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| Celebrity Apex Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
IN 2018, Celebrity premiered the first of its new "Edge Class" ships. Aptly, it is named the Celebrity Edge. For most of the years prior to that, the "big guys" (RCL, NCL, HAL, Princess and MSC, to name some), had a kind of pattern when they brought out a new class of vessels. More modern, sometimes "better" amenities, but most of all: bigger. This time, Celebrity changed it up, and their approach is - from the best I can tell - still unique among cruise lines bringing on newer ships. They actually made the Edge slightly smaller than the prior, Solstice Class ships!
It seems that Celebrity believes it has found its "sweet spot" at right around 3,000 passengers and we agree!
THE SOLSTICE class ship we are most familiar with is the newest (and final edition) of that class: the Celebrity Reflection. Celebrity has three primary classes in service today: the Millenium Class, the Solstice Class, and the Edge Class. We have sailed on the Reflection 5 times, and it is one of my personal favorite ships. I have been on one other Solstice Class ship - the Celebrity Equinox (in the Caribbean in February 2023). Built in 2009, the Equinox was the second of the 5 Solstice Class ships. It is very similar to my favorite Reflection, which was built in 2012. But I think there are just enough new and nice touches to the Reflection that it is the superior ship. In years past, we have also sailed in the Caribbean on the older, smaller, Millenium class ships a couple of times. While we like them fine, or preference is the Edge and Solstice classes.
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| Celebrity Apex Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
THE REFLECTION is 1,050 feet long and 122 feet wide. It has a passenger capacity of 3,000. The Edge is nearly 50 feet shorter (at 1,004 feet long), and a foot wider at 123 feet. Its passenger capacity is a few less than Reflection at 2,908! Again, this appears to me to be unprecedented in the cruise industry. It seems that Celebrity believes it has found its "sweet spot" at right around 3,000 passengers. My wife and I agree! In January, we sailed on the much smaller, Oceania Cruise lines Nautica, at just under 600 feet, 9 total decks, and a passenger capacity of less than 700. Staterooms and ship layout - though very nicely appointed - were both small and cramped in our view. On the other hand, we have absolutely no interest in cruising on one of the "Mother Ship" (Celebrity is a subsidiary of RCL), Royal Caribbean 7,000 passenger behemoths. So. Sweet spot. Yeah. And what they have done with the Edge Class ships is to maintain that sweet spot, while upgrading, modernizing, and making the spaces feel even more generous.
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| Out on the deck just outside of Eden is this nice - usually quiet space near the stern. At the far back is an additional smoking area, and can be a good spot to get out of the wind and/or rain Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
WE SAILED on the Edge when she was fairly new, in the Mediterranean. We have since sailed on her twice more. Shortly afterward, in May of 2019, the second of (apparently 5 total) "Edge Class" ships: The Celebrity Apex was launched. Covid, of course, put the brakes on things and two different maiden cruises (first out of Southampton, and then later Barcelona) were cancelled. It wasn't until fall of 2020 that she made her maiden cruise in the Western Caribbean. I boarded the Edge the first time prepared to not like it as much as the Reflection. I guess I am like most people - we get set in our ways, and really don't like change. But the old saying that the only constant in life is change, is probably never more accurate than in the cruise industry. I still absolutely love the Reflection and would cruise on her any time she was "going my way." 😍 But we have also grown to love the Edge Class ships. There are so many unique spaces. Celebrity has pushed the envelope on classical cruise ship design. The 4 MDR restaurant setup works very smoothly with "anytime" dining, and we have found the experience to be very nice. They have been able to accommodate us with groups as large as 8 people, and as small as just the two of us with ease. We have enjoyed the Raw on 5 and Eden specialty restaurants (though Eden is not for the budget conscious, LOL). And the signature orange tower on the starboard side of the boat - "The Magic Carpet" is a unique and on a sunny afternoon, very enjoyable bar.
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| The Magic Carpet - Celebrity Edge Class Ships Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
BECAUSE OF our prior experience on the Edge, we had pretty predictable expectations of this ship. And we weren't far off. There were very few uniquely different things on the ship. There was a slight redesign of the Sunset Bar (though the seating was essentially the same - especially in the smoking area). Some of the shops were slightly different. The Apex changed Edge's sports bar to the Craft Social Bar (also found on some of the Solstice Class ships). But otherwise, the Edge and Apex are essentially "twin" sister ships.
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| Just inside the entrance to Eden there are more quiet spaces to enjoy -Celebrity Apex - 2022 Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
FOLLOWING OUR stop in Germany, we had another day at sea, while we cruised the length of the Baltic on our way to Helsinki, Finland. And on that day and afternoon, in addition to two couples who had become new friends, my gregarious wife befriended another couple sitting next to her at the martini bar. It may well be that only on a cruise ship will you invite a complete stranger to join you for dinner. We were having before dinner drinks with our friends Jim and Flow from Palm Harbor (who we met just a few days before the cruise), and our other new friends, Mike and Elaine were going to join us. Donna was sitting next to my wife, and they struck up a conversation. She and her husband were from Canada, way over on the east coast of Quebec on The Gulf of St. Lawrence. I opined that although she was very nice and polite, there was no way they were seriously considering joining us. But as we were seated later, there they were! Donna and Pierre joined us every night for dinner for the rest of the cruise. It has been fun keeping up. And, in the small world department, she has a son who lives in Sarasota (less than an hour south of us in Florida).
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| A much different concept than the popular Solstice Class Martini Bars, the Martini Bars on the Edge Class ships are grand, richly appointed and decorated, and have a dance floor and live music stage integrated into the overall design, which is the central atrium of the ships. We tend to spend a fair amount of time here both before and after dinners. Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
WE KEPT on making new friends. Todd and Heather, Bern and Eric are folks we met from suburban New York. They were occasional cigar smokers, and we met on the smoking deck a couple times. One of the highlights of the cruise (particularly for them 😁) was Eric's surprise proposal to Bern, which took place one of the evenings in Eden. For the occasion, Todd and Heather had booked a suite and we were invited to join them for a reception celebrating the event. The 2-story suite was pretty - well, sweet! 😎 By the end of the cruise, we had signed up for a 12-day easter Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Equinox, with Mike and Elaine. We often have dinner with Flo and Jim. And of course, we hope to catch up with some of our other new friends in the not-too-distant future. I think it is fair to say that on this Apex Cruise, a good time was had by all!
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