IT WILL be all change for Celebrity Cruises in Southampton when it switches ships sailing from the Hampshire port.

Celebrity have announced they are to home port its ship Celebrity Silhouette in Southampton from summer 2018.

The 122,000-tonne ship which carries more than 2,900 passengers will replace Celebrity Eclipse which has sailed from the Hampshire port for the last eight years.

Celebrity Silhouette is two years younger than her sister ship which will then transfer to travel routes from Dublin and Amsterdam. 

From Southampton, Celebrity Silhouette will offer seven 14 night Scandinavia and Russia sailings on three different itineraries and 14 night Mediterranean, Canaries and Azores, Iceland and Ireland sailings.

Main different features on Silhouette are The Alcoves, a selection of cabanas set on the on the top deck lawn, a feature of all – class ships in the Celebrity fleet.

The Lawn Club Grill restaurant replaces the Corning Museum of Glass and The Porch restaurant on Eclipse.

• Celebrity Silhouette will launch the first interactive grilling restaurant afloat with the introduction of ‘The Lawn Club Grill’.

Further developing the already popular Lawn Club experience, the speciality restaurant provides guests with the opportunity to grill their own meats and share BBQ secrets with the onboard chefs.

‘The Hideaway’, a new sanctuary resembling an upscale, avant-garde tree house furnished with cozy lounging “nests” is described as “perfect for those looking to unwind, read a good book or try out a new Apple product from the Celebrity iLounge". 

Jo Rzymowska, UK, Ireland and Asia managing director for Celebrity Cruises, commented: “The plans show confidence in the European market and in the UK cruise market and were seeing good demand for 2017. 

"The sailings would likely be popular with the North American market, however we are expecting that at least 20% of the market would also be sourced locally both from the UK and Ireland."

“You always have to look at what’s happening, and be conscious of the market. We expect there might be some currency challenges but we’re certainly not seeing any impact on sales overall. The business is holding up well and we’re seeing good demand from the UK.”

Silhouette, is currently based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the winter season and provides Eastern and Western Caribbean tours.

During the summer, the ship sails on Baltic Sea voyages leaving from Amsterdam and on Mediterranean voyages from Rome.

Alastair Welch, ABP director, of Southampton Port, said of the arrival of Silhouette: “As part of our relationship with Celebrity Cruises, we are pleased to welcome Celebrity Silhouette to the port in 2018.

"We are confident passengers will enjoy the features that made her sister ship Celebrity Eclipse so popular.”

Celebrity Cruises has a fleet of 10 ships, with plans for a further 6 over the next five years.