Celebrity Cruises has announced that it will ‘homeport’ in Dublin next year and in 2019, as it caters for growing cruise holiday demand.

With five turnarounds in Dublin Port, the cruise liner’s newest ship ‘Celebrity Reflection’ will call Dublin home from May to June 2019. Another of its ships, ‘Celebrity Eclipse’, will arrive in Dublin Port in April 2018, also offering a mini-season of five sailings.

Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line that has been in operation since 1988 and is one of six cruise brands operated by Royal Caribbean Cruises. It currently has 12 ships in its fleet.

Celebrity Cruises will base the 3,030-guest Celebrity Reflection in Dublin in early summer 2019 offering a series of sailing packages from eight to 12 nights. Cruises will sail to Iceland, destinations throughout Ireland, the Norwegian Fjords and around the British Isles.

Celebrity Reflection launched in 2012. The ship features a real grass lawn on the top deck, as well as private cabanas and a unique two-bedroomed suite with a shower cantilevered out above the ocean.

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Lorraine Quinn, head of sales (Ireland) with Celebrity Cruises, said that sailings starting in Ireland from Dublin Port have been popular with guests from around the world.

“We are really pleased with the performance of the 2018 season for Celebrity Eclipse, and our 2019 deployment of a slightly larger ship in Celebrity Reflection to Dublin sees an increase in the number of people who will sail from this great city,” she added.

“Confirming our ongoing commitment to Ireland is a huge thank you to those who have aided Celebrity Cruises in becoming the first major cruise line to base a cruise ship in Dublin. I can’t wait to be part of the huge welcome that our guests will receive in 2018, 2019 and beyond.”

Pat Ward, head of corporate services, Dublin Port Company, added that the Celebrity Cruises decision to choose Dublin as the homeport for 2019 was a welcome one.

“Celebrity Reflection, measuring 319m long and boasting 14 decks, will be one of the most impressive cruise ships to arrive into Dublin Port. We are already on track for a record year in 2018, and with work on our Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project having commenced, the future of cruise tourism to the capital is now secure.”