Marella Explorer 2
Century-class cruise ship
title: "Marella Explorer 2" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ships-of-celebrity-cruises", "ships-built-in-papenburg", "1995-ships"] description: "Century-class cruise ship" topic_path: "general/ships-of-celebrity-cruises" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marella_Explorer_2" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Century-class cruise ship ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| display_title | ital |
| section1 | {{Infobox ship/image |
| image | Marella Explorer 2 in Dubrovnik.jpg |
| image_caption | Marella Explorer 2 in 2024 |
| section2 | {{Infobox ship/career |
| name | *Century (1995–2007) |
| owner | Celebrity Cruises (1995–1997) |
| operator | *Celebrity Cruises (1995–2015) |
| registry | *1995–2002: Monrovia, Liberia |
| builder | *Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany |
| yard_number | 637 |
| laid_down | January 1994 |
| launched | 18 May 1995 |
| completed | 30 November 1995 |
| maiden_voyage | 20 December 1995 |
| in_service | 1995–present |
| identification | *Call sign: 9HJI9 |
| status | In service |
| notes | |
| section3 | {{Infobox ship/characteristics |
| class | Century-class cruise ship |
| tonnage | * |
| length | 248 m |
| beam | 32 m |
| draught | 7.6 m |
| decks | 12 |
| speed | 21.5 kn |
| capacity | 1,814 passengers |
| crew | 843 |
| notes | |
| :: |
| display_title = ital |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = Marella Explorer 2 in Dubrovnik.jpg | image_caption = Marella Explorer 2 in 2024
|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header = | name = *Century (1995–2007)
- Celebrity Century (2007–2015)
- SkySea Golden Era (2015–2019)
- Marella Explorer 2 (2019–present) | owner = Celebrity Cruises (1995–1997) Royal Caribbean Group (1997–2019) TUI Group (2019–present) | operator = *Celebrity Cruises (1995–2015)
- SkySea Cruise Line (2015–2019)
- Marella Cruises (2019–present) | registry = *1995–2002: Monrovia, Liberia
- 2002–2008: Nassau, Bahamas
- 2008 onwards: Valletta, Malta | route = | ordered = | builder = *Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany | original_cost = | yard_number = 637 | way_number = | laid_down = January 1994 | launched = 18 May 1995 | completed = 30 November 1995 | christened = | acquired = | maiden_voyage = 20 December 1995 | in_service = 1995–present | out_of_service = | identification = *Call sign: 9HJI9
| fate = | status = In service | notes =
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = | class = Century-class cruise ship | tonnage = *
| displacement = | length = 248 m | beam = 32 m | height = | draught = 7.6 m | depth = | decks = 12 | deck_clearance = | ramps = | ice_class = | sail_plan = | power = | propulsion = | speed = 21.5 kn | capacity = 1,814 passengers | crew = 843 | notes =
Marella Explorer 2, formerly Celebrity Century and SkySea Golden Era, was the lead ship of the Century class of cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises, and the co-flagship of the Celebrity fleet, along with Millennium-class ship , and the newest Solstice class, . Other ships belonging to the Century class include (formerly Celebrity Galaxy) and (formerly Celebrity Mercury).
In March 2018, it was announced that Royal Caribbean Cruises and Ctrip were to close the SkySea Cruise Line brand and that the line's sole ship, SkySea Golden Era would join the Marella fleet in place of Mein Schiff 2 which would stay with TUI Cruises. Skysea Golden Era would take her final voyage on 29 August 2018. It was a 4-night sailing from Shanghai with a call at Fukuoka, Japan.
SkySea Golden Era underwent a major refurbishment in Cadiz, Spain, in order to become Marella Explorer 2. Its first sailing for Marella Cruises was in April 2019.
History
Century was launched in 1995 and went into a five-week drydock in April 2006 for refurbishment. Designed to incorporate a variety of Celebrity's Millennium-class attributes, the revitalization of Century was the line's most extensive refurbishment to-date, and the largest cruise ship modification completed by Fincantieri's Palermo, Italy, shipyard.
In late December 2013, it was rumored that the ship would transfer to CDF Croisières de France in 2015. Celebrity Cruises continued to deny the rumors until 13 February 2014, when they formally announced her departure from the fleet in April 2015. From March 2014 through April 2015, Celebrity Century visited 77 ports in 32 countries, the most destinations of any ship in the Celebrity fleet. The line celebrated this final season with several special events, including a 14-night President's Cruise to Asia with Celebrity President and CEO Michael Bayley. On 2 September 2014, it was announced that SkySea Cruises, a joint venture between Ctrip and Royal Caribbean, would acquire the vessel and begin operations after April 2015.
Coronavirus pandemic
On 25 March 2020, four crew members tested positive of COVID-19 and were stranded in Barbados. On 30 March, the ship was sailing along the Yucatan coast with plans to dock in Progreso, Yucatan. On 3 April, a male British passenger died from the disease while his wife had also been infected. On 19 April, out of 19 Jamaican crew members on the ship, two of them tested positive.
Overboard incident
On 27 November 2025, a British passenger aboard the ship while sailing to La Gomera went missing. Other passengers indicated the male passenger was seen falling overboard the vessel.
References
Bibliography
References
- (2012). "''Celebrity Century'' Vessel Details and Current Position". Marine Traffic.
- (2012). "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel ''Celebrity Century''". VesselTracker.
- Mathisen, Monty. (20 March 2018). "Royal Caribbean and Ctrip to Kill SkySea Brand".
- Mathisen, Monty. (20 March 2018). "SkySea Shutdown Sparks Ship Transfer Shuffle".
- (29 March 2018). "SkySea Announces Final China Season". Cruise Industry News.
- (28 December 2013). "Celebrity Century to join CDF Croisières de France in 2015". Seatrade Insider.
- "Celebrity Cruises Confirms Departure of Celebrity Century". Cruise Critic.
- (21 November 2014). "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Ctrip Announce Joint Venture through SkySea Cruises". Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
- (2 September 2014). "Ctrip to Acquire Celebrity Century from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.". Yahoo! Finance.
- (25 March 2020). "Cruise ships still being turned away from ports worldwide due to coronavirus".
- (30 March 2020). "Report: Cruise ship with COVID-19 patients awaits entry into Progreso".
- (4 April 2020). "Cruise ship passenger brought to Yucatan dies of coronavirus".
- Mills, Claude. (19 April 2020). "Heartbreaking account from J'can on COVID-afflicted ship off UK coast".
- Grierson, Jamie. (2025-11-28). "Search under way after British man falls from cruise ship off Tenerife". The Guardian.
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