Celebrity Constellation

GTS Constellation at Barbados, 2006
Career
Name:	Celebrity Constellation
Owner:	Celebrity Cruise Lines
Operator:	Celebrity Cruises
Port of registry:	2002—2007: Nassau,  Bahamas 2007 onwards: Valletta,  Malta
Builder:	Chantiers de L'Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France
Christened:	May 12, 2002
In service:	2002-present
Identification:	IMO number: 9192399
Status:	In Active Service as of 2010
General characteristics
Class and type:	Millennium Class cruise ship
Tonnage:	91,000 gross tons
Length:	964.6 ft (294 m)
Beam:	105.6 ft (32 m)
Draft:	26.3 ft (8 m)
Decks:	13
Installed power:	Two Gas turbines and one Diesel Generator
Propulsion:	Two 19 MW Rolls-Royce/Alstom MerMaid azimuth thrusters + 3 fixed RPM variable pitch Bow thrusters
Speed:	24-knot (44 km/h)
Capacity:	1,950 passengers
Crew:	999

GTS Celebrity Constellation is a Millennium class cruise ship of Celebrity Cruises. She is the co-flagship of the Celebrity fleet, along with Century-class ship Century. She was originally named Constellation, but renamed in May 2007.^[1] Her three sister ships are the Celebrity Infinity, Summit, and Millennium.

She was built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France. The ship boasts a COGAS^[2] power plant of gas turbines and a steam turbine providing up to 60 Megawatts for the electric systems and two 19 MW Rolls-Royce/Alstom MerMaid azimuth thrusters for propulsion. In 2007, she was refitted with the addition of a diesel engine as a fuel-saving measure.^[3] The ship can run on any combination of the gas turbines or diesel. In port, she generates electrical power from the diesel.

Constellation consistently receives top honors from Condé Nast's readers survey, and is currently ranked by readers as the best large cruise ship.^[4] During the summer period the ship sails in Northern Europe. Since her delivery the ship sails to the Baltic Sea between May and August. In June 2010 and July 2011 the ship will also sail to the Norwegian Fjords up to the North Cape. The rest of the season the ship sails to the Mediterranean (fall) and the Caribbean (winter).

Ports of call

• Ft. Lauderdale, United States
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Barcelona, Spain

Gallery

• 

  "Constellation" in Amsterdam

• 

  Constellation in her original livery

• 

  On the bridge of the Celebrity Constellation at night.

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  Celebrity Constellation in Istanbul

Footnotes

1. ^ (Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: GTS Constellation (2002), retrieved 7. 11. 2007
2. ^ GE Article on Equipment of Millennium Class Cruisers
3. ^ Installation of Aux Diesel on Millennium and her sisters, retrieved 21.01.2009
4. ^ Condé Nast Traveler Cruise Poll 2007 http://www.concierge.com/bestof/cruisepoll/largeships

External links

• Celebrity Constellation on Celebrity Cruises webpage
• CruiseCritic.com review
• Official Celebrity Constellation UK site