Celebrity Cruises has announced a number of new details on the Celebrity Apex, the second ship in the Edge class. New amenities for this ship will include new culinary venues, menus and programming; additional beauty, fitness and wellness offerings; changes to The Theatre, along with three new production shows; and new experiences in the Eden venue.
The new ship will also incorporate some of the signature features of the Edge class, such as the floating Magic Carpet cantilevered off the ship’s side and the ship-within-a-ship concept, The Retreat, that is exclusive for suite guests. Returning accommodation types will include Infinite Veranda staterooms, as well as the two-story Edge Villas.
New Culinary Venues and Offerings
Designed by Michelin-starred Chef Cornelius Gallagher, here’s what’s new in terms of food and beverage:
- Craft Social Bar – This relaxed, casual bar space will offer draft cocktails, wines on tap and more than 50 craft beers served by a certified beer sommelier. Menu items will include contemporary comfort food cuisine like mac and brie, Kobe beef sliders, crispy chicken sliders and meat and cheese boards. Large-screen TVs will air live sporting events.
- A new 3-D digital animation dining experience at Le Grand Bistro – Celebrity Edge’s first-at-sea digitally animated menu by Le Petit Chef will offer a new animated story on Celebrity Apex, enhanced by new menu creations from Chef Gallagher. A fusion of entertainment and dining, the menu offers such dishes as spring pea soup, King Crab farfalle pasta and filet mignon, while diners enjoy a story that chronicles the life adventures of Le Petit Chef who meets the girl of his dreams at age 12.
- A new Eden dining experience – A sampling of new menu items includes fresh roasted Spanish prawns with melted peppers; cured fresh chorizo; slow-cooked shellfish broth with parsley, garlic, shallots and maldon sea salt from England; pastrami with Devonshire Dijon mustard emulsion, mashed potatoes cooked in duck fat; and crispy rye bread sautéed in butter and melted raclette cheese.
In addition, new menu items have been created for Raw on 5, Magic Carpet, Fine Cut Steakhouse, Rooftop Garden Grill and the four Main Restaurants on Celebrity Apex: Cosmopolitan, Cyprus, Normandie and Tuscan.
Entertainment Updates
New in entertainment will be three new stage shows in The Theatre, a cabaret show in The Club and a variety of themed experiences and activities throughout the ship.
The Theatre will sport a new 23-foot-tall 4K LED screen curving around the stage, as well as a new 28-foot-tall circular scrim and eight Panasonic 20K laser projectors for projection mapping to create a 360-degree wrap-around picture for audiences. There will also be a 20-foot tall “Tree of Life” with over 3,000 LED leaves.
These tech enhancements will support three new shows, the first of which is Rockumentary: celebrating some of the greatest classic rock moments in history, the show will offer guests the opportunity to vote for their favorite finale via the Celebrity Cruises app. Tree of Life will take guests on a journey of relatable life moments, illuminated by the changing seasons of the tree, and set to pop rock music. Crystalize will pair light, laser projections, custom video content, music, dance, and incredible aerial acrobatics, all tied together by the talents of a world-class violinist.
New experiences will also be on offer in the ship’s Eden venue. An eclectic afternoon tea party morphs into a wonder-filled journey in a “Night of Dreams,” complete with live performances and audience interaction; a daytime guided meditation becomes the ultimate ultra-lounge in “Night of the Chill;” and interactive art experiences by day lead into “Night of the Arts,” celebrating the arts through interactive experiences and performances.
In The Club, a new, intimate cabaret-style production will be called Caravan, offering new takes on classic circus acts. During the day, the space will offer a variety of activities ranging from video dance classes to archery to karaoke with a live band and full production support.
In collaboration with Girls Who Code, founded by CEO and Celebrity Apex Godmother Reshma Saujani, the ship’s onboard Camp at Sea S.T.E.M. experiences will offer new educational coding programs.
New Wellness Programming
In collaboration with OneSpa World, new wellness programming will include a first-at-sea offering of F45 Training. These unique 45-minute, station-based, heartrate monitored functional team training workouts will be offered in the ship’s fitness center, which the line describes as “notably larger” than that of its predecessor.
Additionally, a new Destination Wellness program will offer locally inspired spa menus inspired by the destinations the ship explores, while a new Women in Wellness wellbeing program will center on the emotional, physical and spiritual practices of highly respected wellness influencers including Katie Brauer, Yoga Master and founder and CEO of The Yoga Professional; Ruth Zukerman, co-founder of Soul Cycle and Flywheel Sports; and skincare icon and Elemis CEO Noella Gabriel.
Other new spa offerings will include more than 120 treatments and a new collection of treatment tables, highlighted by the unique Iyashi Dôme, the original Japanese infrared sauna that deeply cleanses and detoxifies the body.
Celebrity Apex debuts this spring with a mini-season of five sailings to European destinations, including the Norwegian Fjords, the northern coasts of Spain and Portugal and a new 10-night Capital Cities Cruise with visits to cities including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Paris.
After Celebrity Apex’s Northern Europe mini-season, the ship spends the rest of its inaugural summer sailing seven- to 12-night itineraries in the Mediterranean, with visits to destinations such as Lisbon, Portugal; Istanbul; Monte Carlo; Cannes, France; and more, before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale in November for a winter season of week-long Caribbean sailings. Celebrity Edge will also sail the Mediterranean from April to October 2020; and the Caribbean from November 2020 to April 2021.
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