Celebrity Apex Sets Sail on Inaugural Cruise

Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale played host to a special event today as Celebrity Cruises’ new ship Celebrity Apex kicked off its inaugural Caribbean season. After the official naming ceremony, the ship will begin sailing rotating Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries with calls on Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Belize, Grand Caymans and others. 

The ship’s naming ceremony was led by Godmother Reshma Saujani, the founder of the non-profit Girls Who Code and author of the bestselling book “Brave, Not Perfect.” She was joined on stage by Chairman and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group Richard Fain and Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. 

“We are elated to welcome Celebrity Apex to our family of magnificent vessels that push the boundaries of what’s possible on a cruise ship,” said Richard Fain. “As we welcome guests back to the seas aboard the newest Edge class ship, we are excited to deliver the very best vacation experience that is the hallmark of every Celebrity cruise.”   

We all had to wait a little longer to get on board thanks to the pandemic, as noted by Lisa Lutoff-Perlo in her comments, but the end result was well worth it.  

“Celebrating Celebrity Apex is certainly long overdue and it’s a day I have been waiting to celebrate for quite a long time – 581 days, to be exact. This stunning ship truly represents a new standard in new-luxury travel, and we can’t wait for our guests to finally experience it for themselves,” said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. “As we say in our new brand campaign, we know guests will not only, ‘Journey WonderFULL,’ aboard this beautiful ship, but that she will also be the industry’s most talked about new ship.”

Reshma Saujani and Girls Who Code 

Founded in 2012, Girls Who Code is a nonprofit with the goal of supporting and educating women in computer sciences so they have the skills they need to excel in a traditionally male-dominated sector. Celebrity chose Reshma Saujani as Apex‘s Godmother as the cruise line is also hard at work to reduce the gender gap at sea. The cruise line will also offer interactive beginner coding activities from the Girls Who Code curriculum as part of their onboard Camp at Sea program.

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“I can’t think of anyone better to serve as Godmother for this ship than the incredible Reshma Saujani,” said Lutoff-Perlo. “Reshma is a visionary, leading the charge to challenge stereotypes and inspire a whole new generation of girls and women to bravely pursue tech jobs; just as Celebrity is working to close the gender gap at sea, growing our percentage of women serving as bridge officers to 30 percent in an industry where the average is 2 percent. It is Reshma’s game-changing spirit that makes her the perfect Godmother for a game-changing ship like Celebrity Apex.”

For Saujani, helping get more women into positions of prominence and leadership is exactly what her nonprofit is all about. 

“It’s both thrilling and humbling to serve as the Godmother of Celebrity Apex,” said Saujani. “Similar to the mission of Girls Who Code, which is centered around closing the gender gap in tech, Celebrity is leading the way to create a more diverse future in the cruise industry. The brand’s commitment to the cause is clear not only through the leadership of its President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, but in its incorporation of on-board STEM programming. I can’t think of a more inspiring place to learn about the wonders of the maritime industry than on board Celebrity Apex and Girls Who Code is honored to help in this effort.”

Have you booked your cruise on Celebrity Apex yet?