An X-tra Special Welcome Home

In this video, Celebrity Edge's captain, Kate McCue, explains the planning that went into the special welcome for the new Celebrity Apex when it arrived at the anchorage earlier this month in the Bahamas with its sister ships. After weeks of planning, the ships did a special dance, a series of complex nautical maneuvers that could only be accomplished (safely) with the technology aboard today's modern ships.

Welcome Home - Almost

Celebrity Apex has arrived in the Bahamas at the anchorage off Coco Cay to await entry into service. There it met its sister and other members of the fleet today. 

Photos courtesy of Celebrity Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Double Event at Chantiers for Celebrity

Chantiers de l'Atlantique delivered Celebrity Edge to Celebrity Cruises at their Saint-Nazaire (France) yard today following a 23-month construction process of the prototype vessel.

What could make the event bigger and better? The start of construction of the next ship, so Chantiers laid the keel for Celebrity Apex there in the yard's dry dock. The lucky coin was placed in the dry dock before the 762-ton block was lowered into place. (Lucky for everyone except the coin.)

The complete story appeared in the October 31 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Photos courtesy of Celebrity Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

First Steel Cut for Celebrity Apex

Steel was cut today for Celebrity Apex, the second of the Edge-class. It was also a coming out of sorts for the yard. With the new ownership (the French government partnered with Fincantieri) nearly in place, the name of the yard has reverted from STX France to its former name of Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

Details appeared in the July 23 edition of Cruise News Daily.