CELEBRITY CRUISES ORDERS THIRD SHIP

JoeyandDavid · July 26, 2006

Miami - (July 18,<] 2006 ) -

Celebrity Cruises today announced it has ordered a third 118,000 gross-registered-ton Solstice-class ship, significantly reinforcing the company's commitment to the growth and innovative development of the Celebrity brand.

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft will build the new tonnage, with delivery of Celebrity Solstice planned for Fall 2008, Celebrity Equinox in Summer 2009, and the third in June 2010.

Each of the three ships will be 2,850-guest vessels measuring 1,033 feet in length and 121 feet in width, with larger standard staterooms, a higher percentage of balconies and an exceptional range of guest-inspired services and amenities.

"Celebrity's Solstice class is more than a series of new ships; it's a new class introducing a new program that will further differentiate and elevate the Celebrity brand," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO. "We're confident our guests and travel partners will be thrilled with the experience we'll deliver onboard. And we're very pleased to expand our collaboration with Meyer Werft in the production of these extraordinary new ships."

"Meyer Werft is proud to partner with Celebrity in the company's very exciting period of growth and expansion," said Meyer Werft Managing Partner Bernard Meyer. "These spectacular new ships will vividly illustrate Celebrity's tradition of breakthrough design and leading innovations."

Celebrity estimates the all-in cost of the ship to be approximately $245,000 per berth, based on current exchange rates.

Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale cruise experiences with highly personalized service, authentic five-star dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Its nine ships and their service, cuisine and spas consistently dominate top travelers' surveys. Celebrity sails in Alaska, Bermuda, California, the Caribbean, Europe, the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal and South America. For more information, call your travel agent, or visit the Celebrity web site at http://www.celebrity.com.

schatje · July 26, 2006

Thanks for posting about Celebrity Cruiselines new ship. We enjoyed sailing with them on the Zenith.

JoeyandDavid · July 26, 2006

Mary I think these new ships are going to be to darn big for David and myself... we prefer the smaller ones too

Joanandjoe · July 26, 2006

When X announced the first two new ships, we were appalled and disappointed, since we had been hoping that they'd order something with well under 2,000 PAX. Unfortunately, that's how the cruise industry is going--big, big, big! Ordering a third huge ship is no surprise to us.

Maybe our cruise on the Noordam, if we actually go (right now we're extremely pessimistic due to Joe's work situation), will change our mind about big ships (we like small ships!); otherwise, we'll give everything with over 2,000 PAX a pass.

JoeyandDavid · July 26, 2006

Joan had you guys considered the new Century?

Joanandjoe · July 26, 2006

Yes, we did consider it; but we found the staterooms on Zenith to be so cramped that we decided to consider staterooms on Century (which are about the same size as on Zenith) only if the price was great. Instead, the price per day for a standard balcony room on Century, with the onboard stateroom credit taken into account (and not taking airfare into account), was more for a Northern Europe itinerary than we'll be paying per day for a full SA suite on the Noordam this November. For us, it was too much money for too little space, even though the itinerary was great.

At least the Solstice class will have larger standard rooms than current X ships; but we can't imagine descending on a small port such as Ketchikan, Villefranche, or Dominica, with 3,000 other PAX and 1,200 crew, all having to tender to get to the port. That's our biggest problem with huge ships: there mere size restricts the ports they can go to, and changes the port experience. Joe

schatje · July 26, 2006

You make a very valid point Joe about the limitations of the places the bigger ships can go. I like variety in our cruise experience and I think the smaller ships are going to be our choice. This December we are gong to be on the Star Princess and that is the bigger we have gone so far. We are inside cabin people for now so the size of the cabin does not matter to us. We don't spend much time in it except to change and sleep.