Celebrity just tried to bump us

[Cruise Junky]

OP did they actually say you have no cabin, you're off the ship? or are you "Maybe" overreacting to a move over offer?

[WonderMan3]

I worked for a (river) cruise line for many years in both the moves and changes department (responsible for calling and moving overbooked passengers) and the revenue management department (responsible for laying out the overbooking process) and yes, nearly every cruise line does it. Cancellations are standard and expected so over bookings help to ensure that even with cancellations the ship sails as close to capacity as possible. Occasionally there will not be enough cancellations to cover the overbookings and then you may have to force someone off. There are a whole system of rules usually in place to try and prevent that from happening, with the amount of overbooking space allotted to a departure being reduced as you move closer to departure or if the cancellation rate is coming in less than predicted. We used to also have a timeline as to when we would contact overbooked pax to move, usually no more than 14 days from departure but it could be all the way up to two days prior. They wait that long as they are still waiting for those last minute cancellations to come in. The further out we had to contact pax meant that we had more time to look for people to volunteer to move by offering incentives. If there is no time for that or people are not accepting offers then you may have to do a forced move which is a last resort. There is huge money in this though as the cruise line has a profit plan for the year which is based on each departure reaching a certain occupancy level (it was 98% for the ships I managed). Once that level is achieved every passenger you book above that point is pure profit plus all the additional income received from them for onboard purchases, excursions, etc. So it is very important for the cruise lines to hit those high occupancy levels as it could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit per sailing.

 

Also note that sometimes overbookings can be caused by other reasons like a cabin going out of order due to a maintenance issue at the last minute, an inventory allotment error in the system, having to have unexpected officers or executives on board the ship at the last minute who require a cabin, etc.

 

 

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[bouhunter]

David: hope you can enjoy your cruise. If I were you I would send an email off to the President about your experience. We had a poor cruise with RCI in March of this year & fired off an email about our cruise. We heard from the President's office within 2 days. We gave good points of the cruise & the problems. We also had indicated we would probably not cruise with them again. We have cruised 6 times with them & 11 with Celebrity so we are loyal to one company. We were each given $250 US on board credit but had to be used in 2 years. If you do it quickly enough you might get some more OBC on this cruise. Alfred

 

 

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They have the cabin they booked going on the cruise they booked. Why would Celebrity give them anything?:rolleyes:

[hcat]

1) They should hold open a few cabins..maybe obstructed view, noise issues etc, so they could be used for pax in cabins that flood, have bedbugs, or have unfixable issues during a cruise.. or even if the Capts family surprises them last minute!

 

2 ) once FINAL payment is made that should be a non breakable contract...first who pay, they stay!

[TeeRick]

I would think that bumping is a horrible policy and public relations mess. That being said, shouldn't it first happen to people with unassigned "guarantee" cabins for certain classes? I would think the unassigned folks would be bumped before people who signed up and paid for specific cabins. I would like to actually hear from Celebrity on this topic. How do they choose bumping priority? It can't be just random. Celebrity are you following this thread??

[cookiersmom]

There was a similar thread back last winter, it was probably the TA folks were mentioning above

It seems that if you stand your ground and say "no" and make it clear that you will make a fuss, they back down and go to the next onthe list. This is just the most horrible thing. Credit and airfare don't matter. Many of us are still employed, and have vacation time to worry about, as well as plans on one end of the cruise or the other, and lots of other things.

 

X has to figure this out. It is NOT ok

[ebtrip]

I worked for a (river) cruise line for many years in both the moves and changes department (responsible for calling and moving overbooked passengers) and the revenue management department (responsible for laying out the overbooking process) and yes, nearly every cruise line does it. Cancellations are standard and expected so over bookings help to ensure that even with cancellations the ship sails as close to capacity as possible. Occasionally there will not be enough cancellations to cover the overbookings and then you may have to force someone off. There are a whole system of rules usually in place to try and prevent that from happening, with the amount of overbooking space allotted to a departure being reduced as you move closer to departure or if the cancellation rate is coming in less than predicted. We used to also have a timeline as to when we would contact overbooked pax to move, usually no more than 14 days from departure but it could be all the way up to two days prior. They wait that long as they are still waiting for those last minute cancellations to come in. The further out we had to contact pax meant that we had more time to look for people to volunteer to move by offering incentives. If there is no time for that or people are not accepting offers then you may have to do a forced move which is a last resort. There is huge money in this though as the cruise line has a profit plan for the year which is based on each departure reaching a certain occupancy level (it was 98% for the ships I managed). Once that level is achieved every passenger you book above that point is pure profit plus all the additional income received from them for onboard purchases, excursions, etc. So it is very important for the cruise lines to hit those high occupancy levels as it could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit per sailing.

 

Also note that sometimes overbookings can be caused by other reasons like a cabin going out of order due to a maintenance issue at the last minute, an inventory allotment error in the system, having to have unexpected officers or executives on board the ship at the last minute who require a cabin, etc.

 

 

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I was on a River boat in May. 4 weeks prior to sailing, I was offered an upgrade to a suite for a low cost. I Accepted the offer, this was our first riverboat cruise. While on the ship, a passenger told me they were downgraded to a very undesirable cabin, and they were regular passengers on the cruise line. I don't know why a NEW client was offered an upgrade, but a regular client was downgraded, as they should have been offered the upgrade for free. They were very nce people and accepted a small SBC, I would have been outraged.

[Kevin7kodak7]

I was on a River boat in May. 4 weeks prior to sailing, I was offered an upgrade to a suite for a low cost. I Accepted the offer, this was our first riverboat cruise. While on the ship, a passenger told me they were downgraded to a very undesirable cabin, and they were regular passengers on the cruise line. I don't know why a NEW client was offered an upgrade, but a regular client was downgraded, as they should have been offered the upgrade for free. They were very nce people and accepted a small SBC, I would have been outraged.

They probably didn't say that they received a nice cash or bonus reward. No cruisline can downgrade you without compensation. Some like to complain without giving the full story. Probably mad that state room was not to their liking.

 

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[ebtrip]

They probably didn't say that they received a nice cash or bonus reward. No cruisline can downgrade you without compensation. Some like to complain without giving the full story. Probably mad that state room was not to their liking.

 

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No, they were not compensated the way they should have been.. they should have had a French balcony, ended up in the "aquarium cabin". Window is so high and at water level. No way I would have accepted that cabin.. they were given a credit which was the difference between cabin cost, and a couple of hundred dollars SBC.. if they wanted that cabin category they would have booked it.

[gold1953]

Not a call I would want but some people actually hope they get such a call and offer.. maybe they should have a box to check when you book

[Cruise Raider]

Not a call I would want but some people actually hope they get such a call and offer.. maybe they should have a box to check when you book

 

 

Exactly!! For the most part, I would not only move for a beneficial offer but just so nobody else would have to get this kind of call.

[CaribbeanBound]

I agree this is a nightmare situation. Especially if someone has spent months researching the ports, setting up excursions, getting vacation time off, finding someone to watch the house and dog, getting non-refundable airline tickets, setting up hotel and transportation options, packing... And then getting a call 2 days before sailing? Unconscionable. I would be livid.

[Cruise Junky]

I agree this is a nightmare situation. Especially if someone has spent months researching the ports, setting up excursions, getting vacation time off, finding someone to watch the house and dog, getting non-refundable airline tickets, setting up hotel and transportation options, packing... And then getting a call 2 days before sailing? Unconscionable. I would be livid.

 

It's not really a nightmare situation until the OP comes back and clarifies some things. His wife may have overreacted to a Move Over offer. Remember "Bumping" them was his words not theirs.

[djmarchand]

OP did they actually say you have no cabin, you're off the ship? or are you "Maybe" overreacting to a move over offer?

 

No it was clearly "We have to cancel your reservation on a mandatory basis (the agent's words) due to an over booking situation. There was absolutely no question that we were being kicked off of the ship on a non voluntary basis.

 

Only when I demanded a $10,000 cash cancellation fee did they back down and rescind the mandatory cancellation. That as well as noting that when we booked 6 mo ago the ship was not overbooked, this was a once in a lifetime cruise for us and was my wife's 60th birthday.

 

 

And to the yield manager of a river cruise line:

 

How in the world can you lose money when someone cancels at the last minute and say that that justifies overbooking. Their cruise is fully paid and is non refundable, right?.

 

What you are really saying is that you are trying to achieve more than 100% by keeping cruise cancellation fees and booking a paying passenger into that cabin thereby doubling up on your revenue.

 

This is one area where cruises are very different than air travel. At some point before embarkation, all fares are non refundable (on paper). Yes I understand that exceptions are made for favored passengers. But should we not-so-favored passengers pay the price?

 

 

David

Edited September 15, 2017 by djmarchand

[Iamthesea]

Oceania often overbooks and then they make calls for "move-over" offers. Some fantastic deals, I might add! Since DH has retired, we were hoping that they would call us on a Caribbean cruise last winter. Unfortunately, that call never came. We were prepared to take the offer.

 

For our Celebrity cruises, they are usually International cruises where we have booked the air ourselves. Additionally, and the most problematic, are the tour arrangements made. Most made with Roll Call members who are counting on us to join them. Some paid in advance! If an offer were made 2-4 weeks out, that's one thing to consider. But 2 days out is ridiculous!

 

We have two cruises coming up that are completely sold out. And although neither has come to final payment, I expect them to remain sold out.

[wwcruisers]

Not a call I would want but some people actually hope they get such a call and offer.. maybe they should have a box to check when you book

 

Exactly!! For the most part, I would not only move for a beneficial offer but just so nobody else would have to get this kind of call.

 

Actually, there have been times when we have researched and booked early, just to get a specific cabin. For example, we've been lucky enough to snag a corner "Sweet Sixteen" (6030 & 6035) on a couple of our Millie-Class cruises. Although these cabins are among the cheapest Veranda (2C) categories, their oversized balconies put them up among the best-kept secrets in the X fleet. So, if I had one of those booked, and I got a call offering to 'upgrade' me to a randomly-located Concierge Class Cabin, I would definitely decline. :eek:

 

 

BTW -- although there's no specific box to check, indicating this -- you can request your Celebrity booking agent to type "Do Not Upgrade" into the field notes, in your reservation. We only have them do that, if it's a cabin we just can't bear to part with,.Other than those specific occasions, I'm with CruiseRaider: PLEASE feel free to upgrade me! :halo:

[WpgCruise]

While I suspect the conversation was upsetting to the O.P. and his wife, for us and perhaps others it would have been an "opportunity".

 

Our schedules are flexible, if the offer is sweet enough we'll take the deal. Some times the appearance of a demand by the cruise line is an opportunity for further negotiation.

 

A recent example, last year Oceania called with a move over offer, it wasn't as sweet as I wanted so we turned the offer aside. They called back with a deal we took in a flash.

 

The learning we took from this is when presented with what appears to be a demand, taking a moment and thinking through the situation may present an opportunity.

 

Hope the O.P. and his D.W. enjoy their cruise, and hopefully in the future when Celebrity overbooks they will be a bit more sensitive in their approach to customers with their offers.

[2theship]

Kudos to the OP for standing his ground and getting the special experience he and his wife wanted. One of the most frequent statements on these boards is that the onboard Celebrity experience is so much better than the online or customer service Celebrity experience. I hope you can let go of this week's aggravation and thoroughly enjoy your cruise. You don't indicate your home base but as a U.S. resident, by two days before a cruise I have lined up flights, airport and ship transfers, hotels, tours, car rentals, etc. Not to mention arranging a house sitter and other things that would have to be cancelled. Considering the price you paid for the cruise, your requested $10,000 compensation would have barely been adequate.

 

To the poster who worked for a river cruise line - we were the passengers you dream of. With less than a week before sailing, we had to cancel a river cruise due to a health issue. We were fully reimbursed by our insurance but I often wondered if the cruise company was able to re-sell the cabin, thus getting paid twice.

[tboy58]

A big congrats on the way you responded. It's disappointing the money these cruise lines are making that they are so greedy that they oversell and bump guest a few days before their scheduled trip. They should operate a standby program for no shows or last minute cancellations- but never bump someone who has booked their cruise months in advance.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Kudos to the OP for standing his ground and getting the special experience he and his wife wanted. One of the most frequent statements on these boards is that the onboard Celebrity experience is so much better than the online or customer service Celebrity experience. I hope you can let go of this week's aggravation and thoroughly enjoy your cruise. You don't indicate your home base but as a U.S. resident, by two days before a cruise I have lined up flights, airport and ship transfers, hotels, tours, car rentals, etc. Not to mention arranging a house sitter and other things that would have to be cancelled. Considering the price you paid for the cruise, your requested $10,000 compensation would have barely been adequate.

 

 

 

To the poster who worked for a river cruise line - we were the passengers you dream of. With less than a week before sailing, we had to cancel a river cruise due to a health issue. We were fully reimbursed by our insurance but I often wondered if the cruise company was able to re-sell the cabin, thus getting paid twice.

 

 

Oh definitely. If all overbookings were cleared and then another cancel came in then we would try to sell the space again. Operationally some trips we were able to sell up to 3 days prior to sail date. These last minute cancel cabins would usually wind up in last minute deals. Even when discounting them up to 50% we could still make profit.

 

 

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[mek]

While I suspect the conversation was upsetting to the O.P. and his wife, for us and perhaps others it would have been an "opportunity".

 

Our schedules are flexible, if the offer is sweet enough we'll take the deal. Some times the appearance of a demand by the cruise line is an opportunity for further negotiation.

 

A recent example, last year Oceania called with a move over offer, it wasn't as sweet as I wanted so we turned the offer aside. They called back with a deal we took in a flash.

 

The learning we took from this is when presented with what appears to be a demand, taking a moment and thinking through the situation may present an opportunity.

 

Hope the O.P. and his D.W. enjoy their cruise, and hopefully in the future when Celebrity overbooks they will be a bit more sensitive in their approach to customers with their offers.

 

I'm glad it worked out for the OP, but I'm one of those who would be thrilled to get an offer like this. I've only had it happen once and it was a great deal, but I did have the option to accept or decline the offer. I wouldn't be happy if I was told I had to take it.

[riclop]

Not good at all.

[Shadow9612]

The appalling thing is that there's no excuse for over-booking after final payment date, since they've had full payments for every cabin.

In my mind, (i) a 'call for volunteers' by email offering the move over makes the most sense - as some people with flexible schedules would jump at an offer to get a full refund, and future credits. First person to grab the offer gets it.

(ii) failing that, it should be the most recently booked cabin that gets the bump, not someone booked months in advance and fully paid.

 

To the OP - you handled it beautifully. Thumbs up for being able to even think of demanding $10K! Happy Birthday to your wife! Also, as another poster mentioned, the on-ship cruise experience is very different from land customer service, so don't rule out sailing with X again until after your experience...I hope you can enjoy your cruise !

[NantahalaCruiser]

The list would start with people with no Captain Club status (you get status after the first cruise), and then people who book the cruise themselves without TA. That way Celebrity cruise only have to deal with you and not the TA who is more familiar with this kind of things.

Hence another reason to use a TA:cool:

[drsel]

recent example, last year Oceania called with a move over offer, it wasn't as sweet as I wanted so we turned the offer aside. They called back with a deal we took in a flash..

Wow. Kindly enlighten us about the first offer you turned aside and the second deal that you took in a flash.