Production Begins on Second Ship for Celebrity

Richard Fain, CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is pushing the button of the plasma torch.

Meyer Werft launched the production of the first steel plate for the second new giant passenger cruise vessel Celebrity Equinox for the cruise operator Celebrity Cruises (Miami). Richard Fain, CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., pushed the button of the fully automated plasma torch. The first ship of the Celebrity Solstice class – Celebrity Solstice - will be delivered to Celebrity Cruises, an affiliated company of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., in the autumn of 2008. This new and extremely energy-saving ship for Celebrity has a length overall of 315 m, is 36.8 m wide and gross tonnage of 122,000.

A total of four ships will be built, each offering space for accommodating 2,850 passengers in 1,425 cabins. All standard cabins will be more spacious than they are on average in the industry. More than 90 % are outside cabins, again 90% of which have their own balconies. The ships will be equipped with diesel engines and pod propulsion systems; the overall engine output will be 67,200 kWh (approx 91,400 hp).