Cruising’s cutting edge
Olivia Brown is bowled over on a virtual tour of the next generation of cruise ships
Wearing dark glasses, I strolled past the pool and headed up to the bar from where I looked out across the bright sea. There’s nothing unusual about that on a Caribbean cruise – except this all took place on a ship that hasn’t been built yet.
Celebrity Edge won’t set sail until December 2018, but thanks to a pair of 3D glasses and some high-tech wizardry, I took a virtual tour of the 16-deck ship at the Celebrity Cruises HQ in Miami recently.
No expense is being spared on the 3,000-passenger vessel, which is currently under construction in France. Penthouse suites and two-storey Edge villas both feature plunge pools. Architect Tom Wright has given the Edge a steel spine, rather than the usual hard metal exoskeleton.
This means the ship can incorporate acres of glass, to create a stronger connection with the sea. But the most striking innovation is undoubtedly the Magic Carpet – the world’s first cantilevered floating platform.
The size of a tennis court, it moves up and down the starboard side of the ship. It turns from a tender-boarding platform to a place to dine under the stars, enjoy lunch alfresco, or just chill out near the swimming pool.
The Rooftop Garden – Wright’s vision of a ‘living urban playscape designed to awaken the inner child’ – has metal trees where musicians can perch in the branches, and is also the venue for the Taste Of Film nights, where the menu is inspired by the movie. Renowned interior designer Kelly Hoppen has created huge suites that feel like penthouse flats, and smart and airy rooms the like of which you might find in an upmarket boutique hotel. She has also designed the Retreat Lounge exclusively for suite occupants. I met her in a mocked-up version of one of her cabins, where she told me: ‘We’ve approached the design as if it were a luxury home but on a cruise ship.’
And perfect for holidaymakers whose idea of relaxation is to take their smartphones everywhere, including the swimming pool, is a concierge app that will take your drinks order and tell the waiter where to find you.
However, cruise-ship technology is moving fast. Will Celebrity still have the Edge over other cruise lines when its new ship welcomes its first guests?
All will be revealed next year.
Celebrity Edge will sail all year round from Fort Lauderdale in Florida. A seven-night western Caribbean cruise departing on January 5, 2019, costs from €1,249pp (current offer, based on two people sharing) in an Ocean View cabin. Flights and transfers extra. Visit celebritycruises.ie or telephone 1800-932-611.
‘An on-board app will take your drinks order and tell the waiter where you are’