New propulsion problem on Millennium

[nealberk]

I was assuming that the 50% off would have to mean 50% off what you paid for the cruise. Just like for those of us on the Aug 16th sailing get 100%. The real kicker is that cruises to Alaska next year are running quite a bit more than what we paid for our cruise.

[nealberk]

Does anyone have a better address than customer relations to address concerns to Celebrity? Thanks!

[sandyss]

[quote name='nealberk']Does anyone have a better address than customer relations to address concerns to Celebrity? Thanks![/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Hi Neal.
I sent an email to [U]contactmichael@celebrity.com[/U] to make his office aware of how our evacuation from the Millennium was mishandled. I received a very nice "personal" response from someone in his office. It was not a boilerplate response. That might be a good place to voice your concerns.

Additional information for everyone else.:
I called the Captain's Club to get answers to some questions that I have. I was told by a very helpful gentleman that the Future Cruise Credit can be applied to an existing reservation.:D

He also connected me to Guest Relations, where I inquired about the refund for our cruise and also reimbursement for our additional expenses (additional airfare and meals). I was told that the refund for our August 16th cruise is in the system and should hit our credit card within a couple of days. I was also told that requests for reimbursement that were mailed (as directed) to the Miami office would be scanned and sent to the guest relations office.:eek: (That sounded very time consuming.) She said that emails to their office get handled much quicker. I asked if I could email a copy of my reimbursement request along with copies of the receipts, and she gave me her name and the email address. She asked me to send my email request for reimbursement of our costs to her attention so that she could personally handle it.

There was virtually no wait to get connected to the Captains Club and Guest Relations. Both people that I talked with were very helpful.

Captain's Club: 1-800-760-0654

Guest Relations: 1-800-256-6649 [U]celebrityguestrelations@celebritycruises.com[/U]

I will report when we actually receive our credits.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[MicCanberra]

[quote name='nealberk']I was assuming that the 50% off would have to mean 50% off what you paid for the cruise. Just like for those of us on the Aug 16th sailing get 100%. The real kicker is that cruises to Alaska next year are running quite a bit more than what we paid for our cruise.[/quote]
Yes, if it is time restricted, you are not going to be able to get the same kind of early bird deals.:D

[susaraymond]

Sandy, Thank you for you update. I am just curious whether anyone else in the Captain's Club thought that is was a bit curious that the evening of so much confusion on the 8/16 sailing that they did not have a separate line for their loyal Captain Club customers in order to keep our loyalty?? I am still very concerned about Celebrity and what I had to go through to keep our family together when the cruise was cancelled. I will never forget being told that we had to stay on separate flights out, perhaps go to separate hotels, without cell phone coverage in Canada - I am so hopeful Celebrity learns not to separate families and a person should not have to ask 4 times to get the right thing down, especially as a loyal customer. I felt like my loyalty meant nothing and perhaps there might have been better treatment had the Captains Club desk been open

[nealberk]

[quote name='MicCanberra']Yes, if it is time restricted, you are not going to be able to get the same kind of early bird deals.:D[/quote]Heck, I did the Millie Alaska the last minute for $1000 less than what the new cruises are going for.

[sandyss]

[quote name='susaraymond']Sandy, Thank you for you update. I am just curious whether anyone else in the Captain's Club thought that is was a bit curious that the evening of so much confusion on the 8/16 sailing that they did not have a separate line for their loyal Captain Club customers in order to keep our loyalty?? I am still very concerned about Celebrity and what I had to go through to keep our family together when the cruise was cancelled. I will never forget being told that we had to stay on separate flights out, perhaps go to separate hotels, without cell phone coverage in Canada - I am so hopeful Celebrity learns not to separate families and a person should not have to ask 4 times to get the right thing down, especially as a loyal customer. I felt like my loyalty meant nothing and perhaps there might have been better treatment had the Captains Club desk been open[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Have you written a letter or email to Michael Bayley's office? I think that it is worthwhile to report the serious problems that many of us experienced during the evacuation process. Unless we communicate this to corporate, they will remain unaware of what really happened to many of us. The Go Team and Millennium Guest Relations certainly won't communicate how they messed up to corporate. The detailed personal response that I received to my email from a member of Michael Bayley's staff leads me to believe that our experiences are being read and will hopefully be addressed in formulating plans for future emergencies.

My opinion is that everyone should have been treated with respect, regardless of their captain's club status. I don't expect different treatment in a situation like this just because we are elite.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[The_Big_M]

[quote name='sandyss'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Have you written a letter or email to Michael Bayley's office? I think that it is worthwhile to report the serious problems that many of us experienced during the evacuation process. Unless we communicate this to corporate, they will remain unaware of what really happened to many of us. The Go Team and Millennium Guest Relations certainly won't communicate how they messed up to corporate. The detailed personal response that I received to my email from a member of Michael Bayley's staff leads me to believe that our experiences are being read and will hopefully be addressed in formulating plans for future emergencies.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Comic Sans MS]My opinion is that everyone should have been treated with respect, regardless of their captain's club status. I don't expect different treatment in a situation like this just because we are elite.[/FONT][/SIZE][/quote]

For serious issues, I think that's good advice.

[timbom]

Refund is not 50% of what you paid but 50 of Cruise fare. They will not give you a future cruise credit on tax's / port charges you paid.

[nealberk]

Thanks, Sandy. I did not want my correspondence to get lost in a pile of e-mails.

You met me, you know that I just don't want to complain, I want to fix.

[sandyss]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]We all want to FIX. Celebrity is our favorite cruise line, and it is important for corporate to know what really transpired on board the Millennium, and how many of us had terrible experiences regarding our evacuation from Ketchikan.

This wasn't a case of a horrible emergency at sea, so there should have been time to handle the situation in a more cruiser friendly manner. Better planning and communication would have avoided much of the chaos.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[deise17311]

[quote name='timbom']Refund is not 50% of what you paid but 50 of Cruise fare. They will not give you a future cruise credit on tax's / port charges you paid.[/QUOTE]

We were told it was 50% of what we paid...the entire amount...of course, as we know, the reps are usually given poor info...not wanting to start a debate on this, I'm telling you what I was told...

[MicCanberra]

[quote name='deise17311']We were told it was 50% of what we paid...the entire amount...of course, as we know, the reps are usually given poor info...not wanting to start a debate on this, I'm telling you what I was told...[/QUOTE]

Yes, but even that will not equal 50% of the new cruise fare.:(

[deise17311]

[quote name='MicCanberra']Yes, but even that will not equal 50% of the new cruise fare.:([/QUOTE]

That's true! We are putting ours on our already booked and almost paid for January Reflection cruise...Alaska is a no go for us for a few years...

[nealberk]

That is why we have thought outside the box. We want glaciers and fjords since we did not see them. Where else are there glaciers and fjords? Answer, Norway and Iceland. Celebrity has a great cruise on May 30, 2014 going from Copenhagen to Harwich with stops in Norway and Iceland. It is a 14 day cruise- equivalent to a B2B on the Millie for an incredible price.

When you factor in the $600 you can get off choice air on the cruise, it became a no-brainer for us.

[sandyss]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]That sounds like a great plan Neal. In 2012, we took a land tour of Iceland, followed 2 days later by a cruise to the Arctic Circle along the Norwegian coast. Both countries are fantastic. If your cruise stops at Leknes or Gravdal near the Lofoten Islands, let me know. We arranged a fantastic private tour there.

We will apply our FC credit to our January Australia/New Zealand cruise on the Solstice.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Cindy]

[quote name='nealberk']That is why we have thought outside the box. We want glaciers and fjords since we did not see them. Where else are there glaciers and fjords? Answer, Norway and Iceland. Celebrity has a great cruise on May 30, 2014 going from Copenhagen to Harwich with stops in Norway and Iceland. It is a 14 day cruise- equivalent to a B2B on the Millie for an incredible price.

When you factor in the $600 you can get off choice air on the cruise, it became a no-brainer for us.[/quote]

[SIZE=3]That's one we took a really long look at when we were seeking a replacement. Our first thought was to try for the Pacific Coastal again, but it looks like there's nothing comparable in 2014. We finally settled on Scandinavia and Russia, but your cruise looked fantastic![/SIZE]

[specialdiet]

[quote name='nealberk']Where else are there glaciers and fjords? Answer, Norway and Iceland. Celebrity has a great cruise on May 30, 2014 going from Copenhagen to Harwich with stops in Norway and Iceland. It is a 14 day cruise- equivalent to a B2B on the Millie for an incredible price.[/QUOTE]

Indeed, we booked on that one. Actually, that's one we wanted to do for a while, far more than the Alaska one. Booked a suite this time, which given the credit still makes for a really inexpensive fare...

[Pistol Packin Mama]

[quote name='nealberk']That is why we have thought outside the box. We want glaciers and fjords since we did not see them. Where else are there glaciers and fjords? Answer, Norway and Iceland. Celebrity has a great cruise on May 30, 2014 going from Copenhagen to Harwich with stops in Norway and Iceland. It is a 14 day cruise- equivalent to a B2B on the Millie for an incredible price.

When you factor in the $600 you can get off choice air on the cruise, it became a no-brainer for us.[/quote]


Hey Neal, tell me more about this cruise elsewhere.;)

[MicCanberra]

[quote name='nealberk']That is why we have thought outside the box. We want glaciers and fjords since we did not see them. Where else are there glaciers and fjords? Answer, Norway and Iceland. Celebrity has a great cruise on May 30, 2014 going from Copenhagen to Harwich with stops in Norway and Iceland. It is a 14 day cruise- equivalent to a B2B on the Millie for an incredible price.

When you factor in the $600 you can get off choice air on the cruise, it became a no-brainer for us.[/quote]
Great plan.:D

[MicCanberra]

[quote name='Cindy'][SIZE=3]That's one we took a really long look at when we were seeking a replacement. Our first thought was to try for the Pacific Coastal again, but it looks like there's nothing comparable in 2014. We finally settled on Scandinavia and Russia, but your cruise looked fantastic![/SIZE][/quote]
The Baltic Sea (countries around it) is great as well. I just loved that itinerary. Make lemonade from the lemons:D

[nealberk]

[quote name='Pistol Packin Mama']Hey Neal, tell me more about this cruise elsewhere.;)[/quote]Have done so! Let me know if you have any questions, would love to be on a cruise with you.

[SandyLion]

I posted this on the Compensation link but since there isn't much activity I thought I'd ask here as well.

Just spoke to Celebrity and we already got back the taxes/port charges on board - about 33 dollars so all that we will be getting back is what we paid for the cruise fare.

That's not what I understood at all but I guess "full refund of the cruise fare paid" means just that. Since Vancouver is an expensive port we are getting so little back and they do not have a break down on what each port charges.

Not too happy about this. It means I'm only getting back 88.45% of what I paid. I think it's unfair. Anyone else think so and have you gotten any different results?

Thanks.

[BEAV]

[quote name='SandyLion']I posted this on the Compensation link but since there isn't much activity I thought I'd ask here as well.

Just spoke to Celebrity and we already got back the taxes/port charges on board - about 33 dollars so all that we will be getting back is what we paid for the cruise fare.

That's not what I understood at all but I guess "full refund of the cruise fare paid" means just that. Since Vancouver is an expensive port we are getting so little back and they do not have a break down on what each port charges.

Not too happy about this. It means I'm only getting back 88.45% of what I paid. I think it's unfair. Anyone else think so and have you gotten any different results?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Does this mean you were on the Aug 16 sailing that started out "normally" vs. a totally cancelled sailing?

[Orator]

[quote name='SandyLion']I posted this on the Compensation link but since there isn't much activity I thought I'd ask here as well.

Just spoke to Celebrity and we already got back the taxes/port charges on board - about 33 dollars so all that we will be getting back is what we paid for the cruise fare.

That's not what I understood at all but I guess "full refund of the cruise fare paid" means just that. Since Vancouver is an expensive port we are getting so little back and they do not have a break down on what each port charges.

Not too happy about this. It means I'm only getting back 88.45% of what I paid. I think it's unfair. Anyone else think so and have you gotten any different results?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

What is included in the 12.55% that's not being covered?