Cruises missing from Celebrity site

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

Once the charter's 'down payment' is made (surely there must be a huge deposit involved), why doesn't X cancel all conflicting itineraries immediately, allowing existing pax to make other decisions in a timely way?  In case the charter backs out, I guess by not cancelling they can still fill the ship with the original passengers, but that's a pretty tactless approach to business.  The consequence for the customer is typically a lot worse than an airline double booking a seat.

 

Edit to add:  If X is going to inconvenience THOUSANDS of customers to cancel their voyages to take a charter, they should also take on the risk of a charter backing out of a deal and handle the cancellations properly and quickly.

 

It doesn't work like that. There isn't a downpayment in the traditional customer sense. Full ship charter clients have to provide several things, including proof of financing or ability to pay. Once that is secured and the contract is signed, it's a done deal. There is no canceling or changing your charter contract. Celebrity is named a beneficiary on the credit line and they will draw on it. Part of the contract explains that this is due to once a ship is pulled for a charter, Celebrity is unlikely to be able to fill them ship with normal paying passengers.

 

They will also very rarely, if ever, schedule a charter within a year from the sale date or ideally 330 days out when airline tickets go on sale. A full 2 year advance is normal. The charter client also has to pay the penalty to re-accomodate existing bookings. They also vet charter clients and usually want to see some sort of prior history of full ship charters or large scale (i.e. very expensive) travel handled successfully by the client. I doubt they would allow a ship to go to charter that had thousands of already secured guest reservations. In this case we're talking about cruises 15-16 months out. There is no way paying passengers are on the hook for air/hotel, etc. Sure, it's a little frustrating, but there is no material loss to the people booked who will be canceled. 

[canderson]

Interesting stuff, @Jeremiah1212 appreciate the insight.

 

If a full 2 year advance is normal, all the more reason that Celebrity should be avoiding taking bookings for those cruises, and cancelling them for regular pax, much sooner than seems to be happening. 

 

In any case, nunuc2000 is only 15 months out, and evidently hadn't heard a peep from X except to see some of his legs disappearing from the web site.  The pax with existing bookings shouldn't have to find out that their cruises are being cancelled by discovering on their own that someone has chartered the ship.  X really should inform as soon as they know this has happened to give those who have booked as much time as  possible to make other arrangements.  Having had several cruises cancelled over the last 18 months, I know how hard it can be to get the right cabin when trying to shift to another cruise where others are originally booked for a long while.

 

It will be of interest to hear from nunuc2000 when they are officially notified by X that their entire B2B2B cruise has gone up in smoke.

 

[Cruise Gopher]

Wanted to provide a data point on this topic since the exact same thing happened to us last year. We had a Summit Penthouse booked for January 2022 and on November 17, 2020 we got the email from Celebrity that the ship had been “re-deployed” (chartered by the Jazz cruise). So we got the cancellation at 14 months out from sailing. 
 

Here is what was offered as compensation from Celebrity…

 

We are pleased to advise you have the option to rebook on any other Caribbean voyage in 2021/22, departing between October 2021 and April 2022, at prevailing rates.  If you choose to rebook, you will also receive an onboard credit of $200 per inside, ocean view, standard veranda, Infinite Veranda^SM, AquaClass® or Concierge Class stateroom; or $400 for The Retreat®.  In order to take advantage of this offer you must contact us or your Travel Agent no later than December 1^st, 2020.   If you are not interested in rebooking at this time you will receive 100% refund to your original method of payment, for amounts currently paid on your reservation.  Cruise taxes and fees will be refunded separately.   

[canderson]

@Cruise Gopher

At least you were notified early and didn't have to find out about it by discovering it for yourself from X's web site. 😒  Something to be said for that.

 

What was your reaction when you read the compensation offer?

 

 

[Cruise Gopher]

10 hours ago, canderson said:

@Cruise Gopher

At least you were notified early and didn't have to find out about it by discovering it for yourself from X's web site. 😒  Something to be said for that.

 

What was your reaction when you read the compensation offer?

 

 

Oh we were so pissed because we had such a good rate on the PH (because we had a promo with extra 10% off on it) and Celebrity was only offering to move us to another sailing at current rates!

 

So now again in 2023 we booked the Millennium PH (1/14/2023 sailing) under a similar promo with extra 10% off and we again have a really good rate on it. And now once again it’s going to get ripped out from under us due to another Jazz charter. I fully expect that Celebrity will offer this same option of just moving to another sailing at current rates. 

It totally sucks and I’m almost giving up hopes of ever sailing in a M class PH. 

[canderson]

10 minutes ago, Cruise Gopher said:

 I fully expect that Celebrity will offer this same option of just moving to another sailing at current rates. 

It totally sucks and I’m almost giving up hopes of ever sailing in a M class PH. 

Good points, and demonstrates the indirect cost of having this happen vs. those mentioned earlier.

 

We have learned to avoid this trap by sailing post-hurricane season rather than in the Spring after having the rug pulled out from under us once as well.  

 

When X pulls one of these tricks, they ought to honor the previously negotiated rate and deal with any $ differential between the chartering group and their own bottom line... or as Jeremiah referred to it, the "penalty to re-accommodate existing bookings".

[nunuc2000]

Well here we are... almost 6 weeks later, and still no acknowledgment from Celebrity that they have "double booked" the Millie in Jan of 2023. Over the last 4 weeks, I've spoken with 7 - yes SEVEN!! - different Celebrity phone reps, a few of which are "supervisors", and ALL of them have assured me "they'd get back to me with 2 days". Not one of them has actually done that. NOT ONE! 

 

I've now been in touch with a member of the group that has chartered that ship for one of the 3 legs that are chartered for the same time frame we are booked, and they have confirmed that they are booked into the exact same cabin that I have had booked since the spring. And yet still, each time I speak with a rep at Celebrity, they assure me the ship is not being chartered, and they don't know why that Jazz company is advertising that online. They stop just short of suggesting that Blue Note is fraudulently selling out chartered bookings.  

 

I get that the regular staff that answer the phones at Celebrity may not have all the info, or even be aware of charters that might have been negotiated behind closed doors and out of their earshot, but the 3 different supervisors that I have spoken with all said they have had annual charters through that same Jazz music company for many years running, and there must be some kind of error, and that they would get to the bottom of it and keep me informed by getting back to me... but crickets...

 

At what point do I start to turning into a major be-atch and start a letter writing campaign?! I've been patient, I've been reasonable and respectful to every single person I've dealt with at Celebrity. But it has now been a month and a half and I feel like I'm being ignored and quite honestly, Celebrity has shown a contemptable display of poor customer service. 

 

Any suggestions on what steps I should take now? Oh... and fun fact, as I've sat here writing this, I've been sitting on hold with Celebrity once again (38 minutes so far on this call), waiting to speak to another person that will probably lie or avoid the issue completely.  

 

Beyond frustrated... 

[LGW59]

56 minutes ago, nunuc2000 said:

Well here we are... almost 6 weeks later, and still no acknowledgment from Celebrity that they have "double booked" the Millie in Jan of 2023. Over the last 4 weeks, I've spoken with 7 - yes SEVEN!! - different Celebrity phone reps, a few of which are "supervisors", and ALL of them have assured me "they'd get back to me with 2 days". Not one of them has actually done that. NOT ONE! 

 

I've now been in touch with a member of the group that has chartered that ship for one of the 3 legs that are chartered for the same time frame we are booked, and they have confirmed that they are booked into the exact same cabin that I have had booked since the spring. And yet still, each time I speak with a rep at Celebrity, they assure me the ship is not being chartered, and they don't know why that Jazz company is advertising that online. They stop just short of suggesting that Blue Note is fraudulently selling out chartered bookings.  

 

I get that the regular staff that answer the phones at Celebrity may not have all the info, or even be aware of charters that might have been negotiated behind closed doors and out of their earshot, but the 3 different supervisors that I have spoken with all said they have had annual charters through that same Jazz music company for many years running, and there must be some kind of error, and that they would get to the bottom of it and keep me informed by getting back to me... but crickets...

 

At what point do I start to turning into a major be-atch and start a letter writing campaign?! I've been patient, I've been reasonable and respectful to every single person I've dealt with at Celebrity. But it has now been a month and a half and I feel like I'm being ignored and quite honestly, Celebrity has shown a contemptable display of poor customer service. 

 

Any suggestions on what steps I should take now? Oh... and fun fact, as I've sat here writing this, I've been sitting on hold with Celebrity once again (38 minutes so far on this call), waiting to speak to another person that will probably lie or avoid the issue completely.  

 

Beyond frustrated... 

not unusual at all for these jazz charters been happening for several years.  If Covid allows the charters will happen. I speak from personal experience.  Not worth getting all verklempt, IMO.  Personally I’d cancel and look for another cruise.

[nunuc2000]

8 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

not unusual at all for these jazz charters been happening for several years.  If Covid allows the charters will happen. I speak from personal experience.  Not worth getting all verklempt, IMO.  Personally I’d cancel and look for another cruise.

Agree that these charters have been happening for years, and Celebrity benefits greatly from them - and according to BlueNote, they've had this chartered for over 8 months... so why isn't Celebrity being forthright in their communications about it?

 

Canceling and looking for another cruise is what will have to happen if Celebrity eventually decides to notify us that this set of 3 B2B2B cruises is no longer available due to charter... but unfortunately, the window to try and book something equivalent has LONG passed. We have a Sunset View Verandah booked, same cabin for all three legs, at a screaming good price - the chances that we can find something else like that with the same pricing are about as good as the Detroit Lions winning the Superbowl this season... zero. 

[Cruise Gopher]

51 minutes ago, nunuc2000 said:

Agree that these charters have been happening for years, and Celebrity benefits greatly from them - and according to BlueNote, they've had this chartered for over 8 months... so why isn't Celebrity being forthright in their communications about it?

 

Canceling and looking for another cruise is what will have to happen if Celebrity eventually decides to notify us that this set of 3 B2B2B cruises is no longer available due to charter... but unfortunately, the window to try and book something equivalent has LONG passed. We have a Sunset View Verandah booked, same cabin for all three legs, at a screaming good price - the chances that we can find something else like that with the same pricing are about as good as the Detroit Lions winning the Superbowl this season... zero. 

As I posted up thread, this same thing happened to us last year and is going to happen again this year to us. Based on the date I received the cancel notice from Celebrity last year, we should be expecting the official communication from Celebrity right around the 14 month out date. So that would be around November 14th, 2021. 
 

[nunuc2000]

42 minutes ago, Cruise Gopher said:

As I posted up thread, this same thing happened to us last year and is going to happen again this year to us. Based on the date I received the cancel notice from Celebrity last year, we should be expecting the official communication from Celebrity right around the 14 month out date. So that would be around November 14th, 2021. 
 

Just so frustrating!

[LGW59]

59 minutes ago, Cruise Gopher said:

As I posted up thread, this same thing happened to us last year and is going to happen again this year to us. Based on the date I received the cancel notice from Celebrity last year, we should be expecting the official communication from Celebrity right around the 14 month out date. So that would be around November 14th, 2021. 
 

so on the bright side, you now may have 14 months to find a cruise that suits you.

 

 

[Cruise Gopher]

29 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

so on the bright side, you now may have 14 months to find a cruise that suits you.

 

 

I already have booked another one. Just waiting for Celebrity to cancel this sailing so I can get my refund to my credit card, as I did a non-refundable deposit rate. 

[LGW59]

12 minutes ago, Cruise Gopher said:

I already have booked another one. Just waiting for Celebrity to cancel this sailing so I can get my refund to my credit card, as I did a non-refundable deposit rate. 

They will, exact same happened to me but they only cancelled one month out

[paulh84]

Next steps? Move on! You have 14 months. This is your 8th call to Celebrity to confirm something they clearly aren’t going to confirm?? Most of the time customer service gets change notices the same day customers do. No wonder hold times are long. 

[nunuc2000]

Well it's official... after sending an email to the executive team with Celebrity asking when they plan to advise us that our B2B2B cruises will be cancelled due to charters, they phoned me a few minutes ago to admit that is indeed the case.  The woman I spoke with said Celebrity will reach out "soon" to notify all guests. 

 

So disappointed. This cruise was carefully coordinated with friends, and booked very early on to secure that amazing room for all three legs. It was also going to be an opportunity to scatter my parent's ashes in the Caribbean... I had promised my mom before she passed in August that I would bring a part of her and my dad with us so they could enjoy the Caribbean sea together forever. 

 

So now I wait for Celebrity to cancel and look at something different, though I'm pretty sure anything I find as an alternate will be much more expensive for a lesser room. Is it to early to drink?