micheleg

Benny - Thank you so much for this amazing thread on your Apex sailing.  It made me remember our time on the Edge, and also getting us excited for our B2B on the Apex in April.  Pictures were amazing, but your commentary along with the photos was Beyond!  (No pun intended).  I'm hoping that the Omicron situation has peaked and almost extinguished by the time we are going to sail, but your information on how to manage safely was so appreciated!

Safe travels home, and thanks again!

Michele

We loved out time on the Edge, however as those have previously said, the accessibility issues were hard to deal with.  I too was on a scooter.  Dining at Eden was difficult, especially getting down in the elevator.  I had to get off my scooter, go down with my husband and the Matre' D brought the scooter down.  Then he insisted of giving us the walking tour of Eden, and I kept looking at him like he was nuts and just wanted to be seated.  Same going up.  We had to go first and then he brought the scooter up.  It was not easy getting it out of that elevator.

Chairs were difficult for me as well.  Most if not all had arms, too low, and I couldn't get in them.  If I did get in them, I couldn't get out without help from my husband.  Same for the theater.  There was no bench seating.  I couldn't fit in the seats, so I had to go to the top row of the theater on the 2nd level and sit on my scooter and watch.  My husband sat at the bar seats in the back so at least we could be next to each other.  I asked some Officers if they could bring me an armless chair and they just looked at me perplexed and disappeared.  Steps up to the pool and another one of those silly elevators?  I just didn't get it.

Stores were hard to navigate as well.  I don't know.  Someone really missed the mark thinking this through from an ADA perspective.  However, points on the accessible cabin.  Other than having to bring up an armless chair for the balcony, beautiful. 

I miss the fine dining of Murano.   We're doing a B2B on the Apex in April.  Now that I know what I'm up against, I think I'll be better prepared.  Edge class beautiful and fun to be on something new, however, I'd sail on any of the Solstice class ships a hundred times over. 

Key West dropped from our April 16th sailing as well.  Replaced with Bimini.  No email from Celebrity regarding the change.  This doesn't surprise me in the least given the news out of Key West that we get in Miami. 

Bimini Beach Club included at no extra fee for Virgin passengers, going to be interesting to see what they offer us and at how much.  No excursions up for Bimini at this point.  Probably just going to be another ship day for us.  We'll see.

Was on the Edge for Thanksgiving.  80 Children on board.  Some wearing masks, some not, and most not wearing masks outside.  Crew was definitely not saying anything to parents, not sure if any Officers were either.  All crew were wearing masks inside and out.  Since we were boosted before our sailing we didn't worry about the kids that much, however you'd think the parents not following the rules with their kids would be a little more respectful to their fellow passengers.

We were on the Edge for Thanksgiving and sailing with 800 pax (80 of them children).  Some of the crew told us this week they only had 700 sailing.  They also told us that capacity was up for Christmas and New Years and they expected to be around 80% for the holidays.  They said they were hoping that that trend would continue into 2022, but were not sure yet. 

Been on several Thanksgiving sailings.  You have to go into dinner with an open mind knowing it won't be yours, Mom's, or Nana's recipes.   But, it will be delightful, you won't have an aching back, you can eat with everyone in your party because you're not running back and forth to the kitchen, you won't be packing leftovers, if you don't want turkey, you'll have a plethora of other choices, the kitchen won't be hot, and no one can blame you if you forgot to remove the giblets from the turkey before you put it in the oven (no, that didn't happen to me, but it did happen to someone I know), and someone may be playing beautiful music live as you have your Thanksgiving dinner.

Last year, it was just the two of us, who can cook for two on Thanksgiving?  Don't ask how miserable I was.  That was the day, I swore that this year, we would be on a Celebrity ship.  The count down to Edge has begun.  We can't wait to see those smiling faces on board, and we'll be so thankful this year, that we made it through, along with our family and that we're sailing again.

3 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

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Thanks Kwokpot!!  That pretty much puts all guessing to rest.  Game plan done!  Appreciate it greatly!

I've heard that the Concierge Lunch in the MDR is no longer available since the Covid restart.  What else is open on embarkation day other than the buffet?  Not sure that the capacity will be Thanksgiving week and just want a plan B.  Yes, I am one of those always with a Plan B.  Sushi on Five, Mast Grill, Eden Grab n' Go?  Any insights would be appreciated!  Thanks!

I did use the 2nd shot date.  Thanks everyone!

Hi All...was doing our health check in on the Celebrity App for our upcoming Edge sailing.  When you get the the vaccination status it asks for the date that you got your final shot?  Both my husband and I have received our boosters already.  Are we supposed to use the booster date, or treat the final date as the 2nd Mandatory vaccination which is required?  This was my source of angst last night since our CDC cards do show the 3rd booster date.  Any help would be appreciated, and if this was already asked in another thread, I apologize as I apparently missed it.

Thanks,

Michele

It's like found money.  Go nuts!  Buy some booze that you've always wanted to try but thought was too expensive, tip everyone extra that gave you great service or went out of their way for you,  buy something shiny bright that you'd never spend money on at home, try a specialty restaurant, or go to one for lunch instead of the buffet.  It's great to have that option and then to have a zero dollars bill at the end of your cruise!  Have fun with it!

2 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Ehh I'm not so sure about that. Word always was that Celebrity stopped visiting Labadee because passengers weren't interested in a private island beach day. I don't see your average X customer waiting in line to ride the tethered hot air ballon or ride water slides. 

I think you're wrong, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

The Beach Club portion at Coco Cay is essentially private with a full scale private restaurant included.  You have to pay extra to go there, and the cabanas at the beach club are very pricey.  Word has it that they're also planning to expand to another area for an Adults Only area.  I think Celebrity stopped Labadee because they couldn't keep it up to the standards of what a Celebrity passenger wanted,  besides all of the political issues with Haiti, even worse now with no president, earthquakes, hurricanes, and probably the most vaccine hesitancy in the world, even Royal won't be going there anymore.

I don't know what videos you've watched, but Coco Cay is beautiful, and since Celebrity is now aiming at a younger more professional demographic with or without children.  I'm sure you've seen their new ads, hardly one strand of grey hair anywhere.

I'm in my mid 60's and you can bet your sweet life I'd be the first in line to pay for my spot at the beach club at Coco Cay or any private island if they started calling at one.

We got Roatan instead for our November Edge cruise.  Yuk.  No thanks....another wonderful ship day for us!  😃  Really was hoping that Celebrity would wake up and let us take advantage of a Perfect Day at Coco Cay as well, but no such luck.  The beach club there is right up a Celebrity passenger's alley. 

We're just staying on the ship, we feel that's the safest place.  If we see too many folks in one place, we'll just slide our masks on, we don't have any problem doing that.   Just getting away is good enough for us. 

We're not risking islands that are at a Level 4 and mostly unvaccinated.  The activities on land are not worth the risk for a case of breakthrough Covid to us.  We've been to all of the islands a gazillion times, so enjoying the ship and the pool is what it's all about this time.  By the time we sail in November, both of us will have had our boosters, so we're feeling really good about going.

Great pics!  What capacity is the ship sailing at?  It looks empty.  We can't wait for April!  Have a wonderful cruise!

I go through a travel agency and always use my BOA card.  The charge always shows from Celebrity Cruises so I get my double points.  The only real change is that they've removed Azamara Cruises since they are no longer owned by the RCL group.  So you still get double points for anything purchased through RCL or Celebrity, and then 1 point per dollar for anything else.  Azamara is now treated like any other merchant.  Hope this clarifies.

5 minutes ago, Islandhop9 said:

 

Wouldn't mind skipping Nassau for CocoCay or Key West. 

 

I would love for Celebrity to start stopping at Coco Cay.  The Beach Club looks fabulous.  We never get off the ship in Nassau anymore.

Thanks for the info everyone.  Hopefully it'll stay this way until they get the variant under control.

Was the Oceanview open for dinner or breakfast and lunch only?  Were the passengers taking it upon themselves to wear masks inside and maintaining social distance, or was it so capacity reduced that no one had to worry about it?  We're booked for November, so just wondering how it will be for us.

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Good question to ask Celebrity. 

Asked...Reservation Agent had no clue.  That's why I'm trying to get an answer from someone that has recently sailed.  No point spending additional time in Cozumel if you can only do ships excursions.  Coco Cay would be the ultimate.  More revenue in RCL's pocket...only makes sense, especially with the Beach Club which is an additional charge which Celebrity pax would most likely want since it's more upscale.

I just booked a November 2021 sailing on the Edge.  Grand Cayman is still showing as a stop.  In the meantime, the government of the Cayman Islands does not expect to allow cruise ship passengers back on the islands until sometime in early 2022.  So...another sea day, plop the anchor in and just spin around as if we were tendering in, jump up and down from the upper decks to get views of 7 mile beach?  Anyone recently have a westbound cruise that still showed Grand Cayman?  What did you end up doing?

I'll be honest...I wish Celebrity would add a Perfect Day at Coco Cay instead of Nassau, or as a replacement for Grand Cayman.  I haven't seen Labadee offered in ages.  All reports from our pals at RCL is that this is one fabulous day, and I could see myself at the Beach Club without blinking an eye. 😉

Thanks all!

Michele

Both of our cruises on the Apex are still not showing.  Says the reservation numbers are invalid.  Hopefully whatever happened didn't include our personal information.

There is always an area before you get to security to leave your power chair, scooter, etc.  There was never a problem, I would go all the way down, park my scooter, take the key out, and down the gangway we went.   Just ask the crew where you can park when you get down to the gangway area.  Someone is always there to help.  Once you get down the gangway, there's more crew to assist.  If it was too far from the gangway to the buses, the crew would put me in a wheel chair and away we went.  Never did I have to have my husband take my scooter back to our cabin.  I hope this helps!

We dined mostly outside on the table on the balcony which was quite lovely.  We never had dinner for room service, but when we had breakfast and weren't ready to eat outside, our butler put our breakfast on the coffee table in front of the sofa.  My husband sat and ate there, I took my food and sat at the desk and put my food there in front of the mirror.  Still a cozy breakfast, just inside.

Also, all beverages in our fridge was included when we were in the Sky Suite on both the Reflection and Solstice.  We never paid extra.  Great suite, just look out for the pole by the bed if you're in the Sky Suites all the way aft.  🙂

17 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

Hi, which trial were you in?  DH & I (& 2 of our adults kids) were team Pfizer...  we received our white cards & they were happy to fill out & stamp our yellow vaccine cards for travel.

 

& yes... the blood draws lol, tons of fun along with all the deep nose swabbing, I go for another blood draw at the end of the month 🙂

 

Anyhow, nice to "meet" another participant 🙂

I'm a Moderna girl and DH was Pfizer.  Got a bunch of friends that were J&J as well.  DH and I compare notes on how different each trial is being handled.  We're not sure it's the site itself or the manufacturers, cause he got a CDC card for Pfizer and I did not.  At least no more panic attacks every time I have to go because everyone's vaccinated at this point.  🙂  Thank you for participating and believing in the science!