Celebrity Edge

On 4 December 2014, Celebrity Cruises' parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., announced that they had finalized an order with French shipbuilder STX France for two new ships that would compose a new class of vessels for the Celebrity fleet. Classified as "Project EDGE" during development, the two new ships were planned to be at approximately 117,000 GT each, with a guest capacity of 2,900 passengers. Deliveries were planned for fall 2018 and early-2020 for the two vessels, respectively.[3] Each ship was reported to come at a cost of US$1 billion (2014) .[4]

STX France began preparing construction for the first new Edge class vessel with the steel-cutting ceremony on 21 November 2016 at its shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. On the same day, Celebrity announced the name of the first newbuild as Celebrity Edge, and her sister ship as Celebrity Beyond,[5][6] which was later changed to Celebrity Apex in July 2018.[7]

Six months after the steel-cutting, Celebrity Edge had her keel laying and coin ceremony at STX France on 21 June 2017.[8] She was officially launched on 23 January 2018, marking her float-out from the shipyard.[9] On 27 July 2018, she began her first round of sea trials[10] and completed them four days later, on 1 August. Her second and final round of sea trials were performed in September 2018.[11] Celebrity Edge was delivered on 31 October 2018.[12]

Following her delivery, Celebrity Edge jumpstarted her inaugural season on 6 November 2018 with a transatlantic crossing from France to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[12] As a result of construction progressing faster than expected, Celebrity released four three-day preview cruises for sale upon the ship's arrival in Florida: 21 November, 24 November, 1 December, and 6 December.[13][14]

Celebrity named 2014 Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai as the godmother to Celebrity Edge in April 2017[15] and Yousafzai christened the ship in a ceremony on 4 December 2018.[16] The ship's official maiden voyage sailed on 9 December 2018, calling in the ports of Key West, Grand Cayman, and Costa Maya.[13]

Since December 2018, Celebrity Edge has been homeported at Port Everglades, operating weekly Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings during the winter season,[12][17] and sailing in the Mediterranean during the summer season.[18]

On 15 November 2022, Celebrity opened the 2024 Alaskan Cruising Season and announced the Celebrity Edge would be on the Alaskan cruises.

The orange "Magic Carpet" along the starboard side of Celebrity Edge

Celebrity Edge was the first Celebrity ship to be equipped with what the cruise line dubs the "Magic Carpet," an orange glass-sheltered platform that protrudes and is suspended from the starboard side of the vessel. It was designed to facilitate more accessible tender embarkation and disembarkation. When not in use as a tender platform, it can rise or descend alongside the ship on its track and otherwise hosts additional dining and lounge space.[19]

Most balcony staterooms on the ship also incorporate the outward patio of the balcony into the stateroom by moving the steel superstructure of the ship inward.[19] Royal Caribbean Group CEO Richard Fain explained the motive behind the design as intending to provide passengers more living area while also allowing passengers to be closer to the edge of the ship while on their patios.[20]

The ship's bow is designed to maximize fuel efficiency by having a parabolic shape that vertically rises towards the decks. It provides extra sheathing for the bulbous bow and the propellers to reduce drag.[21][22]