The Staterooms Are Tech
Typically, cruise cabins have a limited number of electric outlets. This is why we consider an outlet expander a must have cruise accessory. The Edge staterooms have outlets that allow you to plug in more than two devices at a time, including a handy bedside USB port. But even, with these additional options, we still needed the outlet expander.
Also, if you download the Celebrity App, youre able to use it to control several features in the stateroom, such as the lights, the temperature, and the television.
Celebrity Edge Review: Dining
There are 29 restaurants, cafes, bars and lounges on the Celebrity Edge, from the Oceanview Café that serves all meals to Luminae and Blu which are reserved for certain suites/guests, to Fine Cut Steakhouse, Le Grand Bistro / Le Petit Chef, Raw on 5, the Magic Carpet, the Rooftop Garden Grill and Eden, with dining on a reserved basis. Plus there are the main four restaurants . We had breakfast each day at Oceanview Café, lunch both days at Cosmopolitan, a late afternoon snack at the Mast Grill, and dinner at Le Petit Chef and at Oceanview Café the second night. We could have been more adventurous, but when I travel with my kids they get to choose, and buffets are simply easier and more flexible than set seatings. Plus the food at the buffet is legitimately good, with a lot of meat and vegetarian choices and international selections . And there are a ridiculous number of desserts.
I mentioned Le Petit Chef. Do this. Make a reservation and go. Do not miss out. It costs an extra $55 and its worth it a truly unique dining experience where your table comes to life through animation. The basic story line is that four chefs are competing to make the best dish, but the fun is in watching each chef create your dish right before the real version comes out. It really was fun, and the animation is gorgeous and creative. Plus the food was great.
Celebrity Edge Review: Summary
The Celebrity Edge made me like cruises again! My daughter and I both wished that our cruise was a lot longer. We didnt stop at any ports, so I cant speak to the disembarkation/embarkation process, but Celebrity seems to have everything else down to a science so Im optimistic that there wont be issues in port. My kids arent super-social. They like reading and relaxing and appreciate luxury and really good food, and this is an absolutely perfect atmosphere for that basically, a wonderful upscale floating hotel where you can unpack once and see different destinations every day. Kind of perfect if youre not looking for an amusement park!
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Celebrity Edge 2022 Sailings
In 2022 the Celebrity Edge is in the Caribbean through April, and then again starting in November, for 5-11 night sailings .
From April through October the Celebrity Edge is in Europe, with 7-12 night sailings mainly to Italy, France and Spain, but with a couple itineraries including Greece and Turkey. Note: we love Greece , but I dont think a cruise is the best way to see the Greek Islands. Youre visiting small islands with thousands of others during the hottest part of the day, and you miss the magic of uncrowded mornings and evenings, and leisurely dinners on the beach, and the charm that makes Greece what it is.
Depending on the sailing, prices start at $672 per person in the Caribbean and $1,069 in Europe and the Mediterranean. Theres a discount for groups/families.
Is There An Age Limit For Children
Children as young as 6 months old are allowed on the ship. Kids of any age can spend time with the ships nursery while you go out on an excursion or enjoy your dinner in one of Celebritys amazing restaurants.
When your kids are big enough to leave the nursery, let them go explore. The Adventure Ocean Youth Program has plenty of activities for all different age groups .
You can choose from scheduled supervised activities or you can drop them off and let them do their own thing. However your children want to enjoy themselves during their free time on the ship, the Youth Program will be sure to provide a safe and fun environment.
The Youth staff is all CPR/First Aid certified and are attentive, caring, energetic individuals that will take care of your children. Your child can sign up online before sailing so they wont miss out on any activities.
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Celebrity Activities That Are Included
Celebrity cruise’s entertainment activities are unique and diverse, so whatever your mood is, you can go and grab your favorite drink or take a seat or dance the whole night and let them entertain you throughout your journey.
1. The Lawn Club is an onboard real grass area on the top deck of all Solstice Class cruises of Celebrity fleets. It is designed exclusively with your relaxation and enjoyment in mind. You can enjoy your onboard picnic or sit under the sun in the late afternoon at sea. It is also a perfect place for al fresco lunch, play outdoor games, catch a live jazz concert, and more.
2. The Resort Deck is on Edge series with the asymmetrical, reinvented outward-facing pool deck that makes the sweeping landscape and iconic sea views. It is the solarium, an adult-only sanctuary like a hidden pocket park in a bustling city. The deck is like you come to another world on the water.
3. The Grand Plaza is a majestic three-story venue inspired by Italy’s piazzas and its invigorating energy of everyone coming together to savor a taste of the good life. It is home to incredible specialty restaurants that includes Café al Bacio, Martini Bar, and a unique gathering place.
4. The Retreat Lounge & Sundeck on celebrity cruises are the striking envisioned by world-renowned interior designer Kelly Hoppen, MBE. The sundeck is a chic enclave that gives a high-end resort feeling where you can sit, relax and enjoy your wines, cocktails, and drinks.
Celebrity Cruises Launches Celebrity Apex Officially During Naming Ceremony
Celebrity Apex is officially launched as of today.
Celebrity Cruises held a naming ceremony at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Tuesday to celebrate the newest ship in the fleet, which included introducing the ship’s Godmother and giving the vessel a proper sendoff.
Apex’s godmother is Reshma Saujani, who is the founder of groundbreaking non-profit Girls Who Code and author of bestseller, Brave, Not Perfect.
With the naming ceremony complete, Celebrity Apex is ready to begin her U.S. cruise season. The ship was originally to begin cruises in March 2020, but Covid-19 halted those plans.
Following a short run of Greek Island sailings earlier this summer, Apex will now offer rotating Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
We are elated to welcome Celebrity Apex to our family of magnificent vessels that push the boundaries of whats possible on a cruise ship, said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. As we welcome guests back to the seas aboard the newest Edge class ship, we are excited to deliver the very best vacation experience that is the hallmark of every Celebrity cruise.
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Your Kids Can Meet Other Kids
The various kids clubs offer lots of different activities for kids to do together or independently. Even though the Camp At Sea program is age-specific, there are playrooms for toddlers as well as teenagers that everyone can use together.
Kids will be excited to see their favorite characters like Doc McStuffins onboard Celebrity ships. They wont have a hard time making new friends because theyll be running around having fun together all day long.
They can keep track of their schedules with a kids activity guide made just for them, so mom and dad dont have to do it. Kids can bring fun stickers back to use later in the week when they get to decorate their family photo album.
Each ship has unique activities that will be a hit with your kids. For example, your ship may have a board game cafe that allows you to hang out and play classic games like Battleship, chess, checkers, and Connect Four.
Do Parents Have To Attend All Childrens Activities
No, you are not required to attend any of the childrens activities. However, it may be helpful for your children to see their parents cheering them on from time to time.
It is a ship vacation so you should enjoy yourself and go out on some excursions while the kids hang out with other young cruisers. When it is time to come together, there are tons of things the entire family can enjoy together.
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How Much Does A Celebrity Cruise Cost
Celebrity ships are very reasonably priced. Theyre not the least expensive vessels out there, but theyre not pricey by any means. Its possible to find a week-long Celebrity voyage to the Caribbean or even Europe starting under $1,000 per person, not including taxes and fees at least in the offseason. For 2022, some week-long Alaska sailings were selling for under $500 per person.
As of the date of this storys posting, for instance, seven-night sailings from Fort Lauderdale to the Western Caribbean in August were starting at just $899 per person, not including taxes and fees of $192.78. That works out to just $156 per night, per person with taxes and fees for a package that includes your lodging, transportation and meals.
For such a rate, youll get a windowless inside cabin on a ship. Cabins with ocean views on the same sailings start at $999 per person, and cabins with balconies on the same sailings will set you back at least $1,249 per person. But thats still not all that much for a cruise.
As you might expect, pricing for ships generally will be lower during offseason periods such as September, October, November and parts of December. You can end up paying considerably more for a cabin during peak summer months or over the winter holidays.
Who Sails Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity appeals to a somewhat older demographic than some of its best-known rivals in the world of relatively big ships . This is, in part, because its onboard offerings are not aimed at families nearly as much as the onboard offerings of the latter brands.
Unlike Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC Cruises and Norwegian, Celebrity doesnt load up the top of its ships with sprawling waterparks, go-kart tracks, laser tag courses and other flashy, family-focused diversions.
Instead of bustling attractions, the top decks of Celebrity ships offer lots of quiet and relaxing pool and lounge areas where you can enjoy the experience of being at sea without a lot of hustle and bustle. Inside, the experience revolves around dining, classic showroom entertainment and a classy bar and music scene just as it has on Celebrity ships for years.
Its the sort of experience that draws a lot of couples in their 40s, 50s and 60s, but not necessarily a lot of families. The average age of a Celebrity passenger is a tad north of 50.
Still, while families with younger children usually gravitate to one of the above-mentioned lines with more family-friendly activities, that doesnt mean you cant bring your kids on a Celebrity cruise. The line does offer a relatively robust childrens program .
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Food Options For Kids
There are three options for kids who dont want to take the time to sit down and eat.
The room service menu includes items like grilled cheese, peanut butter, and jelly sandwiches, or hamburgers with fries.
Kids can always stop by one of the buffets and grab a little something quick like cereal, yogurt, fruit, bread, pastries, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, or pizza. Children usually love ice cream, and Celebrity has several locations for ice cream cones, sundaes, banana splits, or shakes.
You can relax knowing that kids are always welcome to join their parents at any of the restaurants or bars onboard Celebrity ships if they want to eat a more formal meal together. They also have lots of healthy fare like fresh fruit, vegetables, and salad bars.
Nice Mix Of Family Friendly Entertainment Options
Overall, the ship offered a nicely varied mix of entertainment options throughout the day and evening sufficient to avoid boredom, but not so numerous as to be overwhelming. It was easy to quickly figure out what was going on at any point in time using either the app or the paper newsletter.
Daytime Activities
During the daytime, the cruise directors staff hosted a range of educational and recreational activities such as a session on how to cook a perfect steak, an archery challenge, origami, knitting, and a giant Jenga challenge.
Notably, traditional bingo was not offered. Instead, the ship offered a version of Deal or No Deal with cash prizes.
The ship also hosted daytime movie screenings in The Club and/or the Rooftop Garden. During our sailing, the choices included Aquaman, Nancy Drew, and the Hidden Staircase Mama Mia The Upside A Star is Born and the family classic Wizard of Oz.
There were also various iterations of trivia games. Including an interactive game show style trivia that required the use of a smartphone or tablet.
Evening Activities
The Main Theater generally had showings at 7:30 and 9:30. Featuring a mix of different types of musical acts, acrobats, and the occasional magician or comedian. While some of the featured musical acts would perform songs from several popular Broadway shows, this ship did not feature actual stand-alone shows that you often find these days on other ships.
During our sailing, the Main Theater featured:
Music & Dancing
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Features You Wont Find On The Edge
There were several features or amenities that you often find on the newer family-friendly Mega ships that you wont find on Celebrity Edge.
- No water slides, splash parks, or options of any kind for non-potty trained kids.
- No arcade. But there were extensive Xbox offerings in the regular kids club, the Teen Club, and several public events held at The Club.
- No sports deck. But there is a multi-level jogging track and a couple of ping pong tables .
A Celebrity Edge Review
When I received an invitation for a preview sailing of the Celebrity Edge, I wasnt initially excited. Our last cruise with kids with Disney had been and we didnt have another cruise in our travel plans. But I was also intrigued. The Celebrity Edge was supposed to be the most advanced ship ever, with some really cool features like a cantilevered restaurant on the exterior of the ship. And then when I mentioned the invitation to my 8-year-old daughter, she jumped at the opportunity to miss a couple days of school and join me. I mean, how many times would she be able to say she was one of the first kids ever on a ship?
So I accepted the invitation and we flew out from Santa Barbara on a Wednesday morning, connecting in Phoenix and Charlotte, and arriving into Fort Lauderdale around 8pm. The nice thing about Fort Lauderdale is that the airport, several hotels, and the cruise port are all very close together, making the trip easier. Less than 15 minutes after walking off the plane we were at our hotel.
Thursday morning we checked out of the hotel at 11:00 and then headed to the cruise port at noon. Check-in and embarkation were remarkably fast because we had already completed all paperwork online, including uploading photographs. Definitely do this to save time, either through the app or website, in order to skip lines. A couple of facial scans and a luggage check later, we were walking onto the ship. We headed straight to our cabin.
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Celebrate The Holidays On Celebrity Cruises
Kids will love celebrating the holidays on our cruise ships. With festive decorations and themed events, we make it easy to get into the holiday spirit. Children will love building gingerbread houses, singing along with carolers, and enjoying a visit from Santa, who always makes a special appearance bearing gifts.
Autism-Friendly Cruises
We offer a welcoming, autism-friendly environment on all of our cruise ships. Onboard, kids with special needs can enjoy sensory-friendly films, toys, and dietary menu options. Additionally, we offer a number of autism-friendly services including priority check-in and boarding.
Published Activities Often Not Track What Actually Happened
At the beginning of the cruise, families could pick up a schedule of the planned activities for the week when they when registered on embarkation day. Although the schedule provided detailed information about the various activities for each of the different age groups for each day, it was often not followed. This led to some frustration when kids would show up for an announced activity , but nothing resembling that was actually happening.
Celebrity Edge: Youth club area for Cadets kids ages 6 9.
According to the program brochure, the youth club staff have a basic menu of core activities that they supplement each sailing based on the interests of the kids. This may have been part of the reason that daily activities frequently departed from the printed materials. But, ideally, there would be some way of informing guests of changes in advance.
A sample of some of the general activities:
- Shipmates Fat Brain Toys, paper plane competition, finger painting, beading bonanza, pizza making, face painting, obstacle course, food relay, Legos, balloon volleyball, superhero night.
- Cadets foosball challenges, finger painting, robotics, movie night, dance party.
- Captains dodgeball vs Teens, Xbox challenges, Pictionary, card games, ping pong tournament, gaga ball.
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Modern Casino Thats Well Integrated Into Main Activity Areas
The casino on Celebrity Edge has a somewhat unusual layout. Its very long and narrow with multiple entrances from several directions. This allowed for guests to flow in and out easily. But, at the same time, no guests were forced to walk through the casino itself to get to points A or B.
The casino had a great selection of table games and slots. Not a lot of tables, but generally sufficient.
And, the casino enjoys a great location on Deck 4. It is a few steps away from the main complimentary restaurants, and its adjacent to the Grand Atrium and other fun high traffic areas.