Changes to Itinerary and losing ports

I have just got off of the phone with Captains Club and complained about losing Belize from our Jan 9th 2017 - 11 Day Cruise.

They said the reason they have done this is that many of the passengers from the European cruises requested overnights and that they thought they would bring it to the Caribbean Cruise Itineraries.

I for one do not like this change as we lose a Port that we have not been to before and end up overnighting ( Cozumel )in a port that by some accounts is not as nice as the one we lost.

As I said I have called Captains Club and this particular person said that they personally have had at least four complaints about these changes and that they are bringing these to the attention of the management.

The Itineraries that they say they are changing are on the 2016 and 2017 Caribbean cruises.

I feel that if they were going to make these changes it should be to subsequent cruises and not have you book an Itinerary you want, then change it on you. I don't believe this is a fair treatment of the paying customer.

Now that I have finished my rant, I know that we can certainly cancel the cruise if we are not happy with the change and we are considering this.

The rep from the Captains Club indicated to me that if others call with any displeasure that they will pass this info on to management. So if you are happy with any port losses don't call, but if you want to make a change you should maybe make a call so they know your opinion on this.

I don't usually say much since I know that they sometimes have to make changes with food/drinks etc. My only issue is that they should not be able to arbitrarily make changes like this after the itinerary is posted. Really what would stop them from making further changes down the road, like taking out another port 6 weeks before the leave date when you are now committed to other bookings that coincide.

The numbers for Captains Club are:

1-800-760-5961 for Canada and USA

0844.481.7687 for the UK

1.316.554.5961

1.305.603.0046 for all other Countries.

Just wanted to provide the information for others so they know the changes and why.

Wondermouse.

Agree with some of your statements. However, the cruise lines have the options to change any itinerary, plus many other things. We have found in the past that it is not beneficial to book that far in advance. Have you ever noticed how often airlines change? OMG, I get change notices weekly on some flights even when it is 5 minutes. Hope you get this resolved for your cruise.

Agree with some of your statements. However, the cruise lines have the options to change any itinerary, plus many other things. We have found in the past that it is not beneficial to book that far in advance. Have you ever noticed how often airlines change? OMG, I get change notices weekly on some flights even when it is 5 minutes. Hope you get this resolved for your cruise.

Thanks for the response. I agree that airlines change times and layovers sometimes, but you don't book to fly to Fort Lauderdale, but instead they take you to Dallas. Like I say I know that they can make changes, but when they have posted the Itinerary, you book the Itinerary that you want so that you can get the cabin that you want and they make changes to it is is aggravating.

Thanks for the response. I agree that airlines change times and layovers sometimes, but you don't book to fly to Fort Lauderdale, but instead they take you to Dallas. Like I say I know that they can make changes, but when they have posted the Itinerary, you book the Itinerary that you want so that you can get the cabin that you want and they make changes to it is is aggravating.

I personally know of an occasion where our friends book a specific cabin, mid ship, and paid for it months in advance. When they boarded the ship, they were told they were given an upgrade which they did NOT want. It was to the rear of the ship. They tried and tried to get their original cabin back to no avail. They called everyone on the ship trying to get their cabin. Sorry, that was the answer. So, they wrote the cruise line when they got back. Sorry, we will give you a 10% discount on your next cruise. LOL Big Deal 10%.

We missed a port in the Baltics due to strong winds. Princess gave us our port fees back. Sit down- $1.73/person. Yes, $1.73 port fee credit. I guess that was better than nothing. LOL

However, that was the major port we wanted to visit because of my nationality and home country of my Grandparents.

Again, I do wish you luck, maybe another cruise line?

Thanks for the response. I agree that airlines change times and layovers sometimes, but you don't book to fly to Fort Lauderdale, but instead they take you to Dallas. Like I say I know that they can make changes, but when they have posted the Itinerary, you book the Itinerary that you want so that you can get the cabin that you want and they make changes to it is is aggravating.

I booked a flight for my Panama canal cruise out of Fort Lauderdale when the flights first came out for my dates. Had a direct flight from MSP to FFL. About six months before sailing, Delta cancelled the direct flight and I had them rebooked me thru Atlanta. I still got to FFL but things can happen both with airlines and cruises especially over a year in advance.

I second what was said about booking far in advance, it does have its pros and cons. I wonder if Celebrity was going to do the changes, is there a good time frame for this? We are over 200 days from our sailing and we are on one of the changed itineraries. When I read all the negative comments, my feeling is, rebook if not happy about it, or go with the flow.

Personally, I don't really care, we are in the Caribbean, and away from Saskatchewan's cold, cold winter, so how bad can it be?

We have done a number of cruises, but have never been to Belize, the port dropped on our upcoming cruise, honestly I was having trouble finding an interesting excursion for that port. so a two day port opens up many alternatives.

I do like the option of not rushing for anything on the stop that has offered an overnight, last time we were there, we did a ship excursion and spent a huge block of time waiting for stragglers, that is not going to happen again.

The options are there and just take some looking and planning for them unless the port dropped is the reason for the cruise.

I have just got off of the phone with Captains Club and complained about losing Belize from our Jan 9th 2017 - 11 Day Cruise.

 

They said the reason they have done this is that many of the passengers from the European cruises requested overnights and that they thought they would bring it to the Caribbean Cruise Itineraries.

 

I for one do not like this change as we lose a Port that we have not been to before and end up overnighting ( Cozumel )in a port that by some accounts is not as nice as the one we lost.

 

As I said I have called Captains Club and this particular person said that they personally have had at least four complaints about these changes and that they are bringing these to the attention of the management.

 

The Itineraries that they say they are changing are on the 2016 and 2017 Caribbean cruises.

 

I feel that if they were going to make these changes it should be to subsequent cruises and not have you book an Itinerary you want, then change it on you. I don't believe this is a fair treatment of the paying customer.

 

Now that I have finished my rant, I know that we can certainly cancel the cruise if we are not happy with the change and we are considering this.

 

Wondermouse.

Let me offer you a different perspective...try to look at the overnight as a chance to do something that would be impossible or risky if you weren't in port overnight. What about arranging a private excursion to Tulum? You could also go over to Playa del Carmen to Xcaret...it's fabulous, but practically impossible to do with a single day in port. If you're not rushing to get back to the ship for a sailing deadline it opens up many opportunities.

I understand the disappointment of having an itinerary changed after booking...it's happened to me before, and with much less warning than we all have in this situation. In 2006, Princess decided to scratch Grand Cayman from their Galveston itineraries with only about two months' notice. One of the reasons they stated for doing that was the high percentage of the time they couldn't get into Georgetown because of wind/water conditions.

I was not surprised to see that the two ports that were eliminated on the Equinox 11-Night cruises were Belize and Costa Maya. I've been to both many times, and both have their limitations. Hours in Belize are very limited due to the shallow sea conditions and the barrier reef, and there's a long (20 minute) tender ride to shore for any activities. Costa Maya is notoriously difficult to get into because of wind conditions, and the port gets missed frequently. Maybe Celebrity wanted to try this concept, and they picked ports that have gotten largely negative feedback or been problematic, and replaced them with places they thought were sure things.

I'm just trying to look at this positively and make lemonade. I was a little upset when I first heard the news, but the more I think about it the more excited I get by the possibilities for our overnight!

next years October relection ta has been changed they dropped the 2 spanish ports and added another french port and a sea day

It's not only the Carribean that has been changed, on our TA in Oct 2016 they cancelled Malaga and Cartagena and added Marseilles and an extra sea day. The enticement for this cruise for most of us was Malaga. Several people have already cancelled.

I have just got off of the phone with Captains Club ....... So if you are happy with any port losses don't call, but if you want to make a change you should maybe make a call so they know your opinion on this.

Thanks for the idea. .....

I just now got off the phone with the Captains Club Rep. I provided mine, my wives, two sons, Daughter in Law and two grandkids C.C.#'s.

Told her we all were thrilled about the new overnights and to keep the changes coming.

Mentioned this sort of "Outside the Box" thinking was exactly what I would expect of a "Modern Luxury" company and if they keep on with this type of quality new idea, we'll cruise even more with Celebrity than we do now.

(All of us except the G'Kids are Elite)

We are booked on the same cruise as the OP and while we don't care about missing Belize (been there, didn't care for it) we aren't thrilled about the overnight in Cozumel. We have been there many times and done most of what we wanted to do there. I don't know whether we will cancel the cruise or not, have to think about it some more.

We book cruises based on price and itinerary. We've done enough cruises that new ports are hard to find. If we did book a cruise because of one of the new ports being included, I'd be very upset. I don't book a cruise until all three costs align, cruise, air and hotel. In most cases the air is nonrefundable so cancelling would not be an option. I don't want to hear about the cruise lines can change anything they want or I should buy refundable air fare. This hasn't happened yet, but it could.

We book cruises based on price and itinerary. We've done enough cruises that new ports are hard to find. If we did book a cruise because of one of the new ports being included, I'd be very upset. I don't book a cruise until all three costs align, cruise, air and hotel. In most cases the air is nonrefundable so cancelling would not be an option. I don't want to hear about the cruise lines can change anything they want or I should buy refundable air fare. This hasn't happened yet, but it could.

But according to your April 29, 2015 posting you're pretty much done with cruising so changes won't really matter to you right ?

"We no longer see cruising as a good value, so after the two B2Bs we have scheduled later this year, we're probably done. We loved cruising before the cutbacks, cheapening of the product, and nickel and diming took over. We weren't given the option of paying more to keep status quo, just a product that we can't support. We survived 50 years without cruising before we started so we'll survive the next 50 without it."

I looked at your previous itinerary. Arriving in Belize at 8.30am and leaving at 6. Your new plans have you getting to Cozumel at midday on that same day. I just wonder if there is more to it. We missed Belize a few years ago because of excessive port loads. I believe they are strict on that there.

I think the idea of overnighting is a really good one, but in the Caribbean? Venice, great. Barcelona, nice. Hong Kong, wonderful. Cozumel? Seems an odd decision to me.

Phil

But according to your April 29, 2015 posting you're pretty much done with cruising so changes won't really matter to you right ?

 

"We no longer see cruising as a good value, so after the two B2Bs we have scheduled later this year, we're probably done. We loved cruising before the cutbacks, cheapening of the product, and nickel and diming took over. We weren't given the option of paying more to keep status quo, just a product that we can't support. We survived 50 years without cruising before we started so we'll survive the next 50 without it."

If you read closely, it says probably, not definitely. Our last B2B is the end the middle of December, at that time we'll make a final decision. Until then, I can voice my opinions as I see fit. I'm glad I have at least one groupie, that follows my every word, out there.

I also just had an email to say they changed our 14 night Caribbean itinerary on the Eclipse sailing 10th Jan 2016.

We booked over a year ahead and got a good deal. Coming from the UK, the itinerary was important the Caribbean is not on our doorstep and this cruise was to celebrate my 40th Birthday.

I'm really disappointed that we've lost Bonaire as this was somewhere we looked forward to returning to. Instead we have a hot sweaty overnight in Curacao. Not what we booked and certainly wouldn't have booked this itinerary as we already have 2 days at sea either end of the trip.

I think it's a poor show that they changed this for no apparent reason other than they felt people might like it. They wouldn't have booked if they didn't like the original itinerary would they?!

Maybe next time Celebrity won't be my favourite cruise line.

Agree with some of your statements. However, the cruise lines have the options to change any itinerary, plus many other things. We have found in the past that it is not beneficial to book that far in advance. Have you ever noticed how often airlines change? OMG, I get change notices weekly on some flights even when it is 5 minutes. Hope you get this resolved for your cruise.

Not true. I had to book my last cruise almost two years in advance because the cabin category I wanted (minisuite) is one of the first to sell out and I wanted a covered balcony on the starboard side. There are very few of those on that ship (the Sapphire Princess). I had to be picky because it was a repositional itinerary (Los Angeles to Vancouver) and it was unknown if my sister could go too. So all I could do was book it very early. Other itineraries and situations can afford late booking, but clearly not all of them. I am unwilling to risk missing out on cabins I like by booking them too late.

Thanks for the responses, I agree that you need to make the best of it if there are changes. For those of us who like to plan and are less of the fly by the seat of your pants... it is hard to do the advance planning if changes are thrown at you.

Thanks for the idea. .....

 

I just now got off the phone with the Captains Club Rep. I provided mine, my wives, two sons, Daughter in Law and two grandkids C.C.#'s.

 

Told her we all were thrilled about the new overnights and to keep the changes coming.

 

Mentioned this sort of "Outside the Box" thinking was exactly what I would expect of a "Modern Luxury" company and if they keep on with this type of quality new idea, we'll cruise even more with Celebrity than we do now.

 

(All of us except the G'Kids are Elite)

Sorry WPG it does not matter nor should it if you are elite, or zenith or a first time cruiser. Your opinion should carry the same weight, but I noticed that you felt that including you are elite I can only assume you think makes you better then others. I am glad you expressed your opinion as Celebrity should know this, For example, I could not care in the least what kind of scotch is in the drink packages, but others have a fit is something is removed.

It is good that you like changes to your itinerary, I hope that you get to experience ones that you are not happy about too. Out of curiosity are you on one of these affected overnight cruises?

Sorry WPG it does not matter nor should it if you are elite, or zenith or a first time cruiser. Out of curiosity are you on one of these affected overnight cruises?

Wondermouse, the reason I included our status was, not bragging on status but rather pointing out we are experienced cruisers with Celebrity. We've also cruised lots with Princess and once and only once with H.A.L.

We do have a cruise that is impacted by the changes. We now overnight in Cartagena, and Costa Maya has been dropped. In addition the itinerary has been inverted.

If we had our preference Cartagena wouldn't be our first choice for an overnight, but given I have been one of the vocal ones asking Celebrity to change up their Caribbean offerings, we'll try it and see how it goes. Even if I don't like it I'm sure the day will be warmer in February in Cartagena than it will be in Winnipeg.

IMHO if we're going to resist change we'll probably miss out on some wonderful life experiences. I'd much prefer to look at this as an opportunity, see what it's like and look for the positives rather than get mired into the glass half empty syndrome.

Ok, Thanks I appreciate your clarification. As I said, I do not usually complain about much on the ship as we have alway's been happy with the amenities as well as the food and other offerings. I agree that the Caribbean in Jan is better then snow in Alberta. I am just disappointed about changes to a schedule that our group had researched prior to booking and agreed on , only to have it change.

We are booked on the same cruise as the OP and while we don't care about missing Belize (been there, didn't care for it) we aren't thrilled about the overnight in Cozumel. We have been there many times and done most of what we wanted to do there. I don't know whether we will cancel the cruise or not, have to think about it some more.

Totally agree w you with regard to Cozumel. Been there once and that was more than enough. In my opinion, 5 minutes in Cozumel is 30 minutes too long.

DON

Not true. I had to book my last cruise almost two years in advance because the cabin category I wanted (minisuite) is one of the first to sell out and I wanted a covered balcony on the starboard side. There are very few of those on that ship (the Sapphire Princess). I had to be picky because it was a repositional itinerary (Los Angeles to Vancouver) and it was unknown if my sister could go too. So all I could do was book it very early. Other itineraries and situations can afford late booking, but clearly not all of them. I am unwilling to risk missing out on cabins I like by booking them too late.

Of course there are always exceptions to any position. It worked for you, however, it did not work for him. To us, one specific cabin is not going to change our mind on booking a cruise. Done too many to think we can only cruise in a specific cabin on a specific ship.

I assume you have been cruising since 2012 based on your handle. Enjoy your cruise and have fun.

 

I'm really disappointed that we've lost Bonaire as this was somewhere we looked forward to returning to. Instead we have a hot sweaty overnight in Curacao. Not what we booked and certainly wouldn't have booked this itinerary as we already have 2 days at sea either end of the trip.

 

 

Maybe next time Celebrity won't be my favourite cruise line.

A hot sweaty night in Curaçao? As opposed to a hot sweaty day/night anywhere else in the Caribbean? If you don't want hot & sweaty, why are you going to the Caribbean in the first place? Is Curaçao more hot & sweaty?

Totally agree w you with regard to Cozumel. Been there once and that was more than enough. In my opinion, 5 minutes in Cozumel is 30 minutes too long.

 

DON

Yup...

been there so many times...have done stuff underwater, on the water, at the beach, in town, out of town, at hotels for the day, shopping for silver/turquoise, tourist trap shopping, overpriced cigar shopping for dh....Out of it all one excursion Salsa Salsa and Magarita was fun...but all the rest...been there, done that!

Weather is iffy there...been rained on and rained out more than a few times...and Celeb not quick to refund money...not a particularly pretty port...water rough if you take ferry to mainkand.

We lost a full day on Belize for a day and a half on Cozumel but we will make the best of our overnight there..,,maybe one of the nature parks if not rainy!

I have just got off of the phone with Captains Club and complained about losing Belize from our Jan 9th 2017 - 11 Day Cruise.

 

They said the reason they have done this is that many of the passengers from the European cruises requested overnights and that they thought they would bring it to the Caribbean Cruise Itineraries.

 

I for one do not like this change as we lose a Port that we have not been to before and end up overnighting ( Cozumel )in a port that by some accounts is not as nice as the one we lost.

 

As I said I have called Captains Club and this particular person said that they personally have had at least four complaints about these changes and that they are bringing these to the attention of the management.

 

The Itineraries that they say they are changing are on the 2016 and 2017 Caribbean cruises.

 

I feel that if they were going to make these changes it should be to subsequent cruises and not have you book an Itinerary you want, then change it on you. I don't believe this is a fair treatment of the paying customer.

 

Now that I have finished my rant, I know that we can certainly cancel the cruise if we are not happy with the change and we are considering this.

 

The rep from the Captains Club indicated to me that if others call with any displeasure that they will pass this info on to management. So if you are happy with any port losses don't call, but if you want to make a change you should maybe make a call so they know your opinion on this.

 

I don't usually say much since I know that they sometimes have to make changes with food/drinks etc. My only issue is that they should not be able to arbitrarily make changes like this after the itinerary is posted. Really what would stop them from making further changes down the road, like taking out another port 6 weeks before the leave date when you are now committed to other bookings that coincide.

 

The numbers for Captains Club are:

 

1-800-760-5961 for Canada and USA

0844.481.7687 for the UK

 

1.316.554.5961

1.305.603.0046 for all other Countries.

 

Just wanted to provide the information for others so they know the changes and why.

 

 

Wondermouse.

Oops I just now noticed that I had the first phone number wrong, want ensure information is correct.

1-800-760-0654

Sorry about that.

In addiiton, I noticed that there are at least three other posts on the same topic as well, this one could be merged.