Celebrity Cruises is to take delivery of new ship Celebrity Edge almost a month earlier than originally planned.
The ship is expected to be completed ahead of schedule and enter service with four special short cruises.
The line is also scheduling two seven-night maiden voyages in the Caribbean rather than one as first planned as part of an expanded inaugural season.
Celebrity Edge will homeport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, making its first sailing on November 21, 2018. This will be one of four new three-day preview sailings to the Bahamas which will also run on November 24, December 3 and December 6.
The first seven-night inaugural voyage departs to the western Caribbean on December 9, followed by a previously announced seven-night eastern Caribbean cruise leaving on December 16.
Celebrity Cruises’ president and chief executive Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said: “Thanks to the amazing work of the STX France shipyard team, the industry-changing Celebrity Edge is now scheduled to arrive much earlier than anticipated, which gave us the opportunity to offer not one, but two maiden voyages.
“Both of these maiden voyages, plus the taste of luxury preview sailings, will have all of the festivities one would expect from the launch of such a revolutionary new ship, and now even more guests will have the chance to experience these one-of-a-kind inaugural sailings.”
Celebrity Edge will be joined by three sister ships in 2020, 2021 and 2022.