Celebrity Eclipse - the new £500 million cruiseship from Celebrity Cruises - will set sail from Southampton this evening (April 20) on a rescue mission to collect stranded UK holidaymakers from Bilbao, Spain.

“This summer will be the first time Celebrity Cruises has based a new cruise ship from Southampton and it is a fitting celebration to ensure that the whole of Southampton has the chance to be included in the party. The little tasters of life onboard available in Mayflower Park will hopefully increase the excitement and show that Celebrity Eclipse really is a unique experience for our guests and a wonderful ship to be based in Southampton.”

Celebrity Cruises’ summer 2011 destination line-up for the summer sees all four of its Solstice-class ships – including Celebrity Silhouette, which will set sail next year – in Europe at the same time, for the first time.

To ensure their guests won’t miss a minute of the action while on holiday, Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International have obtained rights to air all games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa while at sea in international waters on every ship across the three fleets.

Celebrity Cruises is putting the UK at the centre of its international growth plans following the announcement that Celebrity Eclipse will return to Southampton for a second summer in 2011 and sailings for the season went on sale on 18 March.

The third of five in Celebrity Cruises’ stylish, $3.7-billion Solstice Class fleet, Celebrity Eclipse today made her first departure from the innovative Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, to embark on what is very likely to be the most challenging ride of her life: an event known as the “conveyance.”