Wed 10 Dec 2008, 09:19 GMT

Solar ship in green initiative


Eco-event to cover energy-efficient attributes of solar cruise vessel.



Celebrity Cruises has launched an initiative to teach guests about the energy-efficient attributes of the industry's first ship to use solar energy, the Celebrity Solstice.

In partnership with leading conservation organization Conservation International, Celebrity Solstice features an exhibition named "Team Earth" designed to capture the interest and imagination of Celebrity guests through photography, museum-quality exhibits, and digital touch-screen displays.

Onboard Celebrity Solstice, guests will be able to see how Celebrity achieved the numerous energy-efficiencies that it did on Celebrity Solstice, and how similar efforts across the fleet are significantly minimizing every Celebrity ship's impact on the environment. Among those initiatives:

-- Celebrity Solstice is the industry's first ship to use solar energy, with 216 solar panels - enough to power all of the ship's guest elevators, or more than 7,000 LED lights.

-- Celebrity says the ship's hull was "designed explicitly with energy efficiency in mind, with every angle closely tested and examined to achieve optimal cruising speed, guest comfort, and fuel consumption."

-- On Celebrity Solstice, and across the fleet, a special silicon coating has been applied to the entire underwater area to reduce frictional resistance and trim fuel consumption. The coating also inhibits marine growth, such as barnacles and algae on the hull, and prevents a breakdown of paint chips into the ocean.

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 cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Australia, Canada, Europe and South America.

Celebrity's fleet will be joined by Celebrity Equinox in 2009, Celebrity Eclipse in 2010, a fourth Solstice-class ship in 2011, and a fifth in 2012.


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