If you’ve cruised with Celebrity before but never been on an Edge class ship, you’re in for a few surprises on Celebrity Edge. There’s a lot to love plus a few things we weren’t so keen on as regular cruisers. If you’ve been searching for detailed Celebrity Edge reviews, this one has everything you need to know.

Insider’s guide to the deck plan for Celebrity Edge

Cruise lines usually want to do something new with the deck plan when they’re designing a first-in-class ship. This is exactly what happened on Celebrity Edge, as we found out when we got onboard. You will generally arrive on Deck 5 on embarkation day but you could get lost from here, as the flow to get from forward to aft means you may have to transit via multiple decks.

The deck plan for Celebrity Edge is very different to other ships like Celebrity Solstice. Reviewing the deck plan pre-cruise can save you some frustration and sore legs from all those extra steps each time you get lost.

Before you get onboard, spend some time reviewing the Celebrity Edge deck plan and working out where your favourite Celebrity restaurants and other venues are on Celebrity Edge can help a lot. If you don’t have time to do this, nothing beats going for a wander on embarkation day to find spots like Eden or a particular restaurant so you can get there again easily if you need to. We did find some amazing art by accident when we got lost trying to get places early in our cruise.

These are the Celebrity Edge cabins to avoid

Unless you get a particularly great deal, you may want to avoid the cabins on Deck 3 below the ship’s bustling casino and dining venues, especially if you’re a light sleeper. Inside cabins include a divan sofa that doubles as a third bed. If you’re sharing the cabin with a third person this is great but if you’re not, it’s worth paying a little more for one of the larger deluxe inside cabins.

Celebrity Edge cabins: Our take on the infinite veranda

The infinite veranda concept that debuted on Celebrity Edge is like a traditional balcony reimagined into an enclosed space with an adjustable window. If you’ve ever sailed on a river ship, the concept will seem very familiar.

The window is opened and closed using push button controls, bi-fold glass doors seal off the area for added privacy, and electronic black-out blinds can be raised and lowered to keep out light. The latter are so effective that you’ll need to set your alarm.

We liked the additional floor space created by the infinite veranda and the streamlined design that made the room feel bigger won us over. You’ll find a few regular staterooms on Celebrity Edge but we thought the infinite balcony concept was a winner, especially as we three adults sharing the cabin. We also loved the spacious Celebrity Edge bathroom which had a generous walk in shower and so no clingy curtain.

The major downside with the infinite veranda cabin was the lack of storage space with a compact wardrobe and not enough drawers, plus some of the available drawers are very small. This was especially noticeable for us with three people who needed to store their clothes. Our adult son mostly ended up living out of his backpack as there wasn’t much room for his stuff. There are some clever hidey holes but these are areas are easy to forget about when it is time to disembark. You may leave stuff behind when you depart, like we almost did!

Celebrity Edge plugs and technology

As Celebrity Edge is a much newer ship than the ones we had previously seen in Australia, we noticed the improvement in the ship’s onboard technology. The Celebrity Cruises app made checking in and boarding the ship much easier, and we enjoyed the convenience of being able to make restaurant bookings, check the daily program, book excursions and more. It worked better than the app for some other lines.

In the cabins, there was a charging station on the desk that kept our cords tidy. Sadly, there were no Australian power points on Celebrity Edge, but there were several USB chargers next to the bed that we used a lot. Remember to bring an adapter or two if you need to use a plug rather than a USB to charge your devices.

The ship also uses Starlink Wi-Fi, with a choice of packages. The to package was so fast that it was better than our Wi-Fi back home. The basic package? Not so much. The basic will let you look at social media and emails and do some basic surfing, but that’s about it. Remember to be careful when using your mobile phone at sea or you could end up with a huge bill!

Celebrity Edge main restaurants

There are multiple main dining rooms incorporated into the 15 dining venues available onboard Celebrity Edge. These four main dining rooms are all complimentary and you can either walk in when it suits or make a booking using the app.

These four themed main dining rooms have different menus and styles: Cosmopolitan (American), Cyprus (Greek), Tuscan (Italian), or Normandie (French). Each restaurant features Classic dishes available at each venue, plus multiple options specific to the restaurant’s theme.

The dining rooms are upmarket with a classy design that makes it feel like you’re going to a different specialty restaurant each night rather than a complimentary main dining room. We felt the quality of the MDR food had gone up compared to our previous Celebrity sailings in Australia or New Zealand on other ships.

Are the Celebrity Edge specialty restaurants worth it?

Of course, there are multiple specialty dining options onboard Celebrity Edge if you don’t mind paying more, with options including the Fine Cut Steakhouse, Le Grand Bistro, Raw on 5, Rooftop Garden Grill and the standout, Eden Restaurant.

As food and wine lovers, we often spend up big on these for-a-fee restaurants when we cruise, but the choice of multiple high-quality main dining rooms on this ship meant there was no need to. However, we still tried two to satisfy our curiosity and appetite for good food.

Our family had fun at Le Petit Chef which is held in the Le Grand Bistro restaurant but it’s not something we would pay for again. This high-tech experience was more about the fun than the food, but it’s worth doing once if you haven’t tried it before. Young kids (and the young at heart) will really enjoy this!

Another standout venue is The Magic Carpet “Dinner On The Edge” dining, where you sit out from the ship in the ultimate al fresco dining area. Most of The Magic Carpet “Dinner On The Edge” food comes from the Raw on 5 sushi bar. We were disappointed there weren’t more non-seafood options available for people like us who can’t (or prefer not to) eat seafood.

If you want to try just one speciality restaurant, Eden Restaurant is worth it. Here you get a genuine specialty dining experience with each dish prepared to order in an open kitchen. We thought the quality of the food here was exceptional, the service was excellent and we enjoyed the sweeping ocean views. Definitely worth the cost!

While all of the specialties offer a step up from the four main dining rooms, the downside is the extra expense in US dollars, which may sour the taste of these delicious dining venues for Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians (at least until our dollar picks up).

Is the SEA Thermal Suite worth it?

The SEA Thermal Suite on Celebrity Edge might be a little hard to find, but it is no ordinary spa experience and a must if you’re after some pampering. With eight separate spaces that come together to create a DIY spa journey, AquaClass guests can enjoy this area as much as they wish at no extra charge, making it worth considering upgrading to an AquaClass cabin on Celebrity Edge.

We booked a pass and started by working our way around the facilities like a hammam, the rainfall room, crystal atrium, salt room, steam room, infrared sauna, and float room with swing seats. To finish, we relaxed the heated lounges that have the same view as the captain on the bridge deck below. You can do any or all of these thermal spa experiences while in the spa, making it excellent value for people who are staying in an Aqua Class cabin. We wouldn’t bother booking Aqua Class on a lot of other Celebrity ships, but we would on this one.

Is the Eden Cafe on Celebrity Edge free?

Eden spans multiple levels and has loads of nooks and crannies to discover and great floor-to-ceiling views from Eden’s large windows. We spoke about the Eden Restaurant experience earlier, but you don’t need to pay for a meal at Eden to enjoy the overall experience here as most of this free.

We spent quite a bit of time at the Edge, especially on sea days when we got in early and curled up with a book on a comfy seat. In the evening, there were some good live bands here. The Eden Café is also open for lunch on sea days and every morning for a light breakfast featuring things like muffins. You can also get complimentary coffee here but it’s the same as you’ll find in the buffet.

Did we try The Retreat for suite guests?

Sadly not, but the facilities for suite passengers on Celebrity Edge are impressive with an expanded version of The Retreat, a ship-within-a-ship area that takes up a large part of the ship. This is an area you won’t want to leave, and the good news is you don’t have to with everything available at your fingertips.

There’s a separate pool deck which has a dedicated swimming area, sun loungers, a pool bar and a hot tub. The Retreat Lounge is more modern, and the Luminae suite restaurant on Celebrity Edge is much larger and much better compared to other ships that have previously sailed in Australia and New Zealand. However, it is eye wateringly expensive.

Boarding a Celebrity Edge tender from the Magic Carpet

Boarding tenders on Celebrity Edge is a game changer and was so easy and comfortable. This is because there’s a large air-conditioned waiting area and tender boarding platform created by the Magic Carpet. As this platform can be raised and lowered it is especially great for parents travelling with young children and travellers with limited mobility. I wish there was something like this when our son was young as I still remember the challenge of trying to juggle a toddler and multiple bags while navigating the steep metal stairways leading to the tenders on other ships.

Celebrity Cruises charges in US dollars (even in Australia)

This isn’t the fault of the ship, but the combination of onboard expenses being charged in US dollars, a poor exchange rate and an increase in prices for everything due to the cost living means you might need to brace yourself for a hit to your hip pocket. Especially, after you add the extra 20% service fee when you buy a drink (if you purchase a drinks package, this is included in the cost which eases the pain).

If you’re sticking to a tight budget like we were, you may like to go easy on how many drinks you order at the bars and how many times you book one of the for-a-fee restaurants. High-end shops like Bulgari and the casino are another temptation but we didn’t have any trouble avoiding these. Fortunately, there is plenty of complimentary dining and entertainment included in the cost of your fare.

Celebrity Edge service: Is it any good?

We noticed a change in service on Celebrity Edge as it felt more understated and relaxed (i.e. slow). This is not just on Edge but on ships in general, so you need some patience and also respect for the people who work so hard to make sure you have a great holiday. The biggest waits were at the bars when they got busy, especially the ones where they do table service. When it was crazy busy we would often go up to the bar instead.

Celebrity Edge entertainment

As for the entertainment on Celebrity Edge, you can look forward to big theatre shows and great live music throughout the ship with multiple venue styles and genres. The best music venues included Eden and the Grand Plaza if you want to catch a band. We liked the way the different duos and bands rotated around the ship so you could see your favourite in different venues and no just have to keep sticking to the same one.

Celebrity Edge coffee

If you love coffee as much as we do, head to Café Al Bacio on Level 5 with its stylish ocean view seating and great people-watching. Oceanview Café and Secondo Bacio also serve espresso coffee made by a barista at breakfast, lunch or dinner. The espresso style coffee made by a barista at all of these venues isn’t complimentary but it was very good on our sailing. We went easy on the alcoholic drinks but treated ourselves to a ‘real’ coffee every day.

Should you sail on Celebrity Edge?

Technological innovations, multiple main dining rooms, the Magic Carpet, easy tender boarding, and a spa area that was next level hit the high notes for us on board Celebrity Edge. Speaking of music, we also really loved the music and comfortable seating at Eden, both of which were free to enjoy.

While the onboard US dollar currency and automatic 20 per cent gratuity for all beverage and mini-bar purchases (and 18% for spa and salon services) made the ship’s free water and complimentary dining a must for us, it didn’t really impact our enjoyment overall.

Celebrity Edge offers an excellent cruising experience and is well worth trying for the first time and also sailing on more than once. If money is tight, save up or wait for an all-inclusive deal and get onboard this great ship. Throwing caution to the wind and blowing the budget on a suite with access to The Retreat would be even more fun!

Disclosure: The writers travelled as guests of Celebrity Cruises.

Want more great cruise advice? Check out our tips for choosing the perfect cruise, cruising with grandchildren, cruising with tweens and cruising with kids of all ages, solo cruising, the best activities on Ovation of the Seas, doing a Transatlantic cruise with kids, cruising in Australia or Papua New Guinea, Iceland cruise tips, cruising on a megaship, scoring a bargain cruise fare, cruising the Mediterranean, making the most of a cruise ship kids club, luxury cruising with kids, and the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Cruises. We have also reviewed Disney Wonder, Viking Vesta, Douglas Mawson, Carnival Encounter, Celebrity Edge, Carnival Adventure, Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas, Carnival Splendor, Voyager of the Seas, Nieuw Statendam, Viking Helgrim, Pride of America, Coral Expeditions in Tasmania and the Great Barrier Reef, Celebrity Solstice, and Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth.