Does Celebrity need it's own private island?

[kelmac]

Now that Celebrity is adding it's Solstice class ships, perhaps they will have enough ships in the Caribbean to warrant it's own private island, or a Labadee type set up? Half Moon Cay, is Holland America's private island and it is a real bonus in my opinion. My wife and I just booked a HAL cruise that includes Half Moon Cay, Aruba and Curacao -- all this on a 7 day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale.

I think the time has come for RCI to set up something for Celebrity.

What do you think?

 

Kel:)

[canderson]

Why not have Celebrity use one of RCCL's Genesis class ships as a private island?:p

 

[Just as an aside -- many of the "private" islands out there aren't. That they aren't occupied for anything much apart from cruise ship traffic doesn't necessarily mean that the line(s) that use them own them. That point gets confused from time to time. Periodically, I hear that Isla Catalina (D.R.) is Celebrity's "private island". It's a national park of the D.R. I think that's the only one commonly attributed to Celebrity, though.]

 

I'm not clear about the value except that it provides the line with a "lock" on a particular port day. I guess there's an advantage in that once in a while.

[ocngypz]

I don't see the necessity of one corporation with only two cruiselines in the Caribbean having more than one "island".

[ahoughton]

Sounds good to me. I think as many ships RCI has in the Caribbean, they could keep another island busy with Celebrity ships. It makes for a relaxing day.

[flashdog_1]

Are we intimating that Coco Cay is not large enough to accommodate more than one ship? I've seen pictures of more than one HAL ship at Half Moon Cay and it was really crowded.

 

Personally, I am not enamored of any of the private islands. I live close enough to Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico beaches to go to them every year, so for people like me, there's not a lot of allure to an island. But I can see that for land locked people it would be desireable.

[kelmac]

Are we intimating that Coco Cay is not large enough to accommodate more than one ship? I've seen pictures of more than one HAL ship at Half Moon Cay and it was really crowded.

 

Personally, I am not enamored of any of the private islands. I live close enough to Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico beaches to go to them every year, so for people like me, there's not a lot of allure to an island. But I can see that for land locked people it would be desireable.

 

flashdog_1,

 

I see your point. Living in the high desert and mountains, we can't wait to get to the ocean/beach!:cool: :) HAL's Half Moon Cay is a very special place and we be returning there twice in the next 13 months. Everyone is adding new ships and if the cruise lines don't start finding new ports....,well can you imagine 14 ships in Cozumel; 10 ships at St Thomas. I think the time has come.

 

Kel

[USSFRef]

It would have to be something really spectacular. The way I see it, these "private" islands are just another opportunity to milk the passengers while they're essentially a captive audience.

[CaroleSP]

It hasn't really been stated here, but isn't Coco Cay Celebrity's private island? We have been scheduled there a few times, but only got to go once; there are often high seas in the area and they won't let the tenders do the transfer.

Our itinerary for the 3/26 Constellation was just changed to a stop at Coco (I sure hope we can do it) dropping Nassau (no great loss). I can't see that they would have enough room for 2 ships. It was quite comfortable with the number of pax carried on the Galaxy in the past.

Keep your fingers crossed for us that we can stop next month.

[CaroleSP]

Forgot to mention, I hear that HAL's island is by far the best.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I dont see the need for another island like this, as they already use CocoCay, and possibly could use Labadee (from Royal Caribbean) as options. Both of those are excellent places. I would think that at least 1 of them will wind up on the Solstice itinerary, should it wind up doing Caribbean sailings.

[gofigure49]

Celebrity used to offer an excursion to Catalina Island. However, they no longer do. The personnel at the shore excursions desk indicated that they have "severed" their relationship with the island because of the overly-aggressive shopkeepers on the island. We asked if there was a way to get there on our own. They just said "we don't recommend you go there"....end of discussion. Too bad...it was a nice day. Costa still uses Catalina though

[Moose Tracks]

Have been a couple of times to HAL's Half Moon Cay and it is lovely, however, if the seas are rough you won't get to it. Luckily we've only missed it once out of our three trips due to rough waters, but our friends have only been twice out of five attempts...not very good odds. I'm thinking it's better to forego a private island that requires tendering and have another port where you can dock.

Lynn

[canderson]

Celebrity used to offer an excursion to Catalina Island. However, they no longer do. The personnel at the shore excursions desk indicated that they have "severed" their relationship with the island because of the overly-aggressive shopkeepers on the island. We asked if there was a way to get there on our own. They just said "we don't recommend you go there"....end of discussion. Too bad...it was a nice day. Costa still uses Catalina though

Which Catalina Island? Isla Catalina off the D.R.? They were still stopping there last April. The shopkeepers there weren't any more annoying than at many other ports we've visited.

[gofigure49]

Yes...off the D.R. This was just this past December/05. We were there on the Constellation February/05. This was a recent decision. Apparently the shopkeepers were coming down to the beach instead of staying in their booths. To me, no more annoying than any place else...however, Celebrity felt differently.

[canderson]

Yes...off the D.R. This was just this past December/05. We were there on the Constellation February/05. This was a recent decision. Apparently the shopkeepers were coming down to the beach instead of staying in their booths. To me, no more annoying than any place else...however, Celebrity felt differently.

Interesting. Must have been trying to drum up extra business. The staff were keeping them up at least above the "boardwalk" when we were there, shooing them away if they ventured any further.

 

We had a relaxing afternoon there, but arrived post-lunch, assuming that as the shorex info said, we'd be fed there. Turns out the beach buffet shut down right after lunch, and there wasn't anything else being offered anywhere. We'd had a fairly light breakfast at about 7am, so by thei time 2pm rolled around, we were more than ready to eat. There wasn't going to be a tender back to the ship until 5:00 or so!

 

We finally bothered enough staff members, and one was good enough to escort us down the beach to one of the three brightly colored two room shacks at the end of the beach. Turns out one of them acted as the local feed station for those same shopkeepers, and they really don't feed tourists, so we were an exception.

 

Nothing fancy, but really tasty -- they were able to fry us up some chicken, and with red beans and rice and Cokes, we kept from starving. If you ever get back, it's the red shack. Our hosts, below:

[wolfganghowell]

Well, thanks for solving the mystery of Catalina. We stopped there in 2002 and loved it - we anchored by the island and the ship ran tenders back and forth all day - it was heaven! 2003 it was not offered and although I saw it on the excursions while doing some pre planning last December, I saw it disappear again. We were bummed that it was no longer offered as an excursion since Casa de Ugh is not my favorite port. Now I know why. Too bad - Casa de Ugh offers nothing of interest unless you are into long shuttle rides or golf.

[kelmac]

Have been a couple of times to HAL's Half Moon Cay and it is lovely, however, if the seas are rough you won't get to it. Luckily we've only missed it once out of our three trips due to rough waters, but our friends have only been twice out of five attempts...not very good odds. I'm thinking it's better to forego a private island that requires tendering and have another port where you can dock.

Lynn

 

I think ships bypass Grand Cayman because of weather more often than they bypass HMC. All tendering situations have a risk, but I would rather skip Nassau, Ocho Rios, San Juan..., in favor of a private beach area. I think Coco Cay was the old Royal Caribbean island, but switched to Labadee because of the protected bay there?

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[momofmeg]

Are we intimating that Coco Cay is not large enough to accommodate more than one ship? I've seen pictures of more than one HAL ship at Half Moon Cay and it was really crowded.

 

Personally, I am not enamored of any of the private islands. I live close enough to Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico beaches to go to them every year, so for people like me, there's not a lot of allure to an island. But I can see that for land locked people it would be desireable.

 

 

That is my feel. i prefer to just go to another port myself-although I did feel Disney had a great set up for their private island. It was lots nicer then Coco cay.

[bubbie617]

It would have to be something really spectacular. The way I see it, these "private" islands are just another opportunity to milk the passengers while they're essentially a captive audience.

 

Last time we were in Labadee (June 2005), we took NO money with us. It just didn't occur to me. I wasn't looking for souvenirs/junque. We rented one floating mat which hubby and I shared. That was put on the ship account.

 

You can't be "milked" if you have no money with you. Lunch and beverages are provided. If you want something alcoholic, that also goes on your shipboard account.

 

The stop in Labadee turned out to be a very relaxing beach day. And that statement is coming from someone who HATES the beach. I can't wait to go there again.

[hermang]

I think ships bypass Grand Cayman because of weather more often than they bypass HMC. All tendering situations have a risk, but I would rather skip Nassau, Ocho Rios, San Juan..., in favor of a private beach area. I think Coco Cay was the old Royal Caribbean island, but switched to Labadee because of the protected bay there?

 

Enjoy!

Kel

Our first cruise on the Soverign was I believe eastern caribbean and included coco cay - never got there because of the seas - but western carib uses Labadee - whioch I think is one of the prettiest - great beach day. Id ;ike to see Celebrity use Labadee if at all possible - the tenders there are very large and tendering is very quick

[kelmac]

Our first cruise on the Soverign was I believe eastern caribbean and included coco cay - never got there because of the seas - but western carib uses Labadee - whioch I think is one of the prettiest - great beach day. Id ;ike to see Celebrity use Labadee if at all possible - the tenders there are very large and tendering is very quick

 

hermang,

 

I know what you mean! Royal Caribbean seems to be able to empty those Voyager class ships with no problems (at Labadee). I've never been to Coco Cay.

 

Kel

[cruisewmn]

Disney does have a nice setup. They invested millions and built an actual dock -- no tendering. It makes it easy to go back to your room to pick something up. Also, because the entire island is owned by Disney and no locals live on the island, there is absolutely no one trying to sell you anything (except in the gift shops). I've always wondered why other cruise lines don't learn from this model.

[Pincus]

Personally, I'd rather the money was spent on keeping Celebrity ships in shape. A stay at an island is only one day on a small segment of Celebrity's itineraries, mainly the Caribbean, but a sparkling ship does just that -- sparkles -- for the entire cruise.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Pincus

[SANDY BEACH]

About 4 years ago, we sailed Millennium and went to Catalina Island. It may have been the best day of the cruise. I would vote "definitely" for an out island. This is one of the reasons we keep going back to another cruise line for sailings.

[FatMan Ina Speedo]

I ran across this interesting article about Disneys Castaway Cay a few years ago.

 

 

http://outside.away.com/magazine/0199/9901blackbeard.html