On the heels of its determination to promote two of its ships serving the Galapagos Islands market, Celeb Cruises has cancelled all 2025 voyages scheduled to function on the vessels and introduced choices for friends booked for departure after the sale is accomplished.
Lindblad Expeditions, a well known journey and expedition cruise line, revealed on June 12, 2024 that it will purchase the 2 ships — the 48-guest Celeb Xpedition and the 16-guest Celeb Xploration. Monetary phrases weren’t disclosed, and the transaction is anticipated to shut in January 2025.
The acquisition will depart Celeb Cruises with only one ship working within the vacation spot, the 100-guest Celeb Flora.
In a communication to friends booked on Celeb Xpedition and Celeb Xploration sailings after January 2025, the cruise line defined:
“On December 28, 2024, Celeb Xploration and Celeb Xpedition will set sail from Baltra for his or her ultimate time as a part of the Celeb Cruises fleet. We stay dedicated to the Galapagos Islands, providing sailings on Celeb Flora, a ship constructed to sail within the archipelago year-round.“
Baltra Island is the start line for cruises to the Galapagos, an island chain roughly 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador and finest referred to as the vacation spot the place naturalist Charles Darwin recorded observations of its many endemic animal species.
Celeb Cruises is providing two choices. Within the first, booked friends can choose a brand new departure aboard their ship earlier than the top of 2024. Those that select this feature may have their reserving transferred to an analogous or higher stateroom class with the fare protected. If the present cruise fare for the brand new cabin is decrease, the visitor will obtain the decrease price.
Any friends who booked their air fare by way of Celeb Cruises can be mechanically rebooked for the brand new cruise, and the road will reimburse as much as $400 per visitor for any non-refundable prices incurred, reminiscent of for flights, rental automobiles, and trains.
Underneath possibility two, friends who had been booked on a 2025 voyage can swap their reservation to a 2025 departure onboard Celeb Flora, an all-suite ship, on the cruise fare they initially paid for the cancelled crusing. Nevertheless, vacation sailings are excluded from the choice.
For these friends, the road is providing “a complimentary switch to an analogous or upgraded cabin class together with your value protected on Celeb Flora sailings departing on a like weekend, or one week earlier than or after your authentic departure date.”
Learn Additionally: Who Owns Celeb Cruises?
As with the primary possibility, all air transportation booked by way of Celeb Cruises will mechanically be rebooked to accommodate the brand new departure date, and the $400 per visitor reimbursement for non-refundable journey preparations is legitimate as nicely. Any refunds can be processed inside 14 days and can be made to the unique type of cost.
Celeb Cruises has not detailed any various that enables for a refund of cruise and air fares for friends who don’t want to select both possibility one or two.
Ships Will Be a part of Two Lindblad Vessels within the Galapagos
Lindblad Expeditions, which operates its Galapagos Islands expedition cruise collection in partnership with Nationwide Geographic, plans to renovate each Celeb Cruises ships earlier than they be a part of two Lindblad vessels already working within the area.
Celeb Xpedition, which entered service in 2001, has two eating places, 13 balcony cabins, and 24 exterior cabins. Celeb Xploration, launched in 2007, is an 8-cabin catamaran designed for small teams and personal charters.
The Celeb Cruises ships can be renamed, and bookings are anticipated to open underneath the Lindblad Expedition model in just a few weeks.
Lindblad presently operates the 96-guest Nationwide Geographic Endeavour II and the 48-guest Nationwide Geographic Islander II year-round within the Galapagos.
