Celebrity Cruises has announced new short escapes for its 2025-2026 cruise seasons, expanding its selection of short Caribbean sailings due to the overwhelming popularity of similar itineraries unveiled for the 2024 season.
The latest season features cruises on Celebrity Reflection and Celebrity Summit, with destinations including Bimini; Key West; Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico; and the exclusive Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Celebrity Introduces More Short Caribbean Cruises
Miami-based Celebrity Cruises, part of the Royal Caribbean Group, has introduced a new series of cruises to the Caribbean, set to depart in 2025 and 2026. The short getaways build on the significant success that the cruise line experienced with its newly introduced short escapes in 2024.
The itineraries feature stops at popular destinations like Bimini, Cozumel, Key West, Nassau, and Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas.
Laura Hodges Bethge, President of Celebrity Cruises: “More than ever before, our guests are seeking opportunities to escape the everyday to bond with friends and family. We love that we can offer vacation options designed to provide guests an elevated experience that’s close to home while still exceeding their expectations of what a vacation can be.”
Celebrity Reflection will offer year-round cruises, with over 100 sailings of three- or four-nights, departing from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. Celebrity Reflection will be visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay for each cruise, combined with visits to Bimini, Nassau, or Key West.
Celebrity Summit will also sail from Port Everglades, continuing its popular four- and five-night cruises to a variety of destinations such as Nassau and Bimini, Bahamas; Key West and Cozumel, Mexico.
For both Celebrity Summit and Celebrity Reflection, guests have the option of selecting either a midweek escape or an extended weekend getaway.
In recent years, Royal Caribbean Group has increasingly concentrated on offering shorter cruises from its Florida homeports. This strategy has proven to be both successful and popular among guests. The introduction of short getaways on Celebrity Cruises ships caters to this demand while providing a more upscale experience compared to Royal Caribbean International vessels.
Not All Ships Revolutionized Yet
While Celebrity promises its guests a measure of luxury onboard its ships, and it certainly delivers that across its fleet, there are significant differences between the two cruise ships sailing the short Caribbean cruises from Port Everglades.
Where the Solstice-class Celebrity Reflection is 11 years younger than the Millenium-Class Celebrity Summit, she has yet to receive the significant upgrades from the Revolution program.
The 91,000 gross tons, 2001-built Celebrity Summit was revitalized in 2019 in Freeport, Grand Bahama, as part of the ambitious $500 million refurbishment program. This extensive overhaul transformed the ship, introducing modernized staterooms and suites, a new exclusive sundeck, and a redesigned lounge for suite guests.
Additionally, the refurbishment reimagined the ship’s restaurants, bars, lounges, spa, and casino, significantly enhancing the guest experience.
Celebrity Reflection, which is the fifth, final, and, at 125,366 gross tons, the largest vessel in the Solstice-class lineup, was slated to undergo the Celebrity Revolution upgrades in 2023. However, this plan was deferred due to the global pause in operations.
The most recent dry dock took place in October 2022, during which Celebrity Reflection received the new deep-blue livery, although the major enhancements planned under the Revolution program have not yet been implemented. Despite this, Celebrity Reflection remains well-equipped, boasting features like the Retreat, the Lawn Club Grill, and upscale dining venues including Tuscan Grille and Murano.
