Celebrity Equinox Sails Aug 8 2009

[TIMONEY]

Celebrity Equinox will make her maiden voyage on August 8 with a 10-night "Best of Europe" itinerary from Southampton to Rome, calling on ports in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, as well as the United Kingdom's Gibraltar, along the way. Celebrity Equinox then will sail a series of 13- and 14-night "Ancient Empires" cruises featuring two new ports of call: Haifa and Ashdod, Israel. These voyages also include an overnight stay in Alexandria, Egypt. These sailings will take place August 18; August 31, September 13, September 26, October 10, and October 23, and include additional calls in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel and Egypt.

On November 5, the ship will sail a transatlantic voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she will subsequently begin a series of alternating 11- and 10-night "Ultimate Caribbean" voyages. The 11-night voyages, slated for November 23, 2009, and January 4, January 25, February 15, March 8 and March 29, 2010, will stop in George Town, Grand Cayman; Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Roatan, Honduras; and Cozumel, Mexico. The 10-night sailings, taking place on December 4 and December 14, 2009, and January 15, February 5, February 26, March 19 and April 9, 2010, include calls on Charlote Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Bridgetown, Barbados; Roseau, Dominica; Philipsburg, St. Maarten.

Celebrity Equinox will offer Celebrity Cruises' signature standout service and dining, as well as a slate of new features unique to the Solstice class of ships. One of those is The Lawn Club, a half-acre on the top deck of the ship featuring real, growing grass, where guests can play croquet and bocce, practice their golf putting and picnic with wine and cheese. Like Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox also will feature the cruise industry's only "Hot Glass Show" at sea, a dedicated glassblowing studio where The Corning Museum of Glass will present glassblowing demonstrations.

[chessbriar]

Thanks for the info.

 

Looks like she is taking the place of the Constellation. I wonder what they will do with Connie.

 

Soltice taking over for Millie - heads down under

Equinox taking over for Connie - Hawaii runs and send Mercury to Asia?

 

Only time will tell

[TIMONEY]

Bookings for Celebrity Equinox's 2009 Europe sailings will open exclusively for members of Celebrity's loyalty program, "Captain's Club," on March 13. Beginning March 20, other cruisers are welcome to book the Europe voyages. Bookings for Celebrity Equinox's Caribbean season will open for all cruisers at a later date.

[ILuv2Cruze]

Did I miss something......or is the Equinox "Home For The Holidays" and not doin' a Dec. 24th sailing.....Don't think so !;)

[Andy]

Thanks for the info.

 

Looks like she is taking the place of the Constellation. I wonder what they will do with Connie.

 

Soltice taking over for Millie - heads down under

Equinox taking over for Connie - Hawaii runs and send Mercury to Asia?

 

Only time will tell

 

Hi Rick !

 

Yup... many questions, and few answers for now. I'm not at all surprised that Equinox is taking over for Constellation. As Constellation's 10/11 night Ultimate Caribbean are well booked, and has 2 great itineraries, it makes perfect sense that Celebrity puts a larger ship on this itinerary. While I am pleased that Equinox will be doing this itinerary in 2009/2010, I am very curious as to what happens with Constellation, as we enjoy the ship very much. We should know the answers in a month or 2. Stay Tuned !

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

Some additional information : On the 10 night Ultimate Caribbean in 2009/2010, it looks like St Lucia is out, and has been replaced by Roseau, Dominica.

 

On the 11 night sailing, it looks like an additional port is added, Roatan Honduras, in place of a Sea Day. The 11 night itinerary now has 6 port calls instead of 5.

 

I hope this is of some assistance.

[Andy]

Did I miss something......or is the Equinox "Home For The Holidays" and not doin' a Dec. 24th sailing.....Don't think so !;)

 

Hi Iluv2Cruze !

 

According to the press release, there is a hole in Equinox's schedule from 12/25/09 - 1/4/10. My guess is, there is a 10 night saling in there. Perhaps Celebrity has something else in mind. We will see.

 

I also noticed Equinox leaves Europe on a Transatlantic sailing on 11/5/09 and does not have a sailing in Ft Lauderdale 11/23/09. I am wondering if Celebrity is leaving a few days in the schedule for some events in Ft Lauderdale.

[Jade13]

That looks like a great itinerary. Very few cruiselines have Israel and Eqypt during the summer months.

[dkjretired]

Celebrity has announced Equinox's sailings for next summer which answers one question but what happened to Solstice.

 

http://www.rclinvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=103045&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1114680&highlight=

[RCCLCARIB]

August 8, 2009 is Maiden Voyage in Europe

 

Followed by several great European Voyages

Then a Transatlantic Cruise to Ft. Lauderdale

 

Then doing the X Constellation Sailings with 10 and 11 Night Ultimate Caribbean Cruises to the deep S. Caribbean and the Panama Canal.

 

Celebrity Equinox to Balance Europe, Caribbean in First Year

Monday March 3, 12:49 pm ET

Loyalty program members offered exclusive booking window

 

 

MIAMI, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a true equinox, the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, equalizing the length of day and night. When Celebrity Equinox, the second in Celebrity Cruises' newest class of ships, sets sail in 2009, it may not be crossing the equator, but it will aim to balance two of the most popular - and inherently different - cruise destinations: Europe and the Caribbean. In mid-summer 2009, Celebrity Equinox will sail a short but unique season in Europe, featuring new ports and several overnight stays, before transitioning to the Caribbean for the rest of the year and the first quarter of 2010.

ADVERTISEMENT

 

 

Bookings for Celebrity Equinox's 2009 Europe sailings will open exclusively for members of Celebrity's loyalty program, "Captain's Club," on March 13. Beginning March 20, other cruisers are welcome to book the Europe voyages. Bookings for Celebrity Equinox's Caribbean season will open for all cruisers at a later date.

 

"We have seen a great deal of enthusiasm for Celebrity Solstice, and we anticipate that we will see equal excitement about Celebrity Equinox," said Celebrity's President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. "As a special gesture of appreciation for the loyalty of our Captain's Club members, we're offering them the first opportunity to experience Celebrity Equinox when she sails in Europe next year."

 

Celebrity Equinox will make her maiden voyage on August 8 with a 10-night "Best of Europe" itinerary from Southampton to Rome, calling on ports in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, as well as the United Kingdom's Gibraltar, along the way. Celebrity Equinox then will sail a series of 13- and 14-night "Ancient Empires" cruises featuring two new ports of call: Haifa and Ashdod, Israel. These voyages also include an overnight stay in Alexandria, Egypt. These sailings will take place August 18; August 31, September 13, September 26, October 10, and October 23, and include additional calls in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel and Egypt.

 

On November 5, the ship will sail a transatlantic voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she will subsequently begin a series of alternating 11- and 10-night "Ultimate Caribbean" voyages. The 11-night voyages, slated for November 23, 2009, and January 4, January 25, February 15, March 8 and March 29, 2010, will stop in George Town, Grand Cayman; Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Roatan, Honduras; and Cozumel, Mexico. The 10-night sailings, taking place on December 4 and December 14, 2009, and January 15, February 5, February 26, March 19 and April 9, 2010, include calls on Charlote Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Bridgetown, Barbados; Roseau, Dominica; Philipsburg, St. Maarten.

 

Celebrity Equinox will offer Celebrity Cruises' signature standout service and dining, as well as a slate of new features unique to the Solstice class of ships. One of those is The Lawn Club, a half-acre on the top deck of the ship featuring real, growing grass, where guests can play croquet and bocce, practice their golf putting and picnic with wine and cheese. Like Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox also will feature the cruise industry's only "Hot Glass Show" at sea, a dedicated glassblowing studio where The Corning Museum of Glass will present glassblowing demonstrations.

 

Celebrity's new Solstice class of ships also feature the line's new AquaClass category of veranda accommodations expressly designed for spa enthusiasts. Guests in AquaClass will enjoy unlimited access to the AquaSpa relaxation room and the exotic aromatherapy and steam room, as well as exclusive, complimentary dining in Blu, an intimate, 130-seat specialty restaurant. Including Blu, this new class of ships will feature ten dining venues including a subtly upscale lido deck, multiple specialty restaurants, a 24-hour bistro-style café and a majestic main dining room.

 

Beginning March 13, to take advantage of their exclusive booking window, Celebrity's Captain's Club members can contact their travel agent or the Captain's Club Early Booking Desk at 1.888.561.2232. Celebrity plans to post additional details at http://www.celebritycruises.com/celebrityequinox beginning March 6.

 

Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale cruise experiences with highly personalized service, exceptional dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Celebrity sails in Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal and South America. The line also offers unique land-tour vacations in Alaska, Canada, Europe and Australia through its cruisetour affiliate. Noted for "The Top Cruise Ships in the World," as voted by the readers of Conde' Nast Traveler (February 2008 readers' poll), Celebrity's current fleet will be joined by Celebrity Solstice in 2008, Celebrity Equinox in 2009, Celebrity Eclipse in 2010, and a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111 or visit http://www.celebritycruises.com. And for more about Celebrity's new Solstice class, visit http://www.celebritysolstice.com.

 

 

 

 

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080303/clm111.html?.v=48

[gracecarmo]

Don: thanks for the info....now I can start planning! I love the fact that the European voyage goes into Israel.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

Already a thread on this..... Here is the link :

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=727190

[gracecarmo]

In my "cruise bucket" (things to do before I kick the forementioned) is to go to the Holy Land.

This seems to fit the bill just fine.

I will be sitting at my computer on March 13 to reserve.

 

I am sure that the Equinox is the same as Solstice in design?

[FinelyCruising]

I really, really liked St. Lucia.

 

So March 13th is the day...:)

[TIMONEY]

St. Lucia is very nice (just there), but loved Dominica just as well maybe better!

 

If I can make up my mind by March 13 on which cruise or curises to book, I will be spending time on the computer with the rest of you.

 

Love the longer cruises! With the new Equinox this should make for some fine cruising. Always wanted to do a 10 / 11 day back to back Caribbean curise, I guess now is my chance.

 

Garry & Vickie

[FinelyCruising]

Thanks...I am going to check further into Dominica to open my mind.:)

[Andy]

I really, really liked St. Lucia.

 

So March 13th is the day...:)

 

Hi Finely !

 

If I read the release right, you will not be able to book any of Equinox's Caribbean itineriaries just yet. I believe Celebrity is only opening the Europe itineraries on March 13th. You will probably be able to book the Caribbean itineraries when the rest of the 2009/2010 Caribbean season opens for bookings.

[jealdaka]

Will the rest of Celebrity's Europe sailings open on the 13th as well?

[Andy]

Will the rest of Celebrity's Europe sailings open on the 13th as well?

 

Hi Jealdaka !

 

They made no mention of that in today's press release. It's possible that could be a tip off to the opening date for Europe. It did say that further information will be posted on Thursday at http://www.celebritycruises.com/celebrityequinox . While I believe that link will only be related to Equinox, perhaps there will be more answers then. Stay tuned !

[c-legs]

:) Hi,

Strangely, march 13th 2007 is when the 2008 Europe itineraries were opened for bookings ( and the day I booked our upcoming B2B on Century).

So ,at least, == X == is showing some consistency....

 

Yep; the 64000$$ question : Connie, where are you heading to ??

 

Cheers

:cool:

[timespliters]

The second of Celebrity Cruises' new generation ships, Celebrity Equinox, is to make its maiden voyage from Southampton next year.

 

The vessel will enter service on August 8, 2009, with a 10-night voyage from Southampton to Rome.

 

The ship will then run a series of six 13- and 14-night Eastern Mediterranean itineraries taking in Haifa and Ashdod in Israel as new ports of call.

 

Solstice-class Celebrity Equinox will then transfer to Fort Lauderdale in Florida to sail a winter season of aternating 11- and 10-night Caribbean cruises.

[FinelyCruising]

I really want to get back to the Pacific Mexico...

[dkjretired]

Does anyone find it strange that we now have Equinox itineraries for next summer and fall and we haven't had any official Solstice itineraries after April..

[Schplinky]

Hi Everyone !

 

Some additional information : On the 10 night Ultimate Caribbean in 2009/2010, it looks like St Lucia is out, and has been replaced by Roseau, Dominica.

 

On the 11 night sailing, it looks like an additional port is added, Roatan Honduras, in place of a Sea Day. The 11 night itinerary now has 6 port calls instead of 5.

 

I hope this is of some assistance.

 

I am glad they are favoring Dominica. We did not love St. Lucia and hope to take one of these sailings.

[Coco Creek]

Once again, Celebrity customer service is ten miles behind and fading. I called the special Captain's Club number for more information per the press release and the number is out of service. I called my TA for more information per the press release and the TA had never heard of the Equinox (you know maybe I need a new TA).

 

All I wanted to know was the specific itinerary for "Ancient Empires" Cruise, but apparently no one know or willing to share.

 

So, my issue is how can service on ships be so good at times and customer service off the ships be so bad at times?