Looking ahead - Chance to check on Celebrity Eclipse

We will be sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse (the third of Celebrity's eye-catching Solstice-class vessels in 2010) from Miami this weekend, which will be the ideal opportunity to report back on the latest updates on Celebrity's popular and award-winning ship.

More than any other recent class of cruise ship (with the possible exception of the luxury-orientated Odyssey-class of Seabourn and the brand new Marina of Oceania Cruises), this is one that has really captured the public imagination and provided almost faultless word-of-mouth feedback from the people who matter most - the passengers.

It will be my first chance to see the Solstice class on a regular cruise and see just how she performs under normal circumstances, instead of the usual media previews.

So expect 'live' reports from the Caribbean next week (Internet permitting!) and a host of photos from our itinerary, which includes San Juan (Puerto Rico), St Maarten and St Kitts.

Stay tuned, now...!

Celebrity New Casual Evening Dining service

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Celebrity Cruises is revamping its evening offerings in its “lido,” or primary casual dining venues. Moving away from a sit-down experience and towards an “international marketplace” approach, the offerings will blend classic and contemporary cuisine.

“Since the launch of our Solstice Class in 2008, our guests have shared a great deal of positive feedback about the flavours and variety offered in our marketplace-style Oceanview Café venues, so we are taking that concept to the rest of the fleet,” said Jacques Van Staden, Vice President, Culinary Operations (above).

The new evening casual dining service will present a flavourful array of authentic cuisine, including:

• A made-to-order curry station featuring Indian staples such as raitha, papadums and paratha
• A made-to-order pasta station enhanced with assorted breads and a salad bar
• Two fresh, made-to-order sushi stations
• Two made-to-order stir-fry stations featuring Asian-inspired ingredients and preparation
• A Mediterranean-inspired lineup of antipasti, olives, cheeses and assorted cold meats
• A carving station, with grilled meats such as pork chops, New York strip steak, chicken breast, and grilled fish
• Multiple fresh vegetables, a “loaded” baked potato station, and a variety of sauces such as béarnaise and gravies
• A made-to-order pizza station open until 12:30am, featuring fresh garlic bread and antipasti items
• Two dessert stations

Celebrity Cruises’ will no longer offer tableside service in a traditional “sit-down” style during its evening casual dining service. The evening lido dining service will begin at 6pm each evening and will be available onboard Celebrity Century, Constellation, Infinity, Millennium and Summit by the end of October. The changes will not affect Celebrity Xpedition, the 92-guest megayacht sailing year-round in the Galapagos Islands.

More information about all of Celebrity Cruises casual dining offerings is available at http://www.celebritycruises.com/ or visit them at at The Cruise Show at the NEC Birmingham this weekend. For great deals, be sure to check out the Celebrity section of specialist agent The Cruise Line Ltd.

Head for the Med, Italian Style

By guest blogger Steve Newman

The Mediterranean will always be a favourite spot for the UK cruising community. It’s not that far away, is pleasantly warm and has fascinating cultures and cities around its rim. Add to that the links with our own history and some of the best food found anywhere on the planet and you know you are on to a winner.

Now you can see the sights of Italy and the Mediterranean aboard Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Eclipse on a 14-night Italian Med cruise costing from only £1,409 per person (based on two people sharing an inside cabin).

As with all of Celebrity's eye-catching Solstice-class vessels, onboard features include a real grass lawn on deck, a glass-blowing show and studio developed with the renowned Corning Museum of Glass and the Celebrity iLounge, the Apple-only internet café and iconic store. As you’ll be visiting Italy, why not try a taste of the country beforehand in the Tuscan Grille? With its vibrant ambiance, this steakhouse offers a variety of exquisite selections, from Caesar salad prepared tableside to an antipasti station. Paired with any number of quintessential Italian wines, this is an experience destined to please more than just the palate.

Price includes a 14-night Med cruise departing from Southampton and calling at Gibraltar, Provence (Toulon), Florence, Rome, Cagliari (Sardinia) with its famous ice cream parlours (above), Seville (Cadiz), Lisbon and Vigo, before returning to Southampton (England); meals and entertainment onboard and all relevant cruise taxes/fees.

Price is based on 07 May 2011 departure.

For more information visit http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/.

Celebrity Cruises will also be exhibiting at the Cruise Show in Birmingham on October 16-17.

Celebrity Cruise Lines

Celebrity Cruise Lines

22 years ago, a Greek group of companies owned by Chandris brothers, Anthony and Dimitri founded Celebrity Cruise Lines. They created this company initially to handle cruise ships to Bermuda. Celebrity cruise lines started with only two cruisers back in 1988, one transferred from Fantasy Cruises, a company of the same Group, and the other a new one, build in Germany. Today this company is no longer part of Chandris group and it owns the youngest fleet sailing today.

Celebrity has classified her ships into four classes. Millennium class has the newest and the best equipped cruise vessels. This class has four ships launched after 2000. Century class comprises two a little older but also modernized ships: Century and Mercury. Expedition class was created for more adventurous travelers and unexplored water seekers. Celebrity Expedition, a much smaller vessel, is the exponent of this class. Finally, Solstice class, the most luxurious one wants to fulfill every dream trying to touch perfection.
The travel press as well as the passengers rates this ships among the best in the world for the modern technology, imposing elegance, fine cuisine, high quality accommodations, and good entertainment.

The Constellation of Solstice

Since Celebrity Cruises coined the rather ponderous (not to mention downright ugly) word 'Solsticized' in January, we have waited for the full meaning behind it to become evident. At the weekend, guests embarking on Celebrity Constellation in Amsterdam got the full story.

As regular World of Cruising readers (and those who partake of this Blog) will know, the advent of Celebrity's Solstice-class vessels in 2008 brought a new level of big-ship sophistication and style to the premium cruise world, and the line's bigwigs decided that was a good reason to retro-fit a variety of their new ships' features on to their Millennium class vessels. Constellation is the first fruits of these particular labours.

And, following an intensive 15-day dry-dock, the 8-year-old Constellation now boasts some of the most popular venues found on the widely-lauded Solstice Class. These include:

• The tantalising Tuscan Grille steakhouse

• The vibrant creperie, Bistro on Five

• A “cool” new ice-topped Martini Bar

• The inviting Café al Bacio and Gelateria

• Cellarmasters wine bar

Cellarmaster comes complete with Celebrity's state-of-the-art wine serving systems known as “Enomatics,” allowing guests to select and serve wines by the glass, at the touch of a button, while other notable 'Solsticizations' include more sumptuous suites, with all-new furniture, flat-screen TVs, upholstery, bedding and carpeting; restyled staterooms, with entirely new carpeting, flat-screen TVs, upholstery and bedding; and new colour schemes, carpeting and upholstery reflective of the Solstice Class’ stylish, modern design in every public venue.

It all amounts to a dramatic enhancement of a fleet which was already fairly impressive. Or, as Celebrity president and CEO Dan Hanrahan explained: “Our newly-Solsticized Celebrity Constellation is a significant outgrowth of our ‘Designed for you’ brand platform, built around our long-time commitment to identifying and designing what our guests want. By adding Solstice Class features we know our guests love to our already award-winning Millennium Class ships – with the impeccable service our spectacular crew delivers across the entire fleet – we’re confident we have a winning combination, expressly designed for discerning cruisers.”

And, while the marketing spiel, 'outgrowth' and 'brand platform' may be tough to swallow (how about just saying "Our message"?), it definitely serves notice Celebrity intend to be at the forefront of this more stylish version of cruising for some time to come.

* Constellation is the first of the line’s four Millennium-class ships to be “Solsticized.” Infinity and Summit will be similarly refurbished in 2011, followed by Millennium in 2012.

Following her current seven-night Norwegian fjords cruise, Constellation will offer a series of 12-night Scandinavia and Russia cruises, followed by an 8-night Northern Europe and Mediterranean cruise from Amsterdam to Barcelona, where the ship will operate a series of round-trip, seven-night Med voyages, before a 14-night transatlantic voyage departing Barcelona in November for Fort Lauderdale and a winter Caribbean/Panama Canal series.

Celebrity Push Boat Out For Pre-Packaged Drinks

Celebrity Cruises are busy patting themselves on the back with their latest initiative under the rather cumbersome 'Designed for You' marketing platform, but they may well have something.

Several operators (Royal Caribbean for soft drinks, Holland America with their Signature Cocktails Card) have already dabbled in the pre-packaged drinks option, but no-one seems to have done it with such a key eye as Celebrity, who released a big press announcement about it earlier today.

If you can filter out the self-congratulatory tone, it read:

MIAMI, May 3, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Discerning cruisers have long applauded Celebrity Cruises for its award-winning ships' ability to deliver outstanding service, world-class cuisine and enriching activities in a stylish atmosphere. Now, inspired by its "Designed for you" brand platform and guests' positive response to being able to pre-book aspects of their cruise vacation such as shore excursions and specialty dining reservations, Celebrity has created a way for guests to purchase a variety of beverage packages before their cruise.

"We took our guests' favorite beverages and bundled them into packages that are simple to order from home," said Jacques Van Staden, Vice President, Culinary Operations. "By the time guests board the ship, they can relax knowing that their favorite drinks are arranged for; they can then focus on enjoying themselves in the spa, exploring destinations through shore excursions, or simply lounging by the pool."

What it all means in real terms is as follows. Celebrity has created 4 beverage packages - two 'classic' options and two 'premium' options.

The "Classic Non-Alcoholic Package" features soft drinks, bottled and fresh-squeezed juices, premium coffee and bottled water, and is available at $14.95/person, per day.

The "Premium Non-Alcoholic Package" includes everything in the classic non-alcoholic package but adds speciality non-alcoholic coffee drinks, name-brand bottled water, canned energy drinks and flavoured bottled water, smoothies and frozen non-alcoholic drinks, at $18.40/person, per day.

Celebrity's "Classic Package" features everything in the classic non-alcoholic package, plus beers with a value of up to $5 per serving and spirits, cocktails and wines by the glass with a value of up to $8 per serving. It costs $44.85/person, per day.

The "Premium Package" features all the beverages in the non-alcoholic package plus all beers, spirits, cocktails and wines by the glass with a value of up to $12 per serving, and costs $56.35/person, per day. All prices include a standard 15% service charge.

My only question would be: Would people really spend $57/day under normal circumstances (making sure they have at least 5 drinks a day)? Alternatively, would it encourage more people to drink WAY too much?

Of more interest, perhaps are Celebrity's wine packages, which can also be pre-booked. These include the "Sommelier's Package," the choice of a 3, 5 or 7-bottle lineup of premium wines; a wider variety in a "Captain's Package"; or a "Build Your Own" package designed for those who want to maximize their taste in wine while enjoying a discount (at $114, $148.50 and $225 per package).

The "Build Your Own" package allows connoisseurs to select three upper-range bottles of wine that each cost at least $75 and enjoy a 15% discount. Bottles of wine in any of Celebrity's wine packages can be uncorked in one onboard venue, then recorked and stored until the guest is ready to reopen them.

Celebrity's beverage packages, which are sold on a per-person basis, can be purchased up to 4 days before sailing, via the line's website, www.celebritycruises.com/beveragepackages.

Guests also can access the ordering system via a link in Celebrity's electronic pre-cruise documents, which also provide links to facilitate pre-cruise booking of other offerings such as shore excursions, speciality dining reservations and main dining room preferences. However, guests can also purchase the beverage packages onboard after sailing.

When a guest pre-purchases a beverage package, it will flag the check-in system to add corresponding graphic icons per package to the guest's SeaPass card. A guest will simply need to present his or her SeaPass card in bars, restaurants or by the pool, to enjoy the pre-purchased package.

The packages will become available between May 14 and 21, as ships have different launch dates for the new packages. Celebrity Xpedition, the 92-passenger vessel sailing year-round in the Galapagos Islands, already offers complimentary alcoholic beverages and soft drinks as part of the all-inclusive fare. The wine packages are not available on Celebrity's Solstice-class ships.