Xpedition Class

I'm sure there is history here that I don't know about, but has Celebrity ever considered expanding the Xpedition class (or concept) with other ships in other parts of the world? There was an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about an Un-Cruise Adventures ship in Alaska that spends two full days in Glacier Bay. The itinerary sounded great, but the description was a little too hard-expedition for me and I was thinking: boy, would this be a great cruise on Xpedition! Since Celebrity can't get a license for their big ships to get in to Glacier Bay, it would seem an ideal expansion of the Xpedition sub-brand. The new ship could spend the other half of the year in Antarctica. But has this been considered and rejected already?

would people pay the daily rate. Xpedition sails at a quite high daily rate and is Alaska "unique" enough to fill the ship at those rates?

It seems to be working for the six small-ship cruise lines listed in the article. Also National Geographic and Silversea have ships in Galapagos similar in size to Xpedition, and also expedition ships that charge similar rates elsewhere in the world. Maybe it would be an easier sell if the sub-brand were part of Azamara?

I realize your inquiry is about Celebrity getting into Glacier Bay, but if you really want to get close to nature and glaciers you might try Un-Cruise. We did the 7 night trip last year that included the over night to Glacier Bay. Yes the cabins are small, and basic, but the excursions are all included, and they offer small boat cruises to the glaciers or beach walks, so you have choices that are not physically demanding. There is a daily itinerary, but the captain will move about or stop based upon wildlife sightings. We were able to get rather close to Sawyer Glacier as well as those at the north end of Glacier Bay. It is a totally different experience than Celebrity with far fewer entertainment and food choices, but their guides were all skilled, and we enjoyed the small boat experience.

You might want to read the original press release about the plan Celebrity had for small, unique offerings which included the Xpedition in the Galapagos.

Clearly they must have decided not to expand of the program.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrity-cruises-introduces-celebrity-xpeditions-announces-exotic-itineraries-once-in-a-lifetime-excursions-58966012.html

It seems to be working for the six small-ship cruise lines listed in the article. Also National Geographic and Silversea have ships in Galapagos similar in size to Xpedition, and also expedition ships that charge similar rates elsewhere in the world. Maybe it would be an easier sell if the sub-brand were part of Azamara?

The reason that the different cruise lines have the approximately the same size ship is that the maximum capacity of the ships in the Galapagos is regulated by the Ecuadorian government. The maximum allowed capacity is slightly larger than the Xpedition and the others. I think the limit is 100 passengers.

The reason that the different cruise lines have the approximately the same size ship is that the maximum capacity of the ships in the Galapagos is regulated by the Ecuadorian government. The maximum allowed capacity is slightly larger than the Xpedition and the others. I think the limit is 100 passengers.

I know about this -- I think the limit is actually 96, because each naturalist can only handle 16 passengers. You will notice that all boats in the Galapagos carry multiples of 16. But it makes for a nice size ship in the Celebrity luxury expedition approach.

You might want to read the original press release about the plan Celebrity had for small, unique offerings which included the Xpedition in the Galapagos.

 

Clearly they must have decided not to expand of the program.

 

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrity-cruises-introduces-celebrity-xpeditions-announces-exotic-itineraries-once-in-a-lifetime-excursions-58966012.html

Thanks! This is exactly the history I was looking for. But Celebrity's concept seems pretty fuzzy. On the one hand it sounds like they expected to build more expedition ships ("On future Celebrity Xpeditions, guests might scale glaciers on an ice-breaking ship in Antarctica...") -- but on the other hand it sounds like expedition land programs that would be combined with an existing Celebrity cruise ("...drive Hummers through the Alaskan woodlands, sport-fish in British Columbia, and rev up their engines at a racecar driving school in Florida. Each Celebrity Xpedition will be offered in addition to current Celebrity itineraries, or as individual journeys. 'Our goal is to ultimately offer a Celebrity Xpedition on every cruise itinerary, from our year-round seven-night Caribbean product to our long, exotic European product.'")

The second expedition ship never materialized, but maybe the recent programs to combine a Safari with a Mediterranean cruise, or a river cruise with an ocean cruise, are an attempt to revive the original concept. I'd still like to see the second expedition ship (with ice-breaking capability).