Celebrity Cruises has taken delivery of its new ship Celebrity Ascent – the 4th in its innovative Edge Series of ships.
Earlier this week, Celebrity also unveiled the name of its following ship – the 5th in the Edge Series – Celebrity Xcel.
Welcoming the Celebrity Ascent shipto the Celebrity Cruises family were Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty, Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges-Bethge, and Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique. Captains Dimitrios Kafetzis and Tasos Kafetzis, the first brother captains honoured with taking a new ship from the shipyard, were also on-hand for the celebration, along with 1,400 Celebrity Ascent crew members.
To mark the moment, they participated in several maritime traditions including the signing ceremony and the changing of flags onboard the ship, along with a celebratory toast in the ship’s spectacular three-story Grand Plaza.
“Celebrity Ascent is yet another example of innovation driving our mission to provide the best vacations responsibly,” said Jason Liberty. “The ship continues Celebrity’s ambition to redefine premium travel and take it to new heights. I want to thank and congratulate the Chantiers de l’Atlantique team, our Newbuild and Celebrity Cruises’ teams and their partners for the vision, craftmanship and passion that went into bringing this spectacular ship to life.”
“Celebrity Ascent features all the innovative and award-winning Edge Series signature experiences that launched a new era in cruise ship design, plus a few new enhancements, and I can’t wait to welcome our guests aboard,” said Laura Hodges-Bethge. “It is a true honour to welcome this ship to our fleet and I am so grateful to everyone involved with all that goes into a launching new ship.”
“I am convinced that Celebrity Ascent will meet the same success as the other ships in the prestigious Edge Series. Its fine exterior and interior design and its exceptional seaworthiness make it an outstanding ship. Celebrity Ascent embodies the strong bond between the Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Royal Caribbean Group and Celebrity Cruises teams,” said Chantiers de l’Atlantique General Director Laurent Castaing.
