Celebrity Summit goes into dry dock tomorrow

[Stockjock]

So we get back to port tomorrow morning and from there the ship currently goes straight to the Bahamas for dry dock.  
 

Apparently the dry dock will be 10 days and will be for maintenance, which may involve some work to the engines.

[NinS]

After dry dock it was slated to spend a month being chartered for a series of jazz cruises starting 1/17.  The charter company has requested a cancellation, with official word on Celebrity's response apparently coming tomorrow, so it might be a very long dry dock!

[jelayne]

38 minutes ago, NinS said:

After dry dock it was slated to spend a month being chartered for a series of jazz cruises starting 1/17.  The charter company has requested a cancellation, with official word on Celebrity's response apparently coming tomorrow, so it might be a very long dry dock!

Or very good deals to get some cruises going to keep staff occupied.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, NinS said:

After dry dock it was slated to spend a month being chartered for a series of jazz cruises starting 1/17.  The charter company has requested a cancellation, with official word on Celebrity's response apparently coming tomorrow, so it might be a very long dry dock!

Ouch.  They would necessarily have already set up an account with a ton of $ for X to draw upon for a charter.  I wonder what those contracts look like for a cancellation!  And we think WE have big $ to worry about after final payment!  Could bankrupt the outfit sponsoring the tour.  Then again, these are tough times, and I would imagine that since Celebrity gets this music theme charter business every Spring, they may cut the chartering company some slack.  CWC for jazz?

[Ken the cruiser]

Our Feb 5, 2022 7 day Reflection cruise was actually a L&S from a canceled Feb 2021 Summit cruise that was created at the last minute when (probably) the same company backed out of their Jan-Feb 2021 chartered Summit cruises due to rising C19 concerns. We booked an S1 for a super rate of $1,599 base price pp with all the perks.

 

If they actually do cancel again, I wonder if Celebrity will have another fire sale, or as some folks suggest, just extend the “dry dock” period?

[terrydtx]

Too bad the Summit will not be getting Revolutionized this dry docking. 

[barbette165]

Summit has already been revolutionized.

 

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

Summit has already been revolutionized.

 

My bad sorry. Thanks for reminding me.

[Ipeeinthepools]

7 hours ago, canderson said:

Ouch.  They would necessarily have already set up an account with a ton of $ for X to draw upon for a charter.  I wonder what those contracts look like for a cancellation!  And we think WE have big $ to worry about after final payment!  Could bankrupt the outfit sponsoring the tour.  Then again, these are tough times, and I would imagine that since Celebrity gets this music theme charter business every Spring, they may cut the chartering company some slack.  CWC for jazz?

I hope the Jazz outfit has insurance

[NinS]

The charter company was very explicit in stating that "With this announcement, Jazz Cruises has asked Celebrity Cruises to cancel its January 17 – 24, 2022, January 24 – 31, 2022, January 31 – February 7, 2022 and February 7 – 14, 2022 sailings. We are awaiting their response." If the charter company was going to just pull the plug and take their seven figure losses (or file an insurance claim for those losses) they seemingly wouldn't need to ask Celebrity's permission any more than a regular passenger needs Celebrity's permission to be a no-show. Another music charter company gave a webinar for passengers in summer 2020 where they said that their fall 2020 and winter 2021 charter contracts had been "postponed" to the following year rather than cancelled, so their payments to the cruise lines (HAL and X) were just pushed back instead of refunded. They gave this as the reason for why they were not refunding any passengers, just giving them future cruise credits. The jazz charter company has already announced and put on sale its 2023 cruises on X.

 

Even less clear is what would happen with the fees for the artists who were paid a deposit to secure their appearances in 2022 but who are not booked on 2023 which has a different mix of artists already announced.

 

I'll update this thread if and when any official word comes down. The scuttlebut on other social media is that we'll get an announcement later today -- and, if you believe random people on Facebook who say they've called the charter -- Celebrity agreed to the postponement.

[steve0617]

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Our Feb 5, 2022 7 day Reflection cruise was actually a L&S from a canceled Feb 2021 Summit cruise that was created at the last minute when (probably) the same company backed out of their Jan-Feb 2021 chartered Summit cruises due to rising C19 concerns. We booked an S1 for a super rate of $1,599 base price pp with all the perks.

 

If they actually do cancel again, I wonder if Celebrity will have another fire sale, or as some folks suggest, just extend the “dry dock” period?

 

The jazz cruise promoter sailed three of the four jazz themed cruises in 2020, starting in late January though late February. They then cancelled the last one - the second 'Smooth Jazz Cruise' that was to sail in March.

 

The didn't sail anything in 2021 (they cancelled those in mid 2020 or so - it definitely wasn't last minute for the 21 dates) and then dumped the 2022 'Blue Note at Sea' cruise and used those dates for a third 'makeup Smooth Jazz' cruise in 2022.

 

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by steve0617

[FlorenceItaly]

I just heard from a relative on the January 17 Jazz Cruise that all Jazz Cruise sailings with this company for 2022 have been suspended.  The choice is full refund or move over funds to 2023.

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, NinS said:

The charter company was very explicit in stating that "With this announcement, Jazz Cruises has asked Celebrity Cruises to cancel its January 17 – 24, 2022, January 24 – 31, 2022, January 31 – February 7, 2022 and February 7 – 14, 2022 sailings. We are awaiting their response." If the charter company was going to just pull the plug and take their seven figure losses (or file an insurance claim for those losses) they seemingly wouldn't need to ask Celebrity's permission any more than a regular passenger needs Celebrity's permission to be a no-show. Another music charter company gave a webinar for passengers in summer 2020 where they said that their fall 2020 and winter 2021 charter contracts had been "postponed" to the following year rather than cancelled, so their payments to the cruise lines (HAL and X) were just pushed back instead of refunded. They gave this as the reason for why they were not refunding any passengers, just giving them future cruise credits. The jazz charter company has already announced and put on sale its 2023 cruises on X.

 

Even less clear is what would happen with the fees for the artists who were paid a deposit to secure their appearances in 2022 but who are not booked on 2023 which has a different mix of artists already announced.

 

I'll update this thread if and when any official word comes down. The scuttlebut on other social media is that we'll get an announcement later today -- and, if you believe random people on Facebook who say they've called the charter -- Celebrity agreed to the postponement.

Thank goodness for FB, otherwise I would have no idea what is happening in the world!  🙂

[FlorenceItaly]

2 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Thank goodness for FB, otherwise I would have no idea what is happening in the world!  🙂

Oh sure you would.  I do not have FB and I know more than I would like to, LOL!

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Oh sure you would.  I do not have FB and I know more than I would like to, LOL!

I should have added that I am a proud never been on FB person, drives my friends and family crazy, which I enjoy doing.

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, LGW59 said:

I should have added that I am a proud never been on FB person, drives my friends and family crazy, which I enjoy doing.

I deactivated my account in 2013....too much drama!  Ignorance is bliss, LOL.

[George C]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I just heard from a relative on the January 17 Jazz Cruise that all Jazz Cruise sailings with this company for 2022 have been suspended.  The choice is full refund or move over funds to 2023.

Are the jazz cruise starvista? We are on the 70’s rock and romance in February, was still hoping to sail . 

[NinS]

No, the jazz cruises are via ECP (which has actually now spun off its jazz programs into an entity called Jazz Cruises). Many years ago they did some partnering with StarVista but they are no longer affiliated.

 

StarVista has two cruises set to go out this month: Country Music Cruise and Soul Train. Both are on Holland America. I have friends on both and none have been notified about any potential changes at all.

[NinS]

Here is the cancellation letter (minus specific details about refunds/rebookings etc)

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO GUESTS ON OUR '22 PROGRAMS

BIG PICTURE   The CDC has declared it is unsafe to cruise regardless of your vaccination status. There continues to be a nationwide rise in COVID-19 transmission rates and reported infections on cruise ships. In response, Jazz Cruises has cancelled its programs scheduled for January '22. ’22 Guests may elect to receive a refund, apply their ’22 payments to an existing ’23 reservation or complete a ’23 reservation now.

PERSONAL NOTE For more than 21 years Jazz Cruises has presented the highest quality cruise programs earning its reputation as the Gold Standard of Jazz At Sea. The decision not to sail will be a financial hardship for Jazz Cruises, one that could have been avoided by sailing. However, given CDC's unequivocal warning as to the risks of sailing regardless of one's vaccination status, nothing we can do will make our guests feel safe, nor help us produce cruise programs that guarantee their maximum enjoyment. For those and the other reasons stated above, Jazz Cruises will not sail in ’22, but is looking forward to a great ’23 season. —Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of Jazz Cruises

MORE INFORMATION Action by CDC. On Thursday, December 30, 2021, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a Level 4 COVID-19 Travel Health Notice (the highest such level) stating that, due to current health and safety conditions, sailing on a cruise is unsafe regardless of one’s vaccination status. Dramatic Rise in COVID-19 Transmission Rates on Cruise Ships. The action by CDC has been prompted by a dramatic rise in COVID-19 Transmission Rates on Cruise Ships. Almost every day there is another report of positive testing among both guests and crew members. Jazz Cruises’ Response. Until that announcement, Jazz Cruises had been working diligently to establish guidelines and protocols to combat the current issues and to ensure safe sailings for our ’22 programs. In March ’22, we announced that our cruises would require proof of vaccination. Later we added our Jazz Cruises’ Travel Requirements and Travel Safely Programs. Recently, we hired Spotlight Medical to conduct COVID-19 tests, at our expense, for our guests prior to boarding. We were pro-active, on top of every aspect of the issue and ready to pay for whatever our guests needed to “Travel Safely and Board Successfully.” In the cruise world, however, CDC is the umpire. You may think that you are “safe,” but, if CDC calls you “out,” you are out! CDC's December 30, 2021 announcement of the Level 4 COVID-19 Travel Health Notice ended our efforts to take on the risks of the current health crisis. To Jazz Cruises, CDC's notice was not just a "recommendation," it was a command. For the safety of our employees, guests, and staff, we cannot in good conscience sail in the face of a Level 4 COVID-19 Travel Health Notice. The CDC has told us “to avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status,” that the “chance of getting COVD-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose,” that “since the identification of the Omicron variant, there has been an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among cruise passengers and crew reported to CDC,” and that “it is especially important that travelers who are at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide, regardless of vaccination status.” Based on the CDC’s public advisories, all four of our January ’22 sailings will be cancelled, and we will move forward with our ’23 sailings, as planned.