Celebrity Cruises officially took delivery of its fourth Edge series vessel, Celebrity Ascent, during a handover ceremony at Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St Nazaire, France.

It comes ahead of Ascent’s official debut in Fort Lauderdale on 3 December with a seven-night Eastern Caribbean sailing calling at destinations such as St Maarten, St Thomas and the Dominican Republic.

Welcoming the ship to the Celebrity Cruises fleet were Royal Caribbean Group president and CEO Jason Liberty, Celebrity Cruises president Laura Hodges-Bethge and Chantiers de l’Atlantique general manager Laurent Castaing.

Captains Dimitrios Kafetzis and Tasos Kafetzis, the first brother captains to take a new ship from the shipyard, were also in attendance along with 1,400 Ascent crew members.

To mark the occasion, they participated in several maritime traditions including the signing ceremony and the changing of flags on board the ship, along with a celebratory toast in the ship’s three-story Grand Plaza.

Ascent to ‘redefine Celebrity’s premium offering’

“Celebrity Ascent is yet another example of innovation driving our mission to provide the best vacations responsibly,” said Liberty. “The ship continues Celebrity’s ambition to redefine premium travel and take it to new heights.

“I want to thank and congratulate the Chantiers de l’Atlantique team, our newbuild and Celebrity Cruises’ teams and their partners for the vision, craftsmanship and passion that went into bringing this spectacular ship to life.”

It comes after the line revealed the fifth vessel in its Edge series will be called Celebrity Excel.