Celebrity Takes Delivery of New, Galapagos-Bound Celebrity Flora

Celebrity Cruises has taken delivery of its new, Galapagos-bound ship, the Celebrity Flora. The ship, which was specially designed for cruising in the Galapagos Islands, will now begin a transatlantic crossing to its new home. 

To honor the occasion, Celebrity parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain hosted a ceremony onboard the new ship while it was docked in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, joined by company and shipyard executives, as well as more than 70 crew members, many of whom are Ecuadorian natives. 

Incorporating a number of features designed to improve energy efficiency and sustainability, the 100-guest Celebrity Flora was designed specifically to explore the Galapagos, with an outward-facing design concept affording guests 360-degree views of the islands. Accommodations are all-suite, and 50 percent of the suites are the line’s Sky Suites with Infinite Verandah, which also offer service by personal attendants. Other unique amenities onboard are  a glamping experience at sea, new dining venues, an open-air stargazing platform, expert-led ecological seminars, and custom-designed Novurania yacht tenders.

The ship will sail with a 1:9 certified naturalist to guest ratio, which Celebrity says is the highest in the Galapagos. The ship will also sail with Oceanscope, oceanographic research equipment operated in partnership with the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science that benefits from a cruise ship’s consistent itinerary to create a perfect and cost-effective way for scientists to gather and measure ocean circulation dynamics. The system will track and map the region while measuring sea-surface temperatures and gathering data critical to research prediction of El Niño and La Niña. All findings gathered by Celebrity Flora will become open source data, globally accessible to research. Guests will also be able to view this data through real-time visualizations onboard the ship. 

Celebrity Flora will sail from Baltra year-round, making its first sailing June 30. 

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