Celebrity Mercury & Millennium - Out with Australia, in with Baltimore and Charleston in 2009/2010!

Celebrity Cruise is discontinuing its Australia and New Zealand cruises scheduled for late 2009 and 2010 on Celebrity Millennium, and adding new itineraries for the ship and Celebrity Mercury from Baltimore and Charleston!

The Celebrity Millennium will take over and enhance theend-of-seasion 2009 Alaska sailings previously scheduled for the Mercury, including a 12-night wine themed cruise from Vancouver and a 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 beginning October 26, 2009

Celebrity Mercury, from November 2009 to February 2010, will sail a series of 12-night Eastern Caribbean cruises from Baltimore. After, it will offer 10- and 11-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Charleston through April 2010. The new Celebrity Mercury itineraries replace the Southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan previously slated from November 2009 to April 2010.

This is absolutely fantastic news for those living near Baltimore and Charleston. While I regret the fact that Celebrity won't be in Australia/New Zealand in 2009/2010, this brings some terrific opportunities closer home. I'm also sure they will return at a later point in the future.

And if you were thinking of Australia/New Zealand for that season, consider moving that up and sailing this year - there are some remarkable values for the 2008/2009 season just about to get underway!

More Changes to Carnival’s Lineup

Two more changes to Carnival's home ports and itineraries have been released this last week. First off, Carnival Triumph will replace Carnival Fantasy which is moving to Mobile. The change will come in November, 2009. The Triumph will offer the same 7-night sailing itinerary that the Fantasy did, but the ship is a significant upgrade, both in size and amenities. While it's not the Conquest I'd hoped for (because she belongs in New Orleans), it is a good-sized ship for this market and should prove to be quite popular.

The next change isn't to a home port, but to an itinerary. The Carnival Elation will shift to 3- and 4-night sailings from San Diego, expanding the selection of short cruises from southern California. These quick getaways are very popular, and the Elation will allow for two additional departure dates, with the three-night getaways departing on Thursday, and the 4-nighters on Sunday. These new itineraries will begin on February 11, 2009.