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

[Moeve]

You know thinking about this for a while and then I had to giggle a little - they probably had to clear the brig before they could throw this guy in :smile: - it is probably used as an additional store room on normal cruises

[cruiseorbust]

This is so crazy!!! I do feel bad for the crew, staff, and the individuals that are not acting like "the world owes them". Get a clue!!!

 

I have sailed many Celebrity ships, and I think for the most part Celebrity goes out of their way to treat passengers great, even when they don't deserve to be treated as such.

 

I for one say, "Hang in their Celebrity" and don't let them beat you down!!! I would take names and never let those irate passengers cruise on either one of your lines again (Celebrity/RCCL). With all the appreciative passengers out there, you don't, and we don't want to travel with them again...ever!!!

 

I'm surprised with what I am hearing that the crew and staff haven't forced the irate passengers off for bad behavior...I think they should.

[Sky Sweet]

Does anyone have any opinions about the real reasons why so many passengers on this particular cruise protested and caused a ruckus?

[LMKohler]

I'm sorry--I've stayed out of this so far--BUT--asking for a full refund when you only missed two ports is ridiculous. Even 50% is too much. These passengers have enjoyed the majority of the cruise. What I would be really irritated about is the fact that other passengers are ruining my cruise. I believe Celebrity has been fair--refunding port charges and giving on board credits at the beginning, which I'm sure all the passengers have used to date.

 

I've sailed on Summit FOUR times knowing full well about the pod problems and have with one exception, in Costa Rica-not associated with the pods, have never missed a port.

[excitedofharpenden]

Does anyone have any opinions about the real reasons why so many passengers on this particular cruise protested and caused a ruckus?

There was a post a while back saying there were a lot of British cruisers "rounding up the troops". If that is the case, then the QM2 refund would have a lot to do with it in my view.

 

Phil

[claud925]

I'm sorry--I've stayed out of this so far--BUT--asking for a full refund when you only missed two ports is ridiculous. Even 50% is too much. These passengers have enjoyed the majority of the cruise. What I would be really irritated about is the fact that other passengers are ruining my cruise. I believe Celebrity has been fair--refunding port charges and giving on board credits

 

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

This is a cruise, people. If you're more interested in the ports than sailing aboard a floating palace, take a land-based vacation to these places.

 

One wonders what some underprivileged people in third-world countries would think of the behavior of the whiners in this world.

[usha]

Better call some waaaaambulances to Vancouver for all of the "abused" crybabies on Summit. Geez....:rolleyes:

[Duanerice1]

I rarely ever post to these types of threads. But I can see why they want a full refund. IT IS BECAUSE THEY RUINED THEIR OWN CRUISE! They are on a cruise, how bad can it be? I do understand their disappointment but let's learn how to handle it. They seem to be spending their entire cruise either demonstrating or going to meetings about this. And to think, people complain about the wine auctions or kids on board:) Wow, what a way to live.

Duane

[Artemis]

Does anyone have any opinions about the real reasons why so many passengers on this particular cruise protested and caused a ruckus?

 

Don't know the "real reasons" but your comment that "so many passengers" have protested made me wonder.

 

I am holding out hope that the squeaky wheels actually number very few. I'm confident there's not 1000 as HidesRchapped claimed for the benefit of the legal threat. However, whether it's 10 or 200 who disembark to the opening arms of an attorney, we'll just have to see. I'm betting that the numbers may have been substantial at the beginning when folks were disappointed, the loud ones were pot-stirring, rubber neckers joined in the meetings, etc. But after a nice long cruise with signature X treatment, those ornery enough to dig in their heels and stay their angry course should be few in number.

 

That's the line I'm betting, anyway.

[PugTug1]

My wife and I booked a vacation a few years ago to Naples FLA. We spent a week at the Ritz. It rained the ENTIRE week...and I'm talking Noah's Ark type of rain....We never left the hotel for it was just terrrible outside. Now the hotel knew that the weather was going to be poor at least two days before we arrived. Was it their responsibility to tell us about it and allow us to cancel? Are we entitled to a FULL refund, or for that matter any type of compensation due to something beyond the hotels control? Were we able to golf, no....boat, no....see the everglades...no. Did we know that during the month of September it's the rainy season in FLA. YES WE DID and we went anyways. A week stuck in a hotel is brutal. I'd take a week at sea on Celebrity anytime!

 

Another one...Cruised the Star Princess (The original Star Princess) back in 1990. We missed two ports...their private island and Nassau due to weather. Keep in mind that private islands were a new concept in 1990 and all they hype was about them. Also in lieu of Nassau we were re-rounted to Freepeort...and talk about a dump! Were we disappointed...of course...did we start throwing punches...hell no! We made the best of it.

 

Sometimes things happen for no reason and are beyond the control of others. Why go through life being so bitter and angry about things that you can do NOTHING about.

[excitedofharpenden]

Better call some waaaaambulances to Vancouver for all of the "abused" crybabies on Summit. Geez....:rolleyes:

Wonder if they are all still fired up, usha? If they are, perhaps they'll try a QM2 style sit in protest when the ship gets back:rolleyes:

 

Phil

[thomasale]

I think a central point is being missed here. These aren't circumstances beyond (Celebrity's) control. That would be a hurricane, or random, unexpected engine trouble. They knowingly sail four ships that they know don't work properly (a lawsuit against the makers is a pretty good affirmation that Celebrity is well aware of major problems with these ships). They could choose to drydock them until a solution can be found. It would be absurdly expensive, but they have that choice. Even if they don't want to take it, that's fine. But one would think, since this has been an issue for some time now, that they would come up with a standard compensation plan. For example:

• If the current cruise makes at least 50% of its scheduled port hours, give passengers a 50% refund on this cruise and 50% off their next cruise (within 1yr). It's always good to give a little extra in the face of your foul-up to gain/retain customer loyalty, especially in a saturated market.
  
• If the current cruise makes less than 50% of its scheduled port hours, give passengers a full refund and 50% off their next cruise (within 1yr). Ditto above
  
• Give those booked on the next cruise (when she'll be in the yard) a full refund and 50% off their next cruise AND make that applicable to both legs of any B2B cruises scheduled. You really, really want the loyalty of people with the money to book B2B cruises.

Now these are obviously just numbers I've cooked up on my own. Yes, they're somewhat generous, but Celebrity is choosing to operate ships with a (relatively if not absolutely) quite high chance of failure, and I don't exactly see them warning people about that in plain English before they take their money.

But this has happened often enough that there should be some sort of standard response in place by now.

 

Now that's something that makes sense. Especially when you consider that I am sure the revenue loss is a major part of the suit against the pod manufacturer. The losses that they project are bigger than the comp they are offering. Anyway, the specifics that would accrue from doing this could only help their case (not that they need any help)

[FinelyCruising]

Unfortunately for Celebrity, it's crew and it's guests...

 

It has been a bad few months.

[cdbaum]

to not step in this for the longest time but...

 

I don't think you can list this among forseen circumstances. Celebrity knows that the pods are an issue but they have also determined (along with pod "experts" I imagine) that the bearings will typically hold up for X amount of time before they need to be replaced. They have scheduled drydock times for the ships based on that schedule to minimize the chances of a problem during scheduled cruises. Non pod systems have breakdowns also.

 

As with any large mechanical item you can still have unexpected problems or failures. How many actual rocket scientists work at NASA and yet... The unforseen aspect of this is the possible random failure of the engines, pods, water pumps, whatever. If you maintain your car the odds of the engine failing are minimal but hey, was that the fuel pump?

 

We have taken a number of cruises on M class ships and have never had any pod problems.

 

Let's assume that the ship does only one week cruises and is in drydock for two weeks a year. That's 50 cruises a year. For the sake of argument (and I'm sure that there will be one) let's also assume that the ship has a pod problem every 18 months that "wrecks" a cruise. That would mean that you have roughly a 1.5% chance of a pod problem. So out of the 150,000 people to travel on the ship during this time frame 2000 are effected (or maybe affected in this case). I can live with those odds.

 

Is this a known problem? Yes

 

Is it a common problem that warrants class action status? Not in my opinion.

 

I am not intending to trivialize the impact that this may have had on peoples vacations (I realize that the long term trauma will be devastating) but I think that protests, threatened lawsuits and physical attacks are way out of line in relation to the problem. You are on a ship with all of the expected services. If you're just a warm shrimp cocktail away from a tower and a high powered rifle then, well, the problem may not be with others.

 

Oh, and by the way, did you read your cruise contract?

 

Have a happy

[mctrekkie]

 

Oh, and by the way, did you read your cruise contract?

 

 

That one line sums it up. Bet the alleged class action never gets off the ground, because the lawyers have read the contract!

 

I wonder if Celebrity has a list of "banned pax"? Hope they're adding some names to that list to spare the rest of us, if all these threats, etc are actually taking place.

[griswalds]

Well said. Most people seem to want to detract from the real issue which you have nailed. Rather than folcusing attention on "broomsticks" and "lemons" and silly comments like that you have stuck to the real issue.

Griswalds

 

 

I think a central point is being missed here. These aren't circumstances beyond (Celebrity's) control. That would be a hurricane, or random, unexpected engine trouble. They knowingly sail four ships that they know don't work properly (a lawsuit against the makers is a pretty good affirmation that Celebrity is well aware of major problems with these ships). They could choose to drydock them until a solution can be found. It would be absurdly expensive, but they have that choice. Even if they don't want to take it, that's fine. But one would think, since this has been an issue for some time now, that they would come up with a standard compensation plan. For example:

• If the current cruise makes at least 50% of its scheduled port hours, give passengers a 50% refund on this cruise and 50% off their next cruise (within 1yr). It's always good to give a little extra in the face of your foul-up to gain/retain customer loyalty, especially in a saturated market.
  
• If the current cruise makes less than 50% of its scheduled port hours, give passengers a full refund and 50% off their next cruise (within 1yr). Ditto above
  
• Give those booked on the next cruise (when she'll be in the yard) a full refund and 50% off their next cruise AND make that applicable to both legs of any B2B cruises scheduled. You really, really want the loyalty of people with the money to book B2B cruises.

Now these are obviously just numbers I've cooked up on my own. Yes, they're somewhat generous, but Celebrity is choosing to operate ships with a (relatively if not absolutely) quite high chance of failure, and I don't exactly see them warning people about that in plain English before they take their money.

But this has happened often enough that there should be some sort of standard response in place by now.

[Verystormy]

As some of you may know, i work for a cruise company and am also passionate about cruising and hate this culture of suing for the slightest thing.

However - When I cruise, i do so for reasons very different to many. I am not in the slightest interested in the ship (Unless i have booked a transatlantic and in which case i would only do so on one of the luxurey lines). As far as i am concerned the ship is a method of transport to get me from a to b without the need for unpacking / repacking.

 

While, i obviously regard missed ports due weather and emergencies and such like as unavoidable risk for the benefits, i do think this is different.

 

I dont think that the passengers should get a full refund - we certainly wouldnt, i do think that 200 dollars is a poor offer.

 

I think the on board credit is fine, but should have been accompanied with a 50 percent off a future cruise

[griswalds]

Pug, this is not a weather issue. If it was, I would agree with you but it is not.

 

Griswalds

 

My wife and I booked a vacation a few years ago to Naples FLA. We spent a week at the Ritz. It rained the ENTIRE week...and I'm talking Noah's Ark type of rain....We never left the hotel for it was just terrrible outside. Now the hotel knew that the weather was going to be poor at least two days before we arrived. Was it their responsibility to tell us about it and allow us to cancel? Are we entitled to a FULL refund, or for that matter any type of compensation due to something beyond the hotels control? Were we able to golf, no....boat, no....see the everglades...no. Did we know that during the month of September it's the rainy season in FLA. YES WE DID and we went anyways. A week stuck in a hotel is brutal. I'd take a week at sea on Celebrity anytime!

 

Another one...Cruised the Star Princess (The original Star Princess) back in 1990. We missed two ports...their private island and Nassau due to weather. Keep in mind that private islands were a new concept in 1990 and all they hype was about them. Also in lieu of Nassau we were re-rounted to Freepeort...and talk about a dump! Were we disappointed...of course...did we start throwing punches...hell no! We made the best of it.

 

Sometimes things happen for no reason and are beyond the control of others. Why go through life being so bitter and angry about things that you can do NOTHING about.

[Bud&Dorie]

We had a simular experience on the Millie last fall on a transatlantic cruise. 10 days before we left we were notified that the ship had to cut the cruise short by two days due to drydock proplems. It meant missing two ports, one being Rome. They gave us a 20% refund and some shipboard credit. We were so disapointed about missing the ports. But, what upset us the most was the attitute of Celebrity. Most of us did not know about this until a few days before and some were even on their way to Barcelona. Celebrity put most everyone in hotels (prior to the trip) outside of town for the two days. The hotels were not very close to anything and the neighborhoods were terrible. Celebrity's attitude was "take it or leave it". They sent a representative onboard to hear everyones complaints. He was nothing more that a sounding board and not very friendly. We have been on many Celebrity cruises. Once onboard, we have a wonderful time and love the ships. But, everytime we have had to deal with the people in corporate, its horrible. There are other stories I could tell you, but won't in this short space. Too bad, they still havn't gotton the idea, you need to treat passengers like customers.

[cechase]

My wife and I booked a vacation a few years ago to Naples FLA. We spent a week at the Ritz. It rained the ENTIRE week...and I'm talking Noah's Ark type of rain....We never left the hotel for it was just terrrible outside. Now the hotel knew that the weather was going to be poor at least two days before we arrived. Was it their responsibility to tell us about it and allow us to cancel? Are we entitled to a FULL refund, or for that matter any type of compensation due to something beyond the hotels control? Were we able to golf, no....boat, no....see the everglades...no. Did we know that during the month of September it's the rainy season in FLA. YES WE DID and we went anyways. A week stuck in a hotel is brutal. I'd take a week at sea on Celebrity anytime!

 

Will give you another example. For my 70th. birthday, we flew from Reno, NV to Monterey, CA, with a long stop over at SFO to stay five nights at Carmel Valley Ranch. Brought my golf clubs in the new travel bag that my DW gave me for Christmas. What happened! It rained and poured for five days, and we had no chance to play golf. What did we do, we had the time of our life, even though the people at Carmel Valley Ranch and their staff were just awful. Even going to Ventana to have lunch which was great, involved in getting soaked. Having my birthday dinner at the restaurant at Highland's Inn including getting soaked. To make things even better, to make our little 25 minute flight from Monterey to SFO and our 40 minute flight from SFO to RNO took a total of nine hours!

 

Did we demand a refund - no, neither from the resort or the airlines. Did we have a great time - yes. Enough Said!

[Andipanda1]

I would most definitely be disappointed, but we all know it can happen. That's why I choose NOT to cruise that far from home. If I want to see New Zealand I'll stay in a motel.

 

Jill

 

Amen to that. If a port meant that much to me, I'd take a land trip. Folks, read your cruise contracts. Celebrity isn't hiding behind anything, and no one is forcing you to cruise to a certain destination. If you're really want to go and see aplace, then go and stay there for a few days, don't take a cruise ship.

[Andipanda1]

Does anyone have any opinions about the real reasons why so many passengers on this particular cruise protested and caused a ruckus?

 

1. Because people signed their contracts without reading them.

 

2. Because people see an opportunity to make a buck.

 

3. Because they traveled a long way to get to the port to begin with (and in that case, I can undersand someone getting upset; however, I cannot understand mutiny and class action lawsuits).

 

4. Because we live in a world where personal responsibility--and courtesy to fellow pax--is rapidly becoming a joke.

[dkjretired]

1. Because people signed their contracts without reading them.

 

2. Because people see an opportunity to make a buck.

 

3. Because they traveled a long way to get to the port to begin with (and in that case, I can undersand someone getting upset; however, I cannot understand mutiny and class action lawsuits).

 

4. Because we live in a world where personal responsibility--and courtesy to fellow pax--is rapidly becoming a joke.

 

I don't think we have a clear idea as to how many people are actually complaining. Probably won't know at least until they all get off the ship.

[Andipanda1]

I don't think we have a clear idea as to how many people are actually complaining. Probably won't know at least until they all get off the ship.

 

I agree. I'm just sorry that there are a few folks making it difficult for the people that want to have a good time.

[Nancyquilts]

Way back in the past - about 15 years ago - we were slated to take a trip from Tampa around South America on the Regent Sea. Fortunately Tampa has a good port and waiting room, for we were there all day Saturday, bussed to a hotel about 10:00pm for dinner and overnight, and brought back for all day Sunday before leaving late that afternoon. Why? The Coast Guard had informed Regency Cruises the previous time they were in a U.S. port that they would not be able to sail again unless some changes were made - the most important being replacing the emergency batteries for the fire doors. They didn't get replaced on Saturday, so they had to be flown in on Sunday. Since this was known to the cruise line, wouldn't this be grounds for mutiny?

Never. We grumbled while still in port, we were a day late on the whole cruise as far as Chile, missing a port there, and excursions that had been booked had to be rebooked for a day later (with complications for those trying to go to Machu Picchu spending the whole day in the airport waiting for a plane that never arrived). No one threatened to sue, or act childish. If you want to leave your home and go exploring, things will happen - some good, some bad. Enjoy the good, and move on. Life's too short to destroy your own happiness causing scenes. Okay, off the soapbox. Nancy