Celebrity Cruising in the British Isles

In May 2023 Brenda and I embarked on a cruising adventure around the British Isles from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, a city worth taking a little extra time to explore if you have the chance. Whilst excited to visit ports and cities that were new to us, we were most excited to explore our home for the next eleven nights – Celebrity Cruises’ magnificent new Celebrity Edge. Stepping on board our first thoughts were ‘Wow’! We’ve cruised with Celebrity before but this ship had taken elegance and luxury to another level, everywhere we looked was another carefully crafted detail. The public spaces were a terrific mix of open space to meet new friends and intimate nooks for private conversation, it never felt like we were in a crowd, something that will ease the concern for those concerned about big ship cruising.

Our Aqua Class Infinite Balcony with its designer finishes and cunning use of space was more than we could have hoped for. Who wouldn’t love the way we were able to bring the outdoors in and enjoy the sea breezes with the clever push of a button allowing the window to descend and create a balcony rail? No squeezing onto an exterior balcony for us! With the Aqua Class inclusions of complimentary fitness classes, unlimited access to the SEA Thermal suite, a personal spa concierge and complimentary dining at Blu restaurant with its spa-inspired clean-eating cuisine, it was like a wellness break at sea.

Of course, anyone who knows me knows that while my body might be a temple, sometimes it’s a temple to Bacchus the god of wine and revelry - Celebrity Edge gave plenty of opportunities to indulge. Twenty-nine bars, restaurants and lounges offered up something for every taste from the four different main dining restaurants offering modern American, French, Mediterranean inspired seafood and southern Italian cuisines, to casual and al fresco café style options across various decks and areas of the ship, to poolside burgers, salads and sandwiches. To our delight, those were just the options included in our fare. In addition there was also eight different speciality dining options, at a small additional charge, offered something extra for a special occasion or simply a truly magical night at sea, we sampled the steakhouse for a delicious change of pace.

What is dinner without a pre-dinner drink? There’s a bar for every taste and part of the joy of the ship was exploring them all, but we found our favourite to be the Eden bar, an expansive space across three levels with a panoramic view through multi-story high glass windows across the stern of the ship. After dinner world class entertainment across multiple venues kept us amused until late into the night.

With all this to explore on board it was a wonder that we found time to go ashore, but go ashore we did. In Dover we took an excursion into London with all the celebratory bunting and decorations from the recent coronation still very much in evidence, it was our chance to feel like part of history. We experienced a different type of history in Liverpool where the ship docked almost in the middle of the city. Stepping ashore we were greeted by a statue of the ‘Fab Four’ The Beatles. After moving on to the Cavern Club, the site of some of their earliest gigs, I offered to give a performance of my own, strangely no one took me up on the offer. Visiting the Titanic Museum in Belfast offered us a new insight into that ill-fated voyage, one that was such a contrast to ours. And what trip to Ireland, the home of the craic, would be complete without a trip to the pub? In Cobh the train to the centre of Cork, a town offering a mighty choice of drinking establishments, conveniently left from the port and we were on it.

Bad weather meant that it wasn’t possible to call at the Shetland Isles but Celebrity was up to the challenge, a change of port to Inverness along with a variety of new shore excursion options was a welcome surprise.

I’ve cruised on many ships over many years and to find the reception desk largely absent of guests requiring assistance on a ship the size of the Edge is an achievement that is a credit to how well run and organised the team on board, and Celebrity as a whole, is.

Long after Brenda and I disembarked and continued on our adventures through Europe, the warmth and good times from our cruise on the Celebrity Edge stayed with us.

In short, our time cruising with Celebrity Cruises left us feeling like celebrities!