Bookings for Celebrity Edge – the first of five ships in the class – opened on March 13, with the line holding a series of “reveal” events.

Six of these were held in the UK, including an announcement at the TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies ceremony in Birmingham on March 13.

The ship will sail for the first time in December 2018, offering western and eastern Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It will feature 1,467 staterooms, with a double occupancy of 2,918. There will also be 16 single staterooms.

Jo Rzymowska, managing director, Celebrity Cruises, UK and Ireland and Asia-Pacific, said: “Suffice to say feedback [for Edge] is that it has exceeded expectations.

“The magic carpet [a cantilevered platform on the side of the ship which transforms into a different venue on various decks of the ship] is gaining traction – the innovation is really impressing.

“Some of the most well-received aspects are the Infinite Veranda Staterooms, and how much more living space there is.”

The 918 staterooms allow guests to “walk right out to the water’s edge”.

Rzymowska added: “From a UK and Ireland point of view we are over-indexing on suites, which is quite something considering we’ve increased the number.”

The Edge ships will reportedly be slightly smaller than the Solstice class, but they will devote 12% of their capacity to suites, compared with 5%.

Rzymowska said holding the reveal events – which saw Celebrity host a number of trade partners at the main event in Miami – had proved fruitful.

“They [the trade partners] have come back and put together some great options,” she said.

“My feet haven’t really touched the ground and I’m still really excited and pleased.

“What’s also very important is that this gives us a great platform to focus on our whole fleet,” she added.