There are times when our thoughts about a cruise line change, one way or another. A quick preview of new Celebrity Edge gave me the opportunity to return to Celebrity Cruises, a premium cruise line we have not sailed in several years.  Highlighted here, unique features found only onboard Celebrity Edge…but you can find that information a number of places which will spend more time on each individual one than I will.  Looking past the features, an undercurrent of evolution at Celebrity Cruises promises a unique direction going forward.  We’ll make a stab at nailing that down too.

Effective:  Check the box for a noticeable addition of Norwegian flair in design elements. Not like Take-No-Prisoners Viking Norwegian but leaning in that direction enough to catch the wave. This is really not what Edge-class seems to be all about.  It’s more like Celebrity blue has options now ranging from LIght Blue to Darker Than Ever Blue… and then all other colors of the rainbow if you open the magic box AND jump inside.

Take the first jump by downloading the Celebrity Edge Ap.  Learn your way around that ap as much as you can before boarding.  Like other cruise line aps, this one comes alive once on board with all the current information, events and everything any aps from any other cruise line do.  Then the Edge element kicks in, enabling that ap to open your stateroom door and do fun things you will need to find out about onboard.  Best of all: It just works.  Watch as the user group for this part of the experience expands.  Currently dominated by younger travelers, the Celebrity Edge version casts a wider net in much the same way many other features on the ship.  Basically, again, it just works.

Travelers will have to make some choices here. They might be difficult choices.  But oh for those who have the courage to proceed down that road: Celebrity Edge-class has the potential to be a strong and unique addition to your cruise history.  You’ll need to buy into the onboard programming for that to happen.  But what else is new?  Participation in onboard programming enables us to step away from reality a bit anyway.  Refreshing, renewing, relaxing and other commonly experienced outcomes are well within our reach in the world of cruises without exception.  This is not the static one-size-fits-all travel experience.

Before we get too far down the road here, another unique feature of Celebrity Edge is THE most advanced engineering/navigation/command system of any ship in the fleet. Touring the bridge, we went into the Crisis center to see what happens when things go wrong.  We have a feature coming up on that but for now know: Celebrity Edge leverages the latest technology to efficiently handle and communicate about emergencies as they happen.  A bow to stern internet system covers all areas of the ship, even if there is no power, to insure that critical communication happens in a crisis.

Safe and secure Celebrity Edge subtly offers the option to go further outside of our comfort zone than previous versions of what they have done…like hanging over the side of the ship on the Magic Carpet.  That’s what the orange thing on the side that goes up and down is called.

Things To Know About The Magic Carpet

• Commonly misunderstood: the name “Edge” refers to the thing that hangs out over the side.  Wrong.  The ship is Celebrity Edge, the thing hanging over the side is the Magic Carpet.
• Deployed when the ship is stopped.  The Magic Carpet is locked high up on deck 14 when the ship is in motion.
• It will never get stuck in the down position. If it does, the ship will not be sailing anywhere. The Magic Carpet is not made to withstand the sea.
• The Magic Carpet is not a fast way to get off the ship.  It does not go up and down, delivering and returning people from anywhere. Down and in port it is part of the Destination Gateway. It’s also a dining venue and a bar.
• The hardware that supports the Magic Carpet and the Magic Carpet itself are not Lifeboat Orange.  The color is actually Tangerine.
• Highly visible, the Magic Carpet and hardware will be one way to find your ship in port, like a Royal Caribbean anchor, Carnival Funnel or Princess Seawitch. There is still a big “X” but it is turned sideways so best seen from front or back of the ship, not a side that might be in port.

Actually, that variable focus theme begins with transformational public venues that change throughout the day.  That’s not new, other cruise lines have done that as well.  The unique Celebrity Edge twist is flavored with a bit of the cutting-edge, wowable features sister line Royal Caribbean does so well.  To say “They gimmicked it up” would be understandable at first glance but become inaccurate quite quickly.

Here is the Magic Carpet again, this time with an entirely different nighttime ambiance.

Of interest to loyal Celebrity Captain’s Club Members:  If you liked Celebrity Solstice class, you can emulate that experience on the new Edge series of ships.  The physical layout of the vessel will allow it. The overall feel of most areas is similar as well.  Celebrity Solstice was the last Celebrity ship I sailed before Celebrity Edge.  The family resemblance goes without question. Still, new stateroom design had me thinking this was an entirely different cruise line.

I barely scratched the surface exploring stateroom 7179, a category E3 Edge Stateroom With Infinite Balcony.  Unique to only Celebrity Cruises in the ocean (something like this is already a river cruise feature) the Infinite Balcony is far more than a wowable feature.  To know:

• Walking into your stateroom, it looks like one big window from floor to ceiling and from side to side with a bar in the middle the only obstruction.  Indeed that is exactly what you would be seeing in a category IO Panoramic Oceanview stateroom.  In the E3, the top part goes up and down.
• Wondering where the curtains are?  Gone.  Replaced by a roll down, adjustable shade that completely locks out any sunlight.
• Perfect for those who want to sleep in, it’s as dark as an inside cabin when the shade is fully down
• Potential problem: Me.  I like to get up early, have coffee delivered then slip out on to the balcony to drink it while Lisa sleeps. There will be no slipping in and out sun here.  It takes a while to go up and down.  Not long but way longer than a curtain might.  Still, I am usually always the one who gets the beam of sunlight that sneaks through a tiny crack in the curtain to wake me.
• Good or Bad: All of these are closed to the top and sides, much like an in-the-hull balcony.  That brings less air movement and sun.  You’re going to have to time it just right to sunbathe on these balconies.
• Closed like a window, you can absolutely leave belongings in that space and they will be there in the morning.
• Cheating Smokers may still be annoying but they do not render your outside space entirely worthless. Close the balcony (sort of like rolling up a window, but backwards) and poof, the source has been elminated
• Rolled Up, It’s nearly silent in there.
• Interesting Feature: The bridge can lock all of the sliders in the up position if needed, effectively putting the ship into a comparative stealth mode, denying access to wind whipping around on balconies of 900 staterooms.

Odds are you will want to get up, get going and be out of this space at some point though.  Doing so on Celebrity Edge is a decidedly different scene than cruise travelers are accustomed to.   Here is a series of photos I took getting off the ship and getting back on, captioned to explain the process/benefits/wonder of it all.

When we think ‘really big ship’, the picture in our mind might be of a Royal Caribbean Oasis-class ship. Any of them.  We do that with large, medium-sized and small ships too.  Big fans of travel by ship probably also have a go-to thought or image when asked about dining, activities, booking, pricing and more.  All that is about to change. Those thoughts will need to be revised for the addition of Celebrity
Edge class, very much like they did when Celebrity Solstice class debuted.  Celebrity Edge physical features alone change the matrix of choice among cruise lines.

The difference between a future for Celebrity Edge that is Great or one that is Legendary will depend on the cruise line’s ability to engage travelers.  There is a terrific amount of good experience to be had here. Still, this is no passive, sit down and watch the show sort of thing. You can and you’ll enjoy it but to not dig in on this is just shortchanging the value sitting there waiting to be had.

They tell me the Celebrity Edge series will all have ships with four letter word names.  Edge was first.  Apex is next.  Love should be in there somewhere.  I think you’ll agree.

More On The Way

Coming up:

• Exposure Photo Storybook: Celebrity Edge
• Great Sources Of Celebrity Edge News & Information
• Celebrity Edge Stateroom Tours
• The Amazing Celebrity Edge Walking Track
• Unique Celebrity Edge Details