The Cutting Edge of Luxury The Ultimate Cruise Experience: Celebrity \u201CEdge\u201D

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The Cutting Edge of Luxury

The Ultimate Cruise Experience: Celebrity “Edge”

by RONA MANN

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“Life is about living on the edge and enjoying the view.”

...Author unknown

VACATION! Undoubtedly one of the greatest eight letter words on the planet.

There are a lot of things you can do with your vacation. You could stay home, binge watch movies, work around the house, and eat junk food. Boring!

You might plan a road trip, fight traffic, curse your GPS, wonder where the best place is to rest your head each night, and encounter nothing but fast food and waffle houses at every exit.

You could fly somewhere and be consumed with airline reservations, extra charges for baggage, extra charges for leg room, extra

charges for breathing(!), layovers, connections, hotel reservations, rental cars, and tour books, or…

...Or you could give yourself an “edge.” After all, you worked hard all year for your vacation, so maybe you want someone else to take care of the details. Maybe you want to be pampered, eat wonderful food from all over the world, have some adventure, or perhaps just relax. All this, and possibilities you haven’t even considered are part of the Celebrity experience – Celebrity Cruises.

Celebrity Cruises has been earning their name and their reputation since 1988. It was a bit of a risk to take the name “Celebrity” because it meant they had an awful lot to live up to, but that doesn’t frighten these cruise professionals who only know how to accomplish what they set out to do at the very top of their game. It challenges and empowers

them to give every single passenger on every single cruise the Celebrity treatment and the very best experience at sea of any cruise line in the business.

And now they’ve got the edge on the best vacation of your life. It’s a big, gorgeous, brand new ship called Celebrity Edge, the premiere entrant in their new Edge Class of ships that they say was “designed to leave the future behind.” Celebrity Cruises has always lived up to their name, but now they’ve raised the bar so high no other cruise line can possibly compete with delivering YOUR vacation experience.

First, some basic facts which will tell you why there’s absolutely nothing basic about this ship. Celebrity Edge, the line’s first new ship in six years, was constructed at STX shipyard in France, making its first 15 night transatlantic voyage to its new home in Hollywood, Florida

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just four months ago. Onboard was a crew of 1400 working hard to put all the finishing touches on the ship before the first guest would ever step aboard. It had to sparkle, it had to be perfect, it had to have the edge on every other ship on the seas. Celebrity’s Edge took more than four years of passion and hard work on the part of thousands of engineers, architects, artisans, designers, and crew.

Celebrity Edge boasts double occupancy accommodating 2918 passengers with 1467 staterooms and 14 decks of sheer luxury and enjoyment. Among her many highlights are outward-facing cabins fronted with wall-towall, floor to ceiling glass. Called the Edge Staterooms with Infinite Verandas the new cabins have balconies incorporated into their main area with glass walls at the end of the cabins that slide down from the ceiling at just the touch of a button. All standard-sized staterooms enjoy king-sized cashmere mattresses and bedding and in-room automation allowing guests to control everything from touch screens to lighting, shades, and temperature.

Guests on the Edge will enjoy a special paradise called Eden, the three-deck high plant-filled lounge partially encircled in a massive, curving wall of glass and offering both dining and entertainment; however the true epicenter of this magnificent ship is The Grand Plaza, a throwback to a time

when cruise ships were the very bastion of high society. The Grand Plaza spans three decks incorporating specialty restaurants, a martini bar, cafes, a nighttime entertainment venue, and

is highlighted by The Chandelier, a seven ton art installation composed of five levels of 765 blades illuminated by LED strips that change color from day to night.

There are 29 food and beverage experiences on the Edge representing culinary delights from the many and varied places to which the ship cruises. All are overseen by a Michelin trained chef and a large staff whose only job it is to satisfy their guests by going over and above at every meal. Unusual? No, it’s the only way Celebrity knows how to serve.

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So where will the Celebrity Edge take you? In its inaugural season it will alternate between sailing seven night eastern and western Caribbean cruise itineraries; and this spring, the ship will once again cross the Atlantic to offer seven to eleven night Mediterranean sailings, visiting quintessential cities including Barcelona and Rome, a cruise you will always remember, a vacation you will never forget.

But there’s even more that makes the Edge the place you’ll want to choose for your vacation. This past December when the Celebrity

Edge was formerly launched, it was named by the ship’s “godmother,” Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner ever of the Nobel Peace Prize. It has long been a naval tradition for new ships to be sponsored by a civilian, and generally a woman, thus the name “godmother.” Godmothers attend the ceremonial ship launch and naming ceremony where they officially bless and name the ship. Now 21 years old, Nobel Laureate Yousafzai won the prize when she was just 17 and has created the Malala Fund to enable young girls from impoverished and third world countries around the world to become educated and thus have a voice in their future. Yousafzai attained notoriety when she was targeted and nearly killed for these efforts as a teenager growing up in Pakistan, railing against those who wished to keep young women uneducated. It was an honor for Malala to be named

godmother of the Edge and led to Celebrity Cruises partnering with the Malala Fund to support and continue their ongoing mission.

Now, take a minute to seriously consider your next vacation. It’s your time, your money, the time off that you worked for all year, so chances are, you’re going to want the very most out of the experience. They say life is about living on the edge and enjoying the view, so why not choose Celebrity Edge for a travel experience that’s positively out of this world.

Celebrity guarantees you’ll enjoy the view.

Bookings are now open at: www.celebritycruises.com/edge or through your own travel agent.