Celebrity Cruises has officially launched its first-ever cruise series from Port Canaveral, as Celebrity Equinox departs December 3, 2024 on a 4-night Bahamas Getaway to Bimini and Nassau, Bahamas.
The 2,850-guest ship is the first in the Celebrity fleet to sail from the Central Florida port, the world's second busiest in terms of passenger arrivals behind PortMiami. Through mid-April 2025, Celebrity Equinox will sail a variety of 7-night cruises to 15 destinations in the Eastern and Western Caribbean.
Some itineraries include a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay, the 125-acre private island destination operated by parent company Royal Caribbean Group. It is a wildly popular retreat offering the exclusive Coco Beach Club, with its beachfront infinity pool; overwater cabanas in the adults-only Hideaway Beach; and multiple dining and bar areas.
"At Celebrity we are continually striving to elevate our guests' vacation experience from start to finish, and are delighted to offer even more ways to relax, unwind and explore the Caribbean," said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises.
"The addition of Port Canaveral offers guests the ultimate flexibility for their perfect Caribbean getaway," added Bethge.
With Celebrity Equinox based at Port Canaveral, the premium cruise line now has four ships operating from Florida ports during the winter 2024-25 season. Besides the new deployment, the 2,900-guest Celebrity Apex and 2,600-guest Celebrity Summit are based at Port Everglades, while the 2,200-guest Celebrity Constellation is based at Tampa.
Cruise port calls on Celebrity Equinox itineraries feature in-demand destinations like St. Maarten, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Belize, and Grand Cayman, to name a few.
Celebrity Equinox's upcoming New Year cruise, for instance, departs Port Canaveral on December 28, 2024 and calls at Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
The cruise line in 2023 announced that Celebrity Equinox, a Solstice-class ship that launched in 2009, would deploy to Port Canaveral in 2024. The ship was last upgraded in 2019, and received The Retreat, a private luxury area for suite guests with dedicated concierges and butlers.
Celebrity Equinox offers guests 20-plus food and beverage venues, a full spa, and six stateroom and suite categories. AquaClass suites feature perks such as free fitness classes, dining at the specialty venue Blu, and a personal spa concierge, for example.
With its entry into the Port Canaveral market, Celebrity Cruises joins virtually every other major cruise line in homeporting at the popular port, known as the gateway to Orlando and its theme park shore excursions.
Read Also: What Airports Are Near Port Canaveral Cruise Port?
Other lines with ships based at the port are Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line.
In fiscal year 2024, the port received 7.6 million cruise passengers from the 13 ships homeported there plus 900-plus calls from visiting ships. The total represents a 12% increase over the 6.8 million who visited in fiscal year 2023.
Following her seasonal deployment at Port Canaveral, Celebrity Equinox on April 19, 2025 will depart for the Mediterranean, where she will sail 9- and 10-night voyages between Barcelona and Rome through summer and fall 2025.
A 9-night Italian Riviera & France voyage, for instance, departs Rome on August 5, 2025 and calls at Naples, La Spezia, and Santa Margherita, Italy; and Nice and Marseille, France, before ending in Barcelona.
The ship will also feature several Turkey and Greek Isles cruises, calling at Mykonos, Santorini, and Katakolon, Greece; and Kusadasi and Istanbul, Turkey, on itineraries from both Rome and Barcelona.
In November 2025, Celebrity Equinox will reposition to South America as she prepares for seasonal cruises to Antarctica and the Falkland Islands.
Donna Tunney is a travel news/feature writer and editor with 20-plus years covering cruise news, luxury travel, and Europe and UK destinations. A former staffer at Travel Weekly and at the USAToday Network, she also was a luxury travel columnist at Travel Market Report, and a cruise columnist at Sherman's Travel.
No comments:
Post a Comment