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

[aarrcc2]

I am not trying to sound like a saint that never complains but we did get to the glacier. I know it was not up close and personal but for whatever reason they decided not to go in closer is a good question. I have no reason to stick up for Celebrity but maybe it was because there was another ship in front of the glacier and there was a tremendous amont of ice and I was wondering if the ship that was in there already was going to get out safely. In my mind I am just wondering if they just did not want to take the chance that maybe they might do some damage. The two times I have been to the glacier when I was up close there was not that much ice. If we would have broken down while we were trying to get close I could only imagine what kind of reaction there might have been from the already angry group. I also feel that maybe the way the angry passengers were so agressinve might have had something to do with it. This is just my opinion and I am not trying to get anybody mad but what is that saying about getting more bees with honey I don't know something like that. For us proceeding with the cruise was great for us. Everyone has their own reason why it worked or did not work for them. Why it all got so out of hand is beyond me

 

You make an excellent point about the ice near the glacier. In fact, my husband immediately said that exact same thing to me--that there was so much ice by the glacier that he even thought the Zaandam might be caught in the ice at that time. We are very aware of the ice situation because last year (Princess cruise) there was too much ice pouring out of Tracy Arm Fjord, for us to continue and we had to turn around and NEVER SAW THE GLACIER AT ALL! (Actually we saw more ice in the bay this year than last year.)The amazing part is that although, of course, we were all disappointed, there was no outcry such as on the Summit. I have also been close to a glacier one time that we still couldn't see because of the fog.

 

This is one of the things that bothered me the most about the leaders of the complainers--they may have influenced first time Alaska cruisers to believe that they had a "lesser experience" at the glacier. With the beautiful blue sky and as close as we were, it was our best glacier experience in four attempts!

[griswalds]

There is merit in sticking together. Good advice if you are proceeding with a class action suit as it can reduce cost and risk to those taking the action. As well sticking together sends a strong message to Celebrity that this is really serious. The process may take years to resolve.

 

I can imagine this board if Celebrity made seperate deals with each passenger. Let's pretend that passenger "goodytwoshoes" got only the $200 shipboard credit, passenger "Naked" got $500 cash back, and then passenger "Drew" got $600 back, but then the lead "rabblerouser" got a free cruise and airfare back. All 4 "negotiated" seperately and accepted their settlement but then Goodytwoshoes, Naked and Drew discovered later they got less than "rabblerouser" by reading cruise critic.

 

Now that would be interesting. No one has to join a class action suit if they do not want to.

 

By the way, on a cruiseship, I will take a rabblerouser over a fellow passenger on a cell phone anyday. Isn't there a song that goes ...."united we stand...."?

 

Griswalds

 

 

And beyond that, the lead rabblerousers were CONSTANTLY going on and on about how important it was to maintain a united front. They said that if people waited till after the cruise was over to deal with it, they would lose whatever leverage they had as a group, and that Celebrity would have effectively divided and conquered them...

[FlyingTiger]

Being one of the deceived passengers on the May 7th cruise, I enthusiastic entered this thread, hoping to get support and help. Instead, I have to realize not only not to be taken serious, but to get nothing but scorn and derision. Not to mention to be called a "rabble-rouser". Well, dear community, I just decided to use other ways of communication with the fellow passengers of the May 7th cruise (after all we got the list) and will let you no longer participate on whatever course this issue takes for me. No big deal, I know, but a little less oil in your fire.

I kindly ask my fellow passengers for their understanding, but discussing our concerns here, will only be for the entertainment of the many "know all`s" who have not been on that particular cruise. I wish them many happy sailings and may something like the May 7th cruise never happen to you.

So long, maybe in some other thread.

[griswalds]

I can't blame you for your comments. Would it possible for you post the occasional "update" as to how things are going on resolving this cruise?

 

While there are many people against taking action there are also many of us who support what you are doing. The result of your action will be a lesson to all of us regardless.

 

All the best in your future cruises FlyingTiger!!!!

 

Griswalds

 

 

Being one of the deceived passengers on the May 7th cruise, I enthusiastic entered this thread, hoping to get support and help. Instead, I have to realize not only not to be taken serious, but to get nothing but scorn and derision. Not to mention to be called a "rabble-rouser". Well, dear community, I just decided to use other ways of communication with the fellow passengers of the May 7th cruise (after all we got the list) and will let you no longer participate on whatever course this issue takes for me. No big deal, I know, but a little less oil in your fire.

I kindly ask my fellow passengers for their understanding, but discussing our concerns here, will only be for the entertainment of the many "know all`s" who have not been on that particular cruise. I wish them many happy sailings and may something like the May 7th cruise never happen to you.

So long, maybe in some other thread.

[Drew B]

from Dictionary.com:

 

rab·ble-rous·er (rbl-rouzr)

n.

A leader or speaker who stirs up the passions of the masses; a demagogue.

 

I would think, Flying Tiger, that the folks leading the group of dissatisfied would admit that this definition fits them. I didn't mean it to be insulting - merely accurate. I know you're German, but as an American, I'd say that many of our nation's heroes (e.g. Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson) would be accurately described as "rabble-rousers". No offense was intended...

[Drew B]

I think the truth is they would have received more if they had been reasonable. Celebrity is usually more than fair with their compensation when compared to other cruiselines. It's really a shame they thought so little of the fact that their shenanigans were ruining everyone's cruise.

 

I feel very sorry that there were problems with the cruise and would like to see a partial refund rather than a 30% off coupon. If they had acted more responsibly, I wouldn't have been surpised to see that happen. At this point I think Celebrity should stand their ground and not give in to them. If they are all really foolish enough to pursue a lawsuit, I doubt they will come out ahead. They also managed to cheat themselves out of enjoying the cruise they did have.

 

Well, to play devil's advocate again, the passengers would have been FAR more likely to be "reasonable" if the corporate response from Celebrity (as embodied by CD John Howell) hadn't been so thoroughly patronizing and insulting. I turned out to be quite "reasonable" in the long run, I think, but in the heat of the moment with him talking to us like children about how "happy" we should all be, I have to admit, I let reason go a bit... I don't blame people for getting very, VERY angry at the time...

[magmagee]

You make an excellent point about the ice near the glacier. In fact, my husband immediately said that exact same thing to me--that there was so much ice by the glacier that he even thought the Zaandam might be caught in the ice at that time. We are very aware of the ice situation because last year (Princess cruise) there was too much ice pouring out of Tracy Arm Fjord, for us to continue and we had to turn around and NEVER SAW THE GLACIER AT ALL! (Actually we saw more ice in the bay this year than last year.)The amazing part is that although, of course, we were all disappointed, there was no outcry such as on the Summit. I have also been close to a glacier one time that we still couldn't see because of the fog.

 

This is one of the things that bothered me the most about the leaders of the complainers--they may have influenced first time Alaska cruisers to believe that they had a "lesser experience" at the glacier. With the beautiful blue sky and as close as we were, it was our best glacier experience in four attempts!

 

I am glad I found someone who feels the same way. I guess I went with an open mind because I have friends who were on Princess and they barely went in and had to come out and did not see the glacier. It is mother nature we are dealing with here. It was such a beautiful day anyway and I felt lucky to be able to go in that far with so much ice. This was my 3rd visit and not the best but I was prepared for whatever. I was told that people waited 2 hours on the upper deck and some were very mad because we did not get closer. I tried not to let it bother me. :)

[magmagee]

There is merit in sticking together. Good advice if you are proceeding with a class action suit as it can reduce cost and risk to those taking the action. As well sticking together sends a strong message to Celebrity that this is really serious. The process may take years to resolve.

 

I can imagine this board if Celebrity made seperate deals with each passenger. Let's pretend that passenger "goodytwoshoes" got only the $200 shipboard credit, passenger "Naked" got $500 cash back, and then passenger "Drew" got $600 back, but then the lead "rabblerouser" got a free cruise and airfare back. All 4 "negotiated" seperately and accepted their settlement but then Goodytwoshoes, Naked and Drew discovered later they got less than "rabblerouser" by reading cruise critic.

 

Now that would be interesting. No one has to join a class action suit if they do not want to.

 

By the way, on a cruiseship, I will take a rabblerouser over a fellow passenger on a cell phone anyday. Isn't there a song that goes ...."united we stand...."?

 

Griswalds

 

United we stand on a cruise ship? That is scary stuff to me. Sounds more like a take over of a country or something. Did you see the video? One of the first complainers to speak mention just what you have said here. He was questioning the captain as he was worried about one person getting more than the next guy I believe he wanted to know how this was going to be done fairly. I believe that is why so many signed the papers because they were worried they would miss out. One women complained because her daughter was flying to Seattle to meet her and she was wanting to know if Celebrity would pay for her airfare. We had plans to meet my sister in law who had just had a heart attack and was driving a fair distance to come and see us. Should Celebrity paid for the gas. Where does it all end. I guess you would have had to been there. This is why we chose to sit back and enjoy the cruise because it was just too involved. Just one thing after another.

[griswalds]

As mentioned before, not getting to a port or a glacier due to weather is not the issue here. If there is fog or bad weather, it is just bad luck. Ship maintenance and poor communication is the real issue on this cruise. Picture yourself 5 miles away watching another ship come and go to the glacier. If weather had been bad, if fog was bad, if ice flows were bad and if the glacier had melted and gone away, there would be no issue. Why Celebrity failed to make the glacier stop is an interesting question. Some are saying it was a coordination issue due to their late arrival? We should be encouraging passengers who were on the cruise to speak up and share their information on what went wrong and why if they know. We missed the volcano on our Hawaiian cruise due to heavy rain....I am told some saw it for a brief moment. That happens but it is a different issue than with the infamous Summit cruise.

 

Griswalds

 

 

I am glad I found someone who feels the same way. I guess I went with an open mind because I have friends who were on Princess and they barely went in and had to come out and did not see the glacier. It is mother nature we are dealing with here. It was such a beautiful day anyway and I felt lucky to be able to go in that far with so much ice. This was my 3rd visit and not the best but I was prepared for whatever. I was told that people waited 2 hours on the upper deck and some were very mad because we did not get closer. I tried not to let it bother me. :)

[griswalds]

Wow, that is scary to to know I have an evil twin. I was not there honest.

It is a cool song though.

 

This will not end for years, even for those who chose not to complain as they will always perk up to any mention of the ill fated cruise and what others may get. It is just human nature.

 

Griwalds

 

 

 

United we stand on a cruise ship? That is scary stuff to me. Sounds more like a take over of a country or something. Did you see the video? One of the first complainers to speak mention just what you have said here. He was questioning the captain as he was worried about one person getting more than the next guy I believe he wanted to know how this was going to be done fairly. I believe that is why so many signed the papers because they were worried they would miss out. One women complained because her daughter was flying to Seattle to meet her and she was wanting to know if Celebrity would pay for her airfare. We had plans to meet my sister in law who had just had a heart attack and was driving a fair distance to come and see us. Should Celebrity paid for the gas. Where does it all end. I guess you would have had to been there. This is why we chose to sit back and enjoy the cruise because it was just too involved. Just one thing after another.

[YoungZaphod]

Wow, that is scary to to know I have an evil twin. I was not there honest.

It is a cool song though.

Griwalds

2/3 of your total posts are in this thread. You weren't on the cruise. What is your interest in continuing to rouse the rabble?

 

Those arguing the other side, who were not on the cruise, have been called everything from Celebrity employees to cheerleaders. :rolleyes:

[Ma Bell]

Wow, that is scary to to know I have an evil twin. I was not there honest.

It is a cool song though.

 

This will not end for years, even for those who chose not to complain as they will always perk up to any mention of the ill fated cruise and what others may get. It is just human nature.

 

Griwalds

 

Luckily, there are lots of humans with a different nature. I'm sure there were many who actually enjoyed their cruise, who were pleased with the compensation they received and who wouldn't waste one minute of their lives worrying about what someone else got.

[cruiser2004]

Being one of the deceived passengers on the May 7th cruise, I enthusiastic entered this thread, hoping to get support and help. Instead, I have to realize not only not to be taken serious, but to get nothing but scorn and derision. Not to mention to be called a "rabble-rouser". Well, dear community, I just decided to use other ways of communication with the fellow passengers of the May 7th cruise (after all we got the list) and will let you no longer participate on whatever course this issue takes for me. No big deal, I know, but a little less oil in your fire.

I kindly ask my fellow passengers for their understanding, but discussing our concerns here, will only be for the entertainment of the many "know all`s" who have not been on that particular cruise. I wish them many happy sailings and may something like the May 7th cruise never happen to you.

So long, maybe in some other thread.

Ignore the bitterness that you are hearing from some people who were not even on this cruise but choose to hurl insults. Our group has vowed to stick together and be united, as DrewB pointed out. If we lose, as the nay sayers seem to hope, then everyone can continue to expect more of the same.

The problems on the May 7 Summit cruise were the result of sailing a ship that was not relliable, lies and poor management decisions. The insults and condecending attitude from Celebrity led to the passenger meetings. There is a very loud and active group on this board who seem to feel that complaining passengers were the problem, but they are in the overwhelming minority of passengers who were on this cruise. I understand your decision to leave this board, but will miss your refreshing comments. I will keep posting for awhile so this board will not look like the first 10 pages of this "combined thread" with nothing but scorn and derision from people that were not on this cruise.

[cechase]

2/3 of your total posts are in this thread. You weren't on the cruise. What is your interest in continuing to rouse the rabble?

 

Those arguing the other side, who were not on the cruise, have been called everything from Celebrity employees to cheerleaders. :rolleyes:

 

Thank you for asking this question. Perhaps, you might also ask them to express what they consider a "griswald experience".

[cruiser2004]

As mentioned before, not getting to a port or a glacier due to weather is not the issue here. If there is fog or bad weather, it is just bad luck. Ship maintenance and poor communication is the real issue on this cruise. Picture yourself 5 miles away watching another ship come and go to the glacier. If weather had been bad, if fog was bad, if ice flows were bad and if the glacier had melted and gone away, there would be no issue. Why Celebrity failed to make the glacier stop is an interesting question. Some are saying it was a coordination issue due to their late arrival? We should be encouraging passengers who were on the cruise to speak up and share their information on what went wrong and why if they know. We missed the volcano on our Hawaiian cruise due to heavy rain....I am told some saw it for a brief moment. That happens but it is a different issue than with the infamous Summit cruise.

 

Griswalds

I was on the infamous Summit cruise and can provide a little backdrop on the Hubbard Glacier question. We were an hour or so late getting to the Glacier and the Mercury was just leaving and a HAL ship was parked right in front of the Glacier. As we approached the HAL ship moved to the far left side of the three mile long glacier. I would think to make room for the Summit because the HAL ship now a had poor view of the glacier. The ice was not even a factor in missing Hubbard Glacier. I have been on many Princess cruises in Glacier Bay and the floating ice at Hubbard Glacier was nothing to compare with what we easily passed going close to Glacier Bay. Even if we had been on time I would have to ask the question of what was the plan for the Summit with two ships already at the Glacier. Time was definetly not a factor because before our next port the Summit had plenty of time to drop anchor at the North end of Vancouver Island for eight hours. My gut feel is that the captain knowing he already had a crippled ship did not want to take any chances and I can't say that I blame him, although I don't know why sailed all that way for a twenty minute peek at the glacier. A few will argue that we saw the glacier, but I would strongly disagree. At our closet point (5-6 miles away) looking through binoculars I could barely determine where the mountain ended and the glacier began.

[Drew B]

My gut feel is that the captain knowing he already had a crippled ship did not want to take any chances and I can't say that I blame him, although I don't know why sailed all that way for a twenty minute peek at the glacier.

 

Well, if the condition of the ship would have made it UNSAFE to travel closer to the glacier, then I don't really see how ANYONE could think that he did the wrong thing... It sure would be nice to get one, honest, accurate answer, though...

[Cuizer2]

Well, if the condition of the ship would have made it UNSAFE to travel closer to the glacier, then I don't really see how ANYONE could think that he did the wrong thing... It sure would be nice to get one, honest, accurate answer, though...

 

You are not going to get that here. The people who post here cannot provide you with an answer based on personal knowledge. The people who can provide you with an answer based on personal knowledge don't post on this board (or any other board).

[Hondu]

Well, if the condition of the ship would have made it UNSAFE to travel closer to the glacier, then I don't really see how ANYONE could think that he did the wrong thing... It sure would be nice to get one, honest, accurate answer, though...

 

Ever seen National Lampoon Vacation with Chevy Chase when the family reached the Grand Canyon? That's what this captain did for these passengers.

[Hondu]

Ignore the bitterness that you are hearing from some people who were not even on this cruise but choose to hurl insults. Our group has vowed to stick together and be united, as DrewB pointed out. If we lose, as the nay sayers seem to hope, then everyone can continue to expect more of the same.

The problems on the May 7 Summit cruise were the result of sailing a ship that was not relliable, lies and poor management decisions. The insults and condecending attitude from Celebrity led to the passenger meetings. There is a very loud and active group on this board who seem to feel that complaining passengers were the problem, but they are in the overwhelming minority of passengers who were on this cruise. I understand your decision to leave this board, but will miss your refreshing comments. I will keep posting for awhile so this board will not look like the first 10 pages of this "combined thread" with nothing but scorn and derision from people that were not on this cruise.

 

 

Don't give up. The high school cheerleaders would accept a 7 day cruise to nowhere due to a broken ship and feel that they got their money's worth.

 

You paid your hard earned money and not theirs. Raise all the h*ll you want.

[karlsselindh]

"Why Celebrity failed to make the glacier stop is an interesting question. Some are saying it was a coordination issue due to their late arrival? We should be encouraging passengers who were on the cruise to speak up and share their information on what went wrong and why if they know."

 

____________________________________________________

 

Our dining room waiter, Sebastian, sensed how disappointed we were at not getting close to the glacier, and he stated with authority that the reason why we kept such a distance was that the captain did not want to risk damaging the good engine, leaving us to drift into the glacier.

 

During almost the entire cruise, we had the spectre of engine failure always hanging over our head. The captain would make occasional announcements that there appeared to be no further failure of the bearing, but that reminder wasn't very comforting.

 

Sebastian also sensed how frustrated we were on the last formal night when we just began to move down the inside passage during the first dinner seating. He served us quickly and then suggested that we go out on deck to take in the scenery, and come back to the dining room in 20 minutes when their Baked Alaska parade would start. Needless to say, we tipped him and everyone well, feeling sorry that they wouldn't have any tips the following week.

 

I think what escalated the problems was the way Celebrity handled the $200/stateroom credit. This was given very early and many of us thought this was temporary appeasement until they could work out a satisfactory solution. Then, a day or two later, there was a curt--may I say snotty(!)--paragraph on the front page of the daily newsletter that this was all we would get, period. And most of us had spent many thousands per stateroom, as well as great time, effort, and expense to travel. The 30% future credit never appeared until about a week later. And, as many have said, they'll probably never be able to use it, or don't feel they should have to spend more money on Celebrity to take advantage of it.

 

Flying Tiger--good luck to you.

 

Lois

[sirgonealot]

Has anyone heard from Celebrity? Do we really have a discount on a future cruise?

[magmagee]

As mentioned before, not getting to a port or a glacier due to weather is not the issue here. If there is fog or bad weather, it is just bad luck. Ship maintenance and poor communication is the real issue on this cruise. Picture yourself 5 miles away watching another ship come and go to the glacier. If weather had been bad, if fog was bad, if ice flows were bad and if the glacier had melted and gone away, there would be no issue. Why Celebrity failed to make the glacier stop is an interesting question. Some are saying it was a coordination issue due to their late arrival? We should be encouraging passengers who were on the cruise to speak up and share their information on what went wrong and why if they know. We missed the volcano on our Hawaiian cruise due to heavy rain....I am told some saw it for a brief moment. That happens but it is a different issue than with the infamous Summit cruise.

 

But we did not watch a ship come and go.The ship was already there and I thought there might have been something wrong with why they were staying off to the left side of the glacier. Anyone who was on the summit can tell you that the ship that was already there was not in front of the glacier. I did not notice if they repositioned after we left but they were in the same spot for a long time and there was ice all around that ship. We were kind of wondering if it was stuck there with all of the ice around it. I am trying to make sense of all of this myself. I just refuse to believe that Celebrity was out to get us and force us to have the worst vacation of our life, which was not the case with us. Was ice a factor here? I am only guessing it could have been. They say it does not take a lot for a piece of ice to do damage especially to the propeller. Also, They say weather conditions in that area change very rapidly. I don't know.

[magmagee]

Wow, that is scary to to know I have an evil twin. I was not there honest.

It is a cool song though.

 

This will not end for years, even for those who chose not to complain as they will always perk up to any mention of the ill fated cruise and what others may get. It is just human nature.

 

Griwalds

 

The only reason I came to this site was I was hoping just to here what everyone had to say whether they felt the way I do or not. I has been good for me just to voice my opinion. I am not looking to carry this on for years nor am I interested in what the outcome might be as far as money is concerned. I made a decision not to be a part of the law suit and that is that. If they get a free cruise so be it. I will not have any regrets but on the other hand then we will know that justice has been served.

[ZlistCelebrity]

Well, if the condition of the ship would have made it UNSAFE to travel closer to the glacier, then I don't really see how ANYONE could think that he did the wrong thing... It sure would be nice to get one, honest, accurate answer, though...

 

he didn't do the wrong thing if that is the case, therefore he lied to us, he shouldn't have ventured up there knowing he could not get safely any further,

better not to have gone there and to keep the rest of the itinerary in tact, not suiting everyone of course.

 

The very question was put to the captain by my husband at the theatre meeting, all recorded by us and several others and Celebrity, as displayed into our cabins, the question was' why captain have you not cut out the round trip to hubbard, if we can only travel at a certain speed, and keep the rest of the itinerary, hubbard is hundreds of miles round trip from the rest of the itinerary.

Reply ' I am concerned only with the safety of my ship, and the ship is safe to go there'

 

All recorded, along with everything else that the good honest paying guests have posted here.

 

All comments are subjective and we are not going to disintegrate into slagging you for your views, so refrain from it regarding ours, the actual passengers.

 

We doubt very much that celebrity/rcl will get away with it this time, their duty of care is definitely broken as they knew in advance of the possibility of the breakdown, it will be proved if not in your country, definitely in the uk, where as a matter of fact, we pay three times as much for the stateroom as the american brochure price.

 

Stupid us, you will probably say, do your homework, yes and book through an american site to get all your discounts, cruise only, and pay for flights separately.

 

Pauline and rob, manchester Uk,

( usual doubters and X nuts please reply here)

[ZlistCelebrity]

We have pictures from our stateroom and the bridge, the camera was also on zoom, of the HAL ship at the hubbard, keeping to the left to allow us in, but we couldn't go any further.

 

If it's possible to post them here, we will.

 

It was a beautiful clear day, perfect for the up close we were promised in the brochure.

 

We were there, we are supporting each other elsewhere and will carry on doing so for some time.

We also support all the passenger postings, for or against, because at least THEY WERE THERE.

By the way, we don't want another cruise, we wouldn't go on another cruise with this line, cheap, free or otherwise.

 

We just want justice as this line was not truthful and treated it's paying guests as children, or people without a mind and an ounce of common sense.

 

Chin up passengers who do want to see this through, it is going through, behind the scenes in a proper and adult way.

 

Pauline and Rob, Manchester, UK

 

As mentioned before, not getting to a port or a glacier due to weather is not the issue here. If there is fog or bad weather, it is just bad luck. Ship maintenance and poor communication is the real issue on this cruise. Picture yourself 5 miles away watching another ship come and go to the glacier. If weather had been bad, if fog was bad, if ice flows were bad and if the glacier had melted and gone away, there would be no issue. Why Celebrity failed to make the glacier stop is an interesting question. Some are saying it was a coordination issue due to their late arrival? We should be encouraging passengers who were on the cruise to speak up and share their information on what went wrong and why if they know. We missed the volcano on our Hawaiian cruise due to heavy rain....I am told some saw it for a brief moment. That happens but it is a different issue than with the infamous Summit cruise.

 

But we did not watch a ship come and go.The ship was already there and I thought there might have been something wrong with why they were staying off to the left side of the glacier. Anyone who was on the summit can tell you that the ship that was already there was not in front of the glacier. I did not notice if they repositioned after we left but they were in the same spot for a long time and there was ice all around that ship. We were kind of wondering if it was stuck there with all of the ice around it. I am trying to make sense of all of this myself. I just refuse to believe that Celebrity was out to get us and force us to have the worst vacation of our life, which was not the case with us. Was ice a factor here? I am only guessing it could have been. They say it does not take a lot for a piece of ice to do damage especially to the propeller. Also, They say weather conditions in that area change very rapidly. I don't know.