Summit Alaskan cruise disappointment (MERGER OF 5 THREADS ON THIS TOPIC)

[florida_cruiser]

Yeah right, and Royal Caribbean is going to post warnings about passengers gettting drunk and falling overboard, and Princess is going to post warnings about fires on ships, and Celebrity is going to post warnings about pod problems on the Summit, and NCL is going to post warnings about rude American crews, dare I go on.... The cruise industry has always had it's share of problems, you could take any line and there is a history of all of the above. This isn't a line problem, it's an industry problem.

 

Of course Celebrity would not post that warning on the itinerary for those cruises - I honestly would not have expected them to. But by the same token Celebrity should be prepared to step up to the plate and take care of the customers who paid full price for the cruise and through no fault of the weather or a totally unexpected mechanical problem were shortchanged.

 

Contrary to Ilovefuncruises comments, very emphatically, this problem is unique to the Celebrity line and in particular the millenium class ships. We are not dealing with missed ports due to weather or altered itinerary due to a totally unforseen mechanical condition. This is a well known pre-existing expected problem which is historically occurring on an annual basis. They should have a set (and fair) policy in place as some other poster suggested so that there would be no argument or reason for any other distress. What truly amazes me and apparently many other posters is why so many of you are willing to give Celebrity a free pass on this particular issue. They have already received millions from a law suit and are in the process of obtaining more. Until all of the law suits have been settled I doubt they have been required to pay for any of the temporary repairs out of pocket - yet they continue to propose settlements that cost them next to nothing.

 

We all know that $200.00 in ship board credit at most actually costs them 25 cents on the dollar. How many people actually are able to use the 30% discount on a future cruise within so many months? The demographics of any cruise are probably the same in that you will find people who are cruising for the first and only time, others that are able to afford one cruise every five years all the way down the line to those who cruise multiple times in one year. As such the discount is meaningless to a great percentage of the passengers and Celebrity already knows that.

 

Bottom line is Celebrity is really not giving up very much for these less than perfect cruises. Since everything always boils down to money - there is a happy medium out there where both Celebrity and the passenger both make out. Based upon the comments from the people actually on the cruise and those comments alone that medium has yet to be achieved.

 

Every year I have to contact clients about dropped ports on every cruise line.

 

If that statement is an indication that you are a Travel Agent I would hope that you would fight harder for your clients rather than being so sympathetic to Celebrity. In addition if you are a Travel Agent why don't you follow the rules required of Travel Agents in this forum for identification?

[ladysail2]

You are so right...we are spoiled.....it's unfortunate that some adults act like spoiled brats.

Your beach vacation was truly one from He**, but look how it's turned into a continual source of amusement...and everyone survived, no lasting trauma, and even though you wanted to sue God, Herself :D , you didn't...things happen, no one can control everything, and once the storm passes....the sun comes out.

 

Your reminiscing is like a breath of fresh air.....and funny too!

[florida_cruiser]

You are so right...we are spoiled.....it's unfortunate that some adults act like spoiled brats..........no one can control everything

 

One small point everyone except the people on the cruise seem to forget - CELEBRITY KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AHEAD OF TIME AND IT WAS TOTALLY WITHIN THEIR CONTROL!!!!!!!!!! There is something that could have been done and it wasn't. Guess what - same time next year we will be having these same posts.

[docjph]

I was on the Summit cruise of 5/7. First I want to say the crew was GREAT. To our waiter Bobbo and assistant waitress Tamera, we miss you.

I have read many of the comments from people calling many of us “cry babies” or “so what if you were at sea, you had a cruise experience”. The first thing I have to say is if I wanted days at sea, I would have taken a “Cruise to Nowhere”, out of New York and saved the airfare to the west coast. How much BINGO can one take at $30.00 a pop per person, twice a day ($120.00 a day) when at sea? How much picturanry, Name That Tune or battle of the sexes trivia can you play? How much time are you going to spend in the pool sailing the North Pacific in May? I have to admit it was funny seeing people on lounge chairs around the pool dressed from head to toe and with a blanket. How many drinks can you down (at 5.95 to 9.95 per drink plus 15% gratuity) a day. I did enjoy the Martini Sampler Special they had twice during the cruise. Six varieties of martinis at 2 oz. each. After a couple of specials you forget about the rest of the day! Did I mention the Wine Auction, the Art Auction or the “diamond and jade specials”, how about the “gold chain by the inch, starting at 99 cents per inch”! If that does not interest you, the Casino is open when we are not in Port.

This cruise was doomed from day one! I was told the ship got in late from Hawaii. When we went to board the ship, we had to go up an escalator and at the top was an enclosed area with a doorway going out to a walkway that led to the gangplank to board the ship. The line backed up and people piled on top of each other at the top of the escalator. People were screaming for help and to stop the escalator. Two people were cut up and hurt pretty badly. Celebrity had no personnel at the top of the escalator. A few days later we were talking to one of the people hurt and they told us Celebrity tried charging them $300.00 for medical care!! After we left port later that night, one of the crewmembers I was talking to told me they had a problem with the ship coming back from Hawaii and that is why they were late. We were to dock in San Francisco on Tuesday at 8 am, but on Monday night the Captain announced we would be docking at 12 am due to some maintenance needed. SF was nice and we left on time, 6 pm. Late Wed. morning the Captain announced that due to a bearing problem we would not be docking at Seattle or Sitka because the ship could only due 17.4 knots to be safe instead of 22 knots. Later the Captain stated that Lloyds of London inspected the ship and they were told if they kept the speed of the ship at no more then 17.4 knots per hour they could continue the cruise. The problem with that was at that speed, they could not make all the ports and had to cut time at the rest of the ports. People were very upset and they demanded a meeting. I have to give the Captain credit; he stayed at the meeting until every question was answered. When the captain was asked if he knew about the ship problems while we were in SF, his answer was “I would not insult your intelligence and tell you no”. When someone got up and asked for a show of hands how many people though they should get a full refund, the Captain raised his hand. This was all on video tape. This meeting started about 1 pm PT on Tues. May 10. The same day, at 12:16 pm ET (9:16 am our time) it was posted by South Florida Business Journal; Celebrity will dry-dock Summit and cancel May 20 cruise to Alaska. Passengers will be given a full refund AND a FREE CRUISE!! We did not find out about this until the next day. Celebrity gave us a $200.00 credit per cabin. In Ketchikan we left at 2 pm instead of 4 pm so we had to cancel one of our excursions. We arrived in Skagway late. On May 16th we were suppose to arrive in Hubbard Glacier at 9:00 am and stay till 1:00 pm. We did not arrive until 11:00 am and then we never got near the Glacier. The Captain said it was because there was another ship in there and only one at a time could go in. We left there at 1:00 pm. The only way I could see the Glacier was with a pair of binoculars. On May 18th we were suppose to Cruise the Inside Passage. We did not cruise the first 775 miles of the passage, only the last 225 miles. We arrived at that point of the Inside Passage about 9:00 am. The Captain announced that because of the fog, and that we would not be able to see anything, we would sit in the Bay until 5:00 pm when the fog would lift. By 11:00 am the fog lifted, at 3:30 pm the fog rolled back in. We found out that was a lie, the reason we sat there was because they had no pilot to take us in and he would not arrive until 5:00 pm. At 4:52 pm I was standing on our balcony and watched the pilot boat drop off the pilot. He boarded right below me. Then we took off but you could not see more then 60 feet ahead due to fog. Our dinner was 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. When we left the dinning room the passage was clear so we got to see the Inside Passage for 1 hour then it got dark. There were other things that happened, there were meetings in the grand foyer each day we were out at sea with anywhere from 300 to 600 passengers at each meeting. Over 1000 people signed a petition to join a class action suit. On the last day Celebrity said they were giving us 30% off our next cruise. That means I have to save up the other 70% and the airfare to see what they took away from us.

What are the highlights of a cruise to Alaska? The things you can only see from a ship, Hubbard’s Glacier, the 1000 mile trek along the Inside Passage with wondrous wild life and waterfalls. Spotting whales and orca and just the natural beauty of it all from your balcony or up on deck. If anyone tries to tell me that Hubbard’s Glacier and the Inside Passage are days at sea I must say “no way, those are spectacular sightseeing days”. Why else did we take a cruise? To unpack once, and besides, it’s impossible to drive from town to town in Alaska.

If I had been given the choice of disembarking in SF and taking another cruise, I would have. We saved for 2 years and booked 9 months in advance. I spent 9 months researching as much as I could so that we would have the best experience possible. Unfortunately I did not research Celebrity or the parent Royal Caribbean’s corporate treatment of customers. I hope Celebrity does the right thing on there own without having to file the class action suit.

[Drew B]

SF was nice and we left on time, 6 pm.

 

That one little part isn't true. We sat at the dock in San Francisco till about 7:00, when there was an announcement that it would be another hour till we left. The ship FINALLY left a little after 8:00. I remember hanging out on my balcony HOPING that we'd go under the Golden Gate Bridge before I had to get to the dining room (8:30). It didn't work out. I had already been in the dining room for 10 minutes before we reached the Bridge.

 

The rest of your report is pretty on-point. I hope you got to enjoy the ports we DID visit.

[LynneR_Summit]

Here are the facts. Seattle and Sitka were cut out altogether of the literary. The captain knew about the mechanical failure before San Francisco. He admits that at the meeting. Many passengers have this on tape. One passenger had a marine radio in which he confirmed that the captain knew about the problem before we even got to San Francisco. As soon as the announcement was made that we were missing the above mentioned ports, hundreds of passengers gathered in the 3 story high foyer. All were upset some were crying. Many were going there for the first time. One couple was getting married in Seattle and had all their family and friends there plus their minister waiting for them. Others were going to see their kids or family that they had not seen in a long time.

During the additional sea days there was very little to do on board the ship as no additional shows or programs were added to the daily events. Finally Hubbard Glacier was basically cut out as we were 5 miles away. Then we sat dead in the water for 11 hours not moving because the captain forgot to order a pilot to bring us down the inside passage. So, you can understand the passengers frustration at losing Seattle, Sitka, Hubbard Glacier, Inside Passage, and losing an additional 7 hours at the remaining ports in addition to that there was a major accident at the beginning of the trip when people were pilling up on the escalator and falling on top of each other, a Coast Guard rescue at sea, and a woman cutting her head open falling down the stairs blood everywhere.

One last note, not only are over 1 thousand passengers in favor of a full refund (as evidenced by a signed petition) but the captain is as well. As there is video of him holding up his hand in favor of the refund.

[Drew B]

How many people actually are able to use the 30% discount on a future cruise within so many months? The demographics of any cruise are probably the same in that you will find people who are cruising for the first and only time, others that are able to afford one cruise every five years all the way down the line to those who cruise multiple times in one year. As such the discount is meaningless to a great percentage of the passengers and Celebrity already knows that.

 

I would say, moreover, that even if every one of the passengers from the Summit DOES use the 30% discount, X stands to make MORE money rather than lose it... In addition to the 70% the guests will pay, there is also all of the ancillary income (excursions, drinks, spa, shopping, etc.). Besides that, not every X ship sails 100% full, and those that do likely do so because of last-minute reduced fares. By adding in close to 2,000 customers who may not have intended to sail on X within that time frame, they increase the demand which enables the company to keep the prices high rather than reducing them. That will make them even MORE money, as they are much more likely to have a full ship paying full price...

[docjph]

Thanks Drew. I must have missed that one. We went to dinner at 6pm.

[florida_cruiser]

Besides that, not every X ship sails 100% full, and those that do likely do so because of last-minute reduced fares.

 

Along this same thought has anyone ever seen one of these "coupons" for 30% off? Knowing Celebrity there is probably more fine print on it (much like in their contracts) that states they can only be booked within 60 days of sailing thus not really taking any spot that wasn't already desired by somebody else.

[FinelyCruising]

Pehaps Celebrity is saying, essentially--we have no permanent fix for our problem, so cruise--if we have a pod-related propulsion system breakdown and we cancel the cruise you have booked, we will compensate you generously--but if we don't cancel and you complete embarkation, we will compensate you much less generously--you choose.:confused: Oui

 

They don't have to compensate at all!

[OuiOnboard]

They don't have to compensate at all!

 

Celebrity does compensate even though they don't have to...that's where we the cruise customers come in. We can make choices in light of how Celebrity chooses to handle the fallout from their pod-related propulsion problem...and so, once again, you (non-specifically speaking) choose.:)

 

Smooth Sailing...Oui

[griswalds]

They don't have to compensate at all!

 

How can you say that they don't have to compensate. For bad weather I agree with you!. For the ill fated last Summit slow partial cruise to Alaska they should have to pay and will end up doing so through negotiations or a court ordered settlement. It is a slam dunk!

 

It was a not a true Griswald cruise! It was not a finely cruise either.

 

Griswalds

[griswalds]

Good messages, you are correct to go after Celebrity. They took a bad situation and made it worse. I hope you get your cruise fare back as well as airfare. You will have to ignore those with lower expectations.

 

Griswalds

 

Thanks Drew. I must have missed that one. We went to dinner at 6pm.

[Drew B]

Given the contracts we signed, I don't think they HAVE to compensate, and I would NOT be in favor of a court-mandate forcing them to compensate. I think they should make a reasonable settlement (which I feel they ultimately did with the $200 / 30% off a future cruise deal) out of a sense of fairness and a desire for good P/R and customer loyalty...

[griswalds]

Don't let the contracts fool you, the contracts go both ways. Celebrity was negligent in not upholding their part of the contract. I do agree though that it would be a very classy step for Celebrity to solve this without going to court. Keep in my mind Celebrity will rely on the fatigue factor and hope most of you just go away.....mad, but just go away. I think they lost the opportunity for good P/R and customer loyalty. They have decided to cut their losses and let time go by...nothing will happen unless the "group" forces the issue.

 

Griswalds

 

 

Given the contracts we signed, I don't think they HAVE to compensate, and I would NOT be in favor of a court-mandate forcing them to compensate. I think they should make a reasonable settlement (which I feel they ultimately did with the $200 / 30% off a future cruise deal) out of a sense of fairness and a desire for good P/R and customer loyalty...

[Melodious]

We were on this sailing and just returned home from an extended stay in Canada. About all of the personal stories of the cruise are accurate. Here is our story in a short version. Perhaps it will clarify to the naysayers that this indeed, was a cruise no one wants to take.

 

Our trip disappointments began with our arrival at the LAX airport. We were greeted by a Celebrity representative and told there was a delay with bus transportation to the pier. We were told to gather our luggage and wait for a bus. We waited hours and when a bus finally appeared, it could not carry all the passengers and luggage who were waiting, some as long as 5 or 6 hours. We waited our turn and helped the bus driver load the luggage on the bus. When we arrived at the pier, we were put in a holding pen, given a number and waited another hour to just get in line for check in. Our Captains Club membership level put us in a short line, but others waited much longer. We noticed many passengers proceeding out of turn and not being supervised by company representatives. It was very disorganized and hectic.

 

We have early dining and had a table near the stern (table 402, near the captain‘s table). At dinner we heard a very large “BOOM” and felt a significant vibration for several moments. Everyone in the vicinity of our table agreed that this was not normal and not a very good sign.

 

On our first day at sea, the captain announced that we would be arriving in San Francisco at midnight, 8 hours ahead of schedule for a routine inspection. We were disappointed not to be sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge at dawn. After leaving the port of San Francisco, we heard another loud “BOOM” and felt another vibration, once again agreeing with others at and near our table that this was not a normal sound.

 

It was on our second scheduled sea day around noon that the captain announced we had issues with the propulsion system and had to reduce our speed. We would miss the ports of Seattle and Sitka and would reduce time in some ports to allow us to get to as many of the other ports as possible. He assured our safety was not an issue and Celebrity was giving each stateroom a $200 shipboard credit. He agreed to meet with passengers who had questions in the atrium, but quickly changed the venue to the Celebrity Theatre as there were far too many people with questions and complaints. There was much confusion. The result of the meeting (with over 1000 in attendance) was that Celebrity would send 2 Customer Service Executives to meet the ship in Ketchikan. The compensation of $200 per cabin was an insult to passengers and a true disappointment.

 

The day we were scheduled to arrive in Seattle became a sea day. The cruise director failed to plan extra activities as normal for a sea day (he did add extra bingo and some trivia games) and it was another disappointment. This was one of the reasons passengers felt like prisoners.

 

The following day was also a sea day. We were scheduled to sail the inside passage but did not. Another disappointment.

 

The Customer Service people met the ship in Ketchikan. They were not the problem solvers everyone expected, but were sent from the home office to take notes. They decided to meet individually with passengers instead of in a group. There was much confusion about how and when to see them. It took until the end of the cruise for us to see them and only after waiting hours. They were polite, but could offer nothing. Another disappointment. We left Ketchikan 2 hours early, another disappointment.

 

We arrived in Juneau late. There was much confusion by ship personnel about when and where to disembark the ship. We waited in line for over an hour only to be told we had to go to another deck to disembark, and waited once again.

 

While in Skagway we talked with Jill, the ships future cruise representative. She wasn’t getting much business she said, but at this point we were still planning to book another cruise. Our plan when we boarded the ship in Los Angeles was to book a back-to-back 28 day cruise in 2007, going transatlantic from Ft. Lauderdale to Dover and then on to northern Europe. The schedule was just being published and we were anxious to get accurate information. She couldn’t give us the price for a day or so.

 

We were very much looking forward to cruising by the Hubbard Glacier. The original schedule was from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This would have been the highlight of this cruise. Instead, we only got to the mouth of the bay, staying about 5 miles away while watching other ships getting close and sailing back and forth for the best views. We were expecting our ship to do the same, but it abruptly changed course and sailed back out. This was a very big disappointment.

 

The following day we originally scheduled to be in Sitka. The revised schedule had us sailing the inside passage. When we awoke, we were dead in the water, not moving at all. We didn’t move for over 9 hours that day. An announcement was made that we were going to wait for the fog to lift and a pilot to come aboard before we could continue and that any delay would not affect our arrival in Victoria. The fog lifted, but we were still dead in the water. By the time we were able to move on, it was very late in the day and most of the beautiful sights were hindered by darkness. We couldn’t go to Sitka, but we could sit dead in the water for 9 hours . At this point we decided not to continue with any plans to book another cruise on Celebrity. This was another huge disappointment.

 

After another day at sea we received a letter from the Captain apologizing for the Hubbard Glacier experience not meeting all our expectations and the for the delayed arrival in the Inside Passage. It said we will be getting a letter from Celebrity with a certificate for 30% off a future Celebrity cruise, redeemable with the next 18 months. This is not enough to entice us to come back. This was a enormous disappointment.

 

Our arrival in Vancouver was met with more confusion. Our luggage was mistakenly taken to the airport and we had to file a lost luggage report with the rep at the pier. It was later found and sent to our hotel. The final disappointment

 

We were big fans of Celebrity until this cruise. We did not receive what we paid for and were treated badly by all concerned.

[Ma Bell]

Don't let the contracts fool you, the contracts go both ways. Celebrity was negligent in not upholding their part of the contract. I do agree though that it would be a very classy step for Celebrity to solve this without going to court. Keep in my mind Celebrity will rely on the fatigue factor and hope most of you just go away.....mad, but just go away. I think they lost the opportunity for good P/R and customer loyalty. They have decided to cut their losses and let time go by...nothing will happen unless the "group" forces the issue.

 

Griswalds

 

They did compensate. You act as if they didn't do anything at all for the passengers. Personally, I think it's a waste of time and money to pursue this, but we all have to learn by experience I guess.

[aarrcc2]

As a satisfied (yes, we were there) cruiser of Summit 5/7/06, I feel very sorry for the cruisers who had never seen Alaska before because they were convinced by the loudest complainers that they had missed most of the "Alaska experience."

 

Since it was our 4th trip to Alaska, and by far the best weather, our pictures are wonderful as only bright sunshine can provide. We have only been closer to a glacier one time in 4 trips, never had a beautiful sunny day like this year, only did the Inside Passage one other time in the daylight, never had that beautiful evening light that we had this year.

 

Our major complaint with the cruise was the negative attitude of the complaining cruisers. Fortunately, our tablemates shared our positive outlook so we could escape the constant bitterness at dinner anyway.

 

First time cruisers, please know that you did see much of Southeast Alaska under the best conditions. Take a look at your pictures and I'm sure you will realize that we had a wonderful trip. With $200 and 30% off another cruise as a bonus--what more can anyone want?

[FortyNinerLiz]

We were on this sailing and just returned home from an extended stay in Canada. About all of the personal stories of the cruise are accurate. Here is our story in a short version. Perhaps it will clarify to the naysayers that this indeed, was a cruise no one wants to take.

 

Our trip disappointments began with our arrival at the LAX airport. We were greeted by a Celebrity representative and told there was a delay with bus transportation to the pier. We were told to gather our luggage and wait for a bus. We waited hours and when a bus finally appeared, it could not carry all the passengers and luggage who were waiting, some as long as 5 or 6 hours. We waited our turn and helped the bus driver load the luggage on the bus. When we arrived at the pier, we were put in a holding pen, given a number and waited another hour to just get in line for check in. Our Captains Club membership level put us in a short line, but others waited much longer. We noticed many passengers proceeding out of turn and not being supervised by company representatives. It was very disorganized and hectic.

 

We have early dining and had a table near the stern (table 402, near the captain‘s table). At dinner we heard a very large “BOOM” and felt a significant vibration for several moments. Everyone in the vicinity of our table agreed that this was not normal and not a very good sign.

 

On our first day at sea, the captain announced that we would be arriving in San Francisco at midnight, 8 hours ahead of schedule for a routine inspection. We were disappointed not to be sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge at dawn. After leaving the port of San Francisco, we heard another loud “BOOM” and felt another vibration, once again agreeing with others at and near our table that this was not a normal sound.

 

It was on our second scheduled sea day around noon that the captain announced we had issues with the propulsion system and had to reduce our speed. We would miss the ports of Seattle and Sitka and would reduce time in some ports to allow us to get to as many of the other ports as possible. He assured our safety was not an issue and Celebrity was giving each stateroom a $200 shipboard credit. He agreed to meet with passengers who had questions in the atrium, but quickly changed the venue to the Celebrity Theatre as there were far too many people with questions and complaints. There was much confusion. The result of the meeting (with over 1000 in attendance) was that Celebrity would send 2 Customer Service Executives to meet the ship in Ketchikan. The compensation of $200 per cabin was an insult to passengers and a true disappointment.

 

The day we were scheduled to arrive in Seattle became a sea day. The cruise director failed to plan extra activities as normal for a sea day (he did add extra bingo and some trivia games) and it was another disappointment. This was one of the reasons passengers felt like prisoners.

 

The following day was also a sea day. We were scheduled to sail the inside passage but did not. Another disappointment.

 

The Customer Service people met the ship in Ketchikan. They were not the problem solvers everyone expected, but were sent from the home office to take notes. They decided to meet individually with passengers instead of in a group. There was much confusion about how and when to see them. It took until the end of the cruise for us to see them and only after waiting hours. They were polite, but could offer nothing. Another disappointment. We left Ketchikan 2 hours early, another disappointment.

 

We arrived in Juneau late. There was much confusion by ship personnel about when and where to disembark the ship. We waited in line for over an hour only to be told we had to go to another deck to disembark, and waited once again.

 

While in Skagway we talked with Jill, the ships future cruise representative. She wasn’t getting much business she said, but at this point we were still planning to book another cruise. Our plan when we boarded the ship in Los Angeles was to book a back-to-back 28 day cruise in 2007, going transatlantic from Ft. Lauderdale to Dover and then on to northern Europe. The schedule was just being published and we were anxious to get accurate information. She couldn’t give us the price for a day or so.

 

We were very much looking forward to cruising by the Hubbard Glacier. The original schedule was from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This would have been the highlight of this cruise. Instead, we only got to the mouth of the bay, staying about 5 miles away while watching other ships getting close and sailing back and forth for the best views. We were expecting our ship to do the same, but it abruptly changed course and sailed back out. This was a very big disappointment.

 

The following day we originally scheduled to be in Sitka. The revised schedule had us sailing the inside passage. When we awoke, we were dead in the water, not moving at all. We didn’t move for over 9 hours that day. An announcement was made that we were going to wait for the fog to lift and a pilot to come aboard before we could continue and that any delay would not affect our arrival in Victoria. The fog lifted, but we were still dead in the water. By the time we were able to move on, it was very late in the day and most of the beautiful sights were hindered by darkness. We couldn’t go to Sitka, but we could sit dead in the water for 9 hours . At this point we decided not to continue with any plans to book another cruise on Celebrity. This was another huge disappointment.

 

After another day at sea we received a letter from the Captain apologizing for the Hubbard Glacier experience not meeting all our expectations and the for the delayed arrival in the Inside Passage. It said we will be getting a letter from Celebrity with a certificate for 30% off a future Celebrity cruise, redeemable with the next 18 months. This is not enough to entice us to come back. This was a enormous disappointment.

 

Our arrival in Vancouver was met with more confusion. Our luggage was mistakenly taken to the airport and we had to file a lost luggage report with the rep at the pier. It was later found and sent to our hotel. The final disappointment

 

We were big fans of Celebrity until this cruise. We did not receive what we paid for and were treated badly by all concerned.

All they needed to do was throw a substantial amount of spraying of bleach 24/7 to really make everyone unhappy. We really loved our previous cruises on the Connie and Summit, but customer relations have really gone down hill.

Just an observation, but we were on the infamous 3/27 Mercury cruise to Mexico and we really feel empathy for you.

[Host Walt]

While I am completely empathetic to the rash of problems that have been experienced by Celebrity passengers, and I know that others are skeptical about the actual seriousness of those problems, civility is required on these Boards.

 

If passenger A had an unfortunate experience and passenger B had a wonderful experience on the same cruise, both are entitled to express their feelings without fear of being contradicted.

 

I, for example, don't gamble. If the casino is out of business during my cruise, it means nothing to me. But to someone else it may be one of the major attributes of a cruise. Thus, my cruise may have been excellent but the other guy is very unhappy because he couln't enjoy a run at the tables.

 

I may have looked forward to sailing through Glacier Bay and getting some great photos with my new 800 mm long lens that I bought just to catch some calving. The other guy may have already seen the Glacier on his last cruise and isn't that interested. If the ship skips the Glacier for some reason, I'm very disappointed but the other guy doesn't even mention it.

 

Please let each member of our Cruise Critic community have the opportunity to express his/her opinions and experiences without having to defend their position.

 

That said, please have a meaningful and reflective Memorial Day this weekend.__________________

[cruiser2004]

Good messages, you are correct to go after Celebrity. They took a bad situation and made it worse. I hope you get your cruise fare back as well as airfare. You will have to ignore those with lower expectations.

 

Griswalds

Thanks Griswalds for the great posts and encouragement. Most of us who were actually on this Summit cruise appreciate your support and comments. The question is how far can any cruise line go in not delievering things that are promised and are under their control and then tell lies and haf truths to cover up their mistakes. I think that the 1,200+ who signed petitions to take further action felt that Celebrity had gone way to far this time.

 

Florida Cruiser;

Thanks for your truthfull and witty responses. Did you know that there still people in the US who think that we never landed on the moon. I am sure Celebrity would like this thread to go away, since all of the descriptions that have been posted here do point to a real managemnet problem at Celebrity.

Because I feel that any company should treat their customers with respect and honesty and fairness I have been refered to, among other things, as a spoiled brat and grumpy. If that is what it takes to stand up for what is right then I will take it as a compliment.

[Old Sea Legs]

. . . "all of the descriptions that have been posted here do point to a real managemnet problem at Celebrity."

 

The buck stops at the desk of Dan Hanrahan, President of Celebrity. In business, the attitude of those in positions of management in the field almost always reflects that which which proceeds from the top dog at the home office. Dan is a hands-on manager and I believe he was calling the policy shots from Florida.

 

It may very well be time for Jack Williams, president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., to make a change.

[cruiser2004]

Don't let the contracts fool you, the contracts go both ways. Celebrity was negligent in not upholding their part of the contract. I do agree though that it would be a very classy step for Celebrity to solve this without going to court. Keep in my mind Celebrity will rely on the fatigue factor and hope most of you just go away.....mad, but just go away. I think they lost the opportunity for good P/R and customer loyalty. They have decided to cut their losses and let time go by...nothing will happen unless the "group" forces the issue.

 

Griswalds

This group will force the issue. The so-called compensation for missing 1/2 of the scheduled itinerary because of things under the control of Celebrity was an insult to all of the passengers. The 30% coupon for a future cruise is a joke. Wait until you read the fine print on the coupon before thinking it is of any value. For my cruise the price was discounted by Celebrity by over 40% and I did not even have a coupon. I have seen the discount coupon from the last Mercury bleach cruise and the first sentence states: "Applicable to all categories and price programs except...." it then goes on for 9 lines of exceptions. I would expect no less this time from Celebrity. The future cruise coupon also assumes that I would ever want to sail Celebrity again.

[docjph]

I was on the Summit cruise of 5/7. First I want to say the crew was GREAT. To our waiter Bobbo and assistant waitress Tamera, we miss you.

I have read many of the comments from people calling many of us “cry babies” or “so what if you were at sea, you had a cruise experience”. The first thing I have to say is if I wanted days at sea, I would have taken a “Cruise to Nowhere”, out of New York and saved the airfare to the west coast. How much BINGO can one take at $30.00 a pop per person, twice a day ($120.00 a day) when at sea? How much picturanry, Name That Tune or battle of the sexes trivia can you play? How much time are you going to spend in the pool sailing the North Pacific in May? I have to admit it was funny seeing people on lounge chairs around the pool dressed from head to toe and with a blanket. How many drinks can you down (at 5.95 to 9.95 per drink plus 15% gratuity) a day. I did enjoy the Martini Sampler Special they had twice during the cruise. Six varieties of martinis at 2 oz. each. After a couple of specials you forget about the rest of the day! Did I mention the Wine Auction, the Art Auction or the “diamond and jade specials”, how about the “gold chain by the inch, starting at 99 cents per inch”! If that does not interest you, the Casino is open when we are not in Port.

This cruise was doomed from day one! I was told the ship got in late from Hawaii. When we went to board the ship, we had to go up an escalator and at the top was an enclosed area with a doorway going out to a walkway that led to the gangplank to board the ship. The line backed up and people piled on top of each other at the top of the escalator. People were screaming for help and to stop the escalator. Two people were cut up and hurt pretty badly. Celebrity had no personnel at the top of the escalator. A few days later we were talking to one of the people hurt and they told us Celebrity tried charging them $300.00 for medical care!! After we left port later that night, one of the crewmembers I was talking to told me they had a problem with the ship coming back from Hawaii and that is why they were late. We were to dock in San Francisco on Tuesday at 8 am, but on Monday night the Captain announced we would be docking at 12 am due to some maintenance needed. SF was nice and we were suppose to leave at 6 pm. We did not leave until 8PM. Late Wed. morning the Captain announced that due to a bearing problem we would not be docking at Seattle or Sitka because the ship could only due 17.4 knots to be safe instead of 22 knots. Later the Captain stated that Lloyds of London inspected the ship and they were told if they kept the speed of the ship at no more then 17.4 knots per hour they could continue the cruise. The problem with that was at that speed, they could not make all the ports and had to cut time at the rest of the ports. People were very upset and they demanded a meeting. I have to give the Captain credit; he stayed at the meeting until every question was answered. When the captain was asked if he knew about the ship problems while we were in SF, his answer was “I would not insult your intelligence and tell you no”. When someone got up and asked for a show of hands how many people though they should get a full refund, the Captain raised his hand. This was all on video tape. This meeting started about 1 pm PT on Tues. May 10. The same day, at 12:16 pm ET (9:16 am our time) it was posted by South Florida Business Journal; Celebrity will dry-dock Summit and cancel May 20 cruise to Alaska. Passengers will be given a full refund AND a FREE CRUISE!! We did not find out about this until the next day. Celebrity gave us a $200.00 credit per cabin. In Ketchikan we left at 2 pm instead of 4 pm so we had to cancel one of our excursions. We arrived in Skagway late. On May 16th we were suppose to arrive in Hubbard Glacier at 9:00 am and stay till 1:00 pm. We did not arrive until 11:00 am and then we never got near the Glacier. The Captain said it was because there was another ship in there and only one at a time could go in. We left there at 1:00 pm. The only way I could see the Glacier was with a pair of binoculars. On May 18th we were suppose to Cruise the Inside Passage. We did not cruise the first 775 miles of the passage, only the last 225 miles. We arrived at that point of the Inside Passage about 9:00 am. The Captain announced that because of the fog, and that we would not be able to see anything, we would sit in the Bay until 5:00 pm when the fog would lift. By 11:00 am the fog lifted, at 3:30 pm the fog rolled back in. We found out that was a lie, the reason we sat there was because they had no pilot to take us in and he would not arrive until 5:00 pm. At 4:52 pm I was standing on our balcony and watched the pilot boat drop off the pilot. He boarded right below me. Then we took off but you could not see more then 60 feet ahead due to fog. Our dinner was 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. When we left the dinning room the passage was clear so we got to see the Inside Passage for 1 hour then it got dark. There were other things that happened, there were meetings in the grand foyer each day we were out at sea with anywhere from 300 to 600 passengers at each meeting. Over 1000 people signed a petition to join a class action suit. On the last day Celebrity said they were giving us 30% off our next cruise. That means I have to save up the other 70% and the airfare to see what they took away from us.

What are the highlights of a cruise to Alaska? The things you can only see from a ship, Hubbard’s Glacier, the 1000 mile trek along the Inside Passage with wondrous wild life and waterfalls. Spotting whales and orca and just the natural beauty of it all from your balcony or up on deck. If anyone tries to tell me that Hubbard’s Glacier and the Inside Passage are days at sea I must say “no way, those are spectacular sightseeing days”. Why else did we take a cruise? To unpack once, and besides, it’s impossible to drive from town to town in Alaska.

If I had been given the choice of disembarking in SF and taking another cruise, I would have. We saved for 2 years and booked 9 months in advance. I spent 9 months researching as much as I could so that we would have the best experience possible. Unfortunately I did not research Celebrity or the parent Royal Caribbean’s corporate treatment of customers. I hope Celebrity does the right thing on there own without having to file the class action suit.

[cruiser2004]

Take a look at your pictures and I'm sure you will realize that we had a wonderful trip. With $200 and 30% off another cruise as a bonus--what more can anyone want?

I just got my pictures back and a friend asked me what that small black dot was right in front of Hubbard Glacier and I had to explain that it was the HAL ship five miles or so closer to the Glacier. First time Alaska cruisers will hopefully have a chance to return and see what they missed on this cruise.

 

"What more could anyone want?"

I guess I wanted to see more than 50% of the advertised itinerary, I wanted not to be lied to by Celebrity, I wanted to be treated with respect and I wanted to be treated fairly.

As for the 30% off coupon wait until you get the coupon and read the restrictions, I am sure they will be in line with everything else Celebrity has done for us on this cruise.