Celebrity to home port Equinox in Port Canaveral

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

Are there really that many people who are so concerned about driving that they would rather not sail (or would sail their non-preferred line) because they won't drive 4 hours rather than 2 or less?  Geez. Considering how far many of us travel to cruise I am just flabbergasted if that is the case.

You'll need to ask them. I've read post on CC saying that. Especially on the RCI forum. Hence my post.

[floridatravelersforlife]

Distance is not an issue for us, but the superboring, same ole, same ole ports of call have no interest to us. We will still drive to Miami or Ft Lauderdale to find some more attractive (to us) ports.  

[phoenix_dream]

20 hours ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

Distance is not an issue for us, but the superboring, same ole, same ole ports of call have no interest to us. We will still drive to Miami or Ft Lauderdale to find some more attractive (to us) ports.  

Understood. People who are so happy just because the port is a little closer are not looking at the big picture IMHO.  Worst ports, shorter cruises, continuation of the Royalization of Celebrity.  Those are the biggest issues (although for airline folks location is a huge issue too)

[tce40]

Aren't people allowed to be happy the port closest to them is available now?  Yikes. 

[rolloman]

On 8/17/2023 at 3:07 PM, phoenix_dream said:

Are there really that many people who are so concerned about driving that they would rather not sail (or would sail their non-preferred line) because they won't drive 4 hours rather than 2 or less?  Geez. Considering how far many of us travel to cruise I am just flabbergasted if that is the case.

To answer your question...yes there are quite a few. So many that they will fill any Celebrity ship that comes to Port Canaveral. I live about 14 miles from the Port...now you tell me, with all the cruises that leave from my backyard from one of, if not the largest port in the world...why would I drive 3 hours down a super speedway to go on a ship? I am sorry that you have to fly...but that has nothing to do with my situation. I moved where I am for a reason and I am taking advantage of it. Celebrity is my favorite cruiseline and I couldn't be happier I can now take an uber to sail them. 

[jaywoods678]

We love this. We are in St. Augustine and are only about an hour and 45 minutes away. Now we wish that Holland America would also position a ship there.

[jaywoods678]

2 hours ago, rolloman said:

To answer your question...yes there are quite a few. So many that they will fill any Celebrity ship that comes to Port Canaveral. I live about 14 miles from the Port...now you tell me, with all the cruises that leave from my backyard from one of, if not the largest port in the world...why would I drive 3 hours down a super speedway to go on a ship? I am sorry that you have to fly...but that has nothing to do with my situation. I moved where I am for a reason and I am taking advantage of it. Celebrity is my favorite cruiseline and I couldn't be happier I can now take an uber to sail them. 

Same here. Completely agree. We're in St. Augustine so only about an hour and 45 minutes away versus 4 hours to FLL.

[RedIguana]

On 8/17/2023 at 3:07 PM, phoenix_dream said:

Are there really that many people who are so concerned about driving that they would rather not sail (or would sail their non-preferred line) because they won't drive 4 hours rather than 2 or less?  Geez. Considering how far many of us travel to cruise I am just flabbergasted if that is the case.

It's a different world for those of us who live in Florida. Not having to fly means we can jump on close to sailing deals, and sometimes just grab a 3-4 nighter cause its cheap and you want a break. PC (1 hour drive) and Tampa (3 hour drive) are close enough I don't worry about leaving the morning of. Saves a vacation day on either side of the cruise. But we have to worry about the nightmares known as I-4 and I-95. You can never trust that 3 (Tampa), 4 (Port Everglades), or 5 (POM) hour drive will actually take that amount of time. One cruise out of Tampa turned into a 4 1/2 hour drive for me due to multiple wrecks and road closures, and it was a Saturday. Disney traffic on weekends can sometimes be worse than normal I-4 weekday traffic because of the amount of tourists not knowing the roads. I avoid POM if at all possible, it is a nightmare to drive to and $25 a day for parking. My last cruise out of there it took an hour from entering the port to the terminal dropoff (yea for terminal G). Whenever I end up out of Port Everglades or POM I will leave the night before and stay with family in Sebastion, just to make the morning drive under 3 hours in case of traffic issues. Plus it is nice to get a full nights sleep before the cruise. Even then, I can still work the day before and leave at 6 pm, and be back at work the day after.

[cruise wizard]

RedIguana............I agree. For us on the Treasure Coast - I-95 can be a nightmare to Miami - we won't drive it!!!! FLL is almost as bad from West Palm Beach South - PC is much better heading North. Tampa is 3 hours and isn't too bad except for some of the 2 lanes on FL60 between Vero Beach and I-4 by Lakeland.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

On 8/17/2023 at 2:07 PM, phoenix_dream said:

 

It's a different world for those of us who live in Florida. Not having to fly means we can jump on close to sailing deals, and sometimes just grab a 3-4 nighter cause its cheap and you want a break.

Sure it is great news for some Florida residents who live nearby PC but that is a provincial way to look at it.. What is good news for those who live close to PC is bad news for the Celebrity brand and those who have booked Celebrity for years. Dumbing down the brand to a cheap segment and Caribbean cruises, I don't want to cruise with the demographic that that  cruises out of PC  will appeal to. I don't want to cruise on a Royal Caribbean clone that is branded as Celebrity. Celebrity is a mainstream cruise line but had an niche that was adult and upscale of Royal that appealed to a loyal demographic. Now it seems to be moving downline. Celebrity was a good value because it offered more than Royal Caribbean and Carnival at reasonable fares. If it is going to offer the same as Royal  I will be moving on. 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Charles4515

[RedIguana]

11 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Sure it is great news for some Florida residents who live nearby PC but that is a provincial way to look at it.. What is good news for those who live close to PC is bad news for the Celebrity brand and those who have booked Celebrity for years. Dumbing down the brand to a cheap segment and Caribbean cruises, I don't want to cruise with the demographic that that  cruises out of PC  will appeal to. I don't want to cruise on a Royal Caribbean clone that is branded as Celebrity. Celebrity is a mainstream cruise line but had an niche that was adult and upscale of Royal that appealed to a loyal demographic. Now it seems to be moving downline. Celebrity was a good value because it offered more than Royal Caribbean and Carnival at reasonable fares. If it is going to offer the same as Royal  I will be moving on. 

         I've done most of my cruising on Royal, as it always seemed a step above Carnival, NCL, and now MSC. I think they are trying to become Carnival 2.0. So in the last year I have been on Celebrity, HAL, and Princess (Alaska). Celebrity actually seems to offer more value than RCL right now, even if they are morphing down to take over RCL's adult niche. Give HAL or Princess a shot if Celebrity isn't working for you, I enjoyed them both (HAL probably a little more upscale than Princess).  Oceania and Azamara are just a little out of my budget range right now, although if the "Premium" mass market lines cut down to much I may have to take fewer cruises and try them. I am hoping the Celebrity cruises out of PC attract the more adult orientated cruisers, and leave the family and party orientated cruisers to CCL, Royal, MSC, and NCL. Although I prefer longer itineraries myself (7 nights is too short in my opinion), my travel companions (wife and/or daughters) don't have the PTO or college/work schedule to allow many of those. Sometimes we just have to jump on a 4-5 nighter just to get a break and get on a ship. At mid 50's I can still enjoy the party vibes on the shorter trips. Hopefully Celebrity will keep the nicer itineraries running out of POM and Port Everglades.

       

[ISABELLA]

I hope PC will be a beneficial to cruise out port for us, since we are about an hour drive from NSB. But last may we sailed from PC, it took us an hour in line to get to a parking garage. It was a mess.

 

[cruise wizard]

We have essentially moved on from Royal because of their direction towards a much younger demographic and family orientation. The new builds are like a floating Six Flags. The new Icon Class is a glimpse into the future of RC cruising............unfortunately not my vision of "cruising". 

 

I was happy to see Celebrity come to PC to offer a more adult / traditional cruise experience - Royal, Carnival, Disney and MSC can provide the "family fun & frolic". I just don't think that "X" can provide all of the WOW that the kids and teens look for. Now there is a choice for us "older crowd". I just wish that "X" will eventually bring an Edge Class ship to PC.

[phoenix_dream]

23 hours ago, tce40 said:

Aren't people allowed to be happy the port closest to them is available now?  Yikes. 

Of course you can be happy about that part.  I would be as well.  But are you really happy about all the negative aspects and implications of these changes?  

[C4HCG]

6 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Of course you can be happy about that part.  I would be as well.  But are you really happy about all the negative aspects and implications of these changes?  

Negative in your opinion and that’s something everyone is entitled to. I think it’s great and don’t see any negative implications for us.

[Charles4515]

5 hours ago, RedIguana said:

Celebrity actually seems to offer more value than RCL right now, even if they are morphing down to take over RCL's adult niche. Give HAL or Princess a shot if Celebrity isn't working for you, I enjoyed them both (HAL probably a little more upscale than Princess).  Oceania and Azamara are just a little out of my budget range right now, although if the "Premium" mass market lines cut down to

I have been on HAL, Princess, Oceania and Azamara. HAL was about equal to Celebrity and Princess was between RCL and Celebrity in my opinion. I do prefer Princees for long cruises because they have self serve laundry. After my next Princess cruise I will have free laundry.  I have not kept up so I don't know if HAL and Princess have made major downward changes lately. Oceania and Azamara are in my budget and Oceania will be my preference for now. Oceania is not that much more expensive and when you factor in much better food quality, specialty coffee is included, free interent, ships that are not crowded Oceania is worth it. Azamara has inclusions I don't need which are not worth me paying extra fare for.

 

[Snit13]

On 8/15/2023 at 5:06 PM, Charles4515 said:

Celebrity is dumbing down their itineraries more with this move but I don't think Celebrity is the best cruise line for lifetime cruise to Antarctica. One of the Expedition type cruise lines where you land on the continent in a zodiac would be a lot better. 

Already did Antartica on Infinity.  As soon as I hit a lottery I will book an Expeditio cruise.  I enjoyed Galapagos Islands with Celebrity much more than Antartica.  Any cruise on Celebrity is wonderful.

[rolloman]

14 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Sure it is great news for some Florida residents who live nearby PC but that is a provincial way to look at it.. What is good news for those who live close to PC is bad news for the Celebrity brand and those who have booked Celebrity for years. Dumbing down the brand to a cheap segment and Caribbean cruises, I don't want to cruise with the demographic that that  cruises out of PC  will appeal to. I don't want to cruise on a Royal Caribbean clone that is branded as Celebrity. Celebrity is a mainstream cruise line but had an niche that was adult and upscale of Royal that appealed to a loyal demographic. Now it seems to be moving downline. Celebrity was a good value because it offered more than Royal Caribbean and Carnival at reasonable fares. If it is going to offer the same as Royal  I will be moving on. 

All unfounded speculation on your part. The idea the Celebrity brand will now be tarnished because it cruises out of Port Canaveral is ridiculous. It certainly has not "dumbed down" the Disney brand. As far as your "demographic" comment...wow...

[ChucktownSteve]

On 8/15/2023 at 4:54 PM, Charles4515 said:

 Royal's loyalty program is better than Celebrity's, you won't  get the same benefits but on the other hand Celebrity is a somewhat better cruise line. 

Maybe, but possibly not much longer with the Royalization of Celebrity with many recently  unannounced removal of perks/benefits.

[cruise wizard]

16 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Maybe, but possibly not much longer with the Royalization of Celebrity with many recently  unannounced removal of perks/benefits.

 

When is the bad news going to be announced????? Maybe it has already happened and we won't know until we board and ZAP.........somethings gone!!!!!!!!

[pirokp]

Yes, Celebrity pulled the Equinox out of South American for the early 2025 season.  Perhaps, there are just not enough cruisers to fill the Equinox in South America.  Best I can tell, the Summit and Constellation are not yet committed for the time frame.  Those ships are about 25% smaller than the Equinox.  Either ship would be in a position to sail to South America for the season with one being in Tampa and other in San Juan in early January.  I believe Celebrity will update their schedules around October.  Time will tell.

[cruzeluver]

Cruise Critic contimues to be such a great place to learn!

 

Had no idea that as someone who would prefer to cruise from Port Canaveral vs. For Lauderdale or Tampa that I am part of a less desirable segment of the population. Good to know!

 

So much "the sky is falling", "back in my day" and "someone moved my cheese" philosophies around here. 

 

"Familiarity breeds contempt".  

[deliver42]

The Constellation will sail out of Tampa doing 7 night cruises. This was announced a couple of days ago. No mention of S.A.

[Jeremiah1212]

21 hours ago, pirokp said:

Yes, Celebrity pulled the Equinox out of South American for the early 2025 season.  Perhaps, there are just not enough cruisers to fill the Equinox in South America.  Best I can tell, the Summit and Constellation are not yet committed for the time frame.  Those ships are about 25% smaller than the Equinox.  Either ship would be in a position to sail to South America for the season with one being in Tampa and other in San Juan in early January.  I believe Celebrity will update their schedules around October.  Time will tell.

 

Summit moves from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale. Constellation will do shorter itineraries from Tampa instead of the 9/12 night sailings. Both new itineraries should go on sale tomorrow. Not a word about a 2025 South America season. 

[Oceansaway17]

The success of DCL Wish and RCI Wonder OTS has gotten other cruise lines attention.

And then the various theme parks play into this too.