Celebrity Cruises hosted yesterday the naming ceremony for its brand new 117,000 gross ton cruise ship, Celebrity Edge.
The vessel was named by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, a twenty-one-year old Pakistani activist, and the co-founder of Malala Fund , which campaigns for education of girls all around the world.
Malala set up the fund after being shot by a Taliban masked gunman in October 2012, while on her way home from school, for advocating for girls to go to school.
Celebrity Cruises has partnered up with Malala Fund to support its mission to facilitate 130 million school girls around the world who are out of school to get the 12 years of free, safe and quality education.
“Malala embodies our commitment to opening the world through education and gender equality. Seeing her aboard our ship sends a powerful message to our crew who represent over 70 diverse nationalities, and our guests who we sail all over the world,” Celebrity’s President and CEO, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, said.
Celebrity Edge, with 1,377 crew members from 72 different countries, departed from Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazzaire, France, on November 6, heading for T25 at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to prepare for its maiden voyage.
The ship is 300 meters long, 38 meters wide and has the capability to carry 2,900 guests in 1,450 staterooms.
One of the notable features of the ship is the so-called Magic Carpet, a 90-ton movable platform that is cantilevered over its side. This floating platform reaches a height of 13 stories above sea level. The ship also features a rooftop garden, dubbed the Eden.
Celebrity Edge will begin its inaugural season sailing alternating seven-night eastern and western Caribbean itineraries before heading for the Mediterranean in 2019. Sailing round-trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Celebrity Edge will set sail on its maiden voyage on December 9, 2018.