Celebrity Cruises has expanded its shore excursion line-up in Europe, expanding private tour offerings and enhancing the line's "easy" shore excursions to expand in-port options for guests with mobility issues. Also new this summer, for guests visiting Venice, Italy, on Celebrity Century, Celebrity Equinox and the new Celebrity Eclipse, is that anyone purchasing a shuttle bus pass gets a free ticket to 16 Venice churches. This offering is unique to Celebrity and sister line Royal Caribbean International.
Celebrity's new private tour program lets cruisers explore ports from a private car or van. In St. Petersburg, Russia, in addition to its regular shore excursion program, Celebrity has long offered private arrangements, given the country's visa requirements, which allow guests on a cruise-line sponsored excursion or private arrangement an exemption from obtaining a tourist visa. In addition to the 30 private arrangements offered in St. Petersburg, Celebrity also is offering private options in Rome (Civitavecchia), Florence (Livorno), Cagliari (Sardinia), and Naples, Italy; Athens (Piraeus) and Corfu, Greece; Ashdod and Haifa, Israel; Istanbul and Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Alexandria, Egypt; Stockholm, Sweden; and Helsinki, Finland.
The program accommodates one to eight guests; groups of more than eight can make arrangements through Celebrity's groups shore excursion program. Like Celebrity's other shore excursions, the private arrangements are available for pre-cruise booking via the line's website. When pre-booking online, one guest in the party reserves the vehicle for a single price that covers one to three guests in a car or four to eight guests in a van. Guests whose native tongues differ from English may request a guide who speaks other languages, such as German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, among others.
Guests can request that an existing tour be offered as a private arrangement or design a custom tour. To pre-book a custom excursion, guests can complete a custom arrangement form at www.celebritycruises.com. After submitting the form, the guests will be contacted to create their specific agenda in conjunction with their tour guide and/or driver.
Celebrity has also expanded shore excursion offerings for cruisers who face mobility challenges. In its 2010 summer Europe season, Celebrity will offer at least 35 "easy" shore excursions -- 15 of them brand new -- catering to guests who have walking difficulties and are not able to handle steps or extended periods of walking or standing, or for guests who are full-time wheelchair users. One of these new tours, offered in Dubrovnik, Croatia, is "Easy Seaside Resort of Cavtat and Dubrovnik." During this tour, guests will visit the seaside town of Cavtat and the walled city of Dubrovnik. In Helsinki, Finland, "Easy Helsinki" offers the opportunity to experience the Finnish capital's highlights, including Embassy Park, Mannerheim Street and the Olympic Stadium. Because Celebrity's "easy" shore excursions utilize special equipment such as access ramps and lifts on vehicles and space is limited, guests are encouraged to book the "easy" shore excursions by contacting [email protected] in advance of their cruise.
The new church pass in Venice is offered because Celebrity and Royal Caribbean partnered with The Chorus Association, a Venice church preservation group. The Chorus Association will invest the $13-per-person ticket value in the restoration and maintenance of the churches and the cultural heritage represented in the more than 1,000 pieces of art in the churches. The Chorus Association's aim is to contribute to the safeguarding, conservation and restoration of the architectural and artistic heritage of churches in Venice. For more information, call 800-437-3111 or visit www.celebritycruises.com.
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