Since its inception Celebrity Cruises has taken the best aspects of classic, elegant cruising and updated them to reflect current lifestyles. The cruise line has a passionate dedication to providing guests with a cruise experience that embodies modern luxury.
Celebrity Cruises is all about the elements which made cruise vacations popular: high quality, superior design, spacious accommodations, grand style, attentive service and exceptional cuisine. The cruise line calls it: ‘Modern Luxury‘.
Celebrity Cruises’ iconic ‘X’ is the mark of modern luxury which blends cool, contemporary design and warm spaces; dining experiences where the design of the venues is as important as the cuisine; and an amazing service which provides an unmatchable vacation experience.
The early years
Founded in 1989 with the objective of fulfilling the travel industry’s need for a high-quality, premium cruise product at an affordable price, Celebrity Cruises succeeded in setting a new, worldwide standard for cruising: quality and style, attentive service, spacious accommodations, and exceptional dining.
Along with the launch of the Century-class fleet in 1995, Celebrity Cruises created another industry first: A luxurious spa experience within the environment of a cruise ship, with the introduction of the AquaSpa by Elemis.
In 1997, Celebrity Cruises merged with Royal Caribbean International, bringing together two extraordinary cruise brands within one corporation. Today the Royal Caribbean Group includes Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea. Royal Caribbean Group is also 50% owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises.
New tastes of luxury
In 2000, Celebrity Cruises launched the Millennium-class ships and nearly doubled the line’s capacity. These ships are equipped with gas turbine engines that reduce exhaust emissions by up to 95 percent over traditional propulsion systems.
In 2003 Celebrity introduced more than 100 brand enhancements and new ‘tastes of luxury‘ such as welcome champagne and mimosas, cold towels and fresh sorbet poolside. The company also introduced ‘ConciergeClass’, an enhanced level of accommodations featuring new amenities and priority services. Also new were the ‘AquaClass’ staterooms which offer exclusive access to Blu restaurant and unlimited access to the Persian Garden, an aquatherapy area with various steam rooms and saunas and a relaxation lounge with heated tile loungers.
In 2004, the luxurious mega yacht Celebrity Xpedition was introduced to bring guests to unique itineraries, including cruises to the enchanting Galapagos Islands, in a very unique and exclusive setting. Celebrity Xpedition was followed by Celebrity Xploration and Celebrity Flora.
Four years later, in 2008, the stylishly-decorated Celebrity Solstice – the first of five stunning Solstice-class vessels – was launched. With a guest capacity of 2,850 and an award- winning design, Celebrity Solstice continued the brand’s rich tradition of style and innovation with even more industry firsts. Among them the magnificent Lawn Club, an outdoor, country club-like venue featuring a lawn of real, lush grass where guests can practice their putting or play lawn games like croquet and bocce ball. The rest of the Celebrity Cruises fleet was ‘solsticized,’ and received major upgrades giving them the modern features that were found in the Solstice class.
Sailing towards the future
Today, the iconic ‘X’ remains passionately dedicated to providing guests with a cruise experience that embodies modern luxury. Celebrity Cruises is ever-evolving and changing the face of modern cruising. Developed under the project name ‘Edge’, the cruise line introduced Celebrity Edge.
The Edge-class features the Magic Carpet, a remarkable orange platform hanging from the edge of the ship. Other unique features include the outward facing Resort Deck, the Rooftop Garden and Eden, a unique venue where state-of-the-art design is fused with culinary delights and entertainment.
In 2021 Celebrity Edge was joined by Celebrity Apex. Celebrity Beyond, the third ship in the Edge-class, joined the fleet in 2022. Celebrity Ascent will join the fleet in late 2023.
