Celebrity Cruises` new ship Celebrity Flora will debut in one and half months which is designed for the sail in the Galapagos islands and built in the name of environmental sustainability.
Aiming at protecting the archipelago, the company announced three exclusive partnerships for this new eco-friendly ship: a world-renowned environmentalist as the godmother, a visionary designer for the on-board environment, and a prestigious university specializing in marine and atmospheric sciences. “Every partner is helping to shape a better future for our planet,” explained Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. “They are accentuating the work we have done with other partners, such as Francesca Bucci from BG Studio International which is a New York City design company responsible for the design of the ship and Ellen Prager who is a world-renowned marine scientist and expert in Galapagos and developed a science-based programming for Celebrity Flora.”
The first sailing of Celebrity Flora will be on June 30, 2019. The ship will sail from Baltra (San Cristobal Island) all year round. The classic 7-night cruise travel is well-scheduled to the alternative loop of the islands, internal or external. And there are also packages of 10, 11 and 16 nights available including pre- or post-cruise expeditions.
Among the units of its category, Celebrity Flora is one of the most energy efficient ship and the first ship designed specifically for the Galapagos. It can accommodate 100 guests and the “exterior” design gives the guests a 360-degree view of the islands.
On board there are only suites (50% are Sky Suite type with Infinite Veranda), a wide gastronomic choice with refined restaurants, an open-air observation platform, ecological seminars led by experts and shore excursions with the custom-built Novurania tenders for Celebrity Flora.
Celebrity Flora’s Environmental Partnerships
The godmother of the ship will be Yolanda Kakabadse. As an environmental leader and a supporter of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation, she is also a former Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Ecuador and a former president of both the International Union for Conservation of Nature and WWF International.
For the design of the first ship for Galapagos, Celebrity has entrusted someone with a personal connection to the islands: Ecuadorian Adriana Hoyos, a famous interior and furniture designer, who draws inspiration from travel and prefers sustainable materials.
Located at the intersection of five ocean currents, the Galapagos Islands are famous for biodiversity and are still the subject for study. Equipped with state-of-the-art oceanographic equipment called Oceanscope, the company has made Celebrity Flora the first ship to sail in the archipelago combining exploration and research. The program is based on a more than twenty-year relationship with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami to offer a way for scientists to collect and measure the dynamics of ocean circulation with the constant itinerary of the ship.
The system will track and map the region by measuring sea surface temperatures and collecting data to predict El Niño and La Niña, which are oceanic phenomena that affect the weather and the earth’s climate. All data collected by Celebrity Flora will be open and accessible worldwide for research, which is an absolute novelty for scientists and anyone who is passionate for the information. “The repeated itineraries of Celebrity Flora in the Galapagos archipelago will not only provide essential data to understand the dynamics that has created and maintains the unique system of the islands, but will provide an invaluable contribution to the understanding of global climate effects and on the regional ocean acidification in the eastern equatorial Pacific area,” explained Peter B. Ortner, a researcher from University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
