Celebrity Cruise Ripoff

[sfaaa]

32 minutes ago, Rainypoo said:

Do you work for the Cruise industry? There are nuances to this unprecedented situation and we're paying the price for Celebrity's negligence and their insistence on sticking to policy.  This isn't how you treat people if you want them to continue using your business.

Let's get this straight. You abandoned X. X didn't abandon you.

[Langley Cruisers]

OP Rainypoo, remember that this was and still is an unprecedented situation. There is no playbook on "how" this should have played out. Back in March, and in fact every day since, new things were/are happening. We didn't know what we didn't know. I get that you are upset and frustrated and disappointed but I hope you can keep things in perspective. When you calm down and read through these replies - where many member have actually tried to help you understand - perhaps you'll realize that, although you are not satisfied with your settlement, it was just one of those awful things that happens in life.

 

Many of us on these boards have lost cruises and/or money because of this pandemic. Many more people are sick and hundreds of thousands have died. Let's take a breath and remember what is really important.

 

God bless. 🌻

 

 

 

[Denny01]

Most of us who spend time (way too much time!) on this forum have read the numerous posts and entire threads bemoaning not getting a full refund but getting a FCC, and when explained how this worked and continues to work for all of us, the poster moves into the ‘I’ll never cruise this Line because of how they are treating me’, putting themselves into a lose/lose box. And they keep posting thinking the Line will relent because of bad publicity. Celebrity does read these forums, but this agreement has been used so many times, its not something they worry about.

 

Just as the great majority of those who had/have bookings, I got a full refund because the Line cancelled the cruise Prior to me cancelling; I got a 100% FCC For two cruises because although I knew they’d be cancelled, I went ahead and cancelled prior to a final payment for one and the other prior to their cancelation. My choice, and not over some barrow.

 

“Over the Barrow”??. The cruise departed and I’m sure X wasn’t planning on going to outbound for 2 days and returning, but they still gave anyone who wanted it a FCC And not cruise, not something done in most prior situations and not required by the contract. And I agree, I wouldn’t have gone either and would have cancelled and accepted the FCC........the OP had options so not forced to accept a FCC. 

 

OP, realize Very few have got their FCC changed to a refund......and with all their talk about never cruising on X again, you see some of them on a future Roll Call of a cruise they did make reservations on for 2021.  Celebrity management, and most of us, realize the ‘I won’t cruise with them again’ is a game played by many prior to this. 

 

Den

[Fouremco]

Just be thankful that you didn't cancel a few days earlier or you would have received zero compensation, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the contract you agreed to at the time of your booking.

 

Fortunately for you, Celebrity introduced the Cruise With Confidence program which, in spite of the T&C, generously agreed to compensate you with FCCs valued at 100% of your booking. Wow, some rip off! 

 

Thousands of us were faced with the same situation, but used the FCC to pay for a future booking. Sure, the prices of many cruises have gone up, but so have my grocery and other bills. Had you received a cash refund, the price of those future cruises would still have gone up, so your argument in that regard really doesn't hold much water.

 

In any event, you came here looking for (information? suggestions? sympathy?) from CC members, and have received many responses. Unfortunately, they hold little hope in support of your quest for further compensation or a change in the nature of the compensation. You are welcome to continue repeating your point of view, but I sincerely doubt that Celebrity is about to change its mind.

[Blackduck59]

4 hours ago, Rainypoo said:

It's a ripoff when you have no choice but to take their credit because it was deadly to travel.  They've had our money for over a year and there's no end in sight to this.  They made a huge mistake to go on this dangerous 4 day excursion (instead of the 10 day cruise we were supposed to go on) instead of cancelling after the State Department told US citizens not to go on cruises due to the serious risks so essentially this cruise was cancelled.  We deserve a refund just like all of the other cruises that were cancelled.

 

 

So I have read many posts, most including my earlier one were trying to be helpful; although we couldn't understand if you were a no show or if you cancelled and didn't receive any compensation. Now it turns out you did cancel and under the terms in place at the time you accepted a 100% FCC. Now months after the fact you want a refund, although I did see you mention you should have gotten at least 125% FCC like others have. Sorry the cruise was NOT cancelled by Celebrity, it was cut short and those who embarked on that voyage got a different settlement. The idea that you "deserve" anything else is a non starter. Sorry you accepted a  settlement, too late now. Celebrity didn't rip you off.

[Crown Vic]

8 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

I and my DH did board the X Reflection on March 13 (that's Friday the 13th BTW) in Ft. Lauderdale along with 1100 other crazy souls. The other 1900+ cancelled.  On Sunday morning we received a letter at our door stating that we would not be visiting any of the scheduled port stops. Instead we would visit Nassau, Bahamas (not on the original itinerary) on Monday and return to Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday, March 17th. We were to receive 100% refund and a 50% FCC...etc...

We, too, were on the March 13 cruise as a continuation of a number of B2B cruises. The ship was maintained in a spotless condition with, we were told on the previous cruise, more money being spent on cleaning supplies than food. After docking in Fort Lauderdale, the ship was cleared very quickly as there was no indication of illness on board and we were in a taxi to the airport by 8.30 a.m. What Luvcrusn says is correct. Celebrity treated us extremely well due to this cancellation. Arranging return air transportation was handled by the cruise line and we received, some weeks later, a full fare refund plus the 50% FCC. Cannot compliment the Celebrity shoreside staff enough for the way we were treated. OP, one never knows if Celebrity will relent. Unlikely! After making the decision to cancel before Celebrity did, one has to live with one’s decision. 

p.s. Luvcrusn, have you fixed the Bell yet?

[Luvcrusn]

1 hour ago, Crown Vic said:

We, too, were on the March 13 cruise as a continuation of a number of B2B cruises. The ship was maintained in a spotless condition with, we were told on the previous cruise, more money being spent on cleaning supplies than food. After docking in Fort Lauderdale, the ship was cleared very quickly as there was no indication of illness on board and we were in a taxi to the airport by 8.30 a.m. What Luvcrusn says is correct. Celebrity treated us extremely well due to this cancellation. Arranging return air transportation was handled by the cruise line and we received, some weeks later, a full fare refund plus the 50% FCC. Cannot compliment the Celebrity shoreside staff enough for the way we were treated. OP, one never knows if Celebrity will relent. Unlikely! After making the decision to cancel before Celebrity did, one has to live with one’s decision. 

p.s. Luvcrusn, have you fixed the Bell yet?

Funny you should ask. Many years ago DH and I went to London, England to the foundry where the Liberty Bell was cast with the Procrastinators club to try to collect on the warranty.  We were told they would honour (note the spelling) the warranty if we returned it in its original packaging. We couldn't, so they didn't!🤣...Now back to originally scheduled programming.

Edited July 26, 2020 by Luvcrusn

[Bo1953]

15 hours ago, Rainypoo said:

Do you work for the Cruise industry? There are nuances to this unprecedented situation and we're paying the price for Celebrity's negligence and their insistence on sticking to policy.  This isn't how you treat people if you want them to continue using your business.

Actually, it is exactly how you treat people by applying policies across the board evenly.

 

Now if any policy changes, then you treat ALL new situations according to it, evenly across the board.

 

How is your travel insurance treating this situation? Surely there must have been a provision which covers this situation, unless as we are guessing you chose not to show up for the sailing.

 

Surely you had to have an inkling as to what the policies were/are at that time, which I believe you did.

 

At any rate I recommend that you start looking at X's website to figure out which new sailing you would love to use your FCC on for your last sailing, with them.... which fits within the T&C's of your particular certificate.

 

bon voyage

[Pinboy]

On 7/24/2020 at 12:08 PM, Rainypoo said:

U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory

Celebrity refuses to issue a refund because we didn't go on this dangerous 4 day excursion. 

The way I understand it:

" Travel Advisory " means it's up to you to decide , not an order from the Government .

You " chose " not to go by not showing up for the sailing.

Therefore,  I would accept whatever the Celebrity offers because at the time of sailing you were not a " customer " since you didn't check in for the sailing.

Lastly, don't let this CC experience be a " one and done " as someone referred --

LOL----I'm a perfect example of what happens when a new poster comes on like " Gang Busters "  and gets " clobbered, oops, corrected ??? ".

 

[Langley Cruisers]

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

LOL----I'm a perfect example of what happens when a new poster comes on like " Gang Busters "  and gets " clobbered, oops, corrected ??? ".

 

LOL! Yes, that was quite a beating you took! But you were gracious, and have come to be a valuable contributor here. 😊

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, Pinboy said:

The way I understand it:

" Travel Advisory " means it's up to you to decide , not an order from the Government .

You " chose " not to go by not showing up for the sailing.

Therefore,  I would accept whatever the Celebrity offers because at the time of sailing you were not a " customer " since you didn't check in for the sailing.

Lastly, don't let this CC experience be a " one and done " as someone referred --

LOL----I'm a perfect example of what happens when a new poster comes on like " Gang Busters "  and gets " clobbered, oops, corrected ??? ".

 

We like you regardless pinboy.... LOL

 

Some posters would have considered it a 'severe beating'....

 

bon voyage

Edited July 26, 2020 by Bo1953

[sfaaa]

4 hours ago, Pinboy said:

 

LOL----I'm a perfect example of what happens when a new poster comes on like " Gang Busters "  and gets " clobbered, oops, corrected ??? ".

 

It's the initiation price to hang out with all the cool cats on CC. 

[Pinboy]

6 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

It's the initiation price to hang out with all the cool cats on CC. 

" Cool Cats " ???  On Celebrity Cruises ???  I love it.

The " coolest cat " I ever saw on Celebrity Cruises was this old guy wearing, etc etc and the pretty blond was etc etc.

LOL-- I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but, aren't you the " cool cat " that told me to " drop it already " way back when etc, etc ???  

CC really is fun !!!

[NantahalaCruiser]

23 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

Funny you should ask. Many years ago DH and I went to London, England to the foundry where the Liberty Bell was cast with the Procrastinators club to try to collect on the warranty.  We were told they would honour (note the spelling) the warranty if we returned it in its original packaging. We couldn't, so they didn't!🤣...Now back to originally scheduled programming.

I used to work in Philly - living about an hour north of Philly - and thought about joining the Procrastinators Club, but never got around to it. 🤔

[Luvcrusn]

15 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

I used to work in Philly - living about an hour north of Philly - and thought about joining the Procrastinators Club, but never got around to it. 🤔

Perfect...you're in!

[Stockjock]

While most are unsympathetic towards the OP's position, I'm extremely sympathetic.  They didn't want to put their health, or even their life, at risk.  Plus, they suspected  that the cruise would be disrupted in some way due to coronavirus, which is a separate, but related issue, and a very legitimate concern.

I don't work for the cruise line, but if I did, I'd give the OP a FCC good for any sailing until the end of next year.

The OP's position is 100% understandable.  I would suspect that there would be a reasonable person with Celebrity who might help them out.  It might be a situation where they have to speak with multiple individuals until they get the right one.  I'd call in and, very nicely, ask to speak with a supervisor.  

And I think that most of us know that you catch more flies with sugar, so I'd ditch the "ripoff" language and try to negotiate an outcome that is fair and in the best interest of all involved.  It seems to me that a mutual compromise would be appropriate.

I'm a former police officer and we are trained as to "the spirit of the law" versus "the letter of the law".  According to the letter of the "law", in this case, the OP is SOL.  But according to the spirit of the law, some accommodation should occur, in my view.

Good luck!

Edited July 27, 2020 by Stockjock

[bEwAbG]

14 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I don't work for the cruise line, but if I did, I'd give the OP a FCC good for any sailing until the end of next year.

 

They did get 100% FCC.  The "ripoff" is that they want 100% refund instead.

[Stockjock]

1 minute ago, bEwAbG said:

 

They did get 100% FCC.  The "ripoff" is that they want 100% refund instead.

Sorry, didn't read that.  Well, in that case, that seems to be pretty reasonable.  Hopefully the OP can find a cruise they'd enjoy.  I guess the only negative is that I do note that some prices have increased substantially.  

[Blackduck59]

19 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Sorry, didn't read that.  Well, in that case, that seems to be pretty reasonable.  Hopefully the OP can find a cruise they'd enjoy.  I guess the only negative is that I do note that some prices have increased substantially.  

 

You may have noticed a definite lack of sympathy in the last couple of pages. At first it seemed that the OP chose not to show up for the cruise and lost all their money; then it came out that they had cancelled and under the terms at the time received a 100% FCC. Now months after the fact and several different policy changes the OP feels they "Deserve" a better settlement. Hence the lack of empathy.

[Stockjock]

19 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

You may have noticed a definite lack of sympathy in the last couple of pages. At first it seemed that the OP chose not to show up for the cruise and lost all their money; then it came out that they had cancelled and under the terms at the time received a 100% FCC. Now months after the fact and several different policy changes the OP feels they "Deserve" a better settlement. Hence the lack of empathy.

Yep, did catch the lack of empathy, but not the entire backstory.  Well...on MSC if the FCC is unused, it's refunded as cash at the end of next year.  Not sure if Celebrity's policy is the same.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Stockjock

[Blackduck59]

6 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Yep, did catch the lack of empathy, but not the entire backstory.  Well...on MSC if the FCC is unused, it's refunded as cash at the end of next year.  Not sure if Celebrity's policy is the came.

 

I'm under the impression it's use it or lose it. I think they have been extending the use-by dates though while the "situation" is still so fluid.

[Bo1953]

6 hours ago, Stockjock said:

While most are unsympathetic towards the OP's position, I'm extremely sympathetic.  They didn't want to put their health, or even their life, at risk.  Plus, they suspected  that the cruise would be disrupted in some way due to coronavirus, which is a separate, but related issue, and a very legitimate concern.

I don't work for the cruise line, but if I did, I'd give the OP a FCC good for any sailing until the end of next year.

The OP's position is 100% understandable.  I would suspect that there would be a reasonable person with Celebrity who might help them out.  It might be a situation where they have to speak with multiple individuals until they get the right one.  I'd call in and, very nicely, ask to speak with a supervisor.  

And I think that most of us know that you catch more flies with sugar, so I'd ditch the "ripoff" language and try to negotiate an outcome that is fair and in the best interest of all involved.  It seems to me that a mutual compromise would be appropriate.

I'm a former police officer and we are trained as to "the spirit of the law" versus "the letter of the law".  According to the letter of the "law", in this case, the OP is SOL.  But according to the spirit of the law, some accommodation should occur, in my view.

Good luck!

s - Thank you for your post, yet most of us do sympathize with the OP and they did receive a FCC... for a no show.

 

The issue is, now, they want a 'full refund' after they chose the FCC.

 

As such, X responded within the 'letter of their policy' at the time so the Spirit does not come into play.

 

They were treated fairly, IMO and others.

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

5 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Sorry, didn't read that.  Well, in that case, that seems to be pretty reasonable.  Hopefully the OP can find a cruise they'd enjoy.  I guess the only negative is that I do note that some prices have increased substantially.  

s - this is usual for all cruise lines to have prices which fluctuate if not daily, most certainly weekly.

 

We just need to monitor them, no matter how 'deceiving' they may appear there are often times when a very good deal is to be had.

 

bon voyage

 

 

[Bo1953]

5 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Yep, did catch the lack of empathy, but not the entire backstory.  Well...on MSC if the FCC is unused, it's refunded as cash at the end of next year.  Not sure if Celebrity's policy is the same.

Under 'current' policy if a sailing is cancelled a FCC is issued, if not used by the expiration date, then one can request a full refund.

 

I believe there is a deadline to request the refund as it is not automatic.

 

bon voyage

[H2OH!]

On 7/25/2020 at 9:23 AM, Rainypoo said:

Celebrity told us that we could take a credit so that's what we did because they had us over a barrel.  It wasn't safe to travel and the State Department had told US citizens not to go on cruises because people were getting stuck on cruise ships with the Coronavirus spreading like crazy and people getting stuck on ships unable to disembark.  Celebrity has had our money for over a year and who knows how long it will be until it's safe to go on a cruise.  Essentially, this cruise was cancelled because they floated around at sea unable to go to any of the Caribbean countries or excursions.  If I'd booked a cruise a week later, I would have gotten a refund but Celebrity refuses to give me a refund because I took the credit or I would have gotten nothing.  It was very poor decision on Celebrity's part to embark on this cruise, and even worse treatment of their passengers.

 

I feel your pain and understand your frustration. Similar situation happened to us. Everyone can cite the cruise contract all they want but is frustrating to have so much money tied up. In our situation, the travel insurance company did not help us out- they had a pandemic clause- of course they did- ugh. The right thing to do would be to refund half of your money and the other half as FCC. IMHO that would be fair. I am Elite Plus on my way to Zenith so have been a Celebrity fan but will admit I have been frustrated with the way I was treated.

 

Having said that, these were really tough decisions to make-mine, yours and Celebrity's. Every industry was struggling in March trying to do the right thing and decide when to pull the plug. You and hundreds of others got caught in the middle. I am a healthcare leader and even healthcare institutions were struggling - whether to keep elective surgeries going, when to stop, do we have enough PPE, etc...not an easy time for any of us.

 

Amy