Celebrity Apex Arrives at Fort Lauderdale Homeport

Here’s some sorely needed good news from the beleaguered cruise industry. Celebrity Cruises welcomed its new ship, the 3,405-passenger, 130,000-gross-ton Celebrity Apex, home to Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 19.

A sister to the ground-breaking Celebrity Edge, the ship was handed over to the cruise line during a virtual ceremony earlier this year.

The Celebrity Apex was originally scheduled to be christened on March 30 in Southampton, U.K., but it was postponed due to the pandemic until it arrived in Fort Lauderdale. It is unclear when that ceremony will take place now.

The ship was visible at https://www.ftlauderdalewebcam.com/.

Celebrity Apex was built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France. As it made its way across the Atlantic, it was greeted near the Bahamas by five fleetmates, which “danced” in celebration.

Celebrity Apex has many of the features on Celebrity Edge, such as the Magic Carpet lounge that glides up and down the ship’s exterior side, two-story Edge Villas with private terraces and plunge pools and 29 restaurants and bars.

The Celebrity Apex was scheduled to operate week-long Caribbean sailings this winter, but that remains uncertain until cruising does resume.