Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, CEO of Celebrity Cruises, refused my request to meet in-person or talk by telephone in Miami, but the Celebrity Cruise representatives told me that they would refer my concerns about misleading and deceptive booking practices to the customer services department, who were currently considering making improvements to their booking system. Indeed, although there is no notice given of an obstructed view on my 15-page guest ticket booklet emailed a few days after booking with my stateroom assignment, 11 days after the booking I received a second email receipt for payment that indicates in small print notice of a “25 percent obstructed stateroom view.” Two other Celebrity Customer Service representatives who I spoke with after the cruise, advised that even though this possibility was never disclosed at the time I booked the vacation cruise, it was my responsibility to call and inquire about the room after it was actually assigned. The Celebrity Guest Service representative promised to speak with her service manager and get back with me, but she never did. When I approached on board Guest Relations, the Celebrity Infinity representative advised that we had “assumed the risk” of the room assignment, and that Celebrity Cruises did not consider it an obstructed view, because it wasn’t “completely obstructed, like with a lifeboat.”Īnd there were no other rooms available for the New Year’s cruise. It was impossible to take a picture of the ocean horizon without also getting part of the metal stairway. Sitting on my Celebrity Infinity balcony chair, sipping a glass of wine, and trying to relax while looking out into the ocean through the dirty and rusted stairway, I thought it was more like a 100 percent obstruction. The possibility of this type of stateroom assignment was never specifically disclosed in advance online when I paid in full and booked the cruise. I hope that I can prevent someone else from being victimized.Īlthough it was never disclosed at the time that I booked and paid a guaranteed price for a Concierge Stateroom with a deck, I later learned that Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, has total discretion to assign a stairwell obstructed deck view or what they consider to be 25 percent obstructed. I consider what happened to me to be misleading booking practices on the part of Celebrity Cruises. In December, I booked an online New Year’s Holiday Western Caribbean cruise on the ship Infinity directly through Celebrity Cruises which departs out of the Port of Miami. or not, as I recently discovered.ĭon’t you hate that feeling of being taken advantage of as a consumer? Law school 101 teaches the Latin term Caveat Emptor, meaning “let the buyer beware.” It can be such a fun and exciting getaway. One of the many advantages of living in South Florida is being able to easily book a well-deserved cruise vacation departing from one of the local ports.
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