Do NOT TAKE A Celebrity Land Tour or Alaska Cruise on the Millennium

I have not even gotten on a Celebrity ship and already I am disgusted. A month ago they charged my credit card over $7,000 that was not authorized. I immediately had our travel agent cancel everything we had done that day and here it is, a month later and still do not have all our money back. I had to get my credit card involved now since I refuse to pay money I did not authorize them to take. I want my money back!

Not sure, but this sounds like normal procedure. They "charge" your card to make sure you have the credit to pay for charges on your account. Not sure when they go back off, but you may get it returned after your cruise.....or sometime before.

It has happened to me and when I asked about it, that is how they explained it. I wasn't worried because I knew I would get it back and it is just all on "paper" anyway.

I have not even gotten on a Celebrity ship and already I am disgusted. A month ago they charged my credit card over $7,000 that was not authorized. I immediately had our travel agent cancel everything we had done that day and here it is, a month later and still do not have all our money back. I had to get my credit card involved now since I refuse to pay money I did not authorize them to take. I want my money back!

What’s this got to do with this thread? And what is posted doesn’t make sense; you ‘canceled everything we had done that day’?? What?

And the OP of this thread who never came back to explain appears to be posting so they could then go after Celebrity to get refunds. We see that all the time and has nothing to do with sharing true concerns but just ‘documenting’ so they can tell Celebrity they will complain more if not given refunds.

Den

It was pretty easy, actually. Our cabin steward told us that our shower floor and part of the main bathroom floor were scheduled for re-tiling. He asked us if we had any plans for really long days in port coming up, because the tiles would need about 6-8 hours with no one walking on them. The ship had an overnight in Kobe, and we knew we were going to go ashore early, take the Shinkansen to Kyoto and get back quite late. The re-tiling was done when we were out, and our steward left a note telling us what time they had finished, and what time we could step on the floor again. We were back well after that time, so it was no inconvenience at all. The floor looked fantastic afterwards, too!

You're more forgiving than I would be. I would not be accepting to having the ship perform that level of maintenance with that degree of intrusion without knowing in advance of the booking (and I accepted it then) AND it came with a stateroom discount.

When I vacation, I pay for what ever space it is to call our own. I expect to leave the worries, concerns and realities of every day life at the airport, cruise terminal or parking lot. Having to schedule a tile repair falls outside of this purview.

We really like Millennium, but if we were going to Alaska (again) would go with Holland America Line because they have ships with more outdoor / viewing space, and are also out of Seattle and with Princess own their own hotels and are well known for their Alaska tours.

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I have not even gotten on a Celebrity ship and already I am disgusted. A month ago they charged my credit card over $7,000 that was not authorized. I immediately had our travel agent cancel everything we had done that day and here it is, a month later and still do not have all our money back. I had to get my credit card involved now since I refuse to pay money I did not authorize them to take. I want my money back!

It seems your issue is with your travel agent. If you are working with an agent, they would have put your charges through.

What did your agent tell you?

Was the $7,000 the cost of the cruise?

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You're more forgiving than I would be. I would not be accepting to having the ship perform that level of maintenance with that degree of intrusion without knowing in advance of the booking (and I accepted it then) AND it came with a stateroom discount.

 

When I vacation, I pay for what ever space it is to call our own. I expect to leave the worries, concerns and realities of every day life at the airport, cruise terminal or parking lot. Having to schedule a tile repair falls outside of this purview.

We’ve been on ships where they contacted us about replacing the railing on the balcony or fixing chips on the sink. As long as it causes minimal disruption, we’re happy to cooperate, since we get to reap the benefit of a new shower floor, or a rejuvenated sink. Since Millennium is an older ship, we were very pleased that that there was an ongoing repair programme. It’s nice to see her getting the care she deserves.

To the OP.

As you can probably tell by now, you will get very little support here from posters.

I think you may have genuinely wanted to advise others to do their research before booking this experience. You have done that. Thank you.

I'm currently on a B2B2B that began with the 1A Land Tour to Denali. I was a bit skeptical of the land tour but for us it was one of the best tours we have taken. Fantastic driver and Tour Director and really nice accommodations. Our only surprise was that there were NO MEALS included. If I had read the limited detail that I was given I would have known that.

I am on Millennium now and will be for the next month and can honestly say she is in very good condition. I'm sure she will be spectacular after her total makeover in January. I was talking to some senior officers and was told that it will be a complete makeover and ALL ROOMS will be upgraded. The rooms are built in modular fashion and they will be pulling out the rooms and then replacing them with new room modules.

I'm sure each of us experience a cruise in different ways but I would have to qualms in booking either the land tour or another trip on Millennium.

I read that the ship is going for a refurb next year. There are always going to people that don't like something about a ship. Can't wait to sail on her in 2020 to Alaska. I was spoiled on the smaller HAL, Volendam, but the Millennium has the itinerary that I want.

To your point - please explain. What, does Princess do better? How? Why? :)

Celebrity itself doesn’t operate its land tours in Alaska. It hires Premier Alaska Tours, a local tour bus company, to host its tours. This began a few years ago. The hotels used are not Celebrity owned. Princess and Holland America operate together in Alaska. Princess uses their own lodges in Alaska; they’re clean, fun, and similar to the ship based Princess product. Princess has been doing Alaska since the beginning and runs a smooth ship, no pun intended. [emoji38]

 

 

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Most in the industry will agree that Princess (HAL) "do" Alaska much better than any other cruise company. They own and operate their own lodges, offer more itinerary options and their cruises are licensed to offer more cruise viewing of glaciers.

We are loyal RCCL and X cruisers and we did an Alaska cruise-only with X and had a fantastic time!

A land/cruise combo is on our bucet list, and Princess with be our line of choice. It's all about doing your homework.

We did two cruise tours with Celebrity. We were very pleased with both. :)

You're more forgiving than I would be. I would not be accepting to having the ship perform that level of maintenance with that degree of intrusion without knowing in advance of the booking (and I accepted it then) AND it came with a stateroom discount.

 

When I vacation, I pay for what ever space it is to call our own. I expect to leave the worries, concerns and realities of every day life at the airport, cruise terminal or parking lot. Having to schedule a tile repair falls outside of this purview.

Where is the problem? A guest gets a new bathroom with in a day/few hours, (kudos to the maintenance Team) while the guests are out all day not even using it anyway.

From my point of view they could have remodeled the whole cabin if they wanted to, if they are finished and it is usable up on my return.

If I understood correctly they were asked if they are ok with it and were advised how long it would take and got a note.

Or is it better to complain on a board like this that ship so and so has dated bathrooms, hand rails at the balcony needs repaint, etc. and nothing was done about it?

Where is the problem? A guest gets a new bathroom with in a day/few hours, (kudos to the maintenance Team) while the guests are out all day not even using it anyway.

From my point of view they could have remodeled the whole cabin if they wanted to, if they are finished and it is usable up on my return.

 

If I understood correctly they were asked if they are ok with it and were advised how long it would take and got a note.

 

Or is it better to complain on a board like this that ship so and so has dated bathrooms, hand rails at the balcony needs repaint, etc. and nothing was done about it?

Yep, that was us, and we did get consulted on the best day, received a note, etc. The steward and the maintenance team went above and beyond to make sure that we weren’t inconvenienced. I thought it was a great way to handle it.

Yep, that was us, and we did get consulted on the best day, received a note, etc. The steward and the maintenance team went above and beyond to make sure that we weren’t inconvenienced. I thought it was a great way to handle it.

Where is the problem? A guest gets a new bathroom with in a day/few hours, (kudos to the maintenance Team) while the guests are out all day not even using it anyway.

From my point of view they could have remodeled the whole cabin if they wanted to, if they are finished and it is usable up on my return.

 

If I understood correctly they were asked if they are ok with it and were advised how long it would take and got a note.

 

Or is it better to complain on a board like this that ship so and so has dated bathrooms, hand rails at the balcony needs repaint, etc. and nothing was done about it?

When we cruise, we do it more for the ship experience and less so for the port experience. As we have been to many places by air, the port is one we've already explored. Bermuda was an exception as it was out first time so we were off the ship more than past cruises.

This means we would not have been off the ship as in the case with the OP. We return to our cabin many times, whether to change clothes, access the safe, retrieve something forgotten or for any other reason we need to. I am also uncomfortable with so many crew being in our stateroom. You may be fine with it but this is a subjective opinion and we are each entitled to our viewpoint. There is also the possibility of odors that linger long after the maintenance work. If they had to use a caulk and it wasn't a low VOC product. Even if it was, it will release chemicals into the air as it cures irrespective to any odor.

A reference could be made between a stateroom and an apartment. My rentals all have contracts which state tenants must allow access for repairs. The difference is that my tenants are there for year long contracts, not weekly ones. If they were weekly, for most maintenance, I could easily schedule them in between tenants. The cruise line could do the same and maintenance is something you can plan. A pipe leaking is something else entirely and no one would fault the cruise line for the unexpected, unless due to a lack of maintenance.

We did the Alaskan cruise on the Millennium last month from Vancouver to Seward and the 3A tour afterwards. We could not have been happier with both the cruise portion and the land portion. Our guide was excellent and went out of her way to accommodate us. Yes the further you went, the "less fancy" the hotels got, but after all it Alaska wilderness and not Vegas. Like so many others, would love some details about what you found so bad.

When we cruise, we do it more for the ship experience and less so for the port experience. As we have been to many places by air, the port is one we've already explored. Bermuda was an exception as it was out first time so we were off the ship more than past cruises.

 

 

This means we would not have been off the ship as in the case with the OP. We return to our cabin many times, whether to change clothes, access the safe, retrieve something forgotten or for any other reason we need to. I am also uncomfortable with so many crew being in our stateroom. You may be fine with it but this is a subjective opinion and we are each entitled to our viewpoint. There is also the possibility of odors that linger long after the maintenance work. If they had to use a caulk and it wasn't a low VOC product. Even if it was, it will release chemicals into the air as it cures irrespective to any odor.

 

 

A reference could be made between a stateroom and an apartment. My rentals all have contracts which state tenants must allow access for repairs. The difference is that my tenants are there for year long contracts, not weekly ones. If they were weekly, for most maintenance, I could easily schedule them in between tenants. The cruise line could do the same and maintenance is something you can plan. A pipe leaking is something else entirely and no one would fault the cruise line for the unexpected, unless due to a lack of maintenance.

The guests were asked, so it means for me, they could have refused the request by the Cabin attendant if they wanted to.

The Management took a chance and asked the guests, the ones who refused, those cabins will be done at the home port, maybe those cabins would be released later in the day for new guests? Complains again ? "My cabin was not released before 4 pm, grrr"

In hospitality you can't please everyone.

Would be interesting if there is something written in the rules and regulations from Celebrity regarding cabin access by the Ships Team, in what cases and circumstances.