Confidence in Celebrity, especially the Summit?

Hi, all. We've never taken a Celebrity cruise before and were considering sailing on the Summit to Bermuda this summer. However, the recent Anthem of the Seas debacle has me worried. Since both cruise lines are owned by RCL, I wonder: How similar are the two lines management and decision making styles? Do you have faith in the safety and judgement of Celebrity cruise line? Have you sailed with them in less than ideal weather conditions, and, if so, did you feel that the captain and crew made consistently wise choices? This is particularly important to us because we would be sailing in August, which is hurricane season. What would Celebrity do if a storm hit? (We sailed on the Disney Magic during a hurricane and simply had our itinerary re-routed from West to Eastern Caribbean.) I was also troubled by the fact that Anthem passengers weren't given help with booking air or hotels once they exited the ship, even though they arrived in port days before they expected to. Likewise, people had to carry their own luggage off, which inconvenienced a lot of people, especially the elderly.

Bottom line: I'd like to know how much trust you put in CCL management. If you've been on a cruise with them that had a rough patch---weather, equipment trouble or viruses, say---did you think it was handled appropriately?

The more details, the better.

Thanks so much for your feedback!

Hi, all. We've never taken a Celebrity cruise before and were considering sailing on the Summit to Bermuda this summer. However, the recent Anthem of the Seas debacle has me worried. Since both cruise lines are owned by RCL, I wonder: How similar are the two lines management and decision making styles? Do you have faith in the safety and judgement of Celebrity cruise line? Have you sailed with them in less than ideal weather conditions, and, if so, did you feel that the captain and crew made consistently wise choices? This is particularly important to us because we would be sailing in August, which is hurricane season. What would Celebrity do if a storm hit? (We sailed on the Disney Magic during a hurricane and simply had our itinerary re-routed from West to Eastern Caribbean.) I was also troubled by the fact that Anthem passengers weren't given help with booking air or hotels once they exited the ship, even though they arrived in port days before they expected to. Likewise, people had to carry their own luggage off, which inconvenienced a lot of people, especially the elderly.

 

Bottom line: I'd like to know how much trust you put in CCL management. If you've been on a cruise with them that had a rough patch---weather, equipment trouble or viruses, say---did you think it was handled appropriately?

The more details, the better.

 

Thanks so much for your feedback!

Celebrity has been going to Bermuda for years and they always avoid the storms. The only complaints that I remember going back 20 years on this board is that one cruise they went to Canada to avoid a storm but as it turned it, the decision was correct. The Anthem trip was an aberation, I have traveled to Bermuda several times and it doesn't bother me in the least.

I do think that all the cruise lines are going to be a lot more careful with storms after what happened to Anthem. On the news, it said that Royal Caribbean is putting new safeguards in place, and I'm betting they will, they don't want that kind of publicity again. Celebrity sails to Bermuda all summer, every year, and I have never heard a horror story. There have been some reports of cruises being rerouted to avoid a hurricane, or altering their schedule, but never before have I heard of a ship sailing into a storm. Personally, I wouldn't worry. We have done the Bermuda cruise on Summit and loved it.

We have been on a RC cruise with Noro (well handled) , numerous August cruises involving reschedules to avoid storms and rarely seem more than a thunderstorm.....We have missed destinations we have wanted to see and been routed to others we have not wanted to go to but that is the nature of cruising....When we board a ship we are in the Captain's hands and accept his decisions even if they do not match our holiday plans. We have seen some guests angry that certain decisions have been made and really felt that cruise ships are never going to please everyone....

Ships are constantly trying to please their customers whilst putting safety first. The present economic climate has also added to the uncertainty....

Never, ever felt unsafe on RC or Celebrity. No hesitation to book any itinerary world wide with them. Could they make a mistake? Yes. Learn from it? Yes....Miss a port I want to see because they are being politically cautious? Yes. Make a wrong decision re a storm strength? Yes....People making decisions about often unknown variables will every now and then make an over or under cautious error of judgement.

It is all about having a balanced view....If you want to be100 percent safe stay at home, if you want a quality holiday where you do feel health and safety has a high priority book a cruise!

We have been on a RC cruise with Noro (well handled) , numerous August cruises involving reschedules to avoid storms and rarely seem more than a thunderstorm.....We have missed destinations we have wanted to see and been routed to others we have not wanted to go to but that is the nature of cruising....When we board a ship we are in the Captain's hands and accept his decisions even if they do not match our holiday plans. We have seen some guests angry that certain decisions have been made and really felt that cruise ships are never going to please everyone....

 

Ships are constantly trying to please their customers whilst putting safety first. The present economic climate has also added to the uncertainty....

 

Never, ever felt unsafe on RC or Celebrity. No hesitation to book any itinerary world wide with them. Could they make a mistake? Yes. Learn from it? Yes....Miss a port I want to see because they are being politically cautious? Yes. Make a wrong decision re a storm strength? Yes....People making decisions about often unknown variables will every now and then make an over or under cautious error of judgement.

 

It is all about having a balanced view....If you want to be100 percent safe stay at home, if you want a quality holiday where you do feel health and safety has a high priority book a cruise!

Well said.

We have been on a RC cruise with Noro (well handled) , numerous August cruises involving reschedules to avoid storms and rarely seem more than a thunderstorm.....We have missed destinations we have wanted to see and been routed to others we have not wanted to go to but that is the nature of cruising....When we board a ship we are in the Captain's hands and accept his decisions even if they do not match our holiday plans. We have seen some guests angry that certain decisions have been made and really felt that cruise ships are never going to please everyone....

 

Ships are constantly trying to please their customers whilst putting safety first. The present economic climate has also added to the uncertainty....

 

Never, ever felt unsafe on RC or Celebrity. No hesitation to book any itinerary world wide with them. Could they make a mistake? Yes. Learn from it? Yes....Miss a port I want to see because they are being politically cautious? Yes. Make a wrong decision re a storm strength? Yes....People making decisions about often unknown variables will every now and then make an over or under cautious error of judgement.

 

It is all about having a balanced view....If you want to be100 percent safe stay at home, if you want a quality holiday where you do feel health and safety has a high priority book a cruise!

Like!

...If you want to be100 percent safe stay at home, if you want a quality holiday where you do feel health and safety has a high priority book a cruise!

Just don't cross the street, or heaven forbid! Get in your car and drive. Make sure you lock all your doors too as home invasion robberies happen. :rolleyes:

Seriously, a ship carrying over 4100 passengers and only 4 are hurt? I would say that's fantastic. A normal week probably produces more simple accidents onboard where more than 4 people are hurt!

Completely agree. Weather is not a science and it is not completely predictable. Celebrity and ALL other cruise ships take safety first. There is no second. Mario is correct that having 4 injuries with about 6000 people suggests that everything was handled well.

FWIW - we once turned around so a helicopter could air evac a passenger who had a heart attack. Then needed to go 100% power to get back o even close to schedule. The cost was not important - lives were. Same with tendering into ports that if conditions are not safe they do not tender. In the Falklands passengers have spent the night on shore when conditions became unsafe and returned to the ship the next day.

Thanks for your answers. I've missed ports before, and I am fine with that if it's a weather or safety issue. However, I would be upset if we returned to port days early and a cruise line didn't help me find flights home or a hotel. So, I guess part of my question involves customer service. As a Celebrity guest, do you generally feel your needs are taken care of?

I have complete faith in most major cruise lines, even after the incident with Anthem of the Seas. I read that the Captain had to change the itinerary on the previous cruise due to weather and some passengers were all up in arms about it. So, you are never going to make all passengers happy 100% of the time. Not sure if all the details on what really took place are out yet but it wouldn't deter me from cruising with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean or any other cruise I currently have booked.

I think back to the summer months and in an abundance of caution, either Princess of Celebrity decided to cancel their stop in Israel due to some outbreaks of violence. Clearly, some people booked this trip to stop in Israel .. so there were a lot of negative comments about their over reaction to this situation. If a pax or group of pax was injured, or even killed, OMG -- could you imagine the repercussions had they decided to head the violence dead on? Now, I don't think the violence was present in the port area but still, I think they calculate the risks and it looks like the risk of this storm (and I am not a meteorologist so not trying to say I know it all) was much less at the time they were sailing into it. I have sailed through the inside passage many times -- the waters were always like glass! So, can you imagine our surprise when the ship was hit by 100 mile an hour winds throughout the day. We were not allowed out on any of the open decks and although we were allowed to leave our rooms, the ship was listing the entire time. Many of the passengers and crew were sea sick and the captain urged women to wear flat shoes throughout the day, including the formal night's dinner. He also requested people not take the stairs and if there were any elderly with mobility issues, they should try to stay in their cabins. He made it through that like a champion! People were walking upright but they appeared to be walking at an angle. Funny thing is, it was rough and extremely windy but we kind of felt like it was any other rough day at sea.

Lucky for us, because the Captain didn't want us to remember that experience which was towards the end of the cruise, we got to sail through the British Columbia inside passage to get back down to Seattle! All that I can say is WOW!!

Anyhow, not trying to compare our experience to that of the poor passengers on the Anthem last week, some of which were probably terrified beyond belief. But, also am not trying to over exaggerate what happened. Storms are avoided and this one wasn't -- for reasons we don't all know at this point in time. I just cannot and will not believe the Captain or RCCL made a conscious decision to put all of those passengers and crew (and their ship, for that matter) into such a dicey situation.

I also just want to correct some misinformation you have posted. The port had no longshoreman available on the night the Anthem returned. This had nothing to do with RCCL customer service. No one had to get off the ship We'd night and many stayed on until Thursday morning when the usual luggage assistance was available.

I sailed on the infamous Explorer Niro virus cruise on Explorer and had nori virus. None the less I felt that cruise was handled very well, much assistance was provided to assist passengers with their early return and the media sensationalized and distorted then and has done so with the Anthem as well. This is not to say that the 12 hours in the storm was not harrowing. But not everything being shown and said is accurate.

Carnival owns Costa [remember Concordia and the reef off Giglio Island?], and also AIDA, Cunard, Fathom, Holland American, P&O, Princess, and Seabourn. NCL also owns Oceania and Regent, and they must have had a disaster sometime recently. Are you going to stop sailing altogether? Ship happens. Nobody's perfect. But 99.9% of all cruisers have a great cruise and come home safe. Meanwhile, at least 0.1% of the folks back home have something bad happen while you were away.

I also just want to correct some misinformation you have posted. The port had no longshoreman available on the night the Anthem returned. This had nothing to do with RCCL customer service. No one had to get off the ship We'd night and many stayed on until Thursday morning when the usual luggage assistance was available.

 

I sailed on the infamous Explorer Niro virus cruise on Explorer and had nori virus. None the less I felt that cruise was handled very well, much assistance was provided to assist passengers with their early return and the media sensationalized and distorted then and has done so with the Anthem as well. This is not to say that the 12 hours in the storm was not harrowing. But not everything being shown and said is accurate.

Thanks. This is helpful information. I appreciate your explaining how the noro situation was handled. I just want to feel confident in a cruise line's judgement and customer service before I book. I've been on Disney, Princess and HAL cruises where ports were missed, viruses were spread, equipment was broken, passengers were nearly stranded or other mishaps. These incidents were handled with varying degrees of professionalism and consideration. I know that things can go wrong on a cruise. I just want to have confidence that they will be handled correctly before I try a new cruise line.

We traveled to Bermuda on Summit in 2014 and on the way back from Bermuda there was a hurricane making its way up the east coast. The entire time we were in Bermuda there was talk about whether or not we would have to leave early. As a result we just went out of a way to avoid it and then just followed up the coast behind it. They prepared for rough seas by battening down the hatches the night before. There was a lot of movement on the way back up, but everyone made the best of it. In my signature there is a link to a photo review I did for that cruise. There are photos of everything on deck tied up, etc. We plan to go back to Bermuda on Summit again this summer and aren't worried. :)

We traveled to Bermuda on Summit in 2014 and on the way back from Bermuda there was a hurricane making its way up the east coast. The entire time we were in Bermuda there was talk about whether or not we would have to leave early. As a result we just went out of a way to avoid it and then just followed up the coast behind it. They prepared for rough seas by battening down the hatches the night before. There was a lot of movement on the way back up, but everyone made the best of it. In my signature there is a link to a photo review I did for that cruise. There are photos of everything on deck tied up, etc. We plan to go back to Bermuda on Summit again this summer and aren't worried. :)

Prim8keeper, this was so helpful. (My parents have been on the Summit, so you may think it odd that I didn't just ask them, but they didn't take many pictures and spent most of the time in their stateroom, except for karaoke.) Your review is so comprehensive and the photos are spectacular. This gives me a much better idea of the experience.

Prim8keeper, this was so helpful. (My parents have been on the Summit, so you may think it odd that I didn't just ask them, but they didn't take many pictures and spent most of the time in their stateroom, except for karaoke.) Your review is so comprehensive and the photos are spectacular. This gives me a much better idea of the experience.

Thank you! Bermuda is such a great island with so much to do. I can't wait to sail on Summit this summer to see the changes following her dry dock later this month.

Well, we decided to go for it. We've booked two aqua class staterooms---one for us and one for our son. Prim8keeper, ypur photos definitely influenced our decision.

My DH and I have sailed on the summit about 5 times. We truly enjoy leaving from NJ to Bermuda in the summer. We have never had a negative experience and are due to sail again on the summit in August with family. The ship is going into dry dock soon, and I would imagine will be more beautiful then ever. Of course negative things happen to us in life, but do not live by fear. A good friend of mine recently fell down her basement stairs and died. So even a home can not be safe all of the time. Enjoy your experiences. I believe you will enjoy the Summit as much as we do.

We have been on a RC cruise with Noro (well handled) , numerous August cruises involving reschedules to avoid storms and rarely seem more than a thunderstorm.....We have missed destinations we have wanted to see and been routed to others we have not wanted to go to but that is the nature of cruising....When we board a ship we are in the Captain's hands and accept his decisions even if they do not match our holiday plans. We have seen some guests angry that certain decisions have been made and really felt that cruise ships are never going to please everyone....

 

Ships are constantly trying to please their customers whilst putting safety first. The present economic climate has also added to the uncertainty....

 

Never, ever felt unsafe on RC or Celebrity. No hesitation to book any itinerary world wide with them. Could they make a mistake? Yes. Learn from it? Yes....Miss a port I want to see because they are being politically cautious? Yes. Make a wrong decision re a storm strength? Yes....People making decisions about often unknown variables will every now and then make an over or under cautious error of judgement.

 

It is all about having a balanced view....If you want to be100 percent safe stay at home, if you want a quality holiday where you do feel health and safety has a high priority book a cruise!

Bravo!!

I would only add that if the OP (or anyone else) thinks they can perfectly predict what the weather is going to do - up to and including bombogenesis storms which is what the predicted handle-able one blew up into - I'm sure you could make a fortune with your 100% accurate predictions.

Bravo!!

 

I would only add that if the OP (or anyone else) thinks they can perfectly predict what the weather is going to do - up to and including bombogenesis storms which is what the predicted handle-able one blew up into - I'm sure you could make a fortune with your 100% accurate predictions.

I never said I expected Celebrity to predict the weather, nor that I could. I asked if they exercised good judgement in challenging situations The people who provided specific examples for me have convinced that I would enjoy a trip on the Summt and feel secure. I have booked two staterooms on the Summit, and am grateful for those who shared their experiences. Pardon me for exercising due diligence before booking with an unfamiliar cruise line, so I can feel sure my family is safe. I thought sharing information was what message boards were for, but apparently some people think they are just showcases for lectures and snark.

However, I would be upset if we returned to port days early and a cruise line didn't help me find flights home or a hotel.

I was on an Azamara [also owned by Royal Caribbean; a sister line to Celebrity] cruise in 2014 when the ship sustained damage [a hidden steel cable damaged a propeller] in Tokyo Bay... That cruise terminated early--and the subsequent cruise [which I had also planned to do]--was fully cancelled as the ship needed to go to dry dock in South Korea for repair...

The response--and I know its a shared concept across the Royal Caribbean family of brands--was magnificent... A cadre of employees known as a "Go Team"--I'd guess there were about 25 of them associated with all of Royal's cruise lines; they volunteer for such service if needed--was dispatched to Japan from offices in Miami [Headquarters], in the UK, and in Singapore to assist; to his credit, Larry Pimental--Azamara's President--was aboard to lead the group/mend fences with guests... Within days we were all flown to Shanghai [where that cruise was to have ended/the next cruise was to begin (22 of us were back-to-back)] , we were all provided rooms at The Hyatt [very nice!], and we were provided with a satisfactory per diem for meals/incidentals... The approach bridged those who were disembarking in Shanghai until they could resume their original travel plans... For those of us who planned to be aboard the next sailing [which was to terminate in Hong Kong], return flights--now from Shanghai--were a much larger/more complex issue... If one had booked the return from Asia through Royal's ChoiceAir Progam, they handled rescheduling and any pricing differences start to finish... If one booked return flights independently or via a private Travel Agent, Go Team members were precluded from rebooking on our behalf [ostensibly for legal reasons] but did provide coaching, telephone and internet time, and reimbursement of airline change fees... I couldn't get a replacement to the Business Class return air I'd personally booked for five days; Azamara generously reimbursed my additional hotel nights/meals too...

Though I was deeply disappointed to have my Asia trip--more than two years in the planning--terminated three weeks early [i was going to Beijing for a land tour following disembarkation in Hong Kong]--the Go Team could not have been more helpful [they even staffed a Help Desk in Hyatt's lobby for several days]... I was not out a penny [never made claim to my third-party trip insurance carrier; in fact, they fully refunded the premium associated with the cancelled cruise]... Further, Azamara fully refunded our cruise fare [pro-rata for the shortened trip; in full for the cancelled trip] and provided compensatory credit for the disruption/inconvenience--I thought them fair--against future cruise bookings with them...

That said, the circumstances surrounding disruption of my sailings were far different than those faced last week on Anthem Of The Seas as I understand them [mechanical versus weather]... Best I know, Anthem never ported before returning to Bayonne so there was no land base for a Go Team to board the [far larger] ship to provide the individual hotel and/or flight change assistance you suggest... And then, to my mind and with all due respect, the vast majority of a cruise ship's staff on what is expected to be a routine sailing--housekeepers, restaurant and bar servers, cooks, mechanics, entertainers, spa technicians, retail staff--do not have the skill set/requisite knowledge to perform travel planning functions and, in any case, many of those functions need continue--perhaps escalate--during recovery mode...

My experience suggests that Royal Caribbean has an excellent, fully developed model for dealing with such situations and perform very capably and admirably when need arises/circumstances allow them to do so... I suspect that other cruise lines have similar contingency plans that they may--or may not--execute as well...

I was on an Azamara [also owned by Royal Caribbean; a sister line to Celebrity] cruise in 2014 when the ship sustained damage [a hidden steel cable damaged a propeller] in Tokyo Bay... That cruise terminated early--and the subsequent cruise [which I had also planned to do]--was fully cancelled as the ship needed to go to dry dock in South Korea for repair...

 

The response--and I know its a shared concept across the Royal Caribbean family of brands--was magnificent... A cadre of employees known as a "Go Team"--I'd guess there were about 25 of them associated with all of Royal's cruise lines; they volunteer for such service if needed--was dispatched to Japan from offices in Miami [Headquarters], in the UK, and in Singapore to assist; to his credit, Larry Pimental--Azamara's President--was aboard to lead the group/mend fences with guests... Within days we were all flown to Shanghai [where that cruise was to have ended/the next cruise was to begin (22 of us were back-to-back)] , we were all provided rooms at The Hyatt [very nice!], and we were provided with a satisfactory per diem for meals/incidentals... The approach bridged those who were disembarking in Shanghai until they could resume their original travel plans... For those of us who planned to be aboard the next sailing [which was to terminate in Hong Kong], return flights--now from Shanghai--were a much larger/more complex issue... If one had booked the return from Asia through Royal's ChoiceAir Progam, they handled rescheduling and any pricing differences start to finish... If one booked return flights independently or via a private Travel Agent, Go Team members were precluded from rebooking on our behalf [ostensibly for legal reasons] but did provide coaching, telephone and internet time, and reimbursement of airline change fees... I couldn't get a replacement to the Business Class return air I'd personally booked for five days; Azamara generously reimbursed my additional hotel nights/meals too...

 

Though I was deeply disappointed to have my Asia trip--more than two years in the planning--terminated three weeks early [i was going to Beijing for a land tour following disembarkation in Hong Kong]--the Go Team could not have been more helpful [they even staffed a Help Desk in Hyatt's lobby for several days]... I was not out a penny [never made claim to my third-party trip insurance carrier; in fact, they fully refunded the premium associated with the cancelled cruise]... Further, Azamara fully refunded our cruise fare [pro-rata for the shortened trip; in full for the cancelled trip] and provided compensatory credit for the disruption/inconvenience--I thought them fair--against future cruise bookings with them...

 

That said, the circumstances surrounding disruption of my sailings were far different than those faced last week on Anthem Of The Seas as I understand them [mechanical versus weather]... Best I know, Anthem never ported before returning to Bayonne so there was no land base for a Go Team to board the [far larger] ship to provide the individual hotel and/or flight change assistance you suggest... And then, to my mind and with all due respect, the vast majority of a cruise ship's staff on what is expected to be a routine sailing--housekeepers, restaurant and bar servers, cooks, mechanics, entertainers, spa technicians, retail staff--do not have the skill set/requisite knowledge to perform travel planning functions and, in any case, many of those functions need continue--perhaps escalate--during recovery mode...

 

My experience suggests that Royal Caribbean has an excellent, fully developed model for dealing with such situations and perform very capably and admirably when need arises/circumstances allow them to do so... I suspect that other cruise lines have similar contingency plans that they may--or may not--execute as well...

XPort, thank you for sharing your experience. I am sorry your trip was cut short. However, you describe a very impressive response to an emergency. It sounds as though RCL and its affiliates have anticipated and provided for a real range of unexpected situations. Having a Go Team In place is an excellent proactive strategy, though, as you point out, it's not always possible for them to get to the location. This information makes me feel more confident about our decision to book Celebrity this summer. Many thanks!

We've been on about 20 cruises to the Caribbean since 2001, most of them sailing out of NY or NJ. Most on Celebrity and RCCL and a few on other lines.

Never once did we feel like we were being placed in harms way, even with a few storms and Noro outbreaks. If we did we would not be getting ready to sail on one of three cruises we have booked.

bosco

Unlike you, I never gave it a thought. Last year we were booked on the Summit to Bermuda but because of a storm approaching Bermuda we were re-routed to Port Canaveral and Nassau. I can understand why this was done but what I resent is that we were never notified until after the ship set sail. There was a couple on board who had a wedding planned in Bermuda, so needless to say, they were very pissed off.

I do understand that these things happen but communication is key. I also wondered what NCL did as they had a cruise leaving from New York at the same time the Anthem got caught in the storm but never heard any complaints or news as to what that line did. If anyone knows, please do tell.

I never said I expected Celebrity to predict the weather, nor that I could. I asked if they exercised good judgement in challenging situations The people who provided specific examples for me have convinced that I would enjoy a trip on the Summt and feel secure. I have booked two staterooms on the Summit, and am grateful for those who shared their experiences. Pardon me for exercising due diligence before booking with an unfamiliar cruise line, so I can feel sure my family is safe. I thought sharing information was what message boards were for, but apparently some people think they are just showcases for lectures and snark.

Agreed, there are far too many pissy, superior-minded people on this forum!