Staying aboard Millie?

[USVI-4-me]

Could Millennium passengers choose to stay aboard the ship this week?

 

Rather than stand in line for hours, enduring heat and confusion, was it possible for passengers to use the docked ship as a hotel with food and service?

 

Did Celebrity make passengers leave the ship earlier than expected due to the propulsion problem? Or was it a choice?

 

We have a springtime Celebrity cruise booked and are questioning whether to go ahead with plans.

 

-Marisa

[WestLakeGirl]

There was no choice. It was ordered by the Coast Guard, so they reported.

[OCruisers]

No option ... all pax had to disembark.

 

LuLu

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[sandyss]

We were allowed to stay aboard the ship until the decision was made to bring the Millie to dry dock in the Bahamas for the needed repairs. I believe that it was on Tuesday that the announcement was made that the cruise would end early, on Wednesday and Thursday for all passengers. Charter flights from Ketchikan were being arranged, and all of the passengers were to be off of the ship by early afternoon on Thursday, when the ship would set sail for the Bahamas with only the crew on board. It was stressed that all passengers had to be off of the ship by Thursday afternoon, when the ship would leave Ketchikan.

 

Through Tuesday, everything on board was normal, and everyone that we talked to enjoyed our extended stay in Ketchikan and our time on our floating hotel docked there. We felt that the remuneration for our "Cruise to Ketchikan" was fair.

 

But on Wednesday, when people received their charter plane instructions, stress levels skyrocketed due to the arbitrary decisions made, and lack of communication between the Go Team and Customer Relations, as to who would fly where. The whole process was mishandled by Celebrity. Instead of requesting passenger input as to where we would prefer to go, decisions were made for us based upon where Celebrity could obtain blocks of rooms at negotiated prices.

 

I'm sure that even with the cheaper negotiated pricing for hotels in Vancouver, the monetary cost to Celebrity will be much higher due to the added cost of airfare and change fees which Celebrity promised to reimburse. Add to that the cost of the damage to Celebrity's reputation.

 

Hopefully Celebrity will learn from this poorly managed evacuation from the Millie. Heads should roll.

 

This is the second problem that we have had on the Millennium. We were on the Millennium's first cruise to Southeast Asia last December. Guest Relations did not have their act together for that cruise either, especially for the first port of Bangkok. We spent several hours in line waiting to get our passports back before we could leave for our overnight tour in Bangkok, since Thai authorities had to board the ship and stamp passports for everyone doing an overnight in Bangkok. There were many passengers doing overnights in Bangkok, either on ship tours or on private tours. We finally got off of the ship over three hours late, missing a good part of our scheduled sightseeing for that day, due to Guest Relations not being prepared for this passport process. The entire process was totally disorganized. The excuse of these being new ports for Celebrity, didn't really make sense, since Celebrity's sister company, Azamara, had been doing this same itinerary. It would have made sense for Celebrity to consult with Azamara management as to what to expect at these new ports.

 

That being said, we have no qualms about taking the three future cruises that we have scheduled with Celebrity (luckily none are on the Millennium). Normally, Celebrity cruises are excellent. We will not cruise on the Millie again, though.

[c-legs]

Millie was not allowed to set sail further with passengers on board, thus the extended stay in Ketchikan.That was a US Coast Guard edict.,prompted by the diminished propulsion capacity.

Once it was determined where she had to go for repairs, and when she had to leave, ''evacuation'' plans were put in place ( although carried out quite poorly..:(.).

Until thursday 13;30AK latest, guests were allowed to use the ship as if it were at sea, and all functions and services were normally maintained.

[USVI-4-me]

Oh dear. There was no way for passengers to cope with Celebrity's mistakes other than standing in the long lines for hours if SENT from the ship to the wrong destination.

 

I don't see any up side to the way Celebrity handled the situation.

Start the investigation at headquarters. Why was no sane plan in place?

Who gave these instructions?

 

Thank you for the information you posted.

 

-Marisa

[reynoldswrap]

Hopefully Celebrity will learn from this poorly managed evacuation from the Millie. Heads should roll.

 

Sandy - we are so sorry that you and others had this experience! I recognized your screen name from the SA/Antarctica cruise - we enjoyed your review and used some of your tour guides - thank you!

 

We've also experienced poor communication/leadership with handling mechanical issues - traits which should be a requirement for all ship senior staff.

[edjny]

Does anyone know why Celebrity can not offer a 'sea voyage' to passengers who might want to take a very short-notice cruise to Freeport? I saw that some stated that the CG had ordered all passengers off the ship, but I don't know why. As long as anyone wanting to take a cruise like this knows the potential risks of the 2nd engine failing and ending up with a 'Carnival experience', why not do it. Celebrity could charge greatly reduced fare and give some people a great experience.

[WestLakeGirl]

Celebrity can't offer such a cruise because the coast guard said that all passengers has to be off. They can't violate a coast guard order