Celebrity Cruises provided an update to travel agents on Jan. 14 notifying them of multiple cruise cancellations for Celebrity Eclipse cruises along the Pacific coast. All sailings included several ports of call in California which reinforced the measures in place against COVID-19.
From March 26 to April 16, Celebrity Eclipse will not be operating round trip Pacific Coast cruises and cruise between Los Angeles and Vancouver. This also means Celebrity Eclipse’s return to service has been pushed back to April 23, 2022.
Celebrity Eclipse cruises canceled
Celebrity Cruises has canceled four cruises departing from Port of Long Beach, California. Departures on March 26, April 2, April 9 and April 16 will not be made. The cruise line says the decision was made after working closely with health and government authorities to assess operational plans and ship itineraries.
In the press release, the company states the following: We sincerely apologize for having had to cancel these crossings as we are sure your customers are eager to travel again. Know that our celebrity family eagerly awaits the opportunity to show them the world. At this time, we would like to offer your customers the choice of being relocated on another Celebrity Cruises vacation or receiving a 100% refund.
It’s unclear if the cancellations have anything to do with the strict measures recently put in place at several California ports. The Pacific Coast itinerary included stops at Santa Catalina Island; Santa Barbara; Ensenada, Mexico and San Diego. Repositioning from Long Beach to Vancouver included calls to Santa Catalina Island, San Francisco, Astoria Seattle and Victoria BC, Canada.
The Santa Barbara Waterfront Department decided in August 2021 to suspend its cruise ship program until at least March 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. Earlier this week, San Francisco implemented strict testing guidelines for unvaccinated cruise passengers.
The Port of San Francisco said this: “Due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, effective January 7, the Department of Public Health now requires all vessels disembarking passengers at the Port of San Francisco to test all passengers who are not at day in terms of vaccination before disembarking. »
Cancellation means the return of Celebrity Eclipse has been pushed back to April 23. The 121,878 gross ton, 2,850 passenger cruise ship has been laid up since March 2020, at the start of the global pause in operations. The ship’s first cruise will now be an 11-day Hawaii cruise departing from Vancouver, Canada to Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Lahaina and Honolulu.
Guests will receive multiple compensation offers
Customers booked on canceled trips departing from Long Beach will receive several compensation options. Customers can decide to lift and shift their cruise vacation plans to a Celebrity Millennium Coastal or Mexican Riviera cruise departing September or October 2022, until January 28, 2022.
Customers who cannot rebook by January 28 will receive a 100% refund to their original form of payment. There will be no cash refunds for reservations paid with an FCC. However, Celebrity will reinstate future cruise credit for use on a different voyage.
Also read: Things to do the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship
In the case of pre-booked shore excursions, beverage packages, internet, specialty meals and other packages, customers will be automatically refunded in full to the original method of payment. A refund will automatically be applied to customers who booked flights and hotels through Flights by Celebrity.
