Galaxy definitely to TUI!

[TenerifeSharon]

Guess we all knew it, but here it is from RCL Investor Website:

 

 

 

http://www.rclinvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=103045&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1136131&highlight=

[Cote d'or]

No more large white X on our dear Galaxy from next year on.... We were already booked for a B2B on her this summer, but when we heard the rumour that she might be leaving the X fleet, we booked a last cruise on her in fall. It will be an extra special one, bringing up all the good memories. Again, we will miss her.

[nps001]

One of my best cruises was this past April on the Galaxy. I hope most of the fine employees remain with X on other ships.

[suntan]

That's a real shame. The Galaxy is the most beautiful cruise ship out there (IMO) - she reminds me of the old ocean liners. She was the first ship we cruised on 5 years ago. She will be dearly missed.

[greeneg]

She was our first Celebrity Ship also, and we've always had a soft spot for her.

 

That's one bet that I would just have soon as lost.

[richsea]

We are going to miss her.:( I would imagine that the end of Mercury will not be far behind. Very sad. The C class ships are the perfect size. Maybe We'll have to book Galaxy's final voyage. We were onboard for Zenith's final cruise & while there were a few minor differences due to her impending departure, it was a special cruise & one of our favorites.

[excitedofharpenden]

Good riddance to the rusty old bucket with the fogged up windows in the Stratosphere Lounge............;)

 

Seriously, I'll miss her too. Had a couple of great cruises on her. It will be interesting to see how she turns out with TUI. The press release that Sharon posted indicates TUI to be a "contemporary/premium cruise experience" rather than the budget Island Cruises where Horizon went. A more fitting placement for Galaxy, I feel.

 

Phil

[YOW]

Sorry to see her go, not that it was unanticipated, but glad we'll get to sail Galaxy before the transfer.

 

According to the press release, "Celebrity Galaxy will complete its scheduled sailings through the March 2, 2009, itinerary." That would leave four sailings to be cancelled.

 

Also the TUI site is up and running:

 

http://www.tui-cruises.com

 

... love that Israel Kamakawiwo'ole tune.

[richsea]

Strange, but Celebrity STILL has Galaxy sailings after March 2, 2009 listed on their site. How hard is it to remove sailings that are never going to take place?

 

Maybe the webmaster doesn't come in til 9AM

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

Well, as we all know, this is no surprise. Any of us who read this board, knew this a while ago. At least the news is official now. Galaxy will be missed by our family.

[lovemom]

This is from RCL in the press release today:

 

Celebrity Galaxy has been a treasured member of our family of ships since her maiden voyage in December 1996, and the outstanding crew onboard will continue to offer the service with style Celebrity is known for right up until the shift to TUI Cruises," said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. "We look forward to transitioning those fine shipboard colleagues to the balance of the Celebrity fleet as we grow the brand with our new Solstice class."

 

Am I being neurotic? It appears that cruise ships do have ship specific employees that will be displaced by this. I hope they will provide the same service until the transition.:(

 

And they are making it very clear that they are getting OUT of the Galaxy style ships.

[dkjretired]

Hi Everyone !

 

Well, as we all know, this is no surprise. Any of us who read this board, knew this a while ago. At least the news is official now. Galaxy will be missed by our family.

 

Hi Andy:

 

Worst kept secret in a long time, Mercury to follow next year????????

[chessbriar]

This is from RCL in the press release today:

 

Celebrity Galaxy has been a treasured member of our family of ships since her maiden voyage in December 1996, and the outstanding crew onboard will continue to offer the service with style Celebrity is known for right up until the shift to TUI Cruises," said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. "We look forward to transitioning those fine shipboard colleagues to the balance of the Celebrity fleet as we grow the brand with our new Solstice class."

 

Am I being neurotic? It appears that cruise ships do have ship specific employees that will be displaced by this. I hope they will provide the same service until the transition.:(

 

And they are making it very clear that they are getting OUT of the Galaxy style ships.

They will be displaced only in the fact they won't come back to Galaxy. They will move on to other ships in the fleet. They will likely go on vacation and either come back on the Equinox or other vacancies on other ships created by Equinox coming into the fleet.

 

Crew move around all the time from ship to ship. Don't worry, friends on Galaxy can be found on other ships in the fleet

[nps001]

The crew stays on until the last cruise and they are rotated on and off, just as the other X ships are.

 

I had the pleasure of meeting a few crew on the Galaxy that have been with X for over 20 years. They told me they had "closed" a few ships and it was very sad seeing all of them leave with their belongings.

 

Everyone from X leaves and the new company's crew takes over.

 

BTW, I also learned that transfering between X and the other lines is not allowed.

[Desertbelle]

I thoroughly enjoyed the Galaxy this month, she is a beautiful ship. It's kind of exciting that she will be the flagship of a new cruise line, a fitting place for her!

[Lois R]

Hi Andy:

 

Worst kept secret in a long time, Mercury to follow next year????????

 

Hi Don,:) she will be around for at least 2 more years.

They just added her to the Caribbean (taking over Galaxy's

itinerary) for the end of next year going into the Spring of

2010.

So she has a full schedule the rest of 2008, 2009 and part

of 2010.

So maybe after the spring of 2010.....

[dkjretired]

Hi Don,:) she will be around for at least 2 more years.

They just added her to the Caribbean (taking over Galaxy's

itinerary) for the end of next year going into the Spring of

2010.

So she has a full schedule the rest of 2008, 2009 and part

of 2010.

So maybe after the spring of 2010.....

 

Hi Lois:

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to say next year, my mistake. I agree it would go in Spring 2010. I think the most telling thing is this whole thing is them not putting Specialty restaurants on the ships as they did the Century.

[chessbriar]

We can still sail Galaxy if we choose. We just have to brush up on our German

[snausman]

My family and I had a wonderful time on Galaxy this month. We had even talked about doing this same cruise again in 2010 guess we won't be now. I just loved this size ship, why does Celebrity think everyone wants to sail on a large ship??? Oh well...

 

Laura

[Cruiser Susie]

We too were on the Galaxy earlier this month and had a wonderful time on her. She will be missed; I hope the TUI cruisers enjoy her as much as we have! The food on the ship was wonderful; the crew and staff were really outstanding; the officers were much more visible and available, which we really appreciated. I wonder how the drydock is finishing up? It will be interesting to hear what changes people see in the ship; we still have a chance to go on her before she leaves the fleet, but I don't know if we will be able to do so. Sure hope so!

[Coco Creek]

Here is what I do not get. You build a new ship with a capacity of 2750 and jettison and old ship with a capacity of 1750 passengers. You have gained 900 new passengers per cruise, all of this at a cost of $900,000,000.

 

Is this any way to grow a business? With 3 Century Class Ships, 4 Millennium Class ships and 4 Solstice Class Ships, you have a growing and expanding cruise line. In the end, it appears that Celebrity will go from 7 ships to 8 ships, all for the cost of about 4 billion.

 

I don't get it.

[YOW]

Coco Creek, that's a reasonable question. My guess is that the answer lies in the overall strategy for RCCL, not Celebrity alone. With the addition of the Solstice class ships, they are able to respond to what research indicates to be demand in the North American market: bigger, more bells and whistles, etc. This also offers increased capacity with almost the same number of ships, important in light of both the cost of fuel and the sagging US dollar. Meanwhile RCCL are transferring some ships to their European lines, where greater profit margins can be achieved in markets where the 'bigger is better' mindset doesn't necessarily pervade. I'm not saying it's the right strategy for the long term, guess time will tell, but it does seem to be the trend for now.

 

Hey Sue & Larry, hope you both are well -- are we going to see a review and/or pics from you?

[richsea]

What's confusing to me is that there has been many comments on these boards regarding Celebrity's inability to visit new areas of the world without suffering in other areas already covered. An expanded fleet would solve this problem, but transferring older, smaller ships out of the fleet as the new builds come on line leaves X with the same dilemma.

[Andy]

Here is what I do not get. You build a new ship with a capacity of 2750 and jettison and old ship with a capacity of 1750 passengers. You have gained 900 new passengers per cruise, all of this at a cost of $900,000,000.

 

Is this any way to grow a business? With 3 Century Class Ships, 4 Millennium Class ships and 4 Solstice Class Ships, you have a growing and expanding cruise line. In the end, it appears that Celebrity will go from 7 ships to 8 ships, all for the cost of about 4 billion.

 

I don't get it.

 

Hi Coco Creek !

 

I understand your point, and I am sure many of our Cruise Critic friends feel the same way. When the Solstice Class was announced, I envisioned Celebrity having 11 ships at some point, which would have been perfect. 3 different class of ships, and 3 different sizes. This would be great for everyone.

 

Now, we fast forward a few years, and we see what Celebrity/RCI truly had planned. We know that Galaxy will be gone, and my guess is that Mercury will be leaving in 2010 (or sooner), and who knows what Century's fate is. My guess is that all 3 Century Class ships will be gone within the next 2 -5 years. So much for Celebrity having 11 ships ! They will probably wind up with fleet of 9 or 10 ships (5 S-Class, 4 M-Class, 1 C-Class (?) ) when all of the Solstice Class ships are in service. While Celebrity may not have more ships (or slightly more), when the Solstice class is complete, they WILL have many more passengers.

 

What it all comes down to, is economics. The numbers prove that they can be far more profitable with a larger ship with somewhat more crew than the fleet they have right now. Royal Caribbean realized this years ago, and is having much success by building much larger ships. Now, this plan (albeit on a smaller scale) is being implemented at Celebrity. Clearly, management feels that bigger is better. The problem is, not all of us feel this way. Profits are what are driving these decisions.

 

It's a shame that Celebrity does not appear to be willing to hold onto the C-Class ships, as we feel they are wonderful ships. I suppose that is the price to pay for new ships, though many of the Celebrity faithful may not like it.

[Andy]

What's confusing to me is that there has been many comments on these boards regarding Celebrity's inability to visit new areas of the world without suffering in other areas already covered. An expanded fleet would solve this problem, but transferring older, smaller ships out of the fleet as the new builds come on line leaves X with the same dilemma.

 

Hi Rich !

 

Totally agreed. Many of us (including myself) thought the Century Class ships would eventually head to exotic locations. Now, one has to wonder if Celebrity plans to keep doing the same itineraries, only with much larger ships.

 

On the bright side, it is nice to see Celebrity showed a tiny hint of daylight with a few surprises for Caribbean 2009/2010. Over the past few years, their creativity has been non-existant. At least they are starting to think outside the box, and that is a good thing !