Celebrity just ruined my cruise leaving tomorrow

[Desertbelle]

Really? Why do you think most Baltic cruises are booked? I'd venture to guess because of St. Petersburg. People book for the ports all the time.

 

A better way to say it would be: Book the cruise, with the ports you want, but be aware that ports can change at any time.

[villauk]

Yes, really. Just because people do it all the time, doesn't mean that it is the right or smart thing to do.

 

Of course people book for the ports otherwise ships wouldn't move from the Caribbean - they'd just stay there for 12 months! Look at all the posts from people sick of sailing the same itinerary because they don't want to fly to another port for embarkation. How can you possibly say it's not a smart thing to do to look at the itinerary of the cruise you plan on booking :eek:!

 

Most people can fully understand why X have decided to drop Israel from the itinerary, but those pax affected by the alteration can still feel disappointed. X should let those pax on Connie, due to sail later this week, know what ports they plan on changing so they can at least try to rearrange their tours/days etc. As another poster stated, they certainly shouldn't still be advertising that itinerary when they know they won't be visiting many of the ports. This has nothing to do with changing an odd port for weather reasons, this is totally changing the deployment e.g. as Langley mentioned above, booking a Baltic cruise and sailing around Ireland.

 

Yes, one understands why this itinerary has been changed, but if you think the majority of pax do not book certain cruises for the itinerary on offer, you are cruising in a different universe ;).

 

Oh and I hope the X Advocates are stating what many are proclaiming on this thread regarding not booking a cruise because you want to visit certain ports :rolleyes:.

Edited October 19, 2015 by villauk

[Langley Cruisers]

A better way to say it would be: Book the cruise, with the ports you want, but be aware that ports can change at any time.

 

Absolutely. :)

[hobie33]

Celebrity done WRONG! they are still showing the Continental doing Israel, not till the last room is sold on the pretend that they are doing a Holly land cruise then they going to drop the boom on you. 12 hours notice, come on how many goats can I see :(

We are having a great time on the do it yourself Holly Land trip, less holly more land.

The north off Israel is like a mini Tuscany including Nazaret

 

the sea of Galilee and Tsfad, were we sleeping tonight. we gave up on the Golan heights, local knowledge and wife said NO.

Tomorrow Haifa, Acer and the caves In Rosh Anikra. the story in Israel is that some Israeli sailboat picked up 11 refugees from a sunken boat of the coast of Greece, one dead baby, talking about a bad cruise ha :( everything in prospective.

Sorry about the spelling of the Hebrew names.

So for all the posters that thinking that Celebrity save my life, take a cruise in your bathtub with your rubber ducky :)

Got to go , getting late.

Stay safe.

[FrostieFingerz]

Well, in this case, there actually is something you can do.

 

If you have imagination and flexibility you can proceed like the folks from post #181 of this thread. These people hopped on a flight to Tel Aviv and are having a fabulous time in Israel until they catch up with the ship in Greece:

Hah, at least some people are having a fabulous time in Israel, because the Palestinians aren't :D Or the Israelis, whichever side you're on of course :)

I don't want to be caught dead in Israel at this time, literally :D

 

Anyway, on topic: That might be true that these people have a wonderful time, but this is an exception and takes a lot of extra effort that not many people are willing to make, looking for transportation, hotels, excursions while already on a holiday.

 

Other than that, it really sucks for the people who were looking forward to the journey!! But I do believe the cruise company has made the right decision, taking in mind similar disasters have already happened and the region is unstable.

Edited October 19, 2015 by FrostieFingerz

[Demonyte]

How can you possibly say it's not a smart thing to do to look at the itinerary of the cruise you plan on booking :eek:!

 

I'm not. Looking at itinerary in general and planning a cruise to see a specific port are very different. See posts #124 and #136 in this thread where I explained my point of view already days ago.

 

Oh and I hope the X Advocates are stating what many are proclaiming on this thread regarding not booking a cruise because you want to visit certain ports :rolleyes:.

 

After only one X cruise I'm definitely not an advocate, just a person who reads contracts and understands the true nature of (mass market) cruise travel.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Demonyte

[upwarduk]

Duplicate

Edited October 19, 2015 by upwarduk

[upwarduk]

According to tonight's news, the situation in Jerusalem 'gets worse daily.' The city is full of soldiers, who want to see your papers constantly. One old man said ' I am deaf, if I don't hear the request, then I will be shot.'

Has anyone stopped to consider that maybe Celebrity were told by the ' Powers' in Jerusalem, that tourists were not guaranteed safety and therefore not welcome. It sounds that the police/ army have job enough protecting their own.

[Charles4515]

 

 

We are having a great time on the do it yourself Holly Land trip, less holly more land.

 

The north off Israel is like a mini Tuscany including Nazaret

 

 

 

/QUOTE]

 

 

What I am getting out of your posts is the opinion I posted early in the thread is correct. That the Holy Land should be done as a land vacation.

[villauk]

I'm not. Looking at itinerary in general and planning a cruise to see a specific port are very different. See posts #124 and #136 in this thread where I explained my point of view already days ago.

 

 

 

After only one X cruise I'm definitely not an advocate, just a person who reads contracts and understands the true nature of (mass market) cruise travel.

 

It's not one port, it's a whole region: the Greek Isles is definitely not a 'Holy Land' cruise. That's the point I'm trying to make, it's basically a totally different sailing and X should let those Connie pax know it has no intention of it being a 'Holy Land' cruise.

 

I'll repeat, I can understand why they are changing the itinerary in this instance, but to say that pax when considering reserving a future cruise shouldn't book a particular cruise for the area it is sailing to is ludicrous. If I booked a NZ/Australia cruise, I wouldn't expect to be visiting Nagasaki instead of Auckland! Yes, I may miss Yorkey's Nob because of tidal conditions, but I wouldn't expect most of my ports to be in Japan. The majority of pax book a cruise based on the area they wish to visit, otherwise every ship would call at exactly the same place. There is a chance that the odd port may be changed for whatever reason, but people don't book expecting to cruise to a totally different area/continent/country.

 

The Advocates I was referring to are on the X website and are paid for providing their information on X cruises ;).

[emmieepoo]

I booked months ago because my trip spent three days in Israel

 

I have just been informed 12 hours before I leave that it is going to some boring stops in Greece instead

 

Nothing I can do of course, but I would never have booked this trip if I had known

 

We almost booked this cruise about six months ago. We knew the area was not safe so we decided against booking. We are so thankful we booked something else. Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[need2bespoiled]

I think there should be a form you fill out ahead of time. If you pay more for a refundable fare, (like the higher fares airlines charge those who want more travel flexibility) and if the one port you feel you must see is then missed for any reason, you would be due a proportionate refund.

 

They do, it's called paying for insurance, and anyone can add it to their cruise.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[villauk]

They do, it's called paying for insurance, and anyone can add it to their cruise.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Over here, I've never heard of 'cancel for any reason' travel insurance. Unsure whether it is even available :confused:?

[Bestbubba]

Not available in the UK to the best of my knowledge , "dis-inclination to travel" always excluded in our policies.

Sue

[skt4cruise]

I am not blaming Celebrity for cancelling the Israel stops, although I have been assured by two Israeli tour guides that there is nothing to worry about if the correct precautions are taken

 

My problem is that no imagination has gone into the replacement stops

 

We would have been looking at five hot and sunny days, this has been replaced by high teens low twenties places that most people who have cruised in that region have visited several times

 

So, a cold cruise rather than a hot one to places that are always much cheaper than this cruise to visit on any number of ships and cruise lines

 

You hit the nail on the head, this cruise is more costly and they told you 12 HOURS in advance? Too late to cancel for people like us who must fly to port, leave home more than 12 hours prior! We are booked on Israel Med for 9/2016 with our family, their reservation says East Med, I guess that should tell me something.

[skt4cruise]

Really?? Tell me what you would do for two days and a night on your fourth stop in Athens? Once you have been to the Acropolis, there really isn't much else of interest. Shopping for junk in the Plaka?

 

If the State Department have issued a warning against traveling to Israel, I would take Celebrity's position more seriously!

 

I have had ports of call changed on almost every cruise I've ever taken. It's never been a big deal. But this IS a big deal, this is a very unique itinerary and the only thing different about it is the Israel ports. That's what makes it so disappointing. And to add insult to injury, they waited until the very last minute to make the announcement. Obviously they have been planning this for a while, since they have had time to add these additional ports, and it would really have been nice if they would've alerted us before we left home!

 

Yes, that 12 hour notice is obvious as I said in an earlier post. I believe we will cancel 3 months out because we purchased Israel Med and when I added family to our reservation it is called Eastern Med with same itinerary! It appears they already plan on skipping Israel, we booked only for Israel. Must plan land trip.

[happy cruzer]

It's not one port, it's a whole region: the Greek Isles is definitely not a 'Holy Land' cruise. That's the point I'm trying to make, it's basically a totally different sailing and X should let those Connie pax know it has no intention of it being a 'Holy Land' cruise.

 

I'll repeat, I can understand why they are changing the itinerary in this instance, but to say that pax when considering reserving a future cruise shouldn't book a particular cruise for the area it is sailing to is ludicrous. If I booked a NZ/Australia cruise, I wouldn't expect to be visiting Nagasaki instead of Auckland! Yes, I may miss Yorkey's Nob because of tidal conditions, but I wouldn't expect most of my ports to be in Japan. The majority of pax book a cruise based on the area they wish to visit, otherwise every ship would call at exactly the same place. There is a chance that the odd port may be changed for whatever reason, but people don't book expecting to cruise to a totally different area/continent/country.

 

The Advocates I was referring to are on the X website and are paid for providing their information on X cruises ;).

well, we once booked nz/Aussie cruise, I cancelled once I realized that if the weather was horrible for three days or so we would be very disappointed and regret the time and money spent. So now always book cruises just for the vacation on the ship, the ports are extra if they happen. It is sad when expectations are not meet.

[Desertbelle]

I don't believe anyone is unsympathetic with the OP about missing an important port. That sucks. Anyone who has cruised frequently has missed a port or two along the way, some of those important (ours was Paris, cancelled because of a strike of some sort....found out at check-in).

 

I think the problem most of us have with the OP is putting the fault on Celebrity. The cruise lines do what they need to do to protect their billion dollar ships and the thousands of passengers on the ship.

 

The cruise lines WANT people to have a good time, they want people to come back again, they want people to feel pampered, their whole thing is giving people a great vacation. What they don't want is anyone dying or a ship being targeted by terrorists or being caught in a war. I have no doubt they would prefer to err on the side of safety. And I am OK with that. I appreciate that they are looking out for my safety even when I am not paying that much attention to it.

[GottaKnowWhen]

I don't believe anyone is unsympathetic with the OP about missing an important port. That sucks. Anyone who has cruised frequently has missed a port or two along the way, some of those important (ours was Paris, cancelled because of a strike of some sort....found out at check-in).

 

I think the problem most of us have with the OP is putting the fault on Celebrity. The cruise lines do what they need to do to protect their billion dollar ships and the thousands of passengers on the ship.

 

The cruise lines WANT people to have a good time, they want people to come back again, they want people to feel pampered, their whole thing is giving people a great vacation. What they don't want is anyone dying or a ship being targeted by terrorists or being caught in a war. I have no doubt they would prefer to err on the side of safety. And I am OK with that. I appreciate that they are looking out for my safety even when I am not paying that much attention to it.

 

I think this is a good summary of most of the comments. What I object to is the whole attitude that if my expectations are not met in every details then I will kick and scream and blame Celebrity and their evil greedy wish to maximize profits.

[2CatsInFlorida]

According to the L A Times, particles of a missile were found on the deck of one cruise ship at port in Israel. State has warned against travel to Israel and many flights have been banned. These announcements were made October 20, so Celebrity did not have much notice. This same scenario happened a few years ago. Best to cancel before final payment if any turmoil in a port of call.

[JVilleGal]

According to the L A Times, particles of a missile were found on the deck of one cruise ship at port in Israel. State has warned against travel to Israel and many flights have been banned. These announcements were made October 20, so Celebrity did not have much notice. This same scenario happened a few years ago. Best to cancel before final payment if any turmoil in a port of call.

 

Would love to read that article, can you post a link?

[Desertbelle]

Would love to read that article, can you post a link?

 

I did a Google search and came up with THIS. It does mention a cruise ship with missile debris on deck. Pretty scary stuff.

[JVilleGal]

I did find this one from July 2014

 

http://thesource.com/2014/07/09/cruise-ship/

[Langley Cruisers]

Would love to read that article, can you post a link?

 

I see other links were posted here as I was searching for this, but the LA Times story is from last July, as stated.

 

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trb-israel-cruise-lines-20140723-story.html

[JVilleGal]

Looks like the most recent "known" incident was mid May of this year in the Suez Canal on Rhapsody RCCL. I have sailed her. Very scary, wonder why they waited so long to cancel ?