Six friends met in Fort Lauderdale to sail into the New Year on the newest member of Celebrity’s fleet: the billion dollar Edge. I was excited. From the moment I received the first email about this innovative ship two years ago, I looked forward cruising on her.
Forty-eight hours later, our group met mid-afternoon in Eden, one of the few interior public spaces to read or play games on long sea days. Consensus of opinions on this fabulous new ship? Not great.
Why?
While the ship is beautiful, Celebrity eliminated SO many public spaces that exist on the Solstice Class ships that we sat dumbfounded.
Our friends, who are Elite Plus level Captain’s Club members with Celebrity’s loyalty program, were openly hostile. What did I think? I’ve been on a dozen cruises, on large and smaller, more intimate ships. Celebrity is my favorite large ship cruise line. I felt disappointed that my favorite spots on the Solstice Class of ships weren’t here — but I also wanted to embrace Edge and find “my” spaces onboard.
By the final day of our cruise, I kept wanting to like the Edge more. There are so many lovely things about this ship: I loved the aggressive look of her bow and her inventive interior design; I found the artwork onboard to be a joy; and our cabin thoughtfully designed.
None of it could overcome all of the things Celebrity decided to leave behind on this new ship.
Celebrity Edge Cruise Review
Our New Year’s Eve cruise had an eastern Caribbean itinerary with three ports of call, stopping in Puerto Rico, Tortola, and St. Maarten, and three days at sea. Most of our friend group had visited these islands before, and we considered Celebrity Edge as our true destination. In this Celebrity Edge cruise ship review, I choose to focus entirely on the ship.
Missing!
If passengers posted their thoughts around the ship, halls would have been covered in placards with:
- Have You Seen the Game Room?? — Miss it terribly, please text with info!
- Or — Pining for a View Off the Bow and I’ve LOST the Sky Observation Lounge! Contact Cabin 9166 if located!!
- Or — Bad singer has entered my reading space. Can you find me a Hideaway immediately?
When you consider a cruise, and you think about how you will spend your days at sea, the public spaces on a ship rate as incredibly important. Frankly, the variety of public spaces are THE major selling point for large cruise ships. Passengers love Celebrity’s Solstice Class ships, and while they expected Edge to be an innovative design, they did not expect to lose so many areas they had grown to love on their favorite cruise line.
This is where Celebrity Edge doesn’t just fail its core customers. It takes a nosedive, and never comes up for air.
| Celebrity Edge Class vs. Celebrity Solstice Class — what’s missing, what’s new? | |
|---|---|
| Missing Spaces | New Spaces |
|
|
Where Did the Space Go?
On Edge, Celebrity created the Retreat, a special set of spaces on the bow only open to passengers sailing in suites.
The Retreat is Celebrity’s answer to the Haven — Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) area devoted to its suite passengers. Okay, I get it! I’ve sailed in a two bedroom family suite on a Norwegian ship, and it is wonderful to have that exclusive space. Honestly, I’d never get on another Norwegian ship — unless I was in the Haven. Up until Edge launched, the best Celebrity could do for their suite passengers was to offer an exclusive restaurant and club, Luminae and Michael’s.
With the Retreat on Edge, Celebrity easily takes first prize for the finest suite experience in the large cruise ship industry.
In November 2018, CNN reported on Edge’s maiden voyage and described the most stunning part of the ship’s new engineering:
“All previous large cruise liners have relied on centuries-old shipbuilding principles that require a solid hull to hold the vessel together. By shifting the spine to the center, Celebrity Edge’s sides have been opened up — allowing maximum light and the potential to create suites with incredible panoramic ocean views.”
Not only has Celebrity provided suite passengers with a special set of spaces, they have revolutionized the entire experience of passengers traveling in Edge suites.
Sadly, this doesn’t translate to an improved experience for the rest of their guests. The designers may have thought that Infinite Verandas would bring a special quality to their standard staterooms, but their customers don’t agree.
To get an idea how big a problem this is, consider: Celebrity Edge has 1,467 staterooms. 176 of those are suites (146 Sky Suites, and 30 larger suites). This mean 12% of Edge staterooms grant passengers access to the Retreat. 88% of Edge passengers keep looking around the ship and wondering where their favorite spaces went.
Many of the passengers I spoke with were upset about missing spaces and blamed it on the addition of the Retreat. After reviewing deck plans of both Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Reflection, the last ship I sailed on with the company, I discovered this to be just part of the story.
On the Solstice Class of ships, the open air Solstice Deck, which for we loved for looking forward as we sailed into ports, is gone. That area forms the pool and deck for the Retreat. On Edge, the only spaces with forward-facing views, open to ALL passengers, are now the exercise room and part of the Spa.
To create the Retreat, Celebrity also moved the children’s spaces and clubs down to Deck 3 to Camp at Sea, into a smaller enclosed space with no windows.
We can all see that the shape of Edge is a departure from the shape of previous Celebrity ships. The sides of Edge are straighter than the earlier ships, which all had a distinctive bowing out around the both the aft-middle and forward-middle of the ships to accommodate the elevator banks. This widening created the space for things like the Library and the Hideaway. Edge widens slightly around the elevators, but not nearly to the same degree.
A comparison of Deck Space usage between Edge and Celebrity Reflection (Solstice Class) shows the missing public spaces went into the Retreat, an enlarged Spa, the streamlined shape of the ship, additional restaurants, and staterooms. (See a table showing deck by deck comparison of spaces at end of article, or jump there now).
I have been sailing on Celebrity ships for eight years and felt like I understood the company’s direction. It didn’t occur to me I needed to do a detailed inventory of changes to know whether I’d like the new ship. I trusted Celebrity to continue delivering a product I enjoyed. I won’t again. This sense of betrayal lies at the heart of the anger I heard from fellow passengers while onboard, and in many of the comments made on Cruise Critic.
[To get a complete picture of the space changes, go to Celebrity’s site and click through Edge Deck Plans and Solstice Deck Plans side by side (you will scroll partway down each page to find the deck plans).]
Infinite Veranda Staterooms
When is a veranda stateroom NOT a veranda stateroom? When you sail on Celebrity Edge!
If you read the Celebrity Edge Fact Sheet, it states that veranda cabins are 81% of the total onboard inventory of staterooms. I call semantic bullshit!
All Edge suites have REAL balconies. Sunset Veranda staterooms have REAL balconies. Deluxe Ocean View Staterooms with Veranda have REAL balconies. All other “Veranda” cabins on Edge, including Concierge and Aqua Class staterooms, have “Infinite Verandas.”
I’m renaming them “Imaginary Verandas.”
With an Imaginary Veranda, you get a small additional glassed-in space in your room with two outdoor chairs — to help you imagine that you do have a balcony. Oh, and you can open the top half of the glass and feel the ocean breeze come into your whole cabin. Of course, Edge is programmed to automatically turn your cabin’s air-conditioning off when you do that, so be prepared to have a humid cabin a to enjoy the feel of the outdoors when in the Caribbean.
Our first day onboard, my group ran into a couple we’d met on our cruise on Celebrity Reflection last year. Let’s call them Jack and Rose. They are huge Celebrity cruise fans with at least Elite status in the loyalty program. We saw the two of them multiple times during our week onboard. Jack and Rose had an Infinite Veranda cabin, and they were livid. Half the time the window wouldn’t work, and they really felt like they’d been sold a bill of goods.
So how many veranda cabins does Edge REALLY have? 94 staterooms (which aren’t suites) with REAL balconies, which is 6.4% of total stateroom inventory. Edge has 176 suites (12% of inventory) and since all of the suites have REAL verandas, you could say that 18% of rooms onboard have a space that any rational person could actually describe as a REAL balcony. Celebrity would have done better to call these Infinite Oceanview Staterooms: a panoramic oceanview cabin with window that opens.
How does this compare with Celebrity Solstice? According to Celebrity’s fact sheet on that ship, verandas make up 85% of stateroom inventory. And that’s with a REAL balcony.
Infinite veranda? Really?! Perhaps a re-read of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is in order.
[Want to compare stats on Edge and Solstice? Click on those links to each ship’s fact sheet.]
Celebrity Edge Oceanview Staterooms
Our group booked this cruise one year earlier, and at that point there were only Oceanview staterooms available. We missed out on the Infinite Verandas 🙂 , gosh darn it! Our staterooms were lovely — slightly larger than previous Celebrity cabins I’ve had, and the bathrooms were beautiful! It was the largest, most comfortable shower I’ve had in a cruise cabin.
Service from our stateroom attendant was poor. We didn’t meet her until three days into the cruise, and our cabin was rarely made up any earlier than 3 p.m., even though both my cabin mate and I were early risers and always out of her way by 8:00 in the morning.
Celebrity Edge Suites
THIS is where I see a massive leap forward in stateroom design, and it really is exciting. All suites aboard Edge look fantastic. Even Sky Suites on Edge, the entry level suite option, are special. They have 418 sq. feet, a REAL veranda, and an innovative design where the bathroom mirror that folds back, opening up the entire space to the occupants can enjoy the floor to ceiling panoramic views of the ocean. (New note: I have now read a number of complaints about the massive rocking chair taking up most of the cabin’s floor space, as well as the statement that their Sky Suite bathroom’s mirror did NOT open)
Of course the further up the suite ladder you climb, the more extraordinary the spaces become. To peruse suites of Edge, from the most expensive, the Iconic Suites, to my favorite, the Edge Villas, visit Celebrity Edge Suites here.
The Sunset Bar and the Rooftop Garden
I think Celebrity put the Sunset Bar on a starvation diet because it’s way skinnier than previous versions. On other Celebrity ships, this was one of my favorite places for sail-aways, and the seating easily wrapped around into the Bocce Ball spaces of the Lawn Club. Now the space between the bar and the rear of the ship is so narrow, that if there are more than just a few people trying to get drinks, it’s claustrophobic.
I visited the Sunset Bar several times, then gave up on it.
The Rooftop Garden is lovely, but there isn’t much shade at many times of day. Additionally, if you want a drink, you’ll have to go back to the Sunset Bar to get that . . .
The Grand Plaza
The Grand Plaza atrium rises three stories, from Deck 3 to Deck 5, and interior ship life on the Edge revolves around this area. The design eliminates the grand staircase, which is fine, since a need to pay homage to the Titanic film is long over.
Celebrity Cruises describes it in this way:
“What If Your Favorite Italian Piazza Could Travel with You? . . . Inspired by the piazzas of Italy and the invigorating energy of everyone coming together to savor a taste of the good life, the Grand Plaza is home to our incredible specialty restaurants, along with our popular Martini Bar, Café al Bacio, and the new Grand Plaza Café.”
Many things occur to me when I look at this space, but after spending months in Italy, an Italian piazza is not one of them. During the day, regardless of the failed piazza concept, I think the space works for the ship. At night, the reality of spending time in the Grand Plaza is not wonderful.
On Deck 3, the Martini Bar occupies the heart of the Grand Plaza — topped by a massive light sculpture that sometimes pulsates to the beat of whatever music is playing. I think it may be the spawn of 1970’s discos. Gone is the frosty bar from the Martini Bars of the Solstice ships. Gone are more intimate spaces at the edge of the Martini Bar with windows looking out onto the ocean.
Why aren’t there any windows? Because a row of cabins runs along both sides of the ship on Deck Three, hemming the Martini Bar into the center of the atrium with no access to outside views. My group gathered here each evening and can roundly state that we don’t like the new Martini Bar. I suggested changing the name to Grand Central Station.
Another couple said it looked like the bar had been placed in the bottom of an American shopping mall. A gentleman I sat next to another evening, who did have a suite said, “the cacophony in the Grand Plaza is atrocious. Thank God I can return to the Retreat!” Complaints about too much Techno Pop music form a common thread in comments on Cruise Critic.
Why didn’t we go elsewhere? With the Passport Bar, Cellar Masters, the World Class Bar, the Ensemble Lounge, and the Sky Observation Lounge all gone, our choices were limited. We might have chosen the bar at Eden, but since we spent many hours there during the day, we simply didn’t want to be there in the evening.
On the Deck Four, Café al Bacio and Le Grand Bistro are on the two sides of the ship, with the center open to the atrium. Celebrity enlarged Café al Bacio considerably, by sending the Gelateria to the Oceanview Cafe and eliminating outside deck space, thus making the coffee bar wider with huge windows on the ocean. The result is a very comfortable and improved coffee bar, with enough space for gathering and visiting.
Eden and Edge
Eden became my go-to spot on sea days. I love its design; it really is my favorite part of Edge. The massive, three story window spanning the entire stern of the of the ship is an extraordinary feat of engineering. I would find one of the seats at the very back of the ship, on the ramp that winds from Eden’s second level up to its third. Here I would write, read, and watch the ship’s wake trail out behind us for miles.
Another one of our friend group liked that third level, a seat overlooking the larger space below. I knew where to find John when I was looking for him! Additionally, the Eden Cafe offered outstanding quick-serve food, and the Eden Bar served libations continuously for most of the day.
Two downsides to Eden for daytime uses: 1) since SO many gathering spaces where left off of the Edge, a couple of the sea days it was overcrowded, and 2) Scheduling a vocalist to sing in the middle of the afternoon in a space where people were reading or playing games was poor planning on the cruise director’s part.
On top of it, the female vocalist performing in the afternoons in Eden was just an average singer who performed the worst version of James Brown’s “I Feel Good” that I have EVER heard, a bizarre arrangement of the song with maddeningly slowed-down tempo that went on interminably. I thought I was going to shoot myself — or her, before she finally finished it. As a teenager, I saw Brown perform live at the Jazz Fest in New Orleans in the 1980’s, and I know this rendition has him turning flips in his grave. Several afternoons later when she returned and started into it again, I had to leave.
Magic Carpet on Celebrity Edge
This cantilevered space hangs out over the ocean, and moves up and down the side of the ship (although not while passengers are sitting in it). The Magic Carpet was designed to be a multi-functional space: during the day, a bar, and in the evening, a restaurant. On days the ship tenders, it can be moved down to Deck 2 and extend space for those operations.
What did we think? The Magic Carpet is a novelty, but whatever extraordinary amount Celebrity paid for this innovation wasn’t worth it. The Carpet can be hot when the ship is docked, and unpleasantly windy when the ship is sailing. I’ll pass along a valuable lesson. If you set your wine glass down on a table in the Magic Carpet while the Edge is at sea, you’d better hang onto it, or risk blowing champagne all over your friends!
Additionally, I heard several guests with “infinite verandas” that were near the Magic Carpet that the noise and music made opening their window unpleasant — a consideration when selecting cabins.
Art Onboard Edge
Enjoying the paintings, sculptures, and art installations is always one of the pleasures of traveling on Celebrity ships.
The Spa
Two members of our group had massages on sea days, and reported that the spa area on Edge as very beautiful. However, both of them felt heavily pressured to buy products following their treatments. This was my experience on a previous Celebrity cruise, so I avoid spa treatments on large cruise ships.
Dining on Celebrity Edge
Instead of one massive main dining room, Edge offers four smaller dining rooms: Tuscany, Cypress, Normandie, and Cosmopolitan. Part of the menu in each restaurant includes dishes that are served in all four restaurants, but then each one offers a small selection of specialty dishes only available there, for example, pasta dishes in Tuscany or French cuisine in the Normandie. I find this a positive change, resulting in a more intimate dining experience, but other members of my group didn’t like it as well, and missed the single main dining room with its soaring ceilings.
If you choose Traditional Dining, you will be assigned to a table in one of the four restaurants. While you can eat in the other restaurants, it’s a bit of an effort to get a table — particularly if you are with a large group. This is where the flexible dining option, called Celebrity Select Dining, will give guests more freedom to move between the four restaurants.
Service in Tuscan over our first three nights was poor — exceedingly slow — frankly, the worst I’ve ever seen on a Celebrity ship. On that third night, as every table around us was receiving food and our drink orders had not even been taken, our Elite Plus friend went to the maître d’ to make a complaint. The immediate improvement was extraordinary, and the service for the remainder of the trip, attentive. Food in Tuscan was consistently good.
The Oceanview Cafe seems so similar to previous iterations on all Celebrity ships that it does not bear comment.
Specialty Dining
We don’t make reservations for speciality dining a long way out. On a New Year’s Eve cruise, what a mistake this was! We should have. By the time I started looking at the restaurants, about six weeks before our trip, almost everything was booked.
Two of us ate together at Le Petit Chef at the Bistro, which we both found charming. I had seen a video of this technology a couple of years ago, and was so pleased to get to experience it first hand. How was the food? Very good, but not exceptional. I would return for another meal with Le Petit Chef if I had a companion who had not experienced it. The meal was entertaining.
I also managed to snag a table at Raw on Five for lunch on one of the sea days. My seafood was outstanding, if pricy.
The other two specialty restaurants I wanted to try: Fine Cut Steakhouse and Eden. We heard amazing things from the people who ate at Fine Cut. Opinions on Eden were mixed – think Food Meets Performance Art. Some enjoyed it, but would not return for a second time. Other people who talked about it just thought it was weird. And not in a good way.
Others’ Opinions of Edge?
I love people, and I always end up visiting with lots of folks on my cruises. I spoke to fifteen other couples during this trip. The common conversation? “What do you think about the new Edge?” The most positive of those responses were mixed. Some actively disliked the ship, and many others said: interesting, but not great. I didn’t meet anyone who loved the Edge. The positives failed to outweigh the negatives, combined with the premium price to sail on the newest ship in the fleet. Common thread: “No, we won’t sail on her again. We like the Solstice ships better.”
Opinions from fifteen other sets of passengers are hardly statistically meaningful. As I write this review of my cruise on the Edge, I’ve looked for more data. There are now 211 reviews posted on Cruise Critic. 24% of those reviews rate their experience on the Edge as Terrible to Poor. Another 31% describe their time on the new ship as just Average. Finally, 24% rank Edge as Very Good, and 25% as Excellent. Even when you read the Above Average reviews, many are mixed. One thing that stands out is how many negative reviews of Celebrity Edge come from loyal Celebrity customers.
Updated March, 22, 2019: Now 282 reviews on Cruise Critic:
|
What was RCL Thinking?
Celebrity is one of six brands owned (or partially owned) by Royal Caribbean Ltd.: Royal Caribbean Cruises, Azamara, Pullmantur Cruises, TUI Cruises, its newest acquisition, Silversea. Royal Caribbean Ltd. (RCL) is the second largest cruise line operator in the world, after Carnival Corporation.
The cruise industry looks towards the future, trying to predict where the market is going next. The oldest cruise-taking vacationers are aging out of the market. What comes next? Selling to the Millennial generation, of course.
RCL invested over one billion dollars in Celebrity Edge, the first of four ships in the Edge Class.
Virgin Voyages launches its first ship, Scarlet Lady, on April 1, 2020.
Millennials think cruising is uncool, so Virgin passengers don’t book cruises. They book VOYAGES 🙂 . The child in me wants to whisper, “it’s STILL a cruise.”
If you think the Edge has an aggressive bow design, just look at the Scarlet Lady! Celebrity, which has long been the coolest, most fashionable division of RCL is readying itself to compete with the newest player in the large-ship cruise industry.
More Edge Class Ships Coming
When a high percentage of loyal Celebrity cruise customers tell the company that they dislike its newest ship, what does the company do next? Apparently, they build more of them. To be fair, Apex, the second Edge Class Ship, is already well into construction. She launches over Easter Break of 2020. Two more will follow, in 2021 and 2022.
Will Celebrity make changes in ship design based on customer feedback? Impossible to know. If alienating loyal customers is a winning business strategy, Celebrity Cruises may be looking at stellar financial numbers.
All sarcasm aside, Celebrity customers may self-select: “I’m a Solstice class lover” or “I’m an Edge Class lover.” Another possibility is the affluent, slightly older Celebrity customer may choose to move up to Suite Class to take full advantage of the best parts of Edge. If this is the case, RCL’s gambit may be brilliant — as they laugh all the way to the bank.
Is Celebrity Edge for You?
If you regularly book suites with Celebrity, you may love Edge. The Retreat looks gorgeous. If you book standard staterooms, or staterooms in Concierge or Aqua Class, and you love the Solstice Class ships, Edge is probably not going to make you happy.
In order to determine whether the new ship offers what YOU want on your cruise, I would ignore all of the over-hyped Celebrity descriptions of their new baby, go to the Celebrity web site, and do a side-by-side, deck-by-deck comparison of Edge and any one of the other ships in the Solstice Class (links will take you to Celebrity. Scroll partway down the page to find the deck plans).
Consider the spaces where you like to spend time. Which ship has what you want?
Will I sail on Celebrity Edge Again?
Hard to say. While I didn’t hate the ship, I didn’t love her either. If I did travel on her again, it would be in a Sky Suite with access to the Retreat. And here is the big question: if I’m going spend “suite level” money, would it be with Celebrity? Or would it be on an all-suite, intimate ship with more interesting itineraries — one that doesn’t pull into ports with multiple mega-ships all at the same time?
One thing I do know. Our Elite-Plus member friends will never set foot on her again. In fact, they’ve just booked a cruise with Regent Seven Seas . . . and as angry as T&R were when we finished our cruise on Edge, Celebrity may never get them back as customers.
Right now, Celebrity is charging a steep premium to sail on this new ship — and in my opinion, most passengers are getting far less for their cruise dollars on Edge than on other Celebrity ships.
My recommendation? If you are sailing in a regular cabin with Celebrity, book a cruise on a Solstice class ship and don’t look back.
Just because Celebrity has sailed over the edge, doesn’t mean you have to follow.
| Like it? Share it! 🙂 | |
|---|---|
 |
 |
More Information
Deck by deck comparison of space usage between Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Reflection, which is the newest of the Solstice Class ships.
| Deck | Celebrity Edge | Celebrity Reflection |
|---|---|---|
| 16 |
|
|
| 15 |
|
|
| 14 |
|
|
| 12 |
|
|
| 11 |
|
|
| 10 |
|
|
| 9 |
|
|
| 8 |
|
|
| 7 |
|
|
| 6 |
|
|
| 5 |
|
|
| 4 |
|
|
| 3 |
|
|
Looking for Celebrity Edge Ship reviews? This a Celebrity Edge Cruise review from a New Year’s Eve Cruise in 2018 and 2019, which left from Fort Lauderdale on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Will I like Celebrity Edge? Celebrity Edge Infinite Veranda Reviews. Negative reviews, bad reviews, mixed reviews from Celebrity Edge passengers mean that you should look closely at this ship before booking a cruise.
[…] what have passengers made of the whole experience? One travel writer gave a thumbs-down:“While I didn’t hate the ship, I didn’t love her either. … Just because Celebrity has sailed […]
You nailed it. Celebrity has forgotten the old adage Dance with the one that brought you!
We are sailing the Edge for 3 weeks in Jan. We are Elite members and love the Solstice ships. We just sailed the Equinox in Sept for 3 weeks, loved it. This time we booked an infinite veranda for the first week and deluxe for the next two. We should have did more research as the deluxe balcony is so small the chairs can’t even face the water. Also, never realized the balcony was only a circular opening. No wonder it cost so much less than the Equinox and included all the perks. When the Apex starts sailing, I’m sure at least one of the Solstice ships will leave the Caribbean, causing the older ships price to soar as I don’t hear many people wanting to sail the Edge ships a second time. I can’t believe they plan 4 of these. As much as we are loyal to Celebrity, we might just have to expand our choice of cruise lines in the future.
Dear Ann,
Many thanks for the article. I had avoided Edge primarily because I disliked the idea of a large deck area being off limits unless you spend a fortune on a suite. I also disliked the notion of distinguishing passengers from one another (such as apparently is still heavily practiced on Cunard — which brings to mind the Titanic movie where the gate is locked and the steerage class passengers are trying to escape after the ship has hit the ‘berg). Until I read your very helpful article, I hadn’t realized how poorly the rest of the ship had been imagined by Celebrity. I definitely intend to avoid the Edge class going forward. However, Celebrity has apparently announced that they are “whole hog” going in this direction by overhauling the rest of their fleet according to the Edge “formula”, as at this link:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article215030650.html
I’d appreciate your thoughts on the link and any input you may have received about your article from Celebrity. It is rare to see an entire company commit suicide in front of you (the Blackberry cellphone company comes to mind). Hopefully Celebrity will have a moment of lucidity before that happens.
With the emphasis on the Retreat and the Suite Passenger Only areas, comparing Celebrity’s new emphasis on separating classes of passengers does indeed bring Cunard to mind. Like you, I’ve certainly read that they will be doing Edge-style “upgrades” to the Solstice Class ships on the next couple of years — the “Celebrity Revolution” that your Miami Herald article discusses. In answer to your question, it’s pretty obvious that the parent company RCL feels this is a good direction. I’m underwhelmed.
Traveling on one of the mainstream, large-scale cruise ships — even if you are in a suite — just isn’t the same as the higher level boutique lines. I keep coming back to this point: if I’m going to spend suite level money, then I’d rather travel on an all-suite ship, smaller in size, and able to make more interesting ports of call.
And for Celebrity to diminish the experience of the larger percentage of their guests — betting that people will upgrade to suites for the better experience seems very short sighted to me.
Hi Ann, My wife & I are scheduled to sail on the Edge Dec. 8th. Neither of us have been on one of their ships before & it was my idea to try them out because of the reputation of the line. I was also excited to see what this new ship would be like. Thankfully, we’re booked on a Sky Suite (first time ever in a suite) so I’m sure we will have a pleasant time, but I’m not sure we’ll enjoy the “interactive entertainment” direction of Edge. We’re more traditional cruisers so we’ll probably book our next cruise on the Nieuw Statendam or some other HAL ship. I like the direction HAL is taking with the music venues & their food has always been top notch. I’m also not averse to trying a Solstice class ship from Celebrity, but a lot will depend on this first cruise. Thanks for a great review!
Hi Gerry, I’m sure you and your wife will have a great time aboard the Edge — since you are in the Suite Class. As I said in my review, I think Celebrity has really made a huge commitment to making Suite Class passengers feel special. Access to the Retreat is kind of a make-or-break difference with how guests will feel about their time aboard this ship — it will give you a quiet lounge option for drinks, along with a really wonderful restaurant — Luminae. I’d sail on the Edge again . . . but only in a suite.
We were one couple you spoke to on your NYE cruise; being on board for the ships’ first 5 weeks B2B. Yes 5 weeks of trying to remain positive and find the ‘improvements’ we were so dearly expecting. We are Elite Plus status (48 cruises with Celebrity and devoted fans…. until our cruises on The Edge), but to say we were bitterly disappointed in the design of this ship, is truely an understatement. You have done an excellent job in accuratley describing the changes made and warnings given in regards to booking a cruise on this ship. We will NEVER travel on The Edge again, and are seriously concerned as to the future direction of Celebrity. We are now seeking out other (6 star) cruise lines as an alternative which have better design, greater value for money and all inclusive for ALL guests.
Hi Jennifer, I remember the two of you. Truly, you have spent more time aboard Edge than probably anyone other than employees. I really wanted to like the Edge. I tried. The biggest thing for me with this article is to get travelers to look closely at the Edge before booking a cruise on her. We were very disappointed in the ship, and the whole thing made me sad.
My daughter and I were looking at cruises for next May, and the only Celebrity cruise that fit well between the end of her semester and her internship was a cruise on the Apex (the next Edge class ship). We won’t be going. We’ve made non-cruise plans instead.
Thanks Ann. So glad you liked the art. I represent Sophie Dickens who made the Arion
Sculpture . I love your images of it. Any chance I could get copies from you to put on our website ?
Best , Gerry
Sophie Dickens work is truly wonderful — Arion is gorgeous, and I have looked up her other work — all equally as amazing. I’ll send you an email.
I’ve been on one Celebrity cruise. My very first one, my honeymoon with my first husband. I was not a fan and have never cruised with them again. I have cruised with 3 other lines and prefer them, although it would be interesting to try one out since it was been 20 years since I’ve been and I am sure they’ve made lots of improvements. I’m sorry your experience wasn’t quite what you hoped for!
Are you confusing Celebrity with Carnival? Of the mainstream, large ship cruise lines, I have long thought Celebrity was really the best.
I think the most important thing with the new Edge ship, is for loyal Celebrity customers to take a long, hard look at the public spaces on the ship — and make a decision about whether Edge works for them.
Thank you for your honesty! The deck by deck comparison is really helpful as it really shows what’s missing and what’s new. It seems that Edge is targeting suite class customers as the new spaces are created for them 🙁
I really think Suite Class is the way to go on the Edge — with the Retreat, I think I’d find the more quiet private spaces I really need on a large cruise ship. I also think that Concierge and Aqua Class guests are getting a much lower end experience than on other Celebrity ships.
Thanks for such an honest review. It doesn’t sound like this ship would be for me. I love cruising, but even in NCL’s Haven, I wanted more options. I typically choose cruises for their port cities, but do look at the ship’s features, too. “Not great” says it all.
It’s really important to me that other potential passengers have a realistic idea of the differences between Edge and Celebrity’s other ships. Like I said above, I think Edge is very attractive for suite passengers. Everyone else needs to take a very close look at the ship’s amenities before they decide to book — the biggest complaints I heard were 1) Problems with the Infinite Veranda and 2) How many public spaces are missing from Edge.
I didn’t realize you were such a frequent cruiser, Ann! You’re right… from your photos it looks like the design of the ship is beautiful – particularly the architecture along the windows. It’s very aesthetically pleasing. But it sounds to me that Celebrity really let down all its passengers when it comes to practicalities.
I think you’re right – public space on a cruise ship is SO important. Even the higher end rooms are usually quite small, and after all you want to have the space to explore on those lose sea days. You should send this review on to Celebrity as they could probably use your feedback. I’ve read a lot of sponsored reviews of Celebrity lately from bloggers who got press trips – so it’s nice to read an unsponsored one that’s certainly not biased!
I’ve spoken to several people who were on the free two day cruise that industry people, travel agents, and some journalists were invited to — and the industry reaction to Edge was exceedingly positive. It would seem, however, that when an entire ship of passengers paying for a New Year’s Eve cruise were onboard — opinions were largely NOT the same.
It’s great to be reading your work again Ann. Missed you. It sounds like the Edge has really worked on maximizing the paid cruise excursions from cabin upgrades to sea days (3 days at sea?) while minimizing the on-board free activities. Also I laughed out loud about Millennials taking voyages. Are voyagers the new travellers of the sea? Of course, I am a nerd I loved the dissertation about ship design.
I spent over a decade of my professional life working around the new US Zumwalt class of destroyer including an onboard visit while she was in port in San Diego. That destroyer features a wave piercing tumblehome hull that seems very similar to the Edge. Interestingly enough, this is an ancient ship design dating back to Roman times when the boats were primarily powered by oarsmen. The oars extending from the side of the ship provide a significant amount of roll stability. When the oars were replaced by sails, the hull design was too unstable. That is until modern time when the stability can be controlled via active compensation. I did give you a nerd alert first 😉
Ed, I can always count on you for interesting info — love the aside on both the destroyer and the Roman boats.
Eastern Caribbean itineraries out of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami always have too many sea days as far as I’m concerned. It’s just a long way to go for just 7 days. But when you have a great ship with lots of spaces for different activities, sea days can be very relaxing. Sadly, Celebrity Edge has eliminated so many public spaces that I found the sea days problematic on this trip.
I can’t believe all my favourite bars have gone! We spent so much time in the Sky Lounge and loved Passport Bar and Ensemble Lounge too. I prefer lots of smaller places rather than a couple of huge ones.
I feel the same way. For me, this is THE major problem with Edge.