Celebrity's first newbuild in more than 10 years will offer various luxury interiors and venues
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge will feature a cantilevered Magic Carpet platform, an exclusive area named The Retreat, expanded suites, Infinite Verandas, The Rooftop Garden and much more when she debuts in December 2018.
Celebrity Edge is the cruise line’s first new ship in a decade and her interiors were revealed at Seatrade Cruise Global, taking place 13-16 March in Miami, Florida.
Designed completely in 3D, the 2,918-guest Celebrity Edge will feature interiors created by designer Kelly Hoppen MBE of Kelly Hoppen Interiors, architect Tom Wright of WKK, Celebrity Edge’s design ambassador Nate Berkus and the cruise line’s own design team.
“Celebrity Edge is one of the most exciting, innovative and transformational ships I have ever been involved with,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “The new features and refined design will establish a new baseline for ships from here on out.”
Highlights will include Magic Carpet – a ship climbing platform the size of a tennis court that can scale the 16-deck ship and be positioned at four levels. When positioned at Deck 16, the Magic Carpet becomes a speciality restaurant offering a ‘Dinner on the Edge’ for 90 guests, but when it is alongside Deck 14, the venue becomes an open-air expansion of the main pool area. On Deck 5, Magic Carpet extends another of the ship’s speciality restaurants with an al fresco seating area. Finally, at its lowest position on Deck 2, Magic Carpet is a key component to the Destination Gateway, a luxury embarkation station for guests joining tenders to get to shore.
In addition, renowned architect Wright has created The Rooftop Garden, which will be tended daily by a resident horticulturist and provide a space for games and activities during the day. At night, the venue will host live music and the outdoor movie-and-meal pairing of ‘A Taste of Film.’
Accommodation has been designed by Hoppen and includes 918 Edge staterooms with Infinite Verandas – floor-to-ceiling windows that can be retracted to create a glass railing together with folding French doors. This adds 23% more square footage to rooms and provides space for 10% larger bathrooms than Celebrity’s Solstice Class. Guests can also use a button to control lighting, shades, temperature and service.
Celebrity Edge will offer more than double the number of suites as the Solstice Class and added two new categories. These include two 2,600-square foot Iconic Suites with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, panoramic windows and a 700-square foot veranda offering a 270-degree view of the ocean.
Another new Suite Class comprises six split-level Edge Villas, which have two storeys of windows, private plunge pools and direct walk-out access to The Retreat Sundeck. There will also be two Penthouse Suites with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large soaking tub on the veranda, dual walk-through showers, and expansive walk-in closets, and the 146 outward-facing Sky Suites.
All suites and double occupancy Edge Staterooms are fitted with exclusively designed king-size cashmere mattresses – an industry first – and offer personal butler services and access to The Retreat. This private area features a sundeck with a pool, The Retreat Lounge with around-the-clock personal butler service, and the Suite Class restaurant Luminae @ The Retreat.
“Our guests don’t want to just skim the world like a magazine – they want to feel a human connection with it,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. “Every element of Celebrity Edge is meant to make that connection intense and unforgettable. Our new class of ship will allow guests to experience their journeys with the uniqueness and sophistication that marks the rest of their lives.”
Celebrity Edge will homeport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and embark on her maiden cruise on 16 December 2018. The ship will sail a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Her seven-day Western Caribbean calls on Key West, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico; and George Town, Grand Cayman. Travelers will also have the option to book back-to-back sailings for a 14-night journey.