Have you ever gone down a rabbit hole while researching cruise options? Well, if you’re like me, the answer is “of course!”

Last night, I stumbled upon Celebrity Cruises Dream Big sale. With promises of free gratuities, free drink packages, free internet, and savings up to $500… I had to dig in to learn more.

So, first things first: Celebrity is offering cruises in the US as of November, 2020. So began the pricing challenge. What would it cost me to “Dream Big” on Celebrity Cruise Line?

Celebrity Summit

The first cruise I priced out was a 7-night Eastern Caribbean sailing on the Celebrity Summit. The Summit an older Celebrity ship from 2001 according to Wiki.

For an interior room on the Summit, two people would be looking at a total cost of $2,167 (inclusive of $263 in taxes and port fees).

So what’s the actual cost if you were to back out the “3 Free Items?” Below is a quick breakdown on those benefit/person

If you’re still with me, let’s do some quick math:

$2,167 fare+taxes+port fees – $1,187 in perks = $980 for 2 people

Not too shabby for a week visiting Key West, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, and beautiful San Juan Puerto Rico.

Celebrity Apex

But then I got to thinking, “What if I wanted to check out something a little newer?” That’s when an itinerary for Celebrity Apex caught my eye. For comparison purposes, I picked an interior room again on the Apex in November. Total cost, with taxes and port fees came to $2,678, or just about $500 more for the week on the Celebrity Summit.

Not being familiar with Celebrity Apex, I went to trusty Wiki again to see what year the ship was from. And this is where my internet sleuthing went wild!

Newest Edge Class Ship

It turns out, the Celebrity Apex has yet to launch. While she was originally slated to sail for Celebrity starting April 1, COVID19 had other plans. In fact, just today, Celebrity UK tweeted:

So, that means, if she does end up sailing in November, you could be one of the very first people to ever sail this beautiful ship! For a total cost of only $1,491 when you back out the value of the 3 free perks.

You read that right, sail for a week on Celebrity’s newest ship for just $745/person.

Edge-Class Ships

The next rabbit hole I went down was learning more about the Edge-class ships. While I’d seen that orange “edge” overhang, that was about all I knew about the ships.

These ships are big! At 130k gross-tons, Celebrity Apex will welcome 3,405 passengers and 1,320 crew. You can check out the entire deck plan on Celebrity’s site, or download the PDF from cruisedeckplans.

What’s to Eat?

While many cruisers are interested in drinks packages, I’m more interested in the restaurants! Considering the Apex hasn’t sailed yet, I didn’t have a lot to go on, but thankfully, that’s where the Edge comes in to save the day.

EatSleepCruise has put together an amazing reference guide for all dining options aboard the Edge (concepts that will carry over to Apex). From 4 main dining rooms to a free grill, standard buffet and even some healthy options, you won’t go hungry.

Fun fact: While the 4 main dining rooms share the same menu, each dining room is uniquely themed and has multiple appetizers and entrees that are unique to that specific dining room.

Of course, a new ship wouldn’t be complete with a boatload of upcharge restaurants, smoothie bars and other add-ons. Neither the Edge or Apex will let you down there (you can check out the Specialty Dining Package on Celebrity’s site for more info).

Ship Tour

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this rabbit hole as much I have. If you are interested in learning more, Celebrity has a ton of information on their site. Additionally, they’ve created a quick 2-minute “hyperlapse” ship tour that provides a preview of the many spots you’ll find on board.

Have you sailed Edge? Do you plan to sail Apex? Share your thoughts below.