An Overview of Celebrity Cruises 

The Greek island of Chios, the third sunniest place in all of Greece, is famous for it's nautical heritage. Many of Greece's great shipping dynasties hail from there. It is also the place were John D. Chandris, founding father of the Chandris Group of companies comes from. It is where he grew up as a boy and learned the skills of operating ships. He acquired his first ship, the sailing ship Demetrius, in 1915, shortly after moving to Piraeus.

 

When John D. Chandris died in 1942, his company was passed on to his children and, subsequently, to his grandchildren. Chandris Cruises became a company in 1959, which also launched Chandris into the vacation cruise business. Chandris pioneered the concept of fly-cruising in the Mediterranean, and as the fleet grew, moved to other areas, including the Baltic, Scandinavia, and the Caribbean. In the early 80's the family-run company became Chandris Fantasy Cruises, which catered to mostly the "value" market. In 1989, Chandris made the decision to expand into the "Premium" cruise market with a brand new cruise line called Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity had a fleet of three ships by 1992, the refitted Meridian, the 45,000 ton Horizon and finally the Zenith.

 

The Celebrity ships are easily identified by the big "X" on the smoke stacks, which is actually the letters "CH" for Chandris, in the Greek language. Celebrity Cruises has grown at an unpresidented rate, and has made a big splash in the cruise industry. The Celebrity ships have become known for offering the best dining experience within the cruise industry. Celebrity has truly carved out a fine niche within the Premium market and offers a wonderful, "upscale" cruise experience. The service by the European staff is very polished, the entertainment is grand and the dining is extraordinary. Several years ago, Celebrity Cruises sold their first "Celebrity" ship the Meridian, the refurbished Galileo originally built in 1963, and now manages all new vessels.

 

On January 1st, 1998, Royal Caribbean International purchased Celebrity Cruises, and although both cruise lines are marketed as two distinct brand names, they are in essence one company. Celebrity launched a brand new ship for the year 2000 appropriately called the "Millennium". The one thing that can be said of Celebrity Cruises is that they are an innovative company that continually strives to produce a cruise product with the most unique features, like a cigar lounge where passengers can enjoy a hand-rolled cigar, made right on the ship.