February 2020 cruise to the Western Caribbean on Celebrity Edge. It is almost as long as a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, 1,004 feet versus 1,092 feet, but weighs more, 117,000 gross tones versus 104,600.
The ship has a 100' by 20' orange platform, called the "Magic Carpet" that is suspended along the starboard side of the ship and can move between deck 14 and deck 2. It can be used as dining and lounge space while the ship is at sea or lowered to deck 2 for ingress/egress when tendered.
We assumed it was an up scaled Solstice-class ship with the "Magic Carpet" however it is a totally redesigned ship. For example the gangway is now a large bright area
and the walkways are wider without all the little merchandise stalls.
Our room had a balcony with an "Infinite Window" that with the touch of a button would slide the top half down to open the balcony to the outside or up to allow the balcony to be part of the room. Also the push of a button lowered a pleated shade to the floor.
The room had a smaller desk and no coffee table but much more storage area. Instead of the round bowl the bathroom sink is rectangular and larger.
The pools appear to be the same size as the Solstice however there is a 5' shoulder where the water is only about a foot deep. You can lounge in the water in funky curved plastic chairs without getting all the way in. There is a walk/run trail with lanes marked that does a figure 8 including 2 decks.
The hot tubs have been moved to pedestals on each side.
and the area makes full use of colored LEDs for a changing light show.
This is the "Magic Carpet" on deck 14 when it is used as a lounge or lowered to deck 2 for ingress/egress when tendered.
The view is great.
The ship has a lot of art, some of it funny
and some spooky.
The Grand Foyer on Deck 3 no longer has a massive staircase but instead much more seating areas are available on decks 3, 4 & 5.
There are no mid-ship elevators, so no egg drop.
The Martini Bar is at end of the Grand Foyer on Deck 3 but no iced bar top so Bobbi couldn't get her tongue stuck.
and they still can pour 7 drinks, now blindfolded.
Without the mid-ship elevators there is more room for just relaxing
or areas for multiple couples to sit and chat.
We never had trouble finding a spot.
The Captain's Club is now held in the lower floor of "The Club" which is the most spacious area yet for the Captain's Club.
For the first time on Celebrity we had a non-Greek non-Male Captain. She is from San Francisco and funny enough to be a stand-up comedian. She met her husband who is in the engineering department of another line and she said their marriage has lasted because they see each other only 41 days a year. She travels with a hairless cat named "Butt Naked". After seeing it I would have named it "Butt Ugly"
The theatre has over 300 degrees of seating around it designed to blur the line between audience and performance. For the curved screen there are 18 synchronized projectors.
The usual assortment of music
and comedy/magician/illusionist acts.
During sea days there are education programs. There were several lectures on possible "life" in space by a good friend of Jim Kennedy.
Instead of a dining room for Select and Fixed dining options there are 4 restaurants with certain tables reserved for Fixed. It seems almost nobody is doing Fixed dining anymore. We also tried 3 extra cost restaurants, Eden, Magic Carpet and Steakhouse.
Eden was the most interesting dining experience we have ever had. The room has many live plants
including the live plant wall.
Each course was a visual and taste delight. Dessert started with a softball sized sphere of white chocolate. Our server poured warm chocolate fudge over it and it split slowly like a flower opening. I wished I had taken a video of it but I was too fascinated watching it unfold. Keeping with the Eden theme, our final of three, dessert courses was a faux apple filled with chocolate.
Below is the menu from dinner on the Magic Carpet. Note the items are not choices, you get everything listed. So for 'Starters" We each had a Charcuterie Board and I had two Seafood Platters and Bobbi two Chili Braised Short Rib Pasteles. Too much food!
Although a little windy the view was fantastic.
More desserts.
We were scheduled to spend Wednesday in Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico however there was a transportation strike with barricades outside the port so the Captain decided to skip it and go on to Cozumel overnight. This gave us a chance to have our evening meal at one of our favorite places, the Thirsty Cougar.
And visit the Mega Store. A HUGE two story store that is like a Walmart on steroids. Everything from motor scooters, to A/C units to food and everything in between. Very clean and spacious with an escalator to the second floor that has slots for the cart wheels to keep the cart from moving while going up.
We were lucky that Cozumel Carnival 2020 was in full swing with large crowds,
spirited music and dancers
and Kings and Queens.
In the Caymans we found a sign that I would like to see here
and a final stop at a Tequila store.
Port Everglade's disembarkation was the easiest ever. They have facial recognition cameras and if your image is a match to a known Passport holder then no need to show your Passport. If nothing to declare you just walk out. 5 minutes from entering the Customs and Border Protection building to out the door.