Luxury Cruise Bible

Celebrity Equinox Senior Officers and Staff

Celebrity Equinox (photo courtesy of Celebrity Cruises)

Celebrity Equinox, the second ship in Celebrity’s Solstice-class series, was named on July 29, 2009, in Southampton, England. The ship is already receiving rave reviews from passengers. A core group of individuals who’ve all spent years honing their skills in the cruise-ship industry run every aspect of the ship.

Here are the bios of just a few of the people that are making Celebrity Equinox a hit this summer.

Master: Captain Apostolos Bouzakis

As Master aboard Celebrity Equinox, Apostolos Bouzakis is the highest ranking official on board. A native of Piraeus—the port city of Athens, Greece—Captain Bouzakis studied art and construction design for three years prior to graduating form the Greek Nautical Academy. He embarked on his career at sea in 1987 and joined Celebrity shortly thereafter. He has served in various capacities on nearly every ship in the Celebrity fleet. He is proud to serve as the first Master of Celebrity Equinox.

Hotel Direction: Simon Weir

Simon oversees the entire Hotel Operation and works closely with the ship’s Senior Officers. With a team of over 1,200 crew members, he is dedicated to motivating them to provide guests with the highest level of service. He has been working with Celebrity Cruises for 12 years and has covered a wide range of onboard positions prior to assuming his current role. It is his passion that every guest be warmly welcomed and cared for with Celebrity’s signature “Starring You” treatment.

Cruise Director: Nick Weir

Nick comes from a real “show biz” family. His mother and father were both professional entertainers. It is only natural that both he and his brother Simon followed in their parents’ footsteps. Nick has been working in the cruise industry for 20 years now. He lives in Las Vegas and works on both sides of the “biz”, both in production and performance and is a regular “host” and Master of Ceremonies for a wide variety of shows and corporate events all over the world. Some of our guests from the UK may also recognize him from TV shows he has hosted there, the most popular of which is “Catchphrase”.

Chief Engineer: Stavros Zanikos

Engineer Stavros was born on the beautiful island of Chios in Greece. He received his degree in Marine Engineering in 1988 and decided to pursue a career at sea first on cargo ships and later joining Celebrity Cruises as an Apprentice Engineer in 1992. He has served in many roles onboard throughout the years on many ships in the Celebrity fleet. He prides himself as enthusiastic leader always eager to teach and be a mentor to his team. His hobbies include fishing and scuba diving.

Staff Captain: Emmanouil Alevropoulos

Emmanouil graduated from the Greek Nautical Academy of Hydra Island and served as a rescue tugboat Captain for two years. He joined Celebrity Cruises in 1993 as an Apprentice Officer and reached the level of Staff Captain in 2004. He has been involved in the new building and launching of six Celebrity ships and two Azamara ships. As Staff Captain his responsibilities including implementing policies and procedures among all staff and crew, as well as supervising onboard safety, security, and environmental protection policies.

Guest Relations Manager: Ken Ismail

Upon graduating with a degree in Economics from the University of Toronto, Ken embarked on a career in the Hospitality Industry where he gained experience in some of the top luxury hotels in Canada. He joined Celebrity Cruises in 2004 and has since served in a variety of roles. He is currently responsible for all Guest Services as well as Immigration & Customs clearance of the vessel. He is fluent in four languages and is an accredited member of Les Clefs D’Or, Austria.

Food & Beverage Manager: Robert Flack

Robert began his career with Celebrity Cruise in 2002 as Cellarmaster. Since then he has worked his way up serving as Bar Manager until assuming his current role as F&B Manager. He is responsible for the largest department onboard with over 600 crew members as well as the service of more than 12,000 meals per day. His responsibilities include ensuring the highest level of service in all food and beverage areas as well as managing the operation of all restaurants, bars, lounges, and galleys.

Executive Chef: Steve van der Merwe

Steve started his career in a small pizzeria in South Africa while he was still studying and trying to decide what to do with his life. Once he had completed his studies he applied for an apprenticeship and was accepted in one of South Africa’s leading hotel chains, Southern Sun. Steve joined Celebrity in 2008. When Steve is not onboard, he enjoys taking his two Rhodesian Ridge Backs for a run on the beach and loves to cook for his wife, family, and friends.

Head Lawn Keeper: Vicente Pili

Having served as Lawn Keeper for the grass at The Lawn Club on Celebrity Solstice during her inaugural season, Vicente Pili was eager to apply his experience maintaining the first lawn of real, growing grass at sea to the second Solstice-class vessel, in the role of Head Lawn Keeper. Vicente comes to Celebrity Equinox with not only his background in maintaining The Lawn Club’s grass, but also a substantial career focused on the art of lawn care and maintenance. Vicente earned a bachelor degree in architecture in his native Philippines. He has served in several supervisory roles at resorts, landscape companies and golf courses in the Philippines and the U.S. commonwealth Mariana Island. With extensive skills in the care and fertilization of many types of plant and grass life, it’s no wonder that under Vicente’s green thumb, The Lawn Club thrives and delights guests onboard.

Assistant Lawn Keeper: Rodolfo Villanueva

Horticulturist Rodolfo Villanueva is the first to hold the role of Assistant Lawn Keeper, a position making its debut with the launch of Celebrity Equinox. After earning a bachelor degree in commerce in his native Philippines, Rodolfo entered the farm industry as a horticulturist, then a supervisor before moving on to serve as a florist and horticulturist for another cruise line for several years. After working on land, he comes back to sea in joining the crew of Celebrity Equinox.

—Bios courtesy of Celebrity Cruises

For More Information…

…contact your travel agent or Celebrity Cruises at 1-(800) 852-7239.