Tag Archives: Celebrity

Royal Caribbean Sails Up as Largest Brand in the Industry

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Royal Caribbean International will be the largest cruise brand in the world by 2029 noticeably ahead of Carnival Cruise Line, according to the 2023 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

The Royal Caribbean brand will have an annual global capacity of approximately 6.5 million passengers in 2029, compared to 5.4 million for Carnival Cruise Line.

Royal Caribbean will sail 30 ships versus 27 for Carnival.

While Royal Caribbean will be the largest globally, based on known deployment and the current orderbook of new builds to be introduced, Carnival will most likely continue to dominate in the Caribbean where the brand tends to concentrate its deployment.

The other largest brands on a global scale in order of size will be MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess, Celebrity, AIDA, Costa, TUI and Holland America.

Two question marks would be what happens in China with Carnival’s joint Adora venture that could grow quickly when the Chinese market returns, and if more Costa ships were to be transferred to Carnival’s Fun Italian Style product.

The 2023 Cruise Industry News Annual Report is in digital and printed formats. Order today by clicking here.

Destination will be the “dominant influence” for customers in 2023

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Celebrity Eclipse at the Hubbard Glacia photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)

A poll of 1,000 people carried out by cruise.co.uk found almost half (44%) of respondents describe destination as the “main factor” in their holiday decision-making process.

A quarter of respondents said the price tag was most influential, while a fifth indicated it was the cruise brand which swayed their choice. The specific ship and departure date were the lowest-ranking, with 5% of responses each.

The survey also revealed more than 50% of respondents had travelled on three or more cruise lines, and less than 20% stayed loyal to one brand, choosing instead to holiday based on destination and cost.

Tony Andrews, deputy managing director of cruise.co.uk, said: “Cruising is such a great way to see the world, so it’s easy to see why destination came up trumps in our survey.

“The ability to reach all corners of the globe from the comfort of a ship, combined with the value for money a holiday at sea offers, means we’re seeing customers coming back time and time again to discover new destinations or revisit firm favourites.”

Celebrity Millennium Arrives in Puerto Rico for Homeporting Program

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The Celebrity Millennium is starting a homeporting program in Puerto Rico today. Sailing roundtrip from San Juan, the Celebrity Cruises vessel is now set to offer a series of departures to the Southern and Eastern Caribbean.

Three different week-long itineraries in the region are part of the program, which extends through mid-April.

Departing today, the first one includes visits to five different islands: Tortola, St. Maarten, Roseau, Barbados and Grenada.

Focusing on popular destinations in the Southern Caribbean, a second itinerary includes visits to St. Kitts, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, as well as two days at sea.

Before returning to North America in late April, the Millennium also offers a third itinerary week-long in the region. Sailing roundtrip from San Juan too, the cruise features visits to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Johns, Barbados and St. Lucia.

The local season ends with a repositioning voyage to Fort Lauderdale. Soon after, in May, the 91,000-ton vessel departs Port Everglades on a 15-night Panama Canal cruise to join the Celebrity Eclipse and the Celebrity Solstice in Alaska for a summer program.

First, in a series of four ships known as the Millennium Class, the Celebrity Millennium originally entered service in 2000.

Now offering most of Celebrity’s signature experiences and spaces, the 1,950-guest vessel underwent an extensive renovation in 2019, as part of the Celebrity Revolution program.

In addition to a new livery, the Millennium received several new features during the refit, including the Retreat suite enclave, the Qsine specialty restaurant, a new thermal suite and more.

All of the ship’s staterooms and suites were also update with new designs and furniture to offer what Celebrity calls “modern luxury.”

Other areas that went through redesigned during the refurbishment include the Oceanview Café, the Passport Bar, The Library and more.