Celebrity Solstice gets the Edge treatment in multi-million makeover

Celebrity Solstice gets the Edge treatment in multi-million makeover

Celebrity Cruises has revealed that Aussie based Celebrity Solstice will be receiving a multimillion dollar makeover by 2021 which will be in line with its latest ship, the revolutionary Celebrity Edge.

The line will be spending more than $670 million on refurbishing its fleet to be aligned with the upcoming Celebrity Edge.

The Edge, which will be launched later this year with a magic carpet, three-story indoor space called the Eden, will set the benchmark for the rest of the Celebrity’s ships.

“We launched The Celebrity Revolution to do one thing – transform the way our guests experience the world. It began with the introduction of the industry changing Celebrity Edge, and continued with the stunning Celebrity Flora,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. “Our dedication to improving the way guests experience the world knows no bounds. We are taking our entire award-winning fleet to the edge and giving people the holiday they truly deserve.”

The Suite Life

Celebrity will transform Celebrity MillenniumCelebrity ConstellationCelebrity Infinity, and Celebrity Summit and add the stunning Reflection Suite and Signature Suites (found today on Celebrity Reflection) to Celebrity SolsticeCelebrity EclipseCelebrity Equinox, and Celebrity Silhouette.

The ships have a subtle, coordinated fusion of East meets West, with clean lines, neutral tones, and a warm, inviting opulence.

“This was a new and exciting challenge to recreate something stylish and luxurious yet totally different from the accommodations that I have designed for Celebrity Edge,” said designer Kelly Hoppen.

“I wanted to invoke a feeling of timeless luxury that welcomed guests into their own haven. Your bedroom is where you sleep and where you wake, two of the most important times of day, especially when you are on holiday. It was important to create space, harmony and luxury within a home away from home setting and I think we achieved this balance perfectly.”

With Celebrity Edge, the brand introduced an exclusive new sanctuary for all Suite Class guests called The Retreat, and now Celebrity is bringing its most luxurious experiences fleet-wide. Every ship will offer The Retreat Sundeck and The Retreat Lounge, both designed by Ms Hoppen. The Retreat Sundeck, she has created a chic, open-air hideaway with the feel of a high-end resort, where guests can unwind on plush loungers, sip cocktails, and savour refreshing treats.

Accommodation

The Celebrity MillenniumCelebrity ConstellationCelebrity Infinity, and Celebrity Summit, plus the staterooms and many of the suites

onboard Celebrity SolsticeCelebrity EclipseCelebrity EquinoxCelebrity Silhouette and

Celebrity Reflection into a statement about modern luxury.

“Every detail of our staterooms has been elevated, every comfort refined,” said Brian Abel, Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations, Celebrity Cruises. “By the end of The Celebrity Revolution, the entire fleet will have the same quality, design essence and consistency of modern luxury, bringing our fleet to the edge.”

All staterooms will feature a fresh, chic design, rivaling the world’s best boutique hotels. They will also be fitted with Celebrity’s eXhale bedding featuring exclusive luxurious cashmere mattresses, RFID locks, pervasive Xcelerate and Bluetooth capabilities.

Culinary

Guest-favourite restaurant Qsine will be added across the fleet and completely renovated, now offering the brand’s virtual Le Petit Chef experience, created by the world-famous artists of Skullmapping and presented by TableMation exclusively for Celebrity.

Oceanview Café will be redesigned with an open, airy, marketplace-inspired design offering guests a plethora of international delicacies, while the main restaurants will undergo a redesign, with new textures and new finishes added throughout. 

Innovation

More innovation is on the horizon with The Celebrity Revolution, including:

Expansion of the new SEA Thermal Suite – first introduced on Celebrity Edge – to offer an array of therapeutic spa experiences at sea.

Exclusive new shopping experiences featuring sought-after brands and designers, such as Shinola, John Hardy, and Hublot.

Elevated bars and lounges, including the newly reimagined Passport Bar and an expansion of Celebrity’s popular Gastrobar concept, serving more than 40 craft beers, creative cocktails, and gourmet comfort food.

More exciting upgrades to public venues all throughout each ship, including The Hideaway, Team Earth, The Library, and more.

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The most exclusive areas on a cruise

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The best cruise lines for vegans and vegetarians

The best cruise lines for vegans and vegetarians

With new and expanded menus catering for vegetarians and even vegans, cruise lines are working hard to broaden their culinary appeal.

Once the cruise buffet was the happy hunting ground of the carnivorous, with hunks of beef, pork and chicken in plentiful supply.

But the rise of vegetarians and vegans has seen a big shift.  Now, your as likely to find haloumi nuggets and Portobello mushroom burgers on the menu.

If you’ve decided to put your steak in the ground, here are some of the best cruise lines for non-meat eaters.

Oceania Cruises

The luxury line which is known for its food offerings (culinary courses, specialty food cruises and market shore excursion), last year rolled out extra vegan options. The main dining room features more than 250 dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the morning, guests can have raw, cold-pressed juices as well as energy bowls filled with super berry acai. For dinner and lunch, there are menu items such as truffle-flavoured parsnip soup, vegan tortillas and Italian chocolate vegan-ricotta pie.

Holland America Line

The premium cruise line caters for special-diet cruisers with nearly 30 dishes for vegetarians and vegans (as well as coeliacs). Guests can find these dishes in the main dining room and it includes asparagus, carrot and zucchini tart which are baked in cheese custard and served with a three-grain pilaf of lentil, barley and wild rice. In June this year, the cruise line will host a cruise for Vegan Food Planners to Canada and Alaska. The Vegan Vacation at Sea is also offered onboard other lines such as Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises.

Norwegian Cruise Line

While you might be hard pressed to find meat-free options at NCL’s carnivore restaurants, the chefs at neighbouring restaurants can deliver vegetable pad Thai or portobello mushroom layered with goat cheese. The main dining room generally also has meat-free starters.

Celebrity Cruises

Known for its healthy spa packages as well as specialised eating plans, it’s no surprise that Celebrity Cruises has dedicated vegetarian menus. Vegans fare less well as there is a fair amount of cheese in the dishes. For those who are into carbs, there are also lots of pasta dishes. The buffet has pizza and a pasta bar as well as a made-to-order stir-fry. Try the vegetable korma or spinach and ricotta ravioli.

Silversea

Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, kosher, gluten-free, the line accommodates everyone. Guests with special diets just need to give the line 60 days’ notice of your dietary requirements. For the vegans, Silversea also has raw-food options. Most of the dining areas onboard Silversea ships offer vegetarian or gluten-free options, but for the ultimate onboard experience, it is worth asking the luxury line to customise your eating experience onboard.

Carnival Cruise Line

The family-fun cruise line’s free dining outlets generally have one or two vegetarian dishes. At Guy Fieri’s Burger Joint, there are veggie burger with mushrooms and caramelised onions and at the Blue Iguana Cantina, try the bean burrito. There are salads, pasta, pizzas and even the steakhouse will make off-the-menu vegetarian options for you as well.

Costa Cruises

If you’re sailing in the Mediterranean with Costa, the line has options for vegan, gluten-free and diabetic guests. The line improved its vegan and vegetarian options in 2015 and guests can now enjoy dishes from Michelin-starred chef Bruno Barbieri – think spinach flan, confit cherry tomatoes, salsa verde and thinly sliced sesame bread. From last year, vegetarian can even indulge in a 12-course degustation menu from the famous chef in the main dining room.

3D chef gives diners the Edge

3D chef gives diners the Edge

The lid’s been lifted on the premium dining venues guests can expect when Celebrity Edge launches in November – in one, an animated chef appears on the table, plating up a virtual meal.

Celebrity Cruises served a taster to whet appetites at a swanky preview in New York, unveiling a stable of 29 restaurants, cafes and bars. The Dinner on the Edge restaurant occupies the Magic Carpet, the remarkable moveable space cantilevered off the ship’s side.

Perhaps most intriguing is Le Grand Bistro, which projects Le Petit Chef, a 3D character no bigger than a salt shaker, who assembles a digital meal on the guest’s plate, previewing the actual food.

“We were looking for something really unique,” said Brian Abel, Celebrity’s vice-president of hotel operations. “We’re trying to be innovative with technology… to enhance the guest experience.”

The high-tech culinary experience joins Dinner on the Edge, the venue on the cantilevered Magic Carpet when positioned atop the ship, the multi-storey Eden restaurant and Eden Bar.

“The culinary pillar is really the first among equals,” said Richard D. Fain, CEO of Celebrity’s parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Rather than a main dining room, Celebrity Edge will have French, Italian, Greek/Mediterranean and American-themed venues, reflecting passengers increasingly choosing “select dining” in the restaurants reserved for those cabin classes.

“Guests seem to like smaller dining room experiences,” Abel said.

Alongside Beyond Eden, Le Grand Bistro and Dinner on the Edge are steakhouse, barbecue and seafood venues.

View Celebrity Edge Culinary Reveal video:

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