Corporate stupidity

Ransom and I took a cruise through the Caribbean aboard the Celebrity Galaxy in February of 2000. I don’t really remember much about that sailing but we obviously liked it, as we sailed with them again in 2002, this time aboard the Summit, from Hawaii to Vancouver. That was a wonderful 12-day cruise and Celebrity became our line of choice. They knew how to provide affordable luxury, near-excellent food and friendly, efficient service while avoiding the glitz and glitter that ruins so many other lines.

A year later we sailed with Ransom’s folks aboard the Millennium; later we tried the Solstice through the Caribbean again, the Silhouette transatlantic from Rome, the Summit from San Juan, the Equinox from Venice to Barcelona and the Summit for a third time on a repositioning from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, to Puerto Rico.

That’s eight cruises for a total of seventy days. Clearly we are devoted Celebrity cruisers and the line works hard to maintain our loyalty.

Or rather, they worked hard in the past. Today? Not so much.

I received a puzzling email from Celebrity yesterday telling me that final payment was due yesterday for our upcoming sailing -- that is, payment was due within hours.

WHAT upcoming sailing, I wondered.

When I called today I was told we were still booked on a July Northern European sailing on which we had placed a deposit while aboard the Summit in October. (Cruise lines work hard to get those onboard deposits; it’s much easier when clients are caught up in the thrill of a voyage).

“But I cancelled that sailing; long ago we knew we weren’t available,” I explained. The agent, friendly and professional, asked a couple of questions and then put me on hold only to come back and say, sorry, Celebrity had no record of the cancelation and so was keeping our $200 and we could go find another cruise line on which to sail.

No wait, that last bit is what I said. It seems ludicrous that Celebrity would throw away all the goodwill they’ve carefully built over the last sixteen years, but that’s what they’ve done.

Fine, enjoy our $200. Spend it wisely. I’ll send you a postcard from the Viking Ocean Star, upon which we shall next sail.