Celebrity Cruises Is Building a Lux New Ship to Sail the Galapagos

The Galapagos Islands are teeming with wildlife and history, but Lisa Lutoff-Perlo thought something was missing: A high-end, purpose-built ship from which to see all those finches, tortoises, and sea lions. The Celebrity Cruises president and CEO announced Thursday that her cruise line is filling that void. Celebrity, part of Royal Caribbean Cruises, is building a new 100-passenger vessel to be based permanently in the volcanic archipelago. Celebrity Flora is set to start sailing in late May of 2019; the company did not reveal how much it will cost to build. "Tourism is very limited and so as we think about Celebrity's portfolio of offerings around the world, the Galapagos — while it's small — is really strategically important to us," Lutoff-Perlo told Skit in an interview. "It is a place that's highly desirable and it is a plac