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Xpedition May 19, 2019 Galapagos sailing


marshallbarrister
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My husband and I booked a dream cruise to Galapagos and Machu Pichu on the Xpedition for the May 19, 2019 sailing back in November 2016. We are experienced cruisers with many cruises under our belts and previous Celebrity cruisers. We chose this particular sailing because it was for our daughter's college graduation and perhaps a last family vacation before she starts her full time career. In addition, booking early allowed us to select the suite and location we desire. Location is everything, even on a cruise ship. This trip costs close to $38,000 before airfares. In addition, due to existing health conditions, we purchased trip insurance that's non refundable. Yesterday, Saturday November 18, 2017, I received a phone call from a Celebrity representative around 1pm PST to inform us that this particular sailing has been cancelled because the new ship FLORA was coming online. We have a choice of either to cancel our booking or if we choose to keep our booking for another date, Celebrity will be happy to give us a measly $1000 discount off our cruise. We have until November 30, 2017 to make our decision. The call I received was on the Saturday afternoon before Thanksgiving holiday. The rep was only able to book another sailing only with a "guarantee" suite room, not a specific room. She wasn't able to help us because most Celebrity departments/offices were already closed that day, which was very convenient on the part of Celebrity. I was informed that they will only be open Monday and Tuesday following the Saturday call due to Thanksgiving. My husband and I are VERY upset at this point. The $1000 discount is insulting and now we don't even know if changing the sailing date will be workable due to our daughter starting a new job after graduation! In addition, what a terrible business model and a terrible way to treat your customers! The cost of a cruise on the FLORA is much higher than the Xpedition so it is not profitable to transfer existing Xpedtion resevations. Therefore let's just kick out those who are paying less and booked years in advance, even though our trip was going to cost us over $40,000, including airfares. We chose our trip based on what would work for us. This is a bait and switch! We have another cruise booked with Celebrity for December 2018 that we are now going cancel and will book with another cruise line!

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I can understand your disappointment & ffrustration but for a cruise well over a year away $1,000 discount is generous compared to what is normally offered for a cruise that is cancelled that far ahead of sailing.

 

I hope you are able to find a way to make the trip on a alternate date.

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We got back from the Expedition this last April (with a private tour of Machu Pichu that we booked). These cruises usually book up 1-2 years in advance so it is totally reasonable to book that far in advance and expect your booking not to be cancelled. I can understand if they replace the two smaller ships, with the Flora, but I can't imagine getting rid of the Expedition. It is the maximum size able to sail the Galapagos and is just perfect. It offers both a suite and a non-suite option to meet multiple budgets. I am so sorry you have had a negative experience. There are other options in the Galapagos though. There are many smaller ships, but there is also the National Geographic option which is about the same size (my friend did that one and had a great time). Hope you can find an option that works for your family. Be aware that most private travel insurance can be moved to another vacation without losing money.

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Hi sherylc, thank you for your post and info. Celebrity is not getting rid of Xpedition. The Flora is replacing the 2 smaller ships that's already been sold. Celebrity cancelled the May 2019 sailings. We were informed that sailings are available from January 2019 - April 2019, and after June 2nd, 2019. The June 2nd sailing is already fully booked.

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I am a travel agent and I had 8 cabins booked for this Galapagos sailing. Trying to rebook 8 cabins on a different sailing was not at all easy! But I have to say the Celebrity Galapagos desk was as helpful as they could have been given that these sailing book out so far in advance. I was able to move all 8 bookings to the May 5th sailing even though they only had 2 cabins available in the category that the 8 were booked in. They accommodated the remaining 6 cabins in the next category up, kept the pricing the same and still compensated each cabin $500.00. This is a trip of a lifetime and it is very expensive and I do agree that canceling a sailing that we have had booked since the day it was released has been stressful and inconvenient. I feel so bad for those who are not able to rebook a time that works for them. I hope everyone is able to figure it out and make it work. I'm sure it will be worth it!

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Did the trip in 2016. Boat and crew was great but would never spend that much money again!! The Islands are all desert and you will find more marine life at other locations in the Carib. Enjoy

 

PS. If you do not want Mailings and endless e mails not contribute to the cause. Just send them a check with out going thru Celebrity

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Did the trip in 2016. Boat and crew was great but would never spend that much money again!! The Islands are all desert and you will find more marine life at other locations in the Carib. Enjoy

 

Where in the Caribbean? Personally I saw vastly more wildlife in Galapagos (much of it very, very close up) than anywhere in the Caribbean I've been.

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It is not the same ship and the cabin is not a suite, but the Celebrity Xperience still has one of their 3-person cabins available on May 18, 2019. The Celebrity Galapagos desk can be reached at: 866-973-8466. Also new Galapagos bookings before December 1 for Captains Club members might get $500 for Select and Classic levels and $1000 for Elite and above, but you need to ask for the promotion.

 

Our family was planning to do the Northern loop on the Xperience in 2020 or 2021 since the ship is only 48 passengers and the Northern loop includes the island of Genovesa. Once we saw that Celebrity had eliminated this ship after May 2019 we booked our Galapagos trip this weekend. Even at less than 8 months away we got our 3-person cabin for about half the $ that you are paying. While scrambling to plan our Galapagos cruise this weekend another tour company that we saw with comparable size/quality ships and prices was Metropolitan Touring who has two 48-passenger ships and a 100-passenger ship. Their cruises are used by Tauck Tours and can either be booked with Tauck or directly with Metropolitan. We choose Celebrity due to a stop at the Darwin station on Santa Cruz island. Good luck.

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We were booked on the same sailing. I was able to move my reservation to the June 15 sailing. The original price we booked was guaranteed plus the $500 compensation (not suite). Overall, I am happy with the way we were treated. The fare is now C$7,000 higher than the price we booked at plus I think the weather will be more reliable for the Machu Pichu extension.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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My husband and I booked a dream cruise to Galapagos and Machu Pichu on the Xpedition for the May 19, 2019 sailing back in November 2016. We are experienced cruisers with many cruises under our belts and previous Celebrity cruisers. We chose this particular sailing because it was for our daughter's college graduation and perhaps a last family vacation before she starts her full time career. In addition, booking early allowed us to select the suite and location we desire. Location is everything, even on a cruise ship. This trip costs close to $38,000 before airfares. In addition, due to existing health conditions, we purchased trip insurance that's non refundable. Yesterday, Saturday November 18, 2017, I received a phone call from a Celebrity representative around 1pm PST to inform us that this particular sailing has been cancelled because the new ship FLORA was coming online. We have a choice of either to cancel our booking or if we choose to keep our booking for another date, Celebrity will be happy to give us a measly $1000 discount off our cruise. We have until November 30, 2017 to make our decision. The call I received was on the Saturday afternoon before Thanksgiving holiday. The rep was only able to book another sailing only with a "guarantee" suite room, not a specific room. She wasn't able to help us because most Celebrity departments/offices were already closed that day, which was very convenient on the part of Celebrity. I was informed that they will only be open Monday and Tuesday following the Saturday call due to Thanksgiving. My husband and I are VERY upset at this point. The $1000 discount is insulting and now we don't even know if changing the sailing date will be workable due to our daughter starting a new job after graduation! In addition, what a terrible business model and a terrible way to treat your customers! The cost of a cruise on the FLORA is much higher than the Xpedition so it is not profitable to transfer existing Xpedtion resevations. Therefore let's just kick out those who are paying less and booked years in advance, even though our trip was going to cost us over $40,000, including airfares. We chose our trip based on what would work for us. This is a bait and switch! We have another cruise booked with Celebrity for December 2018 that we are now going cancel and will book with another cruise line!

 

Why do you feel that you have to do the Galapagos cruise on a Celebrity ship. There are lots of other companies running wonderful Galapagos cruises that do not need the name "Celebrity" in front of the ship's name to get customers. We did a 7 night cruise on the Metropolitan Touring ship LaPinta - https://www.metropolitan-touring.com/galapagos/yacht-la-pinta/itineraries-and-prices#20175d4neasterngalapagos. Note that the price is only $6500 per person. That is less than what they are charging you on the Xpedtion. BTW, we did have a Galapagos cruise booked on Celebrity but we cancelled it because we did not feel the the Celebrity cruise was worth the money. The cabins might not be a suite cabin but they were extremely large and comfortable and on a Galapagos cruise you only sleep in your cabin. You spend the rest of the time.

 

I would disagree with your statement that location is everything on a cruise ship. Perhaps on some cruises but not on a Galapagos cruise.

 

I think that Celebrity has done you a great favor by cancelling your cruise.

 

In response to the post from 14ERSCO that the reason that they took Celebrity is because the cruise stopped at Darwin Station - we had a very good visit to Darwin Station on the LaPinta.

 

In response to the post from RVMike about the wildllife in the Galapagos as compared to the Caribbean, he must been in a different Galapagos than we were in or else he was on a really badly lead cruise. There is probably more unique wildlife that is totally unafraid of people in the Galapagos than in anywhere else in the world except maybe for Antarctica.

 

DON

Edited by donaldsc
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I am confused. If Celebrity is keeping the Xpedition, why was this sailing cancelled?

 

Curious, for those who have recommended other cruises, did any of you include an extension to Machu Pichu and Sacred Valley?

 

And, FWIW, there are a number of cruisers on Expedition, who have been very pleased with their choice of a suite over a regular cabin. It is a matter of presonal preference, whether or not you spend much time in them. If you can afford it,why not? The fact that the cabins on Flora are selling at that price point is evidence enough.

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Hi Sippican, Celebrity is cancelling this particular Xpedition sailing for the Flora. In addition to scheduling, we chose this sailing because of the inner loop. The Flora will take over the inner loop and the Xpedition will only have the northern loop and the southern loop. We didn't mind paying for the cost of a suite with Celebrity as this was going to be the trip of a life time. However, here we are...

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Our cruise was the Outer Loop, but I'm not sure it really makes a big difference which itinerary you do unless you have a very specific creature you want to see that is native to only one island. Some of the best times we had were the snorkeling -- we did every one of them and they were incredible (playful sea lions, penguins, dolphins, etc). When you rebook, you might want to look at options for the Machu Pichu extension -- we booked through a travel agency and had a guide to ourselves (doing the same itinerary) and stayed up top at Machu Pichu at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge one night for cheaper than the excursion Celebrity was offering. We also stayed until the park closed and was first in line when it opened since we were already up there, plus included dining in the restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner instead of the crowded buffet. We met back up at the airport with the group who had done Celebrity, and our experience was superior and significantly cheaper. (must book way in advance to get a room though!)

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Hi Sherylc, thanks for the info. We added the Machu Pichu extension with Celebrity original booking. What travel agency did you use for the extension?

 

Answering this question would be a violation of Cruise Critic guidelines.

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W

In response to the post from 14ERSCO that the reason that they took Celebrity is because the cruise stopped at Darwin Station - we had a very good visit to Darwin Station on the LaPinta.

DON

 

We did look at both the La Pinta and Isabella II, but neither met our top 4 criteria for Galapagos; under 50-passenger, Genovesa Island, Darwin Station, and 7-days. The La Pinta has a cruise that meets the first three, but is only 5-days and the Isabella II replaces Darwin Station with the some center on San Cristobal. The Xperience meets all of our criteria. We may still do a mainland Ecudador extension with Metropolitan Touring; waiting on answers to my e-mail.

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