Celebrity Cruises has revealed it will build a new luxury yacht that has been designed specifically to sail in the Galapagos Islands.
Celebrity Flora will have capacity for 100 guests, the maximum allowed in the destination famed for its flora and fauna, and has been designed to exceed environmental regulations for the Galapagos.
The vessel will built at the De Hoop shipyard in the Netherlands and will enter service on May 26 2019, five weeks after the line debuts the first of its new class of ocean ships Celebrity Edge.
Two seven-night itineraries out of Baltra, that will be operated year-round, have gone on sale today and agents will be offered a dedicated selling guide, a micro-site and training module on Cruising for Excellence.
Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and chief executive of the Royal Caribbean Cruises-owned premium brand, said the new all-inclusive product offers great earning opportunity for agents.
“By building a new ship for the Galapagos we have been able to build the most environmentally friendly ship that will operate in the region.
“We considered buying a ship but there was not much out there we would be interested in on the resell market and as we go through this revolution with Edge we wanted to create from scratch a modern Celebrity experience for the Galapagos.
“There is going to be nothing like this in the Galapagos. We have taken a timeless and organic approach to the design buying materials and features from local Equadorian manufacturers.
