Celebrity Eclipse river conveyance March 11, 2010: the new cruise ship squeezes backwards along the River Ems on its first-ever journey - a 42km trip leaving the inland shipyard in Papenburg, Germany before heading to the North Sea. Celebrity Eclipse will arrive in Southampton in late April 2010 to be officially named and then will be based from there for the summer.

I was one of a fortunate few guests invited to witness these events at the Meyer Werft yard in early March. After a two-hour drive from Dusseldorf through the flat German farmland we came to the yard and caught our first glimpse of the Eclipse. In the twilight, it appeared to be a huge white ship seemingly sailing across the farmland.

Leaving the bus, we quickly donned hard hats and entered one of the largest fabrication buildings in Europe. In a brief ceremony, Bernard Meyer, the 6th generation of his family to manage the yard, welcomed us. His pride in this family-owned and operated business, which was founded in 1795, was very evident. Dan Hanrahan, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, pointed out that cruise ships today may well be the most complex structures ever built. Then he pushed a button and the huge plasma torches, controlled by computers, began cutting the first steel for the Silhouette,the next Celebrity Solstice-class ship scheduled to launch in 2011.

After a brief tour of the huge building we entered the newly-completed Eclipse and were escorted to our rooms. It was hard to believe the ship was just a month away from carrying its first passengers out of Southampton, England. Carpets were covered in protective sheeting, and some wall panels were open, revealing the miles of tubing and wiring that few ever see. And the atrium was partially filled with scaffolding, which was being used to install the huge tree that will grace the space. But our rooms were finished and looked ready for embarkation on a luxury cruise.

That evening, an excellent dinner was served, buffet-syle, in the ship’s Ocean View Café. The food was excellent, as good as on any regular cruise. We learned that earlier in the day, the room had been completely bare. No tables or chairs, and the kitchen had been untried. The crew had set up the tables and opened the single galley all in time for our dinner.

There is a spirit of camaraderie that develops among guests in these situations, and soon we journalists, along with a few other invited guests, were all sharing stories after dinner. In the morning the conveyance would begin.

The Celebrity Solstice-class ships are the largest built in the yard and everything is critical in the process of sending one to sea. In fact, this conveyance was moved up by a day since weather forecasts predicted a storm with high winds on the date originally planned. This was a factor because the Eclipse had only two feet clearance through the lock at the entrance to the yard. The tides and water level in the river must be at maximum—the 1,040-foot-long, 121-foot-wide vessel has less than six inches of clearance above the muddy bottom.

So at precisely 9 A.M. the following morning, three blasts on the huge ship’s horn sounded, echoed by horns on the two tugs that would guide our passage downriver, and we slowly headed stern-first toward the first narrow gate to the river. We were stern first because the ship would not have enough room to turn until nearing the end of its conveyance.

History was in the air. On both sides of the channel and throughout the long slow passage during the day, thousands of people came to watch from the banks of the narrow, twisting river channel. The Celebrity Eclipse was leaving her birthplace and heading toward her destiny. When she reached the sea there would be sea trials and more workers arriving to complete the interior, but for now, everyone was focused on this one event. Never to be repeated in a proud ship’s life.