7 of us) certificates good for a free cruise - it had to be used within the next 12 months - which was precisely what they should have done. Unfortunately, they really dropped the ball on everything else, IMHO.

 

I have lots of empathy for all of you - so sorry this happened!!!

 

 

BurgerBits... I am surprised you have given Celebrity another chance. That would TOTALLY pi$$ me right the hell off! OMG!!! We are talking serious money and inconvenience here! WOW... that is just not right.

 

I sure hope all of you get this figured out in MORE than your favor!

[hylasgirl]

We were also on the cancelled Med cruise in 2007. They called us the day before. Our TA got on the phone and Celebrity refunded all our money and gave us a FREE 14 day Baltic cruise that was out of this world. Russia was wonder ful both St Petersburg and Moscow, it was a cruise we wloud have liked to take some day, but hubbies would have complained. They coudn;t then cause it was free. We took the Med Cruise this summer 2008 and loved it. I have been very pelased with Celebrity's response to us.

 

 

What if you're the type, like we are, to leave for Europe a week before the cruise?? Too bad... so sad?? When you are dealing with Europe it's a whole different story.

 

I feel bad for these going out of San Juan also. It's a little more challenging to get there for most of us.... higher airfare and most certainly a night in a hotel before the cruise for everyone in the West...

 

Well... hopefully this is, indeed, a maintenance issue. Because, if the other rumor is true... and it's now become a charter for TAs. I think I would pop a vein. There should be a mutiny if that is the case. You guys could take 'em!:D

[eetonaee]

eetonaee, instead of switching to Caribbean Princess (which means you have to change airfare too), have you looked into Serenade of the Seas which sails the same day Summit was scheduled?

 

Good question. I checked a certain on line agency that lists bargains on upcoming cruises and that one wasn't listed for some reason. I did a search and see that for our category - interior - the price is $250 higher on the Serenade per person than the Princess cruise.

 

This may be eaten up by the airfare change fees if Celebrity doesn't offer any compensation if in fact the cruise is cancelled.

[Host Joe]

I just noticed something very interesting... we are not scheduled for Summit, but Galaxy on 1/30 out of San Juan. I had just checked prices for our cruise last night and there were several categories open on our sailing as well as the 1/19 and 2/9 Galaxy sailings. Today, however, all 3 sailings on Galaxy are all closed. How strange! Maybe they had a fire sale on it locally in San Juan or something and it is all sold out... I don't know.

 

As far as I can see we are still sailing on 1/30 aboard Galaxy, and I hope that it is the same for those onboard Summit!

[tg1]

At noon (EST), I asked my TA for assistance in clarifying the situation surrounding this sailing. My TA had had not heard of any irregularities but indicated that she would check with Celebrity's district office. At ~1PM, my TA called to inform me that the district office had no information. At ~ 4PM, after continuing to work this situation, my TA called to tell me that the sailing has been shortened to 6-days and that further details would be available on Monday.

Given my losses in the market, a 14% (6/7 days) loss here sounds pretty good. Afterall, San Juan is a pretty nice place to be dropped off.

[wrp96]

Good question. I checked a certain on line agency that lists bargains on upcoming cruises and that one wasn't listed for some reason. I did a search and see that for our category - interior - the price is $250 higher on the Serenade per person than the Princess cruise.

 

This may be eaten up by the airfare change fees if Celebrity doesn't offer any compensation if in fact the cruise is cancelled.

 

If the cruise is in fact cancelled, perhaps Celebrity/RCCL will be willing to work with you on the Serenade pricing since it is the same company.

[Tranquil Waters]

If the cruise is in fact cancelled, perhaps Celebrity/RCCL will be willing to work with you on the Serenade pricing since it is the same company.

 

Well, if the sailing is cancelled and if it is due to mechanical issues, they must be planning to have them fixed soon. The Summit 2/14 and 2/21 are listed as "Exciting Deals" for next Tues.......

[eetonaee]

If the cruise is in fact cancelled, perhaps Celebrity/RCCL will be willing to work with you on the Serenade pricing since it is the same company.

 

I'd go for that. I have until Monday to pay for my Princess reservation.

[warmwinds]

We're on the 2/21 - what is that "exciting deals" website? I know it's just for new bookings but I want to look...

[Tranquil Waters]

We're on the 2/21 - what is that "exciting deals" website? I know it's just for new bookings but I want to look...

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/exciting_deals/XcitingDeals_cel_tues.pdf

[gracecarmo]

I wouldn't be too quick to cancel. Once, we were booked on the Infinity which was cancelled 3 weeks before we were due to sail.

Celebrity gave us several choices for a free cruise, plus all our money back for the cancelled cruise.

They gave us about 6 choices for the free cruise, and one we were very pleased with, actually on the Summit. If you could not take the free cruise, you got some sort of credit for a future cruise.

We were happy.....

[Cruisenouvelle]

I sympathize w/ your frustrations - we were cancelled when Zenith left the fleet, it was to have been our first Celebrity cruise. No one from =X= called to tell us, I had to call them several times after reading about it here. We weren't given any refund, we just switched over to a century 5-nighter. I had to fuss and fume at the customer service reps and managers and was finally offered an upgrade to CC, which turned out to be so-so. But we ended up staying w/ Celebrity!

Good luck to all who are affected. I feel your pain!!

[hylasgirl]

I sympathize w/ your frustrations - we were cancelled when Zenith left the fleet, it was to have been our first Celebrity cruise. No one from =X= called to tell us, I had to call them several times after reading about it here. We weren't given any refund, we just switched over to a century 5-nighter. I had to fuss and fume at the customer service reps and managers and was finally offered an upgrade to CC, which turned out to be so-so. But we ended up staying w/ Celebrity!

Good luck to all who are affected. I feel your pain!!

 

 

Hey... you are cruising right before us! Too bad I won't be able to hear your review of things:) I think it is going to be the best trip ever! I sure hope there are NO problems with it! I would totally come undone if they canceled this cruise and I was already in Europe. We are leaving 9 days before our cruise and touring some of Italy.

 

This is a "Make A Wish" trip and I will be so disappointed if things don't work out close to perfect. I know... crazy to have such high expectations, but at this point, my only expectation out of the cruise, is that we go!:D And they don't cancel Istanbul... that's it!

 

Good luck to all you Summit people!!! I am crossing my fingers for you all!:)

[jillbo0]

It looks like the January 31st Summit cruise is about to be cancelled.

 

I never again want to discuss that @#$% word again but I will now have to reconsider a booking I just made for the Transatlantic and Mediterranean in April.

 

This thread might explain why a dry dock was needed:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=876199

What makes you think it's cancelled? I know they changed our itinerary to include Tobago and Barbados but what the heck?

[MandyGirl]

what are the website addresses for these port calendars? thanks

 

This is the one I reference now:

http://www.cruisett.com/ships.php?ShipID=71&date=6

 

One I used to reference started charging a fee to access the information