Celebrity Cruises has announced its return to cruising in Europe.
Company president, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, confirmed that its brand-new Celebrity Apex, the second ship in the Edge Series, will make its long-awaited world debut in Greece this summer.
The ship will sail from June 19th.
With seven-night sailings roundtrip from Athens through to September, Celebrity Apex will visit some of the most idyllic destinations in the Mediterranean, including Mykonos, Rhodes and Santorini, Greece; Limassol, Cyprus; and Haifa and Jerusalem, Israel.
The sailings will open for booking on Tuesday.
Celebrity Apex will sail with all crew and guests above the age of 18 vaccinated against Covid-19, and those under the age of 18 with negative PCR test results.
The announcement comes just days after Celebrity Cruises announced its Caribbean comeback with seven-night summer cruises departing from St. Maarten also beginning in June.
The company’s return to the Aegean is made all the more special given Celebrity Cruises’ Greek heritage. Founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris family, the company later became a part of the Royal Caribbean Group.
Celebrity Cruises is still rooted in its Greek origins today, with 70 per cent of marine officers across the fleet, hailing from Greece; over 40 of these are captains and chief engineers, including the captain of Celebrity Apex, Dimitrios Kafetzis.
“Celebrity Apex is such an exquisite ship and for her to finally begin sailing in the beautiful Aegean, where it all began for our fleet, and after so long away, is incredibly meaningful.
“I actually can’t wait to finally experience Apex and the Greek Isles this September during my rescheduled 30th wedding anniversary cruise,” said Lutoff-Perlo.
“This is a very special homecoming for Celebrity Cruises made possible with the strong collaboration of the Greek government.”