By
Alex Smith |
Celebrity Cruises’ new ship, Celebrity Apex, has begun sailing her inaugural Caribbean season from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after she was officially named in a ceremony at the port.
The ceremony was led by the ship’s godmother, Reshma Saujani, author and founder of non-profit organisation Girls Who Code. The organisation runs free programming for girls from ages 11-18 and has reached over 450,000 girls around the world since launching in 2012. Saujani was also the first Indian-American woman to run for the US Congress in 2010.
Saujani was joined by executives of Celebrity Cruises and its parent company Royal Caribbean Group, along with local dignitaries from the City of Hollywood and City of Dania Beach, representatives from the US Customs and Border Protection, US Coast Guard, Broward County Sheriff’s Department and Broward County Fire Rescue, as well as media and invited guests.
In honour of Saujani’s work, Celebrity Cruises will offer interactive beginning coding activities from the Girls Who Code curriculum as part of its onboard Camp at Sea programme.
“It’s both thrilling and humbling to serve as the godmother of Celebrity Apex," said Saujani. "Similar to the mission of Girls Who Code, which is centred around closing the gender gap in tech, Celebrity is leading the way to create a more diverse future in the cruise industry. The brand’s commitment to the cause is clear not only through the leadership of its president and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, but in its incorporation of onboard STEM programming. I can’t think of a more inspiring place to learn about the wonders of the maritime industry than onboard Celebrity Apex and Girls Who Code is honoured to help in this effort."
Celebrity Apex will begin sailing for the first time from the USA, offering rotating Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. She will visit destinations including Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Belize and the Grand Caymans, among others.
“Celebrating Celebrity Apex is certainly long overdue and it’s a day I have been waiting to celebrate for quite a long time – 581 days, to be exact,” said Lutoff-Perlo. “This stunning ship truly represents a new standard in new-luxury travel, and we can’t wait for our guests to finally experience it for themselves. As we say in our new brand campaign, we know guests will not only, ‘Journey WonderFULL,’ onboard this beautiful ship, but that she will also be the industry’s most talked about new ship.”