Second Celebrity homeport

CELEBRITY Cruises today announced a major expansion of its presence in Australasia, doubling capacity with the deployment of Celebrity Eclipse alongside Celebrity Solstice during the 2020/21 summer season.

The 2,850-passenger Eclipse will be the newest ever ship to homeport in Vic, and will arrive in Melbourne on 23 Dec 2020 for her inaugural season after a multi-million dollar upgrade.

Solstice will continue to cruise out of Sydney, arriving for the season on 16 Oct 2020.

It’s not the first time Celebrity has had two ships operating locally, with Solstice joined by Celebrity Millennium in local waters six years ago (TD 08 Apr 2011) as she transited between Honolulu and Singapore.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited MD Susan Bonner said the decision to deploy two Celebrity ships locally for an extended period reflected the strength of the Australian cruise sector.

“These ships are truly beautiful, and their food, wine and design focus resonates so well with discerning Australian guests looking for modern luxury holidays,” Bonner enthused.

Eclipse will offer seven roundtrip voyages of 8-14 nights in duration ex Melbourne to the South Pacific, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia.

Full details of the itineraries of both ships will be released when the 2020/21 season goes on sale in a week’s time.

More in Cruise Weekly today.