CELEBRITY orders ANOTHER new ship!

[ocngypz]

With regard to those who are happy to see X spending money to improve the brand, would you not rather see them spending money to keep up their ships.

 

The Galaxy has been in need of drydock for well over a year, yet it still is not in the schedule. The Stratosphere, has become worthless with so many windows having broken seals. It was that way when I sail at the begining of 2005 and has gotten worse over the last year. The windows are either fogged or filled with water. It really kill the great views offered by this bar. The might as well cover the windows with sheets and call it Bar at the Edge of the Earth.

 

You are right on the money (excuse the pun).

 

I just got off HAL's new Noordam.. and all I can say is WOW. She is drop dead gorgeous and one classy ship. All cabins regardless of category have HAL's Signature of Excellence amenities... even the insides. I did take the opportunity of trying out the new beds. Oh my....... fabulous. Elemis products in the bathrooms, flat screen tv's. fruit bowls, flowers.... all Categories. There is even a new Culinary Demostration Center which was great fun.

 

HAL has raised the bar and Celebrity needs to answer.

[venicecruiser]

Well said, chessbriar!

[futaba951]

Be glad they were not named Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. :)

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I am willing to bet that the Solstice will do FLL E/W 7 day Crib year round, and then Equinox will go to SJU for 7 Day S.Crib in winter and summer in Europe on th BCN - VCE/IST 10/11 day run.

 

I would still love to see them give the Zenith a makeover w/ balconies, a slight stretch/renovation w/ a specialty restaurant and better fitness center/spa. They could make her their explorer and send her on all kinds of Exotic globe-trotting jaunts....... She'd give the Prinsendam a good run for her money ;)

[Andy]

I am willing to bet that the Solstice will do FLL E/W 7 day Crib year round, and then Equinox will go to SJU for 7 Day S.Crib in winter and summer in Europe on th BCN - VCE/IST 10/11 day run.

 

I would still love to see them give the Zenith a makeover w/ balconies, a slight stretch/renovation w/ a specialty restaurant and better fitness center/spa. They could make her their explorer and send her on all kinds of Exotic globe-trotting jaunts....... She'd give the Prinsendam a good run for her money ;)

 

Hi Scott

 

I agree on both counts. I do feel that Solstice will probably wind up doing at least part of the Year in the Caribbean, and possibly Year-round. This would free up Millennium to do other itineraries, and let Century or another C-Class ship to do shorter sailings. I think it would be a win-win for everyone, especially those that want to see some new destinations, and itineraries.

 

One of the great prospects of 2 new ships, is hopefully, there will be Cruises and Destinations, that will please all of us... that is, if Celebrity makes wise decisions. We will have to wait and see.

 

As for Zenith, I would love to see her get a makeover, and stay in Celebrity's fleet for a long time to come.... but I do suspect that may be a case of wishful thinking.

[poetic license]

With such large ships, I can only assume that they'll keep them in the Caribbean and perhaps the Med, doing all the "best hits" port stops. If that means that they can finally send some of the other ships to more exotic destinations - Australia/NZ, Asia, Around the World, then I'll be really happy!

This is what HAL has done. They use Prisendam, Rotterdam and Amsterdam (their smaller ships) for the 'exotic' itineraries and world cruises. The newer (and larger) ships do the bread and butter Caribbean and Mexican Riviera routes.

 

Having SOLSTICE and EQUINOX to bring in new customers makes sense. Let those ships schlep around the Caribbean, courting repeat passengers. Wouldn't you LOVE to see Celebrity offer a world cruise or Africa/Egypt/India voyages on CENTURY? Or how about an extended voyage of 21 days + to Hawaii/Tahiti/Zustralia/New Zealand? :eek:

 

Personally, I think the way they intend to use CENTURY after her facelift makes me wonder about their judgement. 4 and 5 day Caribbean cruises after a wonderful summer run in the Mediterranean??? Better to use that elegant lady on some wonderful NEW itineraries as mentioned above.

 

Oh, the possibilities!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

We all know that route planning has not been a strong point at RCCL/Celebrity over the last few years. They really need to offer better ports for the Celebrity cruises. This might help attract the kind of passengers they have worked so hard to cull.

 

Prime example is the 7 night E Crib on the Mille - what a load of CRUD!!!!!! Ever heard of Tortola, St. Kitts, Antigua, Turks & Caicos? "No" say RCCL/Celeb route planners -OOOh but what about if we do Nassau, San Juan, St. Thomas - that'll REALLY reel 'em in this year........

 

After 15 cruises I don't even consider getting off the ship in St. Thomas - It is just too crowded ashore. Now if they overnighted there I'd be tempted to go into town after all the other ships have gone bye-bye. Great bargains on good quality duty free goods seem to be a thing of the past there as well. Other islands offer far better quality in shopping. Heck for that matter so do the 4 outlet malls within a 1-2 hr drive of my house.

 

Okay - I think I need to eat - I'm gettin' snarky :)

[Ericknow32]

We all know that route planning has not been a strong point at RCCL/Celebrity over the last few years. They really need to offer better ports for the Celebrity cruises. This might help attract the kind of passengers they have worked so hard to cull.

 

Prime example is the 7 night E Crib on the Mille - what a load of CRUD!!!!!! Ever heard of Tortola, St. Kitts, Antigua, Turks & Caicos? "No" say RCCL/Celeb route planners -OOOh but what about if we do Nassau, San Juan, St. Thomas - that'll REALLY reel 'em in this year........

 

After 15 cruises I don't even consider getting off the ship in St. Thomas - It is just too crowded ashore. Now if they overnighted there I'd be tempted to go into town after all the other ships have gone bye-bye. Great bargains on good quality duty free goods seem to be a thing of the past there as well. Other islands offer far better quality in shopping. Heck for that matter so do the 4 outlet malls within a 1-2 hr drive of my house.

 

Okay - I think I need to eat - I'm gettin' snarky :)

RCI/X knows exactly what they are doing. If another itinerary would sell better they would switch the ship to that itinerary. The cruise lines are out there to make a profit. They will make much more of a profit by giving itineraries that more people want.

[cruise44]

Is Celebrity actually going to have Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox painted on the bow like so many other lines have done(Carnival, Costa) or is that just part of the press release. I wish they would bring back the name Meridian!

[Brucemcdou]

I have to agree with Nicki and snarky Scott and respectfully differ with Eric. While a cruiseline is certainly in business to make money, the image that RCCL has spent a lot of time and money developing for the Celebrity brand is of a slightly more adventurous, more open-minded cruiser who's willing to try new things and visit new places. They're a mainstream cruiseline, no question, but they launched the first spa cuisine! They offered acupuncture at sea! They created specialty restaurants that put those on Princess, RCCL or HAL to shame. They now have a ship in the Galapagos - no other mainstream cruiseline has done that.

 

So if they put the teeny-tiny little Zenith (or the surgically enhanced Century) on a round-the-Pacific itinerary from January to March one year, I bet they would be sold out at premium prices. Australia/NZ. Asia. Around-the-world. These itineraries would not only sell out, as do the Princess and HAL ships, they would burnish the Celebrity brand by emphasizing glamor and exploration, with chilled towels and fine dining when you get back to the ship. They can still sail Solstice and Equinox back and forth in the Caribbean from St. Thomas to Cozumel and the other big tourist stops, but just a couple of more exotic itineraries would really help the perception of Celebrity, IMHO.

 

Full disclosure: I am NOT a cruiseline marketing expert nor a brand consultant. I'm just a Celebrity fan who is seriously considering Princess or HAL for their really cool itineraries even though I know I'll have to tolerate bingo announcements in my cabin and lower quality dining in order to visit Singapore or Beijing on a cruise.