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TxnAquarian

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  • Posts

    1,798
  • Joined

About Me

  • Location
    Seattle, WA
  • Interests
    Travel
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Seabourn, Celebrity, Azamara
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Anywhere in the Mediterranean

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TxnAquarian's Achievements

Cool Cruiser

Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. Yes, the Eden Cafe and Le Grand Bistro were both closed on our sailing.
  2. I just finished up my 10th Celebrity cruise - my first on E Class. This was the 8-day Italy, France and Spain cruise out of Rome. I think we are Celebrity’s target market - early - mid 40s, double income, no kids, travel internationally for pleasure several times a year. Celebrity as a brand works perfectly for us. Just to summarize my thoughts: this was a wonderful trip, as usual. The Edge is an absolutely beautiful ship. I love how modern it is and love the cool vibe. However, would I return to an E Class ship? Probably not, unless it was offering an incredible itinerary. Cons: - Absolutely hated the infinite veranda. It was basically just a room with floor to ceiling windows. Really poorly-done design idea by Celebrity. We only sail Aqua Class, so this totally didn’t work for us. - Didn’t like the Martini Bar location. We really missed the small, intimate ones on the older ships. It took away the appeal having it in the center of this cavernous atrium. - Noise everywhere. Whether we were at the pool or eating dinner at Eden or the steakhouse, there was constant noise and live bands. The noise volume at the steakhouse was especially obtrusive. This is addition to the hammering that went on outside our room from from 8am - 5pm on several days. Aside from that, opening and closing the ”veranda” was noisy and we could everyone else opening and closing theirs. The ship never felt relaxing. - We didn’t like the unisex saunas and steam rooms. Really missed having a more private one in the men’s locker room. - Location of Blu wasn’t ideal. It felt dreary in there; especially as there was not a good view, so the curtains were always drawn. We would’ve much rather looked at the deck and had some outside exposure. Pros: - Staff were the absolute best I’ve ever had! From day one, they couldn’t do enough for us. It felt like a luxury cruise with staff who were incredibly guest-focused. Amazing job! The ship was only half full, but I have no doubt their level of professionalism is the same regardless. - The design of the ship is gorgeous in the public areas. Around every corner was another cool design feature. I also loved the QUIET and chill music piped in around the ship. - Our bathroom was wonderful! It was right up there with ones we’ve had on much more high-end ships. Loved the shower so much and the CO Bigelow products (although I assume these products are on all ships). - Eden dinner was incredible! Aside from the noise volume from the live band, the service was flawless and each course we ate was perfect. I would’ve booked it again if it had been a longer cruise. I know we don’t all look for the same things in a cruise. We had a great time! I’m sure some people are sold on sailing E Class now, but for us, the M and S Class are our ships. This was our first post-pandemic cruise and it was amazing being back! Michael
  3. Totally agreed! I have not one booking with Azamara, because the itineraries are so dull and repetitive. They like to say that they focus on destination immersion and finding off-the-beaten-path ports, but they really don't anymore. Same ports year after year. It's too bad, because Azamara has always been a lovely and comfy product. Now my bookings are with Silversea and Seabourn because the itineraries and ports are so much more varied. I am truly spoiled looking through some of their 2024 itineraries with many ports I've never been to, late nights and overnights. Even Oceania is adding new ports in Alaska, and that's rarely done. Michael
  4. I'm in Mykonos often and I'd recommend booking a private transfer. Taxis are not very available and Uber isn't on the island. I feel like taking the bus takes away from the fun of a quick beach day. I use this transfer company and recommend them. They can do a large van for a group of 7. https://luxurytransfersmykonos.com/?_gl=1*1hysmoo*_up*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjwquWVBhBrEiwAt1Kmwsj0XgzlqGuzTNd14z3sSWFOX5fcHqgMEaseKNTbz-OpJ4wTJ5s5pBoCrDYQAvD_BwE Little Venice is accessible from the pier if you tender. If you dock, you'll have to take a shuttle from the port. Michael
  5. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful feedback! I am not crazy about the idea of this infinite veranda, but I do like Aqua Class and Blu. All of these photos are so helpful to give me an idea of room types on the Edge Class.
  6. I just made final payment on my Edge cruise - my first cruise since before the pandemic! I have been watching a lot of videos on the rooms and looking at the deck plans, but I can't figure out if every veranda room is an infinite veranda. We are in an A1 Aqua Class. Are there any traditional verandas on this ship or are they all infinite? I'm not sure I'm crazy about the design and I prefer using my veranda to sun instead of going to outside decks. Do you all like this new design? Michael
  7. I live right by the pier where Regatta docks and I also work at the airport (I'm a flight attendant), so I do that trip a couple times a week. You can easily make it to the airport by 9:00am (it looks like the Regatta disembarks around 8am). There's rarely much traffic going that direction in the mornings, except for a little congestion when the freeway merges....but you are talking about Seattle during peak summer season. The airport will probably be exteremly busy. I would really suggest changing to a flight after 12noon, if you can. It'll allow you to relax and not feel rushed. SEA is not an efficient airport and the lines can be very long.
  8. My flying time is more like 12-13 hours, but I'm speaking of time in the airport before flight, time between flights and transport to the hotels and mask wearing to the hotel and my room. It's a sweaty mess. And I am happy not to have to speak to 60 year old men anymore, as if they are a 5-year old, when they start screaming at me because I ask them to wear a mask. It's made an enjoyable job completely miserable. I have been a huge supporter of mask wearing and vaccines, but we've reached the point that we need to get back to some semblance of normalcy. And, again, we all need to respect each other's mask-wearing or non-wearing at this point.
  9. I'm a flight attendant who was working when the mandate ended, and as soon as we got the email that masks are no longer required, we all took them off. We were so giddy with excitement! I miss smiling at my passengers and having that personal interaction. And I've been so tired of wearing it everyday, 16 hours a day, for two years. I, of course, will respect any mask requirements when I travel. And we all need to respect each other's choices.
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