Tour cancelled 2 days before sailing. Outrageous.

[bEwAbG]

"They'" are third party vendors.  If the third party cancels, what do you expect the cruise line to do other than try to get you on other excursions that are not cancelled?  You have very unreasonable expectations.  

[TMLAalum]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

"forced to cancel"? 2 days before the cruise? Without notice?

 

When I pay for a tour, I expect it to happen. No minimum requirement? This should not be my problem.

 

Good thing you weren't on our Eclipse cruise that docked in Puerto Madryn Argentina....roads out of the city in both directions were flooded and all Celebrity tours to Punta Tomba and Peninsula Valdez were cancelled the night before we arrived.....

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Then you may want to book private tours from now on so you won’t run into this issue ever again. 

 

We paid for a private tour in advance in Puerto Madryn for Peninsula Valdes and guess what? It too was cancelled! 

Despite the disappointment for us and most of the others on our cruise, booked with the ship or privately,  it was the tour providers that were hurt far more than we were.

[PTC DAWG]

6 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

"They'" are third party vendors.  If the third party cancels, what do you expect the cruise line to do other than try to get you on other excursions that are not cancelled?  You have very unreasonable expectations.  

Agree,  not sure OP understands who “they” are in this situation. 

[Orator]

You check a box saying that you read the terms of the Cruise Contract before you can print your Express Pass. You must scroll down the contract before you can check the box. The terms and conditions are spelled out clearly. Most people, I guess never read before checking the box. Whose fault is that?

[waterbug123]

On 6/9/2019 at 7:50 PM, Heather1972 said:

 

 

On 6/11/2019 at 2:32 PM, Martin15 said:

 

 

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

In this case, I suspect the real reason was they did not meet the minimum number of participants. Which might be legal - still doesn't make it right. They charge outrageous prices for those tours (much higher than Oceania for example), so making slightly less on one single tour shouldn't be a big deal. 

 

 

So you don't even know WHY it was canceled and you're screaming about how outrageous it is?  LOL. If something happens and the vendor cancels, that is out of Celebrity's control.  How is that outrageous? The only thing that would make this truly outrageous is if they canceled and refused to refund you. (Oh, and the price must not be that outrageous if you were willing to pay it.)

 

 

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

When I pay for a tour, I expect it to happen. No minimum requirement? This should not be my problem.

 

It IS your responsibility though to understand the terms and conditions when you purchase.  If the "minimum number" condition isn't satisfactory to you, then don't book.  By booking, you inherently ACCEPT that it might be canceled for that reason.

 

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

It was a guided tour of the Louvre. Since a long ride is involved, we were hesitant to take a private tour, and it's obviously too late to do it now. I have been in the Louvre, but we are travelling with our daughter, and she has been dreaming visiting the Louvre for years.

 

As always, if something is a must see, do a land-based trip. There is usually less chance of missing a particular destination that way. 

 

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

However, when you go on a guided tour, they usually skip the lines, while independently, we could easily spend 2+ hours in lines.

 

You know you can book a guided tour without using Celebrity, right?  Book Celebrity's "Paris on your own" or take a public train or bus to get to Paris.  Then book (ahead of time) a guided tour!  You can do this on your own by researching tour companies (ex. Viator) and booking with them, or by going to the website of the tourist attraction you plan to visit.  Some of the tour companies may even provide transportation from the port as well.

 

[gold1953]

26 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

No they should continue the tour at the same price and keep their customers happy. They make more than enough money on those tours, and if from time to time they make a bit less, nothing would happen. By cancelling, they might save few bucks, but it always backfires in the long term.

Do you even know if this is why it is cancelled? Often it is because of issues with the vendor they are using and not numbers on the tour

[ak1004]

Thank you everyone for your advice.

 

As I mentioned before, my complaint is not only for the cancellation itself, but also for lack of communication. Obviously, I can only guess why the tour has been cancelled because I didn't even get a notice about it.

 

I checked Celebrity website. The have the Paris "On Your Own" tour which is $179 CAD, but now they also have Louvre Transfer at $134 CAD. I guess the second one replaces the Louvre guided tour that has been cancelled.

 

But now I'm confused: what is the difference and why the first one is more expensive? They both include transfer only.

[Denny01]

In your first post, you complained it was outrageous that you weren’t informed your tour was cancelled. And you said you got this info from Facebook. You may be part of the Louvre Transfer tour. So I strongly suggest you stop posting and get hold of Celebrity and work it out with them. 

 

After all of this, you may have had the tour you want already, it just has a different name, or you were moved over to this since it appears to be the same thing. Quit trying to find and lay blame and get your tour set up properly either on that tour or what was recommended earlier.

 

Den

[Turtles06]

12 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

But now I'm confused: what is the difference and why the first one is more expensive? They both include transfer only.

 

Why don't you ask Celebrity, since they set the price? 

 

BTW, as for lack of communication, I agree with you -- you should not have had to learn of the cancellation on social media.  Your TA should have gotten an email.   Communication from Celebrity is pretty hit or miss.  A while ago, they changed two of the docked ports on our upcoming Canada/NE cruise to tender ports (because of docking issues not of their making); I learned of this on our Roll Call; many of us never received any notice from Celebrity.   (Of course, several weeks before final payment, I got a reminder email from them every other day.  So they do know how to contact me when they want to.)  

[ak1004]

5 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

In your first post, you complained it was outrageous that you weren’t informed your tour was cancelled. And you said you got this info from Facebook. You may be part of the Louvre Transfer tour. So I strongly suggest you stop posting and get hold of Celebrity and work it out with them. 

 

After all of this, you may have had the tour you want already, it just has a different name, or you were moved over to this since it appears to be the same thing. Quit trying to find and lay blame and get your tour set up properly either on that tour or what was recommended earlier.

 

Den

 

I'm not part of the new tour. It is not in my calendar on Celebrity website. The guided tour was there, but not anymore, and that date is empty in my calendar.

[hiccups]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

We sailed on Oceania, Azamara, Princess, Cunard, Holland, RCI, Costa and Carnival. 12 cruises in total. Never happened. On Oceania and Azamara, some of the buses were half empty. Maybe 20-25 people. The tours still happened.

I've had two excursions cancelled by Azamara <shrug>  And as Azamara advertises "small group tours" it would not be surprising there were 20-25 people.

I seem to recall you railing against Azamara on that board for the WiFi and a couple other things.

[Denny01]

OP —- Good luck. You don’t seem interested in fixing anything, just complaining.   Go fix it. You have options. Get off this forum and get it done. 

 

Good bye (I hope I hope I hope I don’t get sucked back in!!!)

 

Den

[Kartgv]

We had a snorkeling tour cancelled after we were on the boat ready to leave the pier - because there were 13 total people onboard and the boat operator said it was unlucky!  He asked for a volunteer to get off but no one was willing, so he simply wouldn't leave!      Luckily there was a ship's representative on the pier who quickly got us free day passes to a luxury hotel nearby, so the day was salvaged.   As others have said, 'outrageous happens' so just make the best of it.   

[HelenREMfan]

If you are due to the ship  docking at Le Havre, then research taking the train to Paris (less chance of hold ups on the return to the ship) When we did the British Isles trip 2 Canadian ladies did their own trip to visit Vimy Ridge which I thought was quite brave of them (They joined us the previous day when I hired a car and drove up to Dieppe and then down to Honfleur) As people have said previously you can do a lot of prep for Paris eg pre book tickets for the Louvre. I would also do your research re which rooms to visit in the Louvre.... just like the Hermitage you will have to select where you most wish to see as you can only do so much!) 

 

I can understand your daughter is keen to see Paris but on a privately arranged trip you will prob be able to cover far more then joining 40+ other people and having to trail round waiting for the rest. 

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

We sailed on Oceania, Azamara, Princess, Cunard, Holland, RCI, Costa and Carnival. 12 cruises in total. Never happened. On Oceania and Azamara, some of the buses were half empty. Maybe 20-25 people. The tours still happened.

 

We took our first Azamara cruise in December.  We board and in our cabin we found a notice that our tour for the next day was cancelled.  There is a copy of the excursions so we chose another and went down to book the replacement - it was also cancelled.  While trying to come up with one that was available we let the people in line behind us go ahead - turns out they also had just been notified of a tour being cancelled -- different tour, different day. 

So Azamara has cancelled tours with less than the 2 days before sailing notice you received.

[MISTER 67]

A little overreaction by the OP, don't let this ruin your whole cruise.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

Thank you everyone for your advice.

 

As I mentioned before, my complaint is not only for the cancellation itself, but also for lack of communication. Obviously, I can only guess why the tour has been cancelled because I didn't even get a notice about it.

 

I checked Celebrity website. The have the Paris "On Your Own" tour which is $179 CAD, but now they also have Louvre Transfer at $134 CAD. I guess the second one replaces the Louvre guided tour that has been cancelled.

 

But now I'm confused: what is the difference and why the first one is more expensive? They both include transfer only.

Hope you do not over analyze the options..As the Louvre is your main objective I'd book it asap....so you wont get closed out or have a price increase...

Problem solved 

[ak1004]

3 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

A little overreaction by the OP, don't let this ruin your whole cruise.

 

Never. Had a great time each and every cruise, even on Costa and Carnival.

[hcat]

Did you book it?

[A Sixth?]

5 hours ago, ak1004 said:

I just found out from Facebook group that one of the tours we booked has been cancelled.

https://www.*****/372168902861920/?multi_permalinks=2261233693955422&notif_id=1560334455948066&notif_t=group_highlights

 

This is outrageous. Not only they did it the last minute, so we don't have a chance to make alternative plans, but we also didn't get any notification. If was just removed from "my planner".

 

Well done Celebrity. Once again I must say, after cutting prices on our cruise by 40%.

 

 

Hmmmm... doesn't sound like it's even slightly outrageous. Just do something else.

[ak1004]

18 minutes ago, hcat said:

Did you book it?

 

My TA just called Celebrity, and yes, they confirmed the tour has been cancelled. No explanation. No apology. Going to book the transfer now.

[A Sixth?]

8 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

My TA just called Celebrity, and yes, they confirmed the tour has been cancelled. No explanation. No apology. Going to book the transfer now.

 

 

I'll tell you what is outrageous.

 

Montrealers cheering for Toronto and Boston.....

 

The apocalypse is here

 

 

 

Thousands turn out to Montreal's Jurassic Park for Raptors game

Edited June 12, 2019 by A Sixth?

[MISTER 67]

40 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Never. Had a great time each and every cruise, even on Costa and Carnival.

Good to hear, same with me, 59 cruises and never a bad one, some were just better than others.

Edited June 12, 2019 by MISTER 67

[Hlitner]

I am going to do something which is rare for me....defend the cruise line!   On many lines the shore excursion folks do not even work for the cruise line but are contractors.  But that is not really relevant.  What is relevant is that shore excursions are conducted by private shore-based contractors.  When a tour gets cancelled (sometimes at the last minute) it can be for several reasons, the most likely being that the shore provider cancels the tour.  Why?  It can be many reason from some vehicles being taken out of service, tour destinations being closed, etc.  And then there is always the chance that not enough folks booked the tour to meet the tour providers minimum.  We have seen many excursions cancelled for this last issue (i.e. not enough passengers want to go on the tour).

 

As one who seldom to never takes tours (we find them overpriced and over crowded) I reject that the OP has no other option.  If we are talking about visiting the Louvre from Le Havre, the OP could simply take the train from Le Havre to Paris, the metro over to a stop near the Louvre, and then just go to the main entrance, pay the fee, and visit away :).  If the OP does not want to use the train they might still be able to get on another excursion to Paris (such as Paris on your own) and just walk over to the Louvre (or use the Metro).  Inside the Louvre you can get the usual self-tour headphones or simply get a map and visit the things you want to see (we have been doing this for about 50 years).

 

As to the pricing of various tours we generally find them all overpriced.  But remember that you have the tour provider who must make a nice profit, the folks who operate the shore excursion desk (if a third party contractor) who must also make a nice profit, and then the cruise line must also get a nice cut of the action.

 

Hank

P.S.  As to the post about "Montrealers" you might want to consider that most of those in the crowd were not even born the last time any Canadian team won the Stanley Cup (1990)  :).

[A Sixth?]

29 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 

P.S.  As to the post about "Montrealers" you might want to consider that most of those in the crowd were not even born the last time any Canadian team won the Stanley Cup (1990)  :).

 

 

To quote Shakespeare

 

"If you cut me do I not bleed?" 🙂