What's with the new overnights?

[Elusive_Cruiser]

I'm surprised that after 9 pages of posts our CC friend, Celebrity Cruises, hasn't pipped in yet!

 

There seems to be mixed opinions as to why this 'overnight'/drop a port change has been made, rather last minute. I saw this change when the 2017 itineraries were released, and fair enough - it was a change many have been asking for. But why the last minute for the 2016 sailings?

 

Lots of people, in the 9 pages, accept that itineraries change, due to weather or political conditions. Pretty much all have expressed their disconcern over a change to a posted itinerary after they've booked that is not related to these reasons.

 

I myself have a Feb 2016 10-day Equinox booked. I was really excited to be going back to Dominica...our favorite island to date.. Yes, once you've cruised a few times, the islands become same-o same-o, but not Dominica. It truly is an island blessed with magical gifts of nature.

 

To date, the website and MyCruises show this as originally booked, but a roll call member has advised that we too, have lost Dominica in favor of overnight at St. Martins (apparently including the first day being tendered).

 

I was extremely sad with this change. But on reading the previous 9 pages, yes, I will make lemonade. Going to the other side of St Martin was previously not on our radar. Now it is and I'm sure it will be an experience to remember.

 

Mostly, for us, our cruises are about getting a break from Canadian winters. So making lemonade is pretty easy. We can be disappointed, but we will survive!!

 

But, would still like to hear what Celebrity Cruises CC has to say....

[hcat]

Infinity was sailing to Bonaire on Oct 7, Oct 17, and Oct 27, 2016. The Oct 7 and Oct 17, 2016, sailings have gone missing.

 

According to Celebrity website the Oct. 27, 2016, sailing is still a go with stops in Bonaire and Dominica with overnight in Aruba. Hope this cruise does NOT go missing.

 

As you know, we switched our booking on the 10/17 Infinity ABC sailing....the uncertainty and lack of any explanation from X for placing it on hold was not acceptable.. we.moved to 10/27...same perks, same cabin but $100 more...overnight in Aruba instead of Curacao..but we still have Bonaire (.btw..I did not print out the itin but fairly sure Dominica is not on this itin..)

 

hopefully we are now set with our 3 booked cruises and will see what they offer in the future...

[UniPac]

So i just went on the Celebrity website and it still shows our original itinerary. (WITH Bonaire).

Some people on our Roll Call have heard from their TAs that the itinerary has been changed but we have not. (She did send an email that our Feb. 2017 itinerary had changed)

Is there any chance that maybe we will be lucky enough to have our original itinerary?

 

If you tell me ship and sail date I can look up the itinerary on my local TA that already has the new informations.

[DYKWIA]

Prefer the notion of an overnight stay mid cruise as opposed to an overnight stay at the beginning or end of the cruise which is what Celebrity seems to do in Europe.

 

When we board we want to sail away (particularly if we've flown in the day before) and when we get back to the final port it I think it would feel strange waiting 24 hours to leave. I feel that if I wanted an overnight at the start or end of a cruise that is something easily done in a hotel.

 

I can understand people feeling a bit miffed with a change to a cruise itinerary in the next few months based on commercial factors - when it comes to cruises 2 years away perhaps less so.

 

I don't know the relative merits of one port over another in the Caribbean but certainly wouldn't want an enforced itinerary change after booking a Med Cruise to allow us to "experience" an overnight stay in Gibraltar at the expense of say a stop in Rome

Edited May 24, 2015 by DYKWIA

[Redtravel]

I have done overnights in many ports. There are many ports that warrant more than a day. I have Celebrity cruises that stayed overnight in ports. One cruise ended in Venice with an overnight and another started in Venice with an overnight. Having an overnight at the start or end of a cruise is very nice. It gives extra time if your plane is delayed. Celebrity does 2 overnights while they dock in Bermuda. It lets you enjoy the island at a more relaxed pace. Azamara overnights are excellent. Last year I did an overnight in Nantes,France and 2 overnights in Bordeaux. Both ports had a lot to do. Some ports are not worth staying overnight. Curacao is not a place where I would overnight. Having been there many times, there really is not much to see or do. Aruba has some nightlife in the casinos. Most Caribbean ports are rather dull. Maybe a beach, some shopping, some vegetation or local color....not enough to get me happy about staying overnight. I have enjoyed 14 night cruises in January on the Eclipse. Maybe it's time to explore other options. I like moving from port to port each night. If I really wanted to stay longer on a Caribbean island, I would fly in and stay. The bottom line is that Celebrity has changed. It keeps trying to reinvent itself. Each change seems to be a move to making more money. Passengers will pay extra port charges and the cruise line will save money on fuel.

[chamima]

If you tell me ship and sail date I can look up the itinerary on my local TA that already has the new informations.

 

 

Thanks but I did as CTBob suggested and pretended to book the cruise and the new itinerary showed up. :(

 

 

I DO agree with everyone who said that changing for 2017 would be acceptable.

We are booked on the same itinerary for 2017 and I got an email from our TA with that notice and was disappointed but nowhere near as upset as with the change for 2016.

 

 

I again urge everyone that is upset with these changes to let Celebrity know (either by phone call to the Captain's Club or email or both) rather than just complaining on CC.

[hulamoon]

There must be a reason they are reluctant to go to Bonaire? Does it cost more? People cruise for different reasons, but is it not still a great snorkel dive area?

[chamima]

There must be a reason they are reluctant to go to Bonaire? Does it cost more? People cruise for different reasons, but is it not still a great snorkel dive area?

 

 

Yes , i think it's the best snorkel/dive area in the Caribbean.

It's also a beautiful, quiet, unspoiled island. VERY different than what most of the islands have become.

 

 

That said, some of the itineraries have dropped Antigua instead of Bonaire.

We also love Antigua but at least that change puts the ship in Barbados on a weekday instead of a Sunday so people could actually DO something with that late evening that has also been added.

 

I STILL think the reasons for these changes are purely financial. (Sorry if I'm cynical)

Less fuel costs for sailing to different islands and I would wager that the ports they are staying in have lower port costs or have negotiated a 2 day "bargain" rate in expectation of people eating dinner, etc. on shore.

[UniPac]

I STILL think the reasons for these changes are purely financial. (Sorry if I'm cynical)

Less fuel costs for sailing to different islands and I would wager that the ports they are staying in have lower port costs or have negotiated a 2 day "bargain" rate in expectation of people eating dinner, etc. on shore.

 

I fully agree, that's what I've written before. The port cost are for sure lower or the same, but they save a lot of fuel that way.

 

On my last cruise I learned that travelling at full speed for about 12-13 hours did cost 170.000 USD (we had to rescue two mariners). Yes full speed does cost more, but let's say at regular speed to get from one port to another in the carib it should be about 100k then. EQ and EC do about 25 carib cruises in 2015, so that's 2.5 million USD in fuel...

I know, it's just an estimate - but I think it is not too far away. Could be 1.5 or even 3millions... however, still some savings per year for two ships!

[MVPinBoynton]

I think the changes have less to do about making money than to make X look like the more upscale lines that do more overnights. Especially since they are now promoting "most overnights in port on Caribbean sailings." Saving fuel costs and having a marketing competitive advantage is a win-win for X. Not necessarily for those of us that have had an important port removed from our itineraries.

[texkan]

Thanks but I did as CTBob suggested and pretended to book the cruise and the new itinerary showed up. :(

 

 

I DO agree with everyone who said that changing for 2017 would be acceptable.

We are booked on the same itinerary for 2017 and I got an email from our TA with that notice and was disappointed but nowhere near as upset as with the change for 2016.

 

 

I again urge everyone that is upset with these changes to let Celebrity know (either by phone call to the Captain's Club or email or both) rather than just complaining on CC.

 

Complaint has been filed but keep getting reply that Revenue Dept is in charge.

[UniPac]

I think the changes have less to do about making money than to make X look like the more upscale lines that do more overnights. Especially since they are now promoting "most overnights in port on Caribbean sailings." Saving fuel costs and having a marketing competitive advantage is a win-win for X. Not necessarily for those of us that have had an important port removed from our itineraries.

 

I agree that it is not only because of $$$ - but I bet that's not an unimportant point either.

[chamima]

I agree that it is not only because of $$$ - but I bet that's not an unimportant point either.

 

Complaint has been filed but keep getting reply that Revenue Dept is in charge.

 

 

 

So if "Revenue Dept. is in charge" then it IS about $$$. :rolleyes:

[judyfssw]

We stayed overnight when we ended our cruise in Australia. We stayed overnight in St. Petersburg, Russia. And we stayed the 2 nights in Bermuda. On a port intensive cruise, it's nice to have an extra day somewhere to relax and take a break. This is just mho and I respect others who feel differently.

[macaroni]

You cannot compare Australia and Russia with the Caribbean...port intensive Caribbean ports are all relaxing if you want them to be...

[RDC1]

After reading this thread i checked our cruise planner for our 12 night Xmas and new year cruise on the eclipse in 2016. We now have an overnight in St marteen and are not now going to St Kitts at all. I'm very disappointed, this is likely my first and last Caribbean cruise and I wanted to visit as many islands as possible, in particular St Kitts. I've not heard from celebrity and the UK website is showing the old intinerary. If I cancel I will lose my deposit for the two cabins I've booked and I've also booked the next cruise as well.

It's not a deal breaker I guess but it would have been nice to have had an email or even a message on the website.

 

If you booked via the UK web site they might have to give you the opportunity to cancel under the package travel regulations concerning changes to the package. Since this clearly is a change that is not outside of the control of the provider.

[tbmrt]

Am I the only one that thinks this is a terrible idea? My March 2016 Equinox 10 day southern Caribbean dropped Dominica in favor of an overnight in St Maarten. Dominica is one of the reasons I booked that cruise. I've been to St Maarten 3 times and can't fathom what I'm going to do sitting there for another day (other than sit on the ship, I guess). Plus, their reasoning is that they got such great feedback from the overnights on European cruises, Well, duh, who wouldn't want to stay an extra day in a European port? They've had hundreds of years to build up cultural and archeological history that you just can't see in an 8 hour stop. Plus, stopping at one port in Europe for more than a day gives you access to points in Europe farther than the port, so you can plan a long excursion to a place not normally accessible during a normal port stop. On a Caribbean island, none of those apply. You're still on an island and they are geared towards beach activities and short excursions. So what, now I'm going to tour twice around St Maarten and hang out for 4 hours on the same beach I would've spent an hour and a half on before? And now I should spend 3 hours in Diamonds International instead of 5 minutes? Ok, that last one was a joke. You get my point, though. European cities have much more to do at night than Caribbean islands. Think about what this does to each area as well in terms of having to upgrade the infrastructure to account for hundreds or thousands of tourists now wandering around at night when normally the ports close down after the ships leave. And is anyone really going to want to be walking around a Caribbean island at 1 AM? Heck, I hardly feel safe walking around some of them in the middle of the day. I hope I read more about the positive side of this change, but right now I am not a happy cruiser.

 

Dominica is one of our favorite ports and I would be quite upset if that was cancelled. Although we're quite adventuresome, I wouldn't want to walk around some of the Caribbean ports in the dark.

[port msp]

I'll try to keep an open mind, but I don't see much upside to this, for me anyway. I suspect this has more to do with the cruise line saving money on fuel than any real benefit to passengers. Especially when a port is dropped to accommodate the overnight.

 

On our last cruise, we were supposed to port in San Juan PR at 3p, but didn't get in until 530p. All the National Park sites closed at 6p. We wandered around Old Town a bit, but very few of the local shops were open. Bars and restaurants were open, but we really aren't bar people and I'd already paid to eat on the ship. The best part of the port stop was pulling away from the quay and seeing El Morro lit up. I can't think of much I want to do on a Caribbean island at night, other than see it fading in the distance as I cruise to the next port.

 

I like to go out on our balcony at night and listen to the waves as the ship crashes through the water. I find it tranquil. I don't think listening to city sounds on the balcony will be nearly as relaxing. Plus, there's something about traveling through the night to a new destination. I generally try to be up and on our balcony as we approach and pull into a new port. I'm actually disappointed when I wake up to find we're already tied up and I've missed it. Yes, what they're scheduling is one night per 10+ day cruise. So far. I hope it doesn't filter down to 7 day cruises.

 

There aren't many Caribbean ports I need more than a few hours in anymore. While I've enjoyed visiting lots of ports, I don't need to see St. Maarten again for a while. I like St. Thomas because St. Johns is a short ferry ride away, but I've done most of what I've wanted in the Caribbean. I cruise to get away from the snow and ice for a week, but I know I don't want to sit on a beach for a week at some all-inclusive. There are still some ports I'd like to see, Martinique and St. Barts come to mind, but honestly, I"d love a Caribbean cruise with three sea days, a private island beach day or port day, followed by three sea days. YMMV

[MisterBill99]

Less fuel costs for sailing to different islands and I would wager that the ports they are staying in have lower port costs or have negotiated a 2 day "bargain" rate in expectation of people eating dinner, etc. on shore.

 

I fully agree, that's what I've written before. The port cost are for sure lower or the same, but they save a lot of fuel that way.

 

On my last cruise I learned that travelling at full speed for about 12-13 hours did cost 170.000 USD (we had to rescue two mariners). Yes full speed does cost more, but let's say at regular speed to get from one port to another in the carib it should be about 100k then. EQ and EC do about 25 carib cruises in 2015, so that's 2.5 million USD in fuel...

I know, it's just an estimate - but I think it is not too far away. Could be 1.5 or even 3millions... however, still some savings per year for two ships!

First, port charges are passed onto the customer, so I don't see it making a difference if they get a break on a second day or not.

 

As for fuel charges, they still have to get to the next port after the one they are skipping. I will admit that I haven't looked at any of the maps to see if the ports they are omitting are out of the way, but often the ship doesn't travel very far from one island to the other. Obviously there are exceptions, so it would be interesting to see if any of the omitted ports do allow them to save on fuel. Otherwise, they'd be heading in that direction anyway. Maybe they'll be out of the seas for less time and they'll go faster to get to the next port.

[MisterBill99]

There aren't many Caribbean ports I need more than a few hours in anymore. While I've enjoyed visiting lots of ports, I don't need to see St. Maarten again for a while. I like St. Thomas because St. Johns is a short ferry ride away, but I've done most of what I've wanted in the Caribbean. I cruise to get away from the snow and ice for a week, but I know I don't want to sit on a beach for a week at some all-inclusive. There are still some ports I'd like to see, Martinique and St. Barts come to mind, but honestly, I"d love a Caribbean cruise with three sea days, a private island beach day or port day, followed by three sea days. YMMV

Clearly you are not the type of customer they're making this change for.

[MisterBill99]

Dominica is one of our favorite ports and I would be quite upset if that was cancelled. Although we're quite adventuresome, I wouldn't want to walk around some of the Caribbean ports in the dark.

But would you buy an excursion to go somewhere at night? :)

[MisterBill99]

So if "Revenue Dept. is in charge" then it IS about $$$. :rolleyes:

Isn't that true about everything??

[Snit13]

WPG cruiser, I certainly have no idea re who or who does not get extended questionnaires. We have cruised out of the Caribbean two times in the last two years. We become Elite Plus after our next cruise. We complete all questionnaires sent to us because we believe they are a great way to communicate likes/dislikes.

 

Obviously new cruisers will not have been asked what you have, but I wonder how many other responders to this discussion have received the same questionnaire as you?

 

How hard would it be to ask all cruisers if there was a port of call they would have liked to spend longer at?

 

I have no issues with overnights. Just let us know before we book and if an itinerary is provisional when we book it indicate with a simple asterisk just that

 

We are Elite+ and we did not get a survey to respond to. We are on a cruise with Dominica cancelled and are not happy cruisers. I have been trying for months to get surveys sent post cruise and have never received a survey form.

[Snit13]

Thanks but I did as CTBob suggested and pretended to book the cruise and the new itinerary showed up. :(

 

 

I DO agree with everyone who said that changing for 2017 would be acceptable.

We are booked on the same itinerary for 2017 and I got an email from our TA with that notice and was disappointed but nowhere near as upset as with the change for 2016.

 

 

I again urge everyone that is upset with these changes to let Celebrity know (either by phone call to the Captain's Club or email or both) rather than just complaining on CC.

 

I plan to call and write a letter to CEO asap. Just returned home today from mini vacation so it is on my to do list.

[TxnAquarian]

I plan to call and write a letter to CEO asap. Just returned home today from mini vacation so it is on my to do list.

 

 

Trust me, I'm sure the CEO won't really care. If you're that upset about it, take your business elsewhere. I'm happy with the direction Celebrity is going and they'll still get my money.

 

 

 

Michael