MIAMI — Celebrity Cruises is expanding its Celebrity Xpedition brand in the Galapagos Islands with its acquisition of Galapagos tour operator Ocean Adventures, which markets the 16-passenger Athala and 48-passenger Eclipse.

This expansion gives Celebrity more capacity in the Galapagos where the government has restricted large ships to sail. Ships are only able to sail with 100 passengers or less.

Celebrity has had a presence in the Galapagos since 2004 when it launched the 100-passenger Celebrity Xpedition brand specifically for the Galapagos. It has operated only the single ship until now.

Post acquisition, the two Ocean Adventure ships will continue to run as scheduled until January 2017, after which they will offer Celebrity’s service, food and amenities. Celebrity will honour all existing Ocean Adventures bookings and block space commitments, regardless of the date of sailing.