To Celebrity - PLEASE move X ship for entire year to new Bayonne port!!!

[CruisingChick]

The point is that we want to sail out of Bayonne all year round on a Celebrity ship and not RCCL!

 

Exactly. Celebrity missed out on selling us 3 cruises, March 2014 we did Explorer; October 2015 we did Liberty and March 2016 we did Anthem. We would not have done those 3 RCCL cruises if there was a Celebrity ship in Bayonne.

[Cruizen Susan]

Exactly. Celebrity missed out on selling us 3 cruises, March 2014 we did Explorer; October 2015 we did Liberty and March 2016 we did Anthem. We would not have done those 3 RCCL cruises if there was a Celebrity ship in Bayonne.

 

Agreed. We do NCL and RCI when we don't feel like flying to Florida. Plus we've done Bermuda from Bayonne several times and want more variety.

[lakelorain]

I'd like to see a Celebrity ship out of Bayonne for at least 9 months a year with different itineraries. Bermuda and NE/Canada are nice, but how many times can you do the same cruise on the same ship and not get bored????

[dkjretired]

The point is that we want to sail out of Bayonne all year round on a Celebrity ship and not RCCL!

 

Think that's the general feeling but the bottom line is these other lines have two or three times as many ships as Celebrity.

[riclop]

Celebrity - PLEASE station Celebrity ship for entire year in Bayonne!!!

 

Giving European situation and continuous demand for cruises from Northeast US and Canada, it would be great to have Celebrity ship stationed in NY Metro Area yearround. We have new terminal now built in Port Liberty (Bayonne NJ).

 

I believe lots of CC population will support this request :)

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

NOOOOO it's too COLD!!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Think that's the general feeling but the bottom line is these other lines have two or three times as many ships as Celebrity.

 

Celebrity has the smallest fleet of the "big 6" cruise lines with 9 ships (not counting the Galapagos fleet as that's a niche product). By contrast NCL has 14, Holland America 14, Princess 17, RCCL 25 and Carnival 25. As you can see Celebrity has far fewer resources and has a much more international deployment than some of the larger lines. RCCL/Celebrity as a whole have obviously decided that at present basing a ship year round in Bayonne is best suited to the RCCL brand as it has the larger brand presence, client demographic and international recognition.

 

In short they have to decide where best to deploy their assets to maximize return. They have decided to keep Equinox in the Caribbean next summer to minimize exposure in Europe. I don't expect that to last more than a year, maybe two at most. When European travel picks back up for North Americans then she will head back across to Europe for a summer season - they traditionally can make more revenue per day per passenger in Europe than the Caribbean, primarily on things like shore excursions.

 

When the Edge class debut we may once again see them base a ship in Bayonne for a winter season as they shuffle ships around in other markets. The recent multiple revamps of the Millenium class ships seem to indicate a plan to grow the fleet rather than replace existing ships.

[emileg]

NOOOOO it's too COLD!!

We have sailed in January several times out of New York to the Caribbean. Yes it is cold in New York, but my the middle of the first sea day, the weather usually begins getting milder and by the second sea day, you're in heaven.

[dkjretired]

Celebrity has the smallest fleet of the "big 6" cruise lines with 9 ships (not counting the Galapagos fleet as that's a niche product). By contrast NCL has 14, Holland America 14, Princess 17, RCCL 25 and Carnival 25. As you can see Celebrity has far fewer resources and has a much more international deployment than some of the larger lines. RCCL/Celebrity as a whole have obviously decided that at present basing a ship year round in Bayonne is best suited to the RCCL brand as it has the larger brand presence, client demographic and international recognition.

 

In short they have to decide where best to deploy their assets to maximize return. They have decided to keep Equinox in the Caribbean next summer to minimize exposure in Europe. I don't expect that to last more than a year, maybe two at most. When European travel picks back up for North Americans then she will head back across to Europe for a summer season - they traditionally can make more revenue per day per passenger in Europe than the Caribbean, primarily on things like shore excursions.

 

When the Edge class debut we may once again see them base a ship in Bayonne for a winter season as they shuffle ships around in other markets. The recent multiple revamps of the Millenium class ships seem to indicate a plan to grow the fleet rather than replace existing ships.

 

Agree with everything you said but the last paragraph needs a bit of historical context. When the S class ships were introduced the hope was that the C class ships would be kept however they were not. This even though they spent quite a bit of money on revamps of the C class ships. In one case a ship when into drydock for some enhancements and left the fleet within a month. I hope they expand the fleet but fear the same thing will happen all over.

Edited July 22, 2016 by dkjretired

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Agree with everything you said but the last paragraph needs a bit of historical context. When the S class ships were introduced the hope was that the C class ships would be kept however they were not. This even though they spent quite a bit of money on revamps of the C class ships. In one case a ship when into drydock for some enhancements and left the fleet within a month. I hope they expand the fleet but fear the same thing will happen all over.

 

While I do remember what happened with the C-Class fleet I think it was a combination of elements - lack of balcony cabins, inability to add a significant number of additional specialty restaurants, a abysmal economy and Celebrity not having the brand presence that has happened since.

 

Celebrity was oft rumored at that time to not be turning a profit, so growth in the total ships in the fleet was not the wise choice. There was enough capacity growth with the addition of the 5 S-Class ships to more than compensate for the loss of the 3 C-Class. Celebrity has made smart moves since then from a brand positioning standpoint. GoBig/Better/Best, Luminae, AquaClass, and so on. I think that because of these elements growth, rather than replacement will be the goal over the next 10 years. The M-Class have at least that much life and relevance in the marketplace before they would be in need of replacing.

Edited July 22, 2016 by AtlantaCruiser72

[brfan]

The point is that for a time Royal will have three ships sailing from Bayonne. That will help them to gauge whether there is enough demand to permanently support a third ship.

 

I assume the third ship you are referring to is the Summit? Unfortunately the Vision will be only sailing out of Cape Liberty for Sept and Oct, not sure if two months would be a good test. Especially since there really is only a couple of sailings from New Jersey during that period. The big test would be if there is a enough demand for more than one Royal ship in the winter.

[NordicPrince]

Royal is moving Rhapsody to NJ next year, so they will have 2 ships.

 

Would love to have X ship here as well though. Doesn't even have to always sail to Caribbean. Iceland / Greenland itinerary would be very interesting. Reykavik is actually 100 miles closer to NY than St Maarten.

 

HAL has that route locked up on its Voyage of the Vikings cruise which has been around for awhile and is always booked up a year or two in advance.

 

I doubt Celebrity wants to dedicate one of its ships for that long a cruise on a regular basis.

 

Don't take me the wrong way New Yorkers, we've had nice cruises out of Bayonne on the Explorer in March, but I see you all everyday. Nice to fly to Florida and be with people from more diverse areas just for a change.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I assume the third ship you are referring to is the Summit? Unfortunately the Vision will be only sailing out of Cape Liberty for Sept and Oct, not sure if two months would be a good test. Especially since there really is only a couple of sailings from New Jersey during that period. The big test would be if there is a enough demand for more than one Royal ship in the winter.

 

I think the demand is there, but RCCL want to keep yields high - having only the Anthem in Bayonne and Grandeur in Baltimore allows them to do just that. I see them bringing back a year round Celebrity presence, which serves a slightly different client base, before adding a second RCCL ship year round from either of these ports. That said I think a year round Celebrity ship out of Bayonne may happen once the 2nd or 3rd Edge Class ships roll out (Most likely a Millennium or Solstice Class ship), but only time will tell.

[FLSteve11]

I think the demand is there, but RCCL want to keep yields high - having only the Anthem in Bayonne and Grandeur in Baltimore allows them to do just that. I see them bringing back a year round Celebrity presence, which serves a slightly different client base, before adding a second RCCL ship year round from either of these ports. That said I think a year round Celebrity ship out of Bayonne may happen once the 2nd or 3rd Edge Class ships roll out (Most likely a Millennium or Solstice Class ship), but only time will tell.

 

I don't know, I think Bayonne is going to be down the list a bit. They are just putting a year round ship in Florida, and think it's more likely they would put more then one there before NY is hit. The problem, obviously, is the winter months. Some people would rather fly down and start their travel in warmer weather, and not have to "waste" the first and last sea day in cold weather. (It's why Anthem is there generally, since it's built more for colder weather with more inside areas). Add in winter storms (which are much more prevalent then hurricanes) which not only effect sailing, but people getting to/from the ships, and there are better places to sail from. The company, as a whole, is represented by Anthem, with NCL Breakaway providing competition.

 

Not saying they won't, as obviously the large, affluent NYC region can support multiple ships.

[Cruizen Susan]

I think the demand is there, but RCCL want to keep yields high - having only the Anthem in Bayonne and Grandeur in Baltimore allows them to do just that. I see them bringing back a year round Celebrity presence, which serves a slightly different client base, before adding a second RCCL ship year round from either of these ports. That said I think a year round Celebrity ship out of Bayonne may happen once the 2nd or 3rd Edge Class ships roll out (Most likely a Millennium or Solstice Class ship), but only time will tell.

 

You are correct about the RCCL Bayonne and Baltimore sailings. We do one or the other once a year. Or alternate with a NCL out of NYC. Our other annual cruise is from a Florida port on Celebrity. HOWEVER, if I had more Celebrity choices from Bayonne, they would get my business instead. And we've done Bermuda and Canada several times on RCCL and NCL, and looking for more variety.

 

Yes, I agree that the demand is there! Celebrity. Bayonne. Year round. Rah rah rah!!