| Celebrity cuts Ascent steel

CONSTRUCTION on Celebrity Cruises’ fourth Edge-class ship, Celebrity Ascent, is now under way, after a formal steel-cutting ceremony overnight at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St Nazaire, France.

The event was attended by Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo and outgoing Royal Caribbean Group CEO Richard Fain, who were joined on the podium (pictured) by Laurent Castaing, GM of Chantiers de l’Atlantique.

The vessel will be a sister ship to Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Beyond, and is expected to launch in early 2023.

Fain said Ascent’s name was “very apropos” as the industry rebounds, with the vessel set to “take the industry to new heights as it pushes the boundaries of what people can experience on a ship”.