The Province

Celebrity cruises Caribbean year-round

Company adds seven new itinerarie­s and offers incentives if you sign up now for 2017 sailings

- Aaron Saunders

If you want to cruise to the sundrenche­d shores of the Caribbean but can’t get away during the traditiona­l winter months, good news: Celebrity Cruises (celebrityc­ruises. com) has just announced it will be deploying the beautiful, 2,850-guest Celebrity Equinox to the Caribbean year-round in 2017.

The ship will offer 24 sailings that alternate between the western and eastern Caribbean along with seven new itinerarie­s for 2017, all of which will depart round trip from Miami. Celebrity is also offering a unique, eight-night eastern Caribbean sailing on Aug. 27, 2017 hosted by Celebrity’s president and CEO, Lisa Lut-off-Perlo.

“Our guests, first-time cruisers and our travel partners have been asking me for many years to offer yearround Caribbean cruises. They wished we offered these itinerarie­s,” Lutoff-Perlo said.

“Affluent vacationer­s have been looking for summer cruises in the Caribbean and we felt this was a significan­t opportunit­y in our offering.

“We are also adding new itinerarie­s and sailings to create the most unforgetta­ble vacations in the Caribbean; this is another example of what makes Celebrity so distinct and unique.”

In addition to Celebrity’s new summer 2017 sailings aboard Celebrity Equinox, the line is also rolling out a host of enhancemen­ts to its on-board product offerings in the Caribbean designed to appeal to kids and adults alike.

Chief among these is Celebrity’s new Summer Camp at Sea, which offers a variety of on-board programs for children aged three to 17. Kids will have the chance to participat­e in unique experience­s, such as learning about marine biology, taking kid-friendly cooking classes, or even directing their own short movie on board.

Adults aren’t left behind, either. Grown-ups can take part in Celebrity’s new Taste of the Caribbean culinary program that offers compliment­ary events while at sea. These can include mixology classes, a rum-and-reggae party on the Lawn Club — which, if you’ve never been on these ships before, is so-called because of its living on-board lawn — or special champagne brunches.

Additional events will be offered for a fee, such as indulging in a fivecourse tasting dinner with Celebrity’s on-board chefs in a small, exclusive group environmen­t.

Celebrity is also offering a special Taste of the Caribbean Premium Package that will, for a single fee, include all of the culinary, wine and cocktail experience­s on board.

Seven-day western Caribbean cruises aboard Celebrity Equinox call on Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Grand Cayman.

Eastern Caribbean voyages will visit some of the more big-name ports in the region, such as San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsbur­g, St. Maarten; and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

As an added bonus, Celebrity is offering some incentives for select 2017 Caribbean sailings aboard Celebrity Equinox.

Guests who book by Aug. 31, 2016 can receive perks such as on-board credits, unlimited Internet packages, premium beverage packages, or prepaid gratuities.

Visit fromthedec­kchair.com for the latest cruise news and live voyage reports.

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