Who Moved My Cruise Ship?
It all began when I ran into trouble looking for a Christmas cruise for a client and I couldn't find the Celebrity Millennium! Wasn't she supposed to be in Australia? Then I discovered her sailing from San Juan -- wait -- the catalogue says that's the Mercury's home -- so where did she go?
And so the hunt was on to track down all the cruise line ship re-deployments. The following is probably not a comprehensive list, but here are some of the changes I've found so far for 2009:
Celebrity: 1. Changing the Millennium from Australia-New Zealand routes to Southern Caribbean routes from San Juan. On October 10 she'll sail from Los Angeles to San Juan through the Panama Canal. 2. Moving the Mercury from San Juan to Baltimore on October 23rd. Next February, she'll move from there to Charleston.
Carnival: 1. Moving the Triumph from Charleston to New Orleans in November. She'll sail a very unusual 4-5-7-night rotation, which will be very confusing, so just call us for exact dates and itineraries. 2. Moving the Fantasy from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama. Looks like the Holiday is going away for good. 3. Relocating the Splendor to Los Angeles to begin Mexican Riviera runs on April 5th.
Royal Caribbean: 1. Repositioning the Legend of the Seas to Dubai on a sailing from Rome on October 23rd. 2. Moving the Mariner of the Seas to Los Angeles -- this is very exciting because that means two amazing ships will be sailing from LA to the Mexican Riviera, which is a wonderful cruise itinerary. I did it last year on the Dawn Princess and just had a blast! Also, flying to the West Coast from Dallas is much easier (and usually cheaper, too) than getting to Miami.
Princess: 1. Speaking of the Dawn Princess -- she will stay in Australia instead of returning to San Diego. And here's something different for you -- she is sailing around the world this summer from Sydney!
Well, I'm sure I'm missing some of them, so I'll keep an eye out and add to the list as I get word of changes. I would just like to add my own bit of advice that if you see a cruise you would really like -- go ahead and do it because it might go away later. Cruise lines are always trying to keep the product "fresh" and change things up from year to year.
2009 is shaping up to be a terrific year for getting a bargain on something more exotic -- a great opportunity to try a destination you might not have thought possible, or wouldn't have considered in the past because of the price. For example, this is a great year to cruise Canada-New England -- my own cruise in September is down to $1199 a person for a balcony -- a previously unheard-of price!