Infinity's Sep 13 voyage cancelled and Sept. 23 delayed a day

[Cruisecat06]

Thank you Claude, for explaining that. We wanted to go down and see the ship in drydock, as we thought it was going to be in San Francisco, but if Victoria has more tradespeople and space in general for the ship to drydock in, that makes sense.

[many cruises]

Jimsgirl: I have been reading your posts & I am so sorry for you. Hopefully, everything will work out & you'll have a great cruise. It is just so frustrating when Celebrity treats its passengers the way you have been treated. Many people are jumping ship and looking for a new cruiseline to travel with.

[Tedson]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, Claude :)

[Welshlady]

The customer service you've received is disgusting. I don't blame you for cancelling. Surely most companies would be bending over backwards to keep you as a customer with 2 future cruises already booked?? I can't believe the way they are treating customers. I'd change TA as well!!

[Allis154]

Jimsgirl:

 

I hope everything works out for your cruise with us to the Panama Canal. I will be having a long discussion with my TA before I book cruises for next year. I will probably change TA. Hopefully, you will be able to rebook your cruises next year with another TA and get much better service!

[DaneViking]

Celebrity web-site indicates that she is due to arrive at 12pm. Do you think that is the actual time she will dock, or is it "just a number" someone put in? Maybe she will arrive earlier?

 

I suppose that if she arrives at noon, embarkation will not begin until perhaps at 2 pm, and it will be quite chaotic, or will the people staying at Hilton on X's account be checked in to the ship at Hilton, so that they can (partly) bypass the lines in the terminal?

 

What do you think will be the best strategy to avoid the long lines and make the embarkation less stressful in case embarkation begins late?

[Allis154]

I was also wondering about the whole embarkation thing. I was hoping to be able to baord early and miss the lines. Given that there isn't anybody to get off, and they would have a couple of sea days, I am hoping everything will be ship-shape, and we will be able to board early. But, I am not holding my breathe. I fear that we will have 'issues' in boarding and that long waits dockside will be in order.

[DaisyGirl55]

I have also been reading with interest the many different ways people are beiong told about the refund and the free cruise options. I am one of the "Infinity Refugees" from the now cancelled Sep 13 cruise. I found out about the cancellations from - where else? - these boards. If not for these boards, I would probably be at home, still counting the days and waiting for my docs.

 

Because I saw the posts last Thursday, I immediately called my TA. She called Celebrity, gave me the number to call, and said let her know how it goes. Celebrity told me I would receive a full refund, plus refund for my pre-paid excursion, as well as up to $100 on charges from the airline to change my tickets. She said I could take a free cruise, up to the value of my current cruise, on any Celebrity ship sailing between now and 12/31/07. We previously had an outside cabin with a window. Two weeks prior I was upgraded to a cat 2B (veranda).

 

When we found the cruise we wanted, we called our TA and asked if we could bump up to a CC cabin and pay the difference (about $350). She called Celebrity, and they said my new cruise was booked - Mercury to Alaska, 6/29/07 - and that I was upgraded to CC for only an additional $71.00 due next April.

 

We also received a call from Celebrity last night letting us know that the $100.00 airline allowance was being credited this week, and that the cruise refund would be in about 4 to 8 weeks.

 

It is sad that so many people are being given so many stories. I don't know if it is the TA or Celebrity, or both. I understand the volume of calls must be horrendous, but people plan cruises sometimes a year in advance, and have to work around vacation schedules, so it is a big deal to every one who is affected.

 

Keep calling, and let both your TA and the Celebrity re-deployment desk know that because of these boards, you know you are not getting the best deal offered. It should not matter what cabin you were in, or if you were B2B or on a single cruise. We are going from a 10 day to a 7 day, but it still should not make a difference. I am happy with how my experience has been (although we are still bummed about the problems), but I feel for those still trying to get it all worked out.

 

Hang in there, and know that you aren't alone....we are all here pulling for you!

[cruiser2004]

Who do you think you are kidding!!!!

 

 

And this didn't happen earlier this year with both Summit and Infinity???

 

 

Try telling that to the people who were on the phone with them today (earlier this thread) only to get complete denial of anything amiss. Some other poster chalked that up the left hand not talking to the right hand. Thats a crock!! You have to know that a memo was sent out much earlier listing exactly what they would be able to say on the phone - i.e. lie. Celebrity has known for over a month now that they were going to have to utilize a dry dock to fix a problem - and they did not have the decency to inform anybody until now (officially they really haven't said anything - check their web site). They screwed up in March with the handling of three Mercury cruises, they screwed up in a major way in May with Summit, and now they have screwed up in July, August and September with Infinity. Great some of the passengers get their entire money back and a free cruise, many others had partial cruises and very little compensation. Some of the passengers from the canceled cruise will be forced to take their vacation during this week anyways with nowhere to go and is a free cruise really a free cruise? Absolutely not - there is airfare involved and many other expenses that alot of people are not able to afford twice prior to the cut-off point for the free cruise.

 

Why do so many people in this forum continuously try and rally the troops for support when you are faced with a sinking ship. Its time to admit that Celebrity has been less than forthcoming with its customers in a very self serving manner on an ongoing basis. Everywhere you read in Celebrities threads customers are jumping ship to find a more honest supplier. Thats what happens when the people you buy from are found to be deceitful!!

You are absolutely right Pecoraro. Anyone who complains, about the way that Celebrity continues to sail the M-Class ships knowing that they are going to fail, is called a whiner.

My view is that if Celebrity punches me in one eye, I should not be required to be greatful that they did not punch me in both eyes. MHO

[florisdekort]

You are absolutely right Pecoraro. Anyone who complains, about the way that Celebrity continues to sail the M-Class ships knowing that they are going to fail, is called a whiner.

My view is that if Celebrity punches me in one eye, I should not be required to be greatful that they did not punch me in both eyes. MHO

 

I am still unhappy about not going to Alaska, but I can hardly call a full refund and a free cruise a "punch in the eye". I am doing the Canada & New England cruise on Connie next September... for free!

 

I did not book via a travel agent, but dealt with Celebrity's re-accomodation desk directly. They were very helpful - no complaints.

 

Best Regards,

Floris

[Captain Cosmo]

Here we go again - apparently some of you can cruise anytime and don't care where you go, but you can't tolerate it when someone else has their vacation taken away from them and reacts appropriately to the shabby treatment. When you're cruising 5-6 times a year I'm sure it makes no difference at all when and where you go, but have some sympathy for those people who PLAN their vacations around other activities in their lives, like - oh - employment, family celebrations, children's school schedules, business committments, etc. No one is disputing the need to put Infinity into drydock - its the timing and manner in which it was done and the lack of sufficient notice to the people who were already booked. Celebrity is making almost all of its decisions without any regard to its passengers. As someone booked for Infinity's South America cruise I could be sitting here gleefully thinking - "Good for me! Infinity will get her new pod and my trip will probably be trouble-free". But human decency dictates that I also consider those folks who planned their Alaska cruise, made hotel and flight arrangments, arranged for pet or child care, etc., only to have their vacation pulled out from under them. A "free" cruise to someplace else and some other time doesn't replace an Alaska cruise in September if Alaska is where you wanted to go. I have a suggestion for those of you who cruise often and have the money not to care if your plans are altered - Celebrity should sell "guarantees" for cruises. You could buy a guarantee and then when they have an unsold room on any ship you'd be given tickets for that cruise. Obviously you wouldn't be notified until the day before sailing, but that's just part of the experience for those of you who think of pod breakdowns and norovirus outbreaks as "an adventure". And, since you have no problem letting X decide when and where your vacation should be maybe this would work out really well - just let X decide. I mean, after all, its their ships and so they get to make the rules.

[avalon1025]

As someone coming back to Celebrity on Infinity in South America, I hope they have this all worked out. As someone who has to take their cruise at certain time due to work requirements, I think the attitude of Celebrity regarding thses ships is ridiculous after all these years of problems. I think its great that they offer a free cruise, but if you are not retired or have the option to sail when you want, who cares.

 

As for the SF drydocks, living near them, the time of the Infinity’s unplanned dry dock is a very busy time for the Dry Dock in SF, NCL always has a ship in there that time of the year, and if not NCL, then its RCI. I am sure the SF drydock is booked.

 

Good luck all future Infinity cruisers!

[cechase]

I am still unhappy about not going to Alaska, but I can hardly call a full refund and a free cruise a "punch in the eye". I am doing the Canada & New England cruise on Connie next September... for free!

 

I did not book via a travel agent, but dealt with Celebrity's re-accomodation desk directly. They were very helpful - no complaints.

 

Best Regards,

Floris

 

I do hope that you have a great cruise on Connie! I know how you feel about missing Alaska, because we have heard how great the cruise is and what wonderful sights. We are fortunate to be embarking on Infinity in Vancouver on 9/3/2006 [the cruise before the drydock] for 10 nights, and are really excited - just two weeks away. We both have read Alaska, and it is a very fascinating history. And imagine, we are going to cruise at only 19 knots and not 22 knots for the cruise, and the time in several ports has been reduced by one or two hours. Perhaps, we should demand compensation and not enjoy our cruise. :D Actually we will have a great cruise, and have a great group of people on our roll call [over 70 pax]. Cocktails with many of them at our hotel the night before embarkation. This is what cruising is all about.

 

I have seen some of the posters on this thread who are all over the Celebrity threads spreading their negativity. What seems to be missing is the fact that Celebrity gave over a months notice about the cancellation, but that fairly short time presents Celebrity with the problem of getting the new pod parts and mechanics to a dry dock that is not reserved.

 

I am sure that the hosts will remind everyone that Cruise Critic is here to provide useful information to other cruisers and should not be used to put down other posters. For instance in reading this thread, it seems that some TAs have totally bungled the re-accommodation for pax on the 9/13/2006 cruise on Infinity, and yet Floris contacted Celebrity direct and had a satisfactory experience. There just might be a lesson to learn from his experience.

[Captain Cosmo]

Dismissing the concerns of others IS a put down and strikes me as being a very "smug" thing to do. Censoring out the reaction of passengers who have had their vacations plans altered is hardly what I would call "open and honest communication", and in fact is very useful information to anyone who is planning a vacation and has time constraints that require that the vacation happens as planned. If Celebrity was acting in good faith the pods would have been replaced years ago with something more reliable. I do not give credit to X credit for providing a month's notice for yet another unscheduled breakdown of pods that have been known to be defective for 5 years. Its clear from the postings here that passengers were given conflicting information for several days after the drydocking was first mentioned on these boards, and its equally clear that many of these passengers are very unhappy about losing their planned vacation. If one poster was able to reschedule and the replacement cruise mets his needs, I'm thrilled. However, I fail to see how this "a lesson for us all" or how it somehow cancels out the feelings of most of the posters, which is that they rightfully feel angry about losing their vacations. The "lesson for us all" is that a cruise contract with Celebrity seems to place more responsibility and risk on the passengers than on X.

[many cruises]

CaptainCosmo: I have enjoyed reading all of your posts & I totally agree with your statements. You always get to the point of the matter and are so well spoken!

[cechase]

Dismissing the concerns of others IS a put down and strikes me as being a very "smug" thing to do. Censoring out the reaction of passengers who have had their vacations plans altered is hardly what I would call "open and honest communication", and in fact is very useful information to anyone who is planning a vacation and has time constraints that require that the vacation happens as planned.

 

I would suggest that you read my post maybe once or twice more. There is nothing in there about dismissing anyone, nor is there anything in my post censuring anyone. Frankly it was a postive post, as literally all of my posts are, giving and conveying information to other posts.

 

I am pleased that Floris was able to navigate the re-accomodation situation directly through Celebrity and obtained results to his satisfaction. That is a positive. That was the lesson - unless you did not understand that, then perhaps I would be willing to repeat it if you so request.

 

If you have some positive comments or useful information to impart to Celebrity cruises, I sure would like to hear it, and the same goes for your cheerleaders such as Many Cruises :D.

[GATOR MOM]

I'm just curious...it seems that folks are re-booking but I don't understand why not re-book an Alaskan cruise?

Floris...New England & Canada sounds great...see the Fall colors...but why is no one booking Alaska?:confused:

I was booked already on Connie for a Southern Carrib...now that is free & upgraded to CC...Talk about thrilled:D

Can you believe I am still on a wait list for Regal in Sept for Alaska... I can hope I get on her...doubt it.

[florisdekort]

I'm just curious...it seems that folks are re-booking but I don't understand why not re-book an Alaskan cruise?

Floris...New England & Canada sounds great...see the Fall colors...but why is no one booking Alaska?:confused:

 

For me, the itinerary wasn't the main reason for selecting this cruise. I have been to Alaska before. The facts that this cruise was from/to my home town of San Francisco and that the dates fitted my work schedule were more important. I picked Canada & New England for the free cruise because it back-to-backs with the Transatlantic on Connie that I had already booked.

[florisdekort]

As to all the above negativety, I guess that whatever a company does, some people are always going to find reasons to complain. It simply isn't possible to please everybody.

 

Again, I wasn't happy when my cruise got cancelled, but I do think a full refund AND a future free cruise is a very generous compensation.

 

Three of the above posters were on the Summit May 7 cruise that missed two ports because of POD problems. They have been voicing their advice to avoid Celebrity and especially the M-class ships on these boards ever since. (And rightfully so, to each his own opinion.) I however disagree. If I think of all the wonderful memories from my past 6 M-class cruises that I would not have had, had I followed there advice...

 

I am looking forward to my next cruises on Celebrity... it is unfortunate that I have to wait a little bit longer. ;)

[DaisyGirl55]

Like Floris - I was also booked on the 9/13 cruise to Alaska. Was I disappointed when my cruise was cancelled? YES! Am I going to let it drag me down for days upon days? NO! The itinerary was all that we wanted...sailing in and out of SF, sailing under the Golden Gate bridge, 10 days with plenty of days at sea. But it was not to be, and as much as I was so ready to go, I would rather the cruise be cancelled than to have the ship break down a day or two into my trip. Like many others, I planned for this trip almost a year ago. I put in for my vacation at work, I researched my ports, I made my packing lists. My plans were all up in the air when I found out what happened, especially as this trip was to celebrate my 30th anniversary.

 

But, I called Celebrity, and worked out both my refund and my rebook. We chose to sail on the Mercury next year in July, and we are going to try Alaska once again. I feel that Celebrity was very generous in dealing with the pax on this cruise. Reading how Carnival is handling a cancelled cruise (offering a free cruise, but only at a percentage off - which is not free at all), and other differences, I am glad to receive what we are receiving from Celebrity. Everyone I dealt with at Celebrity was helpful, and courteous, but maybe because I was too.

 

Am I being too pollyannish? I don't think so. Will I stop cruising, or never cruise with Celebrity again? Again, I don't think so. I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if we get our money back on a cancelled cruise, then people are still not happy that it was cancelled. If the ship had sailed, then the complaint would have been missed ports, or a total breakdown. Some people can not be happy no matter what.

 

I choose to work with Celebrity to make things right, to work things out for myself to still have a trip for my anniversary, and to try to look at what is going on in the big picture. I welcome people's reviews of how this has all played out, but it is like reading a review of a cruiseline or trip. I can read multiple reviews of the same trip, and sometimes I wonder if everyone was even on the same ship. So, it is all in how you look at things, and how you allow things to affect your life.

 

I am sad that I will not get to meet the many friends I made in our Roll Call, but God willing, one day I may sail with them and finally get to meet them. Life is an adventure, and comes with no guarantees. I am just grateful that I have the opportunity to travel once in a while, and that in the end - it all works out and comes together.

[florisdekort]

Everyone I dealt with at Celebrity was helpful, and courteous, but maybe because I was too.

 

I think you are on to something ;)

[cruiser2004]

As to all the above negativety, I guess that whatever a company does, some people are always going to find reasons to complain. It simply isn't possible to please everybody.

 

Again, I wasn't happy when my cruise got cancelled, but I do think a full refund AND a future free cruise is a very generous compensation.

 

Three of the above posters were on the Summit May 7 cruise that missed two ports because of POD problems. They have been voicing their advice to avoid Celebrity and especially the M-class ships on these boards ever since. (And rightfully so, to each his own opinion.) I however disagree. If I think of all the wonderful memories from my past 6 M-class cruises that I would not have had, had I followed there advice...

 

I am looking forward to my next cruises on Celebrity... it is unfortunate that I have to wait a little bit longer. ;)

 

There is a big difference from “negativity” and standing up for what is right. Unfortunately for those on the May 7 cruise, that you mentioned, missing two ports was only a part of the problem. Other problems were that Celebrity sailed a ship that had a known pod problem, failed to notify passengers, took time off other ports, turned away from Hubbard Glacier 6–7 miles away, dropped anchor at the North end of Vancouver Island for 10 hours because Celebrity had “neglected to secure a pilot and missed most of the Inside Passage. This in my opinion does not fall under the catch phrase “you can’t please everybody”. For all of this Celebrity “generously gifted” each cabin with a $200 shipboard credit, not to mention a worthless 30% FCC. I do appreciate your comment that all passengers have a right to express their opinion on these boards. I am happy for those cruisers who are satisfied with their compensation for missing their Infinity cruise because of pod problems. However, had the passengers on the May 7 Summit, many whom were on a once in a lifetime cruise, read on these boards of the increased risks when sailing M-Class ships, I am sure many would not have put themselves in that heart breaking situation. As far as being courtious and respectful it is always the best way to handle any situation. I have always used that approach, and for me it has resulted in receiving no help from Celebrity customer service.

[donkeytiara]

Everyone I dealt with at Celebrity was helpful, and courteous, but maybe because I was too. quote]

 

 

I'm a 9/23 Refugee as well. I had family members going from all over the US (9 of us in total). I was gutted that the cruise was cancelled. It was my honeymoon and 1st year anniversary (it took awhile to save up for the cruise), so you can imagine. I booked directly with Celebrity and the rest of my family had booked with a TA. I had absolutely no problems with Celebrity. As a matter of fact, the few times I called the Redeployment desk every one of the poor folks there thanked me for not shooting the "messenger". (I joked with them that perhaps the worst thing in life wasn't having a cruise cancelled... perhaps the worst thing in life was working the redeployment desk at Celebrity after a cancelled cruise!!) ;) I felt they did a great job. My family, on the other hand, got a bit of a runaround by their TA. They were told that they could only pick off "the list" for the free cruise. The TA insisted this was right, even after I had other family members call the redeployment desk to verify that they could book off the list. Luckily, it all worked out, but it took a day and a half to clear up the confusion caused by the TA.

 

Was I happy that I have to delay my honeymoon 8 months? No. Did I think that Celebrity did a good job in compensation? Yes. Because we had enough options (courtesy of Celebrity) to make ourselves happy...in different ways, I suppose. My husband and I met on the Infinity, so it was important to keep the same ship for celebratory reasons. We can still do Alaska, albeit 8 months later. But now we can breathe a little financially (with the refund). Ok, we still have about $200 in airfare that we can't get back, but I'm sure we'll find a creative way to use it. Part of the game of life, I reckon.

 

I agree...it is hard to arrange holidays these days, but somehow we've managed to get all 9 back on board for May '07.:) But I ask, realistically, what could Celebrity have done to make it "ok" with every one of the passengers? I'd truly like to hear what those of you, who aren't happy, would find acceptable from Celebrity. I think there are just some things that Celebrity can't control...the same as the rest of us.

[GATOR MOM]

Floris

Enjoy your back to back cruise!! fantastic. I am amazed at all the negative comments re the canceled cruise...how can anyone complain ...we are all getting a free cruise! My free cruise on Connie is now a CC cabin!!! Should be wonderful . Sure...I want to see Alaska...but I will some day.I saw a Carnival canceled cruise on here...they will only get a 50% discount on a futute cruise. I still plan to come to your beautiful city, visit family. Am still waiting on princess Regal...but now researching a trip to Yosemite & lake Tahoe. It sounds beautiful there & I have always wanted to go. Enjoy your cruise...& keep thinking positive...the only way to go;)

[Captain Cosmo]

If you have some positive comments or useful information to impart to Celebrity cruises, I sure would like to hear it, and the same goes for your cheerleaders such as Many Cruises :D.

 

Useful information to impart to Celebrity Cruises? OK. Here it is:

 

I think it would be really be good for business and would enhance customer service if you fixed the pods. You know, the ones that have been broken for 5 years?