Celebrity
Cruises was
founded in
April 1988
as a
subsidiary
of the
Greece-based
Chandris
Group to
operate
upmarket
cruise ships
to Bermuda.
Chandris had
been
involved in
cruise
traffic
since the
1960s, and
during the
late 1980s
they
operated in
the United
States
market under
the band
name
Chandris
Fantasy
Cruises.
Chandris
Fantasy
Cruises
mainly
catered for
the lower
end of the
market,
their fleets
consisting
of
second-hand
ocean
liners.
Celebrity
Cruises came
into
existence
when, in
April 1988
Home Lines,
at the time
one of the
world's
leading
premium
cruise
lines, was
sold to
Holland
America
Line. Home
Lines' ships
had held two
of the five
contracts
offered by
the
Government
of Bermuda
to cruise
lines,
giving the
ships
priority
berthing
arrangement
and
unlimited
access to
sail to the
islands in
exchange for
the ships
sailing to
Bermuda
between
April and
October each
year.
Although
these
contract
were highly
valued,
Holland
America Line
decided to
withdraw the
former Home
Lines ships
from this
service,
leaving an
opening for
two new
ships to
gain the
contract.
Chandris
wished to
gain these
contracts,
but the
Government
of Bermuda
was only
willing to
award them
to upmarket
cruise
lines, which
Chandris
Fantasy
Cruises was
not.
In order to
gain the
Bermuda
Government
contracts,
Chandris
created
Celebrity
Cruises and
immediately
begun
negotiating
with the
Bermuda
Government
in April
1988. As a
result of
the
negotiations
Celebrity
Cruises was
awarded the
contract for
two ships
for a
five-year
period from
1990
onwards.
In
order to
fulfill the
contract
Chandris
Fantasy
Cruises'
Galileo was
rebuilt at
Lloyd Werft,
Germany in
1989,
re-entering
service as
Meridian for
Celebrity
Cruises in
February
1990. As the
second ship
Horizon,
that had
been ordered
in 1988 as a
replacement
for
Amerikanis
in the
Chandris
Fantasy
fleet, was
transferred
to Celebrity
Cruises
fleet,
entering
service in
May 1990. In
late 1990
Celebrity
Cruises
placed an
order for a
sister ship
of the
Horizon,
delivered in
1992 as
Zenith.
