How did the company “celebrity cruises” get started?
Celebrity Cruises was founded in April 1988 as a subsidiary of the Greece-based Chandris Group to operate upmarket cruise ships to Bermuda.[1] Chandris had been involved in cruise traffic since the 1960s,[3] and during the late 1980s they operated in the United States market under the band name Chandris Fantasy Cruises. Chandris Fantasy Cruises mainly catered for the lower end of the market, their fleets consisting of second-hand ocean liners.[4] Celebrity Cruises came into existence when, in April 1988 Home Lines, at the time one of the world’s leading premium cruise lines, was sold to Holland America Line. Home Lines’ ships had held two of the five contracts offered by the Government of Bermuda to cruise lines, giving the ships priority berthing arrangement and unlimited access to sail to the islands in exchange for the ships sailing to Bermuda between April and October each year. Although these contract were highly valued, Holland America Line decided to withdraw the former Home Lin
