Speaking to TTG at a “reveal” event in Miami for Celebrity Cruises’ hotly anticipated Celebrity Edge, Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive of parent company RCCL said that although four Edge-class ships had been confirmed for delivery by 2022, a fifth vessel was also now in the pipeline.
Asked whether he thought Edge, which launches in December 2018, would call at the UK, Fain said: “We are building at least five of these – it’s four confirmed and one is an option.
“I hope Edge will come [to the UK] soon because I think the British market will just love what they see.”
And questioned as to whether he would rule out a UK deployment he added: “Absolutely not.
“The UK and Irish market are huge supporters of us and have been for close to 50 years. We intend to continue to earn their trust and bringing out something as exciting as Celebrity Edge will make us hopefully even more popular.”
Jo Rzymowska, UK, Ireland and Asia managing director for Celebrity Cruises, told TTG that in the first hour of Edge going on sale on Monday the line saw more than 200 bookings from the UK.
The line claims Celebrity Edge is the first ship to be completely designed in 3D, enabling “every detail to be reviewed, fine-tuned and perfected” – a process which took place in a new Innovation Lab at the RCCL campus in Miami.
New technological innovations will include facial recognition software, enabling guests to board the ship more quickly, and keyless entry to staterooms via smartphones.
Meanwhile, a new Virtual Concierge app will allow guests to order drinks, book dinner reservations, or reserve shore excursions.
Fain was open about the fact that such cutting edge technology would lead to higher prices. “The prices are going to increase to reflect this,” he admitted.
“Obviously it’s more expensive to build a vessel like this and the pricing will clearly have to reflect that.”
However, Fain stressed: “I think it will still be good value for money… it’s exceptional value for money actually. But clearly we need some higher pricing to pay for these additional features.”
