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Pullmantur Cruises trying to start back up by buying two Millennium Class ships from Celebrity


JLMoran

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From Cruise Industry News: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23950-pullmantur-could-mount-comeback-with-two-celebrity-ships.html

The plan isn’t yet approved by Spanish authorities, but if it is then Pullmantur will buy two of X’s Millennium class ships.

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As part of a restructuring plan submitted to Spanish authorities, Pullmantur could be back and sailing as soon as late 2021 with two former Celebrity Millennium class ships.

The Spanish cruise brand, part of a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Group and Springwater Capital, filed for insolvency earlier this year. Its ships have since been or are in the process of being scrapped. Now it appears to be attempting to mount a comeback and is in talks to pick up two Celebrity ships if the plan is green lighted. 

 

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5 minutes ago, ericfromripp said:

very interesting.  hopefully they will start over with new management and oversight.  i have been on more than 135 cruises and i can easily say they are the worst.

For me, this is less about Pullmantur restarting than the fact that Celebrity is apparently ready and willing to sell off two of its M-class ships, possibly in 2021. I'm looking to book a 2022 Mediterranean (possibly Iceland & Greenland TA) sailing, and Celebrity is at the top of my list because of their typically longer / interesting itinerary options. Many of those options are serviced by M-class ships, so if X is in a state that they're willing (need to?) sell off two the four, that means itinerary changes.

I've been wondering why X hasn't yet released their European itineraries (expectation was for this week). If it wasn't for the fact that none of the cruise lines except for NCL have done so either, I'd be thinking this might have something to do with it. It still might, but less likely given the whole industry's slowness in getting those out.

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22 minutes ago, twangster said:

It basically says they won't repeat what Summit and Millennium received for Infinity or Constellation.  

Well that would be a bit of a bummer, since two of the Med itineraries I was looking at (as a possible B2B no less) were on the Constellation. Hopefully they keep those itineraries and just put Summit or Millennium on them.

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Edge has been wildly successful.  Apex bookings were equally successful.   

Just like they don't stretch ships anymore (smaller lines still do) revitalizing old ships is proving to not be a wise investment when compared to putting that money towards new builds.  

Celebrity is desperately trying to define its place.  The success of the Edge platform is the foundation of where it wants to go.  "Always In" is the next step to where it's trying to go and a step to distancing itself from RCI.  

Azamara has a distinct niche.  You can read what their CEO says here:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22233-azamara-brand-with-a-purpose.html

With the changes that Celebrity is making they are starting to find their place in the RCG family.  

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5 minutes ago, ericfromripp said:

i went on empress when it was new and it was good.  2 years ago i went on it to cuba and i couldnt believe the state of disrepair. no working water in the buffet and you had  to order any drinks with your lunch whether it be water or lemonade.  then all the cabins ventilate to other cabins and are not centralized.  as this was a cruise out of miami people were smoking marijuana and it was blowing from one cabin to the next.  those types belong in prison.   the reality with these older ships is they cannot command high prices and as a result cannot attract a good crowd.   your article about celebrity was interesting, ive taken them before as well as azamara and celebrity is just a little ahead of royal but there prices approach azamara and there is no comparison which one of the 2 of those is better.  on the journey it was about 5 years between cruises on that ship for me and the 5 crew members that looked after me were the same ones 5 years apart , they  remembered my drink and food and cabin preferences.  a level of service far above the others.

That's why Celebrity is falling off my radar in favor of Azamara.  I was booked to the Galapagos but chose SilverSea over Celebrity.  I won't always cruise at that price point but when I do I'm going all the way. 

Celebrity is never going to be that in my opinion.  You just can't take large ships with nearly 3,000 guests and get there since the crew to guest ratio remains to be mass market ratios.  To truly get better service you need more crew.  Celebrity to me is mostly nicer decor with slightly better food over Royal.  The clientele is different and that is a bigger difference compared to decor, food and service.  

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38 minutes ago, ericfromripp said:

celebrity is just a little ahead of royal but there prices approach azamara

Not sure I can agree with this one 100%. I was looking at Azamara for 2022 European itineraries (they and Oceania are actually the only other lines I've found to have released them), and they had two Med itineraries of interest -- I want to say 9-night and 11-night -- that started at $3,600 and $4,000 per person, respectively, for an inside cabin. Vs .Celebrity, with very similar itineraries on Constellation in 2021, that were averaging $1,600 per person for an inside; and $2,400 per for a verandah. And those prices were reflecting the new Always Included changes. I realize that Connie is about 2x-3x the passenger capacity of Journey, and that I'm looking at 2021 vs 2022 sailings. But that is definitely not what I'd call "approaching Azamara".

And last I checked, Azamara wasn't any more all-inclusive than X; with Always Included, they may actually be a bit less all-inclusive since they don't include internet (granted, of less value on super port-intensive cruises like they offer) and IIRC also don't include alcoholic beverages on board. (my TA was also uncertain about that, so please correct me if that's wrong)

I will be checking the 2022 pricing quite closely on Celebrity when those Med itineraries finally get released. But even though I have back-burnered those Azamara sailings for the time being, I highly doubt that X will price theirs at close to those numbers. And when buying two cabins for my whole family, Azamara pricing is just too high to manage on my budget.

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https://www.azamara.com/life-onboard/inclusive-amenities

 

INCLUSIVE AMENITIES FOR ALL GUESTS:

 

  • Complimentary AzAmazing Evenings® event (on most voyages)
  • Gratuities
  • Select standard spirits, international beers and wines
  • Bottled water, soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas
  • Self-service laundry
  • Shuttle service to and from port communities, where available
  • Concierge services for personal guidance and reservations

ADDITIONAL AMENITIES FOR VERANDA PLUS* GUESTS:

 

  • Complimentary Internet (120 minutes or 25% off the unlimited internet package) per guest*
  • One free bag of laundry service per stateroom, every seven days*
  • One night of complimentary specialty dining for two, each seven days
  • Priority embarkation and debarkation
  • Complimentary in-room spirits

 

EVEN MORE AMENITIES FOR SUITE GUESTS:

  • English butler service
  • 240 complimentary Internet minutes per guest
  • One free bag of laundry service per suite, each seven days
  • Complimentary seating in the specialty restaurants dining
  • Priority embarkation and debarkation
  • Complimentary in-room spirits
  • In-suite afternoon tea service
  • $300 in Onboard Credit per person (Club World Owner’s Suites, Club Ocean Suites, Club Spa Suites categories only)
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4 hours ago, JLMoran said:

From Cruise Industry News: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23950-pullmantur-could-mount-comeback-with-two-celebrity-ships.html

The plan isn’t yet approved by Spanish authorities, but if it is then Pullmantur will buy two of X’s Millennium class ships.

 

Probably time to cull the fleet.  A couple of the M class are tired despite the "Revolution upgrade" .  We sailed Alaska on Millennium after upgrade and were underwhelmed.

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Afraid I agree with Twangster and Eric on this. We like to cruise Celebrity if we can get a Celebrity Suite that includes the Retreat. We moved our March 2021 Summit cruise to March 2022 which has now been cancelled, so maybe Summit is going.

Checking Celebrity Suites for 7 nights on Apex/Edge for March 2022 is between $14k-$16k for us both depending on itinerary. Celebrity needs to look at that price point as I'm now looking at Silverseas for that money.

We'll still cruise RC when we travel with our group of friends but fear Celebrity have lost us for the couple of cruises a year we like to take as just a couple.

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On 11/27/2020 at 4:27 PM, FLGooner said:

Afraid I agree with Twangster and Eric on this. We like to cruise Celebrity if we can get a Celebrity Suite that includes the Retreat. We moved our March 2021 Summit cruise to March 2022 which has now been cancelled, so maybe Summit is going.

Checking Celebrity Suites for 7 nights on Apex/Edge for March 2022 is between $14k-$16k for us both depending on itinerary. Celebrity needs to look at that price point as I'm now looking at Silverseas for that money.

We'll still cruise RC when we travel with our group of friends but fear Celebrity have lost us for the couple of cruises a year we like to take as just a couple.

Wow, that '22 rate is 2X what we had on Edge in Nov '20.   Was supposed to sail Edge again this month but we were cancelled as everyone else.  In your camp, for those prices its time to look at the most inclusive like Azamara or Silverseas if there isn't an adjustment.    There will be a rate adjustment when we get out of these crazy times.  Penned up demand is stoking those rates - but its a bubble

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