Celebrity Cruises on Thursday celebrated the coin ceremony for Celebrity Ascent, the fourth ship in its groundbreaking Edge series.
Placing the coin in this time-honoured maritime ceremony were Jason Liberty, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, the parent company of Celebrity Cruises; and Laurent Castaing, General Manager of Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
Workers at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard welded a ceremonial coin to a massive steel docking block forming the ship’s keel.
This officially marked the beginning of construction on the fourth ship in the Celebrity Cruises Edge Series – Celebrity Ascent. The laying of the coin is thought to bless and bring good fortune to the ship.
Liberty said: “Today, we celebrate the incredible Celebrity Ascent, a ship name that fittingly represents the climb, the rise and, ultimately, the upward trajectory of both Celebrity Cruises and the Royal Caribbean Group.
“It’s exciting to have our entire fleet back in the water, again, and moments like this reaffirm our bright future. We are grateful to all who have and will continue to lend their creativity and craftsmanship to this ship, as we work together to reach new heights in our industry.”
Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said: “Bringing another magnificent Celebrity Edge Series ship to life is absolutely thrilling for me and another wonderFULL development for our guests.
“While exploring the wonders of the world, our guests will be surrounded by the wonders of our Celebrity world – forward-thinking design, culinary excellence, thoughtful well-being experiences, and our uniquely intuitive service. Celebrity Ascent will be the epitome of a relaxed luxury resort at sea.”
Castaing said: “This new ship will be another great success in the continuity of the previous ships of the Celebrity Class built at Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
“We know our respective teams have been giving each other enough proofs of mutual confidence so that they can work smoothly on this new project.”
Standing at 17 decks tall and 20 metres longer than the original Celebrity Edge, Ascent will also feature more space and more luxury onboard.
Celebrity Ascent will debut in Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades on 3rd December 2023 for her inaugural Caribbean season of alternating 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
Bookings are now open at https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/cruise-ships/celebrity-ascent/itineraries.
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