Celebrity Eclipse Swaps Launch Celebrations to Help Stranded Travellers

New cruise ship Celebrity Eclipse has cancelled the first leg of her launch celebrations - scheduled to begin on 22 April 2010 - in order to assist travelers trying to return to the UK.

Celebrity Eclipse is scheduled to arrive in Bilbao, Spain, in the early hours of Thursday, 22 April 2010. Stranded travelers will join the ship throughout Thursday morning before the ship returns to Southampton, arriving late Friday evening. This sailing will replace the activities planned during the two-night, round-trip launch celebration cruise from Southampton.

On her new operation, Celebrity Eclipse will collect the delayed vacationers - some delayed by up to seven days - who were on package holidays with major U.K. tour operators. Over 2,000 travellers are currently expected to join Celebrity Eclipse in Bilbao.

"The events affecting air travel are completely unprecedented, and it is in times like these that the global travel industry needs to pull together," said Richard D. Fain, chairman of Celebrity Cruises and chairman and CEO of its parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "Collecting stranded British and Irish vacationers is a fitting first mission for new ship Celebrity Eclipse - what better way for a ship dedicated to the U.K. to mark her arrival?"

The naming celebrations for Celebrity Eclipse are planned to go ahead unchanged, and she will be named by Hampshire yachtswoman and breast cancer survivor Emma Pontin late afternoon on Saturday, 24 April 2010.

Celebrity Cruises said it is working to accommodate guests who were originally scheduled to join the two-night launch celebration sailing on 22 April so they may now attend the two-night naming celebration cruise on  24 April.

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