L L-P's answers are here... and are generally missing the point

[sippican]

On 8/14/2019 at 8:40 AM, TeeRick said:

Where did she disrespect her customers or not act with integrity?  She was very polite and respectful in her answers even if some of them had less info than some people here expected or wanted.  

 

The Galapagos issue is huge for those who are awaiting cruises on the Xpedition. For most, this is the trip of a lifetime, and costs more than any other trip they might ever take. These cruisers and their travel agents have received no advance notice of any type (typical notification of this issue has been a week to 10 days)  that these cruises have been cancelled. In fact, most travel agencies are completely unaware that the Xpedition has been out of service due to the revocation of its license to operate in the Galapagos.

I think most would agree that it IS disrepectful to give a weeks notice for such a trip. Heck, I've seen cruisers have temper tantrums over cruises that are cancelled months in advance. This is not an unexpected emergency, this has now been going on for over a month with no resolution in sight. 

Her answer was to watch the boards for updates (there has never been info posted by X on this issue). When queried further, the answer was changed to - cruisers will be notified.

Sorry, but that is not respectful and if you are one of the cruisers impacted, or wondering if your cruise is impacted. I think you'd agree.

Acting with integrity would be to let all booked Xpedition cruisers know that there is an issue that may impact their sailing. Integrity would be to give them choices now, not a week prior to sailing. Integrity would be to notify all travel agencies of the potential issue. Integrity would be for the Galapagos Desk representatives give correct up to date information.  Integrity would be to stop taking bookings on a ship that has no license. 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by sippican

[Bo1953]

4 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

The Galapagos issue is huge for those who are awaiting cruises on the Xpedition. For most, this is the trip of a lifetime, and costs more than any other trip they might ever take. These cruisers and their travel agents have received no advance notice of any type (typical notification of this issue has been a week to 10 days)  that these cruises have been cancelled. In fact, most travel agencies are completely unaware that the Xpediton has been out of service due to the revocation of its license to operate in the Galapagos.

I think most would agree that it IS disrepectful to give a weeks notice for such a trip. Heck, I've seen cruisers have temper tantrums over cruises that are cancelled months in advance. This is not an unexpected emergency, this has now been going on for over a month with no resolution in sight. 

Her answer was to watch the boards for updates (there has never been info posted by X on this issue). When queried further, the answer was changed to - cruisers will be notified.

Sorry, but that is not respectful and if you are one of the cruisers impacted, or wondering if your cruise is impacted. I think you'd agree.

Acting with integrity would be to let all booked Xpedtion cruisers know that there is an issue that may impact their sailing. Integrity would be to give them choices now, not a week prior to sailing. Integrity would be to notify all travel agencies of the potential issue. Integrity would be for the Galapagos Desk representatives give correct up to date information.  Integrity would be to stop taking bookings on a ship that has no license. 

 

You mean to say that you leave in seven (7) days and have no idea if that ship is sailing???

 

I would be mad as heck too...

 

bon voyage

[The_Big_M]

2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

You mean to say that you leave in seven (7) days and have no idea if that ship is sailing???

 

I would be mad as heck too...

 

bon voyage

 

Yep. Cruisecritic finally put a story up on it - which is the most publicity on it, aside from the thread discussion.

 

For those passengers affected, it's "Surprise!" one week out when their Galapagos cruise plans are waylaid. And yet, L-L-P just "respectfully" told posters to keep up to date on the non-existent website "and have a great rest of your day!" Then when called on there being no website, she just said "there is no site" (so why did you say there was???) and "impacted cruisers will be contacted directly" i.e. back to step 1 and the crux of the issue. The implication in her post, and their response for the news article is that it's only delays and all due to the government's fault, not Celebrity's at all. A shocking lack of accountability.

 

I don't see any respect in that misdirection, deflection and lack of accountability, let alone respect for her paying customers and their expensive holiday plans.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/4347/

 

[Bo1953]

37 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Yep. Cruisecritic finally put a story up on it - which is the most publicity on it, aside from the thread discussion.

 

For those passengers affected, it's "Surprise!" one week out when their Galapagos cruise plans are waylaid. And yet, L-L-P just "respectfully" told posters to keep up to date on the non-existent website "and have a great rest of your day!" Then when called on there being no website, she just said "there is no site" (so why did you say there was???) and "impacted cruisers will be contacted directly" i.e. back to step 1 and the crux of the issue. The implication in her post, and their response for the news article is that it's only delays and all due to the government's fault, not Celebrity's at all. A shocking lack of accountability.

 

I don't see any respect in that misdirection, deflection and lack of accountability, let alone respect for her paying customers and their expensive holiday plans.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/4347/

 

While I can agree about the dismay concerning Xpedition, the article does state, correctly or not as I do not know, that options for sailing in The Galapagos are being provided.

 

On the face of it, it may not be ideal for some passengers because there are different ships...

 

I Am not sure what more information X can provide while they are waiting for the regulatory agencies and governments make decisions.

 

Are the agencies and governments giving X any info about what is going on? I doubt it and as such X is just as much in the dark and have to take it sailing date by sailing date - a complete nightmare to be sure for all involved on this side of the fence.

 

I trust everyone will get their trip of a lifetime in, without any further hiccups, yet it sounds like it is out of X's hands.

 

I tend to believe that if they had any significant info to pass on, they definitely would do so ASAP.

 

bon voyage

[sippican]

18 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

While I can agree about the dismay concerning Xpedition, the article does state, correctly or not as I do not know, that options for sailing in The Galapagos are being provided.

 

On the face of it, it may not be ideal for some passengers because there are different ships...

 

I Am not sure what more information X can provide while they are waiting for the regulatory agencies and governments make decisions.

 

Are the agencies and governments giving X any info about what is going on? I doubt it and as such X is just as much in the dark and have to take it sailing date by sailing date - a complete nightmare to be sure for all involved on this side of the fence.

 

I trust everyone will get their trip of a lifetime in, without any further hiccups, yet it sounds like it is out of X's hands.

 

I tend to believe that if they had any significant info to pass on, they definitely would do so ASAP.

 

bon voyage

 

Yes, there are options. Some not on the same day as the original booking. The Xperience can not hold the 64 passengers booked on Xpedition. Last I understood, Xploration has not even been sailing, nor being offered.

Yes, it is out of their hands, but they can do the "right thing" by being forthright with both passengers and TAs.

But would you not agree that being told that there are no problems, and "your sailing is not impacted" are untruthful at best when they have no idea when, or even if, the license will be restored?  There are still hundreds of cruisers out there that do not have a clue that their plans may be impacted, even in the next few weeks.

Do you think it is ok to be taking  bookings with such an uncertain future? 

 

Celebrity broke a law, and it seems the government made an exception that was not well-received (to say the least) by the people of the Galapagos. The Galapagos forums on other boards report that their environmental license was also revoked (an issue separate from the passenger capacity issue).

 

FWIW - when a cruiser was told by X the issue had been resolved, they sent a tweet to the governmental office in Ecuador and received a contrary reply. Seems strange they wouldn't be communicating with X!

 

I am a big fan of Celebrity but IMHO, they have been trying to sweep this issue under the rug. 

Edited August 16, 2019 by sippican

[Bo1953]

9 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

Yes, there are options. Some not on the same day as the original booking. The Xperience can not hold the 64 passengers booked on Xpedition. Last I understood, Xploration has not even been sailing, nor being offered.

Yes, it is out of their hands, but they can do the "right thing" by being forthright with both passengers and TAs.

But would you not agree that being told that there are no problems, and "your sailing is not impacted" are untruthful at best when they have no idea when, or even if, the license will be restored?  There are still hundreds of cruisers out there that do not have a clue that their plans may be impacted, even in the next few weeks.

Do you think it is ok to be taking  bookings with such an uncertain future? 

 

Celebrity broke a law, and it seems the government made an exception that was not well-received (to say the least) by the people of the Galapagos. The Galapagos forums on other boards report that their environmental license was also revoked (an issue separate from the passenger capacity issue).

 

FWIW - when a cruiser was told by X the issue had been resolved, they sent a tweet to the governmental office in Ecuador and received a contrary reply. Seems strange they wouldn't be communicating with X!

 

I am a big fan of Celebrity but IMHO, they have been trying to sweep this issue under the rug. 

Big mis-steps to be sure...

 

I trust it will work out and quickly.

 

bon voyage

[Straughn]

Ok, I read the the first 4 pages of this thread and saw many valid points made.

 

 

Here is how I would have responded to the footstool question:

”I have become aware that the removal of the balcony footstools is more of an issue than we initially realized. Based on passenger feedback, I have asked the appropriate departments to to re-evaluate this decision. At this point, I cannot definitely state that foot stools will be reinstated in the cabin classes which previously had them.  We are looking into why they were eliminated and the possibility of putting them back.” (We all know that $$ were involved in the decision to remove them.)

 

The Galapagos issue- We scheduled these cruises based on prior availability to visit these locations.  Unfortunately, permission to access certain ports require specific approval from the governments involved. Some of this is beyond Celebrity’s control. It is unfortunate and we are moving as fast as we can to get permission to visit these islands. 

 

To me, these are the type of answers which indicate that LLP and Celebrity are aware of the seriousness of these issues. It says we are trying, but cannot guarantee a solution most will like.

 

AND, I would never, ever, end the response with some variation of “have a nice day.” This is now used so  much that it has become dismissive and condescending.

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Straughn

[TeeRick]

23 hours ago, sippican said:

 

The Galapagos issue is huge for those who are awaiting cruises on the Xpedition. For most, this is the trip of a lifetime, and costs more than any other trip they might ever take. These cruisers and their travel agents have received no advance notice of any type (typical notification of this issue has been a week to 10 days)  that these cruises have been cancelled. In fact, most travel agencies are completely unaware that the Xpedition has been out of service due to the revocation of its license to operate in the Galapagos.

I think most would agree that it IS disrepectful to give a weeks notice for such a trip. Heck, I've seen cruisers have temper tantrums over cruises that are cancelled months in advance. This is not an unexpected emergency, this has now been going on for over a month with no resolution in sight. 

Her answer was to watch the boards for updates (there has never been info posted by X on this issue). When queried further, the answer was changed to - cruisers will be notified.

Sorry, but that is not respectful and if you are one of the cruisers impacted, or wondering if your cruise is impacted. I think you'd agree.

Acting with integrity would be to let all booked Xpedition cruisers know that there is an issue that may impact their sailing. Integrity would be to give them choices now, not a week prior to sailing. Integrity would be to notify all travel agencies of the potential issue. Integrity would be for the Galapagos Desk representatives give correct up to date information.  Integrity would be to stop taking bookings on a ship that has no license. 

 

sippican,

This is a horrible situation and I agree that if I was involved and waiting for a resolution I would be quite angry too.  My previous comment was just a general one and I only meant that I feel that LLP was overall respectful in her responses in the Q&A in my opinion.  I did not focus on any one response one way or another.  This Galapagos issue involves a foreign government regulatory authority.  It is clearly a complicated issue and I would hope that all of you involved would expect and receive communications directly from Celebrity, perhaps daily.  But why would anybody expect any key info on this situation be delivered in a general forum Q&A on Cruise Critic to a very limited audience?  That is not the way to do it either.  Really unfortunate situation and my sincere wish is to see it resolved and communicated to all of you properly.

[sippican]

7 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

sippican,

This is a horrible situation and I agree that if I was involved and waiting for a resolution I would be quite angry too.  My previous comment was just a general one and I only meant that I feel that LLP was overall respectful in her responses in the Q&A in my opinion.  I did not focus on any one response one way or another.  This Galapagos issue involves a foreign government regulatory authority.  It is clearly a complicated issue and I would hope that all of you involved would expect and receive communications directly from Celebrity, perhaps daily.  But why would anybody expect any key info on this situation be delivered in a general forum Q&A on Cruise Critic to a very limited audience?  That is not the way to do it either.  Really unfortunate situation and my sincere wish is to see it resolved and communicated to all of you properly.

 

Thank you.

And I do agree with your point that the key is communication, which has been greatly lacking, and even non-existent,  to travel agents and cruisers. IMHO, that is why the subject has been, and contiues to be such a sore subject. I think the question arose on the LLP thread out of pure frustration and desperation.

[The_Big_M]

It's a significant issue, and it's not getting appropriate attention/responsiveness through regular channels.

 

Given the opportunity to raise it, I think it was quite appropriate. Which is more important: footstools, or viability of future bookings proceeding?

 

And, no, it's not an either/or thing, but it's also worthwhile to draw attention to, not just ignore it "and hope for the best."