Are Celebrity about to cancel cruise?

Celebrity have recently removed the sold out 16 Oct 2016 Ultimate Japan cruise ex Tokyo from their website amidst rumours that they are planning to charter the ship to others. Many people have booked this back to back with the following cruise departing 30 Oct 2016 from Hong Kong and have booked flights, hotels etc in line with their planned itinerary. Celebrity are neither confirming or denying the rumour other than to say they 'might' be under discussion to charter the ship out to others. Is this a proper way for such a company to behave? UK customers in particular stand to loose thousands of pounds if the cancel their trip (I understand that USA customers are better protected), so your thoughts, ideas, comments...

Trip insurance covers it.

What does the contract say about Celebrities ability to cancel ?

As a Customer I expect to be held to the Terms and Conditions of a contract by the Company. I also expect the Company to hold me to the Terms and Conditions, as it has to be fair for both me and the Company.

FWIW all cruise companies will charter a ship as it's significant revenue for them. I notice the O.P.'s cruise isn't for over a year out yet, and noticed in July Carnival cancelled a December 2015 cruise in favour of a charter.

It's frustrating to be sure to have a cruise cancelled by the Company, (even more so to be left hanging while they negotiate) but if it's within the T&C's it has to be expected as a possibility.

Trip insurance covers it.

Won't cover the cancellation of second cruise nor the return travel from a port not affected by cancellation of the first cruise. Not sure about hotels and excursions, not booked through Celebrity.

"Trip insurance covers it"....that's a bit glib. There are all kinds of trip insurance policies and an unexpected charter may or may not be covered.

As the trip is over a year away, few will have been able to book air yet. Yes, some airlines allow bookings this far in advance but not all.

Unfortunately for the OP you just have to wait and see how this unfolds.

Wasn't there another thread or two about this happening to this year's cruise? Been a while back so perhaps someone involved can refresh our memories. If this is the same cruise, I'd be reluctant to book it far out. One can't always recoup expenses of flights, etc. even with trip insurance. Limped along on a trip this year as even though we had insurance, we'd used air miles to get to the beginning point of the trip and insurance only covered from that point on.

OP, keep us posted on what happens. Not a good feeling here.....even if it is contractually possible.

Celebrity have recently removed the sold out 16 Oct 2016 Ultimate Japan cruise ex Tokyo from their website amidst rumours that they are planning to charter the ship to others. Many people have booked this back to back with the following cruise departing 30 Oct 2016 from Hong Kong and have booked flights, hotels etc in line with their planned itinerary. Celebrity are neither confirming or denying the rumour other than to say they 'might' be under discussion to charter the ship out to others. Is this a proper way for such a company to behave? UK customers in particular stand to loose thousands of pounds if the cancel their trip (I understand that USA customers are better protected), so your thoughts, ideas, comments...

Booked flights 14 months out? Every booking engine I've used won't let you book more than 12 months out. The principle of the problem remains, of course.

Stuart

Booked flights 14 months out? Every booking engine I've used won't let you book more than 12 months out. The principle of the problem remains, of course.

 

Stuart

I have flight times and paid deposit so to me that's a booking. Regarding booking so far out - no choice when it gets booked up so early. I nabbed the last ocean view (there were no balconies) in July.

We had book the cruise for this Oct 2015 that was chartered after we booked. However air can only be booked 330 days out so they notified us far enough out that no one had their air booked. Having flight times unless you actually purchase the air doesn't really count as a flight booked. Also if the cruise company cancels the cruise I think that it doesn't penalize those people in GB, the company is cancelling the cruise not the customer. When the cruise is cancelled, Celebrity offered several other cruise to switch your booking to as well as extra obc.

This shows you exactly what the cruise lines think of their loyal guests, absolutely nothing. Their loyalty is to the old mighty dollar and screw anybody who stands in their way. If they are thinking about selling charters, why accept bookings so far out? Almost all the ships are sailing full anyway, so what's in it to gain? Think about it, you find your ideal cruise, book it and start all the planning, then they pull the rug out from under you. If they had any compassion, they would, at the very least reimburse you for any monies spent that you can't get back.

I know they have the right to ruin peoples dreams, but is it the right thing to do?

I note that they are still taking bookings for excursions for this cruise. Call me cynical but that way they they get our money up front only to refund later (excluding any interest foregone obviously)

We had book the cruise for this Oct 2015 that was chartered after we booked. However air can only be booked 330 days out so they notified us far enough out that no one had their air booked. Having flight times unless you actually purchase the air doesn't really count as a flight booked. Also if the cruise company cancels the cruise I think that it doesn't penalize those people in GB, the company is cancelling the cruise not the customer. When the cruise is cancelled, Celebrity offered several other cruise to switch your booking to as well as extra obc.

This does not solve the problem of those of us booked B2B. Many of us do not want to travel that far for one cruise. Now one airfare would get us both cruises, but if the first leg is cancelled, it would take 2 air fares to accomplish the same itineraries.

Personally, I am not so upset about the sailing being possibly chartered-that is their right. I am bothered by the cruise disappearing 3 weeks ago from the website and folks on the roll call being given conflicting info- the responses we are getting can not be all true- they conflict with each other. Someone is not telling the truth, maybe b/c they donot know it.

Celebrity Cruises please give us the straight skinny. We have 2 camps on the roll call - the optimists and the pessimists- so who is right?

Grandgeezer wrote:

"This shows you exactly what the cruise lines think of their loyal guests, absolutely nothing. Their loyalty is to the old mighty dollar and screw anybody who stands in their way. If they are thinking about selling charters, why accept bookings so far out? Almost all the ships are sailing full anyway, so what's in it to gain? Think about it, you find your ideal cruise, book it and start all the planning, then they pull the rug out from under you. If they had any compassion, they would, at the very least reimburse you for any monies spent that you can't get back.

I know they have the right to ruin peoples dreams, but is it the right thing to do?"

I'm surprised at this. Celebrity is a corporation, with duties towards its shareholders. On many occasions we have read that they have behaved with compassion to passengers in distress, which is always welcome news, but "screw anybody who stands in their way" isn't that a bit harsh?

If that cruise is indeed cancelled, it is very poor planning on Celebrity's part.

Since that cruise is already sold out, there will be around 2,000 very upset customers - very poor customer relations for Celebrity!!

Celebrity did the same thing with our September 2015 Around Japan cruise. It was chartered, as well as the only other Around Japan cruise two weeks later.

We were able to transfer to the Japan and China cruise four weeks later. Also, Celebrity cancelled an earlier Around Japan cruise on Century, as it was sold.

It seems that if you book a Japan cruise with Celebrity, then you are a sitting duck for cancellation.

If that cruise is indeed cancelled, it is very poor planning on Celebrity's part.

 

Since that cruise is already sold out, there will be around 2,000 very upset customers - very poor customer relations for Celebrity!!

This from Cruisecritics own site "The bottom line? Cruise lines will only sign off on a charter if it affects a small percentage of already booked passengers." See article http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=76.

Note that this cruise was almost if not totally fully booked.

Grandgeezer wrote:

 

"This shows you exactly what the cruise lines think of their loyal guests, absolutely nothing. Their loyalty is to the old mighty dollar and screw anybody who stands in their way. If they are thinking about selling charters, why accept bookings so far out? Almost all the ships are sailing full anyway, so what's in it to gain? Think about it, you find your ideal cruise, book it and start all the planning, then they pull the rug out from under you. If they had any compassion, they would, at the very least reimburse you for any monies spent that you can't get back.

I know they have the right to ruin peoples dreams, but is it the right thing to do?"

 

I'm surprised at this. Celebrity is a corporation, with duties towards its shareholders. On many occasions we have read that they have behaved with compassion to passengers in distress, which is always welcome news, but "screw anybody who stands in their way" isn't that a bit harsh?

I think not. We'll see what happens in the future when, in the name of their duties for shareholders, they don't lock in prices until final payment is made, and they start cancelling reservations because someone is willing to pay more than you.

I think not. We'll see what happens in the future when, in the name of their duties for shareholders, they don't lock in prices until final payment is made, and they start cancelling reservations because someone is willing to pay more than you.

I think this is a brilliant idea! Auction off those cabins to the highest bidder. Reserve the best cabins for such an auction process and see how much profit they can rake in.

I certainly think corporate executives would find this a fascinating alternative to the dilemma they are currently facing.

The cruise lines, including X, are just like all businesses, especially the large businesses. They are interested in making more money. Any decision they make is done with the idea of generating more money.

Sometimes they mask it by saying it's for the customer's benefit, but rest assured, those changes will affect X bottom line positively.

This does not solve the problem of those of us booked B2B. Many of us do not want to travel that far for one cruise. Now one airfare would get us both cruises, but if the first leg is cancelled, it would take 2 air fares to accomplish the same itineraries.

 

Personally, I am not so upset about the sailing being possibly chartered-that is their right. I am bothered by the cruise disappearing 3 weeks ago from the website and folks on the roll call being given conflicting info- the responses we are getting can not be all true- they conflict with each other. Someone is not telling the truth, maybe b/c they donot know it.

 

Celebrity Cruises please give us the straight skinny. We have 2 camps on the roll call - the optimists and the pessimists- so who is right?

My wife and I also have the B2B with the subsequent cruise. For us, it is not yet a financial concern as our cruise deposits are fully refundable. Rather, it is the uncertainty that will prevent us - after months of planning - from moving forward in the near future with non-refundable commitments for hotels, 3rd-party shore excursions and airfare.

Yes, insurance would probably cover most of such non-refundable commitments, but I am currently not willing to put out $500 or more for insurance on a cruise that might soon be cancelled since the premium for the insurance is also non-refundable and non-transferable to another cruise!

If I new I could transfer my 123GO Inclusive Perks to another back-to-back somewhere else with little or no uncertainty, I would do so in a heart beat!

Hopefully, Celebrity is listening and will clarify the situation soon, rather than letting their staff tell us all two different stories!

Larry

Celebrity have recently removed the sold out 16 Oct 2016 Ultimate Japan cruise

Why would they have a sold out cruise on a Booking web site?

Why would they have a sold out cruise on a Booking web site?

Why do Estate Agents post a 'Sold' Board outside a sold property, why do car showrooms stick a 'Sold' sign in sold cars, why do theates post 'Sold Out' stickers over billboards... to show how popular they are.

I see it this way. After 12 years sailing with Celebrity we have had two cruises cancelled by them for various reasons. I now look for last minute cruises and basic itineraries. From now on, I will reserve my exotics with coach tours or on my own tours. I just can't commit my precious vacation dollar and planning to an unsecure company. We plan far ahead as many do. Johanne.

4774Papa and I were booked on the same Japan cruise originally scheduled for September, 2015. We were also booked on the preceding trans-Pacific from Vancouver to Tokyo so we had a B2B pairing which was impacted. The trans-Pacific itinerary was changed to end in China and then the next two Japan cruises were chartered.

It was an incredibly frustrating situation. In our case the impacted cruises disappeared from the Celebrity website. Folks on the roll calls were posting information received by their travel agents and also calling Celebrity to ask about the status of the cruises. Much of the information was conflicting. Finally the official Celebrity poster posted what most of us suspected -- the two Japan cruises had been chartered. I actually read that post here on Cruise Critic before receiving any official word from Celebrity (the e-mail to the impacted passengers was sent later that day).

I am a Celebrity shareholder, so clearly want the company to be profitable. But the experience left me much more jaded regarding Miami's understanding regarding importance of treating a customer with respect.

Celebrity have recently removed the sold out 16 Oct 2016 Ultimate Japan cruise ex Tokyo from their website amidst rumours that they are planning to charter the ship to others. Many people have booked this back to back with the following cruise departing 30 Oct 2016 from Hong Kong and have booked flights, hotels etc in line with their planned itinerary. Celebrity are neither confirming or denying the rumour other than to say they 'might' be under discussion to charter the ship out to others. Is this a proper way for such a company to behave? UK customers in particular stand to loose thousands of pounds if the cancel their trip (I understand that USA customers are better protected), so your thoughts, ideas, comments...

They chartered a number of cruises this year at the same time on Millennium to a mainland China tour operator. We are on one that remained late October/November but has a large group from China onboard. It could likely be the same group from China.

I do not know any airlines where you can book flights now for October 2016.