Just got a call from Celebrity about an itinerary change on my NYE cruise.

[Cinerama]

All cruises to Key West are probably going to be changed. Our 11/3 cruise was changed from Key West to Nassau. There is another cruise to Key West on 11/6 and that was changed to Nassau. I just cancelled our 11/3 and will be receiving a FCC.

[twins_to_alaska]

It's often been pointed out ports can and might change. I had a 2 night cruise with 2 ports and both changed due to weather last minute and ended up with a sea day and a different port.

 

As OP has the option to cancel might consider doing that and flying somewhere instead.

[Stockjock]

19 minutes ago, twins_to_alaska said:

You might want to join your roll call. Someone there said they were also offered airline change fees as shorter itinerary. And you can commiserate with others in (on) the same boat.

 

I was supposed to only be going to Grand Cayman for my 4 night Nov cruise but as still closed finally changed to Cozumel. Grand Cayman is going to Phase 4 opening Nov 20 but originally cruise ships weren't being allowed until post Phase 5. Not sure what current plan is for ships.

That’s a good suggestion, I think I will do that.

 

I do understand the need to eliminate Key West, because to the best of my knowledge, cruise ships are not stopping there.

 

I was surprised that they got rid of Cozumel, because that island is open to cruise ships right now, and of course moving it from five nights to four didn’t seem like the best idea from what I could gather.  
 

Obviously I don’t work for Celebrity, but it seems to me that it would’ve made more sense to get rid of Key West and shift that day over to either Nassau or Bimini while keeping the rest of the cruise and the duration intact.
 

[Ken the cruiser]

I've been following along on this thread and I was just curious about a couple of things if the below Dec 26th cruise on the Summit is the one in question. First, you've been calling this a New Years Eve cruise. But even if it was for the original 5 days, wouldn't you still have been disembarking in Miami on Dec 31st?

 

But more importantly if you live in the New York area, why would you even consider going through all the preliminary effort, to include getting the antigen tests, booking a hotel near the port and then flying roundtrip from New York to Miami for a 5 day cruise? Why not, for example, sail out of New York on the Norwegian Gem for 7 days leaving the same day, Dec 26, and getting back Jan 2? I realize you of course have your reasons, but I was just curious. Seems the NCL cruise would have been a lot less stressful all around.

 

[uCruiser]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I've been following along on this thread and I was just curious about a couple of things if the below Dec 26th cruise on the Summit is the one in question. First, you've been calling this a New Years Eve cruise. But even if it was for the original 5 days, wouldn't you still have been disembarking in Miami on Dec 31st?

 

But more importantly if you live in the New York area, why would you even consider going through all the preliminary effort, to include getting the antigen tests, booking a hotel near the port and then flying roundtrip from New York to Miami for a 5 day cruise? Why not, for example, sail out of New York on the Norwegian Gem for 7 days leaving the same day, Dec 26, and getting back Jan 2? I realize you of course have your reasons, but I was just curious. Seems the NCL cruise would have been a lot less stressful all around.

 

 

The new years cruise on summit departs on the 30th. That's the day where the 26th 4 day cruise returns to Miami.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

32 minutes ago, uCruiser said:

The new years cruise on summit departs on the 30th. That's the day where the 26th 4 day cruise returns to Miami.

 

I'm glad I asked then as I haven't seen that cruise listed since I started following this thread.

[Stockjock]

53 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I've been following along on this thread and I was just curious about a couple of things if the below Dec 26th cruise on the Summit is the one in question. First, you've been calling this a New Years Eve cruise. But even if it was for the original 5 days, wouldn't you still have been disembarking in Miami on Dec 31st?

 

But more importantly if you live in the New York area, why would you even consider going through all the preliminary effort, to include getting the antigen tests, booking a hotel near the port and then flying roundtrip from New York to Miami for a 5 day cruise? Why not, for example, sail out of New York on the Norwegian Gem for 7 days leaving the same day, Dec 26, and getting back Jan 2? I realize you of course have your reasons, but I was just curious. Seems the NCL cruise would have been a lot less stressful all around.

 

As noted, the cruise departs on December 30. It’s not currently showing I presume because they are reworking the itinerary. I would imagine that it will be back up in a matter of days. They had said it was sold out, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case, but rather, they probably pulled the plug on new bookings once they realized they were going to change the number of days and itinerary.

 

I am in the San Diego area, so it is true that we have to fly to Miami, get a hotel for at least one night, maybe two now. And yes it is a little more expensive, but then it was New Year’s Eve cruise and we thought it would be a fun trip. Maybe it still will be, we will see, but not exactly thrilled about these changes and at the risk of being repetitive, $50 per person onboard credit as compensation doesn’t strike me as being terribly reasonable.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Stockjock

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

As noted, the cruise departs on December 30. It’s not currently showing I presume because they are reworking the itinerary. I would imagine that it will be back up in a matter of days. They had said it was sold out, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case, but rather, they probably pulled the plug on new bookings once they realize they were going to change the number of days and itinerary.

 

i’m in the San Diego area, so it is true that we have to fly to Miami, get a hotel for at least one night, maybe two now and all of that stuff. And yes it is a little more expensive but then it was New Year’s Eve and we thought it would be a fun trip. Maybe it still will be will see, but not exactly thrilled about these changes and at the risk of being repetitive, $50 per person onboard credit is compensation doesn’t strike me as being terribly reasonable.

I guess I related your handle to NY for some reason. Sorry about that. Since you're from SD, Princess also has a NYE cruise leaving on Dec 30 out of LA for 5 days which may work for you if you're not able to reach a satisfactory conclusion on your Summit cruise. In any event I hope it all works out and you and your GF have a great cruise! 😎

Edited October 23, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[FlorenceItaly]

29 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I guess I related your handle to NY for some reason. Sorry about that. Since you're from SD, Princess also has a NYE cruise leaving on Dec 30 out of LA for 5 days which may work for you if you're not able to reach a satisfactory conclusion on your Summit cruise. In any event I hope it all works out and you and your GF have a great cruise! 😎

Great suggestion.  IMO, the Princess cruise is the way to go especially since you are in SD.  It will be very festive for NYE.  It is very comparable to Celebrity.

[Stockjock]

48 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I guess I related your handle to NY for some reason. Sorry about that. Since you're from SD, Princess also has a NYE cruise leaving on Dec 30 out of LA for 5 days which may work for you if you're not able to reach a satisfactory conclusion on your Summit cruise. In any event I hope it all works out and you and your GF have a great cruise! 😎

Just looked at that.  It's not a bad option.  The cruise itself would be $700-$800 more than I paid on Celebrity if I included the drink package.  I booked the Celebrity cruise in early 2020, so we got a fairly good price due to the timing.  I also have $350 to spend on Celebrity and a Sweet 16 double sized balcony.

True, I could save money by cancelling flights, although I would incur maybe $200 in penalties.  I also have a Hotwire hotel booked on South Beach Miami that is non-refundable.

Bottom line, I'll just see what, if anything, Celebrity comes up with for now.  But appreciate the suggestions, as the timing could work.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Stockjock

[kwokpot]

14 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

True, I could save money by cancelling flights, although I would incur maybe $200 in penalties.  I also have a Hotwire hotel booked on South Beach Miami that is non-refundable.

What airline is charging penalties for canceling? All of the majors allow no fee cancelations. Also this is a perfect reason why during the pandemic one shouldn't do non refundable travel reservations, especially months in advance.

[hcat]

Saw a tv piece with a trvl person.  Affirmed my opinion that things are booking up quickly..esp in popular holiday/ party locations..like the  Miami area..

 

OP facing a loss to make a big change so building around the orig flight and hotel is still a decent approach. 

 

 How does the lady with the dresses feel?

[Stockjock]

On 10/21/2021 at 2:12 PM, garyl62 said:

So just to make sure I understand the compensation they are offering:

 

Is the total offer $50 OBC?  Or are they giving you a prorated refund of one day, pulse the $50 OBC.  Your post seems like just the $50, but I've never heard of them removing a day and not prorating the fare to reflect a comparable reduction. 

 

It's been about 4 years, but we had a 5 day Summit trip shortened to 4 due to maintenance work being performed and we received a refund equal to one day, plus some OBC for the inconvenience.  

I asked them and they said $50 pp only.  2 individuals stated that, one a supervisor.  Time will tell if they do something more.

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stockjock

[Sam.Seattle]

Am I the only one completely amused and entertained by this thread?  Beyond silly.  Celebrity is going to loose money just based on the additional labor hours they have endured with ongoing phone calls and emails. 

 

I won't restate my initial comments on post #46.  But, I still contend that DIAMONDS  💍 are a girls best friend.

 

Cheers!

💍

[LGW59]

3 minutes ago, Sam.Seattle said:

Am I the only one completely amused and entertained by this thread?  Beyond silly.  Celebrity is going to loose money just based on the additional labor hours they have endured with ongoing phone calls and emails. 

 

I won't restate my initial comments on post #46.  But, I still contend that DIAMONDS  💍 are a girls best friend.

 

Cheers!

💍

There certainly has been a bit over the top comedic/drama.

[Stockjock]

37 minutes ago, Sam.Seattle said:

Am I the only one completely amused and entertained by this thread?  Beyond silly.  Celebrity is going to loose money just based on the additional labor hours they have endured with ongoing phone calls and emails. 

 

I won't restate my initial comments on post #46.  But, I still contend that DIAMONDS  💍 are a girls best friend.

 

Cheers!

💍

Interestingly, it seems like a number of cruise lines are shifting to Bimini.  Bimini apparently just opened to cruise ports in July 2021, I believe.  I presume it's a cost-cutting situation, as the port is only 50 miles east of Miami.  I had looked at a Carnival cruise (not my first choice) yesterday that stopped in Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios.  A few hours later, they had changed the itinerary to Bimini and Ocho Rios.

I've looked at some videos on Bimini.  It doesn't seem like an interesting port of call to me.  Especially when paired with nearby Nassau, which I also find to be uninteresting.

I told my GF that God took a dump in the ocean and they called it Bimini.  Then, they decided to make use of that by putting a couple of palm trees on it and building a pier.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stockjock

[kpark895]

2 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Interestingly, it seems like a number of cruise lines are shifting to Bimini.  Bimini apparently just opened to cruise ports in July 2021, I believe.  I presume it's a cost-cutting situation, as the port is only 50 miles east of Miami.  I had looked at a Carnival cruise (not my first choice) yesterday that stopped in Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios.  A few hours later, they had changed the itinerary to Bimini and Ocho Rios.

I've looked at some videos on Bimini.  It doesn't seem like an interesting port of call to me.  Especially when paired with nearby Nassau, which I also find to be uninteresting.

Pretty sure they had to change the Grand Cayman port out of necessity - Grand Cayman has extended their ban on cruise ships visiting until at least December 31st, and possibly beyond. An article about this was posted on the cruise hive website recently.

[barbette165]

The OP says that they originally booked this cruise in early 2020.

Someone on the roll call for the cruise said that they booked in January 2020, when the cruise was scheduled to be on the Infinity and was a four night cruise.

The redeployment of Summit from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale replacing Infinity only occurred in November 2020. 

This link from a thread back then, shows passengers were transferred from Infinity to Summit "at the rate paid". https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Deployment/CEL_21-22_Deployment_FAQs.pdf

I can't confirm this next bit is correct but if the cruise went from 4 nights to 5 nights without a pro-rated increase, then it would be unreasonable to expect a refund when the extra day is taken away again. 

So I would expect that those who booked "5 nights on Summit" would get the pro-rated refund plus some OBC and those who booked "4 nights on Infinity" will just get the OBC.

 

[LGW59]

6 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

The OP says that they originally booked this cruise in early 2020.

Someone on the roll call for the cruise said that they booked in January 2020, when the cruise was scheduled to be on the Infinity and was a four night cruise.

The redeployment of Summit from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale replacing Infinity only occurred in November 2020. 

This link from a thread back then, shows passengers were transferred from Infinity to Summit "at the rate paid". https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Deployment/CEL_21-22_Deployment_FAQs.pdf

I can't confirm this next bit is correct but if the cruise went from 4 nights to 5 nights without a pro-rated increase, then it would be unreasonable to expect a refund when the extra day is taken away again. 

So I would expect that those who booked "5 nights on Summit" would get the pro-rated refund plus some OBC and those who booked "4 nights on Infinity" will just get the OBC.

 

There is always the story behind the story.  So if I understand this correctly, the folks who booked this, originally booked a 4 day cruise and were moved to a new ship for a 5 day cruise, with no additional cost?  Now they are back to 4 days again but with $50 OBC.   Hmmmmmm

Edited October 24, 2021 by LGW59

[uCruiser]

12 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

There is always the story behind the story.  So if I understand this correctly, the folks who booked this, originally booked a 4 day cruise and were moved to a new ship for a 5 day cruise, with no additional cost?  Now they are back to 4 days again but with $50 OBC.   Hmmmmmm

Sounds like some did. We booked a 5 day cruise...

[Guppy99]

24 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

The OP says that they originally booked this cruise in early 2020.

Someone on the roll call for the cruise said that they booked in January 2020, when the cruise was scheduled to be on the Infinity and was a four night cruise.

The redeployment of Summit from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale replacing Infinity only occurred in November 2020. 

This link from a thread back then, shows passengers were transferred from Infinity to Summit "at the rate paid". https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Deployment/CEL_21-22_Deployment_FAQs.pdf

I can't confirm this next bit is correct but if the cruise went from 4 nights to 5 nights without a pro-rated increase, then it would be unreasonable to expect a refund when the extra day is taken away again. 

So I would expect that those who booked "5 nights on Summit" would get the pro-rated refund plus some OBC and those who booked "4 nights on Infinity" will just get the OBC.

 

if true,  that would explain a lot. Funny how it changes when the facts are all laid out and not conveniently omitted.

[hcat]

I say ....let  this thread go!

[Stockjock]

The cruise was originally a 4 night on Infinity.  It was moved to a 5 night on Summit, which was an improvement.  Initially, pricing was similar to what I paid.  Later, the cost went up.

When I booked the initial cruise, I figured there was a less than 50% chance I'd actually do the cruise.  I booked what I thought was a refundable fare, which was very misleading as they did not say it was non-refundable.  I posted screen shots at the time, which did say NRD in maybe 1/16" print, but no further mention that the fare was non-refundable.  Now, they make refundable vs. non-refundable much more clear, but at that time they did not.  If I can find it, I could bump that post.

Decided to go forward with the cruise based on the improved ship, itinerary and duration.  Now they are pulling that back, just over 2 months before sailing whilst many of us have flights, hotels, etc in place.

I don't see the point that the cruise was different 2 years ago, as being valid.  Whether one originally booked as a 4 night cruise or a 5 night cruise, we have made plans based on what we were offered by Celebrity, a 5 night cruise with a specific itinerary.  And of course we had no choice over what they did, but yes it *was* an improvement.

I think my beefs are valid.

1. There does not seem to be a valid reason to switch from Cozumel to Bimini.  Key West, I can understand changes mandated due to covid restrictions, but Cozumel is open for business.  So by killing Key West and Cozumel, they completely changed the character of the cruise.

2. Celebrity sold this as a 5 night cruise.  If it was 4 nights 2 years ago, that is not relevant.  Regardless of when one booked, plans were made based on *Celebrity's* decision to make it a slightly longer cruise.

3. Letting us know roughly 60 days before sailing is not too cool.  These decisions should have been made and communicated well in advance.  I don't think they can hide behind covid in this case, because from what I can see, it wasn't a factor.  I recently booked a non-refundable hotel in South Beach on Hotwire.  I bought new clothes.  I bought my GF new clothes for the cruise and NYE.  I booked flights with change fees, as they are made through a travel agency that assesses those fees when flights are changed or cancelled.  Had they let me know with a bit more notice, I wouldn't have made those changes.  60+ days notice seems ridiculous to me.

4. Because the ship would now arrive a day earlier (why?), if I did the cruise, it would force me to spend another $200 or so on a hotel for the extra day.  While my outbound flight can be changed with penalties, the return flight could not be modified.  It was booked using Southwest frequent flyer miles and to modify that booking would require around 25,000 additional miles, which is a lot, to come back a day earlier.  I actually set a 4:30 am alarm to get online on the morning that those tickets went on sale so I could get them at the lowest cost in miles.  

Bottom line: I'll likely cancel this cruise, as well as a holiday 2022 cruise booked.  However, I am open to any further offers that they might make.  At this stage, I'd say 80% chance I cancel, which is a total bummer.  Now, I will have to fight with Hotwire and the Travel Agents to try to get whatever refund back that I can.  Just what I was hoping for, no NYE cruise, hundreds of dollars in cancellation fees, and having to fight with Celebrity and travel agencies.  Such fun.

Pretty much ruined my NYE plans.  If it wouldn't have ruined your plans, good for you.

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stockjock

[DCPIV]

OP, I was kind of on your side until the last few posts. I really am sorry to hear what has happened. I wish it hadn't. Everyone here also does. However, you weren't quite upfront about the whole situation. 

 

You've been around this board for long enough to know that Key West and Grand Cayman would not happen. Most certainly, a modicum of research would tell you that. We're all busy, but many of us world look to see what was up with cruise ports. At the very least, we'd understand the risk. 

 

Making non-refundable travel plans without insurance and also spending beaucoups on clothes since COVID came along is more naive than most would care to admit to. I won't go into more detail about your rants on dealing with changes in travel plans. Again, understand your risk. Shift it when you can. 

 

Time to roll with the punches, just like the rest of the world has for the last year and a half or so. There are many you are ranting to that have endured more and still are. 

 

To paraphrase and adapt Drew Carey--

 

Oh, you don't like what's happened to your travel plans? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and we meet at the bar. 

 

Happy cruising. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by DCPIV

[Stockjock]

28 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

OP, I was kind of on your side until the last few posts. I really am sorry to hear what has happened. I wish it hadn't. Everyone here also does. However, you weren't quite upfront about the whole situation. 

 

You've been around this board for long enough to know that Key West and Grand Cayman would not happen. Most certainly, a modicum of research would tell you that. We're all busy, but many of us world look to see what was up with cruise ports. At the very least, we'd understand the risk. 

 

Making non-refundable travel plans without insurance and also spending beaucoups on clothes since COVID came along is more naive than most would care to admit to. I won't go into more detail about your rants on dealing with changes in travel plans. Again, understand your risk. Shift it when you can. 

 

Time to roll with the punches, just like the rest of the world has for the last year and a half or so. There are many you are ranting to that have endured more and still are. 

 

To paraphrase and adapt Drew Carey--

 

Oh, you don't like what's happened to your travel plans? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and we meet at the bar. 

 

Happy cruising. 

I never said that the cruise was scheduled to go to Grand Cayman.  That was a Carnival cruise sailing around the same time.  The Celebrity cruise was scheduled to go to Cozumel and Key West.  I get ditching Key West.  I don't get ditching Cozumel and making the cruise a day shorter.  Especially considering it's just a bit over 60 days from sailing.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stockjock