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The main concept of Celebrity Cruises is to offer almost deluxe cruises at more affordable prices (something impossible at first sight), but the company has turned this concept into winning formula throughout the past seven-eight years. The cruise line introduced a new generation of cruise ships, representing classic cruising, updated for contemporary life style. Royal Caribbean International acquired Celebrity Cruises in 1997, but Celebrity Cruises continues to operate as a separate brand. The cruise line introduced a new generation of cruise ships, representing classic cruising, updated for contemporary life style. Celebrity Cruises was the brainchild of John Chandris of the renowned Greek shipping family, who created the cruise line in 1989, promising he would "exceed expectations." He accomplished his goal by offering much higher standards of food and service than cruisers were accustomed to in a mid-price cruise experience. In addition to the smaller Horizon and Zenith ships, Chandris ordered three new stunning cruise ships in the mid 1990's, Celebrity Century, Celebrity Galaxy and Celebrity Mercury. They were the first mid-price cruise ships to boast suites with butlers, the largest spas at sea, an extensive collection of private art, large staterooms in all categories and sophisticated touches such as a piano lounge, champagne and martini bars.
Acquired by Royal Caribbean International in 1997, Celebrity Cruises has retained its own identity, with food and service maintained at high levels. Celebrity Cruises has launched Celebrity Constellation, along with her sister-ships Celebrity Summit and Celebrity Infinity, followed by a larger quintet, the Solstice class - Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection. The latter entered service in 2012. The goal is ambitious: the company is introducing a series of enhancements that it hopes will position Celebrity Cruises as a legitimate Crystal Cruises competitor, albeit with a younger passenger demographic.
Celebrity Cruises, with the launch in 2004 of its Xpedition sub-brand, is also moving into an intriguing new direction. Aiming to offer its upmarket, active passenger base a new option, the cruise line is featuring more unusual cruise experiences. At this point, the major thrust focuses on the Galapagos, where Celebrity has become the only big ship cruise line to offer year-round sailings. But wait: you won't find Millennium or Galaxy (or even Horizon or Zenith) trawling these small ship waters. Instead, the company has acquired the former Sun Bay I, a 2,329-ton 98-passenger cruise ship, and transformed it into Celebrity Xpedition. The aim? To combine the line's big stylishness with more adventure-oriented destinations. The company is planning to expand the concept to include cruises to Antarctica, the Arctic and Alaska via a former Soviet icebreaker it will charter from Quark Expeditions, an adventure cruise specialist.
One of the good cruise lines to work for, it offers competitive salaries and fairness to it's employees.