In December 2013 the transfer of the 72,458gt/1995 built Celebrity Century (above) to Croisieres De France was confirmed by Royal Caribbean International. The plan was to replace the smaller 47,413gt/1992 built Zenith from April 2015. However, on 2nd September it was announced that the Celebrity Century has in fact been sold to Chinese interests effective of April 2015.

The ship has been purchased by Exquisite Marine Ltd., a holding company led by Ctrip.com International Ltd. The sale will result in a non-cash loss of approximately $20 million dollars. This loss will be excluded from the adjusted net income in the third quarter results. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will continue to operate Celebrity Century until April 2015. To reflect the sale the final 15-night Dubai to Rome sailing on 5th April 2015 is being redeployed
to a 14-night sailing from Dubai to Singapore.

This transaction may explain rumours that Chinese interests had purchased her sisterships, namely the 76,998gt/1996 Mein Schiff I and the 77,302gt/1997 built Mein Schiff II. TUI Cruises has fiercely denied any sale but only time will tell if there is in fact smoke without fire. Croisieres De France will continue to employ the 47,427gt/1990 built Horizon and the 47,413gt/1992 built Zenith for the 2015 season.