Celebrity Cruises Drops Cirque du Soleil Shows
October 06, 2005
When you're a cruise line that strives to be the most innovative cruise line in the world, you take ambitious chances. Sometimes, you'll find that you miss the mark a little. While Celebrity Cruises rarely—if ever—misses the mark when it comes to top notch itineraries, exciting shore excursions, elegant dining, and overall luxury, it's clear that their Cirque du Soleil program didn't receive the adulation they had hoped. That's why Celebrity Cruises, a fleet known for its innovative features as much for its impeccable service, is in the process of dropping its current Cirque du Soleil entertainment onboard two of its Celebrity Cruises ships, Summit and Constellation.
It was, and still is, a great idea. Bring performers from the highly-acclaimed and completely unique Cirque du Soleil onboard Celebrity Cruises ships to entertain the guests. Seemed like the perfect partnership between two companies that strive for excellence. The program, which began in late 2004 on the Celebrity Cruises Constellation and in early 2005 on the Celebrity Cruises Summit , involved Cirque characters interacting with passengers in a dedicated lounge—the so-called The Bar at the Edge of the Earth. Renovated and designed to have an otherworldly appearance, public space on the ships was transformed into The Bar at the Edge of the Earth, a place where interesting Cirque du Soleil characters interacted with one another and the guests.
The project, however, didn't float, and Cirque du Soleil and Celebrity executives were forced to start discussions on another Cirque plan, said Liz Jakeway, a spokeswoman for Celebrity. The program was canceled on Sept. 30 on the Summit and will cease Nov. 10 on the Constellation. Undoubtedly, many Celebrity Cruises passengers were hoping for Cirque du Soleil's airborne acrobatics and stage shows. But this was something different.
"It's no secret it met with a mixed response at the outset," Jakeway said. "[Celebrity is] in active discussions with Cirque to determine what the next evolution will be." The expectation from a [Cirque du Soleil] event is an acrobatic show, she added. "This isn't that."
Of course, there were probably many details that came into play when designing the initial project: onboard logistics, safety, and others. Many of the highflying and daredevil performances for which Cirque du Soleil is known would have been simply impossible on a cruise ship.
Even though the Cirque du Soleil show will not continue as planned with Celebrity, it's evident that Celebrity is willing to try interesting new programs in the hopes of giving their passengers as enjoyable experience as possible. Their enrichment series, for instance, feature lectures, demonstrations, and interactive activities that really get the passengers involved in the world around them. Celebrity Cruises also takes passengers to destinations to which no other cruise lines travel, such as the Antarctica "a place more filled with life than you might imagine" and the Galapagos Islands, a tiny string of wildlife-laden islands planted on the equator, west of Ecuador in South America.
The partnership between Cirque du Soleil has not dissolved, however, and both companies are in the midst of talks concerning where to go with the project. Also, the bars, which were renovated specifically to house the Cirque events, will still be open in the evenings as a nightclub and lounge, but will be without the Cirque characters. In the mean time, Celebrity Cruises is continuing to sponsor the Cirque du Soleil performances, and both the Constellation and the Summit will continue to feature Cirque-themed stores onboard.
