President's Cruise 2023 -- Alaska !

[Smmessineo]

Got an email today that the next  President's Cruise is June 23, 2023 on the Solstice to Alaska. 

Booked it ! Maybe a spur of the moment booking, but I'm excited about it ! 

We were thinking of visiting our daughter in Port Angeles, WA as our summer trip next year, so this cruise just adds to the fun.  

Any insight from people who've sailed on a  previous President's Cruise would be appreciated. 

 

[greatestvalue]

3 hours ago, Smmessineo said:

Got an email today that the next  President's Cruise is June 23, 2023 on the Solstice to Alaska.

Thank you so much for posting this and for sharing in my question about the shape of the Solstice. 

 

I went looking to do my research after you mentioned this and Im very confused. 

 

I found this https://www.celebritycruises.com/specialty-cruises/presidents-cruise and it talks on the front page about being in Alaska but when you watch the webinar toward the bottom, they are saying in the webinar it is in the Greek Islands & Malta.  

 

Any idea whats going on or can you post the email, I didnt see it in my emails probably because I have not sailed with Celebrity yet. 

 

 

 

 

[Fly and Sail]

Good, maybe that means they'll whip the good old Solstice into shape before the President (whoever that will be next year) gets on board.

[Smmessineo]

6 hours ago, greatestvalue said:

Thank you so much for posting this and for sharing in my question about the shape of the Solstice. 

 

I went looking to do my research after you mentioned this and Im very confused. 

 

I found this https://www.celebritycruises.com/specialty-cruises/presidents-cruise and it talks on the front page about being in Alaska but when you watch the webinar toward the bottom, they are saying in the webinar it is in the Greek Islands & Malta.  

 

Any idea whats going on or can you post the email, I didnt see it in my emails probably because I have not sailed with Celebrity yet. 

 

 

 

 

The President's Cruise for 2022 was the Greek Isles, on the Beyond. It was just a few weeks ago . The webinar is a recap of that one.

I think the emails go out to Captain's Club members, though anyone can book the cruise.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Smmessineo

[Smmessineo]

5 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

Good, maybe that means they'll whip the good old Solstice into shape before the President (whoever that will be next year) gets on board.

Any reason you think the Celebrity president might be leaving?

Edited September 21, 2022 by Smmessineo

[Fly and Sail]

13 minutes ago, Smmessineo said:

Any reason you think the Celebrity president might be leaving?

 

LLP is the President for quite some time now and I feel the company has gotten a bit static at this point. She also hit the common retirement age (65) and since Richard Fain retired from the RCCL CEO position they got Jason Liberty to be Group CEO rather than promoting Lisa, which might be an indicator that she's looking forward to retirement.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Fly and Sail

[Smmessineo]

8 minutes ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

LLP is the President for quite some time now and I feel the company has gotten a bit static at this point. She also hit the common retirement age (65) and since Richard Fain retired from the RCCL CEO position they got Jason Liberty to be Group CEO rather than promoting Lisa, which might be an indicator that she's looking forward to retirement.

Thanks. Good insight! 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Smmessineo

[D C]

What's the big deal about a cruise with the President?  Not like she's going to be mingling with people.
She and a bunch of bigwigs were on one of our sailings and never saw anyone noteworthy.  A fleet of black cars came onto the pier in St Maarten to usher them away, mid-cruise.

[Smmessineo]

1 hour ago, D C said:

What's the big deal about a cruise with the President?  Not like she's going to be mingling with people.
She and a bunch of bigwigs were on one of our sailings and never saw anyone noteworthy.  A fleet of black cars came onto the pier in St Maarten to usher them away, mid-cruise.

Personally, i like the idea of going on a unique cruise. From what I've read, there are some special events and shore excursions, small gifts for the passengers.  And if I get to see the CEO or other executives, that's cool too !

I booked it quickly and  my interior stateroom  was the same pricing as the cruises before and after it. 

[islabahia]

This is a hard pass for us.

[cw2go]

I can tell you're excited! 🐻

 I'm posting with good intentions, not attempting to burst your bubble BUT if this is your first cruise to Alaska, I'd highly recommend researching the itinerary/port times, imo that's much more important than a few suits. 

 

Just a heads up ~ This particular sailing out of Seattle isn't going to allow for prime Alaska sightseeing if that's important to you.  

 

Speaking from experience, I've sailed 3 times r/t north & south bound, retuning July 2023 

Alaska is special, enjoy your adventure! 

Patty

 

[grandgeezer]

4 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

LLP is the President for quite some time now and I feel the company has gotten a bit static at this point. She also hit the common retirement age (65) and since Richard Fain retired from the RCCL CEO position they got Jason Liberty to be Group CEO rather than promoting Lisa, which might be an indicator that she's looking forward to retirement.

Can’t come soon enough.

[Smmessineo]

18 minutes ago, cw2go said:

I can tell you're excited! 🐻

 I'm posting with good intentions, not attempting to burst your bubble BUT if this is your first cruise to Alaska, I'd highly recommend researching the itinerary/port times, imo that's much more important than a few suits. 

 

Just a heads up ~ This particular sailing out of Seattle isn't going to allow for prime Alaska sightseeing if that's important to you.  

 

Speaking from experience, I've sailed 3 times r/t north & south bound, retuning July 2023 

Alaska is special, enjoy your adventure! 

Patty

 

Thanks for the info! Definitely good advice for anyone who hasn't done Alaska..But don't worry , you're not bursting my bubble 😀.  Our first cruise to Alaska was our first cruise ever, back in 2003. We did a one-way northbound Vancouver to Seward. Definitely an itinerary that will sell a newbie on how great cruising can be .

We live in Florida and I look at this President's cruise in '23 as the chilly equivalent of us taking our 7 night sailings in the Caribbean. And we'll be up in WA visiting our kid and hiking around Olympic NP before the cruise too.  That's part of the excitement! 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Smmessineo

[Cap_D]

Does anyone know if corporate bigwigs ever inspect ships for quality, etc. or do they just look for a reason to create a video for YouTube and enhance revenue from passengers by charging more to sail?

[LGW59]

On 9/21/2022 at 7:20 AM, Fly and Sail said:

 

LLP is the President for quite some time now and I feel the company has gotten a bit static at this point. She also hit the common retirement age (65) and since Richard Fain retired from the RCCL CEO position they got Jason Liberty to be Group CEO rather than promoting Lisa, which might be an indicator that she's looking forward to retirement.

I don’t think I’d call overseeing introduction of the EClass ships as being static, Love, like or hate them, they got people talking and there is also that REVENUE they are generating.  Also perhaps LLP did not want the promotion, but as none of us sits on the board I guess it’s just conjecture, right.

[Fly and Sail]

7 hours ago, LGW59 said:

I don’t think I’d call overseeing introduction of the EClass ships as being static, Love, like or hate them, they got people talking and there is also that REVENUE they are generating.  Also perhaps LLP did not want the promotion, but as none of us sits on the board I guess it’s just conjecture, right.

 

It's something that happens naturally in the industry. Every cruise line has graduated to the bigger, more modern ships so this isn't something that the CEO can be credited for. I can't think of anything exciting the company has done recently, especially anything pro-customer. It's not good to have the same CEO for an extended period of time.

[CNSfromHI]

On 9/21/2022 at 8:40 AM, D C said:

What's the big deal about a cruise with the President?

Noob, here, but I've received many emails about sailing with the Celebrity CEO in the past year. In no way are my comments here an expression of what I think of her performance in that role, etc., because I have zero idea, but I've been puzzled as well about the appeal of such a cruise.

 

I'm not interested in meeting the Celebrity CEO, or the captain of any ship I sail upon. That's just me and the way I'm wired. Itineraries interest me and, while this one grabs me, the CEO's presence or not simply isn't a compelling reason vs. schedule, cost, location, etc.

 

Naively, I think that if the CEO is aboard my cruise, then everything will be "ship shape." Is that a benefit of these sailings, perhaps?

 

cjr

[greatestvalue]

1 hour ago, CNSfromHI said:

then everything will be "ship shape." Is that a benefit of these sailings, perhaps?

My hope is they get everything in ship shape by the sailing before, as that is the one Im on and looking at the price difference between the 2, didnt find the Presidents Cruise appealing enticing enough to make the change.