Celebrity Apex Mediterranean debut announced, ship to sail roundtrip from Athens in 2021

Celebrity Cruises is finally resuming cruises in the Med, with a Celebrity Apex Mediterranean season from Athens planned to start in June.

Celebrity Apex will homeport in Athens, cruising roundtrip to Rhodes and Santorini, Greece; Limassol, Cyprus; and Haifa and Jerusalem, Israel on week-long itineraries.

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The first cruise sets sail on June 19th, while bookings will open on March 30th.

“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,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises.

“I actually can’t wait to finally experience Apex and the Greek Isles this September during my rescheduled 30th wedding anniversary cruise,” she added.

The plan to homeport Celebrity Apex in Athens was made possible thanks to the coordination of the Greek government, according to Celebrity Cruises, and Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theocharis said he could not wait to see cruise tourism return.

“The positive economic impact that tourism brings to our country cannot be underestimated and I am very happy Celebrity Cruises is playing an important role in rebuilding this important economic pillar,” he added.

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, mirroring the requirements announced when the cruise line confirmed its return to cruising in the Caribbean.

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Celebrity Apex is the second ship in Celebrity Cruises’ new Edge-class. She is a sister ship to class leader Celebrity Edge, which was launched in 2018 and featured many new takes on the traditional cruise experience.

While Celebrity Apex will look almost identical externally, she will feature a number of design modifications on her interior.

“It is such an honor for me to Captain the newest ship in the Celebrity fleet. I have been anxiously awaiting the day when I can welcome our first guests onboard this magnificent vessel and it will be a very proud moment for me to do this in my homeland,” said Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis.