Bermuda

[adonisr]

Any idea why Celebrity has cut back on Bermuda sailings in 2020?  Looking at the schedule, only a few sailings next year.

[Iamcruzin]

I was wondering the same thing. Looks like they are alternating between Canada/New England and Bermuda. They really switched up the itineraries. I guess the 7 day Bermuda run was getting old. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

I was wondering the same thing. Looks like they are alternating between Canada/New England and Bermuda. They really switched up the itineraries. I guess the 7 day Bermuda run was getting old. 

Because they didn’t have a 7 day itinerary in mid June this year I didn’t initially book. Those 11 and 10 day June itineraries didn’t sell well. About a week before the 11 day June itinerary the price dropped precipitously. So low that I booked the 11 day Bermuda and New England cruise a week out from the sale date for cheap. And the ship was not sold out. So I don’t think the change helped their business. 
 

My theory is that they can’t compete with NCL on the 7 day itineraries from the New York area with the older and smaller Summit. NCL puts their newest and biggest ships on the run. Every couple of years their next gen ship. The last few years Breakaway, then Escape and next year the brand new Encore. Every couple of years a new ship. And they leave from Manhattan. Celebrity continues with the same old, same old. 
 

 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Charles4515

[TeaBag]

That's too bad.  I love Bermuda and have no interest in NCL.  Guess we'll have to watch out for TA's that have Bermuda on the itinerary.

[Iamcruzin]

47 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Because they didn’t have a 7 day itinerary in mid June this year I didn’t initially book. Those 11 and 10 day June itineraries didn’t sell well. About a week before the 11 day June itinerary the price dropped precipitously. So low that I booked the 11 day Bermuda and New England cruise a week out from the sale date for cheap. And the ship was not sold out. So I don’t think the change helped their business. 
 

My theory is that they can’t compete with NCL on the 7 day itineraries from the New York area with the older and smaller Summit. NCL puts their newest and biggest ships on the run. Every couple of years their next gen ship. The last few years Breakaway, then Escape and next year the brand new Encore. Every couple of years a new ship. And they leave from Manhattan. Celebrity continues with the same old, same old. 
 

 

Looks like Royal Caribbean took over the 7 day runs for 2020 on Empress of the Seas.  I would be more likely to sail on  Royal than NCL as the destination is more important than the ship. Empress actually calls on Hamilton and St George with is a plus.

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Looks like Royal Caribbean took over the 7 day runs for 2020 on Empress of the Seas.  I would be more likely to sail on  Royal than NCL as the destination is more important than the ship. Empress actually calls on Hamilton and St George with is a plus.

I would not consider the Empress of the Seas runs a takeover of the 7 day runs. They were added on after Celebrity had announced their 2020 deployment. Empress was doing the Royal Caribbean runs to Cuba.  When they had to cancel doing Cuba they had to find a new itinerary for Empress. The Empress itinerary is a good one though. Better than the NCL’s or Summit’s 7 day Bermuda runs. 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Charles4515

[cheeseclan]

We have cruised on a # of different lines but have mostly cruised Princess recently.  We are actually taking our first Celebrity Cruise this January and can’t wait.

 

We were on the east coast and had extra time so we decided to take the NCL Escape to Bermuda this past August.  We were not expecting much but ended up having a fabulous time.  We can honestly say the food, staff and entertainment were better than on Princess.  The rooms were tiny and we had a mini suite, although the bathrooms were nice with double sinks. And this ship was loud but that was okay for this cruise.

Would we cruise on  them again, yes to Bermuda or the Caribbean.

By the way Bermuda was great.  We were there for almost 3 full days!  The drink package was also very good and the drinks were full strength!!  We have been in other lines that serve watered down drinks. Not in NCL.

Edited November 12, 2019 by cheeseclan

[hcat]

We are booked for the May  10 day itin..to Newport, Charleston and Bermuda

Something a bit different...looking forward to it.

 

For our stop on Bermuda, we plan to do stuff near the ship,,,..have toured the island several  times and did a land vac there many yrs ago..It's a nice place but only just so much to see and do,,

 

We have zero interest in NCL

Edited November 12, 2019 by hcat

[cruzrbachoua]

I just found this thread after I noticed Celebrity changed their lovely 7day Bermuda to now drop a sea day and add Newport...ick.  We sooo loved the 7 day we did with them and were hoping to do it with our friends...lets hope celebrity brings back the normal 7 day NJ-Bermuda-NJ....loved the laid back nature of that cruise. 

[dkjretired]

51 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

I just found this thread after I noticed Celebrity changed their lovely 7day Bermuda to now drop a sea day and add Newport...ick.  We sooo loved the 7 day we did with them and were hoping to do it with our friends...lets hope celebrity brings back the normal 7 day NJ-Bermuda-NJ....loved the laid back nature of that cruise. 

Don’t get off the ship in Newport, personally Newport is a great addition but each to his own. 
 

I don’t think the changes had anything to do with competing with NCL. I did the Bermuda trip during the Summer and before summer many times and it was always full.

[cruzrbachoua]

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

Don’t get off the ship in Newport, personally Newport is a great addition but each to his own. 

Yes I understand we don't have to get off but we  loved those sea days and just not quite same sitting in port. We have been to Newport and yes it is fabulous but we went in fall and in my mind see it as a fall destination not a beach one which is what we are looking for when we do Bermuda.

[dkjretired]

42 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Yes I understand we don't have to get off but we  loved those sea days and just not quite same sitting in port. We have been to Newport and yes it is fabulous but we went in fall and in my mind see it as a fall destination not a beach one which is what we are looking for when we do Bermuda.

It’s a tender port, pretend your at sea 🌊 n an almost empty ship.

[Laurab23]

I loved the 7 day Bermuda on Summit. Have done it the past several years but now they have stopped it. I am doing the 10 day to Newport,Charleston and Bermuda . I have never been to Newport so I am looking forward to that but my travelling buddy lives in Boston so she has been to Newport many times. She says she is happy just to cruising and getting some time in Bermuda. I am also not too pleased that we get into Bermuda in the afternoon and not early morning. But we always have a good time,no matter what and we are both looking forward to this cruise.

 

Laura

[mdpa]

We did Oceania in August out of NYC and spent the day before in Central Park. Great trip. 

 

We did this for these reasons:

 

- Oceania's Bermuda trip is priced well for the lower rooms (we did Ocean View)

- Spent more time in Bermuda and stopped at both of the small towns (St. George and Hamilton) instead of the large ship port

- Wanted to try Oceania's food, free specialty dining, free specialty coffee, etc.

- Very easy on/off the ship

 

That said, looking forward to our Celebrity cruise to Asia in January.

[dkjretired]

2 hours ago, mdpa said:

We did Oceania in August out of NYC and spent the day before in Central Park. Great trip. 

 

We did this for these reasons:

 

- Oceania's Bermuda trip is priced well for the lower rooms (we did Ocean View)

- Spent more time in Bermuda and stopped at both of the small towns (St. George and Hamilton) instead of the large ship port

- Wanted to try Oceania's food, free specialty dining, free specialty coffee, etc.

- Very easy on/off the ship

 

That said, looking forward to our Celebrity cruise to Asia in January.

Celebrity used to do two ships going to Bermuda weekly with four days in Bermuda.  Miss that trip.