8/15 Redeployment and Changes for Equinox/Summit/Apex/Constellation

[Jeremiah1212]

The other threads are getting muddy so here are the highlights (maybe lowlights - depending on who you are) of changes announced today. 

 

Equinox - 2025 season shifts from South America to Port Canaveral. 

-No ship has been announced for 2025 South America 

-Equinox does mostly 7 night cruises from Port Canaveral including Coco Cay 

 

Summit - the winter 24/25 season will move from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale. 

-There are still some gaps in the schedule or what they have posted isn't fully updated 

-5/7/9 night routes 

 

Apex - the October 2024 dry dock will be pushed out to March 2025.

-A new fall TA will go on sale next week (Southhampton to FLL)

-4 new 6 and 7 night Caribbean cruises will go on sale including Coco Cay

 

Constellation - canceling the 9/12 night Caribbean routes

-ship remains in Tampa 

-shifts to mostly 7 night Caribbean itineraries  

 

 

New deployments should go on sale next Thursday 8/22. 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Jeremiah1212

[hcat]

1 minute ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

The other threads are getting muddy so here are the highlights (maybe lowlights - depending on who you are) of changes announced today. 

 

Equinox - 2025 season shifts from South America to Port Canaveral. 

-No ship has been announced for 2025 South America 

-Equinox does mostly 7 night cruises from Port Canaveral including Coco Cay 

 

Summit - the winter 24/25 season will move from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale. 

-There are still some gaps in the schedule or what they have posted isn't fully updated 

-5/7/9 night routes 

 

Apex - the October 2024 dry dock will be pushed out to March 2025.

-A new fall TA will go on sale next week (Southhampton to FLL)

-4 new 6 and 7 night Caribbean cruises will go on sale including Coco Cay

 

Constellation - canceling the 9/12 night Caribbean routes

-shifts to mostly 7 night Caribbean itineraries  

 

New deployments should go on sale next Thursday 8/22. 

 

 

 

nice job..Thank you!

[mahdnc]

I am disappointed for the affected Constellation passengers.

[C 2 C]

14 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I am disappointed for the affected Constellation passengers.

Can you explain?  We're on Connie Dec-Jan

 

[mac_tlc]

So first I had the Beyond 11/1/24 TA cancelled with no price protection, then I  moved to 11/9/24 Apex TA, now that is cancelled with no options to move to any other cruise, not even the soon-to-be-announced new Apex TA. 
 

I am racking up the OBC, though 🙄

Didn’t take them long to figure out how to get two more ships to go to CoCoCay. I am intrigued by the Port Canaveral deployment.

 

 

mac_tlc

Edited August 15, 2023 by mac_tlc

[C 2 C]

22 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

 

Constellation - canceling the 9/12 night Caribbean routes

-ship remains in Tampa 

-shifts to mostly 7 night Caribbean itineraries  

 

 

New deployments should go on sale next Thursday 8/22. 

 

 

 

As of this year???

[mahdnc]

3 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

Can you explain?  We're on Connie Dec-Jan

 

 

It appears that the extended cruises (e.g. 9 night/12 night sailings) are being eliminated in favor of the traditional 7 night cruise.  So those that booked Constellation for those longer cruises will be affected.

[C 2 C]

Just now, mahdnc said:

 

It appears that the extended cruises (e.g. 9 night/12 night sailings) are being eliminated in favor of the traditional 7 night cruise.  So those that booked Constellation for those longer cruises will be affected.

How soon?  2023 or in 2024

[mahdnc]

1 minute ago, C 2 C said:

How soon?  2023 or in 2024

 

The announcements so far do not make the transition date clear.

[prmssk]

3 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

How soon?  2023 or in 2024

I'm pretty sure this relates to the winter 2024/2025 season.  There was a chart of the new sailings in one of the other threads on this board.

[C 2 C]

3 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

The announcements so far do not make the transition date clear.

Could you give me the site for the announcement?

We are booked all the way to February 5th 2024 12, 12 , 6, 6 9,12, 12

[mahdnc]

1 minute ago, C 2 C said:

Good you give me the site for the announcement?

We are booked all the way to February 5th 2024 12, 12 , 6, 6 9,12, 12

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Caribbean/Flyers/CEL_8_15_23_CAM_CS-EQ-SM-AX_Redeployment_Consumer.pdf

[Jeremiah1212]

14 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

As of this year???

 

6 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

The announcements so far do not make the transition date clear.

 

These changes all pertain to late 2024/early 2025.

 

The upcoming Constellation season for late 2023/early 2024 have not been changed. 

[C 2 C]

2 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Caribbean/Flyers/CEL_8_15_23_CAM_CS-EQ-SM-AX_Redeployment_Consumer.pdf

Thank you.  Seems to be for the end of 2024 and on..

[C 2 C]

Just now, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

 

These changes all pertain to late 2024/early 2025.

 

The upcoming Constellation season for late 2023/early 2024 have not been changed. 

Thank you.  I just got a bit worried .

[mac_tlc]

I did receive an email for the cancelled Apex TA on 11/9/24:

 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS

Dear Guest, At Celebrity Cruises, we are passionate about providing award-winning vacation experiences. With this goal in mind, and in accordance with global ship safety guidelines, Celebrity Cruises will be revising Celebrity Apex’s season schedule to include drydock for routine inspection in 2025, instead of 2024 as originally scheduled.  As a result of this rescheduling, select Celebrity Apex sailings scheduled to embark November 9 & 21, 2024, and March 8, 2025 through April 26, 2025, will be cancelled. For any payments made toward your sailing, you will automatically receive a 100% refund to your original method of payment. No action is required on your part to receive this refund, which you should see reflected within 30 days after cancellation (cruise taxes and fees will be refunded separately). Please note, any reservation paid with Future Cruise Credit will not be eligible for a cash refund; however, your Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated. If you have pre-booked any shore excursions, beverage, internet, specialty dining, or other onboard packages through Celebrity Cruise Planner, you will be refunded in full to your original method of payment.  Guests with hotel reservations booked through Flights by Celebrity will be refunded automatically (you will not need to call in to initiate the process).  Guests with independent accommodations or excursions should contact their tour operators directly to make all required modifications. As we never wish to complicate your vacation planning, we sincerely appreciate your understanding. In the hopes that you’ll discover an alternative bucket-list vacation with Celebrity Cruises, we are happy to offer you $200 onboard credit per stateroom, $400 onboard credit for Retreat accommodations, to be redeemed on a future cruise. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Celebrity Cruises at 1-844-418-6824 in North America or (316) 554-5961 worldwide. We look forward to welcoming you aboard soon for an amazing Celebrity Cruises vacation.

[sparks1093]

Just received the notice that they cancelled our Summit sailing in 2/2025. Looking at booking Reflection for the same time on an ABC cruise. Does anyone know about how long X takes to process refunds in these cases?

[Honolulu Blue]

48 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

The other threads are getting muddy so here are the highlights (maybe lowlights - depending on who you are) of changes announced today. 

 

Equinox - 2025 season shifts from South America to Port Canaveral. 

-No ship has been announced for 2025 South America 

-Equinox does mostly 7 night cruises from Port Canaveral including Coco Cay 

 

Summit - the winter 24/25 season will move from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale. 

-There are still some gaps in the schedule or what they have posted isn't fully updated 

-5/7/9 night routes 

 

Apex - the October 2024 dry dock will be pushed out to March 2025.

-A new fall TA will go on sale next week (Southhampton to FLL)

-4 new 6 and 7 night Caribbean cruises will go on sale including Coco Cay

 

Constellation - canceling the 9/12 night Caribbean routes

-ship remains in Tampa 

-shifts to mostly 7 night Caribbean itineraries  

 

 

New deployments should go on sale next Thursday 8/22. 

Thank you for sharing these changes in this form.  I hadn't heard about them until now, but then again I'm not a religious follower of threads on here.

 

Anyway, two notes on the Summit:

 

1.  The gaps in the schedule may be due to some charters.  I know of at least four that are happening in 2025.

2.  I like the Eastern/Southern Caribbean routes out of San Juan.  I'm disappointed that the Summit won't be making them. ☹️  Maybe they'll be back in '25-'26? 🙏

[adjustman]

I do not understand the reason for these redeployments. It appears the new Celebrity management doesn't seem to know what the cruise line wants to be. As I understood it Celebrity was to be a "Premium" cruise line that competed with the likes of Holland America and Viking. Moving the Equinox to Port Canaveral now seems to be intended towards attracting young families similar to RCL. I am not sure why a family with young children would want to sail on Celebrity since Celebrity is the traditional cruise experience without all the bells and whistles such as an ice-skating rink, sky diving simulators, and rock-climbing walls. Are the Celebrity ships now going to be equipped with these bells and whistles? 

 

I do not understand why passengers would want to sail 7-day cruises on the "old" Constellation when Celebrity offers 7-day cruises on brand new ships.  I thought the older ships such as the Constellation were to be used on longer itineraries where the ports are the truly the destination and not the ship. It does seem that Laura Hodges Bethge and Jason Liberty are trying to make Celebrity in the image of RCL. I personally think that is mistake. 

[rodndonna]

8 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

2.  I like the Eastern/Southern Caribbean routes out of San Juan.  I'm disappointed that the Summit won't be making them. ☹️  Maybe they'll be back in '25-'26? 🙏

 

I hope so also .. but am not optimistic....

[craig01020]

I just got the e-mail cancelling my Jan. 2025 Summit sailing from San Juan. Wondering how long it will be until I see it removed from my Celebrity account and receive the OBC.

[foodsvcmgr]

Agreed adjustman - none of these changes constitute upping their game or make them more competitive in the superior upscale end of the mass market.

[Jeremiah1212]

8 minutes ago, adjustman said:

I do not understand the reason for these redeployments. It appears the new Celebrity management doesn't seem to know what the cruise line wants to be. As I understood it Celebrity was to be a "Premium" cruise line that competed with the likes of Holland America and Viking. Moving the Equinox to Port Canaveral now seems to be intended towards attracting young families similar to RCL. I am not sure why a family with young children would want to sail on Celebrity since Celebrity is the traditional cruise experience without all the bells and whistles such as an ice-skating rink, sky diving simulators, and rock-climbing walls. Are the Celebrity ships now going to be equipped with these bells and whistles? 

 

I do not understand why passengers would want to sail 7-day cruises on the "old" Constellation when Celebrity offers 7-day cruises on brand new ships.  I thought the older ships such as the Constellation were to be used on longer itineraries where the ports are the truly the destination and not the ship. It does seem that Laura Hodges Bethge and Jason Liberty are trying to make Celebrity in the image of RCL. I personally think that is mistake. 

Follow the money. Read the last 10Q. 7 day Caribbean (plus Coco Cay) is what is bringing in the money for RCG. 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

5 minutes ago, adjustman said:

I do not understand the reason for these redeployments. It appears the new Celebrity management doesn't seem to know what the cruise line wants to be. As I understood it Celebrity was to be a "Premium" cruise line that competed with the likes of Holland America and Viking. Moving the Equinox to Port Canaveral now seems to be intended towards attracting young families similar to RCL. I am not sure why a family with young children would want to sail on Celebrity since Celebrity is the traditional cruise experience without all the bells and whistles such as an ice-skating rink, sky diving simulators, and rock-climbing walls. Are the Celebrity ships now going to be equipped with these bells and whistles? 

 

I do not understand why passengers would want to sail 7-day cruises on the "old" Constellation when Celebrity offers 7-day cruises on brand new ships.  I thought the older ships such as the Constellation were to be used on longer itineraries where the ports are the truly the destination and not the ship. It does seem that Laura Hodges Bethge and Jason Liberty are trying to make Celebrity in the image of RCL. I personally think that is mistake. 

My guess is that X (and RCG) are following the money. They may have accepted the fact that they are no longer situated in the premium market and have rolled more into the mass market arena.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

7 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Follow the money. Read the last 10Q. 7 day Caribbean (plus Coco Cay) is what is bringing in the money for RCG. 

I guess we're on the same page haha