New propulsion problem on Millennium

[greatam]

The bill of rights is quite specific....."port of disembarkation". I believe, again from the accounts I've read here, that most passengers, even those that asked, were not transported to Seward, which I believe was the port of embarkation.

 

I hope you are right about the compensation....I do think that celebrity will ultimately make folks reasonably whole and perhaps change the compensation, but that's only a hunch based on experience with the "pre bayley" Celebrity.

 

What does Seward have to do with it? That would be embarkation, correct. Vancouver would be disembarkation and a lot of people were transported to Vancouver (even some who didn't want to go to Vancouver). But most on a Seward to Vancouver cruise would have had plane tickets home out of Vancouver so it only make sense to transport most to Vancouver.

 

I, like Beav, have been in the transportation business my entire working life. It would be a real challenge to move 2000+ people out of a very small airport basically in the middle of nowhere with charters at a moments notice. I can imagine those charters cost an arm and a leg-probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 or more per person. And some of the planes MAY HAVE HAD to go to Vancouver either because they were committed to other customers on certain days or they didn't have the authority to fly intra Alaska flights (and I will guess this probably had a large impact as I believe one of the charter companies was Canadian). I'm not feeling sorry for Celebrity and empathize greatly with those whose vacations were affected.

 

But when you REALLY think about what they pulled off in the matter of a couple of days time, I think the effort to get everyone out of Ketchikan and into hotels where they could get home was pretty amazing given what I know about international transportation.

 

Granted, communication was lacking. But it ALWAYS is in situations like this. As Beav posted, it is very often the "first day of school" in situations like this. Those thrown into these situations to work with customers are almost always getting conflicting information. So tempers get short, people get told one thing one minute and something different another. Just the nature of the transportation business and trying to "adjust" at the last minute on a major project with many pieces to put together. Kind of like putting a jig saw puzzle together with NO box lid.

[CarpeCerevisi]

I would interpret item 7 in the Bill of Rights -

 

The right to transportation to the ship’s scheduled port of disembarkation or the passenger’s home city in the event a cruise is terminated early due to mechanical failures.

 

to mean that the cruise line is responsible for transporting passengers to the scheduled disembarkation port, in this case Seward, where they can meet their planned transportation home (or elsewhere) OR if the passengers are not transported to that port the cruise line is responsible of the passenger's transportation home.

 

In other words, Celebrity was responsible for transporting the passengers to Seward at the cruise lines expense, or if not transported to Seward Celebrity was at minimum responsible for the costs of transportation home from Seattle or Vancouver as these were the other places to which passengers were sent.

[CPT Trips]

Are you implying that people were left in Ketchikan or that people were sent to places they didn't really want to go?

 

Are you asserting that the "home city" of everyone not flown to Anchorage was either Seattle or Vancouver?

 

ETA: Seward has everything to do with it great am . . . it was the scheduled end of the cruise. Incorrect facts mess up arguments . . .

[purduemom1]

I believe the debarkation port for this cruise was Seward and thus pax were either doing land trips or flying out of Anchorage. If #7 had been followed, pax would either have been transported to Seward or to their home city. In this case, many pax requested Anchorage for the reasons I stated above but were instead sent to Vancouver or Seattle. As for hotel rooms in Anchorage, I believe it has been stated in other posts that there were rooms available but not at hotels that Celebrity could work out a price deal with.

 

Perhaps cruisers need to include a copy of this bill of rights when they pack for the next cruise.....just in case!

[Jade13]

I was on the Aug 9th as well... still feeling the disappointment.. Last night Celebrity credited our card... $1248 each. Although some would think this is great, we do not. How can we reproduce this bucket list cruise with all of our friends, 2 weeks from work, airfare, cruise, etc. for that amount.... so completely fed up... Also, those of us getting off the ship on Aug 16th heard that the ship was is trouble again with the engine (yes we too felt the "bump") and would not be leaving port... and then surprise, it did, only to get stuck again... My husband read that Celebrity is recovering its costs from Rolls Royce... who do we recover our costs from?

 

I thought they refunded your cruise? What so far has not been refunded?

[BEAV]

This thread largely discusses both the Aug 9 and Aug 16 sailings, and to save any further confusion as to which port was embarkation, or which port was disembarkation, here's how it went;

 

Aug 9 Southbound Seward to Vancouver.

 

Aug 16 Northbound Vancouver to Seward

[greatam]

I was wrong and I admit it. It was the previous cruise that was ended in Vancouver after hanging out for a few days. The last cruise ended in Seward and yes, people SHOULD have been transported to Anchorage.

 

But I truly believe the biggest part of the problem was getting charters out of Ketchikan. NOT much available on a last minute notice for 2000+ people no matter HOW MUCH MONEY you spend.

 

They found a Canadian charter plus a couple of other planes. The Canadian charter Co most likely DID NOT have authority from US DOT to fly INTRA Alaska flights. Just like Canadian trucking companies-they can bring product out of Canada and take product out of the USA and go BACK to Canada. They cannot transport from let's say-Los Angeles to Phoenix, THEN pickup a load going back to Canada UNLESS the load from LA to Phoenix is either a continuation of the load to Canada OR the product transported from LA to Phoenix is OWNED by a Canadian company.

 

I REALLY would like to know how some of you would have handled it when all of a sudden, you are stuck trying to move 2000+ people out of a small airport in the middle of nowhere to places that had hotel rooms for an additional 2000+ people. I'm not defending Celebrity-don't get me wrong. They screwed up a lot.

 

I just really want to find out how much you all have truly thought about the logistics of such a move. Would it have been better to send them to Anchorage and let them to sit in the airport if there were no hotel rooms? Or was it the smart and proper thing to do to at least send people to a place (Vancouver) where there was hotel space until everything else can be sorted out? Lots of questions and until you have actually had to participate in the logistics of such a move at the last minute, you really can't imagine how many parts and pieces are flying around and NOT matching up. Just like I said, the jig saw puzzle without the box lid.

[Jade13]

I was wrong and I admit it. It was the previous cruise that was ended in Vancouver after hanging out for a few days. The last cruise ended in Seward and yes, people SHOULD have been transported to Anchorage.

 

But I truly believe the biggest part of the problem was getting charters out of Ketchikan. NOT much available on a last minute notice for 2000+ people no matter HOW MUCH MONEY you spend.

 

They found a Canadian charter plus a couple of other planes. The Canadian charter Co most likely DID NOT have authority from US DOT to fly INTRA Alaska flights. Just like Canadian trucking companies-they can bring product out of Canada and take product out of the USA and go BACK to Canada. They cannot transport from let's say-Los Angeles to Phoenix, THEN pickup a load going back to Canada UNLESS the load from LA to Phoenix is either a continuation of the load to Canada OR the product transported from LA to Phoenix is OWNED by a Canadian company.

 

I REALLY would like to know how some of you would have handled it when all of a sudden, you are stuck trying to move 2000+ people out of a small airport in the middle of nowhere to places that had hotel rooms for an additional 2000+ people. I'm not defending Celebrity-don't get me wrong. They screwed up a lot.

 

I just really want to find out how much you all have truly thought about the logistics of such a move. Would it have been better to send them to Anchorage and let them to sit in the airport if there were no hotel rooms? Or was it the smart and proper thing to do to at least send people to a place (Vancouver) where there was hotel space until everything else can be sorted out? Lots of questions and until you have actually had to participate in the logistics of such a move at the last minute, you really can't imagine how many parts and pieces are flying around and NOT matching up. Just like I said, the jig saw puzzle without the box lid.

 

Very interesting. Thank you for explaining the legalities and logistics.

[Bfson]

I've been trying to follow the Millie progress on her way to dry dock at http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

 

But, for the last two days all I find on the map for her is "Out of Range" Anyone else have this problem? Anyone know an alternative way to track her?

[ghstudio]

I was wrong and I admit it. It was the previous cruise that was ended in Vancouver after hanging out for a few days. The last cruise ended in Seward and yes, people SHOULD have been transported to Anchorage.

 

But I truly believe the biggest part of the problem was getting charters out of Ketchikan. NOT much available on a last minute notice for 2000+ people no matter HOW MUCH MONEY you spend.

 

They found a Canadian charter plus a couple of other planes. The Canadian charter Co most likely DID NOT have authority from US DOT to fly INTRA Alaska flights. Just like Canadian trucking companies-they can bring product out of Canada and take product out of the USA and go BACK to Canada. They cannot transport from let's say-Los Angeles to Phoenix, THEN pickup a load going back to Canada UNLESS the load from LA to Phoenix is either a continuation of the load to Canada OR the product transported from LA to Phoenix is OWNED by a Canadian company.

 

I REALLY would like to know how some of you would have handled it when all of a sudden, you are stuck trying to move 2000+ people out of a small airport in the middle of nowhere to places that had hotel rooms for an additional 2000+ people. I'm not defending Celebrity-don't get me wrong. They screwed up a lot.

 

I just really want to find out how much you all have truly thought about the logistics of such a move. Would it have been better to send them to Anchorage and let them to sit in the airport if there were no hotel rooms? Or was it the smart and proper thing to do to at least send people to a place (Vancouver) where there was hotel space until everything else can be sorted out? Lots of questions and until you have actually had to participate in the logistics of such a move at the last minute, you really can't imagine how many parts and pieces are flying around and NOT matching up. Just like I said, the jig saw puzzle without the box lid.

 

There certainly are american charter companies that could fly to Ketchikan and land in Seward, all in the US...there is no requirement to charter Canadian companies...in fact it's likely that the commercial airlines would charter a plane to Celebrity. Sure, it might have cost a bit more...but there are certainly planes that can be chartered available.

 

Yes, it might have cost celebrity more; Yes, it might have meant keeping the ship in port for one more day to accommodate the passengers and to follow the very bill of rights they participated in writing.

 

It seems that the $'s may have gotten in the way of doing the "bill of rights" thing.....and of course that's exactly why the bill or rights was written....to end decisions that disadvantaged passengers. Celebrity, of course could easily have offered flights from Vancouver to Seward for those that wanted them, but I haven't seen that anywhere. If there was a real intent to follow the "bill of rights" it seems that would have been a pretty easy, somewhat required, decision.

 

I guess it will be interesting to see how this plays out.....it certainly could open up the issue again with congress, if they want to relook at the cruise industry. It seems it would be in Celebrity's and Royal Caribbean Corporation's best interest to go a bit overboard in compensation.

[specialdiet]

At least one (and I believe two) of the planes were Miami Air International.

[CPT Trips]

At least one (and I believe two) of the planes were Miami Air International.

 

Two as I recall and also Sun Country, another US airline.

 

Wondering if PP knows which Canadian airlines they also chartered?

[DaveFr]

I've been trying to follow the Millie progress on her way to dry dock at http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

 

But, for the last two days all I find on the map for her is "Out of Range" Anyone else have this problem? Anyone know an alternative way to track her?

Here you go, Bob. (http://www.vesselfinder.com/?imo=9189419)

 

Dave

[sbkluvs2travel]

I've been trying to follow the Millie progress on her way to dry dock at http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

 

But, for the last two days all I find on the map for her is "Out of Range" Anyone else have this problem? Anyone know an alternative way to track her?

I have had the same issue but then found another website that showed her off the coast of Mexico .

http://sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=9HJF9 this is what I just used to see position. Hope it still works.

Nice to see that Celebrity finally gave a further update yesterday on the scheduled repair:rolleyes:

[swafluffy11]

X told us we would get a refund, but no dollar amount was discussed. We also are receiving a FCC for the same amount. Last night we checked our CC statement and there was the credit for the Aug. 9 cruise, $1248 each. My problem with this amount is:

It is not nearly enough to cover another cruise in Alaska next summer in the same class of service.

Friends who were with us paid $2300 for airfare. They would not have flown to Alaska to sit on a cruise ship. We bought a cruise, not a hotel room stuck at a dock.

This amount will not get back our dream vacation.. Planned for 2 years, fighting to get 2 vacation weeks which cannot be taken again (management says NO).

We booked on Silhouette, 2014, 7 day only to finish what we had started... my cabin for next year is $4100... HELLO -X- maybe you should just give us that cabin at no additional cost..... Celebrity has completely missed the opportunity to turn its own lemons into lemonade... MANAGEMENT ARE YOU READING THIS????

[greatam]

At least one (and I believe two) of the planes were Miami Air International.

 

Check the underlying cert for Miami Air. INTER state, NOT inTRA state. BIG difference. INTRA state only for groups of 25 or less (private charter for like an oil company or maybe a fishing exporter). How many days are you going to keep the customers waiting at the Ketchikan airport? How many hotel rooms are there in Ketchikan that can EASILY be booked?

 

There is your problem moving everyone out of Ketchican to ANC. You are speaking of moving TWO THOUSAND people!!!

[ghstudio]

Check the underlying cert for Miami Air. INTER state, NOT inTRA state. BIG difference

 

There is your problem moving everyone out of Ketchican to ANC.

 

Interesting but it's lilkely Celebrity could have chartered from a company that can fly intra state in alaska....or alternatively chartered additional planes (or offered free tickets) from vancouver to seward which would seem to be required by the passenger bill of rights.

[Jade13]

X told us we would get a refund, but no dollar amount was discussed. We also are receiving a FCC for the same amount. Last night we checked our CC statement and there was the credit for the Aug. 9 cruise, $1248 each. My problem with this amount is:

It is not nearly enough to cover another cruise in Alaska next summer in the same class of service.

Friends who were with us paid $2300 for airfare. They would not have flown to Alaska to sit on a cruise ship. We bought a cruise, not a hotel room stuck at a dock.

This amount will not get back our dream vacation.. Planned for 2 years, fighting to get 2 vacation weeks which cannot be taken again (management says NO).

We booked on Silhouette, 2014, 7 day only to finish what we had started... my cabin for next year is $4100... HELLO -X- maybe you should just give us that cabin at no additional cost..... Celebrity has completely missed the opportunity to turn its own lemons into lemonade... MANAGEMENT ARE YOU READING THIS????

 

I understand because in 2010 we were on HAL's Veendam from Montreal to Boston (Canada/New England is one of their highest per diem cruises) in August when after 3 days the Captain came on to announce we were heading directly back to Boston. This wasn't HAL's fault (diff situation than Celebrity mechanical issue) but the result was the same. There was a hurricane warning and they were concerned they would close the Boston port, so wanted to get back (the Captain actually kept us updated and called a meeting in the theatre to give us a lesson on hurricanes). They didn't cancel or ask anyone to leave but we ended up docked in Boston, and missed 3 out of 5 ports. The pools were closed because they had to be emptied going through a Right Whale Reserve, and than we ended up docked where there was no water hook-up. They decided to do maintenance and work began to re-tile the pool. Of course when docked the shops and casino were closed, and there was nothing going on onboard. We had booked two years in advance. We did not receive any refund at all, but did receive $100 OBC (maybe $50.00 per person) and 25% off what was paid towards a future cruise.

 

We haven't gotten around to doing that itinerary again. I just wanted to say that although we were not on Millennium, I do understand the disappointment in having ones vacation come to an abrupt end.

 

I think it was reasonable for them to refund in full and give 100% of what was paid towards a future cruise. As far as change fees for those on canceled cruises there will always be exceptions/issues with those who already have vacation plans for next year who can't use the air for something else, or perhaps bought air from some website that can't be used on another date.

 

In HAL's case the credit could used on an itinerary that was already booked.

[RDC1]

The bill of rights is quite specific....."port of disembarkation". I believe, again from the accounts I've read here, that most passengers, even those that asked, were not transported to Seward, which I believe was the port of embarkation.

 

I hope you are right about the compensation....I do think that celebrity will ultimately make folks reasonably whole and perhaps change the compensation, but that's only a hunch based on experience with the "pre bayley" Celebrity.

 

The only part of the Bill of Rights that Celebrity might be accused of not meeting is the transportation to the disembarkation port or to the persons home. Even there it could be reasonably argued that they met the intent of the bill of rights.

 

They did provide transportation from the port were the mechanical problem occurred. For those that got transportation to Seward they provided hotels in Anchorage or elsewhere if the people were connecting to tours (the provision of hotels at the disembarkation port goes beyond the requirements).

 

For those that got sent back to Vancouver or Seattle got change fees to reroute their existing return trip to home and got hotels in Seattle and Vancouver.

 

So if you look at the bill of rights the ONLY requirement that Celebrity did not meet was the cost of those for whom the additional cost home exceeded the amount allocated for change fees or that had longer stays in Vancouver or Seattle because they could not get earlier flights home where the hotel stays until the first available flight was not covered by Celebrity.

 

They would have been in strict compliance if they loaded everybody on charters and flew them to the disembarkation port and said ok you are here you are on your own.

 

They would have been more in line with the letter and less in line with the intent. I doubt anyone would be happier.

[Lynnees]

I was on the Aug 9th as well... still feeling the disappointment.. Last night Celebrity credited our card... $1248 each. Although some would think this is great, we do not. How can we reproduce this bucket list cruise with all of our friends, 2 weeks from work, airfare, cruise, etc. for that amount.... so completely fed up... Also, those of us getting off the ship on Aug 16th heard that the ship was is trouble again with the engine (yes we too felt the "bump") and would not be leaving port... and then surprise, it did, only to get stuck again... My husband read that Celebrity is recovering its costs from Rolls Royce... who do we recover our costs from?

 

But $1248 each is what you paid. That is all your are entitled to - a refund of what you paid. You were not in a nice situation and it did disappoint you and many others to have you cruise cut short, but you can put together the $1248 each you received plus the $1248 FCC Celebrity will be giving you and you can book another cruise.

[greatam]

Interesting but it's lilkely Celebrity could have chartered from a company that can fly intra state in alaska....or alternatively chartered additional planes (or offered free tickets) from vancouver to seward which would seem to be required by the passenger bill of rights.

 

Free tickets to ANC would have been nice. BUT after people got out of Ketchikan, spent the night in Vancouver and backtracked to ANC, how many do you think would really have done it?

 

There is NO commercial service to Seward AFAIK. Was going to charter a plane once about 8 years ago from Homer to Seward-8 passenger plane was all that could land and I needed to move 14 employees in a hurry. I rented 4 cars and had them drive.

 

There IS commercial service to Kenai airport BUT you have to change planes in ANC so you gain absolutely NOTHING. There is NOT a runway long enough in Seward to my knowledge to handle a 737. And it would take A LOT of small planes to move 2000+ people. And again, how many people are going to get on an 8-12 passenger plane?

 

So flying to ANC was the only solution and at the last minute, who were you going to call to charter? Do people really think aircraft, trucks, any type of equipment is just sitting around "waiting for the call"? Try to rent a LARGE crane in most of the USA. They are all in Asia or the Middle East where they are used daily.

 

The equipment is too darn expensive to just sit around "hoping" it will get used. You utilize it to the best of your ability and IF you get a chance to make a few extra bucks (a last minute, absolutely MUST DO in a hot second charter) you MAY be able to take advantage of the situation. Otherwise, you may be under contract with someone and breaking your contract could cost you more than you could ever charge on a one time, last minute charter.

 

Believe me-we have a lot of "last minute" freight requests. Just because I can charge 10 times the normal rate, does that make up for the lost business for the rest of the year if I tell my week in, week out customers sorry, can't do it for you this week? I have lost my butt trying to accommodate someone's last minute request in favor of my steady business.

[ghstudio]

The only part of the Bill of Rights that Celebrity might be accused of not meeting is the transportation to the disembarkation port or to the persons home. Even there it could be reasonably argued that they met the intent of the bill of rights.

 

They did provide transportation from the port were the mechanical problem occurred. For those that got transportation to Seward they provided hotels in Anchorage or elsewhere if the people were connecting to tours (the provision of hotels at the disembarkation port goes beyond the requirements).

 

For those that got sent back to Vancouver or Seattle got change fees to reroute their existing return trip to home and got hotels in Seattle and Vancouver.

 

So if you look at the bill of rights the ONLY requirement that Celebrity did not meet was the cost of those for whom the additional cost home exceeded the amount allocated for change fees or that had longer stays in Vancouver or Seattle because they could not get earlier flights home where the hotel stays until the first available flight was not covered by Celebrity.

 

They would have been in strict compliance if they loaded everybody on charters and flew them to the disembarkation port and said ok you are here you are on your own.

 

They would have been more in line with the letter and less in line with the intent. I doubt anyone would be happier.

 

This probably isn't the thread to discuss this....but since we're here....

 

The bill of rights was carefully written and approved by the cruise lines. It is not "intent", it is an agreement by the cruise lines to do what they published.

 

Consider:

 

1) folks who had other plans in Seward..following the cruise;

 

2) Folks who had a return flight on an airline that doesn't serve Vancouver or serves it with additional stopovers;

 

3) Folks who, having no other plans would have prefered to be "stranded" in seward vs being returned to Vancouver

 

Yes, for many Vancouver was just as good...for some, perhaps better. But there are those who expected to be in Seward, and if Celebrity had followed the bill of rights, they would have gotten there. Celebrity, independently, decided Vancouver was just as good. I just think that's wrong....or if it stands, then we should just ignore the passenger bill of rights and get on with the senate hearings and put some regulations in place. Alternatively, just change the bill or rights to say the cruise lines will get you somewhere they choose and just leave it at that :)

 

I agree that celebrity went beyond the bill of rights and that they tried to do the right thing, knowing that not everyone would be happy. I applaud that...I think the bill of rights is the minimum .... and that cruise lines will always do more, focused on their passengers. I don't know....maybe that offsets the specifics in the bill of rights....but the cruise lines published the document.....seems to me they should follow it.

 

I wasn't there...I'm just following the threads on this....and I am concerned about the items in the "bill of rights"...we cruise a fair amount to some unusual areas.

[Ruthith]

Hi all - I was also a passenger on the 8/16 cruise and I've been lurking here, reading and agreeing with much that was said by SandySS and Cruisestitch and others. Didn't feel like writing, until I saw this today:

 

"While Bayley characterized the vast majority of guests as okay with the line's charter arrangements, he added that some guests told the line one destination they'd like to fly to, but then changed their minds later." http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/celebrity-millennium-back-service-september-22-press-briefing-executives-42297

 

So I wrote him a letter, and of course also sent it to Guest Relations, etc. I thought I'd share it - sorry I don't know how to format anything on here!

 

================

Good afternoon,

 

I was a passenger on the 8/16 Millennium sailing. I've taken many cruises with Celebrity and other cruise lines. Celebrity has always been my favorite, and this was our 3rd time on the Millennium - 1st time was in its inaugural season. Since then we've cruised on all the M-class ships, and prefer them to the S class.

 

I worked in the travel industry for nearly 10 years and understand that much is out of your control as the travel provider. Our experience on board last week, until Tuesday night was great. We had power, were docked, etc - it was a delightful stay in Ketchikan, and we all trusted that whatever came next would come and we'd get out of Ketchikan some way we hadn't come in.

 

I am writing to you today because i just read that "While Bayley characterized the vast majority of guests as okay with the line's charter arrangements, he added that some guests told the line one destination they'd like to fly to, but then changed their minds later." (http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/celebrity-millennium-back-service-september-22-press-briefing-executives-42297)

 

As a customer - a loyal one - I was distressed by that statement. I never asked for a change - I made all my arrangements based on Celebrity's instructions. Celebrity then changed their plans for us - and didn't tell us. And this happened multiple times. Everything we were initially told - about flights and destinations, reimbursement options, etc - was wrong. And then, as communication broke down and no visible leadership was demonstrated, on-board staff and go-team were all contradicting each other.

For me - and for the pax I spoke with who had travel problems - the problems resulted from these facts:

 

- Tuesday morning, we were asked whether we would prefer SEA or ANC for flights - and if we'd prefer WED or THURS. We were assured that if we requested SEA we'd be fine, as there was little lift and hotel space into ANC. We were told to book our own hotel and we would be reimbursed for up to 2 nights and to make our own arrangements home, and Celebrity would reimburse (My air was on miles, there was no avail to change, so I was told to book a one way from SEA to BOS). We were provided with computers to do so.

 

- Tues evening, it was announced that we would receive instructions in our stateroom and there were to be NO CHANGES. For us, we received incorrect instructions that we were on a post-cruise tour and would be heading to ANC on Thursday. We waited in line and spoke with a Guest Services person who checked the "lists" in the back and told us that 1) this was incorrect, we were confirmed for flights to SEA on Wed. and new info would be sent to our stateroom; 2) They would NOT reimburse my oneway ticket from SEA to BOS (already purchased) 3) There were no changes possible.

 

-I was fortunate that DL refunded my non-refundable ticket (thank you DL angels) and went up the supervisory chain to open up miles availability from SEA to BOS, which had been unavailable previously. However - we never received new instructions at our stateroom.

 

-We called at 6AM on Wed to learn we were scheduled to be in the Theater in an hour in group 2. Many lines later we had our tags - only to learn from another pax that group 2 was in fact headed to YVR. (On Tues we were told there were NO flights to YVR.) I managed to get reassigned back to SEA.

 

With much effort, I managed to control my destiny to the degree it was possible. There were many more details and problems - some of them serious (families where kids were scheduled to a different airport than their parents), but for us, luckily, simply irritating. Much of this I understand - it's part of this kind of service disruption - but the serious overall breakdown in leadership and communication magnified an already chaotic situation.

 

I honestly don't know what to say.

 

This is not a request for additional compensation - I think the compensation was very fair (though had DL not refunded the $1300 I spent on new air i'd be singing a different tune!).

 

But I've been left feeling

1. disrespected as a passenger - which was then intensified by your press statement, and, most importantly -

2. mistrustful of Celebrity's ability to handle this had it actually been an EMERGENCY, as opposed to an inconvenience.

 

Celebrity cruises have been my retreat from the stresses of my work and everyday life - but that's based on a sense of trust and respect. I hate thinking I will lose this.

 

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

Many thanks,

====================

 

I'll be interested to see if anyone responds and how!

[specialdiet]

So if you look at the bill of rights the ONLY requirement that Celebrity did not meet was the cost of those for whom the additional cost home exceeded the amount allocated for change fees or that had longer stays in Vancouver or Seattle because they could not get earlier flights home where the hotel stays until the first available flight was not covered by Celebrity.

 

The following was included in the letter from Celebrity to passengers on the August 16th sailing, which detailed the reimbursement process:

 

We will assist guests who did not purchase their air transportation through Celebrity by paying for any airline change fee up to $200, and for any differences in fare for the same class of service, as originally booked.

 

Passengers who couldn't get flights immediately and needed to stay longer than the two nights could certainly plead their case when they sent their receipts in to be reimbursed.

 

People who did something slightly different than prescribed could also try to plead their case for reimbursement. For example, the charter took us to Vancouver, and we live in Edmonton. Our air was originally booked on Alaska, which has limited schedules between those two cities (all through Seattle). We elected to book a new direct flight on another airline that left a few hours after the charter arrived. The cost of the new ticket was less than the max change fee + fare difference + food that Celebrity would otherwise have to reimburse (and no extra costs for hotel or ground transport).

 

We submitted the new ticket for reimbursement, along with an explanation for our rationale. Will we get reimbursed? Not necessarily; we'll find out, but I'd be a bit surprised if not. And I'm sure a lot of other people will make their case for what they chose as the best reasonable alternative under the circumstances.

 

We'll all see how much time and energy Celebrity wants to put into nitpicking claims, which means this thread is destined to continue on for weeks and months as each new partially-rejected expense generates new howls of protest and indignation! :D

[gblotter]

"While Bayley characterized the vast majority of guests as okay with the line's charter arrangements, he added that some guests told the line one destination they'd like to fly to, but then changed their minds later." http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/celebrity-millennium-back-service-september-22-press-briefing-executives-42297

I wasn't angry before - now I'm angry.

 

That is a flat-out lie. Nobody aboard Millennium (passengers or crew) would agree with that statement.

 

Celebrity had a chaotic evacuation process wrapped in poor communication, and now they dare to blame their passengers for it? It was Celebrity who kept changing their mind about destinations.

 

We were satisfied with being flown to Vancouver - that is not my gripe. But I have pure disgust for blatant lies of this nature. Shame on Celebrity for blaming their customers instead of taking responsibility.