FST: ST36334 · CST: 2034468-40 · NST: 2003-0221 · IC FST: ST36826

The new Celebrity Solstice is scheduled to sail into Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale today.Ideal viewing platforms include Fort Lauderdale Beach and surroundings, while residents with waterfront condominiums can enjoy a bird’s-eye view.

Celebrity Solstice upon arrival will be fully “dressed” with vibrant flags flying above its industry-first half-acre Lawn Club, Hot Glass Show, and one of the highest percentages of verandas in the business, not to mention the wealth of attributes found inside the sleek, 122,000-ton ship.

Soon after its arrival, Celebrity Solstice will serve as the perfect platform for Celebrity Cruises’ first Global Sales Meeting, followed by a series of exclusive, two-night preview cruises for invited travel agents, press and other dignitaries. Travel agents attending Travel Trade’s 25th Annual Leisure Travel Conference in Miami, Nov. 15-17, will be among the first to see the Solstice during the conference’s sold-out ship inspections.

Celebrity Solstice will be named in formal ceremonies on Nov. 14, and will embark on its inaugural season Nov. 23, on a series of seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale. In spring 2009, the will introduce a series of romantic 10- and 11-night Mediterranean sailings roundtrip from Rome.

Celebrity Cruises has launched a new shopping program that is open for business 24 hours a day. Shop Celebrity is an online portal that allows consumers and travel agents to order items for delivery either onboard or at home. Shop Celebrity also includes the launch of Celebrity’s new amenity program, Gifts by Celebrity. Shop Celebrity offers a range of Celebrity logo items and apparel, gifts and memorabilia, as well as culinary treats, spirits, wine and soda. Within the portal, consumers and travel agents also have the opportunity to order from partner websites — LeapFrog School, timetospa, and Celebrity Vineyards, which includes products by Riedel Crystal, the renowned manufacturer of wine glasses that offers comparative wine workshops on Celebrity’s ships.

“Based on feedback from our guests and travel agent partners, as well as the growing popularity of online shopping in today’s marketplace, we wanted to create a virtual experience reflective of the bricks-and-mortar shopping experience that we offer on our ships,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Celebrity’s vice president of hotel operations and onboard revenue. Shop Celebrity includes a new amenities program named Gifts by Celebrity, which is comprised of three categories. Shop Aboard allows consumers or travel agents to purchase items to be delivered onboard during a particular sailing. Travel agents are eligible for a 10 percent discount when placing orders by phone, and will soon have access to an agents-only website that will offer the same discount. The discount applies exclusively to gifts that the travel agents are buying for their clients who are sailing with Celebrity. Shop Ashore allows for the purchase of items to be delivered to guests’ homes or offices before or after a cruise. And Group Gifts by Celebrity offers items that can be ordered for delivery to affinity and incentive groups before, during or after a cruise. Groups also have the opportunity to add their logo to certain items that include the Celebrity logo. A volume discount is available online.