Celebrity to Offer Year-Round Caribbean in Summer 2017

[villauk]

I agree. While I'm not complaining at all, I wish they would have mixed it up a bit, and offered at least 1 or 2 longer sailings in July and/or August. We'll be booking (I'm on hold with Celebrity as I'm typing this) a 7 night in early July, then the Presidents Cruise, and one of the 10 night sailings in September.

 

Not too shabby. 3 more cruises added to my upcoming sailings.

 

I wish they had mixed it up during the summer too! 7 nights for July and August is not worth the airfare across. They could have easily thrown in a more interesting itinerary during July/August instead of the same old Western route ;).

[J&G]

That's great except for those of us who booked it in the Med for next year. Second September in a row now they've cancelled on us (Infinity this year). Wondering why we bother booking ahead.

 

Gail

On the Silhouette right now on rearranged Sept 2016 Infinity cruise.

[villauk]

If Celebrity was listening to their guests they would have done this for the 2018 season. What about the 100's of guests they are inconveniencing who have 2017 bookings in the Med or on the TA's. I may be a little sceptical, but this may be due to 2017 cancellations and slow bookings in Europe. I had the Spring TA booked, but luckily no hotels or flights.

 

Wouldn't be surprised at all to see those remaining sailings in Europe start to rise ;).

[footer6]

I dont understand the attraction of being in the Carib in the summer. Very hot, very humid. Am I missing something?

 

Now if they had a permanent ship on the west coast, that would be something.

 

I like the flexibility of having Celebrity Caribbean sailings in the summer and early fall, but I don't know why I would pay $1700 for a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean low season.

[mickeysgal]

 

Wouldn't be surprised at all to see those remaining sailings in Europe start to rise ;).

 

Yes, this.

 

Glad Celebrity will be in Caribbean, but sad that it had to pull out of Europe. Those itineraries in Europe were indeed, special. Caribbean itineraries can be...monotonous with too many same old ports.

[DancerOT]

A 9 or 10 night in the summer would have been great! As I work for the schools, I typically can't partake in those during the school year - even a 7 day during the school year can be a challenge due to winter/spring break pricing.

[upwarduk]

That's disappointing, we have sailed equinox the last two years in the MED

 

I guess with all the troubles currently in the region, Celebrity expect the bookings to be down and not need as many ships in that region.

 

This is not surprising, given the unrest in Europe and continued terrorism; and US state dept travel warnings, but I don't think I want to travel to the USA again either, with all the shootings that are being reported on our TV.

 

sure wish Celebrity would consider doing some cruises out of Galveston....

We sailed on Galaxy, Rome to Galveston TA in 2005. A wonderful cruise even though we

ended up having 9 sea days due to Hurricane Wilmer, as we were unable to go into Key West, due to the aftermath of the hurricane. A tidal wave flooded the town.

Edited July 19, 2016 by upwarduk

[wallie5446]

Andy do you know when the first 'Edge Class' is due out? Maybe that will replace the Equinox in the Med.

 

Our first X cruise in 1994 was on the Zenith in the summer cause the kids were out. When they stopped, this was the main reason we were forced to try other lines.

 

Tho we have cruised in the fall the last 5 years, it is still easier to get time off in the summer months. And it is a lot cooler in the Caribbean than it is in Texas!:eek:

[TeaBag]

A certain big on-line TA is showing an "inaugural" 11 day Caribbean cruise, Apr 24 for the new deployment of Equinox. it is sailing Miami return with 2 overnights in New Orleans for the jazz fest. Lots of perks! The May 5 sailing for 10 days is much cheaper, so perhaps the perks are only for the first sailing of the new deployment. I am sorry for all those who booked the TA.

 

Oddly enough, this first sailing, Apr 24 with New Orleans as a port is not listed on the Celebrity site.

[kevinyork]

 

 

 

This is a smart move by Celebrity and I'm curious to see if we see other cruise lines disperse their ships around the globe to keep less ships in the Mediterranean. Celebrity will be able to demand high pricing for these summer Caribbean cruises, whomever pulled the trigger on this move is smart :-)

 

 

If they anticipated high demand I'm not sure why there would such excellent pricing a load of perks being offered today by a major online agent (e.g premium drinks, free grats, Internet and OBC).

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[C-Dragons]

Andy do you know when the first 'Edge Class' is due out? Maybe that will replace the Equinox in the Med.

 

Our first X cruise in 1994 was on the Zenith in the summer cause the kids were out. When they stopped, this was the main reason we were forced to try other lines.

 

Tho we have cruised in the fall the last 5 years, it is still easier to get time off in the summer months. And it is a lot cooler in the Caribbean than it is in Texas!:eek:

This is what I believe is going to happen.

The new Edge class ship will probably be positioned in Europe to begin with, so X needed to move one of their ships and Equinox was chosen. This is probably in preparation for the debut of the Edge class ship.

[gdpups]

I just booked an 11 night Caribbean sailing for next year on Equinox and received all 4 perks, which includes the premium drink package, and what I think is a great price on an Aqua cabin.

 

I was booked on a cruise to Europe next year, but with all that's going on over there we decided to cancel that one and stick with the Caribbean. Just couldn't pass up the deal.

[eandj]

This is wonderful. With all the fears of Europe, I think this is a good move and families will be choosing these cruises. Our family did two cruises during the summer some years ago. 18 of us all managed to have time off school and work. Think big family groups.

[Baron Barracuda]

Yes, the safety and happiness of passengers is their only concern.

 

And the recent large drops of the pound and euro vs the $ have nothing to do with it.

[marieps]

A certain big on-line TA is showing an "inaugural" 11 day Caribbean cruise, Apr 24 for the new deployment of Equinox. it is sailing Miami return with 2 overnights in New Orleans for the jazz fest. Lots of perks! The May 5 sailing for 10 days is much cheaper, so perhaps the perks are only for the first sailing of the new deployment. I am sorry for all those who booked the TA.

 

Oddly enough, this first sailing, Apr 24 with New Orleans as a port is not listed on the Celebrity site.

 

This was in the press release Andy posted.

[eandj]

This is wonderful. With all the fears of Europe, I think this is a good move and families will be choosing these cruises. Our family did two cruises during the summer some years ago. 18 of us all managed to have time off school and work. Think big family groups.

[HS2BS]

Could Celebrity be setting itself up for future stops in Cuba?

The Caribbean from Florida is still very iffy with the weather; having been on Century in August 99 when it encountered three different storms - cruise from hell. We do like to cruise during the summer (Adventure this August) and it is no hotter than NY, but there is a tropical breeze!

 

Hal

[BenLynn]

Not so great for those of us who booked the transatlantic to Barcelona. Especially B2B. No word from our TA on what our alternatives will be.

 

My wife and I were also booked on the TA with the B2B Med Cruise following it. To answer your question as to alternatives, basically there is nothing. The available TAs not only did not appeal but they are also substantially more costly at this point and then when we booked several months ago. Additionally and particularly for the suite class in which we booked.

Also, it would have been nice - good customer service people - to have notified passengers who were booked on these cancelled cruises prior to making the announcement. Celebrity has certainly picked up speed on the very quick Slip Sliding towards mediocrity that it has been chugging along on over the past year or so. It's difficult to watch someone / something that you've loved in the past become a shadow of its former self. RIP Celebrity. I am Bailing.

[Want2Cruise 701]

Sadly the itineraries are disappointing. I was looking forward to X sailing the Caribbean in the summer.

[wayfarer1]

to each his/her own. A lot of people can only cruise in the summer time (teachers, people with families, etc.) and Caribbean is in a lot of budgets. I certainly understand the excitement.

 

Looks like Celebrity is going for a different demographic. Good luck and goodbye, Celebrity.

[TourDeCruise]

I dont understand the attraction of being in the Carib in the summer. Very hot, very humid. Am I missing something?

 

Now if they had a permanent ship on the west coast, that would be something.

 

O, No! What is X going to do with our TA in November from Barcelona??:mad: Not happy at all. By the way - it is still on X website.

 

Our 3 November 2017 Equinox TA is still showing in My Celebrity. We have a call into our TA.

 

I agree, norwegianwood57, on both of your points. Caribbean too hot & humid in the summer - I can have that at home - plus way too many children. Late October in the Caribbean would be fine. What I really want, however, is an itinerary roundtrip from the west coast to the South Pacific, like HAL does. Why can't Celebrity have a ship on the west coast, like you said, particularly if it could offer a roundtrip cruise from LA or San Diego to the South Pacific and back with Hawaii in route?

[ISABELLA]

My wife and I were also booked on the TA with the B2B Med Cruise following it. To answer your question as to alternatives, basically there is nothing. The available TAs not only did not appeal but they are also substantially more costly at this point and then when we booked several months ago. Additionally and particularly for the suite class in which we booked.

Also, it would have been nice - good customer service people - to have notified passengers who were booked on these cancelled cruises prior to making the announcement. Celebrity has certainly picked up speed on the very quick Slip Sliding towards mediocrity that it has been chugging along on over the past year or so. It's difficult to watch someone / something that you've loved in the past become a shadow of its former self. RIP Celebrity. I am Bailing.

 

I feel the same way. Our Nov 3 TA is affected and there is no other offered from Barcelona and no chance for me to get my preferred AQ cabin. I am very disappointed the way X is doing this change. I guess they plain don't care what we all think and how it is affect us.

[ISABELLA]

Our 3 November 2017 Equinox TA is still showing in My Celebrity. We have a call into our TA.

 

My TA said that they have not got all details and offers from X yet. We will get notification with offers and them we can make changes. I already told her - there is nothing to change for with current pricing that is do very high.

IT dept is so incompetent so they show both sailings - 11/3 - TA and 11/6 - Caribbean.It must be to complicated to them to notify all PAX effected and then make an announcement. Maybe this is a sign to try another line...

[A Sixth?]

Could Celebrity be setting itself up for future stops in Cuba?

The Caribbean from Florida is still very iffy with the weather; having been on Century in August 99 when it encountered three different storms - cruise from hell. We do like to cruise during the summer (Adventure this August) and it is no hotter than NY, but there is a tropical breeze!

 

Hal

 

Good point.... Cuba would be a prime destination!

[dodger1964]

Our 3 November 2017 Equinox TA is still showing in My Celebrity. We have a call into our TA.

 

My TA said that they have not got all details and offers from X yet. We will get notification with offers and them we can make changes. I already told her - there is nothing to change for with current pricing that is do very high.

IT dept is so incompetent so they show both sailings - 11/3 - TA and 11/6 - Caribbean.It must be to complicated to them to notify all PAX effected and then make an announcement. Maybe this is a sign to try another line...

 

If the original TA is still available, might be a good time to book it and then see if what incentives they give to pick new itinerary.