Celebrity Edge Review

Celebrity Edge's draw lies within its name: It's edgy. Entertainment in the theater is loud and influenced by today's top hits. Food venues are straight out of any big city, from a grab-and-go gourmet deli and a reservations-only sushi spot to a high-tech French bistro with an animated dining experience you have to see to believe. The cocktails you'll find in the ship's three-deck spiraling restaurant/lounge/theater called Eden are mind-bendingly one-of-a-kind. (Speaking of Eden, while it's playful and chill during the day, the complex gets pretty sensual at night.)

The experience on the ship also blends edges -- between indoor and outdoor, between stage and audience. There's so much greenery onboard and so many massive windows, it's easy to feel as though you're outside, even when sitting inside Eden or in your cabin. It's especially true if you're in one of the 918 Infinite Veranda rooms, cabins that can function as an ocean view with solarium with floor-to-ceiling views and air conditioning or as a quasi-traditional balcony with the push of button to lower the top window. (The innovation also gives you more space.)

In the theater, the stage juts out into the audience, and in Eden, performance artists wander around the lounge, drawing people into the show. The Rooftop Garden on the top deck combines the best of the Millennium-class and Solstice-class designs, with a stage for live bands and metallic trees for performers to perch in.

Celebrity Edge didn't just revolutionize cabins, dining and entertainment. The ship has turned tendering -- that often unpleasant experience where you have to board a small boat to get to a port -- into an infinitely more pleasant experience. The Magic Carpet is a tennis court-sized moveable deck, kitted out with an open-air lounge, complete with bar and comfy couches and armchairs. From there, it's a breeze to get onto the tenders, or you can stay to get a drink and watch others get on and off -- talk about people-watching. It's somewhere people actually want to go, rather than escape.

And the Magic Carpet isn't just a tender platform. It can be positioned on Decks 5 and 14, where it serves as an eatery or bar. On special days, it climbs to Deck 16 for exclusive brunches and dinners "on the Edge."

With all these changes, there's a good chance past Celebrity cruisers, expecting the quiet sophistication that they've come to know and love from the line, are not going to be thrilled. In fact, many traditional cruisers may have a hard time with the ship. There are no quiet lounges for casual evenings of light music and a drink with friends, and for those who like to eat at the same table and time every night with the same tablemates, space is set aside in only one of the four main dining rooms.