Your First Celebrity Edge Class Cruise: Everything You Need to Know

Stepping aboard a Celebrity Edge class ship for the first time can feel overwhelming – these aren’t your typical cruise ships. With revolutionary design, cutting-edge technology, and luxury amenities that redefine modern cruising, the Edge class represents Celebrity’s boldest vision yet. Here’s your complete guide to making the most of your inaugural voyage.

What Makes Edge Class Ships Different?

Celebrity’s Edge class fleet currently includes five revolutionary vessels: Celebrity Edge (2018), Celebrity Apex (2021), Celebrity Beyond (2022), Celebrity Ascent (2023), and Celebrity Xcel (debuting November 2025). These aren’t just bigger versions of traditional cruise ships – they’re completely reimagined floating resorts that blur the line between indoor and outdoor living.

The most striking feature you’ll notice immediately is the ship’s outward-facing design. Unlike traditional cruise ships that turn inward toward atriums and pools, Edge class ships open up to the ocean with floor-to-ceiling windows, cantilevered restaurants, and the iconic Magic Carpet – a moveable platform that transforms from tender platform to dining venue to sunset bar throughout the day.

Essential Spaces You Can’t Miss

The Magic Carpet

This bright orange platform on the ship’s side isn’t just Instagram eye-candy – it’s functional genius with multiple purposes throughout your cruise. When the ship anchors at ports without docks, the Magic Carpet lowers to Deck 2 to serve as a tender platform, providing a stable, covered boarding area for the small boats that ferry guests to shore. This makes the often-choppy process of tendering much more comfortable and accessible than traditional cruise ship methods.

During sea days and evenings, the Magic Carpet transforms into dining and entertainment venues at different deck levels. As a sunset bar suspended 13 decks above the ocean, it offers unparalleled views and an unforgettable dining experience. The platform can accommodate about 90 guests and features comfortable seating, full bar service, and small plates menu. Book these experiences early, as sunset slots fill up quickly.

The Rooftop Garden

Forget everything you know about cruise ship deck spaces. The Rooftop Garden feels more like a chic urban park than a ship’s deck, complete with real grass, hammocks, and a peaceful atmosphere that’s perfect for escaping the crowds. It’s particularly magical during sea days when you can lounge with a book while watching the endless ocean.

Eden

This three-deck wonderland at the ship’s aft is part restaurant, part bar, part performance space, and part garden. During the day, it’s a serene retreat with living walls and comfortable seating. By night, it transforms into an immersive entertainment venue where performers interact with guests in unexpected ways. The evening shows here are unlike anything else at sea.

The Retreat

If you’re staying in a suite, The Retreat is your private sanctuary. This ship-within-a-ship concept includes an exclusive sundeck, pool, restaurant, and lounge. Even if you’re not staying in a suite, it’s worth understanding how this space works, as it demonstrates Celebrity’s commitment to creating distinct experiences for different guests.

Dining That Goes Beyond Traditional Cruise Food

Edge class ships have revolutionized cruise dining, moving far beyond the traditional main dining room and buffet model.

Main Restaurant is actually four distinct venues with different menus and atmospheres, all included in your cruise fare. Cyprus, Tuscan, Cosmopolitan, and Normandie each offer regional cuisines in spaces that feel more like upscale land-based restaurants. Our favourite was the Tuscan Restaurant, partly because my daughter loves pasta, but mainly because the staff were amazing!

Oceanview Cafe reimagines the buffet concept with food market-style stations. The space feels more like a European food hall than a cruise buffet, with made-to-order stations and higher-quality ingredients. Don’t forget to check out the amazing freshly made pizza at the rear of the Oceanview cafe!

For specialty dining, Fine Cut Steakhouse extends over the ship’s edge (literally), while Le Petit Chef combines dinner with 3D projection mapping entertainment. Raw on 5 offers fresh seafood with ocean views, and Eden Restaurant provides a plant-forward menu in that stunning three-deck space.

Accessibility Features

Celebrity’s Edge class ships were designed with accessibility as a priority, featuring numerous accommodations for guests with mobility challenges, visual or hearing impairments, and other accessibility needs.

Accessible Staterooms: Each ship offers multiple accessible stateroom categories, including interior, ocean view, veranda, and suite options. These rooms feature wider doorways, roll-in showers with fold-down seats, lowered closet rods and shelves, accessible room controls, and visual/audio alert systems. The innovative Infinite Veranda design in accessible ocean view rooms provides easy access to outdoor space without traditional balcony barriers.

We stayed in an accessible ocean view room and it was enormous!

Public Areas: Elevators are strategically located throughout the ship with audio announcements and Braille buttons. Restaurants and venues feature accessible seating areas, and many have removable chairs to accommodate wheelchairs. The Rooftop Garden includes accessible pathways, though some areas with grass may be challenging for mobility devices.

Magic Carpet Access: When serving as a tender platform, the Magic Carpet includes accessible features like ramps and priority boarding for guests with mobility challenges.

Pool and Spa Access: The Resort Deck pool area includes pool lifts, and the SEA Thermal Suite offers accessible changing areas and some accessible treatment rooms. The jogging track has level surfaces suitable for wheelchairs.

Assistance Services: Celebrity provides complimentary wheelchair loans, accessible shore excursion options, and staff trained in accessibility assistance. Guests can request accessible dining arrangements, priority tender boarding, and assistance with embarkation and disembarkation.

Contact Celebrity’s Access & Accommodation Department before your cruise to discuss specific needs and arrange services. They can also provide detailed accessibility deck plans and venue information to help you plan your cruise experience.

Technology and Amenities

Edge class ships integrate technology seamlessly into the guest experience. Your stateroom keycard doubles as a payment method through Celebrity’s cashless system. The Celebrity app becomes your command center – use it to make dining reservations, book spa appointments, chat with other guests, and even control your stateroom’s temperature and lighting if you’re in certain cabin categories.

The spa deserves special mention. The SEA Thermal Suite includes a salt room, crystal steam room, and infrared saunas, plus relaxation areas with heated loungers. Even if you don’t book spa treatments, the thermal suite day pass is worth considering for sea days.

Cabin Categories Decoded

Inside and Ocean View cabins on Edge class ships are more spacious than older Celebrity ships, with better storage and modern design. The infinite verandas in many ocean view cabins blur the line between indoor and outdoor space with floor-to-ceiling windows that open completely.

Veranda cabins offer traditional balconies, but also consider the Infinite Veranda concept – these cabins extend your living space right to the ship’s edge with windows that transform into balcony doors.

Edge Staterooms are the sweet spot for many guests – larger than standard cabins with innovative design elements like bathroom skylights and versatile furniture.

Suites come with Retreat access, but even if you’re not splurging on a suite, the AquaClass cabins include spa access and priority dining at the healthy-focused Blu restaurant.

Entertainment Beyond the Theater

While Edge class ships have excellent main theater productions, the real entertainment innovation happens in Eden and on the Resort Deck. Eden’s performances are immersive experiences where the boundary between performer and audience dissolves. On the Resort Deck, the pool area transforms for deck parties and live music.

The Celebrity iLounge offers interactive workshops where you can learn photography, digital art, or even how to create your own music video. These hands-on experiences often become cruise highlights for guests looking for something beyond passive entertainment.

Planning Your Days

Sea Days: Take advantage of the Rooftop Garden early in the morning when it’s peaceful. Book spa treatments for sea days when you’re most relaxed. Try different dining venues – specialty restaurants are often less crowded during sea days.

Port Days: If you’re not going ashore, enjoy having the ship largely to yourself. This is the perfect time to experience popular venues like the Magic Carpet or Eden Restaurant without crowds.

Embarkation Day: Don’t try to do everything at once. Focus on getting oriented, making dining reservations through the app, and perhaps grabbing lunch at Oceanview Cafe while you wait for your stateroom to be ready.

Making Reservations and Bookings

Download the Celebrity app before you cruise and set up your account. Once you’re connected to ship’s wifi, you can make reservations for specialty restaurants, spa treatments, and experiences like the SEA Thermal Suite.

Popular reservations fill up quickly: Magic Carpet dining, Eden Restaurant, specialty dining venues, and spa treatments. Make these bookings early in your cruise, ideally on embarkation day.

What to Pack Differently

Edge class ships have a more contemporary, upscale atmosphere than some cruise lines. While you don’t need to pack formal wear for most evenings, consider bringing outfits that work well in sleek, modern spaces. The Instagram-worthy spaces throughout the ship make this a cruise where you might want to put a bit more thought into your vacation wardrobe.

For the Rooftop Garden and other outdoor spaces, pack comfortable loungewear. The real grass and hammocks invite relaxation, but you’ll want appropriate clothing for lounging.

Managing Expectations

Edge class ships attract a slightly different crowd than traditional Celebrity cruises – often younger, more design-conscious, and interested in experiential travel. The ships can feel busier than older Celebrity vessels, especially around signature spaces like Eden and the Magic Carpet. We never felt overcrowded even on sea days.

Service maintains Celebrity’s high standards, and we found it to be excellent on our cruise.

The technology integration is generally seamless, but have patience with the app and digital systems. When they work well (which is most of the time), they significantly enhance your experience.

Making the Most of Your Edge Experience

Embrace the ship’s unique design philosophy. These vessels were created to connect you with the ocean and destinations in new ways. Spend time in the outward-facing spaces, book at least one Magic Carpet experience, and try the immersive entertainment in Eden.

Don’t try to experience everything in one cruise. Edge class ships offer enough unique venues and experiences for multiple cruises. Focus on what appeals most to you rather than checking every box.

Take advantage of the ship’s design for both social experiences and quiet retreats. The Rooftop Garden offers solitude, while Eden and the Resort Deck provide opportunities to connect with other guests.

Your first Celebrity Edge class cruise will likely redefine what you expect from cruising. These ships represent the future of the industry – more connected to their surroundings, more technologically integrated, and more focused on creating unique experiences rather than simply providing transportation between destinations.

Welcome aboard, and prepare to see cruising from a completely new perspective.