"HERE COMES THE SUN:"
CELEBRITY CRUISES' NEW CELEBRITY EQUINOX EMERGES FROM SHIPYARD
June 9, 2009 – Celebrity Equinox saw daylight for the first time Saturday, June 6, during her official "docking out" from Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The 122,000 tonne cruise ship officially enters service on July 31.
Celebrity Equinox will sail from Papenburg down the River Ems June 19 or 20, depending on the winds and tides, and following various provisioning activities, sea trials and inspections, will host a series of invitation-only special events for press, travel agents and consumers from Southampton, England, from July 23 until entering service July 31. Celebrity Equinox will present 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.
Celebrity Cruises brings cruising to a new level with extraordinary service, spectacular dining, and fabulous style and design. Its widely acclaimed Solstice Class fleet features the industry's first "Lawn Club" - a lush, half-acre recreation area with real, growing grass – and a new category of accommodations, "AquaClass," designed to offer a spa vacation experience at sea. Celebrity Equinox ship is the second in Celebrity's widely acclaimed Solstice Class fleet. The first, Celebrity Solstice, was launched last year.
Celebrity sails in Alaska, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, 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 CondĂ© 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. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1300 754 500 or visit www.celebritycruises.com.
Pictured here is Celebrity Equinox on June 6, 2009.