Celebrity Cruises has marked the arrival of Celebrity Apex into the North America cruise market in style with a special ship formation and horn salute.
Celebrity Apex was met by her sister ship Celebrity Edge and four fleetmates in what has been described as a historic occasion at sea.
Celebrity Apex was welcomed to the North American market by the rest of the fleet
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After making a technical call in the Azores on her trans-Atlantic repositioning voyage, Celebrity Apex has arrived in the Bahamas and was met by Celebrity Edge, commanded by Kate McCue, as well as the Celebrity ships Reflection, Equinox, Silhouette and Summit.
Celebrity Apex is scheduled to be deployed from Port Everglades for the winter 2020/2021 season, sailing Caribbean itineraries.
Although cruises from the US are still on hold pending the expiry of the CDC’s No Sail Order, there is growing optimism that they may be allowed to resume in the coming weeks.
” Yesterday we welcomed our newest arrival, (& sister ship) Celebrity Apex, in true Celebrity style,” Captain Kate McCue of Celebrity Edge said in a post on Instagram.
“It was not only an emotional experience, but it was a perfect day & highlight of my career to be surrounded by this family,” she added.
Captain Tasos Kafetzis of Celebrity Equinox shared a video of the occasion via Instagram, describing the occasion as historic and unforgettable.
The meeting marked the end of Celebrity Apex’s journey from Southampton, UK to the Caribbean. She also made a technical call at Ponta Delgada in the Azores last week.
Captains Involved:
Apex: Capt. Dimitris Kafetzis
Edge: Capt. Kate McCue
Reflection: Capt. Nikolas Christodoulakis
Silhouette: Capt. Michael Sympouras
Equinox: Capt. Tasos Kafetzis
Summit: Capt. Ioannis Kasimatis
And Capt. Manolis Alevropoulos
Celebrity Cruises’ decision to reposition Apex to the Caribbean is a clear sign that they are anticipating the imminent approval of cruises from the US, even if that is only in November or December.
It can take up to a month to get a cruise ship ready for service following a months-long suspension, due to the need to train staff, sail practice cruises, implement new procedures and install new equipment, such as air filtration systems.
Celebrity Edge and Apex together off the Bahamas
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The 129,500-gross ton, 2,910-passenger ship features the flying carpet restaurant like her sister ship, along with the Eden dining and entertainment complex at the stern, but it has been significantly modified aboard Apex.
She also features a number of new culinary experiences onboard, including the Craft Social Bar, a relaxed, casual bar space serving draft cocktails, wines on tap and more than 50 of the world’s rarest craft beers.
There is also a new 3-D digital animation dining experience at Le Grand Bistro – Celebrity’s first-at-sea digitally animated menu by Le Petit Chef will offer a new animated story on the Celebrity Apex, enhanced by new menu creations from Chef Cornelius Gallagher.
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