Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Cruise control
Trade show temporarily relocated
The global conference returns to Fort Lauderdale.
For the second straight year, Seatrade Cruise Global, the cruise industry’s largest global businessto-business conference and trade show, is dropping anchor in Fort Lauderdale.
The four-day event runs Monday through Thursday at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center.
Last year’s event attracted more than 10,000 registered attendees and 700 exhibitors from 93 countries, organizers said. And attendees booked more than 5,200 room nights across nine contracted hotels near the convention center.
The annual cruise industry event is estimated to generate more than $9 million in economic impact in Broward County. Seatrade Cruise Global relocated to Broward last year due to renovations in its former home — the Miami Beach Convention Center — and is contracted to remain in Fort Lauderdale through 2018, with an option for 2019.
On Monday Celebrity Cruises gave media attending Seatrade a preview of features and amenities set to debut on the first ship in its new Edge-class of vessels launching in 2018.
The unveiling took place at parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s Innovation Lab in Miami.
Celebrity Edge, touted as the first ship to be designed entirely in 3-D, will feature staterooms without sliding doors, two new suite categories (Iconic Suites and Edge Villas), a traveling edge-of-theship entertainment venue called the Magic Carpet, among other offerings.
The new ship’s Edge Staterooms with Infinite Veranda will offer a seamless design from entry to water’s edge, Celebrity said.
“The Infinite Veranda stateroom does away with the inefficiencies of traditional verandas, where sliding doors keep guests walled off from the sea 90 percent of the time,” said Celebrity President Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, in a statement. “By eliminating the sliding glass doors, guests can walk right up to the amazing views that bring the outside in.”
The ship’s two high-end Iconic Suites will be located above the bridge and offer two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a butler’s pantry and a 700-square-foot veranda with hot tub. The six splitlevel Edge Villas boast private
plunge pools.
The Magic Carpet entertainment and dining venue will cover 13 stories of the ship. The tennis court-size, open-air, yacht-like area features a bar and space for live music.
Celebrity Edge is slated to launch in late fall 2018 and sail from Fort Lauderdale starting Dec, 16 on two back-to-back sevennight Caribbean voyages.
The second Edge-class ship — Celebrity Beyond— is scheduled for delivery in spring 2020, while two others on order will arrive in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
The Edge ships are the first new class of vessel for Celebrity in nearly 10 years following the Solstice Class, the cruise line said.
“These ships are dynamic, innovative and beautiful. It’s an elite ship for affluent travelers, and you know that at first glance,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of the line’s parent, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Seatrade will formally kick-off today at 9:30 a.m. with its signature State of the Global Cruise Industry address featuring top executives from Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises.
In a new CruiseTalks format this year, each cruise line executive will first talk for 8-10 minutes on one of the following topics: Technology & Innovation, Shipbuilding, Destination Planning, and Environmental & Safety Practices.
Following the CruiseTalks, the leaders will engage in a Q&A session with moderator CNBC reporter Susan Li, addressing topics such as expansion in Asia, the geo-political climate and growing global fleet capacity.