Sailing on: Celebrity Edge, Auckland to Christchurch

Highlights

• Celebrity Edge herself!  Celebrity Edge has a modern, luxurious, and contemporary feel to it. Onboard it feels bright, light, and elegant and is filled with an amazing collection of artwork and quirky sculptures.  Felt like you were walking onto a floating hotel.  There is more than 10 million dollars worth of art onboard and to name a few there is a bronze horse named Arion (weighing more than a ton), the beautiful ‘Jiao Long’ sailing ship that was created using pearl necklaces and brooches and walk through art installation in a completely mirror-covered hallway on Deck 5.  Celebrity Edge is one of the most modern and technologically advanced ships of its class.  The parabolic ultra-bow hull is designed to reduce fuel consumption by 20% (compared to older ships), and this design also gives a smoother and faster sailing experience.  The ship also has an advanced wastewater purification system onboard — the end-product is of drinkable quality and so clean that the water is legally allowed to be discharged in Alaska.  The Edge ships are also equipped with shore power technology, which enables them to use local electrical grids when in port — this also cuts down on fuel consumption.

We sailed before Christmas and they had put a huge Christmas tree in the Grand Plaza

• The Retreat -  When you book a Suite you get access to The Retreat which includes private restaurant at Luminae and Retreat lounge and Retreat sundeck with its own plunge pool includes premium drinks and Wi-Fi.

• Spaces - Celebrity Edge is a large ship with 2908 guests but there is plenty of spaces onboard to go and relax so it never feels overcrowded.  If you want to sit back and relax, the Rooftop Garden (with its giant sculptures and greenery) is a great escape.  There is also the spa or the expansive pool deck, which has a large pool, stylish sunbeds, martini-shaped hot tubs, and he most photographed place on the ship — the beautiful butterfly artwork, named Dream Machine.

• The Magic Carpet - One of the most distinctive/unique part of the ship is this Magic Carpet.  This is a large, orange, floating platform off the side of the ship that moves up and down.  The area has plenty of comfortable seats, a full bar, and is the perfect place to sit and relax in the evening.  It is a multi-purpose area, and at the highest deck, which is 13 stories high, converts to a lounge bar, or an extension of a restaurant on Deck 5.  The Magic Carpet also has a very practical use, and on port days it goes to the lowest deck and can be used to get guests across to the tender boats.

• Dining options - There are 16 Dining Options with 4 Main Dining Rooms: Cosmopolitan (American), Cyprus (Mediterranean), Normandie (French), and Tuscan (Italian).  Each restaurant offers three starters and three main courses specific to their respective specialty cuisines, with other dishes being available in all four restaurants.  The Oceanview Café which is what the Buffet is called on board it offers a huge variety of international food options, breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks in between.  I was impressive with the selection of options and it tasted good.  There are specialty dining options available onboard most costing around USD72 per person, which are Eden, Fine Cut Steakhouse, Raw on 5, Rooftop Garden Grill, and Le Petit Chef — a unique 3D animated experience that brings your table top to life with a menu created by a Michelin Star Chef.  I went to Raw on 5 which was beautiful food and presented well.  Also we heard the Eden restaurant was amazing.

• Bars & Lounges -  There are 6 bars to choose from on this ship, definitely aiming for a younger age group around 40-50’s, were they like to have a drink before going to dinner or a show.  My favourites were the Martini Bar which is located in the middle of Atrium on Deck 3 and they made me a fruity gin.  Also the Eden Bar (Deck 5) and Sunset Bar (Deck 15) at the back of the ship on which you can have a drink and watch while you sail away.

• Celebrity APP - Which provides an overview not only of the layout of the ship but of every restaurant’s opening times and it can even help you make a reservation.  Celebrity at the moment do print out a daily planner everyday and place in your cabin, however this year that will changing to either choosing with option you could like a print out in your cabin each day or looking at the app.  It was very easy to see what activities were on, plus you could add them to your reminder list, and it would alert you when activities were on.  You also were able to see your account summary and everything you purchase as you go.

• Activities and Entertainment - There are activities to suit almost everyone, including quizzes, dance classes, cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts, fitness classes, movies, martini tasting, and the silent disco (which is a must do), just to mention a few.  The evening entertainment is phenomenal and changes each night.  The theatre design is quite different to other ships I have seen, giving great visibility to most seats and almost immersing the audience into the performance. While onboard, we saw a fascinating show by the Celebrity Edge production cast called "The Colors of Life", and also an amazing violinist called Yoomia, who completely rocked the audience on her 100-year-old Italian violin (playing songs from Queen to Guns and Roses).  Later in the evening the entertainment continued with late night shows, the silent disco, live music, DJ’s and dancing that went into the night.  On Port days, there is not a huge amount of activities available onboard, that is because the target market, would be getting off to explore the new destination.

Top Tips

1. Beverage package.  Purchase the All Included Package or upgrade to the Premium Package.  This Classic Package which includes Beverage Packages, Wi-Fi Packages. With it being USD dollars onboard and the drinks range from USD6-USD20 from soft drinks/water and cocktails.

2. Upgrade to an Infinite Veranda.  To explain the name of the cabin, the Infinite Veranda means the veranda was actually part of the main space of your room. You could divide it with screen doors if you wanted, or just keep it open. The blinds worked on a button control, and so did the top half of the window, so you can open up to the fresh air. A very cool use of space. The bathroom and shower were spacious and there was loads of storage space. Very comfortable stateroom for sure.

3. Book the specialty dining early via the Cruise Planner. Try Le Petit Chef™ and Friends for a fun, delicious and truly unique experience.

4. Book a cruise with a few sea days if possible so that you can enjoy the facilities and venues onboard Celebrity Edge, as well as your destination

5. For casual dining, check out the Oceanview Café. The ‘buffet’ on Celebrity is always exceptional, but on Celebrity Edge it was bigger and better. Dinner is quiet as most people are in the range of restaurants, but you’ll find an amazing range of fresh options including a choice of roasts and cooked to order steaks and salmon. The same goes for breakfast with multiple omelette stations and smoked salmon bagels anyone?

6. Drinks.  Have a drink at the Martini bar, this is located at the heart of the ship in the atrium, where there is entertainment throughout the day and night, and the bar tenders deliver your drinks with fare. The cocktails are delicious!

7. Power.  If your boarding from NZ you'll also need to bring a US adapter.

8. Pizza. The Pizzeria at the back of the ship in the Oceanview Café, the pizza tasted amazing and it always quiet sitting area around this area or outside.