Itinerary change.No compensation from Celebrity

Celebrity Apex Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 24

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5
Verified Review
Celebrity Apex

10 Night Israel Egypt & Med (Athens Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 06, 2023

Ship: Celebrity Apex

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 10120

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Itinerary was changed because of outbreak of war in Israel and concerns for risk of violence in Alexandria.Israeli ports of call and Alexandria therefore cancelled.I totally understand this and hope that peace will soon be established Ship went to Limassol for an overnight stay.Unfortunately this was the end of the tourist season so many businesses closed. Subsequently ship called at Mykonos,Rhodes,Santorini and Bodrum.Very nice ports but the vast majority of the passengers chose this cruise for the Israeli and Eygptian ports of call and were therefore disappointed.With the itinerary changed at such short notice shore excursions were severely limited and booked up within minutes of posting.It was therefore difficult to find things to spend onboard credit other than in the shops or casino.Onboard credit is not accepted for future cruise bookings. It was commented on by several fellow passengers that the same Greek Island/Turkey itinerary could have been had for a fraction of the price that we had paid for this one We were told that Celebrity would not be offering any compensation for missed ports of call in the form of reimbursement or future cruise credits.Despite the savings on fuel and port charges they must have made Strikingly noticeable this cruise was the low profile kept by the senior officers after the announcement of the change in itinerary. I am very surprised and disappointed at the attitude taken by Celebrity on this

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Dinning experience overall be it Illuminae or Oceanside Grill was truly excellent

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

2 out of 5
Very good.Sad though that they still feel they have to solicit scores of 9 or more on satisfaction surveys. Please see comments below on Customer service and senior ship officers

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

watch out for the automatic doors in the reatrooms!

Ports of call

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 24

7 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe     3 months ago

Thanks for sharing

DFromATX    1 year ago

I do understand your disappointment, but be thankful you weren’t already there when the bombs dropped. I can’t imagine the horror of it all. Glad you made it back safe and sound. We too wanted to visit Israel in 2025 and now my husband said no way. :(

Paw0614    1 year ago

On the same cruise! Celebrity had the option to 'meet expectations' or 'exceed' them because of the port changes. They chose only to meet expectations and not wow their guests with their decision making. Still a nice cruise, though! Even if the itinerary we sailed is of a lower quality than what we paid for.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your experience

cruising2004    1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Skooby    1 year ago

Thank you for your review. Unfortunately, this type of incident happens frequently during hurricane season also. And nobody is reimbursed unless they cancel the entire cruise.

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