Celebrity needs new winter Caribbean cruises

[basil1]

I really want to do a Celebrity cruise in January, as we have for the last few years, but they have the same ole' itineraries. I would like a 10-11 day cruise but they only have two choices...St. Thomas, St Maarten, St. Kitts & Barbados which I have done twice or they have a Western Caribbean that does Cozumel (overnight), Grand Cayman, Colon, Cartegena and Puerto Limon. At first that sounded interesting but I am iffy about Puerto Limon and Colon.

Princess has some fabulous itineraries but my hubby is miffed at Princess for the service and crappy cabin we had on the last Princess cruise. What to do?? Try those ports on Celebrity's Western or go with the better itinerary on Princess but less service etc.

Come on Celebrity give us winter escapees something new, please!

[joetop2467]

We loved the Celebrity cruise this past winter to Puerto Limon and Colon. We did the ship tour that went to Gatun Lake and through half of the Panama Canal Locks. It was a fabulous tour. If you have never been to Cartegena, Colombia it is a real treat. We were pleasantly surprised by all ports on this itinerary. We have been on 20 cruises and this itinerary was one of our favorites and the Equinox is probably our favorite ship. Would do it again in a minute.

[Lady Chew]

There are many cruisers for whom your "same ole itineraries" are brand new! So I guess they don't feel the need to change them.

 

Although we are like you, we have cruised in the Caribbean so often that we've been to the same places many times ... it would be nice to have some new ports! But not a big deal for us!

[royalcruz]

The Silhouette is doing a brand new 7 night Western Caribbean itinerary this coming season...instead of going to Labadee it will be going to Key West from morning to late afternoon. :)

[cruising in mn]

I really want to do a Celebrity cruise in January, as we have for the last few years, but they have the same ole' itineraries. I would like a 10-11 day cruise but they only have two choices...St. Thomas, St Maarten, St. Kitts & Barbados which I have done twice or they have a Western Caribbean that does Cozumel (overnight), Grand Cayman, Colon, Cartegena and Puerto Limon. At first that sounded interesting but I am iffy about Puerto Limon and Colon.

Princess has some fabulous itineraries but my hubby is miffed at Princess for the service and crappy cabin we had on the last Princess cruise. What to do?? Try those ports on Celebrity's Western or go with the better itinerary on Princess but less service etc.

Come on Celebrity give us winter escapees something new, please!

 

Boy I agree! Did the Summit already 3x. Then for the last 3 bookings, we booked the fabulous 11 day on the Summit that went to the ABC islands, specifically wanted to see Bonaire. And just this last week, or 3rd try was again cancelled for 2018 :(

If buying out the entire Summit from Jan 20-April sometime is so great, add another ship there please so the rest of us have one to go on while its Winter!

So, I agree with you.

[carolslc]

I agree. I had to switch to RCCL to get to the ABC islands.

[OCruisers]

Caribbean Princess has an 8 day which goes to all three of the ABC islands with several dates in 2017.

What went wrong with you cabin on your last Princess cruise?

[chemmo]

I really want to do a Celebrity cruise in January, as we have for the last few years, but they have the same ole' itineraries. I would like a 10-11 day cruise but they only have two choices...St. Thomas, St Maarten, St. Kitts & Barbados which I have done twice or they have a Western Caribbean that does Cozumel (overnight), Grand Cayman, Colon, Cartegena and Puerto Limon. At first that sounded interesting but I am iffy about Puerto Limon and Colon.

Princess has some fabulous itineraries but my hubby is miffed at Princess for the service and crappy cabin we had on the last Princess cruise. What to do?? Try those ports on Celebrity's Western or go with the better itinerary on Princess but less service etc.

Come on Celebrity give us winter escapees something new, please!

 

Puerto Limon was great. We did a river cruise that was informative, relaxing and fun. Colon is a great place NOT to get off the ship as most people do! We had a wonderful day on board an empty ship last visit there!

 

If they are your only concerns you have a great cruise! If not why not look at lines you have never tried before rather than go back to one you were less than satisfied with?

 

Whatever you choose to do have a great Cruise!

Edited August 8, 2016 by chemmo

[nekzaadvakil]

I really wish Celebrity had at least 1 S class ship in Europe in Dec-Jan.

[di T]

I really wish Celebrity had at least 1 S class ship in Europe in Dec-Jan.

 

So do I,even out of Barca to Canaries would be nice for a little trip to brighten

The New year

[Sandtrap328]

OP and others interested in ABC islands--try Eclipse 14 day Caribbean cruise. We've done this cruise 6 times, and while sometimes Bonaire may not be on itinerary, cruise and ports are always enjoyable. In fact, number 7 is already planned for March. Also, one on the Equinox's longer itineraries also offers ABC islands.

[Mynki]

I agree their Caribbean itineraries could be mixed up a bit to make them more interesting. We were taking a look at the summer Equinox sailings next year. They're pretty good deals with the included perks etc but not the most exciting itineraries so we decided against booking.

 

That said we did think a later cruise on the Reflection looked good, ironically it sails to Puerto Limon so I'm curious to know why people think it's not a good place to visit. :)

[CruisingChick]

Yes, Celebrity needs new Winter Caribbean cruises out of Cape Liberty, NJ.

[JUST TRIPPIN']

We love to sail out of San Juan on the southern itinerary but Celebrity has basically taken that away from us this coming winter as well as 2018 with all of their weeks chartered out.

 

The eastern itinerary out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale is weak. We chose to take the western itinerary this coming year because we love the Reflection. As far as 2018, I think we need to go shopping for another cruise line sadly.

 

Sure would be nice as someone above mentioned...put another ship out there if you are going to basically take away our winter southern Caribbean voyages from us.

[ChucktownSteve]

I really want to do a Celebrity cruise in January, as we have for the last few years, but they have the same ole' itineraries. I would like a 10-11 day cruise but they only have two choices...St. Thomas, St Maarten, St. Kitts & Barbados which I have done twice or they have a Western Caribbean that does Cozumel (overnight), Grand Cayman, Colon, Cartegena and Puerto Limon. At first that sounded interesting but I am iffy about Puerto Limon and Colon.

Princess has some fabulous itineraries but my hubby is miffed at Princess for the service and crappy cabin we had on the last Princess cruise. What to do?? Try those ports on Celebrity's Western or go with the better itinerary on Princess but less service etc.

Come on Celebrity give us winter escapees something new, please!

 

Did you see the 14 night on the Eclipse January 22, 2017?

Sun Jan 22 Miami, FL 4:30pm

Mon Jan 23 At Sea

Tue Jan 24 At Sea

Wed Jan 25 Bonaire 9:00am 6:00pm

Thu Jan 26 Curacao 7:00am 11:00pm

Fri Jan 27 Aruba 8:00am

Sat Jan 28 Aruba 5:00pm

Sun Jan 29 At Sea

Mon Jan 30 Barbados 8:00am 11:59pm

Tue Jan 31 St. Lucia 8:00am 5:00pm

Wed Feb 1 St. Kitts 8:00am 5:00pm

Thu Feb 2 St. Maarten 8:00am 5:00pm

Fri Feb 3 At Sea

Sat Feb 4 At Sea

Sun Feb 5 Miami, FL 7:00am

[wombatjoey]

would love to see some new ports

[bookitdanno]

Yes, Celebrity needs new Winter Caribbean cruises out of Cape Liberty, NJ.

 

I wonder if folks that want Celebrity in Winter from New York have ever cruised from a Northern port in the winter.

 

You would be losing 2 1/2 days EACH way to cold weather before you get to the warm climate.

So... a 10 day cruise becomes 5 days of fun in the sun.

 

Much more cost effective to fly to Florida and take a cruise from there, the extra days of warm weather cruising would more than make up for the airline tickets. IMHO I've done one sail away in a snowstorm out of Baltimore. Never again.

 

Also, I can't see people flying in from Canada or Northern US to help fill the ship.

 

There is already a RCCL ship there year round. And Celebrity only has a fleet of 9 ships. Perhaps when the EDGE class are all built one of the M Class could be put in Bayonne permanently.

[basil1]

Thanks for commiserating with me :-) and for your input on the ports I was questioning -Colon and Puerto Limon. That helps to hear that at least one of them is a great port.

I'd love to do a cruise that included the "ABC" islands. I've been to A but never B&C. Actually I went to Aruba on the same cruise in which I visited Cartagena and that was many years ago (at least 10).

 

I did see the 14 day Caribbean that includes the ABC islands, but there is a big problem with the dates vs work schedule on that one. It's a long story but suffice it to say that the first half of January is better for me.

 

To the person who asked about my problem with Princess last time. We booked an outside cabin. This is something which we never do because we prefer a balcony cabin. I think we booked that cruise with fairly short notice...like a month out maybe. I was OK with the Outside cabin as far as not having a balcony because the weather would have limited the use of it anyway. The problem was the beds were terrible. You could clearly see a hammock, so to speak, forming in the mattresses. We complained about it and they put eggcrate mattress covers on the bed but it really didn't help at all. And there were two overhead bunks on each side of the room. They were hanging over the edge of the bed. So in order to get out of bed you had to slide to the foot and stand up or get out of bed and bend forward over the bed so as not to hit your head. BTW the ship wasn't full so they could have moved us but never offered.On the previous Princess, before that one, we had really bad beds as well.

We've never had bad or uncomfortable beds on celebrity. So my hubby is really iffy about going on Princess. Plus there were a few other minor things, but the beds are the deal breaker for my hubby.

They have some great itineraries though!

[jabrown40]

Sadly, two week cruises are not always a good option for those that aren't retired.

[neverbeenhere]

Your Caribbean choices... Pick your poison.

 

Oranjestad, Aruba

Bridgetown, Barbados

Kralendijk, Bonaire

Cartegena, Columbia

Isla de Providencia, Columbia

Isla de San Andres, Columbia

Willemsted, Curacao

Cabrits, Dominica

Portsmouth, Dominica

Roseau, Dominica

St. George's, Grenada

Bequia, Grenadines

Mayreau, Grenadines

Tobago Cays, Grenadines

Fort-de-France, Martinique

Saba, Netherland Antilles

Castries, St. Lucia

Scarborough, Tobago

Port of Spain, Trinidad

Isla de los Roques, Venezuela

Isla de Tortuga, Venezuela

Isla de Margarita, Venezuela

Catalina Island, Dominican Republic

Cayo Levantado, Dominican Republic

La Romana, Dominican Republic

Samana, Dominican Republic

George Town, Grand Cayman

Labadee, Haiti

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Port Antonio, Jamaica

Cancun, Mexico

Costa Maya, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

Majahual, Mexico

Merida, Mexico

Veracruz, Mexico

St. John's, Antigua

Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

Charlestown, Nevis

Culebra, Puerto Rico

Ponce, Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Gustavia, St. Barts

Basseterre, St. Kitt's

Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Frederiksted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Cruz Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas

Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas

Paradise Island, Bahamas

City of Hamilton, Bermuda

King's Wharf, Bermuda

St. George Town, Bermuda

[lovemylab]

We visited Puerto Limon and Colon a few years ago and loved both of them.

 

To enjoy these ports, you need to get away from the port area and into the countryside. In Puerto Limon we went white water rafting followed by an amazing lunch and tour of the countryside. In Colon we took the ferry through the Panama Canal.

 

I love the 11 day itinerary because it offers both tropical beach ports and ports for those who want to experience adventure & nature.

[wallie5446]

would love to see some new ports

 

OK, what foreign country in the Caribe can build a dock and set up everything need to handle 3000 passengers?:confused:

[Mynki]

OK, what foreign country in the Caribe can build a dock and set up everything need to handle 3000 passengers?:confused:

 

Cuba? :D

[wallie5446]

Cuba? :D

 

Not allowed by our big wigs, YET :D But it is coming.

[Mynki]

Indeed. I was looking at the cruises there offered by Fathom.

 

I think a land vacation needs to be taken there soon before the place becomes commercialised.