Celebrity Edge has the ‘wow but Celebrity Solstice has the space: Why I’d choose different Celebrity ships for different trips

• While Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Solstice have a lot in common, they offer different experiences.
• Celebrity Solstice may be older than Celebrity Edge but she’s just had an impressive and extensive dry dock upgrade.
• One of the big differences between the ships is the activities and entertainment they offer, a major factor depending who you are travelling with.

Every summer, Australian cruisers get the pleasure of watching Celebrity Edge roll into our shores. Sailing here since the 2023/24 season, she’s become not only a regular in Sydney Harbour, but also a local favourite for Aussie cruisers. 

However, while she’s the only Celebrity Cruises ship that homeports here for the entire summer season, Celebrity Solstice comes drops by every summer for a few sailings as well. 

While Celebrity Edge is the more modern and newer ship, Solstice is fresh off a massive dry dock upgrade, giving her a new feel despite nearly 20 years of service. 

An exciting thing about Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Solstice is that they really have quite a lot of differences, with many different venues, a totally different layout and different activity and entertainment options. So if you’re a repeat cruiser with Celebrity or you’ve already enjoyed one of these ships, don’t be afraid to give the other a go and try something different, and you can be assured you’ll be getting a very distinct experience. 

Due to the volume of cruises available, the majority of Aussies will of course opt for a cruise with Celebrity Edge, however, if you have flexible travel dates and are tossing up between the two ships, Cruise Passenger has put together this guide with some of the basic differences to know and considerations on which one might be right for you.

Ship facts at a glance 

• Celebrity Edge clocks in at 129,500 gross tonnage and carries 2918 passengers at double occupancy. Celebrity Solstice is just a touch smaller, at 122,000 gross tonnage and 2850 passengers at double occupancy. 
• At 2.2, both ships have the exact same ratio of passengers to crew members.
• Celebrity Edge was built in 2019, Celebrity Solstice was built in 2008, but significantly renovated in 2026. 

Wow factor 

As far as ‘wow factor’ goes, Celebrity Edge has Celebrity Solstice beat. The ship’s design is more modern and ambitious, with spaces such as the iconic Magic Carpet offering something unique. Furthermore, between the rooftop gardens, Eden, fine dining options and its high-level production shows, Edge definitely offers more ‘wow’ moments or highlights in the sense of grand and unique features. 

This isn’t to say Celebrity Solstice isn’t a great ship to look at as well, particularly with some of its new features, but as far as bold and innovative features go, Celebrity Edge takes the cake. 

Celebrity Solstice offers a more traditional dining experience 

Celebrity Edge doesn’t have a main dining room in the way that most large cruise ships do, it rather has a series of four distinct dining rooms. 

Celebrity Solstice rather offers a more traditional main dining room experience. The Grand Epernay dining room spans across decks three and four, offering a regular place to come back to for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

If you enjoy this more traditional style of cruise dining and routine, you might prefer Celebrity Solstice, whereas if you want to try a more modern approach with distinct cuisines and rooms for different meals, Celebrity Edge might be a better bet for you. 

Edge offers more fine dining options

Celebrity Edge and Edge-class ships in general have more of an emphasis on fine dining. Edge offers a focus on more modern and innovative dining, whether it’s based around open air spaces like the Magic Carpet and Eden, or its renowned venues like Le Grand Bistro and Rooftop Garden Grill. 

Solstice also has some notable fine dining options, particularly their French restaurant Murano and The Parlor stand out. 

However, overall Celebrity Edge offers nine specialty restaurants compared to four on Solstice, meaning there’s more variety overall, and generally, extra thought and care has been put into designing the dining venues on Celebrity Edge.

Which venues are different

While some cruise lines keep their venues fairly consistent throughout different ship classes, Edge and Solstice have too many different venues to even name. 

Celebrity Solstice actually has more bars than Celebrity Edge, with venues like the Boulevard Bar, Oceanview Bar, Passport Bar, Sky Observation Lounge, Mast Bar and the Parlor not being found on Celebrity Edge.

Celebrity Edge has bars in Eden and the Magic Carpet as well as The Club and Craft Social, and a pool bar in their exclusive suite area, The Retreat. 

As mentioned above, there are also many different dining venues, and in this case, Celebrity Edge which has more options and variety. 

More flexible itineraries for Edge 

For cruising in Australia, Celebrity Solstice generally only offers three to five sailings a season, whereas Celebrity Edge has six months of sailings up for grabs. This of course, means that Celebrity Edge offers a broader range of itineraries, and more flexible dates for when you might want to sail.

However, Celebrity Solstice does have some unique features to the itineraries that it offers. Given that Solstice generally uses its Aussie itineraries as a bridge between the USA and Asia, you can often find fun repositioning cruises between Hawaii and Sydney or Sydney and Singapore, offering something a bit different to what’s generally on offer. 

These repositioning cruises offer a chance to see some new destinations and potentially add some land travel along with your cruise. 

Different activities to consider 

Celebrity Edge offers a couple of activities and spaces that you can’t get on Solstice, for example that it has pickleball courts. It also has a couple more areas to relax and to watch live music, such as the Eden entertainment space and the rooftop garden. 

Unique to Celebrity Solstice in comparison are two new post-dry dock venues, the adult gaming area in The Parlor and Sunset Park. The Parlor offers a fun spot to play bar games and enjoy a cocktail, and Sunset Park has become a new top deck retreat, with plenty of open spaces, venues, cabanas and more. 

Solstice has more pools and hot tubs

While both ships have three pools, Solstice has two with general access and one that is adults-only. Whereas Celebrity Edge offers only one that’s general access, one that’s adults only and one that’s exclusive to the retreat. 

This means that if lounging by the pool is a priority for you, Solstice might offer more opportunity to do this with a bit more space to yourself. 

Celebrity Solstice also has four general access hot tubs compared to only two on Edge, and two adults-only hot tubs, versus just one on Celebrity Edge. If you enjoy relaxing in a hot tub, this is another plus for Solstice.

Edge excels for premium suites 

While cabins on both ships don’t differ hugely, Celebrity Edge generally has more to offer when it comes to its premium suites and exclusive areas. 

Celebrity Edge is known for its infinite verandas, with the large spanning floor-to-ceiling windows that are generally well received and very popular with guests. 

Celebrity Edge also offers a couple of extra suite classes, meaning that for those who are looking to splash some cash on their cruise, Edge has more options for modern and indulgent suites.

The verdict

• If you’re looking for a more upscale experience, with innovative venues, fine dining and upscale accommodations, Celebrity Edge is the ship to go with. 
• If you want a more traditional cruise experience, with a main dining room, more pools and potentially itineraries that include the USA or Singapore, Celebrity Solstice could be the ship for you.