8/15 Redeployment and Changes for Equinox/Summit/Apex/Constellation

[NMTraveller]

The B2B 7 day itineraries waste a couple of days going back into port...

[NMTraveller]

Here is a nice Caribbean itinerary.

 

V510 21-DAY ULTIMATE CARIBBEAN (hollandamerica.com)

Edited August 16, 2023 by NMTraveller

[later]

Have they given any offers to the constellation canceled cruises or is it cancel and rebook at the prevailing rate?

[craig01020]

My "canceled" Summit cruise still shows as active.  I just cancelled it myself so I can get my $900 refundable deposit back sooner rather than waiting around for them to cancel it. 😡

[Oceangoer2]

7 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

My "canceled" Summit cruise still shows as active.  I just cancelled it myself so I can get my $900 refundable deposit back sooner rather than waiting around for them to cancel it. 😡

My Apex web cruise face page still shows but the data beneath is greyed out and "unclickable", so they cancelled and I assume started the refund.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Oceangoer2

[billc23]

I posted my email from Celebrity in another thread but it does answer some of the questions asked here.

I was on the January 11th 12 day cruise with extended family and have another sequence of B2B with my spouse to follow on Silversea. It will be difficult to find another family cruise to connect to my other sailings. Cancelling any cruise often has a ripple effect on other aspects of one's vacation and I will not be the only one disgruntled with Celebrity. I understand that a sailing may need to be canceled - that has happened to me a few times and Celebrity always was helpful and accommodation with price protection and OBC carryover. Not this time and many sailings on several ships are canceled all for the benefit of Celebrity! I still have 7 Celebrity cruises booked including 5 that are over 7 days and I hope that they don't mess with them.

 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS Dear Guest, At Celebrity Cruises, we are passionate about providing award-winning vacation experiences.  As we position our brand for continued success, we constantly seek opportunities to elevate our already incredible offerings. With this goal in mind, Celebrity Cruises is pleased to announce we will be redeploying Celebrity Constellation in January 2025, revising her current 9- and 12- night itineraries to predominantly 7-night itineraries out of Tampa.  As a result, current Celebrity Constellation sailings scheduled to depart January 11, 2025 through April 3, 2025 (excluding March 1, 2025) will be cancelled. For any payments made toward your sailing, you will automatically receive a 100% refund to your original method of payment. No action is required on your part to receive this refund, which you should see reflected within 30 days after cancellation (cruise taxes and fees will be refunded separately). Please note, any reservation paid with Future Cruise Credit will not be eligible for a cash refund; however, your Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated. If you have pre-booked any shore excursions, beverage, internet, specialty dining or other onboard packages through Celebrity Cruise Planner, you will be refunded in full to your original method of payment.  Guests with hotel reservations booked through Flights by Celebrity will be refunded automatically (you will not need to call in to initiate the process).  Guests with independent excursions should contact their tour operators directly to make all required modifications. As we never wish to complicate your vacation planning, we sincerely appreciate your understanding. In the hopes that you’ll find another bucket-list vacation with Celebrity Cruises, we are happy to offer you $200 onboard credit per stateroom, $400 onboard credit for Retreat accommodations, toward a future booking. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Celebrity Cruises at 1-844-418-6824 in North America or (316) 554-5961 worldwide. We look forward to welcoming you aboard soon for an amazing Celebrity Cruises vacation. Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises

©2023 Celebrity Cruises. Ships' Registry: Malta Celebrity Cruises 1050 Caribbean Way Miami, FL 33132 1-800-280-3423

 

 

 

[craig01020]

1 hour ago, billc23 said:

"...Celebrity Cruises is pleased to announce..."

Celebrity's corporate-speak for "you're screwed".

[Cruiser99365Girl]

Thank you for posting this summary. It's helpful to know that the cancellations were for multiple ships. 
 

I received the email about the cancellation of the February 1 2025 Antarctica cruise on Equinox. Certainly disappointed. The email from Celebrity didn't mention any replacement ship for the now cancelled Antarctica itinerary.

 

[RedIguana]

18 hours ago, adjustman said:

Jason Liberty is clearly cheapening the brand. He doesn't have the vision Richard Fain had for the cruise industry. Profits in the short term but at what price? I will look at other cruise lines when booking my next cruise. 

 

14 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Yep.  The Royalfication continues...

Royal is in a race to become Carnival, with both catering to kids with amusement park ships. Their non-amusement park ships that catered to the age 40+ bracket not traveling with kids have been making the same cutbacks. Celebrity is replacing Royal in that market segment. So quality wise Royal is going from about the best of the mass market to the bottom tier of it, and Celebrity is transitioning from "premium" mass market to the upper side of mass market. My cruise preference have been transitioning from Royal to Celebrity, Princess, and HAL.

[OysterD]

14 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Here is a nice Caribbean itinerary.

 

V510 21-DAY ULTIMATE CARIBBEAN (hollandamerica.com)

So why don't you book it then? 

 

Meanwhile for most people under the age of 65 or 70 it's not even an option. 

[PTC DAWG]

21 hours ago, adjustman said:

I do not understand the reason for these redeployments. It appears the new Celebrity management doesn't seem to know what the cruise line wants to be. As I understood it Celebrity was to be a "Premium" cruise line that competed with the likes of Holland America and Viking. Moving the Equinox to Port Canaveral now seems to be intended towards attracting young families similar to RCL. I am not sure why a family with young children would want to sail on Celebrity since Celebrity is the traditional cruise experience without all the bells and whistles such as an ice-skating rink, sky diving simulators, and rock-climbing walls. Are the Celebrity ships now going to be equipped with these bells and whistles? 

 

I like sailing on Celebrity, I also like sailing out of Port Canaveral…this will be a great option for my Wife and I. We all know they aren’t going to add slides etc. to the ships, that’s just silly. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, craig01020 said:

My "canceled" Summit cruise still shows as active.  I just cancelled it myself so I can get my $900 refundable deposit back sooner rather than waiting around for them to cancel it. 😡

By doing so you probably forfeited the $200 to $400 FCC they were offering.    I'm trying to figure out what we will be doing before the cancellation date.

[craig01020]

2 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

By doing so you probably forfeited the $200 to $400 FCC they were offering.    I'm trying to figure out what we will be doing before the cancellation date.

What exactly is the "cancellation date" anyway? I don't care at this point. I have no plans to cruise with Celebrity any time soon. They've had my $900 long enough.

Edited August 16, 2023 by craig01020

[Islander500]

On 8/15/2023 at 1:42 PM, mac_tlc said:

So first I had the Beyond 11/1/24 TA cancelled with no price protection, then I  moved to 11/9/24 Apex TA, now that is cancelled with no options to move to any other cruise, not even the soon-to-be-announced new Apex TA. 
 

I am racking up the OBC, though 🙄

 

mac_tlc

Not neccesarily. See this from cancelled Apex TA roll call. 

 

"On the phone with Celebrity to rebook. I have $425 OBC  from a previous cancellation.  They are telling me that I will lose that and only get $200 OBC. To replace it.  Is that correct?" 

[mac_tlc]

2 hours ago, Islander500 said:

Not neccesarily. See this from cancelled Apex TA roll call. 

 

"On the phone with Celebrity to rebook. I have $425 OBC  from a previous cancellation.  They are telling me that I will lose that and only get $200 OBC. To replace it.  Is that correct?" 

Yup, saw that. We are most likely taking our $200 deposit back and moving on to some other cruise line. 
 

Tired of them cheapening the brand with the cutbacks and screwing the customer every time they change an itinerary. Two TA’s cancelled in six weeks, with one of them being a cruise they offered as an option for the first cancelled one. Time to move on. 
 

Before the executive office even responded to my second email, they screwed everyone again with the Apex TA fiasco. They wanted a good time to call me. I said don’t bother, your policies are anti-consumer and I am moving on. 
 

Too bad all the PH cabins are taken on the Oceania Vista TA’s in 2024 and 2025. 

 

mac_tlc

Edited August 16, 2023 by mac_tlc

[olemissreb]

On 8/15/2023 at 1:13 PM, Honolulu Blue said:

Thank you for sharing these changes in this form.  I hadn't heard about them until now, but then again I'm not a religious follower of threads on here.

 

Anyway, two notes on the Summit:

 

1.  The gaps in the schedule may be due to some charters.  I know of at least four that are happening in 2025.

2.  I like the Eastern/Southern Caribbean routes out of San Juan.  I'm disappointed that the Summit won't be making them. ☹️  Maybe they'll be back in '25-'26? 🙏

I've got a March '25 Summit cruise from San Juan. Has this been changed? Gosh I hope not!

[craig01020]

3 minutes ago, olemissreb said:

I've got a March '25 Summit cruise from San Juan. Has this been changed? Gosh I hope not!

I'm surprised you didn't get an e-mail (check your spam folder). My Jan. '25 Summit from SJ was cancelled. It looks like they're relocating to FLL (see attachment).

CEL_8_15_23_CAM_CS-EQ-SM-AX_Redeployment_Consumer.pdf

Edited August 17, 2023 by craig01020

[olemissreb]

2 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

I'm surprised you didn't get an e-mail (check your spam folder). My Jan. '25 Summit from SJ was cancelled. It looks like they're relocating to FLL (see attachment).

CEL_8_15_23_CAM_CS-EQ-SM-AX_Redeployment_Consumer.pdf 2.2 MB · 0 downloads

Checking things now.  I will be so pissed if they did cancel it.  It was going to be the first cruise for my boyfriend and my sister's boyfriend and a great relaxing get away for all 4 of us.

[olemissreb]

7 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

I'm surprised you didn't get an e-mail (check your spam folder). My Jan. '25 Summit from SJ was cancelled. It looks like they're relocating to FLL (see attachment).

CEL_8_15_23_CAM_CS-EQ-SM-AX_Redeployment_Consumer.pdf 2.2 MB · 0 downloads

The cruise we had booked no longer appears on my Manage Trip page.  It shows zero upcoming cruises and I've not received a single email from Celebrity since I last made a payment on July 18th.  And when I do a search for cruises in March '25 on Summit, I get nothing!  I'm not real happy about this!

 

[craig01020]

19 minutes ago, olemissreb said:

I'm not real happy about this!

Yup. It sucks. Sorry.

[NMTraveller]

On 8/16/2023 at 8:46 AM, OysterD said:

So why don't you book it then? 

 

Meanwhile for most people under the age of 65 or 70 it's not even an option. 

I thought that those across the pond got a generous month of vacation?  No?

 

I am seriously considering this itinerary among others...

Edited August 18, 2023 by NMTraveller

[olemissreb]

1 hour ago, craig01020 said:

Yup. It sucks. Sorry.

yeah it does!  My cruise was cancelled.  Looking at maybe the Norwegian Viva still out of San Juan.  The Summit had such a great itinerary, so my sister and I are looking to try and replicate it as much as possible. Plus my sister lives in Wisconsin, so we really want to leave from San Juan - guaranteed warmth in March after a long Wisconsin winter.  🤣

[Honolulu Blue]

An update on the Summit:  It looks like it will still be sailing from San Juan from October 2024 to January '25, then it will take off for Fort Lauderdale and start sailing from there.  Cruises from January 29, 2025 through April 12, 2025 will be canceled.  Those who had their cruises canceled will get a refund, plus $400 OBC on another cruise for those booked in the Retreat ($200 for normal peasants who booked elsewhere).  

 

I apologize for those for whom this is old news, and I'm sorry for those of you who had their cruises disrupted.  ☹️

 

Source: https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/08/celebrity-shortens-summits-2024-25-program-in-san-juan/

[C4HCG]

On 8/18/2023 at 1:21 AM, NMTraveller said:

I thought that those across the pond got a generous month of vacation?  No?

 

I am seriously considering this itinerary among others...

We do but very few of us can or do take it all at once for obvious reasons if you think about it.

[terrydtx]

On 8/15/2023 at 12:20 PM, Jeremiah1212 said:

Equinox - 2025 season shifts from South America to Port Canaveral. 

-No ship has been announced for 2025 South America 

-Equinox does mostly 7 night cruises from Port Canaveral including Coco Cay 

 

Celebrity has no plans to continue doing South America cruises as they are not as profitable as 7 day Caribbean ones. Celebrity did us a favor by cancelling the 2025 Santiago to Buenos Aires 14 night cruise. We are now booked on Oceania for 18 nights for less than our SS on the Equinox.