Celebrity Eclipse, the first Celebrity Cruises ship to be based from Southampton for a summer season will be arriving in the city earlier than planned in April 2010 and is introducing an additional three-night taster cruise to its schedule.

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises announced the winners of their annual environmental awards. For Royal Caribbean, Liberty of the Seas was selected as both the Environmental Ship of the Year and the Environmentally Innovative Ship of the Year. For Celebrity Cruises, the Celebrity Mercury was selected as the Environmental Ship of the Year, and the Celebrity Infinity was selected as the Environmentally Innovative Ship of the Year.

Celebrity Cruises Nina Barough CBE, founder of the UK-based charity, ‘Walk the Walk,’ served as Godmother of Celebrity Equinox, the second in Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice Class fleet.

When some people think of passengers on cruise ship, they conjure up a picture in their heads of blue rinse old ladies or maybe their grandparents settling into a deckchair. However the latest vessel by Celebrity Cruises, the Equinox is starting to attract the attention of the 30s to 40s age bracket according to their president, Dan Hanrahan. He suggests that it may be due to the much styled design aboard the ship.

The ship, with its distinctive shape, livery and two funnels, is the latest in a new generation of vessels, purpose built in Germany for Celebrity Cruises, which for the past 20 years has been at the forefront of marine conservation with its Save the Waves campaign. The second Solstice class vessel to enter service, Celebrity Equinox incorporates highly specialist systems ensuring the luxury cruise ship leaves only a green wake on the oceans of the world.

Celebrity Cruises’ newest ship, Celebrity Equinox, has arrived in Southampton ahead of almost two weeks of inaugural celebrations.