Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.

Celebrity Cruises has once again won top honors in one of the most trusted surveys of consumer travel preferences in the world. The prestigious Conde’ Nast Traveler magazine’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards ranked Celebrity number one in the new Mega-Ship Cruise Lines category, recognizing the widely heralded Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox.

More than 25,000 experienced travelers made their voices heard in the prestigious annual poll ranking more than 10,000 cruise lines, hotels, resorts, cities, islands, airlines and car rental agencies. Celebrity Cruises was among the honorees featured in a segment airing Monday on NBC’s Today Show to highlight what led to the number-one ranking. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.

Celebrity Cruises introduces Celebrity Select Dining^SM, a new flexible dining option that allows guests to choose when they dine in the main dining room onboard, on a day-by-day basis, which includes the industry’s first pre-cruise day-by-day flexible dining reservation system.

“Celebrity Select Dining gives our guests the flexibility to spend their days any way they like,” said Jacques Van Staden, Vice President of Culinary Operations, Celebrity Cruises. “Whether they wish to enjoy more time in a specific port of call one day and dine later that evening than another, or whether they wish to keep a traditional set dining time, they will receive the same amazing service and enjoy the same menu. It’s all about our guests, and it’s all about choice.” [Read more →]

Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises today announced that Nina Barough, CBE (Commander of the British Empire), founder of the UK-based charity, “Walk the Walk,” will serve as Godmother of Celebrity Equinox, the second in Celebrity’s lauded Solstice Class fleet.

Barough will officially name the ship in Southampton, England, during the formal naming ceremony July 29, culminating in a large bottle of champagne custom-made by The Corning Museum of Glass crashing against the hull of the 2,850-guest ship.

Celebrity selected Barough in recognition of her fervent devotion to raising awareness of breast cancer and her tremendous success in raising funds for the cause – $85-million to-date – through Walk the Walk’s “SunWalks” and “MoonWalks.” The four annual marathon walks in London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Newcastle attract thousands of women typically clad in decorated bras – the signature apparel for most participants. A fair number of men also participate in the walks.

“Nina is an outstanding leader, business person, and fundraiser, but what is perhaps most impressive, and certainly most inspiring, is her tireless devotion to breast cancer causes,” said Richard D. Fain, Chairman of Celebrity Cruises and Chairman and CEO of parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “We are honored to have as Godmother of Celebrity Equinox someone whose work has benefited so many battling breast cancer, and whose personal triumph over the disease has inspired and encouraged thousands of women, men and families in the UK and beyond,” said Celebrity Cruises President & CEO Dan Hanrahan.

A breast cancer survivor herself, Barough’s numerous other life achievements include receiving a CBE for her contributions to health care through the British “New Year Honours” in December 2006. More recently, she was recognized at the “Pride of Britain Awards” (September 2008), where she was named “Fundraiser of the Year.” And in October 2008, Barough was honored once again; this time, with the “Woman of the Year – Outstanding Achievement Award” in recognition of her willpower, spirit and courage.

“I am extremely excited to serve as this fantastic ship’s Godmother, and look forward to presiding over such a meaningful and celebratory ceremony,” said Barough. “I feel blessed to be given this opportunity to raise the profile of our charity through my association with Celebrity Cruises, and very honored to name a vessel as gorgeous as Celebrity Equinox.”

Celebrity Equinox enters service July 31 from Southampton on an eight-night Norwegian Fjords cruise, then returns to Southampton to embark on the ship’s official maiden voyage departing August 8 for the Mediterranean. The ship will present a series of Mediterranean sailings from Rome (Civitavecchia) through the fall and will offer Caribbean sailings from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beginning this winter.

Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale vacation experiences with highly personalized service, exceptional dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Celebrity sails in Alaska, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal and South America. The line also offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Canada, Europe and South America. Noted for four of the top 10 “Top Cruise Ships in the World” in the large-ship category, as voted by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler (February 2009 readers’ poll), Celebrity’s fleet – including the new Celebrity Solstice – will be joined by Celebrity Equinox this year, Celebrity Eclipse in 2010, a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011, and a fifth in 2012.

Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Equinox left Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany on June 6, 2009. The 2,850-passenger ship is the second in Celebrity’s widely heralded Solstice Class fleet.

Celebrity Equinox will sail a series of Ancient Empires and other European itineraries from Southampton and Rome this summer, followed by 10- and 11-night Ultimate Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beginning in November.

Ship Facts
Occupancy: 2,850
Tonnage:  122,000
Length: 1,033 ft
Inaugural Date: Aug 08, 2009

Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises

“Dazzling,” “stunning,” and “in a word, wow,” are among the praises Celebrity Solstice has received from members of the press since the ship launched in November 2008, and its hip style and design is receiving similar recognition from the architecture and design community.

The prestigious International Interior Design Association (IIDA) put Celebrity Solstice front and center in an installment of its “Pioneering Design Lecture Series” in New York focusing on influential professionals in the hospitality, fashion, and theater arts design arena. Among the designers invited to participate were noted hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany, who created Celebrity Solstice’s Grand Epernay main restaurant with gleaming crystal wine tower, the inviting, casual Oceanview Café and Bar, and the Napa Valley-inspired Tuscan Grille steakhouse; Francesca Bucci and Hans Galutera of BG Studio International, who led the design of Celebrity Solstice’s elegant “Murano” specialty restaurant and four of the ship’s chic bars and lounges; and Celebrity Cruises’ AVP of Newbuilding & Design Kelly Gonzalez, whose team headed up the design of the ship’s Mediterranean-influenced “Blu” specialty restaurant. Each participated in a panel discussion about the history of ocean liner design, which evolved to how “Celebrity’s Solstice Class has become the new benchmark in the industry,” according to the IIDA New York Chapter.

That new benchmark – Celebrity Solstice – will have an equally stunning sister ship when Celebrity Equinox enters service July 31, 2009, and three additional ships in the class will join the fleet annually through 2012. Guests on every Solstice Class ship will experience the series of brand-defining, industry-first attributes that guests, travel agents and press have praised about Celebrity Solstice, including a half-acre Lawn Club with real grass, a glassblowing show and studio developed with The Corning Museum of Glass, unrivaled dining venues offering trendsetting cuisine and design, and widely varied entertainment, including spectacular new shows in partnership with Poet Theatricals. The 2,850-guest vessels also have spacious staterooms and bathrooms, and several categories of accommodations, including Celebrity’s new, spa-inspired AquaClass staterooms.

Celebrity Equinox, one of the newest ships to sail in Europe, meets “Ancient Empires” on 13-night voyages from August 18 through October 23, 2009, roundtrip from Rome (Civitavecchia), with visits to Naples/Capri; Athens (Piraeus) and Rhodes, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Haifa and Ashdod, Israel, and Alexandria, Egypt. Celebrity Equinox also will present a 10-night “Best of Europe” itinerary departing from Southampton, England, August 8, 2009, with visits to Paris (Le Havre) and Cherbourg, France; Barcelona, Cartagena and Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Gibraltar, U.K.; and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy.

With 10 extraordinary dining venues; a half-acre Lawn Club with real, growing grass; live glassblowing shows; hip nightclubs; distinctive entertainment, and an overall style and design that countless press have described as “dazzling,” “breathtaking” and “stunning,” Celebrity Equinox offers enough that guests could be tempted to never get off the ship.