Last Easter I headed off to Miami flying direct from Dublin with Aer Lingus, to board the new magnificent Celebrity Edge in Fort Lauderdale. The ship would be visiting Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Puerto Costa Maya, and back to Fort Lauderdale, which is one of the ports used by cruise companies for Caribbean cruises. You can check out my review of Miami, Little Havana and the Everglades here.
Tip – The trip to Fort Lauderdale takes about 30 mins and I would recommend if you are basing yourself in Miami, book a taxi via Lyft or Uber app for the cheapest transport deals.
As we arrived in Fort Lauderdale terminal, our bags were happily taken from us and off we headed to check-in/ boarding the ship. I was a little surprised that given the class of the cabin (Sky Suite) there was absolutely no VIP welcome from Celebrity. Despite the poor welcome, when we arrived in our Sky Suite a complimentary bottle of bubbly was kindly waiting for us.
The Sky Suite was a decent size with a nice size balcony. The bathroom had a sunken bath which was nice and spacious. We had to wait a few hours before our Butler arrived, but he was extremely helpful and managed to get us most of the specialty restaurants we were looking for. The Magic Carpet (one of the highlights of the ship) was already booked out by the time he tried to book.
Tip – If you are booking Celebrity Edge, get on the ship as early as possible and book out the speciality restaurants you want, as well as the Magic Carpet.
The décor on The Edge is absolutely fabulous which was designed by Kelly Hoppen, but what I also liked most about the ship was its size, it is small enough to get around easily, without the need for Google maps to find everything.
The Retreat is an exclusive area for Suite Class guests with its own private access. Your cabin suite is outside of the Retreat (which is different from others) so you would access this area for Sunbathing or the Retreat Bar/ Snack Dining area. The Retreat has its own small pool and jacuzzi and was very enjoyable to relax in. Just to note that food is served at certain times in the Retreat area so if you want anything outside those times you need to visit the cafés throughout the ship. The Retreat also had a lounge downstairs for guests who could get coffee and pastries in the morning but all other times this lounge was pretty empty and not a great use of space.
One of the big compliments I can give about the ship apart from the decor is the quality of the food. We visited at least 5 different specialty restaurants during our seven-day cruise and loved all of them. One of my favourite restaurants was Le Petit Chef which projects images of petit chefs cooking your various courses on your empty plate and when it is ready gets delivered by your waiter/waitress.
Another fabulous restaurant was the suite class restaurant Luminere which we visited each morning for a la carte breakfast, and it is one that you really look forward to visiting. The service in this restaurant was excellent and the team looked after us each morning. Other restaurants worth visiting on the ship include Fine Cut Steakhouse (delicious), Raw on 5, Rooftop Garden Grill (eating outside is always enjoyable) and Eden restaurant in the beautiful indoor garden setting.
If you enjoy shows and love to be entertained, then you are in for a different experience on the Edge. This ship is targeting the younger and more affluent customer, yet the mix of clientele on the ship still varies in age profile. There is no big show that you see on other ships like Cirque du Soleil or one of the big musicals. Celebrity Edge has created its own version of a Cirque du Soleil show which runs in Eden each evening. ‘The Club’ hosts virtual activities for kids during the day, game-shows in the evening and then it turns into a nightclub after hours.
Tip – Be sure to make the most of the fabulous Gym, Spa and Massage treatments onboard!
The Edge has a magnificent gym that overlooks the front of the ship and has all the equipment of any large gym. If you like a spa you will love the one on Celebrity Edge, we used it on a number of occasions including the massage treatments.
Celebrity Edge is a magnificent ship, the décor is fabulous with unique designs throughout the ship. One of its biggest attractions is the Magic Carpet which moves between different decks at different times of the day.
So, is ‘The Edge’ Fabulous? Yes. The décor, the design & the restaurants were fabulous. I await in anticipation of the visit to its new sister ship ‘The Apex‘. This summer I will be on MSC Seaview in the Yacht Club, so watch this space for an honest comparison with the two ships.
