We’ve Been Onboard Celebrity EDGE

Onboard review written by Gaynor Golding

Celebrity Edge – the latest Celebrity ship to come to Europe

I was lucky enough, along with three of my Vision Cruise colleagues to enjoy two days onboard the brand new Celebrity Edge. Having sailed many times before on Celebrity ships, I was already familiar with why Celebrity are so popular. However nothing prepared me for the amazing experiences on this new ship of the future.

For me, ships are getting bigger and bigger and I don’t think that’s always a good thing. But when you step onboard EDGE, with it being able to accommodate almost 3,000 guests, you certainly don’t get that big ship feeling.

First impressions count and when you step onboard Celebrity Edge the first thing you will notice is how bright and airy the ship is. The colour schemes are very light (the interior designer was Kelly Hoppen so you would expect something special!), the corridors are also wide and bright. Finding your way around the ship is so easy, unlike many of the new ships now where it seems to take so long to find your way back to your cabin.

The staterooms are all beautiful, starting with the Inside cabins which because of the light colour schemes almost make you forget that there is no window! Like all the cabins onboard Edge it appears bigger than normal and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend an inside cabin to anyone looking for the best price.

Onto the obstructed view cabins – they are at most 45% obstruction, and again it is not that obtrusive. These have the typical balconies, which again is spacious and all have double or twin beds (for the best night sleep ever!) and a sofa or chair, as well as lots of drawer space. The only down side was I felt the wardrobe space is quite limited but still adequate.

We were lucky enough to be staying in one of the new Infinite balcony cabins, and if you can, book yourself into one of these they are a real treat! They make your cabin seem so much bigger, plus they have lovely sun chairs to relax on. You can literally step out of your cabin and onto your balcony, at night you can either pull the blinds down for darkness, or as we did, leave it wide open and just enjoy the sound of the ship sailing slowly to your next port – absolute heaven!

We were in concierge class, which gives you the same standard but usually better position and little extras which you can ask about when bookings. Similarly Aqua class are better positions and you get to dine in your own restaurant every night, BLU, again we can advise you on this.

The other balcony staterooms are the sunset veranda at the back of the ship. Our colleagues were staying in one of these cabins and whilst they do have a larger balcony, it is the traditional style and remember they can be a little noisy when the ship is just docking. Plus they don’t always get full sun every day as some may expect, it depends which direction you’re sailing in.

If you are booking for a special occasion the suites are out of this world. They have various grades on Celebrity Edge and every cabin is very special indeed. The suites all give you unlimited access to your own pool area, The Retreat, as well as free use of the Spa and your own speciality dining in Luminae. However if you are wanting to indulge in a suite you need to book early as many are already sold out for this season!

Dining onboard Edge is another treat, the traditional dining give you so much choice. If you are on anytime or fixed dining you have 4 restaurants, each with a slightly different twist. If you are on a  7 night sailing or more, I believe you get the opportunity to dine in each one, this is allocated to you when you get onboard. I think this is a great idea as each restaurant has its own specialities, as well as the traditional menu. If you don’t feel like eating in the main dining room, there are five other complimentary venues to choose from, including the buffet which offers so much choice, or the smaller café type restaurants. There are several speciality restaurants onboard which come with a supplement. Each one with its own theme, unfortunately we weren’t able to try any of the speciality restaurants on our trip however they all look fantastic.

We were lucky enough to have fantastic weather, even in Southampton. So we spent our day on the resort deck which has lots of sun areas, but for sunbathing or staying in the shade there is also an indoor solarium with a pool and sun loungers for pure relaxation, especially if the weather turns chilly.

Don’t miss the rooftop garden on deck 15, this is where they have live concerts, films and shows most days and nights. When you are here watching the entertainment you really wouldn’t believe you were on a ship!

Of course all of the new ships have something a bit different on offer, onboard Celebrity Edge they have the ‘Magic Carpet’, this is a floating luxury platform which floats from deck 2 to 13. Sip on a glass of champagne in beautiful comfortable chairs, listen to music, enjoy lunch or dinner with an incredible view – an experience not to be missed.

Of an evening there is lots to do, the Grand Plaza is the main area but there is also the Eden lounge, which must be seen to experience. They have entertainment on during most days and evenings, all I can say it is very different and with a visit day and night.

The theatre is amazing, we enjoyed one of the fantastic shows, which was better than many famous concerts I have been to. The singers and dancers were brilliant and the shows vary every night. There was plenty of seating and with two shows most nights everyone should get a chance to visit.

With only two nights onboard we didn’t get a chance to visit the casino or the night club. We did however visit the spa area which is stunning. Whilst there is a charge to visit the spa, I believe they offer some excellent day packages from around $79. Of course there is also a huge gym onboard for those wanting to work off the excess pounds!

Sadly two days wasn’t quite enough to experience everything EDGE has to offer, but in my opinion it is definitely luxury at sea, with a few differences to other Celebrity ships. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the EDGE class ships to anyone looking for luxury onboard a large ship that still manages to maintain a cosy and friendly feel. Look out for Celebrity APEX coming next year, which is the same class ship as Celebrity EDGE.