YEAR 2009-10

Oz and NZ programme shelved
to open up American East Coast options

September 24, 2008 - Celebrity Cruises has pulled its Australia and New Zealand programme for late-2009 and 2010 on Celebrity Millennium.

At the same time Celebrity has announced new itineraries for Millennium and Celebrity Mercury, presenting guests with new cruise holiday options from the historic coastal cities of Baltimore, Maryland, and Charleston, South Carolina, along with the brand's popular Caribbean cruises from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Celebrity president Dan Hanrahan said: "Australia and New Zealand are charming and beautiful destinations, and we're confident we'll return again as our brand and fleet grows. Currently, though, our guests have repeatedly said they want more options to sail from the East coast of the USA, where our brand was founded, and still has a very large and loyal base of cruisers. So, we're pleased to present some very attractive new cruise holidays from that region."

The 2,038-guest Celebrity Millennium will cap its 2009 season in Alaska with cruises previously scheduled for the 1,898-guest Celebrity Mercury, offering more capacity on the popular sailings. The itineraries will reflect those previously announced for Celebrity 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 from San Diego to San Juan, where Celebrity Millennium will offer a series of 10 and 11-night Southern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from San Juan, beginning October 26.

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.

Celebrity Mercury will sail a 17-night Panama Canal cruise from San Diego on October 23, 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 nine-night cruises visiting Charleston; Key West, Florida, and Cococay and Nassau, Bahamas.

Celebrity Mercury then will present a series of 10 and 11-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises 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.

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