Lindblad Expeditions Expands Fleet in Galapagos Following Celebrity Cruises Downsizing

Royal Caribbean Group has sold two Galapagos ships to Lindblad Expeditions, reducing the Celebrity Galapagos fleet to just one ship, but doubling Lindblad's fleet.

According to a Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson, the time is right for the company to focus on its purpose-built Galapagos ships Celebrity Flora and Silver Origin. Along with the ships, Royal Caribbean Group sold the necessary permits to operate each ship in Galapagos. This means that neither Celebrity nor Silversea could add a second ship to their fleets without finding another company to purchase a permit.

The new names of the two ships, formerly Celebrity Xpedition and Celebrity Xploration, will be revealed later this month, Lindblad said. The first is a 48-guest ship with 24 outside-view staterooms and 13 balcony suites. The second is a 16-guest catamaran with eight cabins.

Both ships will undergo multimillion-dollar revitalizations early next year. They will join Lindblad's current fleet of two ships: the 96-passenger National Geographic Endeavour II and the 48-passenger mega yacht National Geographic Islander II.