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Celebrity Cruises, which has won a strong following among upscale cruisers for its four Millennium class ships, surprised many on July 12th by announcing it had signed a letter of intent for a new, much larger ship that will be too wide to pass through the Panama Canal.

In fact, the planned 117,000-ton ship -- scheduled to make its debut in Fall 2008 -- will not only be larger than any of the ships of such competitors as Holland America and Princess; it will be larger than any of the ships of mass-market lines like Costa and Carnival.

Celebrity said the new ship, to be built by Germany's Meyer Werft, will incorporate "many features typically associated with luxury cruising" including a considerably larger standard stateroom of 215-square feet.

More than 90 percent of the new ship's staterooms will be outside cabins, and more than 90 percent of those will have balconies.

Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises, said the new ship will strengthen the line's "hand in delivering the incredible service and amenities and the phenomenal cruise experience Celebrity is known for."

But the question that surely is already occurring to many Celebrity fans will be whether the line can maintain its high level of service on a ship that will carry 2,850 guests in its 1,425 staterooms.

While no announcement was made of how Celebrity intends to deploy the ship, one might guess Caribbean in winter and Europe in summer -- because at 121 feet in width, it is 15 feet too wide to fit through the Panama Canal en route to summer Alaska cruising.

In making the announcement, Celebrity said it also has taken an option for a second sister ship of the same size.