Celebrity Ascent Completes Sea Trials with Brother Captains at the Helm

Captain Demetrios Kafetzis and Captain Tasos Kafetzis mark final milestone on the journey to ship’s November delivery.

Celebrity Cruises’ announced today that its newest ship, Celebrity Ascent, lived up to its name, reaching the pinnacle of its construction milestones with the successful completion of its first open ocean sailing. During the traditional shipbuilding process known as sea trials, Celebrity Ascent completed a series of manoeuvrability skills designed to test the ship’s functional and operational capabilities, which she passed with flying colours.  

The ship’s brother captains, Demetrios and Tasos Kafetzis, were at the helm to oversee the intricate tests conducted in the Bay of Biscay near the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France where Celebrity Ascent has been under construction. In addition, nearly 200 crew members were onboard to test the ship’s equipment from bow to stern.

Celebrity Ascent offers guests all the design features and onboard amenities that travellers love on the first three Edge Series ships, Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex, and Celebrity Beyond, and then raises the bar with newly designed restaurants and culinary experiences, reimagined entertainment venues, and more.

Sailing from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, Celebrity Ascent offers a special 4-Night Western Caribbean preview voyage on 22 November, 2023, followed by another special 3-Night Bahamas preview getaway on 26 November, 2023. A celebratory 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Maiden Voyage departs the South Florida port on 3 December, 2023, kicking off the ship’s inaugural Caribbean season featuring 7-night itineraries rotating between such popular Eastern and Western Caribbean destinations as the Bahamas, Mexico and Grand Cayman; and San Juan, Tortola and St. Kitts, respectively. Then, Celebrity Ascent heads to the Mediterranean for a spectacular 2024 summer season of sailings including a 9-Night Italian Riviera and France itinerary; and the 12-Night Best of Greece and Italy itinerary.