New propulsion problem on Millennium

[Ma Bell]

I also received that message. But nothing yet from Celebrity advising of the cancellation of the 13th September cruise. Were it not for CruiseCritic, (and then Gene Sloan from USA Today) I would still be merrily planning and looking forward to a nine-day trip along the West Coast enjoying my 123 Drink Package.

 

I don't think they should be " let off the hook" and there certainly was a breakdown in communication but I do think it's usually wise to deal, with a situation as best as possible at the time and at least wait to see what the real outcome is going to be before going off the deep end. My heart also goes out to those who were disappointed, but everyone is safe and sound and it seems the only danger they were in might have been being involved in the midst of an angry crowd. I have seen what happens when some people don't get what they want "immediately" and it's usually not pretty. I'm willing to bet that a great majority of the passengers use common sense and make the best of a bad situation.

[The_Big_M]

The fundamental issue after the breakdown, was a failure in communication. Things become chaotic when the communication failed (in some cases - mixed messages).:D

 

And that certainly varies situation by situation, even with the same cruiseline. :D

[c-legs]

My prior posting was perhaps not clear.

 

Millennium's current speed is 17 knots. Her top speed is 24 knots.

 

Sorry for the confusion.

 

17 knots of ''speed to the engine'' is the maximum utilized when sailing with one of the two mermaids/azipods out of commission.

At that rate, it'll be a real 'tight fit'' to enter GBSY in Freeport by 23;00hr ADT 2nd september....

[MicCanberra]

17 knots of ''speed to the engine'' is the maximum utilized when sailing with one of the two mermaids/azipods out of commission.

At that rate, it'll be a real 'tight fit'' to enter GBSY in Freeport by 23;00hr ADT 2nd september....

 

I think the quicker she can get there the better - more time for repairs.:D

[MicCanberra]

And that certainly varies situation by situation, even with the same cruiseline. :D

 

Yes, I think X dropped the ball with this one, lets hope that they can pick it up again and repair some of the damage done with their customers.:D

[Ontario Cruiser]

Sounds like they want to keep some customers for the future.:D

I guess Princess has learnt their lesson after the cancelled cruise leaving from Valpariso a few Februay's ago after the earthquake when they told passengers that it was up to them to get to the ship. No refunds were offered except the the ones that made it to Buenos Aires or Rio for the 2nd leg to Fort Lauderdale. We were lucky we only booked the 2nd leg

Ontario Cruiser

[The_Big_M]

Yes, I think X dropped the ball with this one, lets hope that they can pick it up again and repair some of the damage done with their customers.:D

 

So what do you have in mind for them to do that?

[LEtue]

17 knots of ''speed to the engine'' is the maximum utilized when sailing with one of the two mermaids/azipods out of commission.

At that rate, it'll be a real 'tight fit'' to enter GBSY in Freeport by 23;00hr ADT 2nd september....

 

She is still north of San Francisco this morning and traveling at 17.7 knots...so she has speed up a bit. Still a long trip ahead.

[deise17311]

This is a nice philosophy, but if that is truly the sentiment we should all embrace should it not work both ways? 'Things happen' so if I have an incident that prevents me from fulfilling my part of the contract by taking the cruise with Celebrity shouldn't they be forgiving and refund my money? After all, I do my best to show up but what if a family member is sick and I need to cancel? I'm sure you're thinking then my insurance should cover my costs.... exactly... Celebrity's insurance should cover the cost of their liability - i.e. refunding my out of pocket expenses because of their broken contract with me. FYI, we had 2 different cancellation insurance policies for this trip, and both insurers told us in this instance Celebrity was responsible for reimbursing our expenses - not our insurer.

 

Right on...I love these types that have not been affected, however, have such insight on how we should behave, what we should settle for, and how we should forgive...

[Wilde_37]

We were booked on the September 13th sailing from Vancouver to San Diego. The idea was to then join the Solstice in Ensenada and do the 11 night Hawaii cruise.

 

Our flights are business class from Ireland, via London to Vancouver with British Airways. When the cruise was cancelled I phoned BA to change our flights to San Diego. The cost of changing the flights was a staggering $4810. Needless to say Celebrity will not cover that.

 

So the choices are to pay for the flight changes or fly into Vancouver and then make our way to San Diego ourselves. And of course we now also have to pay for transport and accommodation and food etc for 9 days.

 

While I appreciate that we get a 100% refund (and that will pay for my 9 days), I don't consider the 25% FCC much in the line of compensation.

[gblotter]

The cost of changing the flights was a staggering $4810. Needless to say Celebrity will not cover that.

 

So the choices are to pay for the flight changes or fly into Vancouver and then make our way to San Diego ourselves. And of course we now also have to pay for transport and accommodation and food etc for 9 days.

You can have a pretty grand 9-day vacation for much less than $4810.

 

I just checked the Alaska Airlines website and you can fly from Vancouver to San Diego for $225 per-person (one-way) if you choose the right flights.

 

Sounds like a no-brainer decision to me.

[deise17311]

We were booked on the September 13th sailing from Vancouver to San Diego. The idea was to then join the Solstice in Ensenada and do the 11 night Hawaii cruise.

 

Our flights are business class from Ireland, via London to Vancouver with British Airways. When the cruise was cancelled I phoned BA to change our flights to San Diego. The cost of changing the flights was a staggering $4810. Needless to say Celebrity will not cover that.

 

So the choices are to pay for the flight changes or fly into Vancouver and then make our way to San Diego ourselves. And of course we now also have to pay for transport and accommodation and food etc for 9 days.

 

While I appreciate that we get a 100% refund (and that will pay for my 9 days), I don't consider the 25% FCC much in the line of compensation.

 

According to alot of people not affected by this, you should be sending letters of thanks for your 25% FCC...I feel your pain and understand your total frustration with this situation...

[Cindy]

Celebrity is STILL sending out literature promoting Millennium Alaska sailings.:( Here are some excerpts from an e-mail I received from them this morning. They really need to review their procedures!

 

"Now's the time to make your Alaskan dreams a reality. With three ships exploring this glacial getaway, featuring exciting excursions and captivating Cruisetours, the options and photo ops are endless."

 

"Now sailing from Seattle, Seward, or Vancouver, bask in the breathtaking beauty of Hubbard Glacier on board Celebrity Century®, Celebrity Millennium®, or Celebrity Solstice® as you visit a variety of ports and cities along the way."

[vivi9909]

We were booked on the September 13th sailing from Vancouver to San Diego. The idea was to then join the Solstice in Ensenada and do the 11 night Hawaii cruise.

 

Our flights are business class from Ireland, via London to Vancouver with British Airways. When the cruise was cancelled I phoned BA to change our flights to San Diego. The cost of changing the flights was a staggering $4810. Needless to say Celebrity will not cover that.

 

So the choices are to pay for the flight changes or fly into Vancouver and then make our way to San Diego ourselves. And of course we now also have to pay for transport and accommodation and food etc for 9 days.

 

While I appreciate that we get a 100% refund (and that will pay for my 9 days), I don't consider the 25% FCC much in the line of compensation.

 

Suggestions: You could try to catch the Zaandam cruise leaving Vancouver on September 15 arriving in San Diego on September 19 or the Norwegian Sun leaving Vancouver on the 16 arriving in Los Angeles on the 23. Use some of the extra days to visit Vancouver or San Diego. There is also the Solstice (Seattle - Ensenada, 13th to 23rd); I hope Celebrity should help you to book the transfer from Vancouver to Seattle and apply the 25% FCC to that one.

Good luck!

[youwash]

Just saw this on the Princess web sight. It shows how other companies react to problem:

 

Sun Princess was scheduled to cruise from Singapore to Perth today (Aug 20) after completing her stay in dry dock... guess dry dock kept beckoning as the departure has been cancelled.

 

I've heard that:

 

Princess have a team on hand at the terminal who are assisting passengers.

Princess will booking them flights home and are covering any incidentals as well.

Princess are will providing a full refund.

Passengers will also receive a 100% future cruise credit to all effected passengers.

 

Possible reschedule departure is now 30th August as she does have to make her way to Australia for the summer season

 

From what I saw they also contacted people and offered them refund plus 100% cruise. credit and payment for air fares.

 

They also have a lot of upset passengers but they are refunding plus giving 100% future cruise credit and 100% of air ticket charges

 

This may have come from the Princess web site but to get the story you need to check the thread about how all these people were treated at the pier when they ALL showed up for a cruise that was not going to happed.

[Keke27]

Looks like we are staying with our pre-cruise stop in Vegas and will just extend a few days, then back to FL and work.

 

No problem canceling my SWA tickets that I used points for, thank goodness. But it looks like we have to eat the Air Canada from Vegas to Vancouver.

[Lancer1568]

Now I'm confused. I thought the plural was all y'all. ;). But I learned that in NC.

FYI y'all is plural it always refers to more than one person. y'alls is the possessive...so y'alls cruise means the cruise belonging to y'all which means the whole shipload.

[TLCOhio]

All of this has been very sad. Many of the posters, including those on this ill-fated ship, have been very helpful and made interesting posts as things were happening. Others have talked about insurance, what worked and what did not. Some have made the reat point as to why they/we would not want to use Celebrity's in-house cruise "insurance". A key reason to avoid that in-house option is the fact that their coverage is much more limited for what is covered regarding your various pre and post cruise travels, transportation, etc. Our upcoming Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Solstice Sydney to Auckland, NZ, involves lots of travel and stops prior to and after our cruise. I want protection for that travel, too!! Here's what I have done and why as I have shared on our roll call for our upcoming down under adventure:

 

In the past, we have used the website:

http://www.insuremytrip.com

to compare a number of different companies and coverage/policy types for what is offered, the costs, ratings of companies, etc.

 

Then, we focused on

http://www.travelexinsurance.com

as their value, ratings and offering of PRIMARY medical coverage is best (versus getting stuck with a company that only did "secondary" medical payments), was only B rated by A.M. Best, etc.

 

Our current policy is called "TravelLite" and on such a Celebrity Millennium cruise scrubbing, we would be covered up to $750 per person to help pay for such losses/costs in added hotel costs, re-booking airline fees, etc., if we got stuck into this type of a situation as had affected those on this ill-fated Alaska cruise. Travelex also has a little higher-priced product line that covers up to a $1000 per person for such costs/losses, plus other extras. A cruise line is considered a "common carrier" and such "mechanical" issues would trigger such protections, if and IF, etc.

 

Here's another tip to save money! With most all of the other independent insurance options, you do not need to buy coverage for the full amount of ALL costs with your cruise, flights, pre and post travel, etc., etc. Your amount of coverage/protection on medical care, med evacuation, trip interruption, lost baggage, etc., is the same regardless whether you buy a travel insurance policy to cover a potential loss of $1000, $5000 or $10,000. For us, our air flights are on Amer. Air Frequent Flyer points. If we had to cancel our cruise due to a medical problem and/or family emergency, our air flights points can be put back and our net "loss" is very, very minimal. We don't have any reason or need to cover our air costs if circumstances would force a scrubbing of this cruise between our Nov. 7 pay-up date and the sailing in mid January.

 

BOTTOM LINE: There are lots of options and cost/coverage options to consider. BUT, get some coverage AND consider the "details" to get the right fit for the "balance" and trade-offs for your specific needs versus budget.

 

Reactions, added inputs, sharing for others? Check these insurance details carefully in what you are doing, picking!! Different companies and varied policies will do and cover things in other ways.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 140,094 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Cruising89143]

The best part of that one was that there was also a Carnival ship and Carnival stepped up to the plate and did everything right. What a contrast it was.

 

That they did but then this year Carnival botched it again with the Triumph situation. Just seems that ALL of the cruise lines should be able to learn from the different issues that arise and how they were handled to do a better job and be more consistent on handling opportunities when they happen.

[FengShui@Sea]

You can have a pretty grand 9-day vacation for much less than $4810.

 

I just checked the Alaska Airlines website and you can fly from Vancouver to San Diego for $225 per-person (one-way) if you choose the right flights.

 

Sounds like a no-brainer decision to me.

 

I believe what the poster was saying was that they would have to pay $4,810 to change their flights so that they could go directly to their new cruise. So now they have to keep their flights and vacation for the 9 days (that they were supposed to have spent on the Millennium) before boarding their new cruise. Either way they are out $4,810 change fee, or the cost of 9 days hotel, food, and transportation. Not such a no brainer to me.

[Wilde_37]

I believe what the poster was saying was that they would have to pay $4,810 to change their flights so that they could go directly to their new cruise. So now they have to keep their flights and vacation for the 9 days (that they were supposed to have spent on the Millennium) before boarding their new cruise. Either way they are out $4,810 change fee, or the cost of 9 days hotel, food, and transportation. Not such a no brainer to me.

 

Exactly!

 

We have decided to take the Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver to Seattle and stay there a few days. Then rent a car and drive leisurely down the Oregan coastline to San Francisco and stay there 3 nights. Then make our way to San Diego. Cheaper than paying for a change of flight and we have to stay somewhere for the 9 days, so we may as well make lemonade from lemons.

[Cruise Junky]

Exactly!

 

We have decided to take the Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver to Seattle and stay there a few days. Then rent a car and drive leisurely down the Oregan coastline to San Francisco and stay there 3 nights. Then make our way to San Diego. Cheaper than paying for a change of flight and we have to stay somewhere for the 9 days, so we may as well make lemonade from lemons.

 

Excellent plan B. enjoy!

[greatam]

I guess Princess has learnt their lesson after the cancelled cruise leaving from Valpariso a few Februay's ago after the earthquake when they told passengers that it was up to them to get to the ship. No refunds were offered except the the ones that made it to Buenos Aires or Rio for the 2nd leg to Fort Lauderdale. We were lucky we only booked the 2nd leg

Ontario Cruiser

 

Just an aside to the above. There were over 500 people due to board in Valparaiso who had NO INSURANCE and in addition they had purchased cruise line air with the heavy restrictions. Those cruise air tickets were NON REROUTABLE AND NON ENDORSABLE (not good on another airline).

 

I had self booked AA tickets into Santiago. When the earthquake hit, I was able to exchange my AA tickets for LAN tickets into Mendoza with a free bus provided by LAN into Santiago. I was also offered the option of a flight into Buenos Aires with a free bus provided by various airlines to Santiago. Cross country buses in South America are at least as good if not better than business class on an international flight. Lie flat seats/beds, totally private little cabins with curtains, food, wine, games, entertainment.

 

There WERE options and Princess certainly had no responsibility because people chose to travel internationally without insurance or failed to understand that their cruise air tickets had heavy, heavy restrictions and WERE NOT identical to what they could have purchased on their own.

 

As I have posted previously, it is a shame this happened on Millenium. But a lot of the problems some passengers are going to experience trying to be made whole are just like the problems the South American passengers had. They caused parts of the problems themselves.

[mcrcruiser]

Exactly!

 

We have decided to take the Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver to Seattle and stay there a few days. Then rent a car and drive leisurely down the Oregan coastline to San Francisco and stay there 3 nights. Then make our way to San Diego. Cheaper than paying for a change of flight and we have to stay somewhere for the 9 days, so we may as well make lemonade from lemons.

 

We have done this twice & we live in San Diego county . Recommend that you consider renting a car in Vancouver to drive to Seattle & then exchange the car in Seattle with your rental company;) . As I recall the cost for doing this was between $100 & $125 for Vancouver to Seattle via full size rental car .We then got another car from the rental company to drive leisurely to SD :).We did the trip in 12 days , We enjoyed seeing Washington ,Oregon ,Crescent City ,Ca& the coastal redwoods were awesome . .We did go to Lake Tahoe as well :D

[Cindy]

We have done this twice & we live in San Diego county . Recommend that you consider renting a car in Vancouver to drive to Seattle & then exchange the car in Seattle with your rental company;) . As I recall the cost for doing this was between $100 & $125 for Vancouver to Seattle via full size rental car .We then got another car from the rental company to drive leisurely to SD :).We did the trip in 12 days , We enjoyed seeing Washington ,Oregon ,Crescent City ,Ca& the coastal redwoods were awesome . .We did go to Lake Tahoe as well :D

 

I am also using Amtrak Cascades to get from Vancouver to Seattle since I had to change cruise lines and departure ports. We already had a rental car booked, but taking it across the border to drop off in Seattle would have changed our bill from $150 for four days to over $1,000!:eek: