Celebrity Sends Five Ships to Europe for 2009

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With its largest European deployment ever slated for 2009, Celebrity Cruises is offering guests the opportunity to paint their idea of the perfect vacation – by numbers, that is. Five ships, including two new vessels, will visit the region in a single European season for the first time in the line’s history. The line will visit 76 ports in 29 countries, five of which are brand-new to Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity’s 2009 Europe season includes six homeports, overnight stays in eight different ports, and five unique cruisetour options. Celebrity also will offer nine transatlantic sailings in 2009. The cruises open for sale today.

Five Celebrity Cruises ships will sail in Europe in 2009, including two ships currently under construction, Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox. Joining them are Celebrity Century, which underwent a $55-million makeover in 2006, Celebrity Constellation, built in 2002, and Celebrity Summit, which launched in 2001.

With six different homeports in Europe for the season, including Amsterdam, Holland; Barcelona, Spain; Harwich and Southampton, England; and Rome and Venice, Italy, Celebrity’s ships will sail much of the continent. Itineraries exploring Scandinavia and Russia, the Arctic Circle and North Cape, the Mediterranean, Israel and Egypt, and even transatlantic sailings, will offer guests a number of opportunities to get to know Europe. These include overnight, in-port stays that offer travel enthusiasts the opportunity to more thoroughly explore the culture of eight cities: Alexandria, Egypt; Copenhagen, Denmark; Istanbul and Kusadasi, Turkey; Rome, Italy; Stockholm, Sweden; and Venice, Italy.

Celebrity’s 2009 Europe – New Stars Celebrity will call on five new ports:

Antwerp, Belgium, located on the River Scheldt, 50 miles from the sea.

Ashdod, Israel’s largest port, offering access to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and must-see sites such as Mount Zion, the Tomb of David, the Tomb of Judges and the Dead Sea.

Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, nestled in a broad natural bay between the Mediterranean Sea and Carmel Mountain.

La Spezia, Italy, one of Italy’s major harbors, located at the head of La Spezia Gulf between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, known for its numerous churches, museums, the Castle of San Giorgio, public gardens and Art Nouveaustyle villas.

Portofino, Italy, the famed town in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera, considered to be among the most beautiful Mediterranean ports.

Celebrity Century will offer seven-night Western Mediterranean sailings roundtrip out of Barcelona from September 19-November 21. Celebrity’s European itineraries have traditionally lasted 10 nights or longer, and this shorter offering will give guests who may not have enough vacation time for a longer sailing, the opportunity to enjoy Celebrity’s Europe in a shorter format. Celebrity Century will offer a 13-night “Best of Europe” sailing September 6, that begins with an overnight stay in Amsterdam and the line’s first call on Antwerp, Belgium.

From August 18 through October 23, Celebrity Equinox will sail 13- and 14-night “Ancient Empires” itineraries out of Rome, featuring calls on Ashdod and Haifa, Israel, an overnight stay in Alexandria, Egypt, and ports throughout Greece, Turkey, and Italy. Beginning May 4, Celebrity Solstice will sail 10- and 11-night Eastern Mediterranean itineraries roundtrip out of Rome, calling on ports throughout Greece, Turkey, and Italy. The 11-night sailings include overnight stays in Istanbul, Turkey.

Guests who sail on Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox will enjoy Europe in a whole new way, as the ships will offer a resort-like experience at sea through features such as the industry’s first Lawn Club, a half-acre country-club atmosphere featuring real, growing grass; 10 dining venues including several created by noted restaurant designer Adam Tihany; AquaClass, the line’s new spa category of staterooms; the industry’s first Hot Glass Show at sea, presented in collaboration with The Corning Museum of Glass; and larger, more intuitive staterooms influenced by a panel of five “boomer” women.

Mediterranean cruisetours include the following: New in 2009, a five-night “Venice, Florence and Rome” package featuring two nights in Venice, one night in Florence and two nights in Rome – a popular “highlights of Italy” tour that gives guests a true Italian experience.

The three-night “Italian Lakes, Verona, and Venice” cruisetour, which includes two nights in Lago Maggiore’s Stresa, one night in Verona, and touring in Venice prior to boarding the ship. Guests on this cruisetour enjoy a lake tour to the Borromean islands as well as the Shakespearean city of Verona.

A four-night “Madrid and Barcelona” cruisetour, offering two nights in Madrid, two nights in Barcelona, city tours in both locations, a visit to the ancient city of Toledo, and enough free time to experience the true Spanish flair of these iconic cities.

Northern Europe cruisetours include the following: A four-night “Paris and London” package, featuring two nights in each city and visits to major attractions such as Notre Dame and the Tower of London.

A three-night “Brussels and Amsterdam” cruisetour, with one night in Brussels, two nights in Amsterdam, a visit to the gothic city of Bruges and a private canal cruise through the Amsterdam waterways.