Celebrity Cruises joined the list of major cruise companies planning to restart operations in Europe in the coming months.
On Thursday, March 25, the Royal Caribbean-owned brand announced it would resume Eastern Mediterranean cruises in June with a single ship homeported in Piraeus-Athens, Greece.
Celebrity's newest cruise liner - the 2900-passenger Celebrity Apex, would offer two 7-night itineraries from Athens starting on June 19, 2021:
- "Greek Islands and Cyprus" itinerary visits Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Cyprus (Limassol).
- "Greek Islands and Israel" itinerary visits Santorini, Rhodes, Haifa Israel (port to Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem).
Celebrity said the unique for the brand voyages would be open to travelers from any country, including the USA.
Adults will be required to be fully COVID vaccinated. Kids under the age of 18 will be able to sail with proof of a negative COVID test. All crew members will also be required to have COVID-19 vaccination to work onboard. The line suggested restrictions could evolve over time.
The newly announced voyages will be the first-ever for Celebrity Apex. The newbuild was completed more than a year ago but has yet to cruise with paying passengers because of the coronavirus crisis.
Passengers will have to meet additional requirements imposed by the government of Greece, which currently includes a negative PCR test for COVID taken 72-hours before arrival in the country.
Bookings open on March 30.