Celebrity Cruise Airfare Debacle

In June I booked the Celebrity Century sailing on July 8th to the Arctic Circle and North Cape. The cruise came with airfare to JFK. Due to my husband's disability, I booked an extra seat. The cost of this seat was $1,117. Celebrity sent me the cruise documents - one for me and the other for my husband. When I questioned the travel agent regarding the extra seat, I was told not to worry, everything was in the system.

When I arrived at JFK, I handed the agent the tickets and we were handed 2 boarding passes. I figured all would be well since “everything was in the system".

Our time at sea was wonderful! The nightmare began as soon as we hit the airport to return home. The KLM airline agent told me that she could see in her system that we had reserved three seats, but could not corroborate that the third seat had actually been purchased. We were literally forced to purchase another ticket.

When I returned home I called Celebrity and imagined all would be resolved quickly. Much to my surprise I was rudely and arrogantly treated. I wrote to Mr. Hanrahan, the CEO of Celebrity Cruises, and found the top of the tree to be as arrogant as the bottom.

I also wrote to the president of KLM and there I was treated in a much better fashion.

To quote from "Northwest Customer Care: "According to the check-in agent in Amsterdam, they found the reservation for the extra seat...However, although they checked in both systems, they could not find a ticket issued for the extra seat. Our records also verify that your reservation booked by Celebrity Cruises had only two ticket numbers associated with it...To continue, the KLM staff then called Northwest in the U.S., who, in turn, called Celebrity Cruises for the ticket number in question. Celebrity Cruises was unable to provide a ticket number for the extra seat...In conclusion, all of the information you have provided, our records, and the KLM investigation concur that while Celebrity Cruises booked and charged you $1117.67 for an extra seat, they, in fact, never actually issued a ticket for this extra seat."

Would you believe that even after I sent this document to Mr. Hanrahan, CEO of Celebrity Cruises, they will still not issue me a refund? They told me to take it up with the airline. They are not remotely interested in resolving my customer experience.

Having unsuccessfully attempted to resolve this issue with them directly, I now feel that my only recourse is to share my true story with others. As a Select Member of Celebrity's Captain's Club, I would like you to understand that, although sea service is exceptional, the cruise is the whole experience.