Constellation "Revolution"

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

We also must remember that two years ago the "M" class ships were on the block to be sold.  Two have since gone through service life extensions / refurbishment.  Do the same with the remaining two (Connie and Infinity) may become a financial reach too far following the shutdown.  Shedding these two ships from X is likely under consideration by RCCL along with deferred payments and a significantly slower new build program.

 

Exactly what I've been saying on various boards here the last few weeks.  I believe all the lines will be compressing their fleets for awhile with few if any new builds coming in the next few years.

[little britain]

Connie now left Cyprus...?

[jelayne]

May not be anything, the ships have been moving around a bit.

[dandee2]

On 4/20/2020 at 10:15 AM, TeeRick said:

Agree that if RCCL decides by necessity to sell ships to survive, they will probably sell the non-renovated Celebrity M-Class ships first.  But they also have a bunch of older ships to sell in their RC line as well.  Who will buy all these excess older ships in a post-pandemic economy that no longer supports the previous enthusiasm for cruise vacations?  

read on.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/amid-order-shifts-cutbacks-cruise-market-will-need-decade-recover-bernard-meyer

[Blackduck59]

Right now I don't think the "Revolution" will happen to Constellation any time soon, if at all. I wouldn't be surprised to see her struck off the Celebrity fleet and sold to another line that is operating an even older ship. Some of the oldest ships will be going to the breaker's yard. There have been many mixed reviews for some ships that have been "Revolutionized". I don't think that they even properly finished Equinox before she was put back in service. The whole concept will have to be revisited. I think that they will not resume the Millennium Class refits and the Solstice class refits will have to include expansion of the sick bay; also they will also remove some of the inside cabins or convert them to single guest cabins.

[Luv2Crus40]

I love the "M" class ships.  That's all we like to sail on Celebrity.  Hopefully, the Constellation will still be there for my cruise in December (doesn't matter to me if not revolutionized - I liked the old comfortable styling they had).  We usually sail on the Summit "M" class out of Bayonne but decided to do something different this year.

[little britain]

11 hours ago, jelayne said:

May not be anything, the ships have been moving around a bit.

She’s been up near Athens for a few weeks, it is a long way to go down to Cyprus to get new water etc.  

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, dandee2 said:

read on.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/amid-order-shifts-cutbacks-cruise-market-will-need-decade-recover-bernard-meyer

Thank you- highly informative article!

[blueboro]

But in this environment who would even be able to buy the ships even if they went up for sale?

[BigAl94]

1 minute ago, blueboro said:

But in this environment who would even be able to buy the ships even if they went up for sale?

Beaches in Alang may be busy!

[canderson]

10 hours ago, blueboro said:

But in this environment who would even be able to buy the ships even if they went up for sale?

You saved me the trouble of asking!

It's not as though new cruise companies are going to be popping up, nor that other lines aren't going to be looking at the same issues on their own balance sheets.

[canderson]

They certainly haven't discounted the fare since we booked in December.  It's actually up just a bit.

 

[aftforsure]

9 hours ago, canderson said:

They certainly haven't discounted the fare since we booked in December.  It's actually up just a bit.

 

We noticed the same thing.  We booked in late November.  Wish we knew for sure whether the refurbishment would happen and when but I guess the company itself doesn't know that for sure.

[JoeJ]

We are scheduled for the CONNIE on Jan 4, and hope the refurb happens, but tend to doubt it, and maybe we won’t be able to be on board anyway unless some miracle happens to make it safe for us oldies.  We did the Silhouette in February and loved the Retreat concept for the suites, and we were looking forward to it on the CONNIE.  If anyone finds an answer re the CONNIE refurb, please post when you get it.

[WonderMan3]

I had been considering cancelling my Infinity cruise for next May if they decide to nix the refurb in November. After looking again at photos and videos of cabins online (I booked a Royal Suite) I think I'm going to stay with it revolutionized or not (unless of course this virus is still active and/or there is not a vaccine yet). The suites look in good shape and I enjoyed a cruise on Summit last year before it was renovated. Not having the new Retreat sundeck is not really a deal breaker. I really, really love the itinerary though and there is nothing else like it that Celebrity is offering on another ship plus it overlaps on our anniversary. My only gripe would be that I booked with pricing based on the ship planned to be in a post-revolution state. If that doesn't happen then the pricing should be adjusted downward accordingly. Knowing how these cruise lines operate, there's a fat chance of that happening. Since I booked through Blue Chip Club maybe I can get something adjusted. Not going to hold my breath though.

Edited April 26, 2020 by WonderMan3

[LXA350]

On 4/19/2020 at 9:53 PM, pip43 said:

Are you saying that this cruise from Venice to Barcelona and TA to Tampa aren't going to happen in Oct. 2020?

 

 

I would prepare for this, it's likely that it will not happen.

 

Either because cruising is not yet possible or because X will go ahead with it's plans to reduce it's fleet by getting rid of Constellation.

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 4/19/2020 at 3:53 PM, pip43 said:

Are you saying that this cruise from Venice to Barcelona and TA to Tampa aren't going to happen in Oct. 2020?

 

Let's see...  Spain is "closed" to foreign (non-Schengen) tourism through the end of 2020.  Italy is "closed" to foreign tourism through the end of March 2021.  The next flu season starts in the Fall and the US CDC has expressed perspectives that it could be worst ever combined with the current or recurring strain of COVID-19.  For that and other reasons, its very doubtful Connie will make the TA as scheduled.

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Let's see...  Spain is "closed" to foreign (non-Schengen) tourism through the end of 2020.  Italy is "closed" to foreign tourism through the end of March 2021.  The next flu season starts in the Fall and the US CDC has expressed perspectives that it could be worst ever combined with the current or recurring strain of COVID-19.  For that and other reasons, its very doubtful Connie will make the TA as scheduled.

 

I would be interested to see where you got this information, the latest news I have heard was borders MAY be closed until the fall. Or maybe not. I do think that Schengen zone counties will be quite leary of travelers from the US, having seen the total chaos of the response there. I haven't seen anything to suggest Italy will be closed until March next year. I do think that People from around the world will think twice before traveling to the US, it really doesn't matter what the CDC says. I think perhaps the US may find the isolation that their "leader" has been calling for, but not really wanting. 

[TeeRick]

I think there are comments from public and government officials from Italy, Spain, and everywhere else being interviewed by the press.  Some are reported accurately and others are out of context.  The usual mess.  These comments from interviews perhaps reflect the current thinking of their governments but maybe only their individual thinking.  I would wait to see the official government communications.

[dutchclogs]

6 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I think there are comments from public and government officials from Italy, Spain, and everywhere else being interviewed by the press.  Some are reported accurately and others are out of context.  The usual mess.  These comments from interviews perhaps reflect the current thinking of their governments but maybe only their individual thinking.  I would wait to see the official government communications.

 

There seems be a widespread consensus  of thinking that internal tourism will precede international tourism but ITA I would wait  to see the official government communications.

[WNcruiser]

Some good news possibly? 
 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5308/

[Gracie115]

18 hours ago, aftforsure said:

We noticed the same thing.  We booked in late November.  Wish we knew for sure whether the refurbishment would happen and when but I guess the company itself doesn't know that for sure.

 

Yes they do, it is not being done at least not in 2020.  Celebrity rep that has worked in the main office in Miami for the last 15 years told me this 2 weeks ago.   There is NO money for this work right now.

 

 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Gracie115

[wrk2cruise]

There is mandatory hull maintenance and other inspections that are required every 5 years.  While they may not do the Revolution updates I believe there will be an alternate dry dock date set at some point possibly prior to resuming sailings on Constellation.  Purely my speculation.

[lakegirl16]

We are booked February 26, 2021 in a Sky Suite.  We sailed the Connie a few years ago and love the ship.  However, we booked based  on the ship being revolutionized.  We sailed May of 2019 on the Millennium just after it was revolutionized and loved the new Retreat lounge.  We booked this ship based on the updates and being able to use the Retreat Sundeck with four days at sea.

 

Sounds like the updates aren't going to happen, which I understand!  And at this point, who knows if any ships or this ship will be cruising in 2021 or not?  That aside, we are booked on the non refundable deposit ($900) which I know means we would lose $100 each if we cancel and the balance would go as FCC.  I feel like because this isn't going to be the ship that we booked to sail on, we should be able to cancel and get our money back.  I did call Celebrity last week and they couldn't tell me much since we booked through Costco.

Anyone have any tips on what to do?  Or am I just out of luck on being able to cancel and get my money back?

[dabear]

7 minutes ago, lakegirl16 said:

We are booked February 26, 2021 in a Sky Suite.  We sailed the Connie a few years ago and love the ship.  However, we booked based  on the ship being revolutionized.  We sailed May of 2019 on the Millennium just after it was revolutionized and loved the new Retreat lounge.  We booked this ship based on the updates and being able to use the Retreat Sundeck with four days at sea.

 

Sounds like the updates aren't going to happen, which I understand!  And at this point, who knows if any ships or this ship will be cruising in 2021 or not?  That aside, we are booked on the non refundable deposit ($900) which I know means we would lose $100 each if we cancel and the balance would go as FCC.  I feel like because this isn't going to be the ship that we booked to sail on, we should be able to cancel and get our money back.  I did call Celebrity last week and they couldn't tell me much since we booked through Costco.

Anyone have any tips on what to do?  Or am I just out of luck on being able to cancel and get my money back?

IMHO the mere fact that a ship has not been updated would not be sufficient reason for refunding a nonrefundable deposit. You also agreed to a nonrefundable deposit in order to get a lower rate. That's the price you pay for getting a bargain. We've always paid slightly more in order to get a refundable deposit & never had a problem. You shouldn't fret over loosing only $200 rather than the whole $900.