Will Celebrity cancel / change a scheduled port?

[Muffinz]

before or midway through a cruise?

We are on the Auckland / Fiji / Samoa / US Samoa / Tonga / Auckland cruise on April 1st, and we're really looking forward to it.

 

However, last week the Samoan Government issued a notice to all travellers planning on entering Samoa that they will be required to provide a medical certificate no older than 3 days - proving they are free from all infectious diseases.

This will be impossible, as 1) many people on the cruise will be coming from overseas to start the cruise in Auckland and 2) We don't actually get to Samoa until day 7/8 of the cruise.

 

Someone joked on the Facebook page for the cruise that the Ships Doctor could check all 2800 passengers and give them medical clearance to Enter Samoa - this would be impossible unless the ship had dozens of doctors on board.

 

would Celebrity just wait to see if the situation regarding Samoa changes / improves and make a decision closer to April 1st or during the cruise? - or would they make the call earlier?

 

I've just been reading comments on CC about the 1 February Millennium cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong that had to be cut short because they were not allowed to go to some ports and weren't allowed to dock / disembark in Hong Kong..... although I think Celebrity did the right thing by offering refunds / cruise credits.... it would have been very frustrating for most passengers - as many (like myself and my wife) have been planning for ages for the cruise of a lifetime.... I'd be annoyed if they told us midway through the cruise that we can't dock in Samoa or something.

 

what do others think Celebrity would do?

[MEcruzr]

They will do what is required at the time a decision is required. There's no point in trying to guess what will happen. All ports on all cruises could be canceled at any time, including the day you're supposed to be there. Lots of reasons for this to happen. Cruise ports are always a roll of the dice. All you can do at this point is go with it... hope for the best but plan for the worst. If you have a private tour there I would reach out now and ask about their cancellation policy!

[hcat]

Happens all the time..usually for  weather related issues or port congestion.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Or bombing in Israel 

[Jim_Iain]

We have had numerous changes while aboard.  Last year wasn't our best for hitting ports.    We started out a B2B from Vancouver to Japan.    We did not have any deviation on this cruise until we got to Yokohama where a typhoon was coming in and they had to close the port on turn around day.    B2B's were evacuated off the ship and we spent the first night in a hotel.    The next cruise around Japan we were dodging a second typhoon and they cancelled Hiroshima 2x and cancelled one port moving all port by one day.     Just after that we took a TA from Southampton and had to dodge a big storm having to go south of the Azores.    We arrived a day late and they chose to cancel one port and shift all ports by one day.    Really blew private excursions.   

 

[Covepointcruiser]

Somoa’s initial problem has been with avoiding a measles outbreak.   They must have expanded this to include other illnesses.  There is little Celebrity can do but they may substitute another port.

[Fouremco]

In my experience, Celebrity attempts make a decision and notify passengers as early as possible. Given the underlying reason for Samoa's notice, the uncertainty of the current coronavirus environment, and the number of earlier cruises they are working on, I suspect that Celebrity will hold off making a decision until some time in March. 

[Northern Aurora]

We apparently are on the same cruise as the OP.  For us the April 1st Solstice sailing is the third leg of a B2B2B2B.  I fully expect at least one itinerary change on that cruise series due either to weather or the current worldwide virus issues.

 

We have had ports missed for a multitude of reasons.  In our cases, most frequently the ports have been missed due to weather issues.  We were actually with "Jim_Iain" on the Millennium when we were impacted, not by one, but by two typhoons on that B2B series; the B2B passengers were evacuated off the ship and we were in the same hotel as Jim and Iain.  But we have also missed ports due to tendering issues (generally due to weather) or because, in the case of a port in Peru, dock improvements had not been completed.

 

We spend 60 to 90 nights a year on a Celebrity ship.  These issues happen frequently, and as already noted, Celebrity will make the decision when it is required.  Since Celebrity has just cancelled the February 15th Millennium sailing, I suspect they are rather busy right now.  It is not easy for Celebrity to miss a port and substitute another at last minute, and it is pointless for passengers to be annoyed when they do so.  Just a fact of cruising.

[NCHPcruiser]

We missed a port just last week in the Caribbean (Costa Maya) because we could not safely dock due to weather.   Two years ago aboard the Silhouette in the Baltic’s the Captain had to cancel St. Petersburg, the highlight of the cruise, for both days we were to be in port also for weather.    I don’t think the Captains make these decisions lightly

[MarLieb]

There is zero guarantee they will dock at any of the ports listed on the itinerary.  As stated in the Celebrity Cruise Ticket Contract:

 

6. CANCELLATION, DEVIATION OR SUBSTITUTION BY CARRIER:
a) Carrier may for any reason at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing, port of call, destination, lodging or any activity on or off the Vessel, or substitute another vessel or port of call, destination, lodging or activity. Except as provided in Section 6(e) below, Carrier shall not be liable for any claim whatsoever by Passenger, including but not limited to loss, compensation or refund, by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation.

 

I have a friend who was on a DCL cruise during a hurricane and the ship never docked at any of the scheduled ports.  It literally sailed around avoiding the storm and then went back to Port Canaveral.  They did offer all passengers a discount on a future cruise booking, but DCL was not obligated to do so.

[justcrusn]

Yes.

All cruise lines do. Stuff happens as the saying goes. Never depend on a cruise to hit a specific port for so many reasons. (Usually weather).
I hope all goes well for you.

[Muffinz]

thanks for the replies..... We were on our first cruise (on Solstice) in 2018 from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef and were unable to tender into Airlie Beach due to the weather, so I know what it's like to miss a port....

 

My wife thought Celebrity would remove Samoa from the itinerary and replace it with an overnight in Tonga or another port well before the cruise starts..... but as most of you have said Celebrity will monitor things on a daily basis and if we are unable to go to a certain port because of weather / concerns about coronavirus or something, then we'll just have to stay on the ship and make good use of our beverage packages... and that's not a bad thing

[mnocket]

Prepare to be annoyed.  I am currently on the Emerald Princess.  We were scheduled to visit Samoa in 2 days.  Our roll call had much speculation about what would happen with Samoa due to their  travel restrictions.  We asked the captain at the Cruise Critic Meet & greet. He said he was unaware of the travel restrictions.  Two days later he announced we would be skipping Samoa stops. This is kinda the norm for the cruises I've been on - very little advanced notice of itinerary changes even when the issue is well known in advance.

[Muffinz]

9 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Prepare to be annoyed.  I am currently on the Emerald Princess.  We were scheduled to visit Samoa in 2 days.  Our roll call had much speculation about what would happen with Samoa due to their  travel restrictions.  We asked the captain at the Cruise Critic Meet & greet. He said he was unaware of the travel restrictions.  Two days later he announced we would be skipping Samoa stops. This is kinda the norm for the cruises I've been on - very little advanced notice of itinerary changes even when the issue is well known in advance.

that's very poor on princess cruises and the captain.... they should get regular updates regarding weather conditions and any other port information..... but for the captain not to know about what was going on in Samoa - that's pretty poor

[DENIE]

Yup!  We were on the November 2019 Italy/Dalmatian Coast cruise on the Constellation.  We embarked and got out of Venice about 2-3 days ahead of the massive flooding (so glad we saw Venice without all that water!).  Rijeka and Split, Croatia were not impacted, but we hit really BAD weather in Dubrovnik.  We were on a private tour, and winds on top of Mt. Srd were 70+ MPH, and on land they reached over 40 MPH (Connie stopped letting passengers off the ship at some point during the day).  This was in addition to torrential rains that shredded umbrellas.  As we returned to our staterooms, we had a letter from the Captain indicating that the next stop in Kotor, Montenegro was cancelled ("Advancing Adriatic storm system") as it is a tender port, and they would also have to navigate the fjord.  We were deeply saddened (1st trip to Europe in over 30 years), but grateful that passenger safety was first and foremost.  They did arrange to stop in Corfu, Greece, where the ship could dock, so all was not lost, even if it was still raining and very windy.

 

Then, after a couple days of pretty good weather, we almost lost Naples, Italy due to storms.  We saw our Pompeii excursion "vanishing".  The Connie hovered around the port entrance, which was closed to all traffic, and if by miracle, calmed enough to open again after 2 hours.  Our tour was rushed, but we made it to Pompeii.  Had we not been able to dock, that would have turned into a sea day.

 

As sad as we were to miss Montenegro, we DO understand that safety is of utmost importance, and really appreciate those difficult decisions.  It really did NOT ruin the cruise...we still had an amazing time.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Interesting to read of all these deviations.

 

I have one recommendation if you are booking private excursions.   Make sure they have a Force Majeure Clause and Provision if ships is unable to dock in their T&C's before you book.   When we had major cancellations all of my cruises gave me a full refund but spoke with other passengers whose tour organizer refused to give refunds.

 

Below is the provision by ToursByLocals that I often use.     It is important you understand the $1,000 limitation as it could be and expensive hit.   Travel insurance may cover.

 

If you cancel or cannot take your tour as a consequence of force majeure, ToursByLocals will refund the amount you have paid for your tour to a limit $1000 USD. If you have paid more than $1000 for your tour, ToursByLocals will refund the amount you have paid less any non-recoverable out-of-pocket costs the Tour Guide has incurred on your behalf - car rentals, admissions, hotel reservations, tickets etc. We may require you to provide verification to confirm that you were unable to take your tour if you request a refund under this provision.

Force Majeure includes impersonal events such as war, civil insurrection, strikes, volcanoes, extreme weather, earthquake or natural disaster that makes it dangerous or impossible to safely undertake the tour. The determination of what constitutes 'Force Majeure' is at the discretion of ToursByLocals. However, a travel warning issued by the US Department of State AFTER you book your tour invokes 'force majeure' or if you are on a ship and it is unable to dock for whatever reason, you are covered under this 'Force Majeure' provision.

[DENIE]

12 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Interesting to read of all these deviations.

 

I have one recommendation if you are booking private excursions.   Make sure they have a Force Majeure Clause and Provision if ships is unable to dock in their T&C's before you book.   When we had major cancellations all of my cruises gave me a full refund but spoke with other passengers whose tour organizer refused to give refunds.

 

Below is the provision by ToursByLocals that I often use.     It is important you understand the $1,000 limitation as it could be and expensive hit.   Travel insurance may cover.

 

If you cancel or cannot take your tour as a consequence of force majeure, ToursByLocals will refund the amount you have paid for your tour to a limit $1000 USD. If you have paid more than $1000 for your tour, ToursByLocals will refund the amount you have paid less any non-recoverable out-of-pocket costs the Tour Guide has incurred on your behalf - car rentals, admissions, hotel reservations, tickets etc. We may require you to provide verification to confirm that you were unable to take your tour if you request a refund under this provision.

Force Majeure includes impersonal events such as war, civil insurrection, strikes, volcanoes, extreme weather, earthquake or natural disaster that makes it dangerous or impossible to safely undertake the tour. The determination of what constitutes 'Force Majeure' is at the discretion of ToursByLocals. However, a travel warning issued by the US Department of State AFTER you book your tour invokes 'force majeure' or if you are on a ship and it is unable to dock for whatever reason, you are covered under this 'Force Majeure' provision.

 

Good info!  Coincidentally, all of our private tours on our last cruise were with Tours by Locals.  While we had not yet departed Dubrovnik, they were already calling me as they received word from our Montenegro guide that the port had been cancelled.  When we arrived home, our refund had already been processed... 🙂

 

 

[MamaFej]

I also had a great experience with Tours By Locals invoking Force Majeure before I had a chance to lift a finger. When we were unable to dock in Belfast due to high winds, TBL sent me an email and had processed a refund within minutes of the onboard announcement. 

[downsmead]

That has been my experience also with other tour operators- they have contacted us to say the port has been cancelled / rearranged and did we wish to reschedule, before we realised ourselves. Celebrity generally allow you phone calls to contact the operators. At one stage we had a spate of sailings where we missed a port due to various reasons - weather (can’t get in, or can’t get out!), ship issues (also stuck longer in port), perceived safety issues with the port. Hopefully the jinx is over, our last cruise we visited all ports. 

[CruisingWalter]

All cruise lines can and will cancel a port of call for any reason at any time, before or during a cruise. It's part of the contract you agree to when you book the ticket. 

[az_tchr]

13 hours ago, Muffinz said:

that's very poor on princess cruises and the captain.... they should get regular updates regarding weather conditions and any other port information..... but for the captain not to know about what was going on in Samoa - that's pretty poor

Respectfully disagree. The cruiseline is always hoping that the port situation will change. They will attempt to substitute another port if possible. The Captain absolutely knows there is a problem, but until told of a change in schedule they might know nothing else until they are notified where to go. In Samoa there was discussion the port would open. As of yesterday still closed due to measles. Think some of the communication from Samoa probably not very clear.

[GastroGnome]

We were on a cruise to the Azores in October 2019.  On check in we were told there was a change but the port agent would not tell us (or anyone else) what the change was.  We had to board to find out.  When I enquired I was told it was because earlier passengers had become abusive to port agents.  DH and I knew pretty much - the Azores stop had been pulled becuase of the sea conditions.  Having come off the roughest crossing of the Northern Irish sea also on X only about 6 weeks before I would far rather miss a stop - even the stop that was the pirmary point in the itinerary - than go through that again.  Safety comes first.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

14 hours ago, DENIE said:

 

Good info!  Coincidentally, all of our private tours on our last cruise were with Tours by Locals.  While we had not yet departed Dubrovnik, they were already calling me as they received word from our Montenegro guide that the port had been cancelled.  When we arrived home, our refund had already been processed... 🙂

 

 

Wow... they are really on top of it.  Sorry you are missing Montenegro.   We used Tours by Locals there and had a wonderful day. 

[Jim_Iain]

An announcement was made on another thread that Feb 16 cruise on Constellation just had a MAJOR change.  

 

They were originally scheduled to depart Singapore and have this morning shifted departure from Dubai and cutting a couple ports.   Ouch....It is not going to be an easy task for all guests to change their flights let alone those poor guests that may have flown to Singapore early. 

[Bo1953]

Just now, Jim_Iain said:

An announcement was made on another thread that Feb 16 cruise on Constellation just had a MAJOR change.  

 

They were originally scheduled to depart Singapore and have this morning shifted departure from Dubai and cutting a couple ports.   Ouch....It is not going to be an easy task for all guests to change their flights let alone those poor guests that may have flown to Singapore early. 

j - that sailing has now been canceled, per X's website...

 

bon voyage