Edge-class cruise ship

The Edge class is a class of cruise ships operated by Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The class is constructed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique of France. At present, there are four active Edge-class ships: the lead vessel of the class Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Beyond, and Celebrity Ascent. Celebrity Apex was scheduled to begin operations in April 2020, but entry into service was delayed until June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Celebrity Ascent is the newest ship to debut and welcomed its first guests in November 2023.^[4] A fifth ship, Celebrity Xcel is currently under construction ^[5] and a sixth, yet unnamed, ship will enter service in 2028.^[6]

The lead ship, Celebrity Edge, at Saint Nazaire, France
Class overview
Builders	Chantiers de l'Atlantique (France)
Operators	Celebrity Cruises
Preceded by	Solstice class
Planned	6
Building	2
Completed	4
Active	4
General characteristics
Type	Cruise ship
Tonnage	130,818 GT[1] 140,600 GT[2]
Length	306 m (1,003 ft 11 in)[1] 327 m (1,073 ft)[2]
Beam	39 m (127 ft 11 in)[1]
Draught	8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)[1]
Installed power	2 × Wärtsilä 8L46F (6 × 9.6MW)[1] 2 × Wärtsilä 12V46F (4 × 14.4MW)[1] 1 × Wärtsilä 12V32E (5 × 6.96MW)[1]
Propulsion	2 × ABB Azipod[1] 4 × Brunvoll FU115 tunnel thruster[1]
Capacity	2,918 in 1,467 staterooms[3] 1,650 staterooms[2]

Both Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex were built with a gross tonnage (GT) of 130,818. Subsequent new builds have a hull extended by 20 metres (66 ft), bringing the length of the ship to 327 metres (1,072 ft 10 in), and an increased gross tonnage to 140,600 GT.^[2] Ships in this class are reported to cost US$1 billion each.^[7]

History

Orders

On 4 December 2014, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that it had signed a letter of intent with STX France for two new ships that would compose a new class of vessels for the Celebrity Cruises fleet.^[8] In June 2015, the letter was converted into a formal order for the first two ships.^[9]

On 25 May 2016, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with STX France for two additional ships for the Edge class.^[10] These two vessels comprise the third and fourth in the class, originally scheduled for delivery in fall 2021 and 2022, respectively.^[10]

On 11 April 2019, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ordered a fifth Edge-class ship with Chantiers de l'Atlantique, with delivery scheduled for fall 2024,^[11] since revised to 2025.^[12]

On 21 January 2025, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. added a sixth Edge-class ship order, having previously announced that the fifth would be the last. This additional ship is due for delivery in 2028.^[13]

Construction

Celebrity Cruises marked the beginning of construction for the first Edge-class vessel with the steel-cutting ceremony on 21 November 2016 at the STX France shipyard.^[14] On the same day, the lead vessel's name was announced as Celebrity Edge.^[15] She was delivered on 31 October 2018.^[16]

Celebrity initially named the second vessel of the Edge class as Celebrity Beyond,^[14] but she was renamed Celebrity Apex on the day of her steel-cutting on 23 July 2018.^[17] She was delivered on 27 March 2020.^[18]

Celebrity celebrated the steel-cutting of the third ship, named Celebrity Beyond, on 28 January 2020.^[19] She is the first of three vessels in the class to evolve in design and expand in gross tonnage.^[2] She entered into service on 27 April 2022 with a sailing from Southampton, United Kingdom. Celebrity Beyond has been under the command of Captain Kate McCue, the first American Female to take command of a vessel, since her construction.

The steel cutting for Celebrity's fourth Edge-class vessel, Celebrity Ascent, occurred on 17 November 2021.^[20] The ship entered service with Celebrity on 22 November 2023 on a "preview" sailing out of Port Everglades, Florida.

Ships

Name building number	Status	Entered service for Celebrity	Gross tonnage	Flag	Notes	Image
Celebrity Edge J34[21]	In service	25 November 2018[3]	130,818	Malta
Celebrity Apex K34[22]	In service	19 June 2021	130,818	Malta
Celebrity Beyond[23] L34[24]	In service	27 April 2022	141,420[25][2]	Malta	Steel cut on 28 January 2020 and hull lengthened to 327 m (1,073 ft)[2]
Celebrity Ascent[23] M34[26]	In service	22 November 2023	141,420[27]	Malta	Construction started on 17 November 2021 Float out completed 24 January 2023[20] Planned maiden voyage 3 December 2023[28] Floating engine room unit built at CRIST, Gdynia[29]
Celebrity Xcel[12] N34[30]	Under construction [31][32]	November 2025 (planned)	140,600 (planned) [33]		Construction started 7 November 2023. Technology group Wärtsilä will supply the flex fuel engines, enabling the ship to run on methanol.[12] Keel laid on 13 June 2024.[34][35]