Celebrity to add overnight port stays on long Caribbean cruises

Celebrity
Cruises said it will add an overnight stay to the itinerary of
Caribbean cruises of 10 days or longer, starting in January 2016. The
decision affects 43 cruises, said Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of
sales, trade support and services.

Ritzenthaler stressed that overnights are typically a feature of cruises
outside the Caribbean, so Celebrity is breaking ground with the move.

“This gives
us the ability to say we have more overnights in the Caribbean than any cruise
line in the industry,” Ritzenthaler said. “While overnights have been a
trend in the marketplace in Europe and in Asia, there really hasn’t been a movement
and we believe we are a leader in this initiative.” 

The
destinations where overnights are planned include Aruba, Barbados, Cartagena,
Cozumel, Curacao and St. Maarten. Ritzenthaler said they are among the highest-rated destinations in the Caribbean by guests.

“Consumer and trade research indicates this is something they
desire,” Ritzenthaler said.

Of
Celebrity’s 10 ships, five are scheduled to be in the Caribbean in the first
quarter of 2016, but not all do itineraries of 10 days or longer.

Celebrity
has been selling the 2016 Caribbean winter season since the fall of 2014 and cruises have been booking well, Ritzenthaler said. Now booked guests will get the
bonus of an overnight stay. “This will be a really wonderful gift for these
folks,” she said. “This will be something that will be a really nice
opportunity for them. We
think it will be a differentiator.”