Constellation redeployed from Asia to Tampa 2020/21

[villauk]

3 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I am not necessarily talking about age.  More about Celebrity's mission statement,   Doesn't exactly mesh with trading the Middle East for Tampa and the Caribbean.

Celebrity Cruises exists because we believe in opening up the world. We know that travel makes us better—every one of us. We’re here to help vacationers understand the value of travel. Our cruises encourage people to sail beyond their own borders and expand their horizons

 

 

 

Agree, it’s not like there aren’t another hundred ships visiting those exact same ports to the Caribbean. According to many of the posts on CC, most appear to be jumping from one X ship to another on virtually the same itinerary because Connie is cheaper, or 10 minutes closer to their house.

 

Is Tampa full of millennials 🤔 😆? I thought that was the new X direction 🙄. Or perhaps are there lots of Carnival and NCL regular cruisers that live there - the other market in their sights?

[ghstudio]

14 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I am not necessarily talking about age.  More about Celebrity's mission statement,   Doesn't exactly mesh with trading the Middle East for Tampa and the Caribbean.

Celebrity Cruises exists because we believe in opening up the world. We know that travel makes us better—every one of us. We’re here to help vacationers understand the value of travel. Our cruises encourage people to sail beyond their own borders and expand their horizons

 

 🙂  see my comment about the marketing department above

[CYNSport]

5 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

Agree, it’s not like there aren’t another hundred ships visiting those exact same ports to the Caribbean. According to many of the posts on CC, most appear to be jumping from one X ship to another on virtually the same itinerary because Connie is cheaper, or 10 minutes closer to their house.

 

Is Tampa full of millennials 🤔 😆? I thought that was the new X direction 🙄. Or perhaps are there lots of Carnival and NCL regular cruisers that live there - the other market in their sights?

Yes on the millennials

 

 https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/list-ranks-tampa-in-the-top-15-best-places-for-millennials-to-live/67-92610d55-0e0d-4dfe-9ab3-5427f27778d1

[villauk]

54 minutes ago, CYNSport said:

Yes on the millennials

 

 https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/list-ranks-tampa-in-the-top-15-best-places-for-millennials-to-live/67-92610d55-0e0d-4dfe-9ab3-5427f27778d1

 

 

That’s it then. And here was me thinking that Florida in the winter was full of snowbirds 🤣. There again, I am British so I have an excuse 😉.

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, CYNSport said:

Yes on the millennials

 

 https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/list-ranks-tampa-in-the-top-15-best-places-for-millennials-to-live/67-92610d55-0e0d-4dfe-9ab3-5427f27778d1

I know Millennials is what they think their target market is, but everything I know about their travel habits says nothing about "Caribbean cruise."   It says "destination immersion"  It says "very active."  It says "cultural attachment."  And they have been using this marketing focus for years and honestly, don't see it having a lot of effect.

[CYNSport]

On 7/20/2019 at 5:28 PM, danny8826 said:

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I know Millennials is what they think their target market is, but everything I know about their travel habits says nothing about "Caribbean cruise."   It says "destination immersion"  It says "very active."  It says "cultural attachment."  And they have been using this marketing focus for years and honestly, don't see it having a lot of effect.

Happily, I have nothing to do with Celebrity marketing or lack thereof 🤪

[little britain]

2 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

 

I booked with Celebrity last November... still no notification whatsoever.   I have no idea what I should be doing....  thinking about emailing the Celebrity one touch team.  & you're right, this is laughable  

I finally got notification this afternoon.

The options to change to were ridiculous....who wants to swap a 2021 cruise to a 2020 cruise.... so I cancelled. 

We will now do land tour to Asia (Myanmar) instead.

 

I hope you hear something soon and safe travels. 

[FloatSomeMore]

Just realized that our 2021 Singapore/Dubai cruise will be cancelled.  Have not heard anything from our TA or  Celebrity.  Have an email to our TA now.  Booked this cruise because Azamara chartered the sailing we had booked with them-same itinerary.   Beginning to wonder if Singapore and Dubai is meant to be.

[rkak]

Hooray for Tampa!!  

We needed a new ship here.  Gone on the Royal Brilliance 3 times.

It was a struggle getting booked today for the Nov 14th cruise.  My TA site didn't have the cruises loaded yet.  The TA had to book thru Celebrity then transfer to their site, etc.

 

Sorry for the other cancellations.  Join us in Tampa.

[cruise kitty]

20 hours ago, ECCruise said:

I am not necessarily talking about age.  More about Celebrity's mission statement,   Doesn't exactly mesh with trading the Middle East for Tampa and the Caribbean.

Celebrity Cruises exists because we believe in opening up the world. We know that travel makes us better—every one of us. We’re here to help vacationers understand the value of travel. Our cruises encourage people to sail beyond their own borders and expand their horizons

 

 

Yes, I wouldn't exactly call trading Dubai, Oman, Jordan, Cyprus, Rhodes & Athens with Tampa expanding anyones borders... & still zero communication from Celebrity :(

[cruise kitty]

18 hours ago, little britain said:

I finally got notification this afternoon.

The options to change to were ridiculous....who wants to swap a 2021 cruise to a 2020 cruise.... so I cancelled. 

We will now do land tour to Asia (Myanmar) instead.

 

I hope you hear something soon and safe travels. 

 

We still haven't been notified :(

From what I can tell on our roll call,  it looks like those who booked with a TA are being notified first, followed by non U.S. based pax, guessing that's because most other countries have more stringent consumer protection rules.  

 

safe travels to you as well.  :)

[ECCruise]

17 minutes ago, cruise kitty said:

 

Yes, I wouldn't exactly call trading Dubai, Oman, Jordan, Cyprus, Rhodes & Athens with Tampa expanding anyones borders... & still zero communication from Celebrity 😞

I think the lack of communication is the biggest issue.  Even pax aren't on Cruise Critic and not been notified, they are in the information wilderness.  And IF they did want to replace one of the cancelled cruises with one of the Tampa ones, the prices initially were almost reasonable.  When they do get notice, those prices might rise, or desirable cabins be booked.

[Toftwood]

Why is everyone so cynical......most people agree that redeployment is very, very disruptive but it happens for a number of reasons but passengers seem to get unhappy when it is for revenue management reasons (if it was my company, I would have done it sooner, much sooner). Hotels get closed for refurbishment, airline routes get cancelled, flight schedules get cancelled ..... it is a fact of life but people seem to be hung up on cruise schedules being pulled.

 

Maybe because I am in the 🇬🇧 I have a different view of things - we don’t usually have refundable deposits,  we don’t often have transferable perks etc., so maybe my outlook is different.

[cruise kitty]

On 8/16/2019 at 9:37 AM, ECCruise said:

I think the lack of communication is the biggest issue.  Even pax aren't on Cruise Critic and not been notified, they are in the information wilderness.  And IF they did want to replace one of the cancelled cruises with one of the Tampa ones, the prices initially were almost reasonable.  When they do get notice, those prices might rise, or desirable cabins be booked.

 

I finally received my notification...  they are offering for me to rebook into aa 2020 cruise, with an additional $300 OBC...  of course we're already booked for 2020.... I'm going to call the Captains Club & find out if I can book a "placeholder cruise"  & then switch it out when the full releases come out in November.  

& yes, lack of communication IS the issue.  I received an email telling me about these great new itineraries out of Tampa, days before they notified me that my cruise was cancelled.  :(   yes, I know, first world problems...  We'll get to Petra some other way eventually.  :)

[photabitha]

We were booked on the sailing in Feb 2021 from Dubai.  Received notification from our TA here in UK on Monday by telephone and letter (email).  We are travelling with friends and all very disappointed.  We had a rethink and changed our booking to the southern Caribbean from Tampa in January 2021.  Excellent deal, ended up with a suite when previously Aqua, drinks, grats and OBC as part of the cruise, additional OBC as compensation we have less to pay than the previous cruise.  Booked by Tuesday and whilst disappointing, we have moved on from That and we are happy with our deal and cruise, but sorry for those people who could not find a cruise to their liking.

[hcat]

I think folks were  understandably disappointed to lose a special itin cruise;  and even more so by the way X handled the notifications,  and offers for alternatives. Happened to us with  X in the past.  Left dangling!

 

I  am disappointed with the neg comments about  the cruisers and cruising from West Coast Fl..  We are going to try it as an alt to  FLL...We try to avoid Miami if we can!

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 8/15/2019 at 2:53 PM, ghstudio said:

 

I think you're right.....but my comments still apply to the fiefdoms....maybe that sailing will still happen.

 

ECCruise.....it's a bit confusing because the Florida west coast (tampa) is not a young area...many many retirees.....certainly not the demographic Celebrity has been coveting.  But there is a definitely a market for a higher quality cruise from Tampa and the Constellation fits. 

 

The Tampa metropolitan area has about 4.5million residents with an average age between 35-40, which fits Celebrity's target perfectly.  This age group has disposable income to spend on vacations and cruising.  Tampa also has one the top airports in the US.  It is located one hour away from the Orlando attractions and also offers major league football and baseball.  The real plus being its not as crowded as the east coast  and the cruise terminal/waterfront redevelopment is another driver.

 

One of the additional benefits of basing Connie in Tampa is near direct access to Cuba.  Its likely that Cuba will reemerge as a hot destination for cruising starting in January 2021 and Royal Caribbean would like to have a quality ship ready.  Its last offering, the Empress OTS, was too old and too small.  Easy switch to eliminate Labadee for Havana.  

[Ride-The-Waves]

We have to understand that cruise lines are in the business for profit.  Unprofitable itineraries are not sustainable, not matter how exotic or interesting to potential passengers.  We cruised Mumbai-Pireaus several years ago on Azamara Journey - great itinerary which included Dubai, Northern Arabian Sea and Red Sea transits, stops in Eilat and Aqaba, Suez, and Cyprus.  We did "lose" Safaga do to unrest in Egypt, replaced with Eilat.  Not a "fair' trade, IMHO.  

 

I think it was two years ago that Celebrity ended its ABC island cruises out of Florida's east coast on a Solstice class because of dwindling interest.  Employing the smaller "M" class Connie is a good business replacement for the larger Solstice class.  Plus, having Connie in Tampa provides Celebrity/Royal Caribbean with a great ship for quick access to Havana once Cuba reopens in 2021. 

[TeeRick]

Tampa is a great option.  I'm looking forward to sailing from there.

[Algebralovr]

35 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

We have to understand that cruise lines are in the business for profit.  Unprofitable itineraries are not sustainable, not matter how exotic or interesting to potential passengers. 

 

I think it was two years ago that Celebrity ended its ABC island cruises out of Florida's east coast on a Solstice class because of dwindling interest.  Employing the smaller "M" class Connie is a good business replacement for the larger Solstice class.  Plus, having Connie in Tampa provides Celebrity/Royal Caribbean with a great ship for quick access to Havana once Cuba reopens in 2021. 

Profit is definitely key.

They still have cruises to the ABC islands on the SClass ships.  In 18-19, they were a 9-night on Silhouette.  Some of the Equinox’s cruises go there as well, and next year some of the Reflection cruises go there.

 

The issue of the 14-night Eclipse cruises was they were not profitable.  They tended to be older adults, and those adults tended to spend very little while on board.  The had huge numbers of Elites who enjoyed the Elite Happy Hour, but didn’t buy other beverages.  Many of them removed gratuities.  (Staff hated being stationed on board because of the lack of tips).  Few of them (percentage wise) booked excursions through the ship.  In short, they were not profitable.  According to a friend of ours, the same was true of the 12-Night cruises on Silhouette in 18-19.  

 

We were amazed at the number of people who didn’t get off the ship when we sailed in Feb 19 on Silhouette.  We didn’t get off much, because I was recovering from surgery and in a wheelchair.  They usually had multiple Alcoves available unsold even on sea days.  They did coupons for the Elite Happy Hour because of numbers.  

[sunonfire]

On 8/12/2019 at 9:39 AM, Mr&MrsBee said:

Brought up X website.  Unable to look at cruises out of Tampa.  Would like to book early to get accessible cabin.  Website shows cruises from May of 2020 to April 2021 but cannot bring them up.  Since we are only 1  1/2  hour away good be good choice.  Any ideas?

click on the 3 lines in the upper left corner of X website, then click on ships and then click on Constellation, it will take you to a page with a link for Constellation cruises and Tampa shows up there.

[C 2 C]

I'm a Connieseur. 

 

We have made more cruising friends and have more great cruising memories on Constellation than on any other ship.

We love the ship starting with the rendezvous lounge, the three banks of elevators and the ease of walking throughout the ship whether from bow to stern or up and down.  Those last few decks on S-class were absolute killers for my desire to use the stairs.

 

I'm from the last millennium, pre-baby boomer though we did more than our share to add to the group.

 

It is so nice to have an M-class ship sailing from Florida without getting on a 4/5 day cruise.

We would book a couple of months right away but unfortunately we are on Summit with non-refundable deposits in November.

 

January 2021 looks great, only a 20 hour drive for us.

 

 

[Cruzinram]

On 8/15/2019 at 4:02 PM, CYNSport said:

Yes on the millennials

 

 https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/list-ranks-tampa-in-the-top-15-best-places-for-millennials-to-live/67-92610d55-0e0d-4dfe-9ab3-5427f27778d1

Maybe true, however, these are 10 and 11 night cruises. Most working people cannot be away from the jobs that long. And this region is a retirement haven. Just south of Tampa you have Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, and to the North Ocala. Then you have the large areas of Central Florida where there are loads of Active Adult 55 + communities including the Villages just 75 miles from Tampa. I think you will see plenty of seniors of these Cruises.

[ghstudio]

I suspect that revenue jumped in front of marketing on this one....,There was a need/want for longer cruises in the caribbean and they needed to find a revenue positive place to base the constellation.  Marketing to younger, working folks in Tampa would want 7 day cruises.  It's a mismatch, except during holidays, but other than those cruises, I expect more of the old celebrity demographic folks (pun intended).

[kearney]

I am looking forward to sailing out of Tampa... not a bad drive from Atlanta.  The problem with Tampa and Port Canaveral is the distance from other Caribbean ports... so it is nice to see that they will be offering some longer cruises out of Tampa. I like being able to go to ABCs or Columbia...  The other problem with Tampa is the bridge which limits cruise ship size.

 

 I wonder if Celebrity is concerned about Iranian activity in the strait of Hormuz... not far from Dubai. Perhaps this is why the change in itinerary.

 

I would love to sail out of Savanah or Jacksonville....but again these cruises would have to be at least 10-11 days to get much past USVI.  We really really really hate flying.