Are you happier with the new overnight on the cruise you had booked?

[bbeltmom]

How about adding an option for Yes I am on a changed itinerary and I will be happy to try it.

[mac_tlc]

Our March 13, 2017 Equinox cruise dumped Belize for an overnight in Cartagena. Haven't been to either so I'll reserve judgement. Can't see myself wandering the city late at night, so we will most likely be back on the ship. Would like to know if the casino might be open in port -- although I suspect it will not be.

 

mac_tlc

[C 2 C]

How about adding an option for Yes I am on a changed itinerary and I will be happy to try it.

 

It's there: Option 3

 

"Yes. I prefer the overnight."

[Snit13]

Our March 13, 2017 Equinox cruise dumped Belize for an overnight in Cartagena. Haven't been to either so I'll reserve judgement. Can't see myself wandering the city late at night, so we will most likely be back on the ship. Would like to know if the casino might be open in port -- although I suspect it will not be.

 

mac_tlc

 

Have visited both Cartagena and Belize and definitely would not be out at night in either city unless with tour. Belize has tourist area fenced off and they warn you not to go out unless in taxi. We were in Belize for a week on our own, not on a cruise. I have visited Cartagena with a friend and on a cruise.

[Snit13]

Booked Infinity Oct 17, 2016, due to sailing again to Bonaire with overnight in Curacao. Have invited two couples to join us but this cruise along with Oct 7, 2016, cruise have disappeared.

 

Can not get an answer to what is going on ????????? Did read a post last night on CC that poster was told by Celebrity that maybe a charter on the sailings.

 

Celebrity you have my deposit so please tell me what is going on so I can make plans.

 

You might want to consider RCCL 11 night Southern Caribbean which ports in Bonaire. I am considering switching from my Celebrity cruise to a RCCL which ports in Dominica.

[bbeltmom]

It's there: Option 3

 

"Yes. I prefer the overnight."

 

I beg to differ. Preferring overnight is not the same as being willing to give it a try or not caring either way.

 

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[MJB1437]

Our March 20 now has an overnight in Barbados and we lose Grenada. As someone who cruises to be able to go to the warm water beaches, an overnight in a port is of no use to me. And worse, is that the only way I found out about it is from my roll call.

Myrna

[bebe08]

We are booked for the 14 night exotic Caribbean on the Eclipse for Mar 6 2016. We only recently booked it on May 11th while onboard the Equinox, and on May 18th while still onboard we changed our cabin. Both the May 11 and May 18 confirmations show Bonaire.

 

When we returned home on May 25th I transferred the booking to our TA and as a result he sent us another confirmation. This one shows 2 changes: Bonaire is gone (with an overnight in Curacao), and the Barbados departure has changed from 5 PM to midnight.

 

If it weren't for transferring to the TA we would not have known about the change. I'm surprised the onboard confirmations we received were not correct.

 

We have never been to Bonaire so would prefer to keep this. 2 days in Curacao sounds nice, but would prefer to give up a sea day and not a port.

Although we are disappointed, since we have never been to Curacao either we will try to see this is a chance to see this port in more depth.

 

I'm surprised Celebrity is not notifying those affected. I would be more disappointed if I had already booked an excursion for Bonaire. Fortunately in my case I haven't got that far yet.

[e11wa]

we cancelled and booked the nov southern eclipse sailing and delighted with an overnight in aruba

 

We're on the same sailing!

 

A bit bumed we miss Antigua, but spending a night in a far-flung port is exciting.

[need2bespoiled]

We're booked on two Eclipse 14 days itineraries. One lost Bonaire for the Curacao overnight, the other added the overnight in Aruba and kept Bonaire, not even sure what we lost there, maybe Antigua.

 

I'm a diver, but not enough to spend time and fly to Bonaire so I love a cruise that goes there so I can dive there. I will miss it, but I haven't been to Curacao so I am torn. To me, it makes so much more sense to have a bigger island with more to do to overnight, like St. Martin or event St. Thomas where you can get much more time on St. John or even go to the BVIs.

 

I don't hate the changes but think they should have done less of the cruises, to allow more choices, and eliminating Bonaire which is a rare port, is a tough decision. I think one issue is the pool of people on cruise critic are already generally biased towards more informed well traveled cruisers.

 

In the end, we're for the overnights, but think Celebrity handled it poorly, but their calculation must be that it will help more than harm sales.

 

I don't buy the fuel savings argument. Getting the short distance from Curacao to Bonaire uses marginally more fuel than just running the ships general power, and unless some special deal is done to allow gambling and the shops to be open, they'll lose money on not being at sea. This is the reason ships leave at 5pm even for very, very short trips to the next island when they could stay much later in port.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Surrey_Pirates]

We're booked on two Eclipse 14 days itineraries. One lost Bonaire for the Curacao overnight, the other added the overnight in Aruba and kept Bonaire, not even sure what we lost there, maybe Antigua.

 

I'm a diver, but not enough to spend time and fly to Bonaire so I love a cruise that goes there so I can dive there. I will miss it, but I haven't been to Curacao so I am torn. To me, it makes so much more sense to have a bigger island with more to do to overnight, like St. Martin or event St. Thomas where you can get much more time on St. John or even go to the BVIs.

 

I don't hate the changes but think they should have done less of the cruises, to allow more choices, and eliminating Bonaire which is a rare port, is a tough decision. I think one issue is the pool of people on cruise critic are already generally biased towards more informed well traveled cruisers.

 

In the end, we're for the overnights, but think Celebrity handled it poorly, but their calculation must be that it will help more than harm sales.

 

I don't buy the fuel savings argument. Getting the short distance from Curacao to Bonaire uses marginally more fuel than just running the ships general power, and unless some special deal is done to allow gambling and the shops to be open, they'll lose money on not being at sea. This is the reason ships leave at 5pm even for very, very short trips to the next island when they could stay much later in port.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Very well put and I agree.

 

We are happy with these changes but it seems Celebrity need to perfect how and when the message is delivered. I think having a booking through a travel agent can be problematic for delaying the communication a bit.

 

I understand how some people might not want to go to a certain port and book accordingly. If you then find that port creep into your itinerary I can see you might be upset. The decision then is whether to go with it or change. That is your consumer power! Just I would not be too bothered as their are lots of alternative cruises to choose.

 

Now if you mention having a booking cancelled for a charter...then I can get annoyed! But that's a whole different thread!

[swigso]

Hi

We have the Eclipse booked for Feb 2016/2017,

Our 2016 cruise wasn't going to Bonaire, (I think that due to the reef

only a certain number of Cruise Ships are allowed to visit,maybe that's why

It has been changed)

However losing Grenada and staying late in Barbados is not

Really what we would have chosen,

In 2017 we overnight in Aruba, Stay late again in Barbados

and lose Antigua, the Overnight in Aruba should be good as there

are a number of nice places to eat but I would have preferred

To lose St.Kitts rather than Antigua as it is a lovely island and

English Harbour we Love.

In any event I'm sure we will still have a good time,but I just

wonder sometimes who at Celebrity makes these decisions.

It would be interesting though if someone from Celebrity

would share that bit of information,seems like we are the guinea pigs😎😎

Edited May 28, 2015 by swigso

[tbmrt]

Thankfully, we decided to book another cruise, but had been seriously looking into a Bonaire cruise before that since we hadn't been there and I read alot about it.

 

I definitely would have been annoyed if Bonaire was taken away for Curacao.

 

If Celebrity hadn't notified us, I think that would have made me consider another cruiselines for future trip.

[cruiseerf]

There are several reasons I dislike the overnights....

 

1) I find the ship and cabins Hot when we are in port, even when the AC is on high.

 

2) Crew tends to be rushing to get out for a "night on the town" and not so attentive to our needs.

 

3) Next day said crew looks and performs a little bit worse from the night out partying. I am all for partying, but I am also for enjoying my cruise with the highest level of service possible.

 

4) Casino is closed. Shops are closed.

 

5) In cities where the ship is too big to dock right downtown......like Barcelona or Rome/Civatavecchia 99% of the people stay to eat onboard because "they paid for it" and few go out after dinner by taxi.....except the crew of course because they are jammed in miserable tiny crew quarters.

 

In Civitavecchia you are two hours from Rome and most people will sightsee one day and stay onboard the next.

 

6) I miss the motion of the ocean....the gentle swaying of leaving it all behind and waking up somewhere new.

 

Overall I would MUCH rather see another location or have a day at sea.....A stop in Naples....Or Messina for Taormina....or livorno for a Florence excursion. Sitting in Barcelona harbour when I have been there 10+ times is a waste for us. IF we wanted to overnight in a city we would GO to that city.

 

I think this is a win for the Cruiselines (saving fuel), we lose days at sea and/or another new and interesting port.

 

Silversea and Seabourn tried this to mixed reviews and ultimately stayed longer in specific ports but sail in the evenings except for specific overnights in Istanbul or St. Petersberg which are step off and you are right in the middle of the cities. There is value in walking right off the boat...but big ships....cannot do this in many places.

 

For me this is waste so IMHO I strongly dislike the overnights.

 

Safe sails to all.

[NVa Cruisers]

It seems to me that many people choose a cruise based on the cruise itinerary. So when Celebrity changes an itinerary after people have booked a cruise and often paid for nonrefundable airfare to get to the cruise, it is a case of bait and switch and is highly irresponsible. We have been on many Celebrity southern Caribbean cruises that visited Aruba and Curacao in the Netherland Antilles, but the cruises never visited Bonaire so that was a major reason we booked the 7 Feb 2016 Eclipse cruise that included that island in its itinerary. Now we learn from Cruise Critic, but not from Celebrity, that Celebrity has dropped Bonaire from the itinerary. We're not happy. If passengers want a specific itinerary or want overnight stays in a port, they should book a cruise (and a cruise line) that provides those options. But reneging on a promised itinerary after people book a cruise based on a specific itinerary is a highly questionable business practice. It appears that reducing port fees may be driving this decision, but not customer satisfaction. There are many competing cruise lines, and Celebrity may want to consider their business practices if they want to retain loyal customers.

[vulcan1971]

I did not participate in the poll since I do not have any itineraries booked that would be affected by losing a port to an overnight stay.

 

I am probably like many cruise travelers that make an attempt to book travel to places of personal interest, return to favorite spots, and/or travel to new locations for a change of pace. With that said, I make those choices using the information available at the time the booking was made. I understand that changes can happen from time to time. I was supposed to go to Tortola on a past cruise itinerary, but the port was changed for St. Maarten. I found a way to enjoy a location I had been to previously by exploring the French side of the island.

 

I only travel a few times each year and so having multiple itineraries affected might make me feel differently, but I doubt it. I do favor the idea of overnight port stops, but I would prefer to have known that when I made my booking. If the change did affect me, I would either embrace the new opportunity or figure out if my aversion was strong enough to consider a reschedule/replacement itinerary or cancel all together.

[jagoffee]

Yes, very pleased

[jagoffee]

We would have liked to visited Bonaire. Oh well we can always book a future Cruise that goes to Bonaire even if it's not with Celebrity.

 

 

The 14 day eclipse, Jan 22, 2017 stops in Bonaire

before overnighting in Aruba and staying late in Barbados.

They cut out Antiqua.

Come join us.

[ecslady]

Thanks Arno for starting this thread and the poll. Results so far are interesting.

 

Have 2 cruises booked that are affected and I'm not happy with either change.

 

March 2016 Equinox

They took out Dominica, and we now have an overnight in St. Maarten.:( I was really looking forward to going back to Dominica. An overnight in St. Maarten might attract people who haven't been there before, but been there numerous times so not happy.

 

March 2017 Eclipse

They took out Antigua, and we now have an overnight in Aruba. :( Again, was looking forward to going back to Antigua. Two days in Aruba is too much for me, might as well have been a sea day. At least, this particular one still has Bonaire.

 

As others have said - no notification from Celebrity and found all this out via CC.

Edited May 28, 2015 by ecslady

[CC71]

Not too happy with the change as we booked for the itinerary rather than the ship but we'll stick with our booking as we'll lose our deposits if we cancel plus we have flights booked now too. I haven't been to the Caribbean before and I'm very much looking forward to it even with the revised itinerary!

[I&J Cruisers]

The cruise lines are getting carried away. Over nites in a port are an excuse to decrease the entertainment budget. There is never much going on on the ship when it is in port late at night. If they keep playing this game there won't be any difference between "resort cruising" and going to a land resort. This trend will never be reversed unless they see a decrease in business.

[chamima]

NOT at all happy and was never asked if we wanted an overnight

[koolforkatz]

We are losing Costa Maya, one of the reasons we booked the cruise, and gaining an overnight in Cartagena. Very disappointed as we were really looking forward to going back to Costa Maya. Cartagena is nice but I would prefer the day in Costa Maya. I am looking at other cruises now.

 

I would be very disappointed if I were one of those affected by the loss of either Bonaire or Antigua.

 

Hope this is a short-lived experiment. I guess it's all about $$$.

[Seattle@heart]

 

I definitely would have been annoyed if Bonaire was taken away for Curacao.

 

 

We looked at all the Eclipse sailings and specifically booked one which included Bonaire. We are not happy to have it removed, especially since we have had it booked for quite a while & now would lose our favorite cabin & the perks we received (not to mention the price we have because of booking so far ahead of time) if we switch to another sail date.

 

 

If Celebrity hadn't notified us, I think that would have made me consider another cruiselines for future trip.

 

We have NOT been notified by Celebrity of this change and I only am aware of it because of CC. We've always been happy & loyal to Celebrity but this and so many other changes are making us think it may be time to look elsewhere. We've hesitated to book on one of the more *premium* lines only because of pricing, but I think that might be our next booking. We have a b2b on Eclipse in August and have been looking forward to Luminae and the rest of the new suite perks ~~ I hope we aren't disappointed.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Seattle@heart

[Cindy]

I initially didn't really care either way, but now that I've started planning for the overnight I'm getting excited. We lost Costa Maya for an overnight in Cartagena (Equinox March 2016). I've been to Costa Maya several times, but Cartagena is a new port for me.

 

I'm working with my tour provider for our day in Cartagena (Marelvy Pena Hall) to set up an evening tour that includes folkloric dance/theater, food, beverage, and transportation. She e-mailed me last night, and her ideas for an evening tour sound terrific![emoji126][emoji7][emoji126]

 

Everybody has different reasons for booking a specific cruise. For us, it was to see the canal, and since that hasn't changed we're not disappointed. We've been to all the western Caribbean ports so many times that to us, they're interchangeable.[emoji6] For others, the loss of Costa Maya will be a huge disappointment, and I understand and respect that.

 

My only disappointment is that if I wasn't on Cruise Critic and Facebook I still wouldn't know about this![emoji16] Since I found out before Celebrity decides to notify me, I've been able to get tours rescheduled and start working on plans for the evening in Cartagena.

 

 

Cindy

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