Here Comes Celebrity Equinox

Celebrity Equinox arrived at Southampton on July 19 for almost two weeks of inaugural festivities. The ship will be christened there on Thursday, July 30. This video report show the arrival and details some of the new ship's features.



The ship is the second of the class. It will be followed next year by Celebrity Eclipse which will be based in Southampton for the summer season.

Celebrity Equinox Goes down the River

Meyer Werft took Celebrity Equinox down the Ems river Saturday from Papenburg (Germany) to the Dutch town of Eemshaven from which it will depart on its sea trials. In addition to the testing done at sea, there's still work to be done on the ship's interior prior to its delivery next month. As you'll see from the video below, the river transit is a slow methodical process (with the ship going backwards). Many times during the transit, there are just inches to spare on either side and under the ship.

We also have some photos of Celebrity Equinox on the river courtesy of a reader Rolf Declerck.

Meyer Werft Floats Out Celebrity Equinox

Germany's Meyer Werft floated out Celebrity's second Solstice-class vessel, from their covered building dock on Saturday. The 122,000-ton Celebrity Equinox will remain at the Papenburg yard for final fitting out until its transit down the Ems River which is currently scheduled for June 19 or 20, depending on weather conditions. Shortly after reaching Eemshaven at the mouth of the river, it will depart on sea trials.

Celebrity Equinox is scheduled to enter service in Europe on July 31.

We have photos from Saturday's operation on the Cruise News Daily website.

Celebrity Sets US Preview for Celebrity Equinox

Celebrity Equinox will debut in the US with a special 4-night preview cruise from Ft. Lauderdale on November 19 (2009). The itinerary will have one port of call at Cozumel, and is now open for sale.

The new Solstice-class vessel will enter service with a summer season of European cruises from Southampton beginning July 31.