Celebrity to launch Suite Class, offering 24-hour pampering in 2015
The expression “X marks the spot” has historically meant the spot where you go to find buried treasure. In cruising, “X” means Celebrity Cruise Lines.
The “X” you see on the funnels of Celebrity’s ships was put there by the Chandris Group, the original owners of this cruise line, which in 1997 became part of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Known for its Century, Millennium and Solstice Classes of ships, and one expedition ship called Xpedition, Celebrity is about to make changes to its premium brand.
As Ports and Bows reported earlier, Century Class will become a name of the past after 2015 when the namesake ship, the Century, leaves the fleet to join Croisières de France, another Royal Caribbean brand. The Celebrity Century was launched in 1995.
The changes start with the concept of a ship-within-a-ship, the buzz phrase in cruising these days. For Celebrity, it starts with the Suite Class. The trend of this concept is already underway: Norwegian has The Haven and MSC has The Yacht Club.
Suite Class guests can expect exclusive experiences and 24-hour pampering when it debuts on all Celebrity ships, except Xpedition, during the 2015-16 season.
Among the services: unlimited Internet and alcoholic beverages, a dedicated restaurant for all meals, complimentary dining in all the specialty restaurants, butler service 24 hours a day, daily high tea in your suite, and no need to jostle for a spot with priority seating for any entertainment productions.
For those of us not in Suite Class, Arizona’s Canyon Ranch is taking over the spa on Celebrity from Steiner Leisure. The brand went to sea on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and later added the luxury line Regent Seven Seas. Pricing? It will be interesting to see if the upscale spa operator’s price point appeals to everyone on the ship.
Meanwhile, and perhaps most importantly, Celebrity is expanding its destinations and overnights as well as visits to major events.
Overnights fit nicely into the expansion, something that was popularized by Azamara Club Cruises and something that will be a mainstay for Viking Ocean Cruises when its Viking Star is launched next year.
Among the new ports for Celebrity: Haines, Alaska; Fredericia, Denmark; Beppu and Kanazawa, Japan; Vladivostok, Russia, and Dublin Bay, Ireland.
A few examples of major events? The Constellation will be in Venice for the Redentore Festival. Equinox will overnight in Cannes during its film festival. Silhouette will overnight in Edinburgh during the British Open. And Millennium will overnight in Hong Kong for Chinese New Year celebrations.
Over the next couple of months, Celebrity will open all new destinations for sale (Alaska is now open).
What does it all mean for you, the cruise consumer? Celebrity has al- ways been in the premium category. With the planned changes, the cruise line appears to be moving up a notch in this category.
On March 4, remember to check in at portsandbows.com for all the latest river cruising news.
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