Celebrity Cruises plans to return to Alaska waters with Celebrity Summit, which will operate a series of seven-night voyages roundtrip from Seattle, WA, starting on July 23, 2021. Nine sailings are planned through mid-September. All Alaska sailings will depart with vaccinated crew. Initially, all guests over the age of 16 also must be vaccinated, and starting August 1, 2021, all U.S. guests age 12 or older must be fully vaccinated.
These new 2021 Alaska sailings—Celebrity Summit's first time operating sailings in the "Great Land"—will open for booking on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO, Celebrity Cruises, emphasized in a press statement that Alaskan communities have been hurting without the economic support they receive from tourism, and especially from the cruise industry. "I am grateful to our elected officials across the country for recognizing the need and finding a way to restore them to their livelihoods," she said, clearly a reference to recent passage of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act last week by the U.S. Congress.
That legislation, when signed by President Joe Biden, will make the Alaska season possible. It will grant a temporary waiver (for as long as Canada has a cruise ship ban) of the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act's (PVSA) requirement that foreign-flagged cruise ships make a foreign port call when sailing between U.S. ports.
Celebrity said it plans to operate the line's popular "Alaska Dawes Glacier Cruise" to such destinations as Ketchikan, Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, Juneau and Skagway.
The interior of Celebrity Summit was recently revitalized, as shown above. // Photo by Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Summit was revitalized in 2019 as part of the line's $500 million fleetwide program to elevate and refine the cruise experience. As part of Celebrity's new "Always Included" program, Wi-Fi, drinks and tips also are now included in the cruise fare.
Following the Alaska season, Celebrity Summit will reposition to the Caribbean via a 16-night Panama Canal sailing, and begin a series of four- and five-night itineraries. It's Celebrity Cruises' sixth ship expected to return to service. Previously announced are these "restarts:"
- Celebrity Millennium will operate seven-night itineraries from St. Maarten, starting June 5. (Editor's Note: Travel Agent is booked on this sailing and will report back on the experience for travel advisors.)
- Celebrity Apex will debut in the Aegean Sea, sailing the Greek Isles from Piraeus (Athens), Greece, starting June 19.
- Three Celebrity small ships will begin sailing within the Galapagos Islands, starting on the following dates: Celebrity Flora (July 4), Celebrity Xpedition (July 24) and Celebrity Xploration (September 18).
For more information, visit www.celebritycruises.
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