How Responsive Is Celebrity To Verified Compensation Claims?

[LGW59]

20 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Again, you need to read your cruise ticket contract.

Especially during this still turbulent times, re-start to cruising etc.  On the positive side, they were negative and they made it home

[JeanieC,Aston]

2 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Bye.   Sorry we'll never meet.

Boring..🥱🥱🥱

[bEwAbG]

Celebrity has regularly been taking a long time to deal with any sort of refund during the pandemic.  A thread just a few weeks ago had people getting refund money back at around the 45 day mark.  I'd wait until at least that amount of time has passed and then escalate.  You can find executive contacts if you Google.  Or send a letter to their headquarters.  It's taking them a long time to respond to emails, too, so that is not unusual that you haven't heard back yet.  Most all companies are having customer service issues...not unique to this one.

[bEwAbG]

Also, I think it is entirely appropriate to put this at Celebrity's feet.  It was their vendor.  They'll sort it out, but it may take longer than you want.  I'm sure they had a lot of cancellations to deal with during the Omicron surge.

[AlphaGeek]

18 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

Also, I think it is entirely appropriate to put this at Celebrity's feet.  It was their vendor.  They'll sort it out, but it may take longer than you want.  I'm sure they had a lot of cancellations to deal with during the Omicron surge.

Thanks. I don't mind if it takes a while. What I don't like is that there has been absolutely no acknowledgement from Celebrity at all. Surprising, because it is so easy to automate a simple email response. Thus my original question - did we use the right email address?

[Ipeeinthepools]

50 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

Celebrity has regularly been taking a long time to deal with any sort of refund during the pandemic.  A thread just a few weeks ago had people getting refund money back at around the 45 day mark.  I'd wait until at least that amount of time has passed and then escalate.  You can find executive contacts if you Google.  Or send a letter to their headquarters.  It's taking them a long time to respond to emails, too, so that is not unusual that you haven't heard back yet.  Most all companies are having customer service issues...not unique to this one.

 

FYI, I had to cancel a couple of cruises this year and Celebrity posted the refunds in less than a week. 

[LGW59]

5 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

FYI, I had to cancel a couple of cruises this year and Celebrity posted the refunds in less than a week. 

Clearly everyone's mileage varies, but my personal experience over the past two COVID years, has been the same, all changes made correctly/efficiently and refunds, where warranted, made promptly.  

[canderson]

On 3/18/2022 at 8:54 AM, Alakegirl said:

How exactly do you submit a claim to your insurance company when you are self-insured?

You get to write the check!

[AlphaGeek]

For those who question Celebrity's culpability in this matter, my wife just reminded me that the room steward dropped off information cards that contained a unique number, and a time for the appointment. We witnessed a situation where other passengers did not have their card, and the testing company had to enter their information manually into the system instead of scanning it.

Edited March 19, 2022 by AlphaGeek

[omeinv]

1 hour ago, AlphaGeek said:

For those who question Celebrity's culpability in this matter, my wife just reminded me that the room steward dropped off information cards that contained a unique number, and a time for the appointment. We witnessed a situation where other passengers did not have their card, and the testing company had to enter their information manually into the system instead of scanning it.

Right, and Celebrity also arranges and sells shore excursions, and Celebrity has a medical clinic aboard the ship, and you can purchase art at a Park West auction on board; and yet, Celebrity gracefully declines - through the cruise contract - liability for actions or omissions by the third party vendors.  Now, often they will make goodwill adjustments, but if it comes down to trying to collect for incidental or consequential damages, I suspect they'll refer you to the vendor.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[upwarduk]

On 3/18/2022 at 12:24 PM, happy cruzer said:

Celebrity may or may not be responsible.

When we were denied entry into St Petersburg in the summer of 2018, the Captain issued letters, so we could claim on our Travel Insurance.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, omeinv said:

Celebrity gracefully declines - through the cruise contract - liability for actions or omissions by the third party vendors.

True enough, if the subcontractor has their own insurance.  In general, a contractor who hires an uninsured or unlicensed subcontractor may be liable for any injuries or lawsuits stemming from the subcontractor's actions.

 

Assuming X's legal beagles have done their due diligence, that means that their subcontractors are insured against, among other things, lack of performance ... so that's where you would logically start to seek relief.  However, if you find that the sub wasn't insured, then you would and should take the problem right back to X.

 

[Fly and Sail]

On 3/18/2022 at 9:54 PM, Alakegirl said:

How exactly do you submit a claim to your insurance company when you are self-insured?

 

What is does "self-insured" mean, is that an American term? Either you're insured (through a proper insurance policy) or you aren't, in the latter case assuming all the risk. Having to pay out of pocket is hardly an insurance to me.

 

Nevertheless, I think ironic posts aren't contributing to solving the OP's problem. I remember talking about these new on-shore testing solutions and foreseeing this exact issue in January when X suddenly stopped testing people on the ship.

 

And even for onboard testing people often had to chase down their tests, having not received them even at the time of deboarding. I experienced it myself on Millennium in July and someones on EDGE at the Retreat missed the Test after debarkation in January, standing at the airport and still no test result.

 

When I got my test done in the terminal, despite having registered online the lady had to do the whole process again manually and promptly included a spelling error in both my name and email (which I caught right away proofreading the form as I got the vibe she wasn't the sharpest tool in the box).

 

This was during the first January week. I was hoping that by now they got their act together but it seems like it's still a disaster with plenty of uncertainty. Probably exactly the reason why they wanted this off the ship so they can shed responsibility. Not sure this will work legally if put to the test.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Fly and Sail

[omeinv]

1 hour ago, Fly and Sail said:

What is does "self-insured" mean, is that an American term? Either you're insured (through a proper insurance policy) or you aren't, in the latter case assuming all the risk. Having to pay out of pocket is hardly an insurance to me.

"Self-Insured", as you surmised, means willing to accept the risk of having to pay out of pocket.  In the case at hand, it's referring to individuals choosing to accept the risk of traveling without travel insurance. 

 

The more usual use of the term is for large organizations, US freight railroads, and most large cities and states being an example.  They typically are self-insured, having the wherewithal to handle very large claims; although for the astronomical, they often have secondary insurance.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Ipeeinthepools]

8 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

What is does "self-insured" mean, is that an American term? Either you're insured (through a proper insurance policy) or you aren't, in the latter case assuming all the risk. Having to pay out of pocket is hardly an insurance to me.

 

Insurance is never free.  You can either purchase insurance for situations that you do not want to bear the financial responsibility or you can keep that insurance premium in your pocket and self-insure.  When you self-insure, you can use the premium to offset any losses that you may incur.  I have done it both ways.  However it seems that many people want to have their cake and eat it too.  They don't want to pay for insurance but expect someone else to cover their losses.  I'm sorry but it just doesn't work that way.  

[Bo1953]

On 3/18/2022 at 11:18 PM, AlphaGeek said:

This is exactly why we are talking about cancelling our Europe cruise with Celebrity. Any company will paint you a happy path, but the ones that aren't prepared to support customers in their time of need are generally the companies that you want to avoid.

IMO, you need to go ahead and cancel future sailings on X and chalk this up to experience to not have, again, hopefully.

 

Posting does help with venting and expressing your feelings, but there are others with the same situation and filing.

 

Good luck and bon voyage

[Bo1953]

20 hours ago, bEwAbG said:

Celebrity has regularly been taking a long time to deal with any sort of refund during the pandemic.  A thread just a few weeks ago had people getting refund money back at around the 45 day mark.  I'd wait until at least that amount of time has passed and then escalate.  You can find executive contacts if you Google.  Or send a letter to their headquarters.  It's taking them a long time to respond to emails, too, so that is not unusual that you haven't heard back yet.  Most all companies are having customer service issues...not unique to this one.

LOL, while not unique to the "companies" but to us and to us exclusively...

 

bon voyage

[AlphaGeek]

So, here we are at the end of May, and Celebrity has been absolutely silent on this matter. No acceptance. No denial. Nothing! Is this common? Obviously, there has been no compensation (expenses incurred in February).

 

I'd be grateful for suggestions. I do know that a few nationally published reporters I've approached are interested in this as a Covid-related story. I'd prefer not to go there, since it is tantamount to hitting a fly with a sledgehammer. But, our incurred expenses are real and due to Celebrity and their chosen partners.

[omeinv]

There's a really good website, https://www.elliott.org/.  They have a section devoted to cruise line issues, good general advice on escalating complaints, contact info for company executives, and they will assist in handling complaints in some cases. 

 

At the very least there are a lot of interesting stories.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Arizona Wildcat]

On 3/18/2022 at 9:49 AM, AlphaGeek said:

Agreed, however if that was their response, they should have provided it weeks ago. Their lack of response implies to me that they don't care. My business experience and other conversations that happened at the time of the incident also suggests that things are not always black and white. 

Celebrity is in the same situation as the CPA firm that does my taxes.  They had almost 1/3 of their staff either quit or retire and have been dealing with an endless series of sick employees.  Thus I hope to have my taxes filed this fall.

You certainly are aware of the similar situation at Celebrity and whilst they have hired new employees; they lack training and knowledge. 

My question would be why you have apparently not either written or at least called Celebrity since it has been weeks since your email?  Maybe a registered demand letter?

[-Lew-]

15 hours ago, AlphaGeek said:

So, here we are at the end of May, and Celebrity has been absolutely silent on this matter. No acceptance. No denial. Nothing! Is this common? Obviously, there has been no compensation (expenses incurred in February).

 

I'd be grateful for suggestions. I do know that a few nationally published reporters I've approached are interested in this as a Covid-related story. I'd prefer not to go there, since it is tantamount to hitting a fly with a sledgehammer. But, our incurred expenses are real and due to Celebrity and their chosen partners.

 

As a self-described long time business leader, why have you not thought to follow-up with Celebrity?  If I had not received a response to my email after a couple of weeks I would be sending an email to every Celebrity email address I could find to inquire of the status of my claim.  Phone calls might be an even better method.

 

If you had travel insurance, a claim would have been settled by now.  It appears you travel without insurance.

 

Threats to cancel future bookings or contact nationally published reporters likely will have no effect.  A cancellation will give Celebrity an opportunity to resell your booking at a higher fare and cause you a lot of work rescheduling all that goes along with cruise travel.

 

If you have no inclination to follow-up with Celebrity, use this as a learning experience and move on with your life.

[dazey]

For years we never purchased insurance but have found that non-Celebrity insurance companies are very reasonable and offer good coverage(offering many plans to choose from)  and their claim filing and follow-up is outstanding.  Well worth the money not only for recouping money but also piece of mind.  If we are fortunate to get a comp cruise we still get our insurance coverage through our TA or directly with the company.

 

 

[Babr]

On 3/20/2022 at 8:09 AM, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Insurance is never free.  You can either purchase insurance for situations that you do not want to bear the financial responsibility or you can keep that insurance premium in your pocket and self-insure.  When you self-insure, you can use the premium to offset any losses that you may incur.  I have done it both ways.  However it seems that many people want to have their cake and eat it too.  They don't want to pay for insurance but expect someone else to cover their losses.  I'm sorry but it just doesn't work that way.  

I agree with what you are saying, but I suppose you can’t blame people for looking to Celebrity for compensation. Celebrity has trained them to do so since the restart of cruising by paying all expenses related to COVID - even private jets for a while.

 

There seems to be some angst - even resentment - as cruise lines move away from those early policies.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

There seems to be some angst - even resentment - as cruise lines move away from those early policies.

And I think that's understandable, given that the change in protocols pre/post-COVID has increased the risk of financial loss.  I think a lot of folks are now saying, "Hey, look... your prices are way up again.  Your protocols put a great deal of our cash at risk.  If you want us to spend even more than we were paying pre-COVID, you need to help us mitigate the financial risk".

 

Whether that's reasonable can be argued, but it's certainly understandable.  As an example, in the 'old days', the primary risks to missing the start of a cruise were flight delays.  Now everyone has to deal with the possibility of being in a foreign country, preparing to board, being asymptomatic, and discovering that they're COVID positive the night before.  At least the lines are still compensating passengers for that eventuality.  Beyond that issue, however, the lines are making it less and less their problem and more the problem of the passenger. 

 

The real issue, of course, are the protocols in place specifically for COVID and whether those protocols continue to serve the objective -- or rather, whether the objective still makes as much sense as it once did.  By now, I think it's clear that since the omicron variant came into play, taking a zero-COVID approach is a fool's errand.  We've seen many threads here outlining the consequences to passengers.  If the lines insist on both high prices and high risk of a bad experience (due to protocols) together, people will object.  Given the current threat of omicron, should onboard experience for those testing positive be greatly improved if they're willing to take the risk of cruising knowing that protocols won't be quite so draconian?

 

[Bo1953]

On 5/28/2022 at 4:45 PM, AlphaGeek said:

So, here we are at the end of May, and Celebrity has been absolutely silent on this matter. No acceptance. No denial. Nothing! Is this common? Obviously, there has been no compensation (expenses incurred in February).

 

I'd be grateful for suggestions. I do know that a few nationally published reporters I've approached are interested in this as a Covid-related story. I'd prefer not to go there, since it is tantamount to hitting a fly with a sledgehammer. But, our incurred expenses are real and due to Celebrity and their chosen partners.

I say go ahead and have a national story done to attract attention to your situation.

 

What more do you have to lose over this?

 

bon voyage