thosestayingin SuiteClassaregivenaccessto a privatesundeckarea
withcabanas,butlers,a poolandanoutdoorlounge.Thereis also
a suite-guests-onlyrestaurant,Luminaeat TheRetreat,whichwas
designedbyHoppenandfeaturesdishesbylegendarychefDaniel
Boulud.I neverexpectedtoeat thebestfiletmignonofmylife
a fewnauticalmilesoffthecoastofEngland,butthereyouhaveit.
AnexhaustivetouroftheshiprevealssomespotsAnthonyandI
willlikelylaterhauntif wecandragourselvesawayfromtheMartini
Bar:theResortDeck,withitsadults-onlySolarium,theRooftop
Garden andthemainpool.Another intriguingspaceis Eden,a
multileveldiningandentertainmentareaat thestern.Sittingalone
inEdenoneafternoon,I takea momenttomuseonwhat‘modern
luxury’meansfortravelnowthatthetermis appliedtoeverything
froma Westfieldmalltoa newFord.Luxury,formanyofus,is the
absenceofotherpeople,whichis whycruisingalongside4000-odd
(andtheymaywellbe)passengersandcrewcouldbea horrifying
concepttosome,nomatterhowmanycasinosandupmarket stores
thereareonboard.Ona ship,a changeofenvi-
ronment is limited. Enter: the Magic Carpet.
DesignedbyarchitectTomWright,it’sa travelling
platformcantileveredovertheoceanthattrans-
formseachlevel.OnDeck14,it’sanextensionof
thepoolarea.Atthetopoftheship,it’sDinner
ontheEdge,a sky-highal frescoexperience.
Cruisingis alreadyverypopularwiththeover
sixtiesandthosewholiketopartyhard,sothe
challengeforcruisecompaniesis to offerseamless
intergenerationalexperienceswithoutcreatinga
radicallysegmentedmarket.“Themindsetof our
guestsis evolving,”saysLisaLutoff-Perlo,Celebrity
Cruises’presidentandCEO.“Mymissionis to
get peopleto stopsaying, ‘Cruising is not for
me.’”Givenourinitialreservations,Anthonyand
I certainly settlein ratherwell: afteranItalian
lunchonthedeck,heis offtothegym,whileI potteraroundthe
Bulgariboutiqueonmywaytoa detoxwrapandmassageatthe
gorgeous Hoppen-designedspa, which featuresa crystalarium(a
newtakeonthetraditionalTurkishbath)andheatedloungers.The
eveningaheadis hardlygoingtobearduous:drinks,dinner,a show,
a nightcap.Havingthefreedomto moveeasilyfromvenueto venue
at willis highlyintoxicating,andnotjustforseptuagenarians.
Cruisecompanies arefacingcriticismrelatedto the environ-
ment,withquestionsbeingaskedabouttheimpactthesegigantic
shipsarehaving,especiallywhentheydockat smallportsthatwere
notbuilttocopewithhordesoftourists.CelebrityEdgehasbeen
designedtoproducefeweremissionsandbe 20 percentmorefuel
efficientthanthecompany’spreviousships.Celebrityis seemingly
morethanawareof itssocialandpoliticalobligationsas well.More
than 25 percentofthecrew(and 20 percentofthebridge)are
women,andthecompanyrecruitstoimprovethegenderbalance.
CelebrityEdge is determined to attractthe frequent flyer by
offeringthingsyou’dneverexpectona ship.Futuredestinationsfor
theEdgeincludeItaly, Croatia,Montenegro,MaltaandGreece,
withMexico,Puerto RicoandArubaplannedfor 2020.As the
sayinggoes,there’snobetterwayto seethelandbutfromthe sea.
For more information, visit celebritycruises.com/edge/.
Clockwisefromtopleft:
thebalconyatEden;
theSolarium;a Penthouse
Suitebathroom;a Villa
bedroom;animmersive
installationbyFredrikson
Stallard titledAvalon.221 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU September 2019