It's Official - Horizon To Leave Celebrity Fleet

[dkjretired]

I forget which one, but they gave a name.

 

Problem is with Horizon gone, Zenith is the only ship capable of going into Hamilton and St. George and she already goes there so we have to see how the whole thing plays out.

 

Don

[minke]

For those who wonder how 59 extra cabins will be fitted in.....it will probably be done the same as the others for the UK market, by making quality ships "cheap & cheerfull" !!

HAL's 5th vista class was first trans to Cunard then to P&O (as new Arcadia) with suites split into 2 cabins to give 120 pax extra to HAL. The old Star Princess after a short life with P&O as "Arcadia" was trans to Ocean Village, again with suites split to cabins. Then of course as OV & Island escape are "casual" buffet style they do not need as many crew!

[Danno]

[

The cruise line offers informal, flexible and affordable cruise vacations with open-seating dining and a relaxed dress code.

 

 

translation: BOOZE CRUISE:)

Such a proud, cozy, proper ship....1500 pax X 52 weeks...78,000 potential pax will never know what a classy lady she was...I may not get to sail her again but I am delighted to say I knew her while she had dignity.

 

I almost wish she had sunk with no loss of life...Meridian went on her own terms.

[CaroleSP]

I would think the Zenith is going too. We did a 14 nighter last March; they told us she would be getting a major overhaul about this time. Last I heard, there have been no upgrades, drydocking or refurbishing. Sounds to me like they expect someone else to do it and pick up the costs.

They will both be missed.

[RCCLCruiser23]

I thought you all would like to get the link to island cruises. I don't believe that Island cruises at all are booze cruises instead their like the uk version of ncl. They offer very beautiful cruises to both europe and south america and I wish celebrity and Rci would take a cue and offer these unique cruises to us americans. I also think what they did to the ex viking serenade now called Island Escape was excellent in terms of design.

 

http://www.islandcruises.com/

[Sweetpea]

Horizon was our first Celebrity ship--I feel so sad:-(

[Richard Stein]

Sad to see her go. We have taken her to Bermuda 3 times and am in a CC cabin for her October 22nd final Celebrity cruise. Hope some of you join me in toasting a fond farewell to a dear friend who has served us well. Cheers.

[Cruiser Forever]

That was the first ship my kids cruised on. It was our first "Family" cruise back in 1991. I'm sad to see her go. Had a lovely time on that cruise. Oh well wonder what will take her place. :(

[cmjaffe]

How sad...

Horizon was my son's 1st cruise (when he was just one) and now he's a veteran cruiser of 12... been on over 10 cruises now and he (and we) definitely have a soft-spot in our heart for the Horizon. Had sailed on her twice, the last time on the cruise that was based out of Aruba (great time) and hopefully we'll get to Bermuda to bid a fond farwell to a great ship.

BTW, been on all X class and prefer Horizon and Century to the Millenium class.

Carolyn

[dougnewmanatsea]

It certainly makes you wonder why they would sell 1 ship, and not her sister ship.

Well, she's not actually being sold - Island Cruises is a joint venture in which Royal Caribbean is a partner.

 

As for why they're only getting rid of HORIZON, presumably it's either because Island only need one more ship right now, or because Celebrity can't afford to give up two at the moment.

 

As for where to add extra cabins... As others have suggested, these will probably replace present crew cabins (fewer crew needed with a "club ship" concept), and/or be the result of what are now suites being divided up (seems less likely, as there are not enough suites on HORIZON to add 59 new cabins just by dividing the suites up).

 

The new restaurants will almost certainly be carved out of the existing restaurants, or out of public areas.

[safein]

I am majorly bummed about this news! As far I am concerned, she has been sold, even though it's an infleet transfer. We sailed on the Horizon twice, once to the Islands and the other to Bermuda. She was by far the classiest of Celebrity's fleet, including her sister Zenith.

 

It sounds like either Celebrity has chosen to just send the Zenith to Bermuda, RCCL only wants to send the Empress of the Seas or Bermuda is trying to open the market to other cruise lines. I know for the longest time Celebrity was the only line that had 2 ships going to Bermuda at the same time. She was built specifically for the Bermuda market, allowing her to be able to enter the St George cut by mere feet. Any other Celebrity ship will either have to used the dockyard or tender onto the Island. It wouldn't be the first time a ship tenedered into Bermuda.

 

Farewell, Horizon! I will miss you!

 

Anita

[hotspur]

I don't believe that Island cruises at all are booze cruises... They offer very beautiful cruises to both europe and south america and I wish celebrity and Rci would take a cue and offer these unique cruises to us americans.

Right. But for those who must regularly satisfy their need to feel superior to other cruisers, referring to other cruise lines with derogatory descriptors like "booze cruise" helps to pump up their self-esteem.

[apfra.]

As with any industry, when the hardware ages, it is difficult to maintain the same product that is offered with newer hardware. I am surprised to see that she lasted this long in the fleet. It's not a matter of decreasing the fleet size--- it's a matter that she is a poor representation of the newer hardware, which is the most of the line, and that she has a higher operating and maintenance cost. That is of course from a business perspective.

 

As for the stretching option--- when I worked for Celebrity as an intern last summer, I heard that they had examined the option of stretching the vessel but it was determined that it was not possible. I am in means representing Celebrity, of course. It has become pretty obvious now that they're brainstorming ideas and designs for the next Celebrity class of ships. I think it will be about the same size as the Millennium-class, very sleek, modern, offering chic dining venues, innovative activities, and first-rate entertainment that makes Celebrity DISTINCTIVE from any other line. I personally think that they will add in some sort of venue that is exclusively devoted to Cirque de Soleil.

 

Adam

[jsea]

It has become pretty obvious now that they're brainstorming ideas and designs for the next Celebrity class of ships. I think it will be about the same size as the Millennium-class, very sleek, modern, offering chic dining venues, innovative activities, and first-rate entertainment that makes Celebrity DISTINCTIVE from any other line. I personally think that they will add in some sort of venue that is exclusively devoted to Cirque de Soleil.

Sounds GREAT to me.

[Andy]

As for the stretching option--- when I worked for Celebrity as an intern last summer, I heard that they had examined the option of stretching the vessel but it was determined that it was not possible. I am in means representing Celebrity, of course. It has become pretty obvious now that they're brainstorming ideas and designs for the next Celebrity class of ships. I think it will be about the same size as the Millennium-class, very sleek, modern, offering chic dining venues, innovative activities, and first-rate entertainment that makes Celebrity DISTINCTIVE from any other line. I personally think that they will add in some sort of venue that is exclusively devoted to Cirque de Soleil.

 

Adam

 

Hi Adam !

 

I do hope the next generation of Celebrity ships will be close (in size) to the the M-Class. We have heard lots of rumors that they may be as large as 125,000 tons. While I truly hope that wont happen, I would not be totally against it, as long as they add more passenger areas, and not too many more passengers. I truly dont want to go on Celebrity to be with 3000 other passengers, like on the Voyager class. That is not what Celebrity is all about.

 

I also agree that if Celebrity is totally sold on the Cirque idea, then it should have its own dedicated area. It is a shame that they had to ruin the lounge area, to make this event happen. I totally enjoyed spending some of my time there.

 

Regards,

Andy

[vparrish]

I was surprised to hear of this transfer/move. We sailed on Horizon to Bermuda last Sept and booked for Sept 10, 2005 to Bermuda. HAve been on Celeb Summit as first Celeb experience. Needless to say Horizon needs a lot of refurbishing to meet Summit's appeal, but the service and other amenities were up to par. Rooms were clean, decent size, but the carpeting in common areas was very dirty and stained.

 

We loved Bermuda and hope that Hamilaton remains a port. It is truly the most charming spot we've ever been to!

 

We will toast to Horizon's final trips to Bermuda this Sept. We wanted to make this an annual event. I guess we'll have to find another ship :(

 

Virg

[Richmond Boy]

I understand the nostalgia of the Horizon, in fact it was my first cruise ever.

However, it is not the same quality experience that the Galaxy and Millen class provide beyond the service. There are no balconies, the pools are tiny, and in general the facilites are not adequate. I am glad that the Horizon and hopefully the Zenith are going onto greener pastures. The Bermuda itin is a cash cow (parking the ship cuts the fuel costs) for Celebrity so I am sure they will continue it.

[tbelian]

Please don't misinterpret my post ... but just for clarification...

 

Galaxy is a vessel in the "C" class (Century)... not it's own class, however, Millenium IS a class and a vessel, the first in the "M" class series....

[C 2 C]

We've sailed the Horizon 4 times and have spent 4 weeks on the Zenith as well... We enjoy the ships only because of the staff and activities onboard. We will be sailing on the Zenith again next month. While on the Infinity last week there were still no announcements about future ships.. We love Celebrity but feel they have too few options now. I can't understand the reduction in fleet size while ships are sailing at capacity... Let's hope for good news soon.

[Lois R]

Hi:) Zenith is now sailing from here (Jax) from Nov until April....and she then goes to Bermuda.......and I believe after that run, the itinerary shows she will be doing 4 and 5 night cruises out of Miami~going into 2006.

[Richmond Boy]

Please don't misinterpret my post ... but just for clarification...

 

Galaxy is a vessel in the "C" class (Century)... not it's own class, however, Millenium IS a class and a vessel, the first in the "M" class series....

My apologies.

[KaC-Cruiser]

Bummer .... Horizon was our first cruise back in 92, and she was a lovely ship. KInd of sad to see her disappear from the Celebrity family.

[Joanandjoe]

Our one and only Celebrity cruise was on the Horizon in November, 2003, and we had looked forward to cruising on her in the future. Alas, it is not to be. Too bad: older, smaller ships have more charm than the newer ones. We can do without glitz, climbing walls, and ice skating rinks.

 

Our perspective is different from that of most people, since Horizon is the largest ship (in # of PAX) we've been on. We think that, when a ship has 1200-1400 PAX, excursions get crowded, lines get long, and embarkation and disembarkation become too lengthy. Bigger is not better for us. We have no interest in megaships: our last cruise was on the 300 PAX Wind Surf. Maybe we'll try the larger Celebrity ships; but (other than the Zenith) they seem much too big for us.

 

It's sad to see the beginning of the end of the medium sized ship, at least for the U.S. market. Based on news stories on Cruise Critic and elsewhere, no U.S. based cruise line has an order for a ship with under 2,000 passengers. For us, that amount (much less 3,000 plus) is way too big!

 

So long, Horizon. Like the HAL Noordam (on which we also sailed), you will be missed!