Celebrity Cruises Buys Two Vessels for Galápagos Fleet

Celebrity Cruises, a part of the Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises, said it will buy the Galápagos Islands tour operator Ocean Adventures and its two ships, the 48-guest ship MV Eclipse and the 16-guest catamaran MC Athala II, increasing Celebrity’s guest capacity in the Galápagos by 65 percent.

Ocean Adventures’ 64 permits will grow the Galápagos fleet capacity for Celebrity, which has operated the 100-guest Celebrity Xpedition for more than a decade.

The company expects that the new vessels would expand its offer of regular cruises, group bookings and custom charters, as well its list of destinations.

The two vessels will join the Celebrity Cruises fleet in the spring of 2016, pending the closing of the acquisition deal.

Until a January 2017 drydock, the ships are scheduled to sail as part of the company’s fleet.

“The MV Eclipse and MC Athala II are the best vessels in their class and we are delighted that both ships will continue to deliver an unequalled level of service and experience to guests,” Ben Dod, President of Ocean Adventures, said.