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While Aussies cannot travel overseas due to the Federal Government’s international travel ban and also Aussies cannot cruise in Australia due to the biosecurity determination that bans cruise ships from entering Australia, over in the USA, Celebrity Cruises says it is leading the way with the first ship to sail in North America just days ago on 5 June and that, Celebrity Cruises’ much-anticipated return to sailing continues, as the new-luxury ship Celebrity Equinox [pictured] has now been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to sail from Fort Lauderdale on 25 July 2021.

It will closely follow Celebrity Edge’s industry-first cruise departure from U.S. waters for the Caribbean on 26 June 2021 and with this announcement, nine of the 14 ships within the Celebrity Cruises’ fleet have plans to return to sailing by mid-September 2021 and are ready to take guests to the stunning destinations they have missed from the Caribbean to Europe, Alaska and the Galapagos, with Celebrity Equinox will setting sail on a seven-night cruise visiting the beautiful Mexican ports of Cozumel and Costa Maya, along with Nassau, Bahamas.

Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said, “It is so exciting to announce yet another ship on the heels of Celebrity Millennium leading the industry’s Caribbean comeback to rave reviews just this past Saturday. From the outpouring of comments and emotion from our guests and crew on that sailing, it’s clear that people are ready to cruise back to normal,” adding, “We’ve all been waiting for the day we could get away, again, to the places we’ve been dreaming of and that ‘someday’ is here.”

Celebrity Equinox joins eight ships in the Celebrity fleet that have been announced as part of its phased restart, including:

  • Celebrity Millennium, which began sailing seven-night Caribbean itineraries from St. Maarten on 5 June; and will reposition to Seattle to sail seven-night Alaska Dawes Glacier cruises beginning 23 July.
  • Celebrity Summit will then sail the remaining St. Maarten season through August, followed by plans to sail a new series of four- and five-night sailings from Fort Lauderdale to the Western Caribbean through late October.
  • Celebrity Apex – sailing seven-night Greek Isles itineraries from 19 June;
  • Celebrity Edge – sailing a rotating schedule of Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale, beginning 26 June;
  • Celebrity Silhouette – sailing the UK coastline as of 3 July;
  • Celebrity Flora – returning to the extraordinary Galapagos islands as of 3 July, followed by the award-winning Celebrity Xpedition and intimate 16-passenger Celebrity Xploration on 24 July, and 18 September, respectively.

Voted 2020 “Best Service in the Large Ship Category” at the Cruise Critic Cruiser’s Choice Awards, Celebrity Equinox is part of a $500-million fleet-wide modernisation program with guests enjoying elevated design concepts, including The Retreat®, a private resort-within-a-resort for suite guests that includes The Retreat® Sundeck and The Retreat® Lounge.

In addition, the ship boasts, completely redesigned, contemporary staterooms and suites inspired by award-winning British interior designer Kelly Hoppen’s designs for Celebrity Edge and featuring Celebrity’s eXhale bedding with its luxurious Cashmere™ mattresses, stunningly reimagined restaurants, bars, and lounges offering captivating culinary experiences, over 40 handcrafted boutique beer selections, creative cocktails and a wide selection of a la carte, gourmet comfort food and bar bites at Craft Social and a half-acre lawn of real grass at the relaxing and aptly-named Lawn Club, perfect for trying outdoor games like Croquet, or simply basking in the sunshine.

Celebrity Equinox will sail with enhanced health and safety standards that are the culmination of more than a year of diligent work with public health authorities, government agencies and its Healthy Sail Panel of scientific, medical and public health leaders.

In addition to reduced capacity to allow for more natural spacing, Celebrity has leveraged technology to create new arrival, departure and muster safety drill procedures; and updated onboard and shoreside experiences to reflect new standard health and safety practices; all with the well-being of guests, crew and the communities visited by Celebrity ships at the forefront of the planning process.

As guests and crew work together to promote onboard health and safety, more details of the new measures include:

  • Vaccinated Sailings – As with all Celebrity Cruises’ ships, Celebrity Equinox meets the highest standards for providing a healthy cruise experience for its guests and crew, sailing with at least 95% of crew and guests being vaccinated. As of August 1, all guests ages 12 and over must be vaccinated.
  • Staggered Arrivals and Departures – Terminal arrivals and departures will be staggered by appointment, with guests having the ability to select their preferred times based on travel plans.
  • Contactless Transactions – Celebrity’s digitally advanced mobile app* transforms the decades-old large-group-gathering Muster safety drill into a personal eMuster experience that guests can complete on their mobile device or interactive stateroom TV, avoiding large group gatherings. The app also expedites the boarding process; and allows guests to read menus and book dining reservations and shore excursions via their smartphone.
  • Appropriate Face Coverings – All guests 2 years of age and older will be required to wear an appropriate face covering in the Terminal. Once onboard, and unless otherwise stipulated by local governments in the destinations being visited, masks will not be required of vaccinated guests in accordance with CDC guidance for sailings with vaccinated crew and guests.

Celebrity Cruises says its new measures may evolve in keeping with current public health standards and may vary in accordance with local guidance in the destinations visited. Guests are encouraged to regularly check the guidance on all health and safety measures across the entire Celebrity Cruises holiday experience atCelebrityCruises.com/healthy-at-sea.

An edited report by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor.