A sinful delight in the garden of Eden
SPRITES were perched on high swings, a sitar player was tucked in among some rocks, and a twitchy Mad Hatter-type rollerskated among the crowds.
The message was strong: expect the unexpected when you step into Eden, a vast entertainment space on board new ship Celebrity Edge. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York was the setting as Celebrity Cruises gave a hint about some of the treats in store when the first passengers step aboard Celebrity Edge next year.
The three-deck Eden is one of the ship’s main attractions. Larger than Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, it features 7,000 square feet of windows. There will be three themes during the course of the day, drawing guests back for different experiences each time.
On a dreamy Midsummer Night, we soon discovered that the mischievous Pucklike characters, performing stunts and serving elaborate dishes, are ‘Edenists’. Their role is to put guests at the centre of Eden’s evening entertainment, which is called ‘sinful’.
It’s a mix of food and theatre. But unlike so many dinner shows found on cruise ships, where the food is a mediocre afterthought, Eden’s cuisine is a gastronomic delight.
In the mornings Eden is ‘chillful’, the place to do some yoga or read. And by afternoon it becomes ‘playful’, with cookery demonstrations, cocktail classes and performances.
All will be revealed when Celebrity Edge welcomes its first passengers. The ship is scheduled to depart Fort Lauderdale in Florida on December 22, 2018, and call at St Maarten, St Thomas and the Bahamas.
The seven-night voyage costs from £2,544 per person. Visit celebritycruises.co.uk.