Does Celebrity NOT sail the Caribbean in July???

[YOW]

Celebrity may be able to fill a ship in the summer. But cruise lines (and airlines) deal with passenger loads as well as passenger yields (what kind of revenue a cabin will generate on a given sailing). RCCL is betting that summer yields are higher in Europe than in the Caribbean. Keeping Oasis and Allure in the Caribbean is a hedge, and quite possibly they feel that by placing a Celebrity ship in the Caribbean in the summer, they would be cannibalizing the yields from the two super-megaships. Of course, an intangible here is the opportunity cost to the Celebrity brand from pax who choose to stay in the Caribbean and sail other lines in the summer -- short-term gains for the competition (CCL brands and NCL); as well as potential long-term migration of some pax to other lines.

 

After the recent announcement that RCCL is pulling the Navigator of the Seas out of Europe due to slacking sales, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Celebrity will follow suit. ;)

 

Wasn't Navigator redeployed for the 2011-2012 winter season only, scheduled to go back to Europe in summer 2012?

[Trader Ron]

Can You Say, "HURRICANE"? :eek: ;)

They get out of the Caribbean in the summer because it is Hurricane Season.

I know some cruise-lines and cruisers gamble with changing/canceling iteneraries, rough seas, etc., but Celebrity is smart enough to avoid it altogether.

Hope This Helps.

 

The hurricane season doesn't start in earnest until the middle of August. There's more of a chance of a Hurricane in the GOM or Caribbean in October than in July. Besides, The Captain's keep the Ships out of harms-way.

I always cruise in the fall and never had a bad experience.

[Trader Ron]

There's more of a chance to hit bad weather on an Alaska cruise or a Cruise from New York to Southampton aboard the QE2. It's a different world in the North Atlantic.

 

There were itinerary changes with hurricane Earl in Canada last year. Also, there's more of a chance of hitting rough weather with Bermuda cruises out of the East Coast.

[jackdiamond]

The predictions for the Atlantic basin hurricane season for this year are 16, 9, and 5. with a 47% chance of landfall on Florida's Gulf coast.

[DHADEN]

To those who want to blame it on Hurricanes, Sorry, but I do not buy into this argument. It's a concern, but should not stop a Cruise line from offering the product.

If Royal Caribbean agreed with the Hurricane scenario, they wouldn't have spent 2 billion dollars to build Oasis & Allure of the Seas.

 

They spent for those GARGANTUAN SHIPS because they can handle the rough seas and hurricane weather (not actual hurricane) better than other ships.

 

............... Can you avoid Earthquakes, Tsunamis & Tornadoes too? The good news about Hurricanes is there's typically plenty of notice, and ships can stay out of their way. Can you say the same for Earthquakes and other severe weather conditions ?

 

Duh..... I don't think cruise ships worry about tornadoes and earthquakes (tsunamis are very very very rare and can be handled in most cases)

 

 

I agree that the hurricane argument is convenient but not really the reason behind where the ships are deployed. After the recent announcement that RCCL is pulling the Navigator of the Seas out of Europe due to slacking sales, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Celebrity will follow suit. ;)

 

The hurricane season doesn't start in earnest until the middle of August. There's more of a chance of a Hurricane in the GOM or Caribbean in October than in July. Besides, The Captain's keep the Ships out of harms-way.

I always cruise in the fall and never had a bad experience.

 

The hurricane season actually starts in June and is "in earnest" through August and September and October.

The Captains keep the ships out of harms way by changing/canceling iteneraries and dealing with very rough seas!! :eek:

This thread is talking about cruising the Caribbean IN THE SUMMER - not the fall. ;)

 

If you think hurricanes don't make a good arguement then look at the figures:

 

Do a search for 7-day cruises in the Caribbean (include ALL CRUISE LINES) for the different seasons. You'll find that from November through May, the average number of cruises found is 72.2

Do the same search for June through September and see that the average number of cruises found is 29.

 

They all (generally speakiing) get the heck out of the Caribbean (also known as HURRICANE ALLEY) though those months, and go to the Med, or Alaska.

[YOW]

If you think hurricanes don't make a good arguement then look at the figures:

 

Do a search for 7-day cruises in the Caribbean (include ALL CRUISE LINES) for the different seasons. You'll find that from November through May, the average number of cruises found is 72.2

Do the same search for June through September and see that the average number of cruises found is 29.

 

That's one way to interpret the numbers.

 

My take is that the Caribbean appeals to many people as a warm climate to escape to in the winter months. In the summer, it has significantly less appeal as there is a broader range of options available. Alaska is pretty much only doable in the summer. Summer is largely preferable for Europe cruises (extending from spring through fall). And the scenery and excursion options in those locales are much different from the Caribbean. Yes, hurricanes are a factor, as many folks associate Caribbean summers with hurricanes and fouled itineraries (but chances are just as good for Bermuda and Canada/NE sailings). And there will always be some year-round demand for the Caribbean, especially for pax who live near the ports or can easily get there.

[bellybutton530]

One word:

 

[diesel1973]

We were interested in doing a Med. cruise this fall untill we checked airfare. Air is more than the cruise! Over twice as much as 2 years ago! We also would do an X cruise in June. RCL offers them but X won't count their points. Might just try another cruise line!

[Friend100]

Just FYI, a 5-nights Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream in a deluxe verandah cabin sailing on July19 is selling for $2,459 per person, or $492 pp per night, before tax/fee. Demand is high, so price is high. Hurricane or not, it doesn't matter. Yes I know DCL and -X- aren't even apples and oranges.

 

 

Now back to your regular channel. :)

[patterson3]

That's one way to interpret the numbers.

 

My take is that the Caribbean appeals to many people as a warm climate to escape to in the winter months. In the summer, it has significantly less appeal as there is a broader range of options available. Alaska is pretty much only doable in the summer. Summer is largely preferable for Europe cruises (extending from spring through fall). And the scenery and excursion options in those locales are much different from the Caribbean. Yes, hurricanes are a factor, as many folks associate Caribbean summers with hurricanes and fouled itineraries (but chances are just as good for Bermuda and Canada/NE sailings). And there will always be some year-round demand for the Caribbean, especially for pax who live near the ports or can easily get there.

I agree, YOW! If they were that concerned with hurricanes they wouldn't offer Bermuda cruises in the summer either IMO.

[Bridge Maven]

Just FYI, a 5-nights Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream in a deluxe verandah cabin sailing on July19 is selling for $2,459 per person, or $492 pp per night, before tax/fee. Demand is high, so price is high. Hurricane or not, it doesn't matter. Yes I know DCL and -X- aren't even apples and oranges.

 

 

Now back to your regular channel. :)

 

vivpataca, My husband and I are taking a five night three generation cruise on Disney Dream with our daughter's family in June 2012, so I am aware that their per diem pricing for this cruise is significantly higher than any Celebrity cruise we have ever taken, including our Baltic Cruise to Russia on Constellation.

 

However, even though Disney is almost always much more expensive than Celebrity, the pricing for Royal Caribbean cruises in the Caribbean during June and July are higher than most of Celebrity's Caribbean cruises during the winter.

 

Yet for some reason Solstice had so much trouble filling their ship in June 2010 for a Caribbean cruise that by the time they sailed their prices were lower than comparable cruises on Carnival.

[Friend100]

Yet for some reason Solstice had so much trouble filling their ship in June 2010 for a Caribbean cruise that by the time they sailed their prices were lower than comparable cruises on Carnival.

 

So maybe Celebrity's product is not as appealing as RCL/CCL/others' for those people who prefer to cruise the Caribbean (or who prefer not to fly to Europe, or prefer not doing Alaska, or whatever the "real" reason is) during the summer, and many of them are families. But this demographic is not what Celebrity is marketing to anyway (I'm not saying families don't do Celebrity), so Celebrity not sailing the Caribbean in July is kind of, expected? :confused:

 

I'm just thinking if the Celebrity has a few 10 to 12 nights itineraries out of New Jersey to E Caribbean during the summer, and if the price is right for that time of the year (relative to what Explorer OTS, CCL and DCL are charging), I may consider it for my family.