By
Alex Smith |
Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge has sailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, becoming the first cruise ship to sail from a US port in over a year.
The ship departed from Port Everglades on a seven-night cruise of the Caribbean, with stops scheduled for Mexico and The Bahamas.
“This is a momentous sailing and one that we have been preparing for a long time,” said Richard Fain, chairman of Celebrity’s parent company Royal Caribbean Group. “It’s not only a huge honour to be the first ship back in the water, leading the industry in the long-awaited return to US-based cruising, it’s also an incredible achievement and testament to the tireless efforts of our shoreside team and onboard crew.”
Celebrity Edge joined the Celebrity fleet in 2018 and is the first ship in the cruise line’s Edge class. She has capacity for 2,918 passengers and is the largest ship in the fleet at 129,500gt. Among her features is the Magic Carpet, a platform with a bar and space for live performances that can move up the side of the ship to a height of 13 stories above sea level. She is helmed by Captain Kate McCue, the first female American captain of a cruise ship.
“The week after our entire industry was grounded, last March, I started a #HopeFloats tradition of blowing the ship’s horn every evening to let the world know that not only were we safe, but we were also thinking of those at home and hoping the same for them,” said McCue. “Now, the sound of a ship’s horn symbolises rising above from any hardship. The entire crew is so happy to be back, and we can’t wait to welcome our guests aboard!”
Eight of the 14 ships in the Celebrity Cruises fleet now have either returned to operation or have plans to return to sailing in 2021. Celebrity Millennium set sail on 5 June from St. Maarten, while Celebrity Apex made her debut from Athens in Greece on 19 June. Celebrity Silhouette will offer cruises around Britain from Southampton, UK, beginning on 3 July. Celebrity Flora will resume sailing the Galapagos Islands on 4 July, followed by Celebrity Xpedition and Celebrity Xploration on 24 July and 18 September, respectively. Finally, Celebrity will resume operations from Alaska on 23 July.
All Celebrity ships will sail with a vaccinated crew. US guests aged 16 and older must be fully vaccinated and, as of 1 August 2021, all US guests aged 12 and older must be fully vaccinated. UK guests aged 18 and older sailing in the UK must also be fully vaccinated.