Will Celebrity cancel / change a scheduled port?

[Jim_Iain]

4 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

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

 

bon voyage

Bo -  Are you sure your not confusing with the Millennium 2/15?

 

I just looked and it is saying -   The Constellation will now debark the current voyage of February 1st, in Dubai, UAE on February 16th and embark the next voyage of February 16th in Dubai as well.

 

They are reporting also -

Celebrity Cruises has decided to cancel the Millennium sailing of February 15, 2020 and modify the itinerary for the Constellation sailings of February 1st and 16th.

[Bo1953]

Just now, Jim_Iain said:

Bo -  Are you sure your not confusing with the Millennium 2/15?

 

I just looked and it is saying -   The Constellation will now debark the current voyage of February 1st, in Dubai, UAE on February 16th and embark the next voyage of February 16th in Dubai as well.

 

They are reporting also -

Celebrity Cruises has decided to cancel the Millennium sailing of February 15, 2020 and modify the itinerary for the Constellation sailings of February 1st and 16th.

I was incorrect in my response J, for which I Am sorry...

 

This posting from the office and working with clients and cohorts gets me rushed from time to time ... LOL

 

Warmest regards and bon voyage

[Jim_Iain]

3 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I was incorrect in my response J, for which I Am sorry...

 

This posting from the office and working with clients and cohorts gets me rushed from time to time ... LOL

 

Warmest regards and bon voyage

It is really confusing with all the changes.   I only re-looked because on the other post someone also posted that it was cancelled and then a bunch of people corrected it.  

 

We have some friends from Australia that are taking the Re-Location from Dubai to Rome at the end of March and they are monitoring things closely.  

[mnocket]

6 hours ago, az_tchr said:

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.

There is certainly much confusion regarding Samoa. For starters their travel restrictions are aimed at coronavirus not measles. The measles restrictions were lifted over a month ago.

[nijh]

6 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

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

 

bon voyage

Edited February 11, 2020 by nijh
Deleting due to my web page not refreshing and not seeing later responses!

[Muffinz]

well we are getting increasingly worried - well my wife is more than me

several other cruise companies that had port stops scheduled for American Samoa / Tonga  and Samoa have changed their itineraries changed and these port stops removed.

Now apparently another cruise ship on the way to Samoa has been turned away.

 

Someone on the facebook group phoned Celebrity again and got told there are no planned changes to the itinerary, but any decision regarding itinerary changes will be made prior to sailing..... I just hope we don't board Solstice on April 1 and get told we're going to XXX and XXX or having extended days at sea instead of going to Tonga / Samoa

[cruisestitch]

Realistically you could be missing some ports, and you could have extended days at sea.  And that could happen in any part of the world for a variety of reasons. Bad weather, port strikes, industrial accidents, strikes, quarantines, there are a myriad of reasons why you might miss a port. They might tell you of the changes before the cruise, they might tell you the morning of the cruise departure, or they might tell you the day that it is happening. There is just no way to predict it.

 

I have missed ports because a passenger on board needed to be taken to a medical facility, because the winds were too strong to enter a harbor, because port officials had gone on strike, because of tropical and extra tropical storm systems, and because of engine trouble.  It is a fact of life of cruising.

 

Furthermore if you get told on the day you are boarding at the itinerary will be completely different than what they had planned, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.  relax and try to enjoy whatever comes your way.

Edited February 20, 2020 by cruisestitch

[Muffinz]

I'm not worried if we miss a port because of rough weather / heavy seas - that's understandable as no one can predict the weather. This happened on our first cruise in 2018

 

What I mean is if say Samoa bans all cruise ships from entering for 6 months as from today but celebrity don't change the itinerary and keep Samoa on as a port stop, then the day we are due to go to Samoa the captain says "Sorry we can't go to Samoa because they are not allowing any cruise ships to dock" - that would get me very annoyed... if Celebrity had known about a problem with 1 or more ports prior to sailing on April 1st

 

I would like to know about any

[Northern Aurora]

39 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

......

 

What I mean is if say Samoa bans all cruise ships from entering for 6 months as from today but celebrity don't change the itinerary and keep Samoa on as a port stop, then the day we are due to go to Samoa the captain says "Sorry we can't go to Samoa because they are not allowing any cruise ships to dock" - that would get me very annoyed... if Celebrity had known about a problem with 1 or more ports prior to sailing on April 1st

 

I would like to know about any

 

 

So are you saying that Samoa has actually banned cruise ships for a certain time period?   Or are you speculating about something which has not happened?

 

Cruise itineraries are planned for some time in advance.  Through the years I've listened to a number of lectures from captains about voyage planning, and if my memory is correct, they generally plan the itinerary two years in advance.  Celebrity has sold shore excursions for the upcoming cruise, and any itinerary deviation will not be made on a whim, but for a legitimate reason.

[Muffinz]

What I'm trying to say is celebrity should inform us of any port changes as soon as they are aware of them and not wait until we are on the ship to tell us

 

I just made the Samoa one up as an example, but apparently they (Samoa) did turn away a cruise ship yesterday

[hammo]

Agree with Muffinz .... we have several private shore excursions planned for the same cruise and some require prepayment and or C C details . Bit of a dilema as to whether to go with these now. Obviously not a concern for Celebrity I know .

Previously We have missed ports several times for reasons justifiable and mostly weather related , so nothing to be done about that and no complaints. We have also missed a return flight home as winds delayed docking in port , so bad luck.-  S happens .

I expect Celebrity will leave it to the last minute for us and hope for a positive outcome in a couple of weeks time . However , If they do decide to change anything ,we would also like to know as soon as possible . We have friends about to sail to New Caledonia on Sunday and they have been told Isle of Pines and Mare are now off the itinerary . Luckily we just love being on the ship .

[travelpeon]

3 hours ago, hammo said:

Agree with Muffinz .... we have several private shore excursions planned for the same cruise and some require prepayment and or C C details . Bit of a dilema as to whether to go with these now. Obviously not a concern for Celebrity I know .

...

Luckily we just love being on the ship .

 

Also with Muffinz and on the same cruise.  I judge cruise lines rather seriously on their change management skills which includes good near term planning.  There should be a plan B, C, and D.  Ship berths don't just magically appear and it must take time for ports to be re-arranged, routes re-calculated, and weather checked.  I joke about them needing additional alcohol provisions for a cruise to nowhere but truth is that most food & drink supply orders are submitted at least two weeks before the sailing by the Food & Beverage department.  

 

Things like this family with an infant being denied boarding due to 3 consecutive sea days can happen https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2733819-shame-royal-caribbean-ovation-of-the-seas and then the weather also impacted the sailing (which the family was not on)

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/company/customer-support/help-and-faqs/pre-cruise/all-pre-cruise-faqs

Same policy on Celebrity, search for 

Is there a minimum age requirement for an infant to sail on Celebrity Cruises?

 

Add to that US State department basically issued a "reconsider about cruising within in Asia Pacific" advisory.  RCCL acknowledges the new travel advisory but doesn't specifically list altered itineraries through mid-March https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates

 

I also like sea days but ahem, not so much that I'd wish for a Diamond Princess style extension.  The pricing for a transatlantic is also substantially lower than the South Pacific for us.  I hope Celebrity's already shipped a lot of thermometers and ordered a huge amount of industrial cleaners.  There was a 'bout of flu on this itinerary same time last year which unfortunately spread onboard and that would definitely be met with suspicion at all ports.

Edited February 21, 2020 by travelpeon

[chemmo]

12 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Realistically you could be missing some ports, and you could have extended days at sea.  And that could happen in any part of the world for a variety of reasons. Bad weather, port strikes, industrial accidents, strikes, quarantines, there are a myriad of reasons why you might miss a port. They might tell you of the changes before the cruise, they might tell you the morning of the cruise departure, or they might tell you the day that it is happening. There is just no way to predict it.

 

Furthermore if you get told on the day you are boarding at the itinerary will be completely different than what they had planned, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.  relax and try to enjoy whatever comes your way.

 

Great advice...

Muffinz...I honestly think you are going to have to ‘go with the flow...’ with this one. Celebrity will not want to publish a change until they are sure that a change will definitely be needed....

 

By the nature of cruising even when you get to a port you can’t guarantee that all tours will go ahead as planned. I remember arriving in Tahiti in sunshine only to find out our island highlight tour had become a drive down the main road and back owing to severe rain the day before that had left the planned route dangerous. Whilst we were upset (we are never going to get to Tahiti again) we were grateful our lives had not been put at risk.

 

If I was you I would go ahead and book tours that I know are fully refundable but then focus on my ship planning which will happen! Then if all your ports go ahead as planned it is the ‘icing on the cake’....