Disappointed in Celebrity’s policy

[SueBee0]

My Husband and I booked 6 cabins to bring our family on a cruise to celebrate our 50th anniversary. Unfortunately my husband became seriously injured this year and is still recovering in a wheelchair. We notified our travel agent that we would need an accessible cabin. They had one which required us to pay more money which we understood since it was more centrally located. However our travel agent said we would also have to give up one of our benefits since it wasn’t currently being offered at the 4 benefits.

 

Now this is still the same reservation number and only being made due to medical necessity. Why are we being further punished? I must give our appreciation to Princess Cruises who not only let us retain all our benefits but did not upcharge us for the accessible cabin we will need in January. Our travel agent insisted that all cruise lines would act as Celebrity did, but obviously not. It will definitely be a consideration in our future cruise selections

[mnocket]

One would like to think that having booked 6 cabins Celebrity would be willing to bend their policy a bit for the sake of customer relations, however my observation is that this is not the Celebrity way.

[Orator]

My Husband and I booked 6 cabins to bring our family on a cruise to celebrate our 50th anniversary. Unfortunately my husband became seriously injured this year and is still recovering in a wheelchair. We notified our travel agent that we would need an accessible cabin. They had one which required us to pay more money which we understood since it was more centrally located. However our travel agent said we would also have to give up one of our benefits since it wasn’t currently being offered at the 4 benefits.

 

Now this is still the same reservation number and only being made due to medical necessity. Why are we being further punished? I must give our appreciation to Princess Cruises who not only let us retain all our benefits but did not upcharge us for the accessible cabin we will need in January. Our travel agent insisted that all cruise lines would act as Celebrity did, but obviously not. It will definitely be a consideration in our future cruise selections

A change is a change and specific rules do apply including the available perks at the time of booking a change. However, exceptions are made is special cases and this seems like one. A really good TA should be able to explain the situation to Celebrity and receive special consideration in your case. I know that in some situations a TA would give you more OBC from their commission as "goodwill". Did you book as a group. If so, you would be dealing with the Group Sales department.

[39august]

If the TA is not successful in pleading your case, (and the TA should step in here), I would call X directly and ask for a resolutions specialist and try on my own.

[cruisestitch]

Are you certain you need an accessible cabin? Many people in wheelchairs book regular cabins.

[cmhdoogalsatsea]

My Husband and I booked 6 cabins to bring our family on a cruise to celebrate our 50th anniversary. Unfortunately my husband became seriously injured this year and is still recovering in a wheelchair. We notified our travel agent that we would need an accessible cabin. They had one which required us to pay more money which we understood since it was more centrally located. However our travel agent said we would also have to give up one of our benefits since it wasn’t currently being offered at the 4 benefits.

 

Now this is still the same reservation number and only being made due to medical necessity. Why are we being further punished? I must give our appreciation to Princess Cruises who not only let us retain all our benefits but did not upcharge us for the accessible cabin we will need in January. Our travel agent insisted that all cruise lines would act as Celebrity did, but obviously not. It will definitely be a consideration in our future cruise selections

Very sorry to hear of your challenges. In case you'd like a name for someone who might be in a position to help, I routinely ask for a couple of health accommodations to be made on my Celebrity trips and this person has been terrific. I realize the email says Royal, but she covers both. Her name is Ms. Jenneth Castrillo. She is an Access advocate Phone: (866) 592-7225 | jcastrillo AT rccl DOT com

Although she won't likely be the "last person" you have to contact, I imagine that she might be able to point you in the right direction quickly.

[Cruise Raider]

Very sorry to hear of your challenges. In case you'd like a name for someone who might be in a position to help, I routinely ask for a couple of health accommodations to be made on my Celebrity trips and this person has been terrific. I realize the email says Royal, but she covers both. Her name is Ms. Jenneth Castrillo. She is an Access advocate Phone: (866) 592-7225 | jcastrillo AT rccl DOT com

Although she won't likely be the "last person" you have to contact, I imagine that she might be able to point you in the right direction quickly.

 

Very solid advice! I’ve dealt with those that are very helpful and those that won’t go the extra step. I think being put In touch with the right person at Celebrity will garner some positive results. On RCCL, a friend of mine was able to keep his perks and be upgraded to a suite for no charge when he needed an accessible room.

 

Best of luck to the OP ... please come back and let us know how it works out for you.

[bEwAbG]

I would be inclined to blame the TA for not going the extra mile before blaming Celebrity. The people in the accessibility office are also going to be limited as to what they can do by virtue of the OP being booked with a TA but hopefully they can work with a supervisor who can work with the TA. I would try to arrange for a three-way call so that the person at Celebrity knows the exact situation they're dealing with.

[RickT]

I assume the switch to an accessible cabin also involves a change in cabin Category. That is probably the basis for the cost increase as well as the change of perks. Good luck with the advocate.

[dkjretired]

First, Cruisestich is one of the most helpful posters on this board.

Second, there are degrees of need for those with disabilities and the poster's DH might have been able to handle a regular cabin. Most likely not, but the question is valid.

 

Agree, Cruisestich offers assistance to everyone on this board I’m sure the last thing he is concerned about is postcount

[SueBee0]

Are you certain you need an accessible cabin? Many people in wheelchairs book regular cabins.

Yes. He only had one leg to stand on with balance problems. His other leg needed to be extended for wound healing.

[SueBee0]

If the TA is not successful in pleading your case, (and the TA should step in here), I would call X directly and ask for a resolutions specialist and try on my own.

I’m sure this was my biggest error. I believed my TA at face value there was nothing to do although I questioned her on more than one instance. I then tried guest relations while on the cruise and nothing could be done at that point. It was only after contacting princess I started to suspect we were being fed a line. Now that the cruise is over I don’t know what they can do for us.

[hcat]

Did not realize the trip was over

At this point it may be too late..lesson learned and shared!

[Orator]

I’m sure this was my biggest error. I believed my TA at face value there was nothing to do although I questioned her on more than one instance. I then tried guest relations while on the cruise and nothing could be done at that point. It was only after contacting princess I started to suspect we were being fed a line. Now that the cruise is over I don’t know what they can do for us.

Why contact Princess, owned by Carnival for a problem on Celebrity? The policies of the lines are different. Anyhow, the cruise is over and nothing can or will be done. Hope you enjoyed the cruise and your DH recovers fully and quickly.

[SueBee0]

Very sorry to hear of your challenges. In case you'd like a name for someone who might be in a position to help, I routinely ask for a couple of health accommodations to be made on my Celebrity trips and this person has been terrific. I realize the email says Royal, but she covers both. Her name is Ms. Jenneth Castrillo. She is an Access advocate Phone: (866) 592-7225 | jcastrillo AT rccl DOT com

Although she won't likely be the "last person" you have to contact, I imagine that she might be able to point you in the right direction quickly.

Thank you for your suggestion. Perhaps the best course for us in the future would be for us to book independently instead of through a TA. Our situation was initially we were all healthy and able bodied with no need for accessible accommodations. The change of cabin was only made to enable all of us to continue with our reservation. This to me is different than just upgrading to a better room for other reasons.

[SueBee0]

A change is a change and specific rules do apply including the available perks at the time of booking a change. However, exceptions are made is special cases and this seems like one. A really good TA should be able to explain the situation to Celebrity and receive special consideration in your case. I know that in some situations a TA would give you more OBC from their commission as "goodwill". Did you book as a group. If so, you would be dealing with the Group Sales department.

No, we just booked through the TA. Final payment had not been made so I guess we could have cancelled the whole cruise. But it is difficult to rebook with everyone’s schedules and I thought celebrity would be more flexible

[SueBee0]

Why contact Princess, owned by Carnival for a problem on Celebrity? The policies of the lines are different. Anyhow, the cruise is over and nothing can or will be done. Hope you enjoyed the cruise and your DH recovers fully and quickly.

Oops. I did not explain that we had reservations for another cruise in January on Princess that needed to be adjusted to an accessible cabin. There was no problem at all. Alas, my dealings with Celebrity have not been as helpful. The cruise was fine although it was frustrating to not participate in the free drinks with the rest of our family.

[Solution]

Thank you for your suggestion. Perhaps the best course for us in the future would be for us to book independently instead of through a TA. Our situation was initially we were all healthy and able bodied with no need for accessible accommodations. The change of cabin was only made to enable all of us to continue with our reservation. This to me is different than just upgrading to a better room for other reasons.

 

Not necessary. A good TA will go the extra mile to assist the client. If the TA simply changed the booking online, yes, the rules apply as the computer is program to do so. If the TA simply called the regular Agent desk, the rules may or may not apply depending on who was on the other line. However, there was always the level above the person on the phone, which has more authority to do exceptions.

[Knolmom]

Very sorry to hear about your husband’s accident. I found myself in a similar situation to yours for our Baltic Cruise in 2015. I did make the change to a HC Cabin and paid the extra $$. I did not have any perks because I booked after final payment.

I did call custome service via Celebrity Captain’s Club and they were kind enough to obtain a refund of the difference between our AQ Class Cabin that was not accessible and our and our Celebrity accessible Sky Suite ( Suite guarantee) by giving us on board credit, not a cash refund. The difference was about $900 which came in handy for our tips, and we were able to use the rest, combined with our TA onboard credit, to cover our bar bill. All in all we thought it was a very fair resolution.

[jagoffee]

Not necessary. A good TA will go the extra mile to assist the client. If the TA simply changed the booking online, yes, the rules apply as the computer is program to do so. If the TA simply called the regular Agent desk, the rules may or may not apply depending on who was on the other line. However, there was always the level above the person on the phone, which has more authority to do exceptions.

SueBee0,

I am not convinced that given your situation, that it is valid to believe the problem was with Celebrity’s policy.

My sense is that you should find a different TA as suggested above.

You had an unusual event that required an accommodation from Celebrity and I would have thought any good TA would have been able to explain/Drive a solution that would have been satisfied your needs. Perhaps without even paying more, but perhaps not. I assume it was a higher category (or at least equal).

I suspect your TA was just being lazy or was not very experience with Celebrity.

In summary I do not think it is Celebrity’s policy not to accommodate special needs.

 

Enjoy your Princess cruise in January.

[Iamthesea]

I assume the switch to an accessible cabin also involves a change in cabin Category. That is probably the basis for the cost increase as well as the change of perks. Good luck with the advocate.

 

I am not sure why the OP's perks were taken. :confused: We often upgrade to a better stateroom (higher cat.) Have done so both before and after final payment. Our perks have always remained the same. We book with a TA.

[Viktoria]

Are you certain you need an accessible cabin? Many people in wheelchairs book regular cabins.

 

Many people who do need an accessible cabin are not able to get one because those who do not need it take it because it is usually bigger. Proof should be required that it is a necessity. Many of us who need it make do with a regular cabin because the accessible one is not available. I was lucky to get one on my next cruise but had to get on on the front of the ship. Don't ask if you do not need it.:mad:

[bigbenboys]

When we have had problems with out booking our TA calls her go to person at Celebrity and things get worked out. Even after final payment.

[Gonzo70]

I am not sure why the OP's perks were taken. :confused: We often upgrade to a better stateroom (higher cat.) Have done so both before and after final payment. Our perks have always remained the same. We book with a TA.

 

When you upgrade, you receive the current perks associated with the stateroom you are upgrading to; sometimes they are the same as the perks you already have, sometimes they are not.

[SueBee0]

After writing to our TA she sent me the phone number for post cruise problems at Celebrity. At first it was the company line of different class cabin means change and loss of benefits. I argued that it was the only available accessible cabin done purely for medical reasons. Then there was more research into the benefits and ultimately unclear if celebrity or travel agency was to blame for the loss of one of our benefits. She apologized for our being shorted and graciously added a benefit to a future cruise we have on Celebrity. Our TA said she spoke to a celebrity agent just yesterday and they are still saying we did not qualify for the benefit. I have passed on some of your generous suggestions for her future use. I still feel very strongly that is should just be the policy to not penalize someone for switching to accessible room for medical problems. If they want to charge for the “better” room so be it but leave our other benefits alone