Project Edge - Status

[sloopsailor]

Very interesting chart

but we felt more crowded on Reflection than on Silhouette...,guess alot depends on how many were on board, the activities chosen, weather outdoors, many other variables...like the truncated nightclub, layout of some other areas,

 

pools and hot tubs were the same size and very busy....

guess we just did not like Ref while others say it's their favorite

 

Hope the new ships allot enough space for reading, sitting, etc....non revenue producers but places that make cruising relaxing!

 

While Reflection is my favorite, I do agree with you about the truncated nightclub. They have done the same thing on all the M class ships as well. I did find this nightclub area under utilized on the ships that still had full sized arrangements, so probably understand why they have been reduced in size.

 

I actually felt Reflection was less crowded than all the other S and M class ships I have been on. I thought they did an excellent job of designing it to give a less crowded feeling. But you could be right about the mix of weather, time of year, etc., affecting how crowded a ship feels.

 

And Reflection has plenty of "get away" places. I especially enjoyed the Hideaway area on decks 7 and 8. We had a room on the hump so we were only steps away from this unique area, and spent time there almost every day.

 

Looking forward to the new ships - but only if those awful bathroom designs are discarded. A sink in the room, and shower virtually out in the open - why would anyone think that this is a good idea?

Edited September 30, 2015 by sloopsailor

[AtlantaCruiser72]

To me if you made the S class rooms about 4' deeper and had a walk in closet (similar to the ones on the Regent ships) and left all the other elements as is (perhaps larger night tables with drawers as well) you would have just about the perfect cruise ship cabin design for "standard" room. I hope Celebrity do some hard thinking before then finalize the cabin designs for the Edge class. They have a chance here to outshine the completion in every regard, don't muck it up!

[elena7seas]

As far as I can tell from doing a little research, there is nothing to say that the drawings and renderings that have been brought to our attention by this thread are anything more than conceptual drawings, (although of course they may be, if Softroom Architecture and Design was the successful proponent in a design competition).

 

The Q2xRo website that hosts the linked photos and floor plans belongs to a fairly junior architect, Francisco (Curro) Perez Alcantara, who joined Softroom Architecture and Design in January, 2015. At the top of the pages devoted to PROJECT EDGE, he refers to the drawings and renderings as “Project Edge, Stateroom Design Concept”.

 

On his resume on LinkedIn, (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/fperezalcantara/en) Senor Alcantara indicates that Softroom has worked on a "Royal Caribbean Cruises Project Edge Pitch". As this is listed on his resume, one would normally think that Senor Alcantara worked on this "Pitch", but that is not really clear. Softroom Architecture and Design does not appear to refer to PROJECT EDGE on its website, nor on its Facebook pages, so it is odd to me that a junior architect would have them featured on his personal website. I would have expected these visuals to be kept under wraps at this point in the process.

 

From my perspective, as long as terms like “Pitch” and “Design Concept” are the only terms being used to describe these designs, I’m not going to get too worried about the practical design problems I see in these drawings and renderings. (I too wonder if the designers have ever been on a cruise ship.) It’s been a fun conversation, though.:)

 

In the meantime, this is the only thing that I have seen from Celebrity on the subject.

 

Edge FAQs

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/14041761_CEL_Edge_FAQ.pdf

Edited September 30, 2015 by elena7seas

[C-Dragons]

I think the junior architect may have let his ego get the better of him, and his company may not know what he did.

[cruise47]

I think the junior architect may have let his ego get the better of him, and his company may not know what he did.

 

I bet they do now know.

[wwcruisers]

Good research, Eileen! This just gets curiouser and curiouser (as Alice said). I guess those of us who were underwhelmed with this design can only hope that it was officially called as "a pitch and a miss". ;)

[SantaFeFan]

.......In the meantime, this is the only thing that I have seen from Celebrity on the subject.

 

Edge FAQs

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/14041761_CEL_Edge_FAQ.pdf

 

Reading through this document makes me wonder if these are planned as a class of ships that are a notch above Celebrity's current ships now in service, perhaps inching up to or matching Azamar's level o luxury cruising, but with larger ships than Azamara uses. Perhaps RCCL may be positioning themselves in the large ship luxury market with these large ships, leaving Azamara to continue it's small luxury ship focus in the same market.

Edited September 30, 2015 by SantaFeFan

[gimletgal]

Very interesting reading this thread! Even though all is supposition, I, for one, will not sail on any ship that has the bathroom split up with the sink in the cabin. Hoping this will never ever happen on any Celebrity ship! :eek:

(Makes me wonder if X ever read the terrible reviews of the NCL Epic due to the bathroom arrangements)

[wwcruisers]

Very interesting reading this thread! Even though all is supposition, I, for one, will not sail on any ship that has the bathroom split up with the sink in the cabin. Hoping this will never ever happen on any Celebrity ship! :eek:

(Makes me wonder if X ever read the terrible reviews of the NCL Epic due to the bathroom arrangements)

 

Hi Beth! That particular cabin feature takes me back to the not-so-good-old-days. Our very first cruises (back in the '80's) were on converted ocean liners. Some folks here may remember the Carnivale (one of Carnival's first three ships). In her own way, she was charming -- but staterooms were a nightmare. We had a long, skinny cabin, with a tiny port-hole, bunk beds, and -- yes -- the sink outside of the bathroom. All in all, it was a step up from our first cruise, on the SS Azure Seas. For that one, we had a tiny inside cabin (over the engine room). The bathroom was SO small that (no kidding) the toilet was inside the shower stall! :eek:

[terrierjohn]

To me if you made the S class rooms about 4' deeper and had a walk in closet (similar to the ones on the Regent ships) and left all the other elements as is (perhaps larger night tables with drawers as well) you would have just about the perfect cruise ship cabin design for "standard" room. I hope Celebrity do some hard thinking before then finalize the cabin designs for the Edge class. They have a chance here to outshine the completion in every regard, don't muck it up!

Unfortunately this is very unlikely, Solstice is 122,000 gross tonnes with 1425 cabins, Edge will only be 117,000 GT with 1450 cabins and probably more will be the bigger sized suites, so its very likely the Edge standard cabins will be quite a bit smaller than the Solstice ones. However they could still improve them by increasing the useable storage space, and if they do it cleverly they need not take up much more floor space.

[need2bespoiled]

Hi Beth! That particular cabin feature takes me back to the not-so-good-old-days. Our very first cruises (back in the '80's) were on converted ocean liners. Some folks here may remember the Carnivale (one of Carnival's first three ships). In her own way, she was charming -- but staterooms were a nightmare. We had a long, skinny cabin, with a tiny port-hole, bunk beds, and -- yes -- the sink outside of the bathroom. All in all, it was a step up from our first cruise, on the SS Azure Seas. For that one, we had a tiny inside cabin (over the engine room). The bathroom was SO small that (no kidding) the toilet was inside the shower stall! :eek:

 

I sailed the Carnival Carnivale with my parents in it's first or second season. Two lower bunks, two upper bunks, and that sink in the cabin and tiny port hole. Even as a kid I remember it being tiny.

 

The shower / toilet / bathroom combo is a common thing on small yachts, but I wouldn't call it modern luxury.

 

Happy Sailing,

Jenna

[hellboundron05]

I attended a travel agent's cruise conference, and there was a Celebrity Cruise representative on hand. I did ask her about Project Edge and all she can tell me is that everything is hush hush which is understandable. One thing that she did mention to me is that there is not only two ships being built for release for 2018 and 2020, but that there are actually four ships that is on ordered in consecutive years. With that being said she said that the release for the new ships are scheduled for 2018,22019,2020, and 2021 she ask said that not a lot of people know about it but she did make the announcement last night we'll all just have to wait and see if it really is four ships instead of two ships. I'm so looking forward to see e new upcoming ships.

[cle-guy]

To me if you made the S class rooms about 4' deeper and had a walk in closet (similar to the ones on the Regent ships) and left all the other elements as is (perhaps larger night tables with drawers as well) you would have just about the perfect cruise ship cabin design for "standard" room. I hope Celebrity do some hard thinking before then finalize the cabin designs for the Edge class. They have a chance here to outshine the completion in every regard, don't muck it up!

 

While I love this idea, from an economic standpoint, how would it work, without losing the veranda?

 

Ships can only be so wide due to port restrictions. To add 4' to cabins means minimum of 8 extra feet wide the ship needs to be. That would mean losing the center interior cabins, which means a huge reduction in number of cabins, which means a huge increase in cabin fare to make up for the lost revenue.

 

I haven't been on Regent admittedly, are their ships of the capacity Edge is looking to be? The Edge ships are to be slightly smaller (based on tonnage) than S class, yet have a few more cabins than S class does.

 

Smaller ships, of course can configure differently, but a ship of the Edge size, really has some firm boundaries to adhere within.

Edited October 7, 2015 by cle-guy

[need2bespoiled]

To me if you made the S class rooms about 4' deeper and had a walk in closet (similar to the ones on the Regent ships) and left all the other elements as is (perhaps larger night tables with drawers as well) you would have just about the perfect cruise ship cabin design for "standard" room. I hope Celebrity do some hard thinking before then finalize the cabin designs for the Edge class. They have a chance here to outshine the completion in every regard, don't muck it up!

 

While I love this idea, from an economic standpoint, how would it work, without losing the veranda?

 

Ships can only be so wide due to port restrictions. To add 4' to cabins means minimum of 8 extra feet wide the ship needs to be. That would mean losing the center interior cabins, which means a huge reduction in number of cabins, which means a huge increase in cabin fare to make up for the lost revenue.

 

I haven't been on Regent admittedly, are their ships of the capacity Edge is looking to be? The Edge ships are to be slightly smaller (based on tonnage) than S class, yet have a few more cabins than S class does.

 

Smaller ships, of course can configure differently, but a ship of the Edge size, really has some firm boundaries to adhere within.

 

When first read the original poster I thought he meant for inches. I also thought he meant wider, not deeper towards the balcony. Either way, doubt it would happen. 4 ft deeper would force a wider ship and 4 ft wider would be the size of a sky suite and half as many cabins per deck. Neither is going to happen for a standard celebrity cabin.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[C-Dragons]

I do not understand why there is an assumption by some that the Edge class ships will have slightly more cabins than the S-class ships. There are many Aqua class cabins on the S-class that have an occupancy of only 2. There is an opportunity for X to do away with cabins of this type and replace them with cabins that hold 3-4 guests. Then the total number of cabins could be less than on the S-class with passenger totals a little higher than the S-class.

[cle-guy]

I do not understand why there is an assumption by some that the Edge class ships will have slightly more cabins than the S-class ships. There are many Aqua class cabins on the S-class that have an occupancy of only 2. There is an opportunity for X to do away with cabins of this type and replace them with cabins that hold 3-4 guests. Then the total number of cabins could be less than on the S-class with passenger totals a little higher than the S-class.

 

Because this release says the ships will carry 2900 passengers, and cruise lines always use passenger count occupancy to mean double the cabin count.

 

Do you really think the intent is that they will now be booking more trips and quads than in the past? I just don't see this as X's demographic and don't; see them booking more trips and quads, losing the revenue of entire cabin, for the paltry 3rd person charge.

 

Eclipse has 1426 cabns, pax capacity of 2850. 130 Aqua cabins. So assuming those 130 cabins allowed for 4, then that adds an extra 260 PAX removing only 65 cabins. There are far more than 65 inside cabins thatwoul be lost to make cabins 4' deeper, to say nothing of the areas of the ship that are middle, with no cabins, that can't be encroached upon due to mechanical,s and other needs.

Edited October 7, 2015 by cle-guy

[need2bespoiled]

I do not understand why there is an assumption by some that the Edge class ships will have slightly more cabins than the S-class ships. There are many Aqua class cabins on the S-class that have an occupancy of only 2. There is an opportunity for X to do away with cabins of this type and replace them with cabins that hold 3-4 guests. Then the total number of cabins could be less than on the S-class with passenger totals a little higher than the S-class.

 

I never said that but there is no way Aqua I'd going away. There will likely be less cabins than on Refkection but more or similar numbers to the other S-Class ships. Aqua has been hugely successful. They can usually charge more for a standard size cabin in what is often a less desirable location with minimal extra costs. It's a great marketing tool, similar to concierge class.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[hcat]

Googled name of company building the Project Edge and came up with an interesting link about new Royal ship Harmony...the link would not print here.....guess anyone can google and find same link

 

It was very interesting but I am sure that the Celeb design will be more in keeping with what the brand calls Modern Luxury"....esp being a smaller size...

Edited October 7, 2015 by hcat

[Jane2357]

Sweet Jesus and Celebrity: Please put laundry machines on each floor!

 

I will also add turning the lights on and off always seems to be a challenge. Esp in the bathroom.

 

I am WITH YOU on the laundry!!!! And my desire for laundry is X's fault - because their laundry service is beyond terrible and ruins everything they touch. This is also why I'm forced into over packing - because I can't let X do my laundry - I have to take enough for every day - that adds up to lots of clothes.

[Straughn]

I am WITH YOU on the laundry!!!! And my desire for laundry is X's fault - because their laundry service is beyond terrible and ruins everything they touch. This is also why I'm forced into over packing - because I can't let X do my laundry - I have to take enough for every day - that adds up to lots of clothes.

 

Yep- couldn't agree more. About the only thing I send to the Celebrity laundry are workout clothes and men's t-shirts and shorts. A self service laundry would be great.

[mafig]

Sorry everyone, but can I ask Jane a quick question?

 

We're in Punta Gorda too.

 

Jane, have you taken the new Escot Cruise Connection bus to Miami or Ft. L.?

 

I asked this on the Florida Folks board and got no response.

[dkjretired]

I am WITH YOU on the laundry!!!! And my desire for laundry is X's fault - because their laundry service is beyond terrible and ruins everything they touch. This is also why I'm forced into over packing - because I can't let X do my laundry - I have to take enough for every day - that adds up to lots of clothes.

 

You know the thing about when pigs fly. LOL I think that's the chances of seeing laundries

on the new ships.

[jt1120]

I am WITH YOU on the laundry!!!! And my desire for laundry is X's fault - because their laundry service is beyond terrible and ruins everything they touch. This is also why I'm forced into over packing - because I can't let X do my laundry - I have to take enough for every day - that adds up to lots of clothes.

 

Wow! I've used their laundry service for years and have never had a problem. Still, it would be nice for them to include a laundromat for the flexibility of doing ones own laundry, but I'm doubting that they will.

[Karynanne]

My vote: No Laundries.

[maggie.1008]

No laundries and no suites under pools or ocean view café.