PUBLISHED October 17th, 2017 07:30 am
Just days after National Coming Out Day, it looks like the LGBTQ+ community have yet another reason to celebrate. Celebrity Cruises, the award-winning Miami-based cruise line, has once again proved that it offers much more than excellent cruise experiences and journeys, announcing that it will now be able to perform legally-recognised same-sex wedding onboard its fleet. Of course, this is thanks to a landmark vote in the gorgeous island of Malta (which surprises us, being predominantly Catholic), where a majority of its ships are registered. Incidentally, Celebrity’s ships sail to more than 280 destinations around the world, including Santorini, Miami, Jamaica, San Juan, Florence, and Vancouver.
The news is a long-time coming for the luxury brand, which has been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community since its early days. The company has previously held pride parties onboard its fleet, sponsored the Miami Beach Gay Pride, and already been hosting same-sex weddings in the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean, where such marriages are legal.
As ships flown under the Malta flag are considered to be Maltese land, this allows for the Celebrity fleet’s captains to officiate the ceremony. Celebrity Weddings programmes that same-sex couples can look at includes the all-inclusive Nautical Nuptials at Sea package (from US$2995), which includes an event coordinator’s services, live music, photography, a cake for two, bottle of champagne, flowers, and most excitingly, obligatory romantic turndown amenities – think couple robes, chocolate-covered strawberries, and rose petals – for the happy couple inside their stateroom, post-ceremony.
Fun and luxury come together in Celebrity Cruises, so you can be sure that there’s plenty to do before and after the big days, in the form of special supplementary packages, from welcome receptions, tea services, crazy trash-the-dress-style photoshoots, and because why not – elegant cigar and whisky parties. Just, you know, try not to jump off the ship.
So even if you live in a country where your government doesn’t allow you to marry whoever the heck you like, don’t worry, because the sea will – and in modern luxury, no less. As Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, proclaims, “I cannot think of a more important time in our history than right now to do all we can to support inclusion.”
Find out more about Celebrity Cruises‘s Nautical Nuptials at Sea package here.