The coin-laying ceremony and keel-laying of Celebrity Cruises' third "Edge" series ship, Celebrity Beyond, took place at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France, and is expected to enter service in spring 2022.
Celebrity Cruises chose a coin from the American Innovation dollar series for this occasion. The coin was minted to honor Annie Jump Cannon, the daughter of an American shipbuilder, a suffragist, and a pioneering astronomer credited with developing the modern star classification system. Tobias King, Celebrity Cruises' project director, and Sébastien Le Boulluec, Edge Class project director, placed the commemorative coin on the ship's keel as a symbol of good luck.
“In a year that has continually tested the resilience of our industry, it is encouraging that we are making progress on the construction of Celebrity Beyond,” said Richard Fain, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. “This indicates that as we prepare to return to business, we are doing so with confidence and optimism.”.”
On the occasion, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, commented: “Celebrity Beyond joins the series of ships that are already incredibly innovative and transformative for our brand and for the industry. I thank all my amazing colleagues and our incredible shipyard partners for bringing us one step closer to the life of Celebrity Beyond.” She added: “We have some special surprises planned with Celebrity Beyond that I can’t wait to share.”.
The first ship in the series, the Celebrity Edge, was included in TIME magazine's 2019 list of the World's Greatest Places for its design and innovations; the second, the Celebrity Apex, delivered earlier this year, is positioned in South Florida, preparing for its entry into service.
