The Mail on Sunday

A sinful delight in the garden of Eden

- By Olivia Brown

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.

 ??  ?? SITTING PRETTY: One of the characters who will inhabit Eden
SITTING PRETTY: One of the characters who will inhabit Eden

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom