Cruise was automatically cancelled by the system -- Anyone experience this before?

[cruisingronnie]

We are/were scheduled to sail on the Reflection in 3 days. I just received an email stating that the reservations has been cancelled! I have invoices showing that final payment was made in full (including a cruise credit that was applied as we were on the Millennium in August and was stuck in Alaska for several days) , I have ordered and received my luggage tags, I have made my dining reservations (actually had added a few earlier this afternoon) and checked in on line. Next on my list was to pack my bags but then I received the email.

I called Celebrity and the agent confirmed that my reservations (2 connecting cabins) had indeed been cancelled - an "automated cancellation" done by the "system" and that my 2 cabins were showing as available in their inventory. At this point because there is no supervisor on site, there is nothing that could be done to sort out the mess. The agent did, however, create new reservations for me so that my cabins could be held.

Any advice on how to deal with this in the most efficient and timely manner would be appreciated.

Thanks

[middlehaitch]

One scratches ones head wondering how this could happen.

I am sure more constructive advice will be forth coming.

All I can advise is have all your information gathered together along with a synopsis of tonights conversation and call Celebrity as soon as the office opens. Stay on the phone until you get your cabins back and have them email you a transcript of your conversation or a confirmation of the re-enstatement before you hang up if possible.

Good luck, h.

[Jane2357]

This sort of thing scares the heck out of me! I actually am wanting to cancel an excursion that I have booked but have decided to wait till I'm on the ship in February - because who knows how this happens. I would be devastated - good thing you caught this before your cabins were booked.

[cruisingronnie]

One scratches ones head wondering how this could happen.

I am sure more constructive advice will be forth coming.

All I can advise is have all your information gathered together along with a synopsis of tonights conversation and call Celebrity as soon as the office opens. Stay on the phone until you get your cabins back and have them email you a transcript of your conversation or a confirmation of the re-enstatement before you hang up if possible.

Good luck, h.

 

Thank you. I have my paperwork ready and my alarm set. Doubt I'll be sleeping though....

[Andy]

We are/were scheduled to sail on the Reflection in 3 days. I just received an email stating that the reservations has been cancelled! I have invoices showing that final payment was made in full (including a cruise credit that was applied as we were on the Millennium in August and was stuck in Alaska for several days) , I have ordered and received my luggage tags, I have made my dining reservations (actually had added a few earlier this afternoon) and checked in on line. Next on my list was to pack my bags but then I received the email.

I called Celebrity and the agent confirmed that my reservations (2 connecting cabins) had indeed been cancelled - an "automated cancellation" done by the "system" and that my 2 cabins were showing as available in their inventory. At this point because there is no supervisor on site, there is nothing that could be done to sort out the mess. The agent did, however, create new reservations for me so that my cabins could be held.

Any advice on how to deal with this in the most efficient and timely manner would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Hi Ronnie,

 

Did you originally book direct with Celebrity or with a Travel Agent ? I'm not asking for the TA name (not allowed to go there), but it would be helpful to know.

[Andy]

Hi Ronnie,

 

I'd also like to suggest, that when calling Celebrity first thing in the AM, to *immediately* ask to speak with a supervisor. They are probably the only personnel who can clear this up. I'd also recommend having a copy of any supporting documentation available (such as a booking confirmation) and your original booking number, which can be helpful in resolving the issue, and hopefully restoring your booking.

 

Please visit us again tomorrow, and we hope everything works out in your favor. Good Luck !

Edited December 10, 2013 by Host Andy

[drarill]

Thank you. I have my paperwork ready and my alarm set. Doubt I'll be sleeping though....

 

Good thing you caught this so soon and you had copies of all your paperwork. Hope everything works out for you. :):)

[dizneydawn]

It scares the Heck out if me too!

Hope you have a easy fix when you call this am!

[cruisingronnie]

Hi Ronnie,

 

Did you originally book direct with Celebrity or with a Travel Agent ? I'm not asking for the TA name (not allowed to go there), but it would be helpful to know.

Reservation was booked directly through Celebrity.

Given incorrect information once again, was told by the agent last night to call at 7 this morning to speak with a supervisor. Supervisors are not in until 9am. So frustrating!

[MarkusToe]

keep fingers crossed.....

[20pluscruises]

Reservation was booked directly through Celebrity.

Given incorrect information once again, was told by the agent last night to call at 7 this morning to speak with a supervisor. Supervisors are not in until 9am. So frustrating!

 

Note to self...check all emails if flying in days before cruise departs. Could you imagine....not knowing the about the email because you started your vacation/holiday prior to the sailing.... and decided...screw it I'm not checking emails...I'm on vacation!

[mikechass]

I am hoping that everything works out for you.

Please come back and let us know.

Praying that you are sailing away soon on your wonderful vacation with maybe even a little something in your account for all the trouble/stress you have had to deal with.

Safe Travels

Chass

[scanditaly]

could it be that X was adjusting cabin occupancy and the system cancelled you, but had not yet assigned a new room yet?

[travelberlin]

Please let us know what was the problem. It is scary to think this could happen to any one :confused:

[cle-guy]

check your credit crd statements to verify they were actually charged as and when you think theory should have been so you can definitely rule out non-payment issues. Also verify if there is any current pending billing/credit trying to apply to the accounts - if credits pending, it indicates they truly cancelled, if not, may be another computer issue at play. Also verify they don't; bill for new reservation without refunding the others!

 

 

VERIFY the charge actually hit your statement, just to be sure. Don't rely on an emailed invoice that shows it was paid.

[BEAV]

I still don't know how it happened (and probably never will), but friends of ours traveling with us in February 2014 had their reservations mysteriously cancelled several months ago. The way our friend discovered it was by noticing a credit to this credit card in the amount of the deposit. Fortunately, they were able to get the same stateroom back and the reservation restored, however never an explanation how it all happened.

[Celebrity Cruises]

We are/were scheduled to sail on the Reflection in 3 days. I just received an email stating that the reservations has been cancelled! I have invoices showing that final payment was made in full (including a cruise credit that was applied as we were on the Millennium in August and was stuck in Alaska for several days) , I have ordered and received my luggage tags, I have made my dining reservations (actually had added a few earlier this afternoon) and checked in on line. Next on my list was to pack my bags but then I received the email.

I called Celebrity and the agent confirmed that my reservations (2 connecting cabins) had indeed been cancelled - an "automated cancellation" done by the "system" and that my 2 cabins were showing as available in their inventory. At this point because there is no supervisor on site, there is nothing that could be done to sort out the mess. The agent did, however, create new reservations for me so that my cabins could be held.

Any advice on how to deal with this in the most efficient and timely manner would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Hi Ronnie,

 

Can you please send an email to concerns [at] celebrity [dot] com, so that we can take a look at this issue. Also, we'll need either the name you booked with and/or your reservation number. Thanks!

[ibcnusoon]

any updates?

[middlehaitch]

Very nice that Celebrity have taken an interest and posted to this thread.:D

One can only hope Ronnie has time to check it between last minute packing and trying to call Celebrity; and wonder why Celebrity couldn't have called Ronnie back (not from the info from this thread but from the innitial call yesterday).

Please keep us updated.

Cheers, h.

[cruisingronnie]

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. After a very stressful night and more time and effort devoted to phone calls today, the situation has been resolved and the reservations reinstated. Here are some details that I was given although, I don't think I will ever know the actual details on how this happened. But the scary thing I know now is that it DOES happen and this can happen to anyone.

 

As advised by the Celebrity rep at around midnight last night, I phoned first thing this morning at 7am to speak with a supervisor, only to be advised that the supervisors do not come in until 9am. Ugh! At 8am I phoned corporate guest relations and spoke to a guest relations advocate. He verified that my reservations had indeed been cancelled by the system and referred to it as a "system error." He confirmed, after looking through the my reservation, the mess up happened on their end and that I had not done anything to warrant the cancellation. As previously mentioned, I have invoices showing that Final Payment was posted on Sept 30 for the Dec 14 sailing. At some point in the conversation, after looking through the entire history, he mentioned a possible explanation - something about someone in the Loyalty program (ironic) updating a date of birth, resulting in somehow inadvertently cancelling the reservation, then rebooking it but perhaps the financial aspect of it was lost in the process? When I asked for clarification of the details of this later on in the conversation he said that it was more likely a computer/systems error over a human error. A vague answer, but probably the script that he is suppose to say. This rep then contacted another department, he referred to it as resolutions to get the reservations reinstated. A couple of hours later, my staterooms were reinstated. There is still some accounting that still needs to take place from their end. Apparently, the had started the process of refunding the monies paid back onto my credit card, so they need to reverse that. I was assured that my reservation is good to go and that I do not have to rebook my dining times or complete the online check-in process again.

 

I am still in a state of disbelief that this happened. To be honest, I am now a bit anxious over the embarkation process. I am picturing showing up at the pier and being told that there is no record of our reservation. I will breathe a huge sigh of relief once I'm actually on board in a couple of days.

 

All in all, except for the headaches, anxiety and stress this has caused, this situation has ended well for us (fingers crossed that there will not be any other issues.) But this experience has left me with several concerns. I was fortunate that I saw the cancellation email when I did and was able to place a hold on the cabins that were cancelled. I can imagine situations in which people travel to their destination a few days prior to sailing and may not even check email as their holiday has already started. Also, what about the passengers who do not check email often or do not rely on email? I also question why I was not given a phone call if there was an issue with the reservations instead of some higher power (computer or human) cancelling the reservation. I also question how I could have ordered and received the luggage tags, made dining reservations, and completed the on-line check in process if there was an issue with the reservation. As to what really happened with this situation, I can only speculate.

 

I do have to note that the rep I spoke with today at corporate guest relations was professional and took ownership and responsibility in rectifying the situation.

 

Hopefully, this will not happen to any of you reading this. I wouldn't wish this on anybody.

[20pluscruises]

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. After a very stressful night and more time and effort devoted to phone calls today, the situation has been resolved and the reservations reinstated. Here are some details that I was given although, I don't think I will ever know the actual details on how this happened. But the scary thing I know now is that it DOES happen and this can happen to anyone.

 

As advised by the Celebrity rep at around midnight last night, I phoned first thing this morning at 7am to speak with a supervisor, only to be advised that the supervisors do not come in until 9am. Ugh! At 8am I phoned corporate guest relations and spoke to a guest relations advocate. He verified that my reservations had indeed been cancelled by the system and referred to it as a "system error." He confirmed, after looking through the my reservation, the mess up happened on their end and that I had not done anything to warrant the cancellation. As previously mentioned, I have invoices showing that Final Payment was posted on Sept 30 for the Dec 14 sailing. At some point in the conversation, after looking through the entire history, he mentioned a possible explanation - something about someone in the Loyalty program (ironic) updating a date of birth, resulting in somehow inadvertently cancelling the reservation, then rebooking it but perhaps the financial aspect of it was lost in the process? When I asked for clarification of the details of this later on in the conversation he said that it was more likely a computer/systems error over a human error. A vague answer, but probably the script that he is suppose to say. This rep then contacted another department, he referred to it as resolutions to get the reservations reinstated. A couple of hours later, my staterooms were reinstated. There is still some accounting that still needs to take place from their end. Apparently, the had started the process of refunding the monies paid back onto my credit card, so they need to reverse that. I was assured that my reservation is good to go and that I do not have to rebook my dining times or complete the online check-in process again.

 

I am still in a state of disbelief that this happened. To be honest, I am now a bit anxious over the embarkation process. I am picturing showing up at the pier and being told that there is no record of our reservation. I will breathe a huge sigh of relief once I'm actually on board in a couple of days.

 

All in all, except for the headaches, anxiety and stress this has caused, this situation has ended well for us (fingers crossed that there will not be any other issues.) But this experience has left me with several concerns. I was fortunate that I saw the cancellation email when I did and was able to place a hold on the cabins that were cancelled. I can imagine situations in which people travel to their destination a few days prior to sailing and may not even check email as their holiday has already started. Also, what about the passengers who do not check email often or do not rely on email? I also question why I was not given a phone call if there was an issue with the reservations instead of some higher power (computer or human) cancelling the reservation. I also question how I could have ordered and received the luggage tags, made dining reservations, and completed the on-line check in process if there was an issue with the reservation. As to what really happened with this situation, I can only speculate.

 

I do have to note that the rep I spoke with today at corporate guest relations was professional and took ownership and responsibility in rectifying the situation.

 

Hopefully, this will not happen to any of you reading this. I wouldn't wish this on anybody.

 

Many thanks for the update!

 

Smooth sailing!

[sandyss]

So glad to hear that the problem was rectified, and that you are good to go.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Whew! Bon Voyage!

[middlehaitch]

Whew!

I am so pleased your cruise is back on track. It is also nicce to hear you were treated in a professional manner, so often it seems to be a hit and miss process trying to rectify a problem with Celebrity.

Did you ever get a chance to reply to the Celebrity post on this thread?

Have a wonderful cruise.

Cheers, h.

[poolwife]

So happy for you that it all turned out correct for you.

 

I do think it would have been nice if Celebrity would have compensated you something (like onboard credit or a specialty dining experience or something) for all that stress and anxiety that the "system error" put you through.

 

Seems like the least they could have done for you. Would have been a nice little perk and would have shown that they really do care about their clients.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.