Celebrity Cruises holds its first gay wedding at sea

Celebrity Cruises said a gay couple was legally married on the Celebrity Equinox, a first for the line and perhaps the industry.

Francisco Vargas and Benjamin Gray were wed in a ceremony officiated by Capt. Dimitrios Manetas.

Celebrity is billing the event as the first same-sex couple to be legally married at sea on a major cruise line.

Celebrity said an October 2017 liberalization vote in Malta, where its ships are registered, opened the door for Celebrity to legally recognize same-sex marriages performed onboard while at sea.

"Words cannot express how proud I am to congratulate Francisco and Benjamin at this truly historic moment, both for them and for Celebrity," Celebrity president Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said.

Vargas, a manager in the group's department at Cruise Planners in Coral Springs, Fla., said, "We are grateful for the outpouring of support from our Cruise Planners family and hope our story brings strength for others in the LGBTQ+ community," he said.