sjayo

Our thoughts are with Anastasiaa -- the wonderful person that took care of us on the Edge. She is from Ukrain; she was scheduled to fly to Kyiv the week the trouble began; and her mother lives in Kyiv. I hope she and her family are safe.

I did see the WWII vet and his wife -- what a great story.

Sara and I both loved Le Petite Chef. I actually have a video of some of it, but I didn't want to spoil the enjoyment for anyone that hasn't had this experience before so I didn't post it -- it's best experienced without knowledge of exactly what is going to happen. The food was fabulous, and this and all of the restaurants were extremely careful about gluten (and I'm sure) other allergies.

We really missed cruising during the last two years, and I was pleased that the safety measures taken by Celebrity made it possible to feel so comfortable and safe on the ship. We celebrated a valentine's dinner last night, and as I looked around, there was no guarantee (like on the ship) that everyone was vaccinated and tested negative 48 hours before getting together.

1 hour ago, 39august said:

I assume you are saying turn right on Front Street, not turn right on the boardwalk?

Correct -- turn right on Front Street. You can also turn right on the boardwalk and go down to where the other french coffee shop is located (where there are lots of newly planted trees between the boardwalk and the ocean); turn left down there where there are shops; and walk a minute or two to the end where you'll also run into the shop that way on the right side.

One more update. When I return home from trips like this, I do write ups for Trip Advisor when I find a gem of a restaurant or store while on travel. The restaurant owners particularly appreciate this.

In this case I found something totally unexpected. Who would have anticipated the presence of a world class coffee shop on St. Maarten? When you get off the boat that takes you to the island, go to the main street and turn right. Go down to the end (a 5 minute walk) and you'll see signs for a place called the Coffee Lounge [https://m.facebook.com/sxmcoffeelounge/]. You have to climb stairs to get to the lounge. 

It's a beautiful large shop with comfy couches and chairs; an area to sit outside; nicely air conditioned; freshly baked french pastries; and a broad range of hot and cold coffee options. On the day I was there is was very hot, so imagine sitting outside with a cool Java Chip coffee concoction with whipped cream, nuts, and chocolate chips; and sipping this during the heat of the day -- munching on a fresh authentic french pastry. I'll be going back there every time I visit the island. The owner was kind enough to sell me a pound of her freshly roasted coffee beans to take home.  Highly recommended.

I forgive them all for the negativity. Life is too short to deal with such nonsense.

We love cruising; cruise critic has been a wonderful way for us to connect with complete strangers enjoying a common experience; and GenX is a perfect example of what is best about these boards.

No hard feelings, and I will eventually try to figure out how to start a thread.

I came across GenX through my search for any information on health aboard cruise ships -- ours in particular -- in advance of our own cruise. Her engaging style caught my attention, along with a lot of others -- those are ideal reviews for people to read that are boarding in subsequent weeks. That's the first time I've ever followed anyone. My comments focused mostly on health (at what I hope is the tail end of a global infectious disease pandemic) since that's my area of expertise, and because it's on the minds of so many cruisers right now.

It would be very difficult to conclude that my posts were in any way rude or hijacking, unless of course, you actually didn't read them -- in which case, you view is not well informed. Those terms imply malicious intent, and you'd really have to read that into them through your own world view to arrive at those conclusions.  I feel bad for GenX that her wonderful thread had to end with acid, but unfortunately, there are people that bring acid with them.

To GenX -- if we're ever on a cruise at the same time, dinner is on us.

Jay and Sara

That is correct -- I've never started a thread in 14 years.

In fact, I never actually followed anyone in the same 14 years until GenX started her thread and did such a great job. I learned so much about the ship that it altered and enhanced our journey. In fact, I was hoping GenX and her husband could have stayed on our cruise so we could have extended a token of appreciation with a dinner in Eden.

If you find extending her good will as rude, then I feel sorry for your acidic view of the world.

I actually consider the continuation of a thread a compliment. She did such a wonderful job generating good will -- allowing the rest of us to follow to experience her cruise vicariously. She has a great writing style and focused on her unique experiences as a solo traveler. I think of this as passing the baton to the next person on the ship; and my focus was on health, with a splattering of experiences so people following could experience our week vicariously.

Now if GenX was monetizing this, that's a different story and I would never interfere with that.  When I started I tried to figure out how to start a new thread and could not find a simple link to do so. I'm sure it's there -- I just don't know how to do it.

No hard feelings to the questioner. Hijacking was perhaps the wrong word, but no worries either way.

I tried to do that, but I don't know how.  If you're willing to explain, I'm happy to learn.

Disembarking is not like it used to be. After collecting our luggage we walked to a facial recognition device, so there was zero wait. We never filled out one of the declaration forms; we were never asked if we were carrying any prohibited articles or fruit from another country; and we were not asked to declare any purchases. We were well below the maximum anyway, but I'm curious how they enforce this as there is no way to know what someone purchased overseas and no opportunity to even make a declaration.

Breakfast in Luminae was great as usual.

I'll be doing a very nice write up on Anastasiia -- our cabin attendant.

When I told my grandson that he was going to have a butler on his cruise next year, his eyes lit up. "Does that mean I can order a thousand scoops of ice cream, and she has to bring it to me?" he asked.

"Of course", I said, "as long as you mom and dad will allow it." He's so looking forward to the Apex.

Experiment completed: Luminae vs Steak House

Winner -- Luminae by a country mile.

I ordered a ribeye in both places, and I'm 99% certain the steak that came out at the steak house was a strip steak (elongated, no cap, not much fat); and I'd say it was mediocre at best even though it was supposed to be prime. I took a few bites. I also ordered the "tater tots" with gruyere cheese (completely tasteless) and the mac and cheese (passable). Sara ordered the filet and loved it.

I would not go back to the steak house -- it was extremely disappointing. The only highlight was the sundae at the end -- that was excellent.  Every other dinner on this ship was fantastic so overall I'd give the food a solid A; it would have been an A+ if the steak house came through.

We'll be back on the sister ship a year from March.  Well done Celebrity!!!!!

* And Sara won a nice hand pay jackpot in the casino just before coming up for the evening. Nice way to end the evening.

Time to pass the baton.

Jay and Sara

Health update.

2 cases of Covid reported -- either asymptomatic or mild symptoms. Since this is when the crew gets tested each week, I'm close to 100% certain that it's crew and not passengers. Chances are the crew was exposed last week.

If it's true that there were only 2 cases, the color code should change back to green.

Retreat area was full today -- we couldn't find a spot out of the sun. Plenty of spots in the sun; and there were actually 2-3 people in the pool today. 

Lunch at Luminae -- consistently outstanding. I always feel like I should wait to pay for the meal -- it's nice leaving a fine restaurant and not getting a check.

A couple of new tidbits.

There is a quiet area outside of Cut Steakhouse on deck 5 that no one sits at -- outdoors.

Breakfast at Luminae was fantastic. The pistachio croissant was a 10

They serve a very nice breakfast inside and outside of Eden -- never saw that before. Very quiet.

Good news

Zero (0) cases of covid onboard this week.

Word is that beginning on Sunday the mask mandate will only apply in the casino and during shows

Crew will be able to get off the ship beginning on Sunday

Now is a great time to be cruising because the cruise line still hasn't increased the minimum number of passengers beyond half capacity.

I'm hopeful the pandemic is winding down quickly -- the numbers beginning in January look exactly like the end of the 1918-1919 pandemic; implying the end should be in March.

Update: still no reported cases of Covid on the ship this week. If I had to guess, I would anticipate price increases within the next month as restrictions are relaxed and pent up demand comes to the surface -- that's why I booked our cruise for next year yesterday -- I'm anticipating some pretty stiff price increases.

My view of this ship may seem biased -- it's not. The fact is that Celebrity did an excellent job of thinking through just about everything on the Edge.

The two suggestions I have are probably easy to address:

1. How can there be no electric plug in the bathroom by the sink/mirror? I've never seen that before -- was this some kind of design mistake? You could theoretically plug in across the way by the mirror that only my wife uses, but the cord would have to be very long to stretch to the sink.  Not a big issue, but this should be easily fixable.

2. The dinner venue last night for Le Petite Chef took place right next to a public venue the floor below with live music. The live music often interfered with the presentation of the animation -- so much so that we couldn't hear it at times. This too is easily fixed since the timing of everything in Le Petite Chef is choreographed. Why not pass along this information to the folks performing so they're not doing so, or doing so quietly, while the animation is operational. I was not a fan of the loud music outside of this venue; although I would have enjoyed it had I been there for that purpose. A simple timing issue.

That's it.  Sara has a gluten allergy and every food venue on the ship -- especially the finer restaurants -- took good care of her so that her enjoyment was not interrupted. People that are gluten free can enjoy this ship without hesitation. I don't know about other food allergies, but they do ask everywhere you go whether there are any food allergies they need to be aware of, so my guess is that they can accommodate anyone.

Relaxing in the Retreat today. I've still not seen anyone use the pool up here yet. This area isn't even 10% used.

Update on St. Martin.

It was practically empty there -- the streets were almost empty as were the stores and the beaches; so it was a pleasure walking around. There was no mask mandate, but most people walking around were wearing them. There were signs on most stores indicating that masks were required, then when entering, most of the employees weren't wearing them.  Just before getting on the boat to return to the ship, Sara went into the duty free shop and was checking out the perfumes. Had several sprayed on her and they were just OK -- no purchase. Then on the boat on the way back, the scent changed dramatically and she fell in love with one of them. We bought a return ticket; went back to the shop and found the wonderful lady helping us, and she was able to identify the perfume -- I believe it was Michael Kors; then she bought two others.

There have been no cases of Covid reported on this ship so far this week, unless I missed it.

It's possible the mask mandates onboard most ships could disappear in the next week or so; the evidence is strong that the pandemic is coming to a close. The cruise industry will likely roar back.

We had dinner last night at Le Petite Chef. Adorable, and the food was outstanding. Highly recommended. Dinner at Luminae tonight -- they have been consistently outstanding, and the crew treat you like you own the ship.

We enjoyed this cruise so much, I booked rooms for our entire family on the Apex in March of 2023 during Spring break.  The folks that do this will come up to the Retreat lounge to book future cruises -- no waiting in lines.

Safety on Tortola

The policy on visiting Tortola changed early this week. At first you were required to go on one of their tours to get off the ship. Now you can go out on your own. However, there's nothing really to see or do right off the ship, and the walk into town revealed nothing as well. Lots of banks -- that's curious. Most passengers were wearing masks this time off the ship (except those coming off of Mein Schiff -- the German ship across from us), and the folks in town were largely maskless.

The good news is that I'm receiving signals from the world of public health that this part of the pandemic is coming to an end within weeks. They're expecting significant movement back to normal in March/April as the hospitals clear out. Some elements of careful risk management will linger, but it's possible that the pandemic as we've known it for the last two years is coming to a close.

5 minutes ago, sgmn said:

I've been visiting my local gym regularly throughout the pandemic, except when we were in lockdown. We never had to wear masks whilst working out, equipment was distanced by blocking off some equipment, everyone wiped down the equipment before and after using.

Staff did a deeper clean every hour 

 

 

Masks are required indoors on the Edge, so it doesn't matter what the requirements are elsewhere. Since Covid is airborne, and the machines are close to each other in the gym on the Edge, it's simply not worth the risk when anyone is working out without a mask. 

Since no one alive today has experienced a global infectious disease pandemic (except a handful of centenarians), it's not surprising that some folks don't quite realize the dangers involved. Having said that, on this particular ship (I can only comment on what I can see), the safety measures by far exceed those on land in the U.S. I've considered doing a write-up for a medical journal on relative safety and risk aboard a cruise ship based on my current experience. While we feel very safe here, it's still all about risk management.

I've now tried to use the gym facilities three mornings in a row, and each time about half the people there were unmasked. This is in spite of a clear sign when you enter indicating that masks are required and that we're all in this together. Well, apparently not everyone. I'm sticking to the outdoor track, which I must say is just fine. It's a bit windy, but it's a warm wind -- which I'll gladly accept in place of the winds in Chicago that freeze your eyeballs.

Dinner at Eden was amazing, and they took extra good care of Sara. Only one dish was not gluten free. I remembered to take pictures, which I'll post as soon as I can upload them. It's a three story area, and the music was the best we've heard on the ship so far.  A delightful evening -- thanks GenX.

We decided to go to the ocean view cafe for lunch. The engineers apparently decided that the spacing between everything should be about 50% greater than any other cafe you've been in on any other ship. The aisles are wider; the space between serving stations is very wide; it's almost as if they had social distancing in mind, but what they really had in mind was the creation of a non-crowded cafe. The food was not nearly as good as the cafe on an Oceania ship, but it's a buffet after all. You're served everything so there is no one other than the staff allowed to handle anything, but that's all window dressing for Covid since that's not how exposures occur anyway. However, as just another enhanced safety protocol involving other communicable diseases, I understand why they're doing this. I'd be surprised if this isn't the new norm, although it is labor intensive.

I can't say enough about Anastasiia. We saw her today during afternoon tea in the retreat lounge -- she catered to everyone there as if we were family. Her tip envelope keeps getting fatter.

The balconies on the back of the ship are like spending time in a zen room -- the sound of the ocean and the movement of water caused by the engines is intoxicating. It put both of us to sleep in the late morning while relaxing on the lounges -- the word delicious comes to mind when describing this kind of nap.

We're off to Eden tonight on GenX's recommendation -- I was hoping she and her husband would have been able to join us. I'll try to remember to take pictures before eating the food this time.

Understood. That picture is, as you say, most definitely not a ribeye steak cooked on both sides. That is a prime rib, and I would have sent it back if that arrived at my table tonight. Mine looked more like the attached image, but it was served on its edge standing up -- the first time I've ever seen that.  A filet was also on the unstated alternative menu. I just wouldn't label it as an alternative menu because the folks in the dining rooms on these cruise ships are so accommodating they'll go to other restaurants to fulfill someone's wish. If a restaurant doesn't have creme brûlée on the menu, and Sara want's that for dessert, the waiters will say if you wait a few extra minutes, I'll get it for you. They then run over to another restaurant that makes it and deliver it at our table.  That's a kind of alternative menu, but I see it simply as superb customer service.  That's quite different from your experience on Apex, and I agree with you that someone clearly made an error. Not tonight though. Kudos to the chef at Luminae; I'll know on Saturday how the competition fares.

17 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

 

Thank you for your reply, Are you saying the waiter volunteered this information of alternative choices when you asked about other menus?  Or you knew beforehand about these other choices? 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the Ribeye;however for me it isn't a Ribeye steak (And no restaurant or steakhouse refers to what is served as a steak) but a Ribeye Roast. A steak is an individually cut piece of beef that is cooked on both sides. The Ribeye that is served in Luminae is a Roast that is cooked whole then sliced and served, A La Prime Rib or Roast Beef. 

https://www.mychicagosteak.com/steak-university/prime-rib-vs-ribeye

When I asked him whether there was another menu to order from, he said no. But when Sara asked him if she could order chicken that wasn't on the menu, he offered up that there are always items not on the menu that are always available. This appears to be true at every restaurant. For example, at lunch today Sara asked for her sandwich on gluten free bread -- which they didn't have. So they went elsewhere on the ship, fetched their excellent GF bread, and made the sandwich using an item that wasn't on the menu.

The steak I had was cooked on both sides, and it was listed as a ribeye on the menu. It did not look anything like a prime rib; unless they cooked it as a prime rib and seared both sides after cutting it. Regardless, it tasted like a prime cut of beef -- it was outstanding. Not like an A5 Matsuzaka mind you, but one of the better ribeyes I've had. It was better than a Snake River Farm American wagyu.

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Thank you for your assessments and experiences on the Edge. Since you're in Retreat Class I would like to ask if you can make note of something regarding Luminae. There's another thread on the Celebrity board that discusses the dinner offerings at Luminae. It seems that fleetwide in addition to the normal Luminae dinner menu there's also a Everyday Menu of alternative starters and entrees for someone dining in Luminae and choose from. Some ships there's a separate physical menu presented along with the standard menu, some ships have a separate page within the standard Luminae menu, and some ships the waiter verbally informs you of other starters and entrees are available. It would be great if you can recount what your experiences on your cruise is regarding these alternative dinner choices in Luminae are. Thanks in advance 

We had dinner tonight at Luminae. While the waiter indicated that there is no other menu available for us to look at, anyone can always order from a series of available options that are not on the menu. This includes chicken, fish, caesar salad, plain salad, and a few other options. I believe the same options are always available through the main dining room as well. Sara ordered the chicken off that unstated menu because there was nothing on the menu that appealed to her that was gluten free. Truth be told, if you happen to sit down at just about any restaurant, they'll go out of their way to accommodate you regardless of whether the food you want is on the menu. This is quite common for those who are gluten free.

By contrast, I conducted an experiment of sorts by having the rib eye tonight -- which I figured would be outstanding given the reputation of the chef. I was not disappointed, and it came out presented vertically rather than horizontally. The experiment will happen when we eat at the steakhouse on Saturday to determine which is better. It will be difficult to top Luminae, but my mind is wide open for the taste test. The chocolate dessert made me shout out "unfair" because it was sooo good. This restaurant is everything they say it is and more.

Incidentally, I would ordinarily take pictures like my idol GenX, but 100% of the time the plate is half empty before I remember that was my original intent.

On a health note, when we boarded the ship we were told we had to take the Tortola excursions because of Covid. They changed their policy since then so we're just going to get off the ship and walk into town. It's unclear what prompted the change in policy.

So far no reports of any covid cases.

Health update.

I went to work out in the gym this afternoon, and while there were only 4 people in there, none of them were wearing masks, so I left.  I'll try again early tomorrow morning. 

We're liking this ship so much, we're thinking of booking a family cruise on the Apex in March of 2023.