Will X Ever....

[cruzbynite]

Consider adding long ocean voyages to it's schedule? I am talking cruises that are over 30 days without doing a back to back cruise. I look at the Holland America website and see some excellent voyages and hope at some point X will offer those. I would love the 30 day cirlce Hawaii, Tahiti and Marquesas islands from San Diego. Also, would X ever do around the world trip?

 

I say they should consider this in their long-term strategic plan. As the demographics of some of their customers age (45-65 crowd) they will begin looking for these itineraries. I am sure there are some X lovers who would do this now. While I know I or anyone could just sail Holland America Line, I also would rather stay at a W Hotel as opposed to a Ritz Carlton.

[Gonzo70]

That would be nice. It looks like they may be trending in that direction as they are starting to have some more exotic itineraries in 2012. At least now you can kind of create your own lengthy voyage by booking Solstice's repositioning cruises as she travels from Barcelona to Australia. Does involve B2B2B, but lots of unique ports and definitely a long journey if you book all three legs.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I'd love it if they would offer ATW cruises or at least longer or more exotic itineraries. We can't take advantage of them for a few years yet, but an ATW is our ultimate cruise, and wich we could do it with Celebrity.

 

That said, they tend to concentrate their fleet where the money is-- Caribbean, Europe, Alaska. They've just recently added Hawaii, Australia and Asia to the itineraries, to a limited extent. If they can expand by a few more ships, they may be able to offer more of those longer or more exotic cruises.

[cruzbynite]

That would be nice. It looks like they may be trending in that direction as they are starting to have some more exotic itineraries in 2012. At least now you can kind of create your own lengthy voyage by booking Solstice's repositioning cruises as she travels from Barcelona to Australia. Does involve B2B2B, but lots of unique ports and definitely a long journey if you book all three legs.

 

 

Funny that you mentioned that. That was the exact intinerary that put the thought in my head. Hope to see more of those. Holland America will will advertise the entire voyage and offer a price break should you do it to avoid the B2B2B higher price and to ensure you get the same cabin throughout the cruise.

 

So see I am not the only one thinking about this.

[rolfecms]

I think the more - and bigger - ships that Celebrity brings into their brand will likely make them think outside the box of their traditional itineraries. Certainly they will need to spread all those ships further around than what they've done up until now. That's exactly what you're seeing with the Millennium in Asia starting in 2012.

 

Holland America seems to use its smaller vessels for their longer journeys - easier to fill for the smaller number of passengers that can afford the time and money it takes for longer and more exotic itineraries, like round-the-world cruises. For Celebrity that would mean the Century or M-Class ships.

 

Celebrity needs to keep this demographic in mind - loyal passengers who want longer and more exotic itineraries as they grow older and retire. Not everyone wants to do 7 or 14 day Caribbean cruises every year and will choose a cruise line that gives them the itineraries they want and can afford.

 

When the Panama Canal widening is completed that will permit the S-Class ships to be positioned all around the world including more exotic places - as it will for the other competing cruise lines who will vie for that business if Celebrity chooses not to.

[2blueyam]

Celebrity might need to retrofit some self laundry facilities on board for those types of voyages. I believe that Princess an HAL have them on their ships that do longer itineraries. Century might be a good fit for this as they could do some other updating while they are there. Just as easily they could do this on one of the last M class "Solstice" updates.

 

As to worrying about filling large ships without varying itineraries, the two Monstrosities of the Seas ships at 5400 passengers each both run 7 day Caribbean itineraries pretty much year round. That amounts to 2 M class and 2 S class running the Caribbean year round. Fortunately it is a different cruise line with a different clientèle as well so hopefully we will see Celebrity keep with the more interesting itineraries.