The $1 billion Celebrity Edge will debut in Australia during the 2023–2024 cruise season, bringing multi-level suites and a large spa.
Between December 2023 and April 2024, cruises ranging from six to thirteen nights will set sail from Sydney and Auckland to visit 22 ports in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
Tim Jones, Vice President and Managing Director of Australia and Asia-Pacific for Celebrity Cruises, said. At the same time, it has been mentioned that the Edge Series ships were designed with the new world of travel in mind, that all ships were envisioned with more space long before COVID-19 was a consideration, with an expansion of indoor and outdoor areas, larger accommodation, and additional dining options.
During the 2023–24 cruise season, Celebrity Edge will make its first voyage to Australia.
According to Jones, the ship, which launched in 2018 and was captained by Kate McCue, the industry’s first female captain, “brought to life a completely fresh and distinct style of thinking” by collaborating with designers who had not previously been involved in the cruise business”.
To quote the brochure: “The ship’s distinctive outward-facing innovation is designed to connect guests closer to the sea and the destinations they are visiting… it’s a luxury boutique hotel at sea.”
The overnight stops in Australia for the 2900-passenger ship will be in Hobart, Cairns, and the brand-new port of Kangaroo Island. All trips to New Zealand cover both the northern and southern islands.
New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Mystery Island, an uninhabited islet in Tafea Province, are all on the itinerary for the South Pacific cruise.
Suite guests on Celebrity Edge have access to The Retreat, a “ship inside a ship” with a private restaurant, special lounge, and sundeck, all of which help set the ship apart from the competition. Six two-story villas provide guests with individual plunge pools and the Infinite Verandah, a feature also found in staterooms, which allows the living area to be converted into a balcony at the touch of a button.
The Edge boasts 29 different dining and drinking venues with menus created by Michelin-starred chefs. The Spa provides a variety of wellness amenities such as a steam room, a float tank, heated tile loungers, Peloton bikes, and F45 Training.
However, according to Jones, Edge’s Magic Carpet stands apart because it is the first cantilevered floating platform in the world and can extend up to 13 storeys over the water.
“The moveable platform is a first-of-its-kind engineering accomplishment, transforming from an embarkation platform to an alfresco extension of our dining room at Raw on 5.”
Edge was the last ship in Celebrity Cruises’ fleet to sail in March 2020, just before the global pandemic struck, and the first ship in the industry to sail from a US port in June 2021.
While Celebrity ships are already travelling with fewer guests for more room, Jones thinks it’s impossible to tell whether this would still be necessary in 2023.
“The procedures we have in place currently satisfy the world’s demands and will evolve in accordance with official health advice and requirements.”
Celebrity’s whole fleet is equipped to be landfill-free, with garbage on ships being repurposed, recycled, or turned to electricity.
Edge has shredders, compactors, and crushers for glass, light bulbs, tin, and aluminium. Celebrity’s ships produced 90% freshwater on board in 2020, ensuring that local supplies were not drained.
All Celebrity cruises now sail with a fully vaccinated crew and require all eligible guests to be vaccinated.