Europe won't be losing its luster as cruising's hot spot any time soon. Celebrity Cruises will operate five ships in Europe in 2009, including its two new Solstice-class ships, the largest fleet deployment ever for the line. Itineraries will visit 76 ports in 26 countries, five of which are brand new to Celebrity. The season will also include six homeports, a first, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Harwich, Southampton, Rome and Venice.
"Our guests have told us repeatedly that Europe is where they want to be, and they want to be there in style," said Celebrity Cruises' President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. "This year, by offering more ships and itineraries in Europe than ever before we're giving our guests a great deal of variety, and Europe really is theirs for the taking."
Joining the two Solstice-class ships-Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox-will be Celebrity Century, which completed a $66-million refurbishment in 2006, Celebrity Constellation and Celebrity Summit.
Celebrity has planned more overnight stays in such cities as Alexandria, Istanbul and Copenhagen and visits to five new ports: Antwerp, Belgium; Ashdod and Haifa in Israel; La Spezia and Portofino in Italy. Visit www.celebritycruises.com. (DE)