The corona crisis forces companies to come up with creative solutions. Celebrity Cruises has had to take virtual delivery of its new cruise ship, the Celebrity Apex. Official command of the vessel was accepted via video conference with officials from Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard.
In keeping with tradition, Captain Dimitris Kafetzis ordered the exchange of the French and American flags, while each country’s national anthem played in the background. The Celebrity Apex is the second ship in the cruise line’s Edge Series.
‘Every delivery is unique just as every ship is unique. While the circumstances are quite unique right now, it’s fitting that such an innovative ship as Celebrity Apex would have a digital-age delivery,’ says Lisa Lutoff Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. ‘I look forward to calmer waters when we can welcome guests aboard the newest addition to our beautiful fleet.’
The ship’s first cruise is planned for 20 May out of Barcelona, but it remains to be seen whether the ship will indeed set sail by them. This of course depends on how the corona situation will develop.