Written by Andrea Trevisan - Bancosta Cruise
CELEBRITY CRUISES CORPORATE GROUPS & CHARTERS SYMPOSIUM ON THE CELEBRITY EDGE
Just one day after the experience on the Celebrity Beyond I was delighted to board the Celebrity Edge docked at Terminal 25 in Port Everglades on November 7 to participate to the Celebrity Cruises Corporate Groups and Charterers Symposium hosted during a 4-day Gateway cruise to Mexico (Cozumel).
This time my boarding was even faster then what I described on the Beyond few days earlier, I think my personal “cruise boarding record” even without having priorities.
My Uber dropped me at 12.04pm and at 12.17pm I have taken this selfie in my Infinity Veranda stateroom, truly impressive!
It compensated the long time to reach T25 as there was a lot of traffic to enter Port Everglade and my kind Uber driver, was somehow confused and tried to take me to another cruise ship departing from Port Everglades that day.
To show you that I am not just telling you a fun story please see my “photo” evidence of the remarkable "boarding time performance".
The event was organized by the Celebrity Cruises Corporate Groups & Charters Team, and it has been extremely interesting along all 4 days on board. Kudos to all the Celebrity Cruises Team for such an interesting program, I have learned a lot about their skills and what they could do to make a group event on board their cruise ships memorable. Their organization and experience were simply remarkable in every aspect of an event planning: impressed!
I have found the Celebrity Edge a spectacular ship with some slight differences than the Beyond (as said 20m shorter) but with the same main features. During the days on the Beyond and the Edge, I was charmed by the EDGE Class.
CAPTAIN TASOS’ SENSE OF HUMOR
I cherished the selfie made by Captain Tasos from Greece with all spectacular participants to the Symposium composed by leading event planners, the Celebrity Charters Team and a very enthusiastic and skilled on-board management team gathered at the beautiful stage of the Edge Theater.
I have to say that if you like announcements from the Bridge as I do, I would like to award Captain Tasos as one of my top 3 Captains featuring the most entertaining and enjoyable announcements throughout all cruises.
As many of you know, I have a particular affection to the navigation bridge on cruise ships as it represented the start of my early career for 10 years and certainly the best office view I ever had.
And of course Captain Tasos and his team managed perfectly the most important task of a smooth and safe sailing the Celebrity Edge.
MEMORABLE DINING AND RECEPTIONS AT THE EDEN LOUNGE.
With our group we had two evening cocktails receptions at the Eden lunch organized by Celebrity Cruises. The private receptions were hosted on let’s say the upper deck of the 3-level lounge. It was a perfect location as cozy and great for networking. The view was just amazing. It was private at the same time connected to this splendid venue where there was life music, a great bar preparing memorable cocktails and an outstanding specialty restaurant.
I was invited also to a amazing dinner with part of my group at the Eden Restaurant. The host was Clem Galindo, a top industry expert in corporate group charters.
The experience was unique for a 7-course menu: Memorable!
The service, food presentation and quality were of high-quality, I would say to a Michelin level. The wine selection was truly interesting as well.
No to mention the view, we were looking at the ship-wake just before sunset and the red Caribbean sky was mixing with the blue sea, the connection with the ocean was powerful and magic.
10 REASONS FOR A GROUP EVENT AT THE EDEN LOUNGE
For me the Eden lounge is ideal for several events:
1) Special celebrations of any kind such as a Wedding, Anniversaries and so on
2) Memorable Group Dinners
3) Group cocktail receptions
4) Private parties
5) Cooking and Mixology group workshops
6) Inspiring lectures with magic views
7) Teambuilding activities
8) Mindful workshops
9) Themed events
10) And I would say, just contemplating the Ocean while sailing it is a wonderful “complimentary” event itself
OVERALL
The Celebrity Cruises Corporate Group Charters Symposium was a group event itself which gave me the opportunity to appreciate the facilities, venues, and services on board the Celebrity Edge and in general the organization of Celebrity Cruises for Group Charters. On top of all beautiful venues on board the Celebrity Edge, I did enjoy the dedicated meeting room where the presentations for this event were delivered, it was well equipped with all gadgets and technical features making it very suitable for corporate meetings.
Overall it was a delightful and extremely useful experience.
I sincerely recommend Celebrity Cruises and the Celebrity Edge for Corporate Group Charters, and I thank the Celebrity Cruises Corporate Groups & Charters Team for the opportunity to join such an interesting program and talented group of leading event planners!