The pace of cruise lines’ increasing “Homeland Cruising” options intensifies with Celebrity Cruises’ announcement of revised itineraries for Millennium and Mercury that include departures from Baltimore and Charleston. At the same time, Celebrity has cancelled late-2009 and 2010 Australia and New Zealand itineraries on Millennium

CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM TAKES ON CELEBRITY MERCURY’S ROUTE


The 2,038-passenger Millennium will cap its 2009 season in Alaska with cruises previously scheduled for the 1,898-passenger Mercury. The itineraries will reflect those previously announced for Mercury, with the addition of a 12-night wine-themed cruise departing from Vancouver on September 28, 2009, followed by an eastbound, 16-night Panama Canal cruise on October 10, 2009, from San Diego to San Juan, where Millennium will offer a series of 10- and 11-night Southern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from San Juan, beginning October 26, 2009. Ports of call on the Southern Caribbean itineraries include Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Curacao, Aruba, St. Croix, St. Kitts and Dominica, with slight variations between the 10- and 11-night sailings.

Passengers with reservations on the sailings previously scheduled for Mercury will be contacted and re-accommodated on the same sailing dates on Celebrity Millennium, at the rates paid.

MERCURY OFFERS NEW OPTIONS ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD
Mercury will sail a 17-night Panama Canal cruise from San Diego on October 23, 2009, ending in Baltimore. There, from November 2009 to February 2010, the ship will present a series of new 12-night Eastern Caribbean cruises visiting St. Thomas; St. Kitts; Antigua; St. Maarten, and Tortola, as well as four 9-night cruises visiting Charleston; Key West, Fla., and Cococay and Nassau, Bahamas.

Mercury then will present a series of 10- and 11-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages from Charleston from February through April 2010, with visits to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and Tortola on the eastern series, and Key West; Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico, and Nassau on the western lineup.

Mercury’s new itineraries replace the Southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan previously scheduled from November 2009 to April 2010. Passengers with affected bookings will be contacted and offered the option to be reaccommodated in like accommodations on identical Southern Caribbean itineraries on Celebrity Millennium at the rate paid.

Passengers holding either individual or group reservations on Celebrity Millennium’s previously scheduled Australia and New Zealand cruises between October 9, 2009 and March 22, 2010, will be offered the option to either re-book on Celebrity Millennium’s Australia and New Zealand cruises between October 17, 2008 and April 12, 2009, subject to availability, at the prevailing rate, and will receive a $600 per-stateroom or $800 per-suite onboard credit.

Alternatively, these passengers may re-book Celebrity Millennium’s new Panama Canal or Southern Caribbean sailings between October 10, 2009 and April 16, 2010, and receive a $200 per stateroom and $400 per suite onboard credit.
Passengers with affected bookings will be contacted by Celebrity Cruises. A special toll-free line also has been established to answer questions: 1-888-281-9343. Any reservations on the late-2009 and early-2010 Celebrity Millennium sailings in Australia and New Zealand that have not been moved or cancelled by Friday, October 3, 2008, will be cancelled automatically.