First cruise ship to hit US waters since pandemic shutdown will sail out of Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Celebrity Cruises will sail out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale at the end of June, according to a tweet by the cruise line. Cruise lines have been dry-docked since the pandemic started last March.

The Celebrity Edge would be the first to get the approval from the Centers for Disease Control. Celebrity said the ship will meet the CDC’s requirement to have 95% of passengers and 95% of crew vaccinated.

This comes after Royal Caribbean announced earlier this week that it plans resume operations from the U.S. beginning Aug. 7. Those ships will carry passengers on week-long voyages from Seattle to Alaska. That announcement came following the temporary waiver of the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which allows cruise ships to sail to Alaska once they have obtained a Conditional Sailing Certificate from the CDC.

But the first cruise out of the United States will be from Port Everglades.

The Celebrity Edge is set to depart from Fort Lauderdale on June 26.

To check for availability aboard the ship, click here.