Changes to 2/25/06 Constellation Intinerary

[Mrs_Tiki]

Before I booked this cruise (yesterday), I double-checked the itinerary on the Celebrity website. It was great: San Juan, Casa de Campo, at sea, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, San Juan. Made the deposit and booked our air to SJU.

 

Today, I looked again, and the itinerary is now San Juan, an overnight at Casa de Campo, one-hour sail to Catalina Island, at sea, Barbados, St. Thomas, San Juan. Disappointing.

 

Before the flames begin, I KNOW that the cruise line reserves the right to make changes in itineraries. Just wondeing if anyone knows the explanation for this one?

 

Thanks,

Mrs. Tiki

[judyfssw]

I agree, Mrs. Tiki, this is a big disappointment. Why would Celebrity downgrade a premium ship with such a poor itinerary and eliminate a port?:(

[sweetair]

tiki,

I am booked on march11th and same itinerary change. What happened to antigua???

 

maybe the cc folks can decipher where in the world is the constellation.

got this from x website:

Sat, Mar 11 San Juan, Puerto Rico Departure Depart 11:00 PM

Sun, Mar 12 Casa De Campo, Dominican Rep Docked Arrive 5:00 PM

Mon, Mar 13 Casa De Campo, Dominican Rep Docked Depart 8:00 AM

Tue, Mar 14 Catalina Island, Dom Rep Tendered Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Wed, Mar 15 At Sea

Thu, Mar 16 Bridgetown, Barbados Docked Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 5:30 PM

Fri, Mar 17 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:30 PM

Sat, Mar 18 San Juan, Puerto Rico Arrival Arrive 7:00 AM

 

 

my question: if the ship arrives in caso d crappo at 5pm on sunday and it says departs monday at 8am.(stays overnight) Where is the ship monday all day?? It says we arrive to tender at catalina island on tuesday at 9am (however...catalina island is about 45 minutes away from caso) Are we floating all day on monday? OR are we docked 2 days in caso d crappo???? HELP!!!???!!!

 

secondly:do we pay less of a port charge since 1 port has been eliminated??

 

my personal opinion: caso d crappo has nothing to do and its bad enough being there 1 overnight BUT if it turns out to be 2 overnights then this really STINKS even more.Im locked into this cruise Already have airfare and hotels!:(

*sweet*

[hancock]

You will sail to Catalina Island where you will be able to tender to the island for a beach day. We enjoyed our beach day there.

[emcee207]

Sweet, That is a HORRIBLE itinerary, I'd be hopping mad if I was you!!

Louis and Margo

[sweetair]

hancock,

i understand we can tender to catalina island on tuesday but WHERE are we monday? are we tendering monday AND tuesday to catalina??? Are we docked in caso for 2 nights??? catalina island is very close to caso d crappo and doesnt take 24 hours to get there.

 

Can anyone please explain this to me????

 

emcee:hiya and yes i am fairly upset about this. I wouldnt mind IF these were days at sea At least the casino would be open!!! It looks like celebrity eliminated antigua on most of the sailings and changed to this new UGLY itinerary!!!

 

*sweet*

[TrqoisWtrs]

I agree - we're sailing on the Zenith in November and originally booked with stops at Cayman and Port Antonio, Jamaica. Now they have totally changed it to Key West, Cozumel and Costa Maya. Since I just got back from Cabo, I don't really need to see Mexico again. I understand the cruise lines can change itineraries, but would appreciate an explanation on the switch. I emailed Celebrity and got the usual 'we can do what we want' response.:rolleyes:

[judyfssw]

Sweet,

On Sunday, I think that, instead of docking at CDC at 1:00 (as we have in the past), we dock at 5:00 and stay over night which, to me, is dumb because there is only one thing to do on the island at night. Then Monday morning, we just sail but because we don't leave until Monday morning, they (Celebrity) gets away with not calling it a sea day. How cheap!

I, too, am locked in but I have a friend who was going and she's not loicked in so I'm telling her not to come now. It's not worth it. The only person who will suffer is the TA for losing the cruise. Actually, if I can get on another ship in San Juan, I may cancel too.

This itinerary is really really bad.

[Moeve]

It isn't only that sailing....I have just had Celebrity anounce the cruise on the 11 Feb tooo

[judyfssw]

I did hear from my TA and she talked to Celebrity about the wrong cruise. We're doing a b2b and she asked about changes to the first part. So, I've written her back about the second cruise which begins on teh 25th. She did say that some islands have been devastated by Hurricanes and I can understand why they would eliminate Grenada, but why St. Kitts? Why not take us to St. Martin or St. Lucia or even Aruba. Come on Celebrity, give us a chance to see some of these other islands.

[wrp96]

If you really want to go to Antigua or somewhere other than Casa de Campo, RCI's Serenade of the Seas leaving from San Juan on March 11th is going to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados (I know because I'm on it). Same dates and everything of the Constellation.

[hermang]

I did hear from my TA and she talked to Celebrity about the wrong cruise. We're doing a b2b and she asked about changes to the first part. So, I've written her back about the second cruise which begins on teh 25th. She did say that some islands have been devastated by Hurricanes and I can understand why they would eliminate Grenada, but why St. Kitts? Why not take us to St. Martin or St. Lucia or even Aruba. Come on Celebrity, give us a chance to see some of these other islands.

Just checked January - that's gone too

 

Oh well - glad we didn't book - As much as I wanted to do the Connie - we really wanted to do St. Kitts. Looks like Empress of the Seas is the only ship doing St.Kitts

[Mrs_Tiki]

Before I could call her this morning, our TA had noticed that the fax confirming yesterday's deposit showed the new (not new and improved, just new!) itinerary. She researched several other options, including Golden Princess and Serenade of the Seas, which are sailing from San Juan that same day.

 

We will be sailing on the Serenade to St. Thomas, St. Martin, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados. We are disappointed to miss Celebrity's superior food and service (IMHO), but DH vetoed the new itinerary! And I agree.

[pennstater]

My husband and I are on the 12/3/05 Constellation sailing and I just happened to log onto Celebrity's site to check the exact date of our Grenada stop - I'm shocked and saddened, but our trip is also affected. We booked this particular sailing partly to see Grenada again, as we honeymooned there in 2003. It's bad enough to change the itinerary so drastically, but to eliminate 2 ports???? :eek: Why didn't they just change them to some other great islands? I personally was just in DR for a week in March and outside of our resort, there was nothing to do. We might as well be at sea because I'm sure I won't find enough to keep me interested in DR for 3 days of our cruise.

 

I'm a cruise novice, and I realize that Celebrity can change the itinerary, but if they eliminate 2 ports, do we have any recourse? :(

[judyfssw]

Penn....

 

I think that our only recourse is to cruise another line with a better itinerary. This is very disappointing to me as I really like the Constellation. I understand that some islands have sustained a lot of damage from hurricanes. I do know that Grenada, last year, still had many homes and business covered with tarps. And, I know that they were hit again this year by a hurricane.

If I wanted 2 1/2 to 3 sea days, I would have chosen a ship that had that available. I still might. I'm also looking into resorts on San Juan as I've already booked my airfare. And, our friends who were also on the ship are considering the same thing.

I don't know what people are going to do. Celebrity needs to rethink the itinerary.

[Buckeye@sea]

Here is the latest from our great TA (we are dong the 12/3 itinerary)

 

 

While it looks like you have 3 days in the Dominican Republic, in actuality it's only two. You overnight in Casa de Campo, making it look like 2 days, then leave at 8A the second morning to go over to Catalina Island. You still do visit St. Kitts. The only port dropped is Grenada. It's a change, and I understand how disappointing it is, but it's not as much of one as I think you feared.

 

Here is your new itinerary:

 

Sat 12/03 San Juan, Puerto Rico - Embark - Times are Subject to Change 11:00 PM

Sun 12/04 Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic 05:00 PM

Mon 12/05 Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic 08:00 AM

Mon 12/05 Catalina Island, Dominican Republic 09:00 AM 05:00 PM

Tue 12/06 At Sea

Wed 12/07 Bridgetown, Barbados 09:00 AM 05:30 PM

Thu 12/08 Basseterre, St. Kitts/Nevis 09:00 AM 06:00 PM

Fri 12/09 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 08:00 AM 05:30 PM

Sat 12/10 San Juan, Puerto Rico - Disembark - Times are Subject to Change 07:00 AM

 

[hermang]

Here is the latest from our great TA (we are dong the 12/3 itinerary)

 

 

While it looks like you have 3 days in the Dominican Republic, in actuality it's only two. You overnight in Casa de Campo, making it look like 2 days, then leave at 8A the second morning to go over to Catalina Island. You still do visit St. Kitts. The only port dropped is Grenada. It's a change, and I understand how disappointing it is, but it's not as much of one as I think you feared.

 

Here is your new itinerary:

 

Sat 12/03 San Juan, Puerto Rico - Embark - Times are Subject to Change 11:00 PM

Sun 12/04 Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic 05:00 PM

Mon 12/05 Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic 08:00 AM

Mon 12/05 Catalina Island, Dominican Republic 09:00 AM 05:00 PM

Tue 12/06 At Sea

Wed 12/07 Bridgetown, Barbados 09:00 AM 05:30 PM

Thu 12/08 Basseterre, St. Kitts/Nevis 09:00 AM 06:00 PM

Fri 12/09 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 08:00 AM 05:30 PM

Sat 12/10 San Juan, Puerto Rico - Disembark - Times are Subject to Change 07:00 AM

 

That may be true for the 12/3 itinerary and maybe thru December BUT

All the January, February and March sailings that included Grenada and St.Kitts have been changed. I realize that the cruiselines can change itineraries at will - but Celebrity is making wholesale changes across the fleet.

Friends booked on Zenith who wanted to go to Port Antonio in February on a 5 day have had their itinerary changed twice.

 

Anyone have any clue as to why Celebrity is making such radical changes????

 

We wanted to do St.Kitts for several reasons - one was the train. Looks like the only ship going there is Empress of the Seas - NO BALCONIES so that may be out. Looked at flying to St.Kitts from NY - - MINIMUM almost 8 hrs down 10+ hours back and about $600pp air fare. Lord knows what a week on the Island runs. Cruising is definitely a better buy.

[pennstater]

It looks like all of dates for the S. Caribbean sailings (originally going to DR, St. Kitts, Barbados, Grenada, and St. Thomas) have been changed - if you look on the website, this includes the dates in November through March - eliminating St. Kitts and Grenada. Either Buckeye's TA has incorrect info or Celebrity's website is posting incorrect info. I'll try to do my own investigating but still haven't heard a peep from my on-line TA (not surprising).

 

If the info from Buckeye's TA is correct, it is better than I thought, because they are eliminating one port and half-heartedly adding Catalina Island (still part of DR and a shore excursion offered for Casa de Campo), but I'm still disappointed. We booked this cruise because we wanted the Cirque experience (I'm a huge fan) and then chose this particular itinerary for the Grenada stop. We had considered the other S. Carib itinerary with Margarita Island, St. Lucia, and Aruba (which is overall more appealing to us) but chose our 12/3 date on the other intinerary because of 1) Grenada and 2) a great sale for the 12/3 date.

 

I checked with my hubby and he thinks that all of our payments have been made, so there is no chance we will back out of the cruise. I do plan to make the best of the situation (already met some folks on the Roll Call that should be great fun) and will still have a good time (celebrating my recovery from a broken ankle and pre-30th birthday).

 

Although my big disappointment in missing Grenada is probably exclusive to me, I am still feeling a bit cheated by Celebrity. Grenada's north end suffered minor damage from the recent hurricane but the south end (tourist area) wasn't really hit. And they have made great progress in rebuilding after Ivan, from what I hear. Then again, the hurricane damage may have nothing to do with Celebrity making the changes.

 

Ultimately, I think that Celebrity should show more of a 'good faith' effort to replace the missing port(s) with comparable ones. An overnight (and possibly second day?) in Casa de Campo and then a day in Catalina which was originally available as a shore excursion don't seem to meet that for me.

 

At the very least, let's all hope that the info still including St. Kitts is the correct info. If anyone has corroborating info, either way, please share.

 

Thanks to all for the info and thoughts!

[freshfields]

Hi together,

 

we are also very disappointed about this. We will go on 26 November for two weeks on the Constallation. But are you sure, that this is the actually itinerary? Because on the homepage of Celebrity shore excursions for St. Kitts are not available.

 

@Hermang

Yes. The train. One of the beautyful rail ways in the world! This shore excursion was on our list for this cruise in St. Kitts. But now? :mad:

 

Greetings from Germany

 

Katharina

[sweetair]

thanx buckeye At least that itinerary makes more sense.

 

i just called celebrity and finally got a straight answer.(although this could change very easily in the next few months) They said the website is "screwed up" and buckeyes itinerary is correct for my march 11th cruise.

At least now i know where i am monday LOL

st kitts is scheduled.

*sweet*

[hermang]

Hi together,

 

we are also very disappointed about this. We will go on 26 November for two weeks on the Constallation. But are you sure, that this is the actually itinerary? Because on the homepage of Celebrity shore excursions for St. Kitts are not available.

 

@Hermang

Yes. The train. One of the beautyful rail ways in the world! This shore excursion was on our list for this cruise in St. Kitts. But now? :mad:

 

Greetings from Germany

 

Katharina

For several years I commuted to work on Metro North - ok it's a commuter Railroad. Not anywhere as nice as the SBahn or the UBahn in Munich or any of the railroads in Europe where I lived and traveled in the 70's and 80's.

 

Then a couple of years ago we did the Panama canal and took the train across the Isthhmus and was hooked.

 

This summer did the narrow gage Yukon and Whitepass in Skagway.

 

When I saw the "sugar train" pictures on the website for St.Kitts and the fact that the Constellation went there I said wow - a chance to do a new port,

Be on an M Class ship and be in the caribbean during the winter - what a deal.

 

You can imagine how disappointed I was to hear they pulled St.Kitts.

 

Since we had not made plans yet I will hold off and see.

 

Hope they have "hat pins" as that is something I collect from all of the trains we ride.

[judyfssw]

I just called the Captain's Club and they said that Sweetair's itinerary was correct. When I said that if we leave CdC at 8 am, that means that we have another sea day. His reply was that it might look that way but.... the ship needs that time to get to the next port. I pointed out to him that Catalina Island was 45 minutes away, he said that he didn't know about that. I was nice about my questions because I didn't want to make him think that I wasn't but my frustrations contine. Oh well.

[hermang]

thanx buckeye At least that itinerary makes more sense.

 

i just called celebrity and finally got a straight answer.(although this could change very easily in the next few months) They said the website is "screwed up" and buckeyes itinerary is correct for my march 11th cruise.

At least now i know where i am monday LOL

st kitts is scheduled.

*sweet*

IS the website screwed up or did they indeed pull St.Kitts from the 11th and all the earlier itineraries??

 

I see the Golden Princess does St.Kitts, Dominica and Margarita Island

but I really don't want to do Princess - I worked hard to get Diamond and Elite status.

 

I did have a ideal though - There is a three night cruise on the Empress out of San Juan - Leaves Friday 3/10 - does St.Kitts and St. Maarten - then back on Monday - maybe spend 2-3 nights post cruise in San Juan - Hmnnn

[pennstater]

Yippee!!! :D Just saw a posting by a TA on another thread...and confirmed on Celebrity's website...Grenada is back and the original time into Casa de Campo is restored. My online TA is about as useful as snowshoes in Mexico - so I can't personally confirm. Anyone out there with a great TA that can confirm this?

[ocngypz]

I have the fax on my desk from Celebrity. I didn't check all the dates, but Celebrity is saying that changed back due to client demand. I'll check the fax tomorrow am when I get back in the office.