Celebrity Solstice year round caribbean?

[rain_bowbrite]

Where do you want the Solstice to sail??

 

I would love to see Celebrity have a presence in the Caribbean year round preferably doing 7-9 night cruises out of FLA. Could this be an option for the Solstice??

[Andy]

Where do you want the Solstice to sail??

 

I would love to see Celebrity have a presence in the Caribbean year round preferably doing 7-9 night cruises out of FLA. Could this be an option for the Solstice??

 

Hi Rainbowbrite !

 

I think it is fairly safe to say that Solstice will spend at least the Winter season in the Caribbean, probably out of Ft Lauderdale (Perhaps Miami). The other 1/2 of the year will either be in the Caribbean, or possibly Europe.

 

While I would love to see Solstice sailing year-round in the Caribbean, we do not know what Celebrity's plans are. The good news is, I am hopeful that when 1 or 2 of the Solstice class ships are out, there should be at least 1 Celebrity ship (if not Solstice class) will be sailing Year Round in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, that means we probably have 2 years or more to wait, before this happens.

[rain_bowbrite]

Andy,

 

I guess that we will just have to wait and sea...:)

 

I really feel that the Caribbean needs more options year round than just Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Princess does have a few but mainly the seas are dominated with Carnival and Royal which are both more family oriented lines.

 

I haven't sailed on Celebrity yet, will sail on Century next Dec. for my first Celebrity cruise, but I have a feeling that Celebrity will become my cruise line of choice. Well at least for this stage in my life as a fairly "young" cruiser (mid 30's), middle income bracket. Would love to say, "Yes well Oceania and Regent are my cruiselines of choice...", but I am definitely not in that income bracket but would to save for one of those in the future for a special occasion.

 

Anyways now that I am rambling....lol...what does this have to do with the Solstice??? Ah yes...Celebrity Caribbean year round...

 

Many people like me can't afford or don't have the option to go on long extened cruises to exotic places, but would like to cruise as often as possible on a more upscale cruiseline in the Caribbean.

 

What I like about Celebrity...fresh flowers, instead of weird waxy looking floral things that haven't been dusted in a looonnnnggg time on top of the buffet! (These are gross and have been spotted on Carnival and NCL...what are they thinking???) The Spa Cafe and the sushi. No singing and dancing waiters! The great room service options and the cuisine. Understated upscale ship design. Traditional style cruising and no astro turf on the pool deck!

 

Let's see, I like Carnival, good food, comfy beds, lots of activities, but I would rather not have the wait staff singing and dancing during dinner. Haven't sailed Royal, not very interested in the Voyager class ships, would like to tour one, although I would love to sail on a Radiance class ship, those are beautiful!

 

Time will only tell what those at Celebrity are planning...:D

 

Jodie

[Drew B]

What I like about Celebrity...fresh flowers, instead of weird waxy looking floral things that haven't been dusted in a looonnnnggg time on top of the buffet! (These are gross and have been spotted on Carnival and NCL...what are they thinking???) The Spa Cafe and the sushi. No singing and dancing waiters! The great room service options and the cuisine. Understated upscale ship design. Traditional style cruising and no astro turf on the pool deck!

 

Slight change of subject, but I saw some of the most hideous fake flowers I have ever seen on the Summit (both in common areas and in the high-level suites). If I were a suite guest, I'd ask my butler to throw the ugly things overboard! Pronto!!! I asked about them, though, and was told that they are from some top floral designer... :confused:

[rain_bowbrite]

Slight change of subject, but I saw some of the most hideous fake flowers I have ever seen on the Summit (both in common areas and in the high-level suites). If I were a suite guest, I'd ask my butler to throw the ugly things overboard! Pronto!!! I asked about them, though, and was told that they are from some top floral designer... :confused:

 

Drew this is bad news!!!!

 

Were they dusty?? Oh never mind...lol

 

At least they were not on top of the buffet...were they:eek:

 

Jodie

[Drew B]

Drew this is bad news!!!!

 

Were they dusty?? Oh never mind...lol

 

At least they were not on top of the buffet...were they:eek:

 

Jodie

 

Very dusty... ;) I don't remember seeing them on the buffet. I'm not a big buffet fan, so I may not have looked very carefully...

[blackbird71]

FYI

 

http://www.directlinecruises.com/blog.htm

 

Celebrity Cruises announced today that they have acquired a second new ship for the Celebrity Fleet, named Celebrity Quest. Celebrity Quest will join the fleet on October 19, 2007.

 

The ship, formerly known as the Blue Moon from Pullmantur, and prior to that the R7, from Renaissance Cruises is scheduled to visit unique Caribbean ports, such as Grand Turk, St. Barts, St. John, and Santa Marta, Columbia, and many more. The itineraries will vary from 12-14 nights.

 

The Celebrity Quest, joins Celebrity Cruises as the 2nd addition after the Celebrity Journey, which joins Celebrity’s fleet in May 2007 sailing to Bermuda, and then is scheduled to sail to unique ports in South America ports for the wint

[DancerOT]

And Quest sounds great...in theory. Big problem though...her itineraries are going to be waaay beyond my price range. I agree with the original poster - I would love to see a ship in the Carribean year round. I would also love to see Celebrity bring a ship back to homeport in Baltimore. We took Galaxy out of Baltimore to the Carribean a few years back and it was great!

 

Oh...if all my wishes just came true :)

[Rev22:17]

Jodie,

 

Where do you want the Solstice to sail??

 

I would love to see Celebrity have a presence in the Caribbean year round preferably doing 7-9 night cruises out of FLA. Could this be an option for the Solstice??

 

I doubt that we'll see a Celebrity ship stay in the Caribbean year 'round for at least two reasons.

 

>> 1. Most of Celebrity's passengers are sophisticated enogh to realize that the summer and fall is not a very good time of year to go to the Caribbean. Not only is the weather oppressively humid from May to October, but hurricane season runs from June to November.

 

>> 2. Demand for cruises to Europe and the Mediterranean is very strong, so ships in these destinations command about twice the per deim that they would in the Caribbean. Note that Celebrity has sent ships to Europe progressively earlier and brought them back to the Caribbean progressively later over the last few years to increase capacity in that market. Ships that once went to Europe in mid-May and returned to the Caribbean in late September are now going to Europe in late April and returing in November or even early December. Also, the last time Celebrity scheduled a ship (MV Century) to remain in the Caribbean for the summer season, the line switched gears and redployed the ship to Europe to meet demand several months into the booking cycle.

 

I think that Celebrity also would like to increase capacity in Alaska and perhaps in the Canada/New Englad region, and the line also needs to establish a presence in the Pacific Rim during the summer and fall cruising seasons.

 

Here's about what I expect to evolve as Celebrity's summer/fall schedule as the new vessels come into service.

 

>> Two vessels of the Solstice class will deploy to Europe -- probably one in the Mediterranean and the other in the Baltic and North Sea region -- and GTS Millennum, GTS Constellation, and MV Galaxy will remain there.

 

>> The thrid Solstice class, and possibly a fourth that has not yet been ordered, will go to Alaska. Also, GTS Infinity and GTS Summit will remain in the Alaska market.

 

>> MV Century probably will move to Bermuda cruises from Port Liberty, New Jersey, as soon as Bermuda can accommodate her.

 

>> MV Mercury probably will move to the Pacific Rim, offering cruises to Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Taiwan, and other desitnations in the far east.

 

>> MV Celebrity Quest and MV Celebirty Journey will offer more exotic cruises that call on less accessible ports, beginning in 2008. I expect that at least one of these vessels will go to Europe. The other could go to Alaska to offer cruises that call at the Aleutian Islands or even cruises from Seward to either Barrow or Prudhoe Bay, with a call someplace in Russia (Providenija or Lavenija, for example) to conform to the U. S. Passenger Services Act. Or, how about a cruise from Prudhoe Bay to Montreal via the Northwest Passage and Hudson Bay in late July or August? There are many possibilities here!

 

There are too many good possibilities that will generate a lot more revenue than sending a ship back to the Caribbean!

 

Norm.

[Rev22:17]

Jodie,

 

Many people like me can't afford or don't have the option to go on long extened cruises to exotic places, but would like to cruise as often as possible on a more upscale cruiseline in the Caribbean.

 

In that case, why not a cruise to Alaska (from Vancouver), to Bermuda (from Cape Liberty, New Jersey), or to Canada/New England (also from Cape Liberty, New Jersey)? These desitnations have much better climate and are much less susceptible to hurricanes in the summer and fall.

 

Norm.

[Rev22:17]

DancerOT,

 

And Quest sounds great...in theory. Big problem though...her itineraries are going to be waaay beyond my price range. I agree with the original poster - I would love to see a ship in the Carribean year round. I would also love to see Celebrity bring a ship back to homeport in Baltimore. We took Galaxy out of Baltimore to the Carribean a few years back and it was great!

 

Oh...if all my wishes just came true :)

 

In that case, I'll ask you the same question as I asked the OP -- why not to Alaska, to Bermuda, or to Canada/New England?

 

Norm.

[Lois R]

Well, I guess I am not in the the "sophisticated enough" category.

I enjoy the Caribbean...call me crazy if you want......

but I just returned from the Eastern Caribbean on

Millennium and had a wonderful time.

As for Alaska and Bermuda, the prices are quite a bit more $$ for

those destinations.

 

 

"Most of Celebrity's passengers are sophisticated enogh to realize that the summer and fall is not a very good time of year to go to the Caribbean. Not only is the weather oppressively humid from May to October, but hurricane season runs from June to November."

[Rev22:17]

Lois,

 

Well, I guess I am not in the the "sophisticated enough" category.

I enjoy the Caribbean...call me crazy if you want......

but I just returned from the Eastern Caribbean on

Millennium and had a wonderful time.

As for Alaska and Bermuda, the prices are quite a bit more $$ for

those destinations.

 

We all love the Caribbean, but most of us prefer to go there from November to April wihen the humidity is pretty low, the weather at home is too cold for our tastes, and a hurricane is not very likely to dusrupt our plans. (Although November is officially the last month of hurricane season, there are a lot fewer hurricanes in June and November than in the months in between.)

 

Norm.

[BrooklynGirl2]

But Norm....some of us have children in school and cannot cruise during the winter months. And yes we always cruise as a family and my son enjoys X's kids club. And we ARE sophisticated travellers...having spent the best part of the last 20 years travelling in Europe. And we also wish to cruise somewhere from a northeastern port...preferrably from Port Liberty. We have enjoyed our Zenith cruises during the past few years but now they give us a ship half the size and twice the price (Journey).

 

I for one would love an X ship that sails to the Caribbean during the summer months from the northeast.

 

Right now we are looking at Princess to fill this need as Celebrity has abandoned us.

[mrcruzer]

Im thinking Solstice will probably sail alternating 7 night eastern and western caribbean cruises from Ft. Lauderdale in the winter, replacing millenium. It would then give millenium more time in Europe. I do believe Solstice will also go to Europe in the summers though, as Celebrity are focusing heavily on Europe in the recent years.

 

Maybe come the 2nd or 3rd Solstice class ship, we may see a little more put into alaska and the pacific.

[Lois R]

Lois,

 

 

 

We all love the Caribbean, but most of us prefer to go there from November to April wihen the humidity is pretty low, the weather at home is too cold for our tastes, and a hurricane is not very likely to dusrupt our plans. (Although November is officially the last month of hurricane season, there are a lot fewer hurricanes in June and November than in the months in between.)

 

Norm.

 

Hi Norm, I realize the point you are trying to convey...I was

being a bit sarcastic:rolleyes:

I still think (like Brooklyngal) it would be nice to have

something in the Caribbean year round. Of course, that is just

my little ole opinion....

 

Hi Lori:) give my best to Nick and Franco too!

[Drew B]

If hurricane season is June - November, then they should at LEAST have a ship (or two) doing varied Caribbean itineraries from November - June...

 

So many people here have a "been there, done that" attitude about the Caribbean, but some of us have NEVER cruised in the Caribbean nor ever been to St. Maarten or Grand Cayman. There is a huge market out there of people who HAVEN'T cruised hundreds of times. The Caribbean is an obvious starter cruise, and it would be wise for X to court first-time (or few time) cruisers to develop brand loyalty and a NEW clientele. Otherwise, all of the new cruisers are going to sail with Carnival/Princess/NCL/RCCL and X will lose out on the next wave of customers.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I have many comments about all of this. I would like to share a few of my thoughts.....

 

I think some of you are getting way too worked up on Hurricane season. We had 1 very bad season last year. As a result, many of the Cruise lines pulled most of their ships out of Florida this past Hurricane season. No doubt last year was very bad, but thats not the Norm. No, not you Norm :).

 

So.... all the "experts" said we would have a very bad Hurricane season this year too.... and what happened ? NOTHING. So much for the so called "experts" ! In hindsight, I bet at least a few of the Cruise lines wished they had another ship or 2 in the Caribbean this past Summer, as prices were quite high for Caribbean sailings (due to the lack of ships here).

 

I am a big believer in the old saying, Buy Low, Sell High. While everyone was running away, I would have taken the contrarian view, and put 1 or 2 more ships in the Caribbean. I feel they would have done surprisingly well, especially up against such low expectations.

 

One point to consider.... what if the Caribbean gets hot again, OR Europe and/or Alaska cools down ? What kind of position does that leave Celebrity in at this moment ? Surely, not a good one. There are signs that it could happen. Alaska and Europe have many more ships sailing there in 2007/2008, which means more capacity, and much more competition. There are deals around for Alaska / Europe for next year. While they may do reasonably well, I dont think its going to be the sure fire winner that it has been for the Cruise lines over the past few years.

 

Another important point, is that Celebrity has spent many millions of dollars over the years, to build up their Caribbean Market. For them to continually reduce their amount of Caribbean sailings, and give away the business to the competition, makes absolutely no sense at all. That is like throwing away the money they have previously invested in the Marketplace. Furthermore, there is nothing to say, that once a loyal Celebrity customer tries another Cruise line, that they will come back to Celebrity. I strongly believe that you should always do everything you can to retain your customer, appreciate their loyalty, and not let them look to the competition. Celebrity should do everything they can, to live by this thinking as well.

[usha]

I still think (like Brooklyngal) it would be nice to have

something in the Caribbean year round. Of course, that is just

my little ole opinion....

I'm with Lois & Brooklyngal. We three unsophisticated broads would like some year-round Caribbean options on X.

[Lois R]

I'm with Lois & Brooklyngal. We three unsophisticated broads would like some year-round Caribbean options on X.

 

LOL Hi Usha LOL......too funny.

I know Brooklygal is Italian, I am Jewish....what background

are you?.....let me tell the joke about the Priest, Rabbi, and ?

:D :) :D (This was just being funny...please don't take offense)

I can't remember the last time I was called a broad;)

 

Oops......sorry I got so off topic......back to the

Caribbean.

I remember when I sailed Century in May 2003 (my first

time on Celebrity). It was a great month.

They leave in April now.

 

I guess they don't feel the need to have a ship there

12 out of 12 months........

[rjg41]

Based on what I was told by a CD and by the manager of a Celebrity speciality restaurant about the design of the new class, I would probably give large odds that it is going to Europe for a least the summer. Now, that may free up other ships to do the Caribbean year round but they are certainly not going to use a new ship for that purpose.

[caviargal]

Personally, I do not think we will see the smaller X ships deployed anywhere in the Caribbean on week long cruises as they are not competitive. The more exotic Caribbean itineraries will certainly appeal to more sophisticated cruisers with the time and money to enjoy them.

 

While the Caribbean offers many beautiful spots, I am personally tired of being in port with a ton of other ships and that is exactly what most ports are like these days. I would prefer to fly to the island of my choice and stay at a resort that does not allow cruise ship passengers to flood their facilities.

 

Solstice is my bet for year round Caribbean sailings but those ships will attract a non-traditional X cruiser who will also consider RCI and Princess, IMO, and I have zero interest in that size ship myself nor the more casual clientele and number of families they are very likely to attract. To me, that means X will not offer any options in the Caribbean year round on ships of a size and style that will appeal to me.

 

Solstice may also work well in Europe as RCI has done well with Voyager class in that market, appealing to the family market.

[Rev22:17]

BrooklynGirl2,

 

But Norm....some of us have children in school and cannot cruise during the winter months.

 

Why not during school vacation?

 

And yes we always cruise as a family and my son enjoys X's kids club.

 

That is very laudible, and it's fantastic experience for your son! I really wish that more parents would consider the educational benefit for their children that they miss by leaving the children with "grandma and grandpa" (or whomever) when they go on vacation.

 

I for one would love an X ship that sails to the Caribbean during the summer months from the northeast.

 

Right now we are looking at Princess to fill this need as Celebrity has abandoned us.

 

Unfortunately for you, it appears that Celebrity has not found enough customers like you to sustain a ship in the Caribbean in the summer -- which is why the line redeployed MV Century to Europe a couple summers ago. Realistically, why would Celebrity leave a ship in the Caribbean in the summer without clear evidence that it will get enough bookings to pay its expenses?

 

Norm.

[Rev22:17]

Lois R,

 

I realize the point you are trying to convey...I was

being a bit sarcastic:rolleyes:

I still think (like Brooklyngal) it would be nice to have

something in the Caribbean year round. Of course, that is just

my little ole opinion....

 

Sure, it would be nice, but when you have tried something and it did not work, you don't try it again until you have indication that something fundamental has changed that will allow it to work. Such is the case with Celebrity's attempts to deploy ships to the Caribbean in the summer.

 

Norm.

[Rev22:17]

Andy,

 

Hi Everyone !

 

I have many comments about all of this. I would like to share a few of my thoughts.....

 

I think some of you are getting way too worked up on Hurricane season. We had 1 very bad season last year. As a result' date=' many of the Cruise lines pulled most of their ships out of Florida this past Hurricane season. No doubt last year was very bad, but thats not the Norm. No, not you Norm :).

 

So.... all the "experts" said we would have a very bad Hurricane season this year too.... and what happened ? NOTHING. So much for the so called "experts" ! In hindsight, I bet at least a few of the Cruise lines wished they had another ship or 2 in the Caribbean this past Summer, as prices were quite high for Caribbean sailings (due to the lack of ships here).

 

I am a big believer in the old saying, Buy Low, Sell High. While everyone was running away, I would have taken the contrarian view, and put 1 or 2 more ships in the Caribbean. I feel they would have done surprisingly well, especially up against such low expectations.

 

One point to consider.... what if the Caribbean gets hot again, OR Europe and/or Alaska cools down ? What kind of position does that leave Celebrity in at this moment ? Surely, not a good one. There are signs that it could happen. Alaska and Europe have many more ships sailing there in 2007/2008, which means more capacity, and much more competition. There are deals around for Alaska / Europe for next year. While they may do reasonably well, I dont think its going to be the sure fire winner that it has been for the Cruise lines over the past few years.

 

Another important point, is that Celebrity has spent many millions of dollars over the years, to build up their Caribbean Market. For them to continually reduce their amount of Caribbean sailings, and give away the business to the competition, makes absolutely no sense at all. That is like throwing away the money they have previously invested in the Marketplace. Furthermore, there is nothing to say, that once a loyal Celebrity customer tries another Cruise line, that they will come back to Celebrity. I strongly believe that you should always do everything you can to retain your customer, appreciate their loyalty, and not let them look to the competition. Celebrity should do everything they can, to live by this thinking as well.[/quote']

 

You make several good points, but your references to Celebrity "abandoning" the Caribbean strike me as rather exaggerated. The line actually has added more Caribbean sailings in the winter and spring, when the Caribbean clearly is a destination of choice, especially for potential passengers who come from the northeast, the northern plains, and Florida. I think that most families that want to go to the Caribbean are quite happy to go during a school break in February, March, or April rather than during the summer vacation period.

 

Of course, this may recoommend in favor of restructuring the ship's schedules to operate predominantly seven-night cruises during this period rather than the alternating ten-night and eleven-night itineriaries currently planned for MV Galaxy and assigning longer itinerareis to more ships in January and the first half of February....

 

Norm.