Celebrity to Base Four Solstice-Class Ships in Caribbean for 2012-13

Celebrity to Base Four Solstice-Class Ships in Caribbean for 2012-13

Celebrity Cruises plans to send its four newest Solstice-class ships and two renovated ships to the Caribbean in the winter of 2012-13. In all, Celebrity will offer 103 Caribbean sailings with 21 itineraries from three homeports from November 2012 through April 2013. The first full season for its fifth Solstice-class ship, the 3,030-passenger Celebrity Reflection, currently under construction, will be in the Caribbean.

Also sailing in the Caribbean that season will be Celebrity Constellation, which was “Solsticized” in 2010 to include many of the features of the Solstice class, and Celebrity Summit, which will undergo a similar renovation in early 2012. Members of Celebrity’s Captain’s Club loyalty program will have the first chance to secure space on Celebrity Reflection during its inaugural Caribbean season, as well as on a nine-night Northern Europe inaugural debut cruise, two Mediterranean sailings and one trans-Atlantic sailing that will precede the ship’s official naming. A special booking window for Captain’s Club members will be available through April 19. More information is available on a special landing page on Celebrity’s website.

Bookings will open to the general public on April 20, along with the full line-up of Caribbean bookings. That same winter, Celebrity also will offer a full season of cruises in Hawaii and the Panama Canal, along with a 13th season of South America cruises. These will open for booking on April 21. Celebrity recently announced that its Solstice-class flagship, Celebrity Solstice, will be the first of the class to sail in Australia/New Zealand, and that Celebrity Millennium will sail Celebrity’s first Asia season.

Celebrity Reflection will sail roundtrip from Miami on alternating seven-night Eastern Caribbean itineraries, departing on Saturdays. Celebrity Silhouette, which will debut in Europe later this year, will alternate seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale on Sundays. New to this itinerary in 2012-13 will be a different Western Caribbean lineup, as Celebrity is replacing calls to Roatan, Honduras, and Costa Maya, Mexico with calls to Labadee, Haiti and Falmouth, Jamaica.

Celebrity Eclipse will sail 14-night roundtrip Southern Caribbean voyages from Fort Lauderdale, plus one eight-night Eastern Caribbean sailing at the start of the season. Celebrity Equinox will present 10- and 11-night “Ultimate Caribbean” itineraries from Fort Lauderdale. Celebrity Summit will offer seven-night Southern Caribbean cruises with two alternating itineraries, departing on Saturdays from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrity Summit will get new venues and new Aqua Class staterooms in early 2012. Celebrity Constellation will present a series of four- and five-night cruises roundtrip from Miami.

Four ships will explore Hawaii, the Panama Canal and South America in 2012-13, with a total of 29 sailings ranging from 11 to 17 nights and visiting 42 ports of call. The 1,814-guest Celebrity Century will offer eight 15-night Hawaii sailings roundtrip from San Diego as well as four 15-night Panama Canal cruises between San Diego and Fort Lauderdale. Celebrity Millennium will offer two 15-night Panama Canal sailings between San Diego and Miami, as well as an 11-night Hawaii sailing from Ensenada, Mexico, to Honolulu, Hawaii.

After its first Australia/New Zealand season, Celebrity Solstice will offer an 11-night Hawaii sailing from Honolulu to Ensenada. Both 11-night voyages will include overnights in Lahaina and Honolulu. Celebrity Infinity, which will be “Solsticized” later this year, will present five Panama Canal voyages: one will be 17 nights from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale and four will be 15 nights long, between Fort Lauderdale and San Diego.

Celebrity Infinity’s South America season will feature a core offering of 14-night “Around the Horn” cruises between Valparaiso, Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two of these will be Antarctica cruises. The season also includes a 15-night “double holiday” cruise on Dec. 22, from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, and an early-season 15-night Panama Canal and South America cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Valparaiso.

Celebrity also offers pre- and post-cruise land packages, which include a local tour director, hotel accommodations, transportation, select activities, breakfasts and some additional meals. Members of Celebrity’s Captain’s Club are eligible to receive up to $600 savings per stateroom when booking select winter itineraries before July 29, 2011.