Celebrity Edge's Blocks Are In The House!

[ecslady]

Just wondering - Will the tender/lifeboats with the nice padded seats become another perk of booking a suite if a disaster should strike?

[ecslady]

Silhouette was our first Celebrity ship and I remember watching her grow from a small piece of metal to her naming ceremony. It was quite emotional to be honest ! I think all of the speculation and chat on here is all part of the fun of waiting for a new ship to launch. I too remember the moans about storage and ironically when we were on Connie last month we could see why as that ship had enough storage space for 10 in her cabin !!

 

As you know we have had a moan or two but we know we will go and make the best of things. Have yet to find a perfect ship (or hotel come to think of it) and I am sure that Edge won't be one either. The most important thing is that she floats and gets us from A to B safely ;)

 

I, too, remember all the discussion about the S class ships, the moans and growns, while they were being built. I agree that all the speculation and chat is fun while waiting until we can board.

 

We did adjust to the S class, but the M class still has better storage IMO, but not enough storage space for 10 in a cabin unless it was the penthouse. :D:D:D

[ecslady]

Well I’ll be in an IV on November 27th and will report back. Of course it’s a two day cruise so storage won’t be an issue.;)

 

Thanks in advance for reporting back.

[NanPop135]

Funny as all get out:'):')

I decided to do some close scrutinizing. Indeed one can find things that seem unsatisfactory, not necessarily to everyone but to some people. It's okay. Different strokes for different folks, if you will. What concerns me might not concern you and vice versa. It's all good. Here's what I'm seeing.

 

The telephone cord is too long for it's placement next to the bed. For a sound sleeper with restless leg syndrome, you might just get caught up in that cord, toe dial room service at 3:00am and tie yourself to the bed trying to get free. At the same time, the cord is not long enough. If I want to sit on my infinite balcony drinking a Bluefish Martini, inhaling the fresh sea air and talking to one of you good folks about all these deficiencies, I can't.

 

If the bed is near the bathroom, the picture over the sofa near the balcony is distorted and rendered unattractive by the glare from the daylight. Perhaps this set-up should be for nighttime cruises only.

 

I'm hoping the toilet paper is an over, not an under. No pictures of that yet. I'm assuming it is ambidextrous in it's unraveling.

 

In all the pictures, people are wearing hard hats on the decks. I hope this is not a new requirement that whenever we are outside, we must wear a hard hat. If that's the case, I'll have to bring two bathing suits. A hard hat does not go with a European Speedo. Got to wear board shorts with that.

 

In the cabin pictures, looking toward the door. In some there is a person standing there. Like Air Marshalls, are these folks Sea Marshalls? I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone standing inside my door all night. I'll settle for less safety and more privacy. That's just me.

 

Finally, those large elephant ear thingies ( I called X, that's what they're called), what are they for? Reminds me of props used in some fancy Las Vegas Show Girl shows. Actually, never mind. They might not be too bad after all....just sayin'.

[NanPop135]

Funny as all get out

[kearney]

Look we have been watching this ship being built bit by bit over the last several months... many months. We know that it was designed to be revolutionary... to disrupt the norm.... to shift the paradigm. So it is logical to wonder, speculate and yes criticize. This is cruise critic after all. For the longest time people were respectful. I even recall a comment by VT to that effect. I for one am an enthusiastic skeptic. I know that there will be things missing that I liked in the old designs and and new things that I may not be able to live without going forward. I for one...love love love the atrium. I hope Eden will be a good perhaps better substitute for the Sky Lounge, my old favorite spot on S class. As someone who got terribly burned the last time I sat out on the balcony on a cloudy day.... I will love the IV. But some will prefer the old design... and I hope that is the case... because perhaps the cost of cruising Edge will come back down to earth. And for me that would be a good thing... The company is taking a big risk... but if you go through the videos... particularly the taped live program out of Miami... you realize that they really did carefully consider everything you can think of. The other thing older cruisers like me need to remember is that for cruise lines to survive they need to adapt and appeal to a new audience.. an audience that is reliant on technology and likes the type of stimulation that some of us might find over the top. Celebrity wants to keep us... but they need the younger crowd to ensure long term growth and success. So lets all enjoy learning and speculating and treat one another with some respect even if you disagree with their view point.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just wondering - Will the tender/lifeboats with the nice padded seats become another perk of booking a suite if a disaster should strike?

 

In a tie-in with the NFL, Celebrity will soon start selling 'seat licenses' which will allow anyone to buy their way on to the nicer lifeboats. :')

[kearney]

Tenders look so nice, I can see passengers asking if these boats can be used on excursions instead of the vendor boats.

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

Just wondering - Will the tender/lifeboats with the nice padded seats become another perk of booking a suite if a disaster should strike?

What do you mean that this is my lifeboat? I paid for the upgrade to the tender boat. Well you will need to speak to passenger services about that. Where are they? In that rubber raft, just swim out to them and let them know.

[vtcruising]

I'm hoping to win a nice tender seat in Bingo! :D

[vtcruising]

Look we have been watching this ship being built bit by bit over the last several months... many months. We know that it was designed to be revolutionary... to disrupt the norm.... to shift the paradigm. So it is logical to wonder, speculate and yes criticize. This is cruise critic after all. For the longest time people were respectful. I even recall a comment by VT to that effect. I for one am an enthusiastic skeptic. I know that there will be things missing that I liked in the old designs and and new things that I may not be able to live without going forward. I for one...love love love the atrium. I hope Eden will be a good perhaps better substitute for the Sky Lounge, my old favorite spot on S class. As someone who got terribly burned the last time I sat out on the balcony on a cloudy day.... I will love the IV. But some will prefer the old design... and I hope that is the case... because perhaps the cost of cruising Edge will come back down to earth. And for me that would be a good thing... The company is taking a big risk... but if you go through the videos... particularly the taped live program out of Miami... you realize that they really did carefully consider everything you can think of. The other thing older cruisers like me need to remember is that for cruise lines to survive they need to adapt and appeal to a new audience.. an audience that is reliant on technology and likes the type of stimulation that some of us might find over the top. Celebrity wants to keep us... but they need the younger crowd to ensure long term growth and success. So lets all enjoy learning and speculating and treat one another with some respect even if you disagree with their view point.

 

Thank you for all your contributions. I enjoy your unique perspective - you always make me think. :D

[Nemanoxer]

I wonder if and how some people can even begin to enjoy their holidays instead of overthinking everything.

 

I personally think, exteriorwise, this new ship is amongst the top 3 ugliest passenger ships I have noticed in my life. But do I actually care? Nope, cuz I will spend the absolute majority of my time inside - and the interior looks freakin awesome, from my personal point of taste. Now let the staff by incredibly friendly, polite, effective and personal. And let the food be great.

Then, this unbelievably ugly ship might become my favourite. No matter where the electrics box is located and which way the toilet paper needs to be rolled off.

 

Just go and enjoy your freakin holidays, folks. I heard in the US most of you do not have a lot of them. So, hands up, glasses up, cups up and party :cool::cool::cool:

[marylander2]

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/first-look-at-celebrity-edge.html

 

Some of you perhaps have seen this report, it came out on last Thursday.

most of the facts are known but there are some interesting ones...

[marylander2]

The other thing older cruisers like me need to remember is that for cruise lines to survive they need to adapt and appeal to a new audience.. an audience that is reliant on technology and likes the type of stimulation that some of us might find over the top. Celebrity wants to keep us... but they need the younger crowd to ensure long term growth and success. So lets all enjoy learning and speculating and treat one another with some respect even if you disagree with their view point.

This is a good point, Kearney, but I am afraid that X takes a huge leap of faith in the attempt to build the ship this different.

People who were referring to the bitching and moaning prior the Solstice went to inaugural sailing - complaining about the oddities on that ship compared to the rest of X fleet or other ships - were complaining about much smaller things... I distinctly remember reading multiple posts about the faucet in the bathroom: it is non-swivel and raised up too high, as you all know now. And, just as many of you, I hit my forehead oh so many times on it... Then were the others - fixed shower head, the shelves above the bed, the sliding closet doors that jammed our fingers often...

But Edge has far more different things, bold things, that are changed from the standardized approach in the industry, and that's why people are concerned more. No Sky Lounge, no main (really main) restaurant, no shade in the pool area (well, that's what many are fearing and complaining so far... until we see it). New types of rooms, no blind curtains (it is a big deal for many, as you noticed), odd furniture in the "balcony area" (how else to call it?), and so on...

 

I repeat myself again: I enjoyed the first cruise on Solstice (third after inaugural), and I sure as hell will enjoy my first on Eden, regardless of my expressed concerns here, and I feel that people who say "stop nitpicking and enjoy the cruise!" are quite different in their approach to cruising, to say it roundly, but I am not reacting on that.

What I meant by saying "huge leap of faith" is that someone in X management must have analyzed the market trends pretty well to risk spending such money on pioneering concept for a cruise ship.

I hope they are right.

I hope that millenials will buy in this approach and will make cruising their pasttime, like we did.

Because if not...

[Cruise a holic]

Just a question- any idea if and how you can rent a cabana on the Edge? They aren't listed. Is it for suite guests only? First come?

 

Thanks.

[hcat]

Good question

Suite guests have their own area on EDGE so I think the cabanas will be open for booking by all guests.

 

Does anyone have a schedule of where the MCarpet will be parked on sea days? Seems the cabanas are near the docking space at pool deck level..?????

[marylander2]

The picture you show is of one of the Tenders which are one level. They hold 132 persons as a Tender and 223 when used as a Live Boat.

Thank you for clarifying this, I actually knew the capacity of tenders because it is written on their sides :), but thanks to your comment and Kearney's follow up I went further and looked at the Palfinger Marine page, where they say this:

"In 2015, PALFINGER MARINE won the impressive contract for delivery of 24 tenders, 12 lifeboats, 36 davits and six rescue boat stations to a series of cruise ships being built by STX France. The complete lifesaving package is now in production, and April 20 2017 marked a huge milestone for the project: the crucial full-scale boarding test of the new MPC 49 – the world’s largest and PALFINGER MARINE’s flagship lifeboat (able to fit 450 pax)"

I assume that Edge is one of these ships, because STX France is at the St. Nasaire shipyard.

What's interesting, Tall-Cruiser refers to six tenders on Edge, which then should bring the lifeboats (supposedly, MPC 49) number to six as well. Then the total capacity of lifeboats alone will be 2,700 pax - only 200 less than a full passenger list of the Edge... And there are six more tenders with 223 seats each!

(I am joyous because as Palfinger Marine folks state, in the current cruise industry there is a tendency to skimp on the lifeboats because of the precious spacing... Who is curious if this is true, read here (https://www.palfingermarinestories.com/selling-the-sea/):

"...Alternative evacuation systems provide the exception that only 75 percent of all passengers onboard need to have a seat in a lifeboat.... In my experience, most of the new passenger vessels are built in accordance with this regulation, because their design simply doesn't allow enough space to accommodate more lifeboats. As you can imagine, this rule is not very popular among us lifeboat manufacturers."

 

On other hand, the review at Seatrade Cruise News says:

"...The Magic Carpet sprang from the desire to improve the tendering experience. In place of standard tenders/lifeboats, Edge has eight luxurious launches engineered for a quiet ride, with air conditioning and thick, blue leather seats. ..."

(http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/first-look-at-celebrity-edge.html)

Of course, if there are 6+6 tenders+lifeboats, who would complain? :)

But I am curious - what's the real number of those?

[steamboats]

Christian Plagué photo.

 

 

On this photo you can see six boats. Same on the other side where the Magic Carpet is located - 3 forward and 3 aft of the Magic Carpet. So in total there are 12 boats - not sure how many of them are tenders and how many are life boats only. Hard to tell from the photos as expcet of those two all others are covered.

 

steamboats

[vtcruising]

On this photo you can see six boats. Same on the other side where the Magic Carpet is located - 3 forward and 3 aft of the Magic Carpet. So in total there are 12 boats - not sure how many of them are tenders and how many are life boats only. Hard to tell from the photos as expcet of those two all others are covered.

 

steamboats

There are 8 tenders, or launches as they call them, and 4 lifeboats, one at the end of each group of three in each of the 4 quadrants. See this thread for a detailed explanation and pictures. :D

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2673064

[eroller]

This is a good point, Kearney, but I am afraid that X takes a huge leap of faith in the attempt to build the ship this different.

 

People who were referring to the bitching and moaning prior the Solstice went to inaugural sailing - complaining about the oddities on that ship compared to the rest of X fleet or other ships - were complaining about much smaller things... I distinctly remember reading multiple posts about the faucet in the bathroom: it is non-swivel and raised up too high, as you all know now. And, just as many of you, I hit my forehead oh so many times on it... Then were the others - fixed shower head, the shelves above the bed, the sliding closet doors that jammed our fingers often...

 

But Edge has far more different things, bold things, that are changed from the standardized approach in the industry, and that's why people are concerned more. No Sky Lounge, no main (really main) restaurant, no shade in the pool area (well, that's what many are fearing and complaining so far... until we see it). New types of rooms, no blind curtains (it is a big deal for many, as you noticed), odd furniture in the "balcony area" (how else to call it?), and so on...

 

 

 

I repeat myself again: I enjoyed the first cruise on Solstice (third after inaugural), and I sure as hell will enjoy my first on Eden, regardless of my expressed concerns here, and I feel that people who say "stop nitpicking and enjoy the cruise!" are quite different in their approach to cruising, to say it roundly, but I am not reacting on that.

 

What I meant by saying "huge leap of faith" is that someone in X management must have analyzed the market trends pretty well to risk spending such money on pioneering concept for a cruise ship.

 

I hope they are right.

 

I hope that millenials will buy in this approach and will make cruising their pasttime, like we did.

 

Because if not...

 

 

 

Celebrity and Royal Caribbean to an even greater extent, are not “sit on your laurels” status quo types of brands. They are always evolving and innovating with each prototype ship they design. Of course they do their research, but even then not everything will be a hit. They take risks and don’t always play it safe, and that is why they are two of my favorite brands.

 

In this industry you either evolve or die. Besides the Magic Carpet, Destination Gateway, and tenders, I don’t see anything that is radically different from what I have seen on other Celebrity ships or other cruise lines. It’s how Celebrity pulls it all together and adds that attention to detail that makes a difference. Usually quite well.

 

As someone that sails on every major line and many of the smaller ones, I read all the same concerns (and gripes and moans if you will) on every other cruise line forum whenever a new prototype ship is introduced. With Celebrity and the Solstice Class I remember those gripes quite well, with the Lawn Club being a big one. People said it was a stupid idea, the grass would die, it was wasted space, etc etc. On and on it went, but here we are a decade later and the Lawn Club is still around and quite a popular feature. The other huge gripe with the Solstice Class was the elimination of a traditional promenade deck. It’s one that I personally was not a fan of but I adapted and still managed to really enjoy the Solstice Class ships. Now many ships from many cruise lines share this design trait. Another was a reduction of stair towers and elevator banks from 3 to 2. People really went to town on that one. Somehow we (and the ships) survived and even thrived. One of the most radical changes I remember from any line was the bathroom design of NORWEGIAN EPIC. Eliminating the standard bathroom and putting the sink in the room and splitting the shower and toilet into smaller closets so to speak with opaque sliding doors. It was a daring move, and in this case did not pay off. Sort of makes “outletgate” on EDGE seem pretty insignificant. Prototypes are different than what came before them, and people generally seem to have a hard time processing and accepting change. Many fight it tooth and nail. Personally it’s all the changes that get me excited about a ship and why I want to sail on any new prototype ship regardless of the cruise line. As they say variety is the spice of life!

[Floater4life]

I decided to do some close scrutinizing. Indeed one can find things that seem unsatisfactory, not necessarily to everyone but to some people. It's okay. Different strokes for different folks, if you will. What concerns me might not concern you and vice versa. It's all good. Here's what I'm seeing.

 

The telephone cord is too long for it's placement next to the bed. For a sound sleeper with restless leg syndrome, you might just get caught up in that cord, toe dial room service at 3:00am and tie yourself to the bed trying to get free. At the same time, the cord is not long enough. If I want to sit on my infinite balcony drinking a Bluefish Martini, inhaling the fresh sea air and talking to one of you good folks about all these deficiencies, I can't.

 

If the bed is near the bathroom, the picture over the sofa near the balcony is distorted and rendered unattractive by the glare from the daylight. Perhaps this set-up should be for nighttime cruises only.

 

I'm hoping the toilet paper is an over, not an under. No pictures of that yet. I'm assuming it is ambidextrous in it's unraveling.

 

In all the pictures, people are wearing hard hats on the decks. I hope this is not a new requirement that whenever we are outside, we must wear a hard hat. If that's the case, I'll have to bring two bathing suits. A hard hat does not go with a European Speedo. Got to wear board shorts with that.

 

In the cabin pictures, looking toward the door. In some there is a person standing there. Like Air Marshalls, are these folks Sea Marshalls? I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone standing inside my door all night. I'll settle for less safety and more privacy. That's just me.

 

Finally, those large elephant ear thingies ( I called X, that's what they're called), what are they for? Reminds me of props used in some fancy Las Vegas Show Girl shows. Actually, never mind. They might not be too bad after all....just sayin'.

 

This was pretty awesome!! I always say to all my obsessed friends...We're just renting a room for a week. It all will be good....have a drink!

[gottacruisemore]

Didn't know if this had been posted.

 

 

https://youtu.be/0Rjy-0IUWyMhttp://

[fredspaw]

Didn't know if this had been posted.

 

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/0Rjy-0IUWyMhttp://

 

 

 

Hadn’t seen this video, thanks for sharing! 111 days til on board!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[marylander2]

Celebrity and Royal Caribbean to an even greater extent, are not “sit on your laurels” status quo types of brands. They are always evolving and innovating with each prototype ship they design. Of course they do their research, but even then not everything will be a hit. They take risks and don’t always play it safe, and that is why they are two of my favorite brands.

 

In this industry you either evolve or die. Besides the Magic Carpet, Destination Gateway, and tenders, I don’t see anything that is radically different from what I have seen on other Celebrity ships or other cruise lines. It’s how Celebrity pulls it all together and adds that attention to detail that makes a difference. Usually quite well.

 

As someone that sails on every major line and many of the smaller ones, I read all the same concerns (and gripes and moans if you will) on every other cruise line forum whenever a new prototype ship is introduced. With Celebrity and the Solstice Class I remember those gripes quite well, with the Lawn Club being a big one. People said it was a stupid idea, the grass would die, it was wasted space, etc etc. On and on it went, but here we are a decade later and the Lawn Club is still around and quite a popular feature. The other huge gripe with the Solstice Class was the elimination of a traditional promenade deck. It’s one that I personally was not a fan of but I adapted and still managed to really enjoy the Solstice Class ships. Now many ships from many cruise lines share this design trait. Another was a reduction of stair towers and elevator banks from 3 to 2. People really went to town on that one. Somehow we (and the ships) survived and even thrived. One of the most radical changes I remember from any line was the bathroom design of NORWEGIAN EPIC. Eliminating the standard bathroom and putting the sink in the room and splitting the shower and toilet into smaller closets so to speak with opaque sliding doors. It was a daring move, and in this case did not pay off. Sort of makes “outletgate” on EDGE seem pretty insignificant. Prototypes are different than what came before them, and people generally seem to have a hard time processing and accepting change. Many fight it tooth and nail. Personally it’s all the changes that get me excited about a ship and why I want to sail on any new prototype ship regardless of the cruise line. As they say variety is the spice of life!

 

Eroller, thanks for a detailed comment, much appreciated.

A few points that I wanted to highlight from it.

I am unsure what did you mean about eliminating the traditional promenade deck on S class ships - do you mean a full loop-around the haul? DW and I enjoy walking on deck 5 of S class ships after dinners, if the wind is too rough to walk on the upper deck - all you need to do is to cut through the ship at the theater to reach the other side, and you walk into opposite direction, then cut through again at the specialty restaurants to the other side :))))

I mentioned several things, surely not all of them, but those that came to mind when I wrote that comment, and they are not that insignificant (read it again if you'd like), but even with that hideous outlet box the gripes that people will - I guarantee that - express after first trial runs of the Edge, it is a thing that pokes the eye, and makes the much-touted slick design torpedoed... It's as if on a Bugatti car all of a sudden you find wooden panels from Ford Wagoneer... Does it make it less functional? Obviously not, but it DOES make it look hideous, and that's why people talk about it...

Again and again, yes, we all are going to enjoy and to love Eden, but these small points - taken into account by designers - perhaps would make the next ship better...

Thanks!

[Spif Barwunkel]

Sorry folks, I'm trying to keep up. I'm an old guy with diminishing returns in the memory bank. I know that I won't remember much of the pre-cruise discussion upon boarding this new, quirky ocean vessel that is ugly & beautiful, stark & colorful, innovative yet revolutionary.....all at the same time. Kudos to all of you who have that capacity.

 

My Partial Celebrity Edge Pre-Cruise Checklist:

 

Edge is the name of Ship - Check

IV stands for Infinite Veranda not Intravenous feeding - Check

I am on deck 7 - Check

Pool overflow thingie or damper - Check

Davits not divots, unless there's a fairway - Check

Small lips on bathroom wall shelving - Check, but better than loose lips, if you know what I mean.

Tenders, Lifeboats or Launches - Check, but will I call it by the right name?

Four MDR's - Check, but are portions bigger in some than in others?

No shade in the pool area, no sun in the ship's kitchens - Check

Facing forward, port is left starboard is right - Check, I'll still go the wrong way half the time getting off the elevators.

 

I'm tired now. Need a nap.