Celebrity Edge

Loved it and going back for more

We have been on 4 Celebrity ships in the past and although I liked all of them the Edge was the best of all. Reading some of the reviews here we must have been on a different ship. Yes, it is nitpicking when you complain about the basin tap being on the wrong side and that you missed the concierge lunch (it was available for us but we chose to explore instead) plus so many other small things that people are complaining about. We spoke to many many passengers over meal times and they, like us thought it is was the best cruise ship they have ever been on. We had dinner three times in the main restaurant but preferred the enormous selection that was available at Oceanview Cafe, can’t understand how anyone could complain on what was on offer. We found there was a huge selection of seating outside, if it was too windy we found somewhere else. We had an infinity balcony in the concierge deck 11 section, it was perfect as was the crew. Obviously we all have different opinions on the ship, food, entertainment etc. but for us we thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t focus on minor things to spoil our cruise. We have booked another cruise in the Edge.

Our 12th Cruise (3rd with Celebrity); BEST One Yet

The words below are my own; I did not use AI to either help me compose or edit the review. Since our first cruise in 2006, my wife & I have been fortunate to have enjoyed twelve cruises on Premium, Luxury, and Ultra-Luxury cruise ships. Our recent 9-night “Australian Wine Cruise” onboard Celebrity Edge was the best one yet, being slightly better than our previous best, on Celebrity Silhouette for its “Best of Scandinavia” cruise from Amsterdam in May 2024. Put simply, the quality of service, food, and “World Class” entertainment (more on this later) was truly exceptional, delivering excellent “value for money” given the entire experience. Embarkation was surprisingly fast and efficient: we arrived at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay just before 1:00PM (our scheduled boarding time was 1:30PM), yet we were allowed to proceed, and after going through the check-in formalities and security screening, were onboard Celebrity Edge about twenty-five minutes later. Disembarkation was even smoother: we had collected our luggage and were in a taxi less than ten minutes after stepping onto the gangway. The Per diem for the All Included Package (Gratuities, Wifi, and having upgraded from Standard to Premium Beverage Package) in a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom was less than half what we would pay to cruise on a Luxury or Ultra-Luxury cruise line, and our recent experience onboard Celebrity Edge was, without exaggeration every bit as good as what we enjoyed onboard Silversea Silver Shadow, Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity, and/or Viking Orion; the only difference being Celebrity Edge carries 2,918 passengers (yet it has never felt crowded during our two cruises onboard the ship). Being on Celebrity Edge is like being in a combined 5-Star Hotel + Luxury Shopping Mall. It all starts with the personal and attentive service my wife & I receive onboard Celebrity cruise ships. Without exception, every single crew member my wife & I had the pleasure of interacting with during our cruise on Celebrity Edge made us feel welcome, special, and truly valued (Celebrity quite obviously invests quite a lot in their crew training programs). Every human being has their own unique story to tell, so my wife & I take time to get to know a few members of the crew during every cruise we take, and we were able to do so during our just-ended cruise on Celebrity Edge. Thanks to Estrella, Mbali, and Hanz for having shared your stories with Margaret & me. It is impossible to remember and recognise every crew member who provided such warm and friendly service to us, but included Sebastiao, Hanz, Mbali, Ugur, Vikash, Cecilio, Loretto, Wai, Galvish, Melvin, and Riza. Our stateroom attendant Komang had our room looking like new every single day of the cruise. He fulfilled my request for a softer pillow within fifteen minutes on embarkation day. Hotel Director Clint, Food & Beverage Director Orlando, and Restaurant Operation Manager Sachin went out of their way to make my birthday dinner in Fine Cut Steakhouse both special and memorable. Regarding food, you are spoiled for choice on Celebrity Edge, with the ship offering 29 different food & beverage options. The four different Main Dining Rooms (American, French, Greek, and Italian) offer three different regional-specific Starters and Entrees, as well as traditional Starters and Entrees which are the same in all four restaurants. We enjoyed lunch in Le Grand Bistro twice during the cruise, and found the Le Francais Burger (which we ordered both times) to be the best we have ever eaten during a cruise…it is truly out of this world! Both times we dined at Le Grand Bistro was a “spur of the moment” decision, yet Sebastiao was able to allocate a table for us with less than a thirty-minute wait both times. Dinner at Raw on 5 on two nights during the cruise was particularly good, with Loretto finding a table for us on both occasions, as we hadn’t made reservations. The restaurant was full during the last full day of the cruise, so this says a lot about the quality of food and service. We most thoroughly enjoyed my birthday dinner at Fine Cut Steakhouse, me especially so because they serve Roast Prime Rib of Beef, which, despite Australia being renowned for its beef exports, is a dish which isn’t served in many restaurants in Australia, unlike in the USA, where it was my favourite dish to order when growing up there many years ago. One day while having lunch in the Oceanview Cafe, the Executive Chef for Celebrity Edge was there, speaking with some of his team members, and I took time to compliment him and his team for the consistently high-quality and variety of food items they serve to nearly 3,000 passengers...each and every day. I have done two Inside Access ship tours while onboard Celebrity cruise ships (Edge and Silhouette), so have seen the galleys, and know how very many chefs are working to produce the amazing selection of food to choose from for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In relation to “World Class” entertainment: International performers in the Celebrity Theatre that my wife & I saw were Will Martin (New Zealand); Hayden Smith (Australia); and Alexa Jayne (UK). Each one was great at what they do, in their own unique and individual way. After having seen Will Martin’s first performance, I posted the following on a Celebrity Cruises Facebook group page: “My wife Margaret & I just saw Will Martin perform in the theatre here onboard Celebrity Edge, and, without any doubt or exaggeration, it was absolutely and exponentially the best individual performance we have ever witnessed or experienced on a cruise ship. He is obviously immensely proud of his New Zealand heritage, and incorporates it into his dialogue between songs. I had tears in my eyes when he sang What a Wonderful World. Thank you Celebrity Cruises!” The all-girl band Magnifica from Argentina played popular cover songs, and had people dancing and singing from the first song every time they performed. We couldn’t get enough of them. Shining Waves also performed cover songs, and they were good. Solo guitarist Mari played a different style from what we enjoyed from Charlie during our cruise on Celebrity Edge in December 2023, but she had us singling along with her. Silent disco, DJ, movies, trivia, art auctions, line dancing, enrichment, and destination lectures, as well as an ABBA singalong (one night only) and many, many more entertainment options are available, with multiple options to choose from each day. My wife & I have three more cruises booked with Celebrity (Edge, Honolulu to Sydney – October 2025); and (Millennium, Singapore to Tokyo + Roundtrip Japan – March 2026), and intend booking a Transatlantic crossing cruise from the USA to Europe for 2027, after the itineraries have been released later this year. Celebrity Cruises ticks “all the boxes” for my wife Margaret & me. We are happy, comfortable, and relaxed when onboard a Celebrity cruise ship. Combined with how the crew members make us feel as very welcome and special as they do, makes both of us look forward to many more Celebrity cruises.

Good Time NZ Cruise

The bottom line is that while Celebrity is not the all-inclusive luxury cruise experience, it is a good value and a fun experience. We had a sunset veranda cabin and highly recommend that cabin. The views from the balcony were always nice, but especially during the trip into Milford Sound. The infinite veranda cabins did not appeal to us as the window was often dirty and sometimes hard to open. All the sunset veranda cabins seemed to have a lounger and two chairs. Entertainment was better than expected and the crew from Captain and cruise director to the rest of the staff was pleasant and very engaged. Getting on and off the ship was never an issue and was very efficient. Food was high quality and the wait staff was good. Variety in the main dining rooms was limited. They have 3 mains that are available all the time, 3 mains that are special to each main (but are not really that attractive sounding and for some reason never change) and five mains that change every day. Yet by the end of the 12-day cruise I could rarely find an option that sounded interesting. On the other hand, the buffet had a wide variety of food and was always fresh and attractive. Had one specialty dinner in Eden and it was great, quite worth the upcharge. The ship is beautiful and the itinerary was interesting. Celebrity did a good job overall.

Awesome Cruise

The selection and quality of food in the buffet is the best we have experienced on a cruise ship buffet. Dinner in the Blu restaurant was great and the entertainment was great. There were lots of activities to choose from every day. The staff in all areas of the ship were extremely attentive and you could tell they enjoyed their jobs and working with each other. Captain Matt was the most involved, delightful captain we have experienced on a ship. and cruise director Dom was very entertaining. The ship is beautiful, with many different spaces to hang out. Eden is a beautiful space to relax in. There were only 2 things we did not enjoy. We did not like having an infinite veranda vs. a traditional veranda because in the warm climate we could not enjoy some time on our balcony without heating up our room. We also did not like that there is no Sky Lounge (as on previous classes of Celebrity ships) or other place to sit and enjoy the view from the front of the ship. That space is now all turned into areas for suite guests.