Celebrity Cruises has taken a step closer to revealing its new cruise ship, Celebrity Beyond. There are now less than three months to go before the third in the Edge class makes its maiden voyage. The ship is being built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard and will only need a short cruise to her first home port, Southampton.
Sea trials for Celebrity BThese took place in the infamous Bay of Biscay and were overseen by its new captain, Kate McCue.
Third Apex-class cruise ship completes sea trials
Celebrity Beyond is a little closer to her maiden voyage on April 27, 2022. The newest ship in Celebrity Cruises’ fleet has been under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyards in Saint Nazaire, France since November 2020. At just 16 months since the keel was laid and 22 months after the first steel was cut, construction has been surprisingly fast considering the situation around COVID-19.
The third Apex-class cruise ship has completed its sea trials under the the watchful eye of Captain Kate McCue. According to a Celebrity Cruises report, the ship “has shown that her strength, excellence and superb sailing abilities go beyond her jaw-dropping amenities.”
“Succeeding in these sea trials was the thrill of a lifetime for me,” noted Celebrity Beyond Captain Kate McCue. “Her smooth sailing and maneuverability are a testament to her innovative design and I look forward to taking the helm of this impressive vessel and taking our guests to equally beautiful destinations.”
The ship’s Parabolic Ultrabow was first seen on her sisters Celebrity Summit and Celebrity benefit and replaced the traditional bulbous arc with a parabolic-shaped housing that encapsulates the bulb on the Edge’s arc. This saves fuel and provides much smoother navigation.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have reached this milestone as it brings us that much closer to welcoming our guests on board to enjoy their own” Journey WonderFULLSM,’ on Celebrity Beyond,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. “Beyond showed why there’s so much more to her than her looks. Like her sister ships – Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Edge – she went above and beyond to demonstrate she was ready.
Celebrity Beyond Significantly Longer Than Sisters
Celebrity Beyond has seen significant innovations compared to Celebrity benefitwhich debuted in 2018, and Celebrity Summitin 2020. As well as being 21 meters (63 ft) longer than her sisters, she also weighs 10,000 gross tons more at 140,600 gross tons, compared to 130,818 for Celebrity benefit. In addition, the interior spaces have been redesigned and considerably enlarged.
On her maiden voyage, departing Southampton, UK on April 27, the ship will sail a 10-night Western Europe cruise visiting Bordeaux, France; Lisbon, Portugal; and Seville, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona, Spain.
After her maiden voyage, Celebrity Beyond will sail a series of Mediterranean cruises for her inaugural season, including nine-night Italian Riviera and France itineraries and 10-night cruises around the Greek islands until early October, when ‘She’ll be heading to the Caribbean.
