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A disappointment


hrprof
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I asked my TA to make a reservation for an owners suite on the American Constitution for a 2018 sailing on Grand Historic South cruise. This was shown on their website. TA called and said that these trips were cancelled! They will be operating as scheduled for 2017 sailings, but that won't work for us. This 10 day cruise departs from and ends at Charleston, SC - very convenient for Charleston residents and those wishing to visit Charleston.

 

Oh well, the 2018 dates still show on the web site - maybe they'll revisit it.

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Oh well, the 2018 dates still show on the web site - maybe they'll revisit it.

 

I just checked the web site, and in fact all the cruises between March 6 2018 and November 2018 have DISAPPEARED. I reserved a cabin on the March 6 2018 cruise just last week ($1800 deposit). Called their 1-800 number just now, and the rep said "gee, that's odd; if the trip's been cancelled 'they' will be contacting you". So as of this minute I have no idea what's going on.

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I wonder if the Constitution has been scratched?

 

I'll bet you're right. The 2017 cruises are on the American Constellation. The 2018 cruises are advertised as the American Constitution's debut cruises. ACL is still showing 2018 American Constitution cruises, but only in November. Sounds like they've had problems, and have pushed back the debut nine months. Now you'd think the ACL 1-800 rep would know that, or admit that.

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Just found this rosy-sounding industry news note on the web - it's not even a month old:

 

American Cruise Lines has announced that American Constitution was successfully launched on Tuesday morning, according to a press release.

The ship was launched into the Wicomico River in Salisbury, Maryland.

The new ship is being designed and built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding, located in Salisbury.

With the capacity for approximately 175 guests, the new ship will have large, well-appointed staterooms with private balconies and a number of spacious lounges, the company said.

“We’re happy to announce that construction of American Constitution is well ahead of schedule,” said Timothy Beebe, Vice President of American Cruise Lines. “We were incredibly pleased with the success of the launch. The team at Chesapeake Shipbuilding continues to exceed our expectations.”

American Constitution, sister ship to American Constellation, is scheduled to begin service on the East Coast in the spring of 2018.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got through to ACL customer service. Rep confirmed spring 2018 Charleston-Charleston cruises on Constitution cancelled, and apologized that they had not yet informed me. I asked if reason was due to Constitution debut problems; she said no, Constitution schedule OK, the reason was hardly anybody was signing up for this itinerary and Marketing opted to pull it. Strangely, the last two 2018 cruises (in November) still appear on the web site. I plan to keep monitoring just when (and where!) the Constitution actually starts operation.

 

I agree this is a disappointment. I want a cruise I can drive to in less than 2 days, and leaves from and returns to the same port.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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