The Emergency Travel Team number on app is WRONG

[SalManila]

Final update:  We received another call from Celebrity’s corporate office today and I’m happy to report that all issues have been resolved to our satisfaction. Apparently our social media “tirade” caught the attention of someone pretty high up in the corporate ladder and wanted to follow up.  We understand that we are not entirely blameless for the problems we encountered in Panamá, and we appreciate all the suggestions and feedback.  

Edited February 12, 2019 by SalManila

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Fogfog said:

Thanks, Added it through google on my laptop contacts--which transferred into my phone with the +  which does appear. I would never have known how to make a + appear by holding down the 0

Hope to never need it

Happy to hear that everything worked out well for you.   I believe many have benefited and learned new things about international calling.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Fogfog said:

Thanks, Added it through google on my laptop contacts--which transferred into my phone with the +  which does appear. I would never have known how to make a + appear by holding down the 0

Hope to never need it

 

Easier to add the + when creating a new contact.  Just press the button bottom left  

 

[Fogfog]

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Easier to add the + when creating a new contact.  Just press the button bottom left  

 

 

Thanks Jim

 

FWIW I have never had trouble reaching the US via our cell phones while overseas. For example--when in Denmark, I just dialed from my contacts and there was no issue. Our US carrier has some reciprocity in a lot of places. We check it before we travel. 

Worth adding the emergency # to contacts. 

I do take the daily with us while off the ship. Didn't used to do that--yet after reading a few incidents here on CC --thought it worth it just in case.

 

[Bo1953]

15 hours ago, SalManila said:

Final update:  We received another call from Celebrity’s corporate office today and I’m happy to report that all issues have been resolved to our satisfaction. Apparently our social media “tirade” caught the attention of someone pretty high up in the corporate ladder and wanted to follow up.  We understand that we are not entirely blameless for the problems we encountered in Panamá, and we appreciate all the suggestions and feedback.  

bon voyage

[waterbug123]

On 2/12/2019 at 8:59 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

ultimately it’s the tour company’s responsibility to find them and get them back to the ship. 

 

Good luck with that.   If you take off on your own or ignore the time and don't follow the directions you were given, it is NOT the tour operator's job to go searching for you.   Sure, it's reasonable to think they might take a cursory look around the immediate area or check the closest restrooms, but are they supposed to drive all over the city?   Go into every store, bar and restaurant?  Call the police, the hospital and the embassy?  Meanwhile keeping a busload of other people waiting, and potentially leaving a ship of thousands of others waiting?  No, they aren't.   As a tour participant, it is YOUR responsibility to follow directions, keep an eye on the time, and be where you are supposed to be at the appointed time.  It's called personal responsibility.

[ipeeinthepool]

48 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Good luck with that.   If you take off on your own or ignore the time and don't follow the directions you were given, it is NOT the tour operator's job to go searching for you.   Sure, it's reasonable to think they might take a cursory look around the immediate area or check the closest restrooms, but are they supposed to drive all over the city?   Go into every store, bar and restaurant?  Call the police, the hospital and the embassy?  Meanwhile keeping a busload of other people waiting, and potentially leaving a ship of thousands of others waiting?  No, they aren't.   As a tour participant, it is YOUR responsibility to follow directions, keep an eye on the time, and be where you are supposed to be at the appointed time.  It's called personal responsibility.

 

Short answer is yes.  If they don’t they will be talking with someone like Jim Walker.  How do you know if the directions weren’t clear, they weren’t speaking my native language or I got hurt doing something they suggested.  Sorry there isn’t any way for them to know why I’m late until they find me.  You are assuming I wasn’t following directions or I was inconsiderate.  If the bus leaves, there should be someone there that is looking for me until I’m found.  That’s all part of the worry free guarantee from Celebrity 

[SalManila]

12 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Short answer is yes.  If they don’t they will be talking with someone like Jim Walker.  How do you know if the directions weren’t clear, they weren’t speaking my native language or I got hurt doing something they suggested.  Sorry there isn’t any way for them to know why I’m late until they find me.  You are assuming I wasn’t following directions or I was inconsiderate.  If the bus leaves, there should be someone there that is looking for me until I’m found.  That’s all part of the worry free guarantee from Celebrity 

 

OP here.  As I am new to this website and this is my first post, may I ask who Jim Walker is?  

Edited February 13, 2019 by SalManila

[Ross K]

1 hour ago, ipeeinthepool said:

You are assuming I wasn’t following directions or I was inconsiderate.  If the bus leaves, there should be someone there that is looking for me until I’m found.  That’s all part of the worry free guarantee from Celebrity 

 

I’m sorry but that is literally made up! There is no “worry free guarantee” from Celebrity that states someone will come looking for you until you’re found! The contract literally states the opposite and states they are in no way liable! Please do share with us a link to this guarantee if its real.

[Ross K]

Let me help you by providing exactly what Celebrity say in their terms:-

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Celebrity-Cruise-Ticket-Contract.pdf

____________

5. SHORE EXCURSIONS, TOURS, FACILITIES OR OTHER TRANSPORTATION:
All arrangements made for or by Passenger for transportation (other than on the Vessel) before, during or after the Cruise or CruiseTour of any kind whatsoever, as well as air arrangements, shore excursions, tours, hotels, restaurants, attractions and other similar activities or services, including all related conveyances, products or facilities, are made solely for Passenger’s convenience and are at Passenger’s risk. The providers, owners and operators of such services, conveyances, products and facilities are independent contractors and are not acting as agents or representatives of Carrier. Even though Carrier may collect a fee for, or otherwise profit from, making such arrangements and offers for sale shore excursions, tours, hotels, restaurants, attractions, the Land Tour and other similar activities or services taking place off the Vessel for a profit, it does not undertake to supervise or control such independent contractors or their employees, nor maintain their conveyances or facilities, and makes no representation, whether express or implied, regarding their suitability or safety. In no event shall Carrier be liable for any loss, delay, disappointment, damage, injury, death or other harm whatsoever to Passenger which occurs on or off the Vessel or the Transport as a result of any acts, omissions or negligence of any independent contractors.

_________

 

I should think the above leaves no room for misunderstanding. You are on your own - it is your responsibility to be at the right location at the right time.

[Bo1953]

6 minutes ago, Ross K said:

Let me help you by providing exactly what Celebrity say in their terms:-

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Celebrity-Cruise-Ticket-Contract.pdf

____________

5. SHORE EXCURSIONS, TOURS, FACILITIES OR OTHER TRANSPORTATION:
All arrangements made for or by Passenger for transportation (other than on the Vessel) before, during or after the Cruise or CruiseTour of any kind whatsoever, as well as air arrangements, shore excursions, tours, hotels, restaurants, attractions and other similar activities or services, including all related conveyances, products or facilities, are made solely for Passenger’s convenience and are at Passenger’s risk. The providers, owners and operators of such services, conveyances, products and facilities are independent contractors and are not acting as agents or representatives of Carrier. Even though Carrier may collect a fee for, or otherwise profit from, making such arrangements and offers for sale shore excursions, tours, hotels, restaurants, attractions, the Land Tour and other similar activities or services taking place off the Vessel for a profit, it does not undertake to supervise or control such independent contractors or their employees, nor maintain their conveyances or facilities, and makes no representation, whether express or implied, regarding their suitability or safety. In no event shall Carrier be liable for any loss, delay, disappointment, damage, injury, death or other harm whatsoever to Passenger which occurs on or off the Vessel or the Transport as a result of any acts, omissions or negligence of any independent contractors.

_________

 

I should think the above leaves no room for misunderstanding. You are on your own - it is your responsibility to be at the right location at the right time.

I do not think the OP read the fine print before sailing or getting off the ship, but that is fine as they may have received some compensation for their taxi fare as they reported being 'satisfied' with a "resolution" proffered by some high up Exec at X corporate.

 

Then again, one cannot mis-understand what is not read, even in plain sight.

 

This exact same issue could have happened with me, not meeting the bus, I would like to think that I would have figured something out before it happened and not hope they would wait longer just to wait and see if we showed up.

 

I thought the OP indicated this was their first cruise and first foreign trip, so I give them some wiggle room for such mistakes, yet being the first time I would think more caution would have been given not knowing or understanding what the downside would be for being late.

 

Thank you for the post and bon voyage

Edited February 13, 2019 by Bo1953

[SalManila]

58 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I do not think the OP read the fine print before sailing or getting off the ship, but that is fine as they may have received some compensation for their taxi fare as they reported being 'satisfied' with a "resolution" proffered by some high up Exec at X corporate.

 

Then again, one cannot mis-understand what is not read, even in plain sight.

 

This exact same issue could have happened with me, not meeting the bus, I would like to think that I would have figured something out before it happened and not hope they would wait longer just to wait and see if we showed up.

 

I thought the OP indicated this was their first cruise and first foreign trip, so I give them some wiggle room for such mistakes, yet being the first time I would think more caution would have been given not knowing or understanding what the downside would be for being late.

 

Thank you for the post and bon voyage

 

OP here.  I think you misunderstood what I wrote.  This was not our first cruise or our first foreign trip.  Far from it.  Reading the fine print and such was not the issue we were trying to bring to light.  We know we were not entirely blameless for what happened to us in Panama, but neither was Celebrity.  If this thread helped future passengers in any way, then our goal was accomplished.   Thanks for the feedback.

[ipeeinthepool]

Celebrity always tells you, the ship won’t leave without you when you are on one of their tours.  All of the legalese goes out the window when there is gross negligence. Some of us would say only waiting 10 minutes is gross negligence.  This is what keeps Jim Walker in business.

[Ross K]

15 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Celebrity always tells you, the ship won’t leave without you when you are on one of their tours.  All of the legalese goes out the window when there is gross negligence. Some of us would say only waiting 10 minutes is gross negligence.  This is what keeps Jim Walker in business.

 

 

Well someone might tell you “the ship will never leave without you” just like the Op was apparently told “the tour group won’t leave without you” - but they did... In no court on this fair planet would it be classed as gross negligence if you turned up 10 minutes late and the tour left without you. Let’s stick to the original post - the Op ordered lunch (not part of the tour), it took too long and so they arrived at the meeting point 10 minutes after departure time. How you could possibly claim any gross negligence is beyond me. And this sort of stuff happens every single day - people get left behind because they fail to show up on time - and I’m yet to see any successful court case of someone turning up late and successfully suing the cruise company or the tour operator. At the end of the day, its in black and white above and you have been unable to show any evidence of this guarantee you touted saying they will come looking for you. You’ve now been presented with the cold hard facts direct from Celebrity and you are still trying to dispute it. Yet we are still waiting for you to show us this amazing guarantee that Celebrity will send a search party out for you? Or maybe even show one court case that backs up what you’re saying? Or any webpage from Celebrity that backs this up?

 

You can believe all you want in this nonsense. Who should one believe when reading this thread? You, or the actual Celebrity terms and conditions of carriage, which is the *only* promise that matters... Sure, Celebrity *might*, and often do, go out of their way to make customers happy, even if the customer is in the wrong. Don’t kid yourself that they have any legal obligation to do so. If their terms were unlawful or deemed unfair, they would have certainly been challenged and changed by now.

 

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, SalManila said:

 

OP here.  I think you misunderstood what I wrote.  This was not our first cruise or our first foreign trip.  Far from it.  Reading the fine print and such was not the issue we were trying to bring to light.  We know we were not entirely blameless for what happened to us in Panama, but neither was Celebrity.  If this thread helped future passengers in any way, then our goal was accomplished.   Thanks for the feedback.

My profound apologies and thank you for the clarification of the facts.

 

I Am sure your post here and elsewhere will go a long way to assist, others.

 

bon voyage

Edited February 13, 2019 by Bo1953

[helen haywood]

The Celebrity will wait for you if on a ship sponsored excursion means that if the bus you and the other passengers are on breaks down communication will be made with the ship and perhaps the sailing delayed.  I know of several times the Captain has made an announcement that our departure is delayed by an hour or more as we are waiting for one of our tours.  Meaning if the entire excursion party encounters a delay...breakdown, traffic, weather, whatever you needn’t worry about the ship sailing without you.

 

This does not in any way imply that, if you venture off and do not meet at the pre-assigned time, that either the tour operator will stay until they find you or the ship will wait for you as you make your own way back.

 

This is not addressed to the OP.  I appreciate the information gleaned from this thread.

[JFontaine]

9 hours ago, SalManila said:

 

OP here.  As I am new to this website and this is my first post, may I ask who Jim Walker is?  

He’s a lawyer who, among other things, litigates against cruise lines.

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/about-jim-walker/

Edited February 14, 2019 by JFontaine

[mayleeman]

A key factor to keep in mind is that the OP said they had showed up twice before to meeting places for the tour and the operator waited awhile for stragglers. Normally, I would not think someone could knowingly let the time for meeting go by without sending one of them to the guide saying the other was coming soon. But the OP was thinking it was SOP to wait a bit, and you can easily see how they got that impression. 

 

Unfortunately, thinking "started late before so they will start late again" has caused many people to miss busses, airplanes, car pools, and, now, tour connections. Absent some type of notice or a promise to wait, no one has to set aside a schedule for delayed people. A good lesson for us as we look forward to our own tours and know what can happen if we relax our always-early rule.

[waterbug123]

20 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Short answer is yes.  If they don’t they will be talking with someone like Jim Walker.  How do you know if the directions weren’t clear, they weren’t speaking my native language or I got hurt doing something they suggested.  Sorry there isn’t any way for them to know why I’m late until they find me.  You are assuming I wasn’t following directions or I was inconsiderate.  If the bus leaves, there should be someone there that is looking for me until I’m found.  That’s all part of the worry free guarantee from Celebrity 

 

Wrong again.  Once again it's about personal responsibility.  If you don't speak the language, then it's up to you to stay close to the guide or figure out a way to communicate effectively with him/her.  Use Google translate, write down what you think he said and ask him to verify, whatever.  Otherwise, how do you have any idea at all about when and where you're supposed to meet?  You don't get to just book a tour in a language you don't understand and then do your own thing and make assumptions about what the guide said because it isn't your native tongue.

 

16 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Celebrity always tells you, the ship won’t leave without you when you are on one of their tours.  All of the legalese goes out the window when there is gross negligence. Some of us would say only waiting 10 minutes is gross negligence.  This is what keeps Jim Walker in business.

 

This refers to the entire bus being late because it broke down, or traffic was stopped due to a wreck or something.  No where in any literature, rules, websites etc. does Celebrity tell you they guarantee that if you get separated from your group on a tour, they will go to the ends of the earth to find you, nor does it say they will hold the ship until you are found if this happens.   You are grossly misintrepreting what you've read/heard, and if you get left behind due to your own negligence (and yes, it would be your own negligence if you didn't understand, but just went off on your own anyway, with no idea of when/where to meet) I doubt your Jim Walker would be able to help much.