She is now 21 and a student at Oxford University. Here’s what we discovered »Īlthough the cruise was short, it was historic because it included the ship’s christening and naming party, a splashy event that included bagpipers singer Andra Day and the ship’s godmother, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, co-founder of the Malala Fund, which supports education for girls and young women.Īt 15, Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, which targeted her because of her public stance on education for females. We were on Nieuw Statendam’s maiden voyage. Even without completing these steps in advance, I was onboard within 10 minutes. The secret: Facial recognition teamed with an app that speeds the process for guests who have checked in, scanned their passports and taken a selfie. Lutoff-Perlo had said before the ship’s launch that the goal for passengers would be “10 minutes from car to bar” - and we made it. True to promise, we spent little time waiting in line. My introduction to the 2,900-passenger ship came during a three-day, round-trip cruise that sailed from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades in Florida, where we boarded through a new, $125-million terminal built for Celebrity. Carnival Cruise Line will launch the Carnival Panorama, which in December will make its home port in Southern California.Īll of these will have plenty of bells and whistles, but it may be difficult to best Edge in the near future in terms of trailblazing ideas. The coming year will bring a host of other new ships to challenge Celebrity Edge, including vessels from Princess Cruises, Norwegian and MSC Cruises. But Edge may not be as popular with veteran cruisers and thrill seekers who prefer lots of top-deck toys Celebrity’s persona is “modern luxury” - no water slides or climbing walls included.Īdventurers may be happier with Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which hit the water three months ago and was the largest ship in the world when it launched, or Norwegian Cruise Line’s Bliss, which launched earlier in 2018 and often sails out of West Coast ports.
Celebrity edge plus#
There are innovative design improvements throughout the ship, plus sexy new entertainment and culinary upgrades. “Edge is the future of cruising.”Įdge, selected in December by as the best new ship, is as avant-garde as its name implies, a groundbreaking vessel that may convince non-cruisers - especially travelers who picture themselves as trendsetters - to hop onboard. “People tell us they haven’t considered cruising before, but they want to be on this ship,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Celebrity’s chief executive and president. Seven takeaways from cruising the Mediterranean with five kids » It’s aimed at people who aren’t necessarily cruisers. The ship, Celebrity’s first in six years, is the initial vessel of four scheduled to launch through 2022. Celebrity Edge, its marketing staff had said, would be “revolutionary,” “game-changing,” “visionary” and “transform how we experience the world.”
The hype had been nonstop for more than a year before the December launch. More than a thousand of us had set sail earlier in the day on the maiden voyage of Celebrity Edge, the most ballyhooed vessel of 2018-19. I could still do a happy dance, but no one would see me. The top half of the window slides down with the touch of a button. I usually celebrate the beginning of a cruise from my balcony, where I would do a happy dance as the land grew smaller and the sea grew larger.īut a major innovation in the design of this ship has eliminated standard balconies in favor of enlarged cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows. We had left the dock about 15 minutes earlier. I peered through the open window of my stateroom and watched the lights of southern Florida grow smaller by the second and finally disappear. Reporting from ABOARD THE CELEBRITY EDGE .
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