Celebrity Cruises affirms ‘insatiable’ appetite for new products

Celebrity Cruises says it is “insatiable” about creating new products for its guests as it unveiled seven new concepts on board newest ship Xcel at its naming cruise form Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.

President Laura Hodges Bethge said everything added was in response to customer demand and said: “We already have a list of new things that we’re going to do for our next Edge-class ship, Xcite.”

Royal Caribbean Group chairman Jason Liberty said the most successful ideas were also being “rolled back to modernise the existing fleet.

“We are never satisfied. It’s actually exhausting but we always want to innovate to make our customers happy,” he added.

“There are no longer any lulls in the day. Previously, at certain times of the day, there was not a lot to do but that doesn’t happen anymore. There is something to do on board all the time.”

Hodges Bethge gave the example that there was now a concept called “social hour every hour” in The Club that guests could get involved in, either passively or fully actively.

And she revealed that the social hour every hour concept was being rolled back onto older ship Solstice in the Sunset Boulevard.

“There’s an energy in these ships now that’s palpable every day,” she added.

Liberty explained that not all concepts worked for all ships - based on where they are sailing in the world or if they have the space on board to accommodate the new concepts properly.

“What we won’t do is roll stuff back onto the older ships in the fleet if [the concept] has to be marginalised in any way,” he said.

Liberty also hailed new Mediterranean al fresco seafood restaurant Bora as a great new addition, as well as The Bazaar featuring Mosaic and Spice eateries.

“These new venues blur the line between ship and shore, and feature four different shows/displays as well as the culinary experience,” he said.

“We’re always looking at how we immerse our guests more deeply into the cultures of the places they are visiting on their cruises. We don’t want to have something that looks like it’s from Cozumel in Mexico, it has to authentically be something from Cozumel in Mexico.

“This matches what our guests wants and ask us for. They don’t just want a city tour anymore. They want incredible stories and memories to take home.”