Should Celebrity consider more interesting itineraries?

[lovemylab]

Longer cruises can be achieved by doing a B2B; however, with the current Celebrity itineraries there would still be a lot of duplication of ports. For example, in Europe the Reflection only has two itineraries (a 10 and 11 night). Both itineraries visit Naples, Santorini, Ephesus, Athens and Mykonos.

 

The Equinox has a larger variety of itineraries, but again, if you look at trying to combine two of the longer ones as a B2B there is a lot of duplication.

 

Rather than offer longer sailings, I would just like to see some changes to the itineraries as they seem to be same each year.

[norwegianwood57]

I do hope they add some Pacific Coastal cruises for the summer in the new deployment. Anything on the west coast of the US would be good. We do fly, so the UK Eclipse sailings hold nothing for us ;).

 

Mynki,

 

Please report back on your Millie cruise. We're taking the HK to Sin route next year. Would love to hear your thoughts after your sailing. Thanks :).

 

Sooooo many of us would like that. Please Celebrity MORE PACIFIC COASTAL ITINERARIES!!!

[ROYALBOY]

I would like to see a cruise to Bermuda out of South Florida.

[Andy]

I would like to see a cruise to Bermuda out of South Florida.

 

So would I. MSC offers it from time to time, and it seems to sell very well. I'd also love to see one X ship offer year-round sailing from Florida. I'm not betting on it, until the Edge class ships arrive, but one can hope :)

Edited November 18, 2015 by Host Andy

[villauk]

Rather than offer longer sailings, I would just like to see some changes to the itineraries as they seem to be same each year.

 

Agree, some different ports would be good. They could still keep a few cruises with the traditional classic sailings for the newbies, but offer something different on certain ships and itineraries. Fingers crossed for when the new deployment is released ;).

[terrierjohn]

Not sure if we would all agree on what is interesting, but as far as Eclipse out of Southampton is concerned I would certainly like a lot more variety.

[iandjm]

Certainly from the UK perspective Eclipse keeps doing the same itinerary's over and over again, with a Norway cruise, 3 months of Baltic cruises in a row, another Norway cruise, a med cruise and a few canaries cruises. This makes the options for subsequent cruises very difficult and sadly pushes me towards Cunard, who have varied itinerary's all year.

[iandjm]

Not sure if we would all agree on what is interesting, but as far as Eclipse out of Southampton is concerned I would certainly like a lot more variety.

 

Its getting boring isn't it. I don't know about you, but some more Med cruises and a 14 night Norway cruise up to the North cape would be great.

[goody1]

Its getting boring isn't it. I don't know about you, but some more Med cruises and a 14 night Norway cruise up to the North cape would be great.

 

Agree. We did a 16 night Princess Cruise out of Dover to the North Cape, Spitzbergen and Murmansk which was a great itinerary.

[DebbieMacG]

Its getting boring isn't it. I don't know about you, but some more Med cruises and a 14 night Norway cruise up to the North cape would be great.

 

I agree with you both, it's the same as last year (Eclipse) Mostly Baltics and Canary Islands. It is boring having no variation at all.

 

In June with sailed with Princess for the first time, specifically to do a Norway cruise to North Cape and it was fantastic.

 

In October we cancelled our cruise to the Canaries on Eclipse and went on a land holiday instead.

 

We've got a cruise booked on the Equinox in April and did fancy a back to back but so many ports are repeated each time, if it was me doing the intinerary I would ensure there was no repeat of ports for a couple of back to backs therefore enabling people to have a longer cruise without repetition.

[chemmo]

Having the Equnox doing Western Med followed by Eastern Med would be a great idea. 2 two week holidays or 1 twenty eight days. This could be a really good option for those travelling in from further afield.

[TLCOhio]

Celebrity's ships are very big to make trips like those agreeable or even possible. For example, I doubt they could go up the Amazon at all; the largest ships going up to Manaus now are barely over 700 feet (including HAL), while the M class are 965. In other cases, most of the ports would have to be tender ports, which would raise another host of complaints. Generally speaking, the bigger the ship, the more likely it will be necessary to stick to the usual ports. Big ships and "interesting" itineraries are somewhat mutually exclusive.

 

Celebrity is a mass market cruise line with a mass market focus. Larger ships are more cost effective so that's their direction. I suspect that not too many here remember when Celebrity started their (I forget the name) smaller ship/specialty cruise focus with the Xpedition.

 

Glad to see so much voicing support for more interesting choices for Celebrity sailing locations. Great above points by jan-n-john, ghstudio and others for the differences facing Celebrity in filling larger ships VERSUS other cruise lines that can operate with smaller, more personal/specialized sailings. As noted below in my live/blog, we were so glad that Celebrity had the Solstice a year and a half ago for doing Sydney to Auckland. Worked super well. Best of all worlds!! Good value, size, features, facilities, offerings, etc.

 

BUT, earlier this year and for next February, we did more "specialized sailings" where it might be hard for Celebrity to get the right numbers and/or work in more "narrow" markets/locations. Early this year, it was a 1000 miles and back doing the Amazon River. For next year, it will be a cruise from Cape Town along the South Africa coast, etc. Celebrity does not offer either of these interesting and good options. Not sure from a business/market basis, however, that they could do such types of sailings, fill the larger ships, operate efficiently, etc.

 

Good discussion!! YES, people are seeking more variety and exciting parts of the globe to explore than just the "Floating on a Boat" in the Caribbean. That's nice and good, but many want and seek more and different.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 126,253 views for this posting.

[Jade13]

Early this year, it was a 1000 miles and back doing the Amazon River. For next year, it will be a cruise from Cape Town along the South Africa coast, etc. Celebrity does not offer either of these interesting and good options. Not sure from a business/market basis, however, that they could do such types of sailings, fill the larger ships, operate efficiently, etc.

 

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

What ships?

[zoncom]

Same old, been there done that. Many of posters on Celebrity site have done X since Chandris days,including me.We are retired and do not want SanJuan, ST.Thomas, St. Martin etc. or 3 night booze cruises.

I find Celebrity is getting sterile Including menus..The itins,( but not the ships), of Princess and HAL are so much better. I have started doing Oceania, which I have not cruised for 7 years. Great ports and food. More inclusive so not a bad value. If you want diversity call for a Princess 2016/17 Cruise Atlas and an Oceania catalogue. One nice feature of World Cruises is the segments. Looks like 8 segments on the all ones I checked. Change is good.

Edited November 18, 2015 by zoncom

[4774Papa]

We prefer Celebrity but HALs itineraries are so much better.

 

 

They should consider the Amazon River, Sea of Cortez, Tahiti (not a repo to/from Sydney), Seychelle Islands, South Africa around Capetown to name a few.

What attracted us the Celebrity in the beginning was a wide variety of itineraries all over the World.

Still, X can improve.

 

I would like to see a Norway cruise to goes to the North Cape. Even NCL has one.

 

Celebrity doesn't go to Brazil (just one cruise a year it stops there).

 

Not sure that I would be that interested in a cruise around Africa, but it would depend on the ports.

 

We did a great Japan and China cruise on Millennium last month since X cancelled both Around Japan cruises due to charters.

 

Would like a cruise down the west coast of Europe from Amsterdam down to Lisbon, without the Canary Islands.

 

A cruise of Australia that includes Melbourne, Tasmania, some ports in NZ then around to Cairns with two overnights in Cairns.

[goody1]

Celebrity used to do Norway and North Cape. We were on the Century in 2007 out of Amsterdam for a 12 night cruise to the North Cape. It was a great trip on a really nice ship.

[loerie]

What about the East and West coasts of Africa - we have done this on other lines. Asia to cape town then back to Fort lauderdale - it can be done!!!

[ehfl]

I would actually like to see more short cruises. For those of us that want a weekend getaway, there are only 3 ships on a regular basis (Royal, Carnival, NCL). Other lines do occasional weekend cruises, but it would be nice to have more of them, especially from Celebrity.

[TLCOhio]

What about the East and West coasts of Africa - we have done this on other lines. Asia to cape town then back to Fort lauderdale - it can be done!!!

 

What ships?

 

Yes, it can be done for the east and west coast of Africa, hanging out, in and around super scenic Cape Town, etc. BUT, it takes lots of sailing/sea days getting down there . . . AND BACK!! Roughly two to three weeks each way to get down there from Ft. Lauderdale and/or Europe, depending on your exact routes, ports doing stops, etc. With a big Celebrity ship holding 2-3,000 people and a large crew of 1,000+ staffers, it is costly to make those "logistics" work. That is why so few cruise lines do much in and around South Africa and other nearby areas for that massive continent.

 

Per Jade13's good question, for our Amazon River adventure and the upcoming South Africa sailing, it was/is on the same ship. Silversea's Silver Cloud. It has a max of 296 passengers with a crew of 222. On our 17-day Amazon River cruise, there were only 179 passengers. That made things very "personal" for us with great staff attention and service, etc. With a smaller ship, it is much easier to make "things" work in these specialized and unique parts of the world. And these smaller ships do cost more per passenger, sailing day, etc., than what Celebrity normally charges for its more "mass market" offerings. Trade-offs??!!

 

Currently and during the next four months, the Silver Cloud is doing eleven different cruise segments in these parts of the African world and offering many different routing/port options. Economically, however, it would be very hard for Celebrity to make those things work in the same way given their ship sizes, staffing, pricing, etc., etc. Africa is a great idea/concept for Celebrity, but making those economics and logistics work are far more challenging!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Silversea Silver Cloud Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 32,531 views for these postings.

[loerie]

Thats what I want! -lots of sailing.All the Cunard ships do it.How about Celebrity does a world cruise with various legs for sale like Cunard. I would love that .

[TLCOhio]

Celebrity used to do Norway and North Cape. We were on the Century in 2007 out of Amsterdam for a 12 night cruise to the North Cape. It was a great trip on a really nice ship.

 

Yes, in the past, Celebrity has offered only about one of these North Cape cruises going all of the way along the scenic Norway coast up to the "Top of Europe". As detailed below, we did this wonderful cruise on the smaller, more personal Silver Cloud. In checking for the summer of 2016, I do not see any options being provided by Celebrity to do such a North Cape cruise.

 

Why? Not totally or officially sure. BUT, such North Cape cruises take more time. Ours was 15 days. Many people find it challenging to take off that much time. Second, Norway is expensive with a short timing opportunity/season for doing such cruise. I am assuming that Celebrity was not able to sell and/or make money with such a cruise compared to other, shorter options being offered. In checking for the summer of 2017, nothing shows on the Celebrity schedule for doing such a North Cape/Norway cruise option.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silversea Silver Cloud cruise experience from Copenhagen, check out this posting. This posting is now at 189,109 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[chemmo]

I would settle for a cruise to nowhere right now as long as the sun was shining!

[TLCOhio]

Thats what I want! -lots of sailing. All the Cunard ships do it.How about Celebrity does a world cruise with various legs for sale like Cunard. I would love that .

 

It's Economic 101!! What you want is great. Cunard has a certain and different "image" and audience base. Certain luxury lines such as Crystal and Silversea do these World Cruises. BUT, I assume, Celebrity has looked at that option and does not believed that works with their customer base and/or business plan. What sells and rings the cash register is their first priority. Those Solstice-class ships cost about $700 million each to build, plus many millions of dollars more to staff, fuel, etc.

 

Crystal and other lines are building new ships and exploring various, added markets. We'll see how Celebrity adjusts its offerings and business plan/strategy.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 126,253 views for this posting.

[RickT]

I'd be OK if they just changed things up a bit. I stopped cruising Celebrity for a number of years because all of their itineraries I was interested in were identical to ones I'd already sailed on.

 

In looking at the Caribbean sailings I see the same old same old routes with the only change being an overnight on a few of them. I may have to try Holland or Princess to shake things up a bit.

 

Others have mentioned a Pacific coastal... that would be great as would an Eastern seaboard route (Boston, NYC, Baltimore, etc).

 

Hopefully when the new class of ship comes out they'll offer some different routes.

[Fouremco]

Celebrity should also consider offering 7 day Canada/New England cruises. It currently only offers a very limited number of 14 day return cruises out of Cape Liberty. These could easily be split at Quebec City, offering two 7 day legs. Those wanting to could still do a b2b 14 day cruise. This is why we cruised with HAL in September when our schedule only allowed for a shorter cruise.