This is a cruise I would like

[lizbeth]

Hi -

 

We have been suggesting this sort of a cruise to Celebrity for several years. (keep reading for a surprise!)

 

Out of frustration, we took a cruise on HAL Maasdam 2 years ago that sailed round trip from Boston. Maasdam makes this remarkable sailing once every year: it's a 35-day cruise leaving from, and returning to, the USA. They also market it as a 17-day cruise and an 18-day cruise ... or a 35 day cruise.

 

There are no long weeks at sea. We only had 2 sea days at a time because the ship docked at port all along the Northern Canada coastline; stopped in Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands; numerous stops in Europe; then returned to the US, stopping at completely different ports on the way back.

 

Surprise: this ship & itinerary sells out every single year! Really!! In fact, they "over-sell" it and then offer some people "extras" to give up their cabin and take another cruise. The demand exists. We met people who book this cruie every year (some of them hate to fly).

 

The biggest reason not to book this cruise: Maasdam is a miserable ship! No pride of service; not recently renovated; A/C was "spotty"; toilets on many levels were broken during our trip; food was often inedible; not a lovely ship. However, the ports were wonderful!! Several passengers said they would sail on Celebrity if they offered a "depart USA/return to USA" trip like this.

 

So... let's all lobby Celebrity to offer this kind of trip. We'd sign up in a flash!! Please ... send letters to Celebrity ... this is a do-able option!

 

Warmly,

Liz

[Momorider]

Hi -

 

We have been suggesting this sort of a cruise to Celebrity for several years. (keep reading for a surprise!)

 

Out of frustration, we took a cruise on HAL Maasdam 2 years ago that sailed round trip from Boston. Maasdam makes this remarkable sailing once every year: it's a 35-day cruise leaving from, and returning to, the USA. They also market it as a 17-day cruise and an 18-day cruise ... or a 35 day cruise.

 

There are no long weeks at sea. We only had 2 sea days at a time because the ship docked at port all along the Northern Canada coastline; stopped in Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands; numerous stops in Europe; then returned to the US, stopping at completely different ports on the way back.

 

Surprise: this ship & itinerary sells out every single year! Really!! In fact, they "over-sell" it and then offer some people "extras" to give up their cabin and take another cruise. The demand exists. We met people who book this cruie every year (some of them hate to fly).

 

The biggest reason not to book this cruise: Maasdam is a miserable ship! No pride of service; not recently renovated; A/C was "spotty"; toilets on many levels were broken during our trip; food was often inedible; not a lovely ship. However, the ports were wonderful!! Several passengers said they would sail on Celebrity if they offered a "depart USA/return to USA" trip like this.

 

So... let's all lobby Celebrity to offer this kind of trip. We'd sign up in a flash!! Please ... send letters to Celebrity ... this is a do-able option!

 

Warmly,

Liz

 

 

Budget inside room is $9,500.

[peanutter]

Just another vote for the RT/no flying itinerary. DH and I would LOVE to do something like this. We have not been across the "big water" and would love to visit. But we hate to fly, even just around here and would not be keen on an international flight. I'll keep a look out for Celebrity to offer this in the near future! ;)

[texkan]

Would like to be able to sail Celebrity from Galveston TX. Was able to sail Celebrity

Galaxy when it did Panama Canal from Galveston. Living in Texas, we were able to drive to port.

[annierie]

HAL still does it once a year. This itinerary is 62 days. Caribbean, Africa, Med and back. An interior cabin starts at $10K.

 

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US; Gustavia (St. Barts), France; Terre-de-Haut, Guadeloupe; Fort-De-France, Martinique; Bridgetown, Barbados; Mindelo, Cape Verde; Banjul, Gambia; Dakar, Senegal; Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Spain; Arrecife, Canary Islands; Agadir, Morocco; Casablanca, Morocco; Cartagena, Spain; Mahon, Spain; La Spezia, Italy; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Lipari, Italy; Syracuse, Italy; Kotor, Montenegro; Split, Croatia; Venice, Italy; Ravenna (San Marino), Italy; Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt; Port Said, Egypt; Ashdod (Jerusalem), Israel; Haifa, Israel; Bodrum, Turkey; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Monemvasia, Greece; Katakolon, Greece; Cagliari, Italy; Motril, Spain; Cadiz (Seville), Spain; Funchal (Madeira), Portugal

 

 

There are 25 sea days total. This itinerary is on Prinsendam.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Why not think about QM2 NY to Southampton, Celebrity from Southampton to med and back and then QM2 back to NY!!!

 

Too much packing and unpacking.

 

Sign me up for this one! As long as it goes to Egypt. Have done most of the rest of the Mediterranean, not that I would mind doing it again.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Not so, I'm from the Midwest and I would gladly fly to NJ to do this proposed cruise. Here's my ideal:

 

First it would be on Connie (Perry Grant is the draw there)

She would begin in NJ, go to Europe, hit four or five ports and return to NJ

Then she could go back to Europe for the regular summer season.

 

In the fall, after the summer in Europe, she would head to NJ, hit a couple of East Coast ports, go back to Europe, do four or five ports and return to NJ and then go down the East Coast to start her winter season in the Caribbean.

 

Now, this would allow anyone to do any of the following:

 

In the spring:

 

A complete NJ to NJ round trip OR

NJ to Europe transatlantic for which there would be two choices each year OR

a Europe - NJ - Europe round trip

 

In the fall

 

Europe - NJ to Europe round trip

Europe to NJ transatlantic, with again two choices of dates

NJ to NJ round trip

 

All just by adding two more TA crossings for those of us who love them, and you would get home in the same season. I love it.

 

Love your plan! I'm also from the midwest. I could handle a quick flight to Jersey that would get me all of this. Or to Florida, for that matter.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Hi -

 

We have been suggesting this sort of a cruise to Celebrity for several years. (keep reading for a surprise!)

 

Out of frustration, we took a cruise on HAL Maasdam 2 years ago that sailed round trip from Boston. Maasdam makes this remarkable sailing once every year: it's a 35-day cruise leaving from, and returning to, the USA. They also market it as a 17-day cruise and an 18-day cruise ... or a 35 day cruise.

 

There are no long weeks at sea. We only had 2 sea days at a time because the ship docked at port all along the Northern Canada coastline; stopped in Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands; numerous stops in Europe; then returned to the US, stopping at completely different ports on the way back.

 

Surprise: this ship & itinerary sells out every single year! Really!! In fact, they "over-sell" it and then offer some people "extras" to give up their cabin and take another cruise. The demand exists. We met people who book this cruie every year (some of them hate to fly).

 

The biggest reason not to book this cruise: Maasdam is a miserable ship! No pride of service; not recently renovated; A/C was "spotty"; toilets on many levels were broken during our trip; food was often inedible; not a lovely ship. However, the ports were wonderful!! Several passengers said they would sail on Celebrity if they offered a "depart USA/return to USA" trip like this.

 

So... let's all lobby Celebrity to offer this kind of trip. We'd sign up in a flash!! Please ... send letters to Celebrity ... this is a do-able option!

 

Warmly,

Liz

 

Yes, HAL has several of these sorts of cruises. But what is with them and their nonfunctioning toilets??? I've experienced this once and it wasn't fun. They have wonderfully tempting itineraries, but I would be wary about spending a long time on board with all the mechanical issues they seem to have. Lots of complaints about this stuff on the HAL board.

 

I do love the idea of smaller ships which can go to more unusual ports. Just think they need to get the mechanical stuff under control.

[woodofpine]

Not that Celeb is that adventurous a line in offering itineraries but...

 

You're talking about 14-17 sea days minimum (costing $3,000+ pp) to get a handful of Med ports in... so to avoid $1,000 in airfare. It's just not that appealing to that many.

 

Would some cruisers love this route? Sure - OP and few others - but not enough to make any sort of regular gig of it. There's a finite amount of gambling money on any one ship which isn't likely to be streatched by simply adding multiple sea days.

[cruisestitch]

It isn't just about avoiding airfare costs. For some who simply won't fly a proposal like this would be a lovely way to get a taste of the opposite side of the pond. For many of us, for whom the ship is the destination, it's a way of getting that long, lovely stretch of sea days. And what about jet lag? By changing the clock an hour a day, you don't get the "jolt" of the new time zone.

[Cruise Arizona]

 

Budget inside room is $9,500.

 

Well in my normal life this is not really with-in reach unless I saved all my cruise budget for about 4 or 5 yeas, but this would be fabulous.

 

So as soon as I win the lotto or become independently wealthy, I will book.

 

 

I do love the idea of transatlantic round trip cruise. They do them round trip to Hawaii, but the cruise time only takes 4 1/2 days each way? I think it is much longer to cross the Atlantic, even the North Atlantic.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Fiends of ours did just that on one of the Queens. They loved it so much, they are planning another.

[lizbeth]

Hi all -

 

Perhaps I could clarify:

The 2011 Maasdam cruise is 35 days, Boston to Boston, oceanview is currently $6,899 per person (we paid $5900. pp in 2008) ... and there are only 10 sea days total on this cruise. Only 2 of those sea days are consecutive.

 

However, I am NOT recommending a Maasdam cruise. (The ship is old, creaky & poorly maintained!) I am merely suggesting that Celebrity offer it once a year. And definitely sailing out of Boston!

 

Yes, Celebrity supposedly considered it a few years ago and dismissed it, but I think they should re-consider.

 

What I am suggesting is that you write (or email) Celebrity. Demand definitely exists.

 

Please, please write them!

Thanks,

Liz

[fleckle]

Leave from the East Coast, say NJ, transatlantic to the Med, do about a week's worth of ports, then come back to the East coast. No airfare, pack whatever I want, see the ports and have plenty of sea days to use the beverage package and use the casino. I see it as a win win.

I would like something similar from the west coast to Hawaii, a week or two (or however long we want) there on land to enjoy the island(s) of our choice, and then cruising back to avoid those dreadful long airline flights.

 

Or run the cruise to/from the east coast and through the Panama Canal, with the option to embark/disembark on either the east or west coast.

Guess the west coast port would, unfortunately, need to be Ensenada though.

[cruisestitch]

I'm not sure why Fleckle said that the port on the left coast would have to be Ensanada -- it seems like going to Panama is plenty far enough away to qualify as a "distant foreign port" but then, I only barely understand the Passenger Services Act. Anyway, back to the r/t Europe idea -- right now if we want to go T/A with X it's eastbound in the spring, westbound in the fall and that's it. This idea would give the opposite option for those who would like to go west in the spring and east in the fall. And, it would even make it possible to go east in the fall, spend some time in Europe and come back to the States on a different ship's TA. The more I imagine it, the better it sounds.

[greeneg]

Why New Jersey? Why not a more centrally located port such as Baltimore or Norfolk, Virginia?

[CLEMM]

It doesn't have to be NJ. That was just a suggestion. I would like NJ, but anywhere on the East coast would be OK with me.

[annierie]

Hi all -

 

Perhaps I could clarify:

The 2011 Maasdam cruise is 35 days, Boston to Boston, oceanview is currently $6,899 per person (we paid $5900. pp in 2008) ... and there are only 10 sea days total on this cruise. Only 2 of those sea days are consecutive.

 

However, I am NOT recommending a Maasdam cruise. (The ship is old, creaky & poorly maintained!) I am merely suggesting that Celebrity offer it once a year. And definitely sailing out of Boston!

 

Yes, Celebrity supposedly considered it a few years ago and dismissed it, but I think they should re-consider.

 

What I am suggesting is that you write (or email) Celebrity. Demand definitely exists.

 

Please, please write them!

Thanks,

Liz

 

So, I'm curious. If Celebrity were to respond with Century as the ship, would you sail it as it would be older than MAASDAM?

 

MAASDAM was 14 years old when you sailed. Century is now 15 years old.

 

As for creaky? I sailed MAASDAM on this itinerary in 2000, when the ship was 6 years old. Guess what? It creaks. Big time. It creaks because the stresses on the ship in the North Atlantic are pretty different and more severe than Caribbean sailing.

 

As for maintenance, I find they all do a great job of maintenance on weekly runs in the Caribbean or Alaska. Take any ship away from its support system for an extended period of time, and there are potential maintenance issues.

 

I found HAL's ships to be maintained just fine, but still people on our crossing complained about soiled carpets, dirty windows, and clogged toilets.

 

Guess all those old folks were dropping their Depends during the force 9 gale we encountered ;)

 

And, we weren't allowed out for two consecutive days. Window washers must have been given a holiday to keep them from falling off the ship. Seriously, people complained about maintenance when we had things falling off shelves and people losing lunch all over the place. Guess they wanted the carpet layers to fly to Greenland and replace those barf stains. :rolleyes:

 

A ship is a small city. Does your home town not have power outages, sewer backups, cables cut, fires, etc. etc. ? Do you complain and demand your taxes back when you lose power for 12 hours?

 

If you love adventure, and can roll with the punches, this type of cruising is wonderful. We found too many people that wanted it to be just like the Caribbean, and couldn't adjust to the realities of being way out there.

 

If Celebrity dedicated Century to adventure cruising, it would potentially make money since the ship is small. But, removing the ship from the huge local infrastructure introduces the possibility of problems when things fail. Is Celebrity willing to take that chance?

[fleckle]

I'm not sure why Fleckle said that the port on the left coast would have to be Ensanada -- it seems like going to Panama is plenty far enough away......

To clarify, my Ensenada remark applies to the people going one-way to or from Hawaii who start or end at a west coast port, not to those from the east coast who do the Panama Canal portion.

Panama Canal cruises already stop at a distant foreign port, so they are allowed to transport passengers between two different US ports with no problem.

 

If the same ship is transporting people from both coasts to Hawaii, however, it would need to make the stop at Ensenada to pick up or drop off the west coast people.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

So, I'm curious. If Celebrity were to respond with Century as the ship, would you sail it as it would be older than MAASDAM?

 

MAASDAM was 14 years old when you sailed. Century is now 15 years old.

 

As for creaky? I sailed MAASDAM on this itinerary in 2000, when the ship was 6 years old. Guess what? It creaks. Big time. It creaks because the stresses on the ship in the North Atlantic are pretty different and more severe than Caribbean sailing.

 

As for maintenance, I find they all do a great job of maintenance on weekly runs in the Caribbean or Alaska. Take any ship away from its support system for an extended period of time, and there are potential maintenance issues.

 

I found HAL's ships to be maintained just fine, but still people on our crossing complained about soiled carpets, dirty windows, and clogged toilets.

 

Guess all those old folks were dropping their Depends during the force 9 gale we encountered ;)

 

And, we weren't allowed out for two consecutive days. Window washers must have been given a holiday to keep them from falling off the ship. Seriously, people complained about maintenance when we had things falling off shelves and people losing lunch all over the place. Guess they wanted the carpet layers to fly to Greenland and replace those barf stains. :rolleyes:

 

A ship is a small city. Does your home town not have power outages, sewer backups, cables cut, fires, etc. etc. ? Do you complain and demand your taxes back when you lose power for 12 hours?

 

If you love adventure, and can roll with the punches, this type of cruising is wonderful. We found too many people that wanted it to be just like the Caribbean, and couldn't adjust to the realities of being way out there.

 

If Celebrity dedicated Century to adventure cruising, it would potentially make money since the ship is small. But, removing the ship from the huge local infrastructure introduces the possibility of problems when things fail. Is Celebrity willing to take that chance?

 

Well when I pay $200 or so per night for a hotel room, be it on land or sea, I expect the toilets and the air conditioning/heating to work. That is non negotiable. If there should be a problem, I expect it to be attended to promptly.

 

When my power goes out, I don't have to pay the power company because I'm not consuming electricity while the power is out. I'm not paying for electricity with my tax dollars, I pay the power company directly. If the cable is cut or doesn't work, I get a credit from the cable company for the time I didn't have service.

[cruisestitch]

Yes, I would do the proposed r/t US to Europe and back on Century, but I would prefer if it was the Connie. And I would do it from Baltimore, or NJ or even Boston, which hasn't been mentioned as an option but has some appeal, or Ft. Lauderdale, or any US port.

[CrabbyHarper]

We no longer will fly because of the hassle. We WOULD pay to cruise from a Central East Coast port (NJ, MD, PA, VA, SC) on a round trip to Europe - maybe including Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles: or the Med. Century would be lovely! And I 'd give up two or three other cruises to do a round trip of 14 - 21 days.

 

Keeping fingers crossed! Celebrity, are you listening?

[Project_gal]

HAL still does it once a year. This itinerary is 62 days. Caribbean, Africa, Med and back. An interior cabin starts at $10K.

 

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US; Gustavia (St. Barts), France; Terre-de-Haut, Guadeloupe; Fort-De-France, Martinique; Bridgetown, Barbados; Mindelo, Cape Verde; Banjul, Gambia; Dakar, Senegal; Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Spain; Arrecife, Canary Islands; Agadir, Morocco; Casablanca, Morocco; Cartagena, Spain; Mahon, Spain; La Spezia, Italy; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Lipari, Italy; Syracuse, Italy; Kotor, Montenegro; Split, Croatia; Venice, Italy; Ravenna (San Marino), Italy; Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt; Port Said, Egypt; Ashdod (Jerusalem), Israel; Haifa, Israel; Bodrum, Turkey; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Monemvasia, Greece; Katakolon, Greece; Cagliari, Italy; Motril, Spain; Cadiz (Seville), Spain; Funchal (Madeira), Portugal

 

 

There are 25 sea days total. This itinerary is on Prinsendam.

 

There are a number of options from the UK [e.g. P&O do two to the Caribbean and back; Cruise and Maritime do an incredible Tilbury/Amazon/Tilbury and, sometimes, Cunard fits something between return TAs] BUT they are not on Celebrity ships and just do not meet our specs when we study them. There are so many ways Celebrity can improve their itineraries but, when it comes down to it, the ship seems to be important to us. Please, please Celebrity, be a little braver or one day we will end up jumping ship!

 

Sue

[woodofpine]

This less than heavily overburdened thread had the OP saying he wants to cruise to the Med from NJ. Then others chime in and say they'd love a UK/Greenland/Iceland route... so the original idea is commercially feasible in their opinion (but goodbye OP Med cruiser). Other want particular ships and routes...

 

Of course the line only needs to confirm a couple thousand fare to make this armchair travelling feasible - in reality - but what do they know... about product demand (and increased operating costs on routes that don't repeat)...

 

Of course, any number of transatlantic repos can be made r/t (last year, this year, and next) by simply adding a one way on Cunard's regular Southhampton-NYC runs. But the claimed commercial demand for such travel is SO Darned firm and abundant (it's said here) that no one here has actually done that... ;)

[cruisestitch]

Actually, I have. Didn't care for it. Don't like Cunard, that's why I am hoping that with some "out of the box" thinking Celebrity might see something here (assuming they are following this board) that might trip something in their minds, and lead to an interesting set of T/A options. The advantage to the idea proposed here is that you could get in a few European ports and come back on the same ship with no re-packing. Don't know who the "others" are that you are referring to discussing a Greenland/Iceland option. I saw one post, which said "We WOULD pay to cruise from a Central East Coast port (NJ, MD, PA, VA, SC) on a round trip to Europe - maybe including Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles: or the Med. Century would be lovely!" a comment which seems right on target to me. But if you don't like the direction the thread is going, move on.