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

[zaandam_2]

For all the comments about being "held hostage" after leaving San Francisco, how many people actually left the cruise? I'll bet none! I would have been very happy to go on this cruise even with the changes in itinerary. We had to cancel this cruise at the very last minute due to a family medical emergency.

 

Sorry about your family emergency.

 

The passengers were not given the chance to leave. They were not informed until after the ship left SF.

 

If X would just be upfront with people, and tell the of the known problems BEFORE booking I don't think they would so many unsatisfied customers. I surely would have no sympathy for anyone who knew and agreed to risk it. Its the non-disclosure that rankles people.

[cruisePRN]

Of all the places to miss a port Alaska is by far one of the worst. Alaska is one of their more expensive itinaries so many people will not be able to do this cruise a second time. Mutiny does seem a bit excessive.

 

If X knows there is a problem and cruising at 17.5 knots relieves the problem why don't they make their itinary around this speed and revise all their itinaries to reflect a cruise at 17.5 knots.

[Janey]

for some of the crew, they will not get paid for the week in dry dock. My son is on the Summit and things are not half as bad as some people are making out!

[nmtraveler]

How many people opted to leave the cruise in Ketchikan? I don't think there would have been any in San Francisco also since they would not have been compensated by Celebrity or their travel insurance.

[woodofpine]

What do you do when you buy a lemon? (No 'make lemonade' comments now)

 

This 'run' or design series of pods produced at Chantiers D'Atlantique have been an unpredictable and costly problem since the get go. As a result, it hasn't really lent itself to a 'routine' or 'preventative' maintenance solution.

 

Celebrity/RCI sued Chantiers over this problem a few years ago. At the time the shipyard (part of Alstoms) was financially on the brink and a bankrupcty was imminent (happened?)...

 

I assume the suit was settled. I wonder what RCI/Celeb got - $$$ - from the shipyard back then to settle the breach of warranty claims???

[papa4330]

This is one of the many reasons why I do not sail on Celebrity anymore. I was a loyal costumer and Captains Club member with 9 cruises on Celebrity. Since the takeover by RCCL the line has gone down drastically. I now sail on other lines and find the service far Superior.

[wieslaw]

What do you do when you buy a lemon? (No 'make lemonade' comments now)

 

This 'run' or design series of pods produced at Chantiers D'Atlantique have been an unpredictable and costly problem since the get go. As a result, it hasn't really lent itself to a 'routine' or 'preventative' maintenance solution.

 

Celebrity/RCI sued Chantiers over this problem a few years ago. At the time the shipyard (part of Alstoms) was financially on the brink and a bankrupcty was imminent (happened?)...

 

I assume the suit was settled. I wonder what RCI/Celeb got - $$$ - from the shipyard back then to settle the breach of warranty claims???

 

Hi woodofpine,

the suit was only settled with Alstom..... but not settled yet with other party which is part of the same suit.

This small segment is from the financial RCCL report:

 

"In late January 2006, the company partially settled its previously announced lawsuit against Rolls Royce and Alstom Power Conversion, co- producers of the Mermaid pod-propulsion system on its Millennium-class ships, for the Mermaid pod problems. Under the terms of the partial settlement, Alstom paid the company $38 million, or $0.16 per share, and the company released Alstom from the suit which remains pending against Rolls Royce. The partial settlement will be recorded in the first quarter of 2006."

 

Wes

[Lotsacruising]

I am also on the Summitt and am currently at an internet cafe in Juneau. I have met with the celebrity rep onboard.

A little background, I am a TA with 53 cruises under my belt and am elite member of Celebrity.

I think after seeing it first hand, the behavior of the Brits that have spearheaded this protesting has been disgraceful. I am ashamed to be a fellow passenger. THey are threatening sitins, riots, and are causing the entire staff alot of extra work and heartache. THe staff must continue to "yes sir, yes mamm" the group all the while being yelled at and cursed by this group led by some jerk named Peter. The cruise director John nad the captain showd incredible courage and good taste to stand up in the theater before this mad and hostile crowd. The captain gave us a 2 hour happy hour also and has made his presence very known.

THese people are stirring up everyone else and having disgusting "gatherings" in the main lobby each morning, thus making it impossible to go to Guest services, Conceirge or captains club desks. The sad part is that these animals will have spent the entire 13 night cruise complaining and not enjoyed this wonderful scenery in Alaska. Did they not mention we still get awesome meals, our beautiful cabins, wonderful entertainmenet?

The amount given by Celebrity is not required by them, it is a gesture of good will. Everyone's cruise docs clearly state that6 the captain and/or cruiseline has the right to change itinerary anytime for safety reasons.

 

I end by saying we are loving our cruise, alaska is beautiful, the weather is crisp and cold.

Janet:)

[thomasale]

wish this tfread would stop on that note by lotsacruising

[BobN]

I am also on the Summitt and am currently at an internet cafe in Juneau. I have met with the celebrity rep onboard.

A little background, I am a TA with 53 cruises under my belt and am elite member of Celebrity.

I think after seeing it first hand, the behavior of the Brits that have spearheaded this protesting has been disgraceful. I am ashamed to be a fellow passenger. THey are threatening sitins, riots, and are causing the entire staff alot of extra work and heartache. THe staff must continue to "yes sir, yes mamm" the group all the while being yelled at and cursed by this group led by some jerk named Peter. The cruise director John nad the captain showd incredible courage and good taste to stand up in the theater before this mad and hostile crowd. The captain gave us a 2 hour happy hour also and has made his presence very known.

THese people are stirring up everyone else and having disgusting "gatherings" in the main lobby each morning, thus making it impossible to go to Guest services, Conceirge or captains club desks. The sad part is that these animals will have spent the entire 13 night cruise complaining and not enjoyed this wonderful scenery in Alaska. Did they not mention we still get awesome meals, our beautiful cabins, wonderful entertainmenet?

The amount given by Celebrity is not required by them, it is a gesture of good will. Everyone's cruise docs clearly state that6 the captain and/or cruiseline has the right to change itinerary anytime for safety reasons.

 

I end by saying we are loving our cruise, alaska is beautiful, the weather is crisp and cold.

Janet:)

 

 

My wife and I just got off the Summit on May 7th, we had a great time and at no time did it seem as if there was a problem with the PODS, our dinning room table was right over the port pod and there was no vibration noticeable, the only thing that was different on this trip was that they had to use the stabilizers all the way from Hawaii to LA. This may have put an additional strain on the -pods that did not show up until the ship started its next trip.

 

The only real downside to the cruise was the embarcation hassell due to customs being late clearing the previous passengers.

[c-legs]

:D Hi,Janet,

 

Thanks so much for your post. You are vindicating what the very vast majority of all of us is thinking.

It is indeed a schoking shame when a few headline seekers//ambulance chasers// trouble rousers-type can actually trigger this sort of nonsense....

The ''Peter'' you are referring to is, unfortunately, right from Vancouver ( North Vancouver to be precise....). He is a self ''acclaimed'' multi cruiser doubling as an amateur cruise reviewer; he got a hold of a local newspaper person to whom he fed the necessary fuel for her to write the 1st article that launched the '' mutiny '' and '' passengers held captive'' flames. She did not bother double checking her facts before printing the '' sentationnalism'' piece.

Awful what can be ''acheived'' by such types....

Hopefully, other than a couple dozens hot heads, the majority of guests on board GTS SUMMIT are 1/ understanbly disappointed & 2/ moving on with their life in general and their cruise in paticular & 3/ handling the episode and Celebrity's standard compensation in a normal and level headed way.

Thanks again for posting the ''real'' thing .

 

Happy sailing.Hope you enjoy the rest of that 13 day sailing.

 

Cheers

Claude G

;)

 

I am also on the Summitt and am currently at an internet cafe in Juneau. I have met with the celebrity rep onboard.

A little background, I am a TA with 53 cruises under my belt and am elite member of Celebrity.

I think after seeing it first hand, the behavior of the Brits that have spearheaded this protesting has been disgraceful. I am ashamed to be a fellow passenger. THey are threatening sitins, riots, and are causing the entire staff alot of extra work and heartache. THe staff must continue to "yes sir, yes mamm" the group all the while being yelled at and cursed by this group led by some jerk named Peter. The cruise director John nad the captain showd incredible courage and good taste to stand up in the theater before this mad and hostile crowd. The captain gave us a 2 hour happy hour also and has made his presence very known.

THese people are stirring up everyone else and having disgusting "gatherings" in the main lobby each morning, thus making it impossible to go to Guest services, Conceirge or captains club desks. The sad part is that these animals will have spent the entire 13 night cruise complaining and not enjoyed this wonderful scenery in Alaska. Did they not mention we still get awesome meals, our beautiful cabins, wonderful entertainmenet?

The amount given by Celebrity is not required by them, it is a gesture of good will. Everyone's cruise docs clearly state that6 the captain and/or cruiseline has the right to change itinerary anytime for safety reasons.

 

I end by saying we are loving our cruise, alaska is beautiful, the weather is crisp and cold.

Janet:)

[halos]

Thanks. May I handle any onboard situations with the same class as this woman!

 

Yes. These are also my sentiments. I would like to add, May I encounter other cruisers while I am aboard an ailing ship, that handle the situation with the same class as that woman. I can't imagine...it would be my worst nightmare, to be onboard with a bunch of complaining, negative passengers.That would ruin my cruise, not a bad pod and a missed port or two.

 

When the QM2 situation happened, I felt that Cunard set a horrible example by giving into the complaints onboard the ship. Unfortunately, now all the other cruiselines have to live with that precedent. I would rather see Celebrity (or any cruiseline in a similiar situation) be skewered for a while than to give into these complaints.

 

I agree. I do wish that the lines would all be consistant though with what they intend to do to rectify these issues. I think many people get upset because you could have the same issue on a different ship from the same cruise line and the compensation isn't equal....either don't give ANYTHING to anyone, or, make sure compensation of any kind is all the same for everyone.

[Ma Bell]

It's too bad they can't just put them off the ship for disrupting everyone else's cruise.

[uktog]

If some natives from these shores are causing trouble, can I apologise if they are being inconsiderate to fellow passengers or crew. Not all Brits are like this. :) Janet how right you are - I do hope the whales are splashing by and the bears waving to you as they waste their time sitting somewhere. What would Admiral Nelson say

[mctrekkie]

It's too bad they can't just put them off the ship for disrupting everyone else's cruise.

 

I'm still wondering how many of the "hostages" got off the ship in Ketchikan; sounds like they decided to stay aboard and cause more trouble.

[MortgageChick]

I am still laughing about the guy from Israel who thinks he is in danger, perhaps from the obnoxius passengers! ha! I did this cruise on Summit in reverse last September. Seattle is fine and Sitka was okay, but quite frankly neither port would be anything to have a riot over and should I be on this itnerary again I would gladly take the $200 and the happy hour!!

[bepsf]

Heard from my pal on Mercury that a fair number (don't know how many) of folks left the ship in Juneau today (it's far easier getting out from there by air than Ketchikan.)

[Barry ATL]

I don't get it. Other than a few that needed to get off in Seattle for a wedding, why would folks leave the ship? Missing two ports is not something worth leaving the ship over.

 

I guess I will not understand.

[greeneg]

Barry, my personal opinion is that some people have axes to grind........

 

others, of course, would like something for nothing.

 

I think that the key posters in this thread are the people who are currently on the ship and know first-hand what's going on. Those are the reports to which I would personally give credence.....

 

Just my $0.02. :)

[Dandylyon]

I've decided to put in my $0.02 worth.

 

Last summer, my husband and I sailed on an 11 night Alaska itinerary on NCL's Dream. We had a similar experience, in that due to engine problems our speed was reduced and we had to skip our scheduled stop in Sitka. Now, one of the reasons we booked this particular cruise was because we wanted to visit Sitka. We were certainly disappointed.

 

However, with a lot of hard work and perseverance, we were somehow able to enjoy our cruise. ;-)

 

There were quite a few passengers who were raising a bit of a stink, but nothing like what is going on on Summit.

 

Do cruise lines need to compensate us these days if we have rainy weather? Overcast? Days in Bermuda under 75 degrees?

[mctrekkie]

Glad the "hostages" got off, if they actually did. Then the rest of the pax can enjoy their cruise without the "mutiny" hanging over them. Good riddance!

[flagger]

Just because they say they are currently on board the ship does not necessarily mean they are.

[Casshew]

Heard from my pal on Mercury that a fair number (don't know how many) of folks left the ship in Juneau today (it's far easier getting out from there by air than Ketchikan.)

 

Left or were 'put off' ?

[Sky Sweet]

In July 2001, when a cruise to Alaska cost considerably more than it does today, Sitka was one of the scheduled ports on the Infinity. However, that port was cancelled at the last minute and not one person on our cruise complained about it.

[Lois R]

Brian, in reference to your friends who said others got off

of Mercury....Again, sorry those people did not have a good time.

But I must ask, what about those who are sailing and are

enjoying themselves?

 

I never wish bad cruises on anyone..what purpose would that serve?

We all hope for a good cruise.

 

But I am sure there are folks who are having a good time...both

on SUMMIT AND MERCURY.

I am of the belief that both ships have pax on them who

are enjoying themselves.