Celebrity Cruises has begun reaching out to guests booked on two different ships about revisions to deployments and sailing schedules that have resulted in multiple sailings being cancelled.
Months of sailings are impacted for both Celebrity Apex as well as Celebrity Constellation, but travelers are being offered some compensation for the changes.
Celebrity Apex Cancellations
Celebrity Cruises is contacting guests booked on a variety of Celebrity Apex sailings to inform them that their cruises are now cancelled due to a revision in the ship’s drydock schedule.
“In accordance with global ship safety guidelines, Celebrity Cruises will be revising Celebrity Apex’s season schedule to include drydock for routine inspection in 2025, instead of 2024 as originally scheduled,” the email explained.
The affected cruises are the November 9 and November 21 departures in 2024, as well as all sailings from March 8 through April 26, 2025.
The November 2024 departures were to have been a 12-night transatlantic sailing from Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale on November 9, and a 9-night Southern Caribbean sailing on November 21.
Because the ship will not be entering dry dock at that time after all, the schedule is likely being reworked to offer alternative sailings during that window but such plans have not yet been announced.
The March 8 through April 26, 2025 departures included a variety of Caribbean sailings to many different ports of call, depending on departure date. It is possible that a new transatlantic cruise may be planned in early March as the ship moves into drydock at that time.
In total, including impacted cruises in 2024 and 2025, 10 sailings are cancelled for the 130,818-gross ton, Edge-class Celebrity Apex. Each individual cancellation could impact 2,910 guests (based on double occupancy).
Celebrity Constellation Cancellations
Following on the recent announcement of new Florida homeports and Caribbean itineraries for multiple ships, it is not surprising that Celebrity Constellation is having multiple cruises cancelled to accommodate her new itineraries from Tampa, Florida.
“As we position our brand for continued success, we constantly seek opportunities to elevate our already incredible offerings,” the cancellation email begins. “With this goal in mind, Celebrity Cruises is pleased to announce we will be redeploying Celebrity Constellation in January 2025, revising her current 9- and 12- night itineraries to predominantly 7-night itineraries out of Tampa.”
This revision means all Celebrity Constellation sailings from January 11 through April 3, 2025 will be cancelled, excluding the March 1, 2025 departure. Within that window, a total of eight sailings are cancelled, most of which were 9- or 12-night cruises.
The March 1, 2025 departure that remains unchanged is a 12-night New Orleans & Caribbean itinerary, calling on not only the Big Easy, but also Key West, Honduras, and both Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico.
No explanation is given as to why this cruise remains intact, but it may be hosting a charter group or have stronger early bookings that justify keeping the sailing as-is. That cruise is also uniquely timed to enjoy Mardi Gras, which may be a factor in preserving the original itinerary.
The 91,000-gross ton, Millennium-class Celebrity Constellation is not changing homeports with these cancellations, but the cruises are simply being reworked to offer more 7-night options, still from Tampa, Florida.
Compensation Offered
Regardless of whether booked guests are impacted by cancellations for Celebrity Apex or Celebrity Constellation, the compensation offered is the same.
All guests will automatically receive a 100% refund of all monies paid back to their original form of payment. If a future cruise credit was used for the booking, that credit will be reinstated.
Similarly, pre-booked shore tours, drink packages, specialty dining, and other onboard purchases will also be fully refunded, as will any hotel reservations booked through the cruise line.
Guests who have made independent travel or tour arrangements are urged to contact those businesses directly for cancellation or modification.
Celebrity Cruises is also providing $200 (USD) of onboard credit per cancelled stateroom to be used toward any future booking ($400 per Retreat bookings) in acknowledgement of the inconvenience of the cancellation. Since the earliest of the cancelled cruises for either ship is still more than a year away, this is a generous gesture for guests to use toward another Celebrity Cruises vacation.
