suec12

Well first of all, is the Summit quite similar to M class ships - for some reason I thought it was from a previous line, like the Zenith that we sailed years ago. Anyways, looking at a New England cruise 2020 - my goodness those sails seem to be booked - no verandahs. So I would appreciate some guidance on picking an OV cabin - I know there are the "stickies" but I find them a bit tedious. Maybe I don't know how to use them. Anyways I'm a bit concerned about noise from ship mechanics or areas above. I'll admit, we've always stayed much higher up so I'd love some encouragement about a lower deck OV cabin, specific numbers appreciated.

Also if I call Celebrity to book, will I get good advice from the agent as to which available cabins would be a good choice? Thanks

Are you talking reservations for speciality dining or MDR "select"? On X, you can make reservations even if you have open dining in the MDR. Thanks.

For me it would depend on how many nights - one or two, I'd probably stay close to the train station / ship's dock (which will probably be near the station). But it is super busy there! If three or more nights I would probaly look for a hotel in the canal ring / Jordan which is not far from the station but much more pleasant.

"they return your card with a receipt" - so is an automatic gratuity added in? what percent? thanks. 

If I purchase before boarding, will the amount be on the same card I use for my room or will I need to be carrying both cards when I am out and about. thanks again!

Is it possible to purchase a beverage card that has a pre-paid amount on it that can be used like a debit card (so you don't have to sign a chit with each purchase). I thought I had read something like this - whe I searched the webiste it pulled up IMO numerous random topics. Thanks!

Thank you for the menus! I'll stay tuned for more.

Our usual brand is Celebrity that has very good beef and lamb in the MDR's. Not so good fish or pasta. We have sailed HAL and Princess two times each - my impression is that they both do a much better job with fish / seafood and pasta / risottos. Would you agree? 

Thanks again for posting the menus! 

could you include some menu shots from the MDR? we will be on in May. We are not frequent HAL cruisers but very excited about upcoming sail. It will be in the Med. - does HAL add local dishes to their menu rotations? Thanks!

FLL currently has a lot of construction in the terminal(s) - not sure of the timeline - we flew out fo there about a month ago. Very crowded with passengers waiting for flights and I thought food options pretty sad.

Luggage may or may not be an issue - if you are traveling light or can check your luggage from the ship to the airport (I think X was doing this) you are more free to enjoy yoursleves. We did a cruise on the CarrieB (11 am) which was delightful, then strolled along Las Olas and found a nice sidewalk cafe for a long lunch. Very pleasant day. You might want to consider cabbing to the airport, checking your bags, then heading over to CarrieB/Las Olas - might not cost anymore than HAL excursion.

Not sure what you mean by "given". I booked a cruise several weeks ago that included the beverage package but re-fared when the promos changed and now have no package and a significantly cheaper fare. Are you a new cruiser? The bookings and "freebies" are quite a game but I doubt HAL is truly giving you anything!

Hello SCGirl - our friends did go to Eagle Beach - were not too happy - all umbrellas and chairs sold out by 9:00 am but I suppose that depends on how many ships are in port that day. She actually wanted to go to Surfside but taxi driver coaxed them into going to Eagle. You might want to consider a different option or be sure to get there early!

I am getting an OBC from HAL - I see a list of what it can be applied to, the list does not mention grats. If I have no other charges, will it be applied to the daily gratuities? thanks!

We recently stayed at the historic Riverside Hotel - loved the location by the Intercoastal Waterway and Las Olas Blvd. We did a short cuise on the Carrie B (adjacent to hotel) and those houses along the water were just amazing - a very plesant day of our vacation.

It may be too late to make reservations in the 4 MDR's - are you select or traditional? We were select, a group of 6, that made reservations far in advance. On our recent sail I think we saw folks trying to get changed - not sure how it was working. There seemed to be sort of a "select section" that we rotated thru but there were often empty tables so it would seem to be folks could be accomodated. FYI - you can get the special selections from the restaurant adjacent to where you are seated if you ask. For example, in Cyprus, you could ask for one of the special selections from Cosmopolitan. For our group of 6, things went very smoothly.

Well I am seeing free grats and for verandahs and suited, free drink package, at least on the May Europe sail I am looking at (this is on the HAL website)  Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

So I found better deal on a May cruise - I have little HAL experience in price machinations - I am booked with HAL, NOT TA. If I call to get re-booked on the new deal - will I keep the cabin I have? will I keep the air I have booked thru FlightEZ? (this is SUPER importatnt to me, as prices have increased for the flights) I assume the deposits / monies paid will just be figured into the new booking verification? Thanks!

One more thing - my current booking has an OBC from HAL. If I do not max out that OBC, does HAL put it back on my credit card at the end of the cruise?

Oh I meant the HAL flight partner - FlightEZ? - Yes on one ticket and early morning arrival to AMS so several more flights to VCE thru out the day. I am leaning towards just leaving it alone - and as someone said, it could change again before our trip in May! Thanks for the input.

So I booked a flight from the US to Venice that has a connection in Amsterdam, very pleased with price, has since increased by hundreds of $$$. After booking, the connection time was changed from over an hour to 50 minutes - seems tight but booking did not change. On the airline website, it advises the connection is tight and I MIGHT miss next flight. Soooooo - leave it alone? call EZAir? call airline? I really don't want to lose the price I got. I am NOT arriving DAY OF cruise so there is margin for rebooking. Anyone have experience like this? And if I miss the connection, I will deal with airline? or EZAir? we do not usually have cell phone service once we leave the States. Thanks for any input.

Well if the movies are "fleet wide", I can tell you some of the ones just offered on Edge. There were probably about 10 free movie choices and then more you could purchase. The free ones that I can remember - The Hustle - this is a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and I LOVED it (also loved DRS), Yesterday - very nice, lots of Beatles music, also the new Star is Born.  Several I had not heard of that looked interresting - Hampstead? Lying and Stealing, The Mule (I'd seen that). Rocketman, Lion King and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood were shown several times in theatre or up on deck but not as in-room options. I do wish they would post somewhere ahead of time a list of titles, times and venues for these selections.

We wake up very early - like to watch movies. I was pleased there was a decent selection of choices.

I'm not much of a shopper - I hate the sale scrums that used to clog up that part of the ship but it would be nice to be able to buy a reasonable priced T shirt - I read on board they are $90? I don't think so😐

Do they still have the Saganaki (melted cheese) appetizer in Cyprus? I've seen it on some sample menus but not others. Was the sea bass quite good - I was hoping for a whole roasted fish (like in Greece😉) but I guess it's filets. Have they happened to have the whole roasted fish in the OV cafe that you know of? They did that one day on our last cruise - I think the day after we left the Azores? and it was delicious.

Thanks for all the info - we board next Friday.

I've been doing this lately (also a first time FlightEase user) and you can pull up your flights, then go to the "change flights" tab - see what comes us and if you don't want to change, just close down and keep the fights you have. I too was thrilled with flights I was able to reserve for Premium Economy altho to he honest, I'm not 100% sure what class I am in on some of the flights - I think some are actually Economy Comfort, not the Premium Economy which is MUCH better but on the most taxing flight, it is truly Premium Economy.

So I was looking over the deck plans in anticipation of my upcoming cruise - is there onlt one hot tub? I see one in the solarium - we usually like a soak several times during our sails. One does not seem enough for a ship this size.

By the way - where is the elite happy hour now that there is not a Sky Lounge? 

Thank you for starting this post - we are getting ready for our maiden voyage on The Edge on Nov. 15 - I think with you? Anyways, following the various posts thru out the year has made me a bit uneasy at times as to if we are going to like The Edge - we are long time X cruisers. I'm especially interested in where is a good place to play cards during the day and which bars are usually quick to walk up to and get a drink. I'm really looking forward to the 4 MDR's - we made our select dining reservations quite a few months ago. It sounds like reservations are being honored and each of the different dining rooms is a pleasant experience.

You've got to be kidding?! That's rough. But if you've only given them $25, how are they going to come after all the rest of that money?