Solstice had to return to Melbourne last night

[TeeRick]

We had some kind of medical emergency and the ship had to turn around and go back to Melbourne. We are back to the New Zealand crossing this morning. We probably lost 12 hours. Not sure how it will change the itinerary.

[Merriem]

We had some kind of medical emergency and the ship had to turn around and go back to Melbourne. We are back to the New Zealand crossing this morning. We probably lost 12 hours. Not sure how it will change the itinerary.

 

I am glad they took care of that passenger, but cannot believe that we will not be going through the fiords. That was just announced. Shame on celebrity. They are going where the tours are so they don't loose any money.

 

Time to cancel Feb 2019 New Zealand cruise with them, and find another line as obviously their for profit tours are more important than seeing the most beautiful part of New Zealand.

[dkjretired]

I am glad they took care of that passenger, but cannot believe that we will not be going through the fiords. That was just announced. Shame on celebrity. They are going where the tours are so they don't loose any money.

 

Time to cancel Feb 2019 New Zealand cruise with them, and find another line as obviously their for profit tours are more important than seeing the most beautiful part of New Zealand.

 

Like its their fault, get out the fire retardant suit.

[Merriem]

Like its their fault, get out the fire retardant suit.

 

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

[cruiserchuck]

From my experience, cruise lines usually try to make the scheduled port stops as their first priority. So I am not surprised that they are skipping the scenic views to get to the scheduled port stop.

 

We were on a Oceania cruise several years ago where they had to cut short excursions to a glacier due to a medical emergency. They lost a lot of income canceling the excursions, but passenger safety came first.

[goncruzn]

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

 

I understand your frustration, but scheduling is also a major factor that doesn't always allow them to "choose" one port vs another, or in this case a destination. In order to make sure they hit as many ports as possible, and keep to a schedule, they may have to forgo one for the other.

 

I am also looking at that itinerary, primarily to visit the fjords and would be very disappointed if I had to miss it.

 

I do hope the person who took ill is doing much better and hopefully you will still be able to have a wonderful cruise.

[phoenix_dream]

I agree that frustrating as it may be, they will stick to schedule as much as possible. I sincerely doubt that any other cruise line would be different. It takes a lot of coordination and planning to schedule port stops. Any change in the schedule would potentially cause a lot of problems. In addition, many people may be looking forward to those excursions at the next port and would be just as unhappy if they had to miss them. No decision they make will satisfy everyone. An unfortunate situation and I hope that passenger is ok.

 

At the risk of sounding preachy, but sincerely meaning to help, I have a saying I apply to huge traffic back-ups and other bad situations that seems to fit here also (I know, missing this is not the same as an hour in traffic, but it's all about attitude). I tell DH if I had a choice, would I rather be the person getting put into the ambulance who may not survive, or would I rather be the person annoyed at being stuck in traffic? The answer is obvious. If you look at it that way, you may feel better about the whole thing. I hope so. Sorry you had to miss such a nice experience.

[Karynanne]

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

 

 

 

What if the medical emergency happened to you or your DH?

 

 

 

 

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[Merriem]

What if the medical emergency happened to you or your DH?

 

 

 

 

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Missing the point again. The passenger has been taken care of and of course that was of upmost importance.

 

this is about a decision made by Celebrity..tours = money. cruising the fiords = 000000

 

like all US passengers this was a long trip and to many we will miss the best part. They made the choice.

[Muffinz]

ALL cruise ships have a schedule to keep to and unfortunately because of the medical emergency they lost 12 hours and made the decision to miss out going to milford / dusky sounds.... it is unfortunate for passengers who were looking forward to it.... but occasionally these things happen....

[RDC1]

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

 

Actually they do make money at the fjords since a very expensive tour requires that passengers to exit that boat at Milford Sound, over nights in Queenstown, and then rejoins the ship at Dunedin.

 

If they were to do the fjords then it would impact port times and days and cause far more disruption then making the change on arrival.

 

I believe that you are missing the point that the cruise line handles emergencies first, and then gets back on schedule as soon as possible. When they must divert it is often the first scheduled event or port that gets canceled.

[phoenix_dream]

Missing the point again. The passenger has been taken care of and of course that was of upmost importance.

 

this is about a decision made by Celebrity..tours = money. cruising the fiords = 000000

 

like all US passengers this was a long trip and to many we will miss the best part. They made the choice.

You are making an assumption that the reason they made that choice was to make more money. Perhaps you are right. But then perhaps you are not. Perhaps they made it because they needed to keep to schedule as much as possible or it would mess up a lot of other things for them. Perhaps they made it because hundreds of people on tours at the next port would be very disappointed if they missed it. Perhaps this is an area (like in Alaska) where they need to schedule ahead of time so they can coordinate with other ships so cruising the fjords was no longer an option. Perhaps they made it because they did not have enough fuel to still cruise the fjords and safely get to the next port (this is a real possibility by the way). There are many, many possibilities neither you nor I could really know. It stinks and I feel for you, but assuming the worst only makes you angry in addition to disappointed, and you may not even be correct in your assumption.

[Merriem]

You are making an assumption that the reason they made that choice was to make more money. Perhaps you are right. But then perhaps you are not. Perhaps they made it because they needed to keep to schedule as much as possible or it would mess up a lot of other things for them. Perhaps they made it because hundreds of people on tours at the next port would be very disappointed if they missed it. Perhaps this is an area (like in Alaska) where they need to schedule ahead of time so they can coordinate with other ships so cruising the fjords was no longer an option. Perhaps they made it because they did not have enough fuel to still cruise the fjords and safely get to the next port (this is a real possibility by the way). There are many, many possibilities neither you nor I could really know. It stinks and I feel for you, but assuming the worst only makes you angry in addition to disappointed, and you may not even be correct in your assumption.

Not being a cheerleader for any cruiseline, I am stating my opinion and that of many passengers. We had booked this over a year ago. When our young dog had a ruptured disc and became paralyzed it was a big decision if we should still go. After speaking with the physical therapist and our dog sitter learning the at home excercises, we decided to still go. Frankly this is not the only issue, and We have seen great changes and cost cutting in the last year on Celebrity. As I said, this is my opinion, and you are certainly entitled to yours.

[dkjretired]

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

 

Not missing the point st all.

[AmazedByCruising]

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

 

Did your husband also speak to people who did book a tour that would have been cancelled if a different decision was made? I can imagine an equally angry post about "not being able to enjoy a tour booked years in advance just to see some boring fjords", together with an explanation that "obviously ships don't want to be in a port because that is costing them $$$$$".

[phoenix_dream]

Not being a cheerleader for any cruiseline, I am stating my opinion and that of many passengers. We had booked this over a year ago. When our young dog had a ruptured disc and became paralyzed it was a big decision if we should still go. After speaking with the physical therapist and our dog sitter learning the at home excercises, we decided to still go. Frankly this is not the only issue, and We have seen great changes and cost cutting in the last year on Celebrity. As I said, this is my opinion, and you are certainly entitled to yours.

I'm not talking about opinions, I am talking about facts. Assumptions are not facts. You are making assumptions. Many of the other passengers are apparently making assumptions. I don't have an opinion about why they made the decision they made. I don't know why. And neither do you. That's my point. I thought it would be helpful to hear some other reasons that may make you feel better about the whole thing. But your mind is clearly made up, facts or no facts. You are obviously very angry and upset about this and choose to believe Celebrity deliberately made a decision with only their own best interests in mind. I'm sorry you feel that way.

[Karynanne]

You are missing the point. The fiords make them no money. The tours do. My husband was speaking with other people who were equally upset. They have a choice on where to go, and obviously the $$$$$ is the determining factor.

 

 

 

There is possibly another viewpoint to this situation.

 

You stated that they “had a choice” as to where to go. Maybe they don’t. The fjords are a National Park. They probably don’t allow multiple large ships enter in a daily basis. Just maybe this decision wasn’t made by Celebrity. But by the port authority for the fjords.

 

I completely understand your disappointment. I’ve seen the fjords. They’re magnificent. But we’ve been on cruises where unscheduled incidents occur, and schedules change.

 

Celebrity doesn’t go out of their way to disappoint their passengers.

 

 

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[Fouremco]

I've been on numerous cruises on different lines when there have been delays because of medical or other emergencies. The ships have then made every effort to get back on schedule as quickly as possible. That's standard operating procedure, nothing more, nothing less. Accusing Celebrity of doing so simply to make more money displays a lack of understanding of the cruise industry.

[Suzi66]

You lost 12 hours. If you went through the Sounds you would then be going through them at night. What would you be seeing, absolutely nothing. The sensible decision is to go on to Dunedin where you will port possibly a bit earlier, be able to get off earlier (which will be good because last time I went on the Solstice it took hours to get off as we weren't on a ship's tour) and have a nice day. It is sad that you don't see the Fiords but you won't see them anyway in the dark, and if the captain delayed it by a day he would be missing another stop which he can't do.

It is the ONLY decision that can be made.

[Northern Aurora]

I hope that once what seems to be intense disappointment on the part of Merriem dissipates she will be able to read and understand the sensible points which posters have tried to make to her. And yes, we have been to New Zealand on both a land trip and have made several port calls there, so I understand that you will be missing some wonderful scenery. But a fellow passenger was so ill that the ship had to return to a port, and that takes priority.

[jenniparks]

I hope that once what seems to be intense disappointment on the part of Merriem dissipates she will be able to read and understand the sensible points which posters have tried to make to her. And yes, we have been to New Zealand on both a land trip and have made several port calls there, so I understand that you will be missing some wonderful scenery. But a fellow passenger was so ill that the ship had to return to a port, and that takes priority.

 

I think the posters here who are upset (and my fellow cruisers who aren't on CC to post but are still upset) are not angry that the ship had to go back to AU for the medical emergency. These things happen and we have every sympathy for the ill guest and best wishes for a speedy recovery. I think they are angry that other ports were prioritized for keeping over the day in the sound. And I assume that is because for many, such as myself and my husband, the main draw of this particular cruise was the sound. If it were up to me I'd definitely skip one of the NZ ports over skipping the sound. So yeah, it is frustrating, especially bc it is easier in the future to schedule a flight back to the main area of NZ to see whatever port city we might have missed but arranging a tour of the fjords is more difficult - it needs to be seen by boat really. I do thank the person who pointed out that if we headed for the fjords we would get there at night and either not see anything or have to hang out till morning (putting us even further behind schedule). That lends a bit of rational for skipping the fjords over a port further down the line. But it is still a bummer and I think it would be a good show of faith for Celebrity to offer some sort of compensation for the missed experience. A small OBC on this cruise or a future booking for example. A small expenditure on their part ($100OBC per suite cabin for example?) would go a long way toward soothing people's irritation over this and keep them loyal to Celebrity. We just booked 3 future cruises with the parent company (2 on Azamara and 1 on Celebrity) and I'd think they'd do their best to keep our expectations met. But when I broached the subject with the staffer who mans the desk in the captain's club she was very clear and brusk- no compensation of any kind. :mad::mad::mad:

[Merriem]

I think the posters here who are upset (and my fellow cruisers who aren't on CC to post but are still upset) are not angry that the ship had to go back to AU for the medical emergency. These things happen and we have every sympathy for the ill guest and best wishes for a speedy recovery. I think they are angry that other ports were prioritized for keeping over the day in the sound. And I assume that is because for many, such as myself and my husband, the main draw of this particular cruise was the sound. If it were up to me I'd definitely skip one of the NZ ports over skipping the sound. So yeah, it is frustrating, especially bc it is easier in the future to schedule a flight back to the main area of NZ to see whatever port city we might have missed but arranging a tour of the fjords is more difficult - it needs to be seen by boat really. I do thank the person who pointed out that if we headed for the fjords we would get there at night and either not see anything or have to hang out till morning (putting us even further behind schedule). That lends a bit of rational for skipping the fjords over a port further down the line. But it is still a bummer and I think it would be a good show of faith for Celebrity to offer some sort of compensation for the missed experience. A small OBC on this cruise or a future booking for example. A small expenditure on their part ($100OBC per suite cabin for example?) would go a long way toward soothing people's irritation over this and keep them loyal to Celebrity. We just booked 3 future cruises with the parent company (2 on Azamara and 1 on Celebrity) and I'd think they'd do their best to keep our expectations met. But when I broached the subject with the staffer who mans the desk in the captain's club she was very clear and brusk- no compensation of any kind. :mad::mad::mad:

Very well said.

[MadManOfBethesda]

But when I broached the subject with the staffer who mans the desk in the captain's club she was very clear and brusk- no compensation of any kind. :mad::mad::mad:

 

As well she should be. It is absolutely ridiculous to think that Celebrity should offer any compensation in this situation, as if it was their fault a passenger became I'll and the itinerary had to be altered.

[The_Big_M]

But it is still a bummer and I think it would be a good show of faith for Celebrity to offer some sort of compensation for the missed experience. A small OBC on this cruise or a future booking for example. A small expenditure on their part ($100OBC per suite cabin for example?) would go a long way toward soothing people's irritation over this and keep them loyal to Celebrity.

 

Agreed that it's a bummer. But why is it Celebrity's fault to compensate you for the impact cause by another passenger's sickness/injury?

 

I don't see it.

 

Even trying to think of analogies, if a plane (or bus, or train) is delayed e.g 2, even 4 hours due to someone else that you miss a connection/wedding/whatever you're going for, the airline won't compensate you. If you bought travel insurance, then you may get delay coverage, but that still won't compensate for e.g. the missed wedding/funeral/sport event.

 

Sure, if it was a mechanical failure on the ship, then Celebrity would be responsible and I would expect them to compensate you. But not for something caused by a 3rd party and out of their control.

[jenniparks]

When your flight is cancelled due to weather issues completely outside the control of the airlines, if you hold elite status, Delta still comps you 10k miles, meal vouchers, hotel vouchers, and upgrade on the replacement flight. That's the model of customer service I am used to. The "YEAH it's not our fault, but we don't want you to be left with a bad taste in your mouth and we take care of our elites" model.