"This is yet another significant milestone in the rapid growth and evolution of the Celebrity brand, as Celebrity Solstice - our first in a series of five spectacular Solstice-class ships - officially enters service," said Celebrity's President & CEO Dan Hanrahan. "We hope our guests on this sailing are as elated with the extraordinary service, design, dining and entertainment as preliminary trade and press response would indicate."

Among the many accolades the ship has already received:

* The "wow" factor: Some have it; others don't. And I'm not talking about fashionable celebrities here. Well, yes I am. Celebrity Cruises, that is. As a veteran of more than 50 cruises, I'm not easily dazzled. But one spin around the decks of the 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice had me saying 'wow.'" - Harry Shattuck, Houston Chronicle
* My own view - and one widely held by other cruise writers and travel agents on board: The hype is justified. Solstice is, simply, one of the most comfortably stylish ships on the seas. It's a premium ship - that's to say, it aims at upscale ambiance, dining and service, but without the super-high price of true luxury cruising. And it hits the mark." - Jane Wooldridge, Miami Herald "Celebrity Solstice breaks the mold in every conceivable way." - Ralph Grizzle, Avidcruiser.com
* First impressions of the ship? In a word, 'wow!' The design of the ship is exquisite, with space after space that makes you gasp with surprise and amazement." - Gene Sloan, USA Today
* The chatter is unbelievable. I can't remember a time when a group of executives in retail companies sat around and talked about a ship like this." - Mike Drever, president and CEO of Expedia CruiseShipCenters, quoted by Johanna Jainchill in Travel Weekly
* Travel agents at Travel Trade's 25th Annual Leisure Travel Conference were among the first agents to inspect the Solstice, and the new ship got rave reviews. One agent told Travel Trade that he has been in the business for 40 years, and the Solstice is 'the best hardware that I have seen.'" - Travel Trade
* Mainly, agents gushed about the style, space and imaginative details of the line's first post-Panamax ship. 'The ship is fabulous,' enthused Bob Newman of The Cruise Brothers, pointing to 'all the open spaces ... It feels open and bright.' 'Everywhere you look there's something that charms the eye,' said Jo Kling of Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services." - Anne Kalosh, Seatrade Insider

Celebrity Solstice presents 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale until April 2009, with visits to San Juan, St. Maarten, Tortola, Haiti, and St. Kitts, depending on the itinerary. Celebrity Solstice sets sail on a transatlantic voyage from Fort Lauderdale April 19, 2009, ending in Rome, where the ship will offer a series of roundtrip 10- and 11-night Eastern Mediterranean sailings. Celebrity Solstice will be one of five Celebrity ships presenting enchanting Mediterranean and Northern Europe cruise vacations in 2009.

Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale cruise experiences with highly personalized service, exceptional dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Celebrity sails in Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal and South America. The line also offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Australia, Canada, Europe and South America. Noted for four of the top 10 "Top Cruise Ships in the World" in the large-ship category, as voted by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler (February 2008 readers' poll), Celebrity's fleet - including the new Celebrity Solstice - will be joined by Celebrity Equinox in 2009, Celebrity Eclipse in 2010, a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011, and a fifth in 2012. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111.