Celebrity Cruises to "Go Big" in summer of 2012 with largest-ever Europe Lineup
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Celebrity Cruises to "Go Big" in summer of 2012 with largest-ever Europe Lineup
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Category: Europe
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2011-03-18
· 19 distinct Mediterranean itineraries, new Venice homeport offerings, first-time Iceland and Fjords sailings to expand Europe lineup
· Summer/early fall season to offer broad geographic appeal with Europe, Transatlantic, Alaska, Bermuda, Canada/New England itineraries
Some say that to be effective, it’s best to “go big or go home.” Celebrity Cruises is going big in the summer/early fall season of 2012, when it will offer vacationers more opportunities to enjoy premium Europe cruises than ever before, with five ships visiting 70 ports in 22 countries, sailing from six departure ports, and featuring 19 distinct Mediterranean itineraries.
Celebrity’s 2012 summer/early fall season also will include a variety of premium cruise vacation opportunities to enjoy Alaska, Bermuda, Canada and New England, and a series of immersive cruisetours in Europe and Alaska.
European expansion includes new Venice homeport, Iceland cruises
Recognizing that people’s vacation time is precious, Celebrity has shaped a 2012 Europe lineup that exemplifies the premium cruise brand’s focus on offering a multitude of ways for people to have the best vacation experience possible. Some extended overnight stays and eight new ports will add even more depth to Celebrity’s already broad Europe offerings; these include Klaksvik, Faroe Islands; Akureyri, Iceland; Bari, Catania, and Ravenna, Italy; Skijolden, Norway; Koper, Slovenia and Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. Travelers can enjoy these and the 62 other ports Celebrity will visit in Europe in 2012 in ultra-premium style, as Celebrity is deploying four of its award-winning Solstice Class ships to sail full Europe seasons in 2012. They will be joined by the recently “Solsticized” Celebrity Constellation.
The 2,886-guest Celebrity Silhouette, which will debut later this year, will be the first Celebrity ship to offer a variety of sailings from Venice, Italy. These will be a series of roundtrip, Venice-based cruises and open-jaw cruises between Venice and Rome, ranging from 11-13 nights in length, from May through mid-August of 2012. Sailing along the Adriatic Coast as well as in Greece and Turkey, these itineraries will be port-intensive, with only one or two “sea days” on each cruise. In mid-August, Celebrity Silhouette will offer eight Holy Land voyages roundtrip from Rome, ranging from 11-14 nights in length.
The 2,850-guest Celebrity Eclipse, which launched in 2010 and features the first “Celebrity iLounge” and unique specialty restaurant Qsine, will be based in Southampton, England for the summer of 2012. She will offer four unique 14-night itineraries in the Mediterranean, Scandinavia/Russia, Iceland/Fjords and Canary Islands/Azores. A brand-new expanded Baltic season will include cruises to Iceland and the Norwegian Fjords, with an overnight, in-port stay in Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital of a sovereign state and a hub of nightlife and shopping, and a full-day visit to Akureyri, the country’s second-largest urban area.
Celebrity Constellation, which was retrofitted with a series of Solstice-class venues last year, will offer a variety of cruises from Amsterdam, including seven Scandinavia/Russia cruises, one Arctic Circle cruise and one Norwegian Fjords cruise. Additional offerings on Celebrity Constellation will include three port-intensive, 12-night Greek Isles and Turkey cruises with only two sea days, and three 12-night Holy Land sailings that each feature three immersive days in Israel: a two-day overnight, in-port stay in Ashdod and Alexandria and a full-day call in Haifa.
Celebrity’s flagship Solstice Class vessel, Celebrity Solstice, and sister ship Celebrity Equinox will continue 2011’s itineraries, which are proving to be popular choices among premium vacationers. Celebrity Solstice will present two distinct choices of 12-night Mediterranean sailings roundtrip out of Barcelona, Spain: a an itinerary highlighted by an overnight, in-port stay in Venice, and an itinerary that will include calls at Mykonos, Santorini and Kusadasi. Celebrity Equinox will homeport in Rome (Civitavecchia), and perform 10- and 11-night cruises to the Eastern Mediterranean, visiting ports in Greece and Turkey. The 11-night itinerary will include an overnight, in-port stay in Istanbul, Turkey, allowing vacationers more opportunities to absorb the ancient city’s dual cultures and mystique.
Guests who wish to deepen their experience in Europe can take advantage of Celebrity’s cruisetour offerings, which combine a cruise with a three- to five-night pre-cruise escorted land package in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. The packages, exclusive to Celebrity Cruises, immerse guests in culture-rich destinations such as Amsterdam; Venice; Paris; the Italian Lakes; Florence; Madrid; London; and Cappadiocia, Turkey. Celebrity Silhouette will offer two new cruisetour packages: a three-night pre-cruise Italian Lakes and Venice experience that now offers two nights in Como and includes a lake tour to Bellagio, and a five-night Venice, Florence and Rome pre-cruise experience that is ideal for guests who wish to book roundtrip air to and from Venice and sail from Rome to Venice after the land portion of the cruisetour. All of these packages are escortedby a local tour director and include hotel accommodations, transportation, select activities, breakfasts and some additional meals.
Celebrity's Europe season will be bookended by transatlantic sailings that will transition the ships from Europe to their next destination; these cruises range from 13 to 15 nights in length and feature ports such as Barcelona, Lisbon, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Paris/Normandy (Le Havre).
Popular Alaska vacation experiences continue; new cruisetour targets families
For the fifth consecutive year, Celebrity Century, Celebrity Infinity, and Celebrity Millennium will return to Alaska in the summer of 2012, offering vacationers ways to enjoy premium vacations featuring Celebrity’s signature cuisine, activities, and service amidst unforgettable, inspiring scenery.
Celebrity Infinitywill return to Seattle, Washington in the summer of 2012, to offer its popular 7-night roundtrip Tracy Arm Fjord itinerary. The majestic Alaskan scenery will serve as an ideal backdrop for the ship, which will be “Solsticized” in December of this year. The refurbishment will add some of the most popular venues on Celebrity’s widely heralded Solstice Class ships, including the first spa-inspired AquaClass accommodations to be added to a Millennium Class ship, the specialty restaurants Qsine and Blue, entirely new verandas added to the ship’s spacious Celebrity Suites, additional new oceanview and inside staterooms, the inviting Café al Bacio and Gelateria, a restyling of staterooms to include entirely new carpeting, flat-screen TVs, upholstery and bedding; and more.
The 1,814-guest Celebrity Century will present seven-night roundtrip cruises from Vancouver. At the end of the season in September, Celebrity Century will offer a nine-night “Ultimate Alaska” sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, followed by a 10-night wine cruise from Vancouver to San Diego, which features the wine-rich port cities of the Pacific Northwest.
Cruising between Vancouver and Seward, Alaska, will be Celebrity Millennium, with a series of seven-night open-jaw cruises. Celebrity Millennium’s Alaska season will begin with a 15-night Panama Canal sailing from Miami to San Diego on May 12, 2012. Other unique offerings during Celebrity Millennium’s 2012 Alaska season will include two cruises highlighting vacationers’ passion for wine and food: one five-night wine cruise in May from San Diego to Vancouver, and an eight-night wine cruise in September, from Vancouver to San Diego.
Guests who wish to deepen their experience in Alaska can take advantage of Celebrity’s cruisetour offerings, which combine an Alaska cruise on Celebrity Millennium with a pre- or post-cruise escorted land package highlighting the region’s natural beauty, culture and heritage. A total of 20 packages will be available in 2012, including a new tour geared toward intergenerational travel groups. The popularity of Alaska as a family vacation destination is at the heart of the new tour, which features travel on Celebrity’s Wilderness Express domed railcars, experiences on a Resurrection Bay wildlife cruise, lunch at Fox Island, a visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, time at the Anchorage Museum and Imaginarium and a Denali tour designed specifically for families.
Travelers who wish to have a once-in-a-lifetime Alaska experience can opt for an 18-night “Ultimate Cruisetour,” which includes a six-night pre-cruise Canadian Rockies land tour, a seven-night cruise on Celebrity Millennium from Vancouver to Seward, and a five-night post-cruise escorted Alaska land tour.
All of Celebrity’s Alaska cruisetour packages are escorted by an expert tour director and include hotel accommodations, transportation, select activities, breakfasts and some additional meals. Additional cruisetours to the Canadian Rockies and Whistler are available.
Bermudalineup aims to bewitch travelers
After being “Solsticized” in January 2012, Celebrity Summit will return to Bermuda that summer for a third consecutive season, reprising its 2011 roundtrip seven-night itineraries from Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey.
Travelers who wish to take advantage of the convenient New York-area departure point will have the opportunity to enjoy many new experiences on Celebrity Summit. Like Celebrity Infinity’s late-2011 “Solsticizing,” Celebrity Summit’s refurbishment will add some of the most popular venues on Celebrity’s widely heralded Solstice Class ships, including AquaClass accommodations inspired by the spa enthusiast lifestyle, the specialty restaurants Qsine and Blu, the hip “Celebrity iLounge,” entirely new verandas added to the ship’s spacious Celebrity Suites, additional new oceanview and inside staterooms, Cellarmasters wine bar, Bistro on Five creperie, and more.
Canadaand New England to be presented as enchanting autumn destinations
In September 2012, Celebrity Summit will shift from Bermuda cruises to three 14-night Canada and New England sailings. Differing from previous years, the cruises, which will depart on Saturdays, will include a new port of call for Celebrity: Gaspé, a city situated on the point of the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Quebec, Canada.
To help vacationers maximize their celebration of autumn’s splendor, Celebrity is also building on its previous Canada and New England offerings in 2012 by adding more time (two full days) in Quebec City, Canada.
Shoreside options add immersion, depth
To help round out travelers’ summer cruise experience, Celebrity will offer a variety of shore excursions aimed at satisfying a range of travelers’ interests, including winery visits, glacier tours, private floatplane trips, beach visits and more. To make it easy for guests to plan their vacation, Celebrity offers the option for guests to book shore excursions in advance of their cruise.
Examples of Celebrity’s premium summer shore excursions include:
• In Italy, guests can explore their love of wine and their fascination with the Italian countryside simultaneously through a Naples shore excursion that features a tour of Mount Vesuvius National Park in a 4x4 vehicle, a hike, and a winery visit.
• In Iceland, guests can enjoy an authentic Icelandic experience through a trip through Reykjavik and the rugged lava fields of the Reykjanes peninsula to the Blue Lagoon, which offers a glimpse of the region’s unusual landscape and an opportunity to indulge in the waters of the lagoon, and an air tour over the Tindfjallajokull and Eyjafjallajokull glaciers and Hekla volcano. En route, guests will also take in Geysir, one of the world’s renowned geothermal areas, and the Thorsmork Valley, believed to be the realm of the thunder god Thor.
• In Alaska, Celebrity offers unique Alaska excursion packages that take the guesswork out of choosing shoreside activities and offer a discount over purchasing the same excursions individually. Three packages including tours in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway hone in on key themes: the “Alaska Sightseeing Package” includes visits to landmarks; the “Flora and Fauna Package” gives nature-lovers an easy way to see the region with whale-watching, rainforest and eagle-spotting activities; and the “Family-Friendly Package” offers activities for guests of all ages with dog-sledding, a suspension bridge and gold-seeking experiences.
• In Bermuda, guests can experience Bermuda’s famed beaches by booking a trip to the uncrowded, pristine Stone Hole Bay, ideal for relaxing and enjoying the island’s famous pink sand.
• In New Brunswick, guests can become “a Fundy scientist for a day” through an experience at Fundy National Park. During the excursion, guests will spend time with park scientists and learn the basics of studying the aquatic ecosystems of the well-known Bay of Fundy.
Complete details on Celebrity’s shore excursions are available online.
Space available now
Celebrity’s 2012 Europe and transatlanticseason opened for sale today. On March 15, Celebrity opened its 2012 Bermuda and Canada/New England cruises for sale. On April 6, Celebrity’s 2012 Alaska season will open for sale. More details are available at www.celebritycruises.com.
Members of Celebrity’s Captain’s Club loyalty program are eligible to receive up to $600 savings per stateroom when booking select 2012-13 itineraries before July 29, 2011.
Shore excursions are not included in cruise fare.
About Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises’ iconic “X” is the mark of the world’s top-rated premium cruise line, with spacious, stylish interiors; dining experiences elevated to an art form; personalized service, with a guest-to-staff ratio of nearly 2:1; unexpected, trendsetting onboard activities, all designed to provide an unmatchable experience for vacationers’ precious time. Celebrity sails to Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Bermuda, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal, South America, and year-round in the Galapagos Islands. Celebrity also offers immersive cruisetour experiences in Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Europe and South America. One of the fastest-growing major cruise lines, Celebrity’s fleet currently consists of nine ships, with two additional Solstice Class ships scheduled to join the fleet: Celebrity Silhouette in July 2011, and Celebrity Reflection in Fall 2012.
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