INFINITY & MILLENIMU / ITINERARY SWITCH

[wieslaw]

Hello everyone,

have some faith in the management of the company that you must be trusting to start with. You must be happy with Celebrity and their operation of their fleet of ships since you have booked their cruises - otherwise you would not be on their ships.

If they do or not switch their ships of the same type for some of their cruises, I am sure it is done not to upset anyone.......but to make a good 'bussiness' decission that will affect the smaller number of people and will be less costly for the stock holders.

For me and for many others the switch of ships was not a big deal......it did happen on March 26th 2004. The Infinity with its Mermaid pod bearing problems was put in a drydock for 1 week repairs and Millennium took over its intinerary (Panama Canal)......most of us were very happy and had a wonderful cruise. The people affected by the switch, who lost their one week cruise on the Millennium got a 'free' one to be taken in the future. That switch was a very good bussiness move.

The ship with its crew and particular 'personality' is part of the cruise .......but not such a big part and everything else is the same....the places that you will visit are the same....and the ships are so identical that many people were not even aware that they were on the Millennium and not on the Infinity.

Do not let this really small change affect your cruising experience ......it is still the same cruise.

And is there any guarantee in life about anything that will not change, or will happen.

Enjoy your cruise and your vacation.....that is why you are cruising.

 

Wes

[lkb125]

So the cabins also will be identical, right??:confused:

Got myself worried a bit...:o

 

Cruiser

This happened to us on the Panama Canal transit Infinity was replaced with the Milli and the rooms are exactly alike. Lorelle

[SkyGuy747]

While I still don't consider it 'official', several crewmembers on Infinity last week confirmed that they were not going to South America this winter.

[cfprunner]

Wes: If you were on a cruise on the infinity that was canceled or changed because of pod issues, and since it was repaired, you knew that the it had to go back to dry dock to be repaired again, and you knew that Celebrity had concerns that the Infinity might break down again, and you only get 1 week a year for your vacation, would want to be on the boat that breaks down or the one that doesn't?

[dileep]

The Hotel Director on the Connie told us in May that he thought his ship was going to South America next January. I have his card. I should e-mail him and ask.

 

Frankly, I don't care which M-Class ship it is as long as it does not breakdown!

[wieslaw]

Wes: If you were on a cruise on the infinity that was canceled or changed because of pod issues, and since it was repaired, you knew that the it had to go back to dry dock to be repaired again, and you knew that Celebrity had concerns that the Infinity might break down again, and you only get 1 week a year for your vacation, would want to be on the boat that breaks down or the one that doesn't?

 

Hi cfprunner,

the 'boat' that I would want to be on is the one that will take me on my anticipated cruise. I am looking forward to my vacation / cruise with similar hopes and expectations as many others but I am not 100% sure that everything will happen as planned. At this moment I have two cruises booked: one on Constellation and one on RCI's AOS.......will they happen ??? ........and will I be on them ??? I do not know.

What guarantee do I have that the ships will be in ' good working condition when I will sail ' ??? ......NONE

The Millennium, Summit, Infinity and Constellation are pretty much identical ships and have the same type and size of powerplants and the same design of Mermaid pods....... why the Millennium or Constellation have less problems than the other two probably is a big puzzle to the manufacturer as well.

But which one is going to have problems next.......is anybody's guess.

Would it be the Millennium that did not have any pod problems for some time or the Infinity that just had some new parts put in ???

I am sure the management of RCCL does not have the answer either and they are taking some calculated risk as well.......and perhaps they might be wrong or just lucky if their 'guess' is correct.

The RCI's Adventurer of the Seas that I have booked has three similar pods as well - different manufacturer, but that manufacturer had its share of problems with propulssion pods as well........so I am taking a 'chance' there too.

No one can tell for sure which ship will breakdown and when....... but if 'mine ' does breakes down and 'they' put me on another ship ......I will not have a problem with it. If it does breake down and my vacation / cruise and my trip is cancelled or postponed........ that is 'life' and I will have to take the cruise some other time.... it is not something tragic or a very big deal.......things do happen.

 

Wes

[flagger]

I have received two emails from someone in the know who has confirmed that the Mille and Infinity will indeed be switching for this winter. My TA got a phone call back on Thursday saying that for now Infinity would still being doing SA, however this conflicts with what my friend is telling me.

 

This does however settle the debate about whether to purchase insurance or not. I don't want to get stuck having paid for flights and a non-refundable hotel only to get to FLL and find a cancelled cruise because of an emergency drydock.

[brandylane5102]

Hi " Dileep" - It Makes The Most Sense For The Infinity To Switch With The Millie . Both Ships Are In Ft. Lauderdale On Dec. 24 And Then Again On April 2 . ( So They Will Change Itineraries For Approx. 14 Weeks ) The Crew From Both Of These Ships Have Been Telling Passsengers All Summer About The Change Over The Winter Months In Their Itinerary.

I Can Only Assume That Celebrity Has Not Made An Official Announcement - - As They Are Constantly Monitoring The Pods On All The "m" Class Ships And Want To Keep Their Options Open . One Thing For Sure , Dec. 24 Is Quickly Approaching - - So This Debate Can Not Go On Forever.

[wieslaw]

Greetings everyone,

one more thing that might be 'a silver lining' in this anticipated event of possible switch of the ships........something that 'we' as passengers do not even think about - the crew.

On the cruise that switched ships for us last year, the crew of Millennium (that was the one that I was on) was very happy and really interested in the new itinerary......that was the very first time the Millennium crossed the Panama canal and it was the first time for the Millennium to be in the Pacific. The crew had a chance to see new (for them) things and places - I think it was a good moral booster - there was a lot of interest developed in their somewhat 'new' cruise.

I am guessing if the ships switch their itinerary - it might be good for the crew.

I get tired of doing the same things over and over again - perhaps the crew does to......so new places to see and visit might put some new interest and excitement in their live as well.

 

Wes

[flagger]

Here are portions the emails I received with the name removed as I am not sure this person wanted it posted. However I 100% trust the source.

 

From all the information I have gotten, it does look

like the Infinity will replace the Millennium. I think

it is best to contact your travel agent and have

him/her contact Celebrity. It seems to be in the

workings now.

 

.................

 

Just to let you know, some friends did inform me

that the Millennium would be replacing the Infinity

for South America. I do assume that they will be

changing cabins over and you would be getting the same

one since the ships are the same.

 

I assume the office is working on things this very

minute trying to get it all organized so they can do

things properly and with as less hassles as can be.

For sure this isn't something they want to do, but a

wise move in order for other cruises not to be

canceled and too many people disappointed in not

getting their vacations. It isn't like a plane where

they can bring in another one in a few hours time.

So I am taking out insurance should our cruise that draws the short straw and gets cancelled due to an emergency drydock. I was looking forward to sailing on a different ship and trying a different specialty restaurant. Perhaps I can do the Connie in 2008.

[Lisa63]

Here are portions the emails I received with the name removed as I am not sure this person wanted it posted. However I 100% trust the source.

 

"...For sure this isn't something they want to do, but a

wise move in order for other cruises not to be

canceled and too many people disappointed in not

getting their vacations. It isn't like a plane where

they can bring in another one in a few hours time."

It sounds as if they almost expect Infinity to break down. If that's the case, it's a "wise move" for the cruise line as they'd have to shell out less $ for cancelled Caribbean cruises than cancelled S.A. cruises.

 

Either way, pax are going to be disappointed. Not many of us can reschedule our vacations so easily.

[warmwinds]

This does however settle the debate about whether to purchase insurance or not. I don't want to get stuck having paid for flights and a non-refundable hotel only to get to FLL and find a cancelled cruise because of an emergency drydock.

 

 

If a cruise is cancelled, and you booked your OWN air, are you saying that X would not make you whole if THEY cancelled the cruise and the ship had to go into drydock? That would be unconscionable. I've been on both Infinity and Millie so I don't care which they put me on (right now I'm booked on Millie Feb 26)...but if I'm left with NOTHING there better not be one penny taken out of my pocket (airline cancellation fees)... (Celebrity, are you listening?).

[waltw]

If X cancels a cruise beffore it leaves port, you can expect a full refund of the money you have paid X and future cruise credits of some kind.

 

If the cruise is shortened after having left port X would most likely return monies paid to them on a pro-rated basis and give future cruise credits of some kind. They MIGHT also help in re-booking air transport to get home.

 

If you book your own air you are on your own money-wise as well as re-booking.

 

Like most vendors, X is only responsible for things you purchase from them, even if their schedule disruption means monetary costs to you from secondary vendors. Thus insurance was invented.

[rollie]

We were booked and Infinity cruise that was cancelled. The refunded our money and gave us a free cruise on the Connie. We were happy with that. We had booked our air through Celebrity so we didn't have to eat that fare.

[brandylane5102]

Hi Everyone - - Two Ships Which Are Virtually Identical And Changing Itineraries For 14 Weeks Should Not Cause Anyone Any Kind Of Panic And Think That Their Cruise Is Going To Be Cancelled. Same Great Quality Service In Exactly The Same Category Of Cabin , Just On A Different Piece Of Identical Floating Hardware.

We've Been Talking About This Possible Switch For Almost Two Months Now , But , When You Look At The Serious Coin Generated On The 14 Day South America Itineraries You Can Understand Why They Do Not Want To Put This In Possible Jeopardy. So - - - - Now It's Just The Usual Waiting Game For The Announcement To Be Made.

[warmwinds]

I could care less if I switch ships...but needed a back-up in case my Carib cruise would be cancelled completely (still a possibility if one of the ships has to go into drydock for Pod repairs), so just made back-up reservations to drive to Orlando and spend a week at Disneyworld.

 

I guess I do understand about them not being responsible for my air ticket since I did have the option of booking through them, and chose not to. We just want to keep that vacation since our ticket was rather expensive since it also included stops to visit family on the way back...so I'm happy. Cruise or WDW, it will still be fun. But keeping my fingers crossed for cruise.

[mikey1958]

</FONT>Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (ticker: RCL, exchange: New York Stock Exchange (.N)) News Release - 1-Sep-2005 </B></FONT>Celebrity Cruises' Millennium and Infinity 'Trade Places'

 

MIAMI, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Celebrity Cruises will "swap ships" for its 2006 sailings in South America to avoid disruption of guests' vacations and keep both ships on track for scheduled drydock periods. Celebrity's Millennium will replace sister ship Infinity in South America, while Infinity will sail in the Caribbean.

 

"Drydock availability for Infinity changed following completion of our 2006 deployment plans, so to avoid disrupting any of our guests' vacation plans, we chose to swap ships," said Celebrity's President Dan Hanrahan. "Millennium is scheduled to enter drydock this November, just before returning from Europe to the Caribbean, leaving the ship perfectly positioned to offer our guests a full, uninterrupted season of cruising in South America."

 

Meanwhile, sister ship Infinity is scheduled for drydock in the Caribbean from March 20 through April 6, 2006.

 

Celebrity's decision also was based on the virtually identical guest experience offered on the two ships.

 

"Guests who are familiar with Infinity will feel completely at home onboard Millennium, and vice versa," said Hanrahan. "Both are ranked among the top 10 ships in the world, and the layout of the two is almost identical, as are all of the signature spaces, short of design and color scheme."

 

All itineraries in both regions remain exactly as scheduled. Guests currently booked on either Infinity or Millennium in the first quarter of 2006 are being informed that they will retain the same accommodations they have now. All guest data, such as booking and stateroom numbers, will be automatically transferred to the appropriate ship.

 

Celebrity has established two toll-free lines for travel agents and guests with questions. For group bookings, call 1-888-305-4549, and for individual bookings, call 1-888 837-5676.

 

Millennium-South America Itineraries

 

On December 24, Millennium will sail a 15-night South America voyage from Fort Lauderdale to Valparaiso, Chile. The ship then will depart on alternating 14-night South America cruises from Valparaiso or Buenos Aires, Argentina, January 8 and 22, and February 5, 2006. On February 19, Millennium will offer Celebrity's wildly popular 14-night "Rio Carnaval" cruise roundtrip from Buenos Aires. The ship's South America season will be capped with a 14-night cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso on March 5, and a 14-night Panama Canal cruise departing Valparaiso on March 19, followed by the resumption of Millennium's Caribbean season beginning April 2, 2006, with a seven-night cruise roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.

 

Infinity-Caribbean Itineraries

 

Infinity will sail a nine-night Eastern Caribbean holiday cruise roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale on December 24, 2005. On January 2, 2006, Infinity will set sail on a special six-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale, and every Sunday through March 19 will offer a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. Following scheduled drydock from March 19-April 2, 2006, Infinity will cap the season with a 15-night Panama Canal cruise departing Fort Lauderdale April 2, ending in San Francisco. To compensate for Infinity's two-week dry-dock period in March and to meet guest demand for additional Caribbean cruises this winter, Celebrity also is offering four new seven-night cruises on Century. The ship will sail round- trip from Fort Lauderdale on March 19 and 26, and April 2 and 9, calling on Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; and Key West, Florida.

 

Celebrity Cruises is the industry's highest rated premium cruise brand with a taste of luxury. The cruise line has 10 ships in its fleet, which sails in Alaska, Bermuda, California, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal and South America. In addition, Celebrity Xpeditions offer exotic travel experiences in the Galapagos Islands and every major region where Celebrity sails. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111, or visit the Celebrity web site at http://www.celebrity.com .

 

[Holly2]

Yesterday, Celebrity was still telling me it "definitely" would never happen!

[Makeithappen]

I know we'll be happy on either ship. We were on the Millie in 2002 on a Med cruise. We had the Infinity booked for a 2/2006 S. American trip, which has switched now to the Millie.

[brandylane5102]

Hi Everyone - - Well The Decison Has Finally Been Announced And Yes You Heard It First On Cruise Critic Two Months Ago . This Is A Great Move And It Makes So Much Sense.