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I received this press release from Celebrity Cruises and thought it
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Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
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Celebrity Cruises Expands 'Celebrity Expeditions'; Adds Celebrity
Quest to Exotic Brand Extension
MIAMI, Dec. 14
Celebrity Cruises has taken another significant step in its quest to
expand the "Celebrity Expeditions" extension of the brand. Celebrity
Quest will join Celebrity Expeditions in 2007, pairing new avenues for
delivering the "Celebrity Treatment" with exotic new itineraries for
the vessel and its sister ship, Celebrity Journey. The three-ship
class includes Celebrity Xpedition, which has sailed in the Galapagos
Islands since 2004.
"Rounding out the Celebrity brand has been a strong focus for our
company, and the expansion of Celebrity Expeditions furthers that
strategic objective," said Celebrity's President Dan Hanrahan.
"Celebrity Quest, Celebrity Journey and Celebrity Xpedition combined
represent a natural extension of the brand as we move into new markets
with tailored-to-market products."
The 710-guest Celebrity Quest - most recently sailing as Blue Moon,
owned by Pullmantur - will join the Celebrity Expeditions fleet in
October 2007. Like Celebrity Journey, which sets sail in May 2007, the
vessel's smaller size allows for greater versatility in deployment,
allowing Celebrity to offer guests exceptional destination
experiences, while adding 32 new ports to the line's itinerary
portfolio. With those, the Celebrity brand next year will call on 247
ports.
"These smaller, upscale ships are the perfect complements to the
premium destinations they'll visit, while offering the best of what
the Celebrity brand is all about - unparalleled service, extraordinary
dining experiences, revitalizing spa programs, truly exotic
destinations and exceptional shore excursions," said Hanrahan.
Unique to Celebrity Journey and Celebrity Quest will be a more
exclusive guest experience, with two specialty restaurants, 15 classes
of accommodations, butler service and concierge amenities in every
stateroom and suite, and expanded spa services, including in-room
offerings.
Both Celebrity Journey and Celebrity Quest will undergo a combined
$35-million revitalization during separate one-month drydock periods
to incorporate 32 new suites on each ship, entirely new bedding and
soft goods, and a variety of Celebrity's most popular signature
elements, including the Martini Bar, Cova Cafe, Sushi Cafe, Michael's
Club jazz/piano bar, casino, Boutique C, AquaSpa by Elemis,
Acupuncture at Sea and Online@Celebrity.
Celebrity Journey will sail seven-night Bermuda cruises from May
through October 2007, then will present an exceptional series of 12-
to 18-night cruises in remote areas of Antarctica, Brazil, the Chilean
Fjords and other faraway regions of South America, from October 2007
through April 2008.
Celebrity Quest will make its first sailing under the Celebrity
Expeditions banner in October 2007, introducing a series of 12- to
14-night Caribbean sailings featuring several first-time ports of
call, including those in St. Barts, Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Turks &
Caicos, followed by a series of 14-night Eastbound and Westbound
Panama Canal itineraries featuring some of the most exotic
destinations in Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama.
Additionally, each port will feature a new, immersive series of shore
excursions.
Fortifying the Celebrity fleet remains a strong focus for the company,
with the expansion of Celebrity Expeditions falling on the heels of
announcements for three extraordinary new ships - Celebrity Solstice,
Celebrity Equinox, and a third Solstice-class ship, launching in 2008,
2009 and 2010, respectively. Setting the stage for the build-up was a
$55-million revitalization of Celebrity's Century, completed in May.
Central to Celebrity's recent expansion was the agreement between
Celebrity's parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), and
the shareholders of Madrid-based cruise and tour operator Pullmantur
S.A., signed in August, to buy all the company's capital stock. In
October, RCCL announced plans to swap Celebrity's Zenith with
Pullmantur's Blue Dream, renamed Celebrity Journey, which enters
service in Bermuda in May 2007. RCCL completed its purchase of
Pullmantur on November 14, 2006.
"Only two months ago, we pledged to realize increasingly greater
synergies as a result of our new partnership," said Pullmantur General
Manager Alfonso Lopez Perez. "This is a vivid and significant
outgrowth of that pledge, and of our shared goal to provide guests
with a wide variety of cruising options worldwide."
Celebrity Quest was constructed in France and entered service in
November 2000 as R7. Like Celebrity Journey, the ship is 30,277-grt
and has 355 staterooms.
Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale cruise
experiences with highly personalized service, authentic five-star
dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Celebrity sails in
Alaska, Bermuda, California, Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands,
Hawaii, Mexican Riviera, Panama Canal and South America, and will
begin sailing in Australia and New Zealand in 2007. Noted for "The
World's Best Large Ships," as voted by the readers of Conde' Nast
Traveler (February 2006 Cruise Poll), Celebrity's current fleet will
be joined by Celebrity Journey and Celebrity Quest in 2007, Celebrity
Solstice in 2008, Celebrity Equinox in 2009, and a third Solstice-
class ship in 2010. For more information, call your travel agent.
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