Lindblad Expeditions on Wednesday announced that it has acquired Celebrity Xpedition and Celebrity Xploration from Celebrity Cruises. The two purpose-built Galápagos expedition vessels will be renamed and will join the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic fleet next year. Later this month, bookings will open for sale to the general public. The move bolsters Lindblad’s fleet, which is already the largest in the expedition cruise industry, with 17 owned, leased and chartered vessels.
About the ships: The former Celebrity Xpedition accommodates 48 guests across 24 outward-facing cabins, including 13 balcony suites. Guests can avail themselves of two dining venues onboard. The former Celebrity Xploration is a 16-guest, eight-cabin catamaran that’s well suited for family vacations, affinity groups and private charters. Prior to setting sail with Lindblad Expeditions and following the expected closing of the transaction in January 2025, the ships will undergo multimillion-dollar renovations.
The sale leaves Celebrity Cruises with just one vessel—Celebrity Flora—operating in the Galápagos.
Lindblad Expeditions led the first-ever non-scientific international civilian expedition to the Galápagos in 1967. For years, it has operated two ships in the region, the 96-guest National Geographic Endeavour II and the 48-guest former mega yacht-turned-expedition vessel National Geographic Islander II. With these two vessels, the company offers six itineraries on more than 100 departures year-round. The addition of the newly added 48-guest and 16-guest ships will double the size of company’s Galápagos fleet.
Lindblad works in partnership with National Geographic to produce innovative marine expedition programs and promote conservation and sustainable tourism around the world. The partnership's educationally oriented voyages allow guests to interact with and learn from scientists, naturalists and researchers while discovering natural environments, above and below the sea, through state-of-the-art exploration tools.
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