Growing up in Florida with older parents, cruising has basically been in my blood since I was a child. My family loved the ease and convenience of being able to drive a couple of hours to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, etc., to hop on a ship, and to instantly be on vacation.
In my 36 years, I have been on almost 75 cruises. On these trips, I have cruised various regions of the world including, North America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia. Being able to walk onboard, unpack only once, and to wake up in a new place every day is a pretty nice way to travel. One of the things I like best about cruising is that you get a little taste of a new place. Then, you can travel there again by land if you love it, and so that you can explore it on a more in-depth level.
I know that cruising is polarizing to most people, but for others, it’s an affordable and easy way to see the world. And if you pick the right ship and cruise line, your cruise vacation can be one of the most enjoyable and relaxing vacations of your life.
Why I Wanted to Sail on Celebrity Edge
I have sailed on many cruise lines over the years: Carnival (that was a one-and-done and NEVER again), Norwegian, Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Celebrity and Regent.
But I have to say — Celebrity has been my go-to cruise line for the past decade. To me, Celebrity ticks all of the right boxes: delicious cuisine, consistently outstanding service, beautifully maintained ships, diverse itineraries, and most importantly, a great value for the price point.
That’s why when Celebrity launched its new “Edge Class” of ships in 2018, dubbed by the brand as representing “a monumental leap in design and innovation,” I knew I needed to check it out for myself.
And in a nutshell, WOW, just WOW! I was TOTALLY blown away and I can honestly say that Celebrity delivered on that promise.
Celebrity Edge Overview
The Celebrity Edge is the first of brand’s Edge-Class series of ships. Launched in 2018, Celebrity Edge is billed by the company as “a ship designed to leave the future behind.” And boy does it ever!
Celebrity coined it catchphrase “Modern Luxury” over a decade ago, and the Edge is the true embodiment of that slogan. Its design, decor, service, innovation, etc., truly pushes the envelope, and it marks a turning point in the approach to ship design for the entire cruise industry.
With 29 dining venues, and multiple entertainment facilities, there is something for everyone onboard. The cutting-edge ship boasts many firsts in the cruising industry, such as the Magic Carpet lounge, which floats up and down the side of the ship. Celebrity Edge provides almost everything onboard that any other cruise ship would, but she does so with a one-of-a-kind, contemporary panache and luxury flair.
Celebrity Edge Quick Facts:
Year built: 2018
Weight: 129,000 tons
Passenger Capacity: 2,918
Crew: 1,320
Staterooms: 1,467
How I Booked + Itinerary
I have been booking all of my cruises for the past 15+ years via an OTA called Vacations To Go — shoutout to my cruise consultant Donovan!
Being an avid cruiser, I have found that Vacations to Go has the absolute best pricing — most of the time even better than booking directly with the cruise line itself — and VTG even offers additional perks and onboard credits that you won’t find on other travel sites or offered by the cruise lines when booking direct. Of note, I paid for my Celebrity Edge cruise with my Chase Sapphire Reserve to earn 3X points, since it’s coded as a travel purchase.
For a 7 night voyage on Celebrity Edge in a Sky Suite stateroom, I paid $5,000 total for two passengers. Included for a Suite Class reservation were the following:
- Free Premium Alcohol Package
- Tips Included
- Free Premium WiFi
In addition, Donovan at VTG was able to score us an onboard credit of $400 per person, which we could use at our discretion for extras like shore excursions, specialty dining, spa, casino, shopping, etc.
Since I have been on so many cruises, I like picking unique itineraries, and I have found that Celebrity has some of the best in the industry. I chose this specific 7 night voyage departing from Ft. Lauderdale, because it ported at an island on my bucket list — Tortola, British Virgin Islands. In addition to the BVIs, the ship also stopped in the Bahamas and St. Maarten.
Sky Suite Stateroom
We booked cabin 9204, and I fell in love immediately when I walked through the door. The Sky Suite is perfectly designed, and offers a blend of expansive views along with a luxe interior. The large, 319 square foot suite featured a king-size bed with a cashmere mattress and a spacious, private veranda.
The decor was modern, clean and super chic. I also loved that Suite passengers were assigned a dedicated butler, and it was awesome to have a cold bottle of sparkling wine waiting for us everyday in the stateroom for our daily, afternoon happy hour on the veranda.
The split bathroom features a very large rain shower and a tub — yes a spacious spa tub on a cruise ship! I was blown away! It was so large, in fact, that 2 adults could fit in it comfortably. Trust me, I tested it 😉
In addition, there was a lovely seated vanity, which made getting ready for dinner each night a leisurely and relaxing experience.
The Retreat (Exclusive Access Only for Suite Class Passengers)
The Retreat isn’t a place. It isn’t an amenity. It isn’t a service. It’s all of this and more.
The Retreat includes a private restaurant, and an exclusive lounge and sundeck that rival any five-star resort. The Retreat has a dedicated team of attendants, concierges, and butlers who do everything to ensure you never have to lift a finger on your vacation. And the service was phenomenal!
As avid cruisers will know, the pool deck on any cruise ship is the main attraction onboard, and also where hoards of people congregate on a daily basis. It can be like the Hunger Games to find a open sun lounger, and having to weave and swerve between the crowds can become and exhausting and arduous task. And that’s not something you really want to deal with on vacation.
Well, if you want to avoid the masses, then The Retreat will be your refuge. I have never experienced a pool deck on a cruise as laid back, uncrowded and relaxing at The Retreat on the Celebrity Edge. On top of that, I have never seen a pool on a cruise ship as gorgeous as this. I mean those floating chairs over the pool and posh cabanas are just to die for!
Luminae Restaurant
This private restaurant for Suite Class passengers boasts a boldly elegant interior that’s as distinctive as the cuisine. The dishes here are found nowhere else on board, including the new Daniel Boulud signature dishes complimentary to all guests of The Retreat.
We had almost every meal at Luminae, and it was absolutely divine! The service was impeccable, the food was the BEST I have ever had on any cruise, and the decor was lavish. You’ll be hard pressed to find better food or service at sea than Luminae!
The Retreat Lounge
This exclusive lounge is warm and inviting. Suite passengers can enjoy complimentary beverages, gourmet bites, and a stylish place to unwind in style, along with the services of The Retreat Concierge.
We enjoyed having afternoon tea here few times throughout the cruise, and we also used this space for getting some work done. It was the perfect place to chill and answer emails, all while admiring the view of the ocean through the large, floor-to-ceiling windows.
The Spa
I love going to the spa on vacation, and there are spas and then there are SPA-AHHHHHHS. And The Spa on the Celebrity Edge has to be the most decadent on the seven seas.
At the heart of The Spa on Celebrity Edge is the SEA Thermal Suite and its eight distinct therapy rooms. It’s a playground for the senses and an incredible place to relax before or after your treatments. Basically, Celebrity has taken everything that has made its iconic Persian Garden so popular on its older fleet of ships, and elevated it to a whole new level of tranquility.
At the Celebrity Edge Spa you’ll find things that have never before been on any cruise ship: a hammam, a crystalarium, a salt room, an infrared sauna, a rainfall water therapy room, a float room, and so much more.
I spent almost all of our onboard credit in the spa, and it was a divine delight of the senses. I enjoyed a variety of wonderful treatments, and found The Spa on the Edge to be the perfect oasis for pampering and relaxation. It was by far the best cruise ship spa that I have ever experienced in my life!
Overall Onboard Experience
The Celebrity Edge is an award-winning ship, and rightfully so!
The design elements of Celebrity Edge are totally, off-the-charts amazing, and at every corner you’ll be in awe of the meticulous attention to detail that the architects and interior decorators brought to life when designing this ship.
A Ship Designed to Leave the Future Behind
Honestly, there are so many one-of-a-kind spaces onboard that it is hard for me to know where to start. Wherever you go on this cutting-edge ship, the fusion of art, design and sculpture are part of the riveting sailing experience.
And there are surprises in store around literally, almost every corner. For example, there is a huge room filled with free-form bronze figures of trees, which is known as “Avalon.” It is almost eerie, but completely mesmerizing. And there was no explanation as to what we were looking at—just captivating and enchanting, “living” sculptures.
In total, there are 4,000 works of art on Celebrity Edge. In addition to Avalon, my other favorite piece was this a model of a ship—made of thousands of pearls!
Even the main Resort Deck is a work of art! At the center of this space is a 25-yard lap pool, which is the largest in Celebrity’s fleet. And positioned magnificently above the Pool Bar is an ever-changing LED light art installation. Another attention-grabbing addition to the pool deck are striking, two-story martini hot tubs, that take unwinding at sea to new heights.
The spaces on Celebrity Edge transform from day to night, so sometimes it’s hard to categorize them. For example, Eden features panoramic ocean views and an atmosphere that evolves as the day goes on.
Eden introduces the industry-changing concept of outward facing spaces designed to build a greater connection between you and the sea. It’s three levels of sensory experiences, which are all designed to awaken your spirit of wonder in unique and exciting ways. Each day or night that you visit, you’ll encounter a new fusion of music, libations, culinary delights, and experiences, which are unlike anything else at sea.
Final Verdict
As you can see, the Celebrity Edge is not your average cruise ship. For cruisers, and non-cruisers alike, I don’t think you’ll find a ship as beautiful or as modern as this — except for the Celebrity Beyond, which is the newest Edge Class ship that Celebrity launched last year. And on top of that, the service and hospitality we experienced onboard was top-notch, and some of the best on the seven seas!
Hands down, the Celebrity Edge was my favorite cruise of all time, and I would sail on her again in a heartbeat. If you’re planning a cruise in 2023, or thinking of planning one, I strongly advise you to consider the Celebrity Edge and her sister ship the Celebrity Apex, or the newest Edge Class of ships the Celebrity Beyond and the Celebrity Ascent (debuting later this year). Trust me, unless you’ve already sailed on a Celebrity Edge class ship, then you’ve never cruised like this before!
Such a fine line between an advertorial that reads like a press release and an actual review, that typically can be incredibly laudatory but at least is able to someone identify room for improvement. As someone who has been on “75 cruises,” was there literally nothing that you’d change? And for the sake of clarity, while you presumably receive a referral commission from Lucky’s Chase page, do you receive an affiliate /referral fee from Celebrity if we book through the links?
No press releases were used here to write this review. I paid all $5,000 in cash, and actually took this trip before I started writing for GSTP. Quite honestly, that’s the thing that blows me away about this cruise over others. There was NOTHING I would change about this ship — it was the perfect cruise for me and for the type of vacation I wanted to take at the time. In terms of the affiliate/referral fee, as you can see in the post, I actually called out a cruise OTA called Vacations to Go. I have been booking with them for 10+ years, since they 90% of the time offer the cheapest rates. And no, they and Celebrity are not an affiliates of GSTP. Just wanted to share a hot tip with our readers, since a penny saved is a penny earned!
I couldn’t wait to read your post, especially with a title like that. I wanted to read about where you went and what you did. It wasn’t that at all–maybe you could retitle it to” Best Cruise SHIP I’ve been on”?
Not to detract at all from the content, which really has me interested in checking out the ship. And thanks for the pointer about where you buy your cruises–I’m filing that away for sure!
Everything is relative, Chris. In all honesty, other than the BVIs, this itinerary was nothing to write home about. I picked this cruise to experience the new Edge class of ship and to go to Tortola, and that was the whole point of the vacation. To some, a cruise is the best because of where they went, and for others, a cruise is the best because of the experience they had onboard.
Glad to hear that this peaked your interest to check out the new Celebrity ships though, and def get in touch with Donovan Brooks at Vacations to Go. Have saved tens of thousands of dollars over the years booking with him versus other sites or booking direct with the cruise lines. But of course, always price compare before you end up booking — sometimes you can find killer deals when the cruises line are running their own sales!
WOW, I absolutely hate Celebrity and we to have tried them all, again and again.
Rust Bucket Celebrity Solstice should be sunk and used to create reefs.
Never been on Solstice myself, so can’t speak to that ship. But as you can see, Edge is on a whole different level from any of Celebrity’s older fleet!
Poorly prepared, cooked and just bad food, no sense of how to cook the various meals, display or just plain keep it warm. Almost all food is cold. No idea on changing buffet items on a regular or semiregular basis.
Cross contamination present on my last cruise. Total disorganised layout with staff unable to distinguish what is in front of them. You ask for ham they give you turkey. The Edge is a lovely ship but those in the buffet are in need of massive training. The restaurants forget it, you are better off if you can get McDonalds, Burger King or Wendy’s. Ex. Onion soup..no onions just sugar. Steak asking medium with pink interior you get it overdone and inedible. No more Celebrity for me, not worth the money.
Wow that’s quite the critique, John! I never ate at the buffet on the Edge, since with Suite class we had our own dedicated dining areas, and I too hate buffets on cruises. I also never dined at any of the specialty restaurants, since I didn’t want to pay the upcharge, and since Luminae consistently had an intriguing and delicious new menu each day.
A bit harsh on carnival. Dollar for dollar great value. Have had way more experience on the high seas than you so i know what I am talking about. 75 cruises is hardly gives you status or knowledge on this industry . Try 212 cruises then you can comment.
So unkind, Paul.
I was hoping for some photos of your suite and ship, but it looks like most (all?) of your photos are directly from Celebrity.