Celebrity Cruises’ second Edge-class ship, Celebrity Apex, will homeport in Southampton for its entire 2024 season.
Apex – which will be the first Edge-class ship to sail out of Southampton – will replace Celebrity Silhouette and offer four- to-13-night sailings from May through November 2024.
Itineraries include a 12-night Norwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle cruise, as well as sailings to Ibiza and the Mediterranean.
Following feedback from its travel partners, the line has announced its UK deployment two weeks in advance of the launch date for the first time, to allow agents to pre-register interest from guests.
To support the trade in selling the vessel, the line will host 600 agents onboard Apex in 2023, across a range of ship visits and seminars.
Agents will also have access to a suite of training and marketing tools via Celebrity Central, including webinars; digital “Be the first to book” banners; fact sheets; talking points; itinerary flyers; and print adverts.
New training modules featuring Apex will also be available on Celebrity Passport. Agents selling Apex can also earn up to £20 per booking on all 2024 bookings via Celebrity Rewards.
From 1 November to 5 December 2022, agents can earn up to £50 Celebrity Rewards points per booking on all 2023 sailings, across all stateroom categories.
Lisa Lutoff Perlo, president and chief executive of Celebrity Cruises, said: “Having one of our award-winning Edge Series ships sailing from Southampton will offer an experience like no other from the UK.
“Celebrity Cruises continues to redefine cruising, taking our guests to the world’s best places on the world’s best places.”
The line’s vice president and managing director EMEA, Jo Rzymowska, said the UK “has always been integral to the success” of the company, and homeporting Apex from Southampton “underlines our commitment to this market”.
“There is a huge appetite from UK guests who share our curiosity for people, places and cultures, and our passion for opening up the world through a love of travel.
“We invest a lot in the training of our travel partners because what’s really important to us, is that they can talk about what makes Celebrity different and what makes us unique, therefore they’re not just selling a big white ship. And that is really important.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming even more of our guests onboard Celebrity Apex when she raises the bar for cruising from Southampton in 2024.”
First introduced in 2012, the 126,000-ton vessel is slightly larger than its four sister ships and features an extra deck with additional public areas and cabins.
Among its facilities are a glass-enclosed pool deck, a selection of ten dining venues – including five speciality restaurants – and a three-deck main theatre.
The Reflection also features Celebrity’s unique Lawn Club, an outside deck with a half-acre real grass lawn, as well as the exclusive Reflection Suite.
The two-bedroom accommodation offers a total of 150 square meters of space, in addition to a distinctive, all-glass shower extending out over the edge of the 3,030-passenger ship.
For its first full winter season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Celebrity Cruises is deploying a total of nine ships in the Caribbean. In addition to the new Celebrity Beyond, two other Edge-Class ships and four Solstice-Class vessels will be sailing in the region during the winter.
The season will also see the premium brand offering varied itineraries in Australia, South America, the West Coast and the Galapagos.
Cruise Industry News looked into the company’s full deployment for the Winter of 2022-2023. Here’s the breakdown:
Caribbean and Bahamas
Celebrity Millennium Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 1,950 guests Built: 2000 Homeports: San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: Three to ten nights Itineraries: Seven-night cruises to Southern and Eastern Caribbean departing from San Juan, in addition to varied itineraries departing from Fort Lauderdale in December and January Sailing Season: October 15 to April 15
Celebrity Summit Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 1,950 guests Built: 2001 Homeports: Miami (United States) Length: Four and five nights Itineraries: Short cruises to Key West, Mexico, the Bahamas and more Sailing Season: October 27 to April 22
Celebrity Silhouette Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,886 guests Built: 2011 Homeport: Miami (United States) Length: Four to ten nights Itineraries: Short cruises to Key West, Mexico and the Bahamas, in addition to ten-night voyages to Eastern Caribbean visiting St. Croix, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and more Sailing Season: November 3 to April 10
Celebrity Beyond Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 3,260 guests Built: 2022 Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: Five to eight nights Itineraries: Western and Eastern Caribbean visiting St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras and more Sailing Season: November 4 to April 16
Celebrity Constellation Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 1,950 guests Built: 2002 Homeport: Tampa (United States) Length: Five to ten nights Itineraries: Southern, Western and Eastern Caribbean sailing to Panama, Mexico, St. Maarten, Colombia, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Grand Cayman and others Sailing Season: November 6 to April 7
Celebrity Edge Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,900 guests Built: 2018 Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: Four to 11 nights Itineraries: Southern Caribbean and Panama Canal visiting St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba and more Sailing Season: November 7 to April 7
Celebrity Apex Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,900 guests Built: 2020 Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: Six to eight nights Itineraries: Western and Eastern Caribbean visiting Mexico, Grand Cayman, Belize, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and more Sailing Season: November 12 to April 15
Celebrity Reflection Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 3,030 guests Built: 2012 Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: Five to eight nights Itineraries: Western, Eastern and Southern Caribbean visiting Aruba, Jamaica, Mexico, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and more Sailing Season: November 13 to April 16
Celebrity Equinox Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,850 guests Built: 2009 Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) Length: Nine to 11 nights Itineraries: Southern, Western and Eastern Caribbean visiting Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Barbados, Martinique, Antigua and more Sailing Season: Year-round
Australia and New Zealand
Celebrity Eclipse Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,850 guests Built: 2010 Homeport: Sydney (Australia) Length: Three to 13 nights Itineraries: Varied itineraries visiting New Zealand, Fiji, the Great Barrier Reef, Tasmania, Tonga and more Sailing Season: October 22 to April 19
South America
Celebrity Infinity Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 1,950 guests Built: 2001 Homeports: Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Valparaiso (Chile) Length: Nine to 14 nights Itineraries: Brazil, Patagonia, Antarctica, Falklands and more Sailing Season: December 12 to April 4
West Coast
Celebrity Solstice Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,850 guests Built: 2008 Homeport: Los Angeles (United States) Length: Seven and eight nights Itineraries: Mexican Riviera and Pacific Coast visiting Cabo San Lucas, Catalina Island, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Monterey, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara and more Sailing Season: September 24 to April 22
Galapagos
Celebrity Flora Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 100 guests Built: 2019 Homeport: Baltra (Ecuador) Length: Seven nights Itineraries: Galapagos Expeditions sailing to Rabida Island, Puerto Egas, Elizabeth Bay, Las Bachas and others Sailing Season: Year-round
Celebrity Xploration Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 16 guests Built: 2007 Homeport: Baltra (Ecuador) Length: Seven nights Itineraries: Galapagos expeditions visiting Black Turtle Cove, Sullivan Bay, Calega Tagus, Punta Espinoza and more Sailing Season: Year-round
Celebrity Xpedition Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 100 guests Built: 2001 Homeport: Baltra (Ecuador) Length: Seven nights Itineraries: Galapagos expeditions visiting North Seymour, South Plaza, Santa Fé Island, Puerto Ayora, Bahia Post Office and more Sailing Season: Year-round
Wetravel2u's Weblog 