Celebrity cancelled our Cruise...what do I do??

[Fouremco]

There are two issues here as I see it: the auto cancellation when final payment wasn't made and Celebrity's response to the situation.

 

On the first issue, I sympathize but I see this plain and simple as the OP's fault. While most cruise lines may send a reminder as a courtesy, they're under no obligation to do so. I generally do receive notifications from Celebrity, but I still have reminders on my calendars two and again one week before final payment is due. I also make the payment a few days before the due date, just to make sure that there aren't any issues.

 

On the second issue, I fully understand why they cancelled, but I believe that Celebrity is being unnecessarily hard nosed on the issue. It's obvious that the OP made an honest mistake and Celebrity should honour the original booking IMO. They have no legal requirement to do so, of course, but this is pretty shabby treatment of a customer who has simply made a mistake.

[Shorex]

I have several future cruises booked (all with TA's, but that's not the point) and my calendar has all the payment dates marked - early pay discount and final payments. My TA would (and has) given me an email payment reminder, but usually I authorize her to make the payment in advance of her notification. Also, I tell her which credit card on file to use and I verify the expiration date.

 

I would be furious if she charged my card for final payment without my specific consent for that particular payment. Maybe I want to change cards for whatever reason -- that's my decision, not hers.

 

Sorry, but it is financially naive to expect the cruise line (or a TA) to just put final payment on whatever card you used for down payment without your specific consent. There's just too much that can go wrong -- and guess who would get the blame -- yes, the cruise line.

 

Celebrity could cut you an undeserved break for which you should be grateful -- or they could be sticklers for the rules. Either way, it's a lesson.

[bEwAbG]

On the second issue, I fully understand why they cancelled, but I believe that Celebrity is being unnecessarily hard nosed on the issue. It's obvious that the OP made an honest mistake and Celebrity should honour the original booking IMO. They have no legal requirement to do so, of course, but this is pretty shabby treatment of a customer who has simply made a mistake.

 

I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. If you have someone on the line who is willing to pay what they booked, albeit slightly late, I'm not sure why you need to turn them away. Even if you as the agent or supervisor could not authorize it, there should be someone who can. I bet even splitting the baby and charging a $100 rebooking fee or some such would be preferable to the situation described. Otherwise, you're just losing a customer for life. Perfect example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

[ShawninFL]

Wow, so sorry. I'm assuming you made your reservation directly with Celebrity. I know my travel agent emails or texts me when final payment is due if I haven't made it already. In my opinion, if Celebrity is acting as your TA, then yes they should call you if final payment hasn't been made. I guess business must be so good that they'd rather cancel a reservation than make a call to complete the sale. Hopefully you'll be able to make a new reservation even if you have to go to a lower category, so you can make the trip. Good Luck.

[DebJ14]

I feel your pain. This happened to us when the final payment was due for our Eclipse sailing leaving Monday. On previous sailings they have never auto-cancelled due to lack of final payment. Thankfully, I booked thru a TA who fought to get my cabin and rate re-I stated. We only missed the final payment date by one day. According to my TA this auto-cancel is a new procedure. Scary! I told her to give me a final payment date at least one week early.

 

Very frustrating but don't give up!

 

Juiie

 

A good TA would never have let the payment be late. Bookings have auto canceled for failure to pay deposits or final payments by the deadlines for years.

 

Most Travel Agents tell the clients a date that is earlier than the actual final payment so that they have time to deal with any computer or credit card issues.

[DebJ14]

I have several future cruises booked (all with TA's, but that's not the point) and my calendar has all the payment dates marked - early pay discount and final payments. My TA would (and has) given me an email payment reminder, but usually I authorize her to make the payment in advance of her notification. Also, I tell her which credit card on file to use and I verify the expiration date.

 

I would be furious if she charged my card for final payment without my specific consent for that particular payment. Maybe I want to change cards for whatever reason -- that's my decision, not hers.

 

Sorry, but it is financially naive to expect the cruise line (or a TA) to just put final payment on whatever card you used for down payment without your specific consent. There's just too much that can go wrong -- and guess who would get the blame -- yes, the cruise line.

 

Celebrity could cut you an undeserved break for which you should be grateful -- or they could be sticklers for the rules. Either way, it's a lesson.

 

Our TA also notifies us 14 days in advance of the final payment coming up. She asks us which credit card we want to use and which day we want her to run the payment. She never runs a payment without specific consent and asks for e-mail confirmation of the consent in order to protect herself from any claims that she used a credit card improperly.

[warmwinds]

Odd that some of us get reminder e-mails from X about payment and some don't.

 

Could it be a Captain's Club/not thing?

 

Informal poll...those of you who got e-mails, are you CC? And those of you who did not, are you not CC?

 

Trying to figure out why this happens, because we *all* got our original confirmation of booking via e-mail, right? So they do have everyone's e-mail.

[shipshape sam]

Our TA also notifies us 14 days in advance of the final payment coming up. She asks us which credit card we want to use and which day we want her to run the payment. She never runs a payment without specific consent and asks for e-mail confirmation of the consent in order to protect herself from any claims that she used a credit card improperly.

 

Our TA also calls up for final payment authorization. If he does not call by the time I have marked on my calendar, I call him.

[aquidneck1]

I got the emails and I am Captains Club

[Cuizer2]

I got the emails and I am Captains Club

 

Is there a First Officer's Club?

[K.T.B.]

Emails aren't perfect. Hundreds of things can go wrong with emails.

 

My boss once told me never to rely on email as a method of communication, always use the phone in addition to email, he would never tolerate "I never got your email" as an excuse for anything.

 

It was an important lesson to learn.

 

Whereas I work in an industry that we never agree to do anything over the phone, it MUST be via email (or fax) in order to have physical proof. The excuse of "yeah, but you said on the phone" is never accepted. :) Everyone does it differently.

 

 

To the OP, keep battling until every option is exhausted.

[Cuizer2]

Emails aren't perfect. Hundreds of things can go wrong with emails.

 

My boss once told me never to rely on email as a method of communication, always use the phone in addition to email, he would never tolerate "I never got your email" as an excuse for anything.

 

It was an important lesson to learn.

 

The phone is a bigger problem than email, unless you record the conversation.

 

Today's email programs allow you to request delivery confirmation. It shows what day and time the person opened the email. That is just as good as sending a certified letter.

[cle-guy]

The phone is a bigger problem than email, unless you record the conversation.

 

Today's email programs allow you to request delivery confirmation. It shows what day and time the person opened the email. That is just as good as sending a certified letter.

 

So how did that email work out for the OP?

 

And email tracking shows what date and time an email was opened, not necessarily a specific person who did read it, or possibly it was opened and deleted before being read or was marked "read" by clicking all emails, marking them read, and missing the one important email amongst the deluge off 45 other useless emails a recipient was trying to get rid of.

 

My point is a follow up is often needed, one can not rely purely on emails. You can't just say, "sorry I didn't get the email, not my fault".

 

Yes lots of industry requires specific written documentation, which often follows verbal conversations, but in the case of the OP, had they not been relying on receiving an email, and instead picked up the phone and said, "huh, why haven't you billed me yet?" their dilemma wouldn't exist today.

 

Actually, the OP likely did receive an email confirmation telling them when they had to proactively make a final payment....just never got a reminder email to do so.

[Cuizer2]

So how did that email work out for the OP?

 

And email tracking shows what date and time an email was opened, not necessarily a specific person who did read it, or possibly it was opened and deleted before being read or was marked "read" by clicking all emails, marking them read, and missing the one important email amongst the deluge off 45 other useless emails a recipient was trying to get rid of.

 

My point is a follow up is often needed, one can not rely purely on emails. You can't just say, "sorry I didn't get the email, not my fault".

 

Yes lots of industry requires specific written documentation, which often follows verbal conversations, but in the case of the OP, had they not been relying on receiving an email, and instead picked up the phone and said, "huh, why haven't you billed me yet?" their dilemma wouldn't exist today.

 

Actually, the OP likely did receive an email confirmation telling them when they had to proactively make a final payment....just never got a reminder email to do so.

 

The OP believed Celebrity would send an email. Whether it did or didn't isn't the issue. Celebrity is not saying we sent you an email. It is saying it was the OP's responsibility to pay the final payment, not Celebrity's responsibility to collect the final payment.

 

If I sent an email to your home and I have a receipt that it was opened by someone at your home, the burden of proving you didn't receive it is yours, not mine. As I said, it is the same as a certified letter. The certified receipt proves you received the letter, not that you read it.

[Iamthesea]

Odd that some of us get reminder e-mails from X about payment and some don't.

 

Could it be a Captain's Club/not thing?

 

Informal poll...those of you who got e-mails, are you CC? And those of you who did not, are you not CC?

 

Trying to figure out why this happens, because we *all* got our original confirmation of booking via e-mail, right? So they do have everyone's e-mail.

 

 

We have never received an email for final when booked directly. We do, however, receive all the other emails that celebrity sends out IF it does not relate to our cruises. :rolleyes: We have never received the port changes that have occurred on our upcoming May cruise. If it were not for Roll Call, we would not have any idea that Wales was cancelled and a second day in Le Havre was added.

 

On Nov. 3 I got an e-mail that my final payment was due on Dec. 3 for our cruise in February.

 

I didn't realize that they auto-cancelled. So sorry this happened to you.

 

I've got a dozen phone numbers for them but try this one: 1-800-647-2251

 

We are suppose to sail Celebrity in February, but are going to cancel the cruise tomorrow. We have not received a notice and our final payment is due the 19th. :rolleyes:

[POA1]

Was this an online booking, or through an employee? If the latter, the employee isn't getting paid on the sail if the cruise cancels. Either way, it's bad business to turn away revenue without even trying to follow up.

 

For the people who mentioned that your credit card company or mortgage financing institution doesn't call, that's a whole different animal. Celebrity got zero revenue with this cancellation. The banks make late fees if you don't pay on time. Their revenue goes up. Celebrity's goes away.

[ldlewis45]

Was this an online booking, or through an employee? If the latter, the employee isn't getting paid on the sail if the cruise cancels. Either way, it's bad business to turn away revenue without even trying to follow up.

 

For the people who mentioned that your credit card company or mortgage financing institution doesn't call, that's a whole different animal. Celebrity got zero revenue with this cancellation. The banks make late fees if you don't pay on time. Their revenue goes up. Celebrity's goes away.

I wouldn't say they're getting zero revenue. In fact, they're probably going to get MORE revenue, as the stateroom is selling at a higher price and it's unlikely to go unfilled. I would argue that there IS a late fee, too, albeit an unofficial one: the difference between the price the OP would have previously paid had he/she paid on-time and the current selling price of the stateroom.

 

It's not Celebrity's fault that the OP didn't make the payment, so I'm not sure why some people are blaming them and stating that they're treating the OP badly. The OP entered into a contract that specified that full payment was to be remitted to Celebrity by a certain date or the reservation would be canceled. The OP failed to do just that, therefore his/her reservation was canceled. When I fail to send a payment to my creditors by the due date, causing my interest rates to jump, it isn't my creditor's fault that I didn't hold up my end of the deal.

[cle-guy]

Was this an online booking, or through an employee? If the latter, the employee isn't getting paid on the sail if the cruise cancels. Either way, it's bad business to turn away revenue without even trying to follow up.

 

For the people who mentioned that your credit card company or mortgage financing institution doesn't call, that's a whole different animal. Celebrity got zero revenue with this cancellation. The banks make late fees if you don't pay on time. Their revenue goes up. Celebrity's goes away.

 

Actually in that most ships sail full, Celebrity will displace a low fare with a higher fare, so they actually make out better in this case. Even a lost customer for life isn't an impact as overall they sail at or over capacity.

[POA1]

Actually in that most ships sail full, Celebrity will displace a low fare with a higher fare, so they actually make out better in this case. Even a lost customer for life isn't an impact as overall they sail at or over capacity.

Well, I'm very glad that we booked with a travel agent. I think that the attitude that says, "Who cares if we lose a customer for life, because.. 'Hey, more money!'' is a little cavalier. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but several posters have really made an excellent case for using a TA and avoiding direct booking through Celebrity. I agree that the OP deserves responsibility for keeping track of the dates, but I guess that's a plus to using a reputable travel agent. :)

 

[hcat]

We are Cap Club, book through the reg Celeb Vacation Planners and usually get more than one e mail about the " upcoming" cruise...re excursions, extras we can add and final payment...

 

We make final payment at least a week or more ahead...by calling Celebrity ....they send an immediate updated invoice showing zero balance due, and we then check credit card to make sure it went through...

 

Then we wait for the e- docs to arrive (or call about them) and order the bag tags...

[KidCruze]

Are you suggesting that perhaps X is intentionally not notifying people of final payment in hopes that they will forget to pay and then they can resell at a higher rate? Am I reading that correctly??

 

Yes

[CGinMTL]

Wow..... what a problem.

there are many parts to this issue

1-

I must be "old school" but I see so many people making payment on the day of.

All bills have "paid by" date, but this is the latest date without penality.

It does not mean " to not pay before" this date.

.

2-

I agree that we are all responsible for our own finances.

My pattern, I mark the date as a reminder.

ex - Next cruise, final payment was Nov 19h.

As we pay on the credit card, I wait for the previous month cut-off date.

ex - statement cut-off is the 9th.

So on the 10th, I call my TA and authorize final payment.

3.

As for Celebrity, ( and all other serice providers)

Times have changed

Some people have no sense of "commitment" anymore.

They make appointments and then won't take the time to cancel.

Suppliers of all services have different ways of dealing with this problem, some send reminders, some do not.

.

In this case, once somebody calls back to complain, if the cabin is still available,

it is not costing anything to just reinstate . This would show goodwill .

.

Good luck to OP. I would keep fighting.

escalate the file as high as you can as you have nothing to lose and everythig to gain.

[richstowe]

Sad that when you book directly with the cruise line they make more money since they don't have to pay the agent commission, they don't give you any perks and they can't be bothered to follow up on final payment. :rolleyes:

 

Seems pretty harsh to cancel a booking when they have had your money without even a phone call or an e-mail.

 

I'd keep fighting!!

Good advice.

 

I have cruised with Princess and Carnival before, I think I may not have booked directly with Princess and Carnival, I can not remember.

 

I booked the 1/22/16 10 day cruise, directly thru Celebrity. I booked on 4/7/15, after much research of what ship and what exact room I wanted. I booked a 1B class room for $1749/person.

 

I called Celebrity and they told me my reservation was cancelled, and could not be re-instated at the $1749 rate for the same 1B room( the exact room was still available)....it would now be over $3600/person for that room.

I need help!

Wow , I'm shocked that your rate has more then doubled . :eek: I wonder how often that happens . Edited November 15, 2015 by richstowe

[media1966]

So sorry!! I am on that cruise and did get 2 email reminders - 1 10 days prior and another 2 days prior.

 

Wanted to say that I also got identical emails to this member. Our cruise is actually 1/16/2016 so, very near your dates. I got the 10 days prior and 2 days prior. I was waiting until the 2 days prior to be able to pay off without putting it on my credit card. I really appreciated the email reminders, I must say.

 

So sorry this happened to you - I hope something works out for you guys!

[monicajay]

Just got an e-mail tonight from Celebrity (booked direct) final payment is due on the 14th of Dec. for our Reflection cruise.

 

This is a one month notice. I already had a reminder I put in my phone but I'm happy to receive this e-mail. It specifically mentions that they will cancel if payment is not received by this date.