06/22/09 - A sneak peek at Celebrity's next cruise ship, the Celebrity Equinox

The 2,850-passenger vessel -- a sister to the much-ballyhooed, seven-month-old Celebrity Solstice -- isn't scheduled to debut until next month in England, but Celebrity has invited a handful of cruise writers for a sneak peek of the almost-finished ship this weekend as it sails out of the yard for the first time.

The "conveyance," as the event is called, will see the 122,000-ton Equinox travel backwards down the narrow Ems River from Papenburg to Eemshaven in the Netherlands -- an unusual right of passage made by every vessel built at Meyer Werft. 

Like its sister ship, the Equinox boasts a number of new-to-the-industry features, most notably a top deck covered in live grass and an unusual outdoor glass blowing demonstration center.

During the 12-hour passage from the Meyer Werft shipyard the Equinox traveled just 26 miles, pulled backwards ever so slowly and carefully by a tugboat through two locks and past a bridge that was removed for the rare event.

The complex trip had to be timed precisely to take advantage of tidal surges on the river as the Equinox is so large it barely fits in the waterway. At times there was just a few inches of water separating the keel of the vessel with the river bottom and as little as three feet of wiggle room on each side of the ship (ships have gotten a whole lot bigger since the Meyer family picked the up-river location for the historic shipyard back in 1795).

First impression of the Equinox: Like it's sister, the Solstice, it's a beauty, boasting a sophisticated, stylish design that is unmatched by any other vessel afloat. As we've said before, Celebrity and its sister brand Royal Caribbean have been setting the bar for new ships in recent years with a level of innovation and style that is unrivaled in the industry -- and Equinox is no exception.