Celebrity looks after passengers after Millennium cruise cancelled

[The_Big_M]

We also were booked on 23rd sailing. We flew out to alaska early and had been here since the 19th. We got the news in Fairbanks and decided to at least do the few next nights as planned. Our travel insurance does not kick in until event has actually happened. We were a different situation for the cruise line because we were not on a land tour but were already here. Compensation is full refund (which is moot. Doesn't put me ahead at all. It is the least that must be done. I had to push the, to pay for our flight home. We had no flight to change because we live where the cruise was to end. We have nonrefundable hotels booked in Anchorage and Seward so we cannot cancel them. Celebrity will not pay. Insurance does not cover costs before the cause happens. They will not pay for our taxi to get from vancouver airport to the port in Vancouver where our car is. Won't pay baggage fees or upgrade us to the class on the flight that we came in. Funny little clause in our travel insurance. If it is a totally cancellation due to mechanical problem the only compensation is economy flight home. No taxi fees, no hotels even if you cannot get out on a flight, no compensation for food or anything. Absolutely nothing. And.we did have 10000 of insurance. It is a special clause due to a mechanical breakdown and a complete cancellation. No problem if it was interrupted or delayed. Then would have insurance. Celebrity will not help with the lost money. Not to mention all the phone bills and data bills for trying to fix this mess. We should get all our money back but 50 percent future cruise credit to use in 1 year does not help. Only forces y to spend more money. Anyone get anything better from them?

 

I'm sorry, but not surprised, to hear that.

 

The best I can suggest is to keep all receipts for the costs you have incurred that are reasonable, and then pursue it with Celebrity when you are back.

 

It still won't make the holiday what you planned, but once you have proof of costs, it's worthwhile pursuing the specific costs that were lost again to make you whole for the cancellation.

 

Just be optimistic and make the best of what comes, it'll give you some different experiences to share when you get home. :)

Edited August 22, 2013 by The_Big_M

[MicCanberra]

No, it was just a comment about another aspect of the picture, just as you had commented about the rain in the picture.

 

Fair enough, my mistake.:D

[MicCanberra]

The best I can suggest is to keep all receipts for the costs you have incurred that are reasonable, and then pursue it with Celebrity when you are back.

 

Great advice.:D

[rumpelstiltskin]

If you don't mind driving on the wrong side of the road,

 

FYI, we drive on the RIGHT side of the road!

You Aussies drive on the correct side of the road.:D

 

 

you might consider spending the nine days driving along the Coast, on minor roads, through Washington State, Oregon and California to Seattle. I love this drive, which has it all - small town America, National Parks, and spectacular coastal scenery.

 

I couldn't agree more. I live near Santa Barbara, CA, & it is beautiful.

Please be advised that if any readers are considering this...the weekend beginning with Friday, August 30 through Monday, Sept 2 is a long holiday weekend in the States.

Lodging might be a bit of a problem because it marks the end of summer break for school age children.

But you might be in luck because our economy is bad & people aren't traveling as much.

Do make reservations.

If staying in San Francisco for a few days is on the bucket list, consider dropping off the rental car upon arrival. Then rent another car to continue your journey southward.

San Francisco is an expensive city to park a car, and you will not need it because the public transportation is very good.

 

IMO, the drive from Vancouver to San Diego via the scenic highways offers the best of America beauty. :)

xxx

[cotton93]

Update, we have decided to let our DS in Vancouver have the pleasure of having Mum & Dad stay for an extra six days :D have now booked flights down to San Diego and accommodation for 3 nights, so will now have time to have a good look around that area.

We are not into driving on the wrong side of the road.

Thanks once again.

Fingers and everything else is crossed for the ship to make it back for Panama Canal cruise. :rolleyes:

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Millennium is still tied up at Ketchikan.

 

http://www.kroooz-cams.com/portcams/us/ketchikan.php

 

Heres another cam from Ketchican

 

http://webcamketchikan.com/

[MicCanberra]

Update, we have decided to let our DS in Vancouver have the pleasure of having Mum & Dad stay for an extra six days :D have now booked flights down to San Diego and accommodation for 3 nights, so will now have time to have a good look around that area.

 

We are not into driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Fingers and everything else is crossed for the ship to make it back for Panama Canal cruise. :rolleyes:

Glad you worked it out, and you have a lucky son as well. We all hope your Panama canal cruise goes well.:D

[vjh]

I'm sure that your son is elated to have you stay longer, it will be Vancouver's Indian Summer and weather should be just fabulous. San Diego, it not unlike Vancouver, as it is on the ocean with lots to see. I live in US now but Vancouver is still my home. Life as well as travel is a journey, just think of the stories you can tell, when you get back home down under. I don't drive on the wrong side of the road either when I am in the Southern Hemisphere.

[MicCanberra]

I'm sure that your son is elated to have you stay longer, it will be Vancouver's Indian Summer and weather should be just fabulous. San Diego, it not unlike Vancouver, as it is on the ocean with lots to see. I live in US now but Vancouver is still my home. Life as well as travel is a journey, just think of the stories you can tell, when you get back home down under. I don't drive on the wrong side of the road either when I am in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

I loved Vancouver, I was there last September. Just beautiful.:D

[TLCOhio]

I fully agree that you should know what you are covered for. However, it's a fact of life that you may not be able to get all the coverage you would wish. I challenge your response that "There is not much point having insurance if it doesn't cover the aspects of your trip when required." Insurance covers a whole range of things and there are many different types. You may still for example have health insurance which is a significant one, but be fine without luggage insurance.

 

Great points above by The_Big_M and earlier by MicCanberra and others. 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. The positive is that there has been discussions about insurance, what worked and what did not. Some have made the real point as to why they/we would not want to use Celebrity's or another cruise line's in-house "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

[cotton93]

I'm sure that your son is elated to have you stay longer, it will be Vancouver's Indian Summer and weather should be just fabulous. San Diego, it not unlike Vancouver, as it is on the ocean with lots to see. I live in US now but Vancouver is still my home. Life as well as travel is a journey, just think of the stories you can tell, when you get back home down under. I don't drive on the wrong side of the road either when I am in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

We also love Vancouver have been there a few times, now we get to stay a bit longer, this has just been a little bump in the road in our plans, over it now and all is good. :)

 

Glad you worked it out, and you have a lucky son as well. We all hope your Panama canal cruise goes well.:D

 

We are only thinking positive !!!! :rolleyes:

[Goodysj]

We should get all our money back but 50 percent future cruise credit to use in 1 year does not help. Only forces y to spend more money. Anyone get anything better from them?

In regard to the 12 month time frame that is required to take your cruise credit, keep the communication lines open as we did and got our credit extended to two years which was more manageable for us.

[Sandielle]

From Cruise Weekly

 

Logistics Dance for Celebrity Results in New Pod for Millennium

 

on 28 August 2013.

 

The Celebrity Millennium is set for a brand-new Rolls-Royce spec Mermaid pod during an emergency drydocking scheduled at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in September.

 

Following an electrical issue, Celebrity Cruises cancelled what was remaining of the ship’s Alaska season, refunding passengers and looking into repair solutions following a second failure in two weeks while in Alaska.

 

Currently, the ship is en-route to the Grand Bahama Shipyard, where Royal Caribbean Cruises (Celebrity’s parent company) has a 40 percent ownership stake.

 

The brand investigated shipyards down the West Coast, in Russia and even in Asia, according to Michael Bayley, president and CEO, speaking on a call on Wednesday to media.

 

Also leading to the yard decision was the sheer mass of Celebrity’s replacement pod, which was sitting in Europe (based on deployment), and getting it to the ship.

 

“We have to get a 250-ton pod from Northern Europe to the Bahamas, that is a tricky piece of work,” said Bayley. “We did end up chartering a ship exclusively to sail to Rotterdam to pick up the pod and bring it across the Atlantic.”

 

Bayley explained there was no aircraft available to fly the pod across the Atlantic, and the biggest Russian cargo jets – developed for a space program – were limited to 190 tons across the Atlantic Ocean and could not land on the runway in Freeport regardless.

 

The ship will be in drydock for a quick six days, and the old pod will go back to Europe on the same cargo vessel the company chartered, presumably to be refreshed for future use.

 

Senior Vice President of Operations Greg Purdy explained that electrical coil problems led to the pod issues and the decision to take the ship out of service, replacing the entire unit. Purdy later underscored that the problems were not related to bearings, a known issue with early-generation pods.

 

As for the one-plus-month out of service, 843 crew remain onboard, which Celebrity will provide more specific training to, while they perform a deep-cleaning of the ship.

 

The ship will sail from the Bahamas back to San Diego in-time for a Sept. 22 cruise departure.

 

That sailing, right now, is scheduled to go ahead without passengers but Celebrity is looking into options, Bayley noted.

 

“On Sept. 22, our goal is to delight our guests and customers with a truly outstanding experience,” added Bayley.

[MicCanberra]

From Cruise Weekly

 

Logistics Dance for Celebrity Results in New Pod for Millennium

 

on 28 August 2013.

 

The Celebrity Millennium is set for a brand-new Rolls-Royce spec Mermaid pod during an emergency drydocking scheduled at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in September.

 

Following an electrical issue, Celebrity Cruises cancelled what was remaining of the ship’s Alaska season, refunding passengers and looking into repair solutions following a second failure in two weeks while in Alaska.

 

Currently, the ship is en-route to the Grand Bahama Shipyard, where Royal Caribbean Cruises (Celebrity’s parent company) has a 40 percent ownership stake.

 

The brand investigated shipyards down the West Coast, in Russia and even in Asia, according to Michael Bayley, president and CEO, speaking on a call on Wednesday to media.

 

Also leading to the yard decision was the sheer mass of Celebrity’s replacement pod, which was sitting in Europe (based on deployment), and getting it to the ship.

 

“We have to get a 250-ton pod from Northern Europe to the Bahamas, that is a tricky piece of work,” said Bayley. “We did end up chartering a ship exclusively to sail to Rotterdam to pick up the pod and bring it across the Atlantic.”

 

Bayley explained there was no aircraft available to fly the pod across the Atlantic, and the biggest Russian cargo jets – developed for a space program – were limited to 190 tons across the Atlantic Ocean and could not land on the runway in Freeport regardless.

 

The ship will be in drydock for a quick six days, and the old pod will go back to Europe on the same cargo vessel the company chartered, presumably to be refreshed for future use.

 

Senior Vice President of Operations Greg Purdy explained that electrical coil problems led to the pod issues and the decision to take the ship out of service, replacing the entire unit. Purdy later underscored that the problems were not related to bearings, a known issue with early-generation pods.

 

As for the one-plus-month out of service, 843 crew remain onboard, which Celebrity will provide more specific training to, while they perform a deep-cleaning of the ship.

 

The ship will sail from the Bahamas back to San Diego in-time for a Sept. 22 cruise departure.

 

That sailing, right now, is scheduled to go ahead without passengers but Celebrity is looking into options, Bayley noted.

 

“On Sept. 22, our goal is to delight our guests and customers with a truly outstanding experience,” added Bayley.

 

Thanks for the posting, Let us hope that they can deliver what was promised.:D

[travelplus]

In this case I would be working with Celebrity and Travel Agent to book me another cruise with paid new airfare right then and there rather than go home. Even if it were an international cruise. No matter what I would say I'm refusing to go home be it that I stay at a hotel for a few days until the new cruise departs. I would purchase shorts or other clothing items if its to a warm destination.

 

I planned a cruise vacation and thats what I'll get. Alaska can wait until another time but a cruise vacation can't wait. I would refuse to sit at home counting the days until another replacement cruise.

 

By the time you arrived at home you could be on your way to another cruise. I love this bit of unexpected events. I already got a few days on this ship got 100 percent refund and airfare reimbursement and now another cruise to a new destination. In the worst case I would fly home for a day to repack and be out the door.