Celebrity Edge....2018

[frquarterguy]

We booked a Sky Suite on the March 17 Atlantis Events cruise.  Definitely looking forward to it.....

[neilrr]

On 4/6/2017 at 6:48 PM, keithm said:

Pricing thus far seems in line with other Celebrity trips. I'm more concerned about issues with a brand new ship. We usually like to wait a year, so the kinks are worked out.

Hey keithm - Long time no speak...  I totally agree with you.  We usually wait a year until the crew gels together and  they get all of the kinks out of the system.  How are things in the northland??? It is even cool here in S. FL. 60's tomorrow and 40's at night.. Brrr..We are going on Reflection for a 10 day (S. Caribbean) in March to coordinate with Spring Break. Take care and have a great holiday season. ⛄

[keithm]

On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 2:02 PM, neilrr said:

Hey keithm - Long time no speak...  I totally agree with you.  We usually wait a year until the crew gels together and  they get all of the kinks out of the system.  How are things in the northland??? It is even cool here in S. FL. 60's tomorrow and 40's at night.. Brrr..We are going on Reflection for a 10 day (S. Caribbean) in March to coordinate with Spring Break. Take care and have a great holiday season. ⛄

Basically, I've pulled out of CC for a number of reasons. Haven't been on since early Nov. We switched to Oceania for the fab food. We'll be on a 14 day trip on the Riviera in mid. Jan. I'm really not interested in the Edge class, as I find the pricing quite steep for a 7 day trip. The food quality fell drastically on our 2017 Eclipse trip, which made us try Oceania in Jan. 2018. We did share a table one night with a less than "sympathetic" couple from Texas. We managed tables for two this time except for Jacques' Rest. That table will be a large one, which should preclude any "antigay" sentiment. Hope your holiday is a good one. It's a bit cool, but not cold here. Hoping for a quick snow burst Sunday night to spread a white Christmas. Last year we had 8" of snow Christmas day, on top of the already 6" that was on the ground.

Edited December 22, 2018 by keithm
additions

[neilrr]

On 12/22/2018 at 4:37 PM, keithm said:

Basically, I've pulled out of CC for a number of reasons. Haven't been on since early Nov. We switched to Oceania for the fab food. We'll be on a 14 day trip on the Riviera in mid. Jan. I'm really not interested in the Edge class, as I find the pricing quite steep for a 7 day trip. The food quality fell drastically on our 2017 Eclipse trip, which made us try Oceania in Jan. 2018. We did share a table one night with a less than "sympathetic" couple from Texas. We managed tables for two this time except for Jacques' Rest. That table will be a large one, which should preclude any "antigay" sentiment. Hope your holiday is a good one. It's a bit cool, but not cold here. Hoping for a quick snow burst Sunday night to spread a white Christmas. Last year we had 8" of snow Christmas day, on top of the already 6" that was on the ground.

 

Hi Keith - Sorry I did not get back to you sooner as we have been away in snowy TX and NM for Christmas. We are glad to be home in sunny S. FL.  We have been on two cruises on Oceania the first one was horrible (people, food and entertainment), but the second one was really wonderful and much improved. We also agree that Celebrity has raised its prices far too much for the Edge and also the weeks we need to go in March (on the other ships) during high season.  We finally grabbed a really nice FL Resident rate for 10 days on Reflection in March.  We are hoping to upgrade, if they reprice the better categories.  

 

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy and Healthy New Year...

 

Neil & Jerry

[keithm]

9 hours ago, neilrr said:

 

Hi Keith - Sorry I did not get back to you sooner as we have been away in snowy TX and NM for Christmas. We are glad to be home in sunny S. FL.  We have been on two cruises on Oceania the first one was horrible (people, food and entertainment), but the second one was really wonderful and much improved. We also agree that Celebrity has raised its prices far too much for the Edge and also the weeks we need to go in March (on the other ships) during high season.  We finally grabbed a really nice FL Resident rate for 10 days on Reflection in March.  We are hoping to upgrade, if they reprice the better categories.  

 

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy and Healthy New Year...

 

Neil & Jerry

My e-mail is keithm1138@yahoo.com if you'd like to chat. Yeah, the entertainment on the Riviera is pretty boring, but do love the string quartet. I think most of the budget is geared towards the food. We'll see how this trip goes. There is another14 day trip next year on Riviera which pretty much was identical to the 3 trips we did on the Eclipse. Which ship did you do on Oceania? The Regatta class is a bit too small for us & the food, while good, is not up to the Riviera/Marina standards. Age wise, Oceania had the oldest demographic we ever saw on a line. At 63/55, we were among the "younger" crowd.

[neilrr]

On 1/5/2019 at 7:30 AM, keithm said:

My e-mail is keithm1138@yahoo.com if you'd like to chat. Yeah, the entertainment on the Riviera is pretty boring, but do love the string quartet. I think most of the budget is geared towards the food. We'll see how this trip goes. There is another14 day trip next year on Riviera which pretty much was identical to the 3 trips we did on the Eclipse. Which ship did you do on Oceania? The Regatta class is a bit too small for us & the food, while good, is not up to the Riviera/Marina standards. Age wise, Oceania had the oldest demographic we ever saw on a line. At 63/55, we were among the "younger" crowd.

Hey Keith -- I will write to you shortly.  Just got back to school and it has been crazy busy. I will email you soon. Neil

[keithm]

33 minutes ago, neilrr said:

Hey Keith -- I will write to you shortly.  Just got back to school and it has been crazy busy. I will email you soon. Neil

Sounds great. Just to let you know..we'll be gone from 1/11/- 1/26. We'll be on the Riviera for that time. I usually don't check e-mail, especially since Oceania internet connections are the worst I've seen on any line! Literally use up nearly 75% of a two hour internet package last year & we were in a port at the time. When you e-mail me, best to do it outside of CC. I've noticed they often don't go through. Maybe some "filter" through CC?

Edited January 9, 2019 by keithm
additions

[PhillyTravelBug]

I’ve been following this ship during its build and it looks awesome. We are traveling on the Norwegian Bliss this summer, but want to do the Edge next!

[ricflyer]

I will be on the Edge on Feb 10th. Looking forward to the cruise. I booked it the first day it was avialable and got a great rate with all 4 perks. Less then $2000 for Aqua Class.

[Bo1953]

On 1/18/2019 at 1:15 PM, ricflyer said:

I will be on the Edge on Feb 10th. Looking forward to the cruise. I booked it the first day it was avialable and got a great rate with all 4 perks. Less then $2000 for Aqua Class.

Please come back and let us know your thoughts...

 

bon voyage

[Tom.Kitten]

I was aboard the Celebrity Edge for the Maiden Voyage, 12/9/2018. When I first boarded, I was completely lost - I felt that the ship was inadequately marked with signs and directional information. When I mentioned this to a crew member, they did their best to make me feel stupid and insignificant. In speaking with other cruisers during the trip, I found that I was not alone in my opinion.

I had an Infinite Veranda cabin, midship, port side, deck eight. The cabin itself was lovely, with a lot of storage space, and obviously immaculate due to its newness. The Infinite Veranda was a waste of time and space. The interior folding door for the veranda felt cheap and ready to break, and to operate it, one has to move the veranda chairs out of the way by pushing them forward about 18 inches, then give a very firm pull on the cheap aluminum handle to close the door, then move the chairs back to sit. There is a wall button to raise and lower the exterior half-window, but the veranda never feels like a real balcony. I grew tired of having to move the furniture around to use it, so it was basically an oceanview cabin for me.

The onboard experience relies very heavily on an app that you use on your cell phone. There is an iLounge on the ship where you can buy a wide variety of Apple products, so it all ties in very nicely -- unless, like me, you have an Android phone. For the Android, there was a vast difference in the app's shipboard schedule content. I spent a lot of time waiting in long lines at the Guest Sevices desk.

I truly hated the cruise until about four days into it, when I just let it all go and stopped caring. The buffet food was standard current cruiseline fare - repetitive selections of curries, stews, minute steaks, and really bad unidentifiable meat-like and vegetable-like substances. The buffet layout was confusing, and non-intuitive. The steak sauce was eight stations away from the meat station, for example. The desserts, though, were consistantly excellent.

The least expensive adult-sized t-shirt in the signature shop was $55. 

The entertainment on the ship was OK. I saw all three production shows, which were earnestly performed, but unimaginitive and somewhat lackluster. Too much about the shows was showing off the theater's "technology" (multiple video walls and lasers).

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not pay for the cruise, but rather was a guest of the ship's Casino. I would have hated the cruise a lot more had I had to pay for it. In retrospect, after having a month and a half to reflect and process, I would not volunteer to return to the Edge, even if it were for another complimentary voyage. The things that are designed to make the ship special are the things that I liked the least.

Edited February 1, 2019 by Tom.Kitten

[Tom.Kitten]

For the first two evenings, there was an event listed in the iPhone version of the app for the LGBT meet&greet that did not appear in the Android version. These events were held in the Martini bar, and were sparsely attended. As far as I know, those two were the only LGBT meets of the cruise.

 

[Sally Eebz]

Just returned from Edge Caribbean cruise.

There was signage as you got off each elevator. Inside the elevator, each floor’s listings were detailed.

We loved the Infinite Veranda. Shades, window and lights can all be controlled by touch control on thermostat. The app on the phone also controls lights and entry to your room. Ability to text other passengers is a real plus without paying for Wi-Fi. We had both an Android and iPhone. The app worked the same on both.

Four rather than 1 dining room is an improvement and the food quality was excellent. Oceanview was average. Lunch at the Eden garden was fresh and healthy with a variety of delicious salads.

We loved the theater but only half of the shows appealed to the senior set on board.

We missed the lectures and attended none of the activities trying to promote spa items, jewelry and art.

Really enjoyed the 2 deck track.

Eden is a great quiet place for reading.

No issues with lack of deck chairs.

Overall, we loved the cruise.

 

[tompeter]

On 2/1/2019 at 3:45 PM, Tom.Kitten said:

I was aboard the Celebrity Edge for the Maiden Voyage, 12/9/2018. When I first boarded, I was completely lost - I felt that the ship was inadequately marked with signs and directional information. When I mentioned this to a crew member, they did their best to make me feel stupid and insignificant. In speaking with other cruisers during the trip, I found that I was not alone in my opinion.

I had an Infinite Veranda cabin, midship, port side, deck eight. The cabin itself was lovely, with a lot of storage space, and obviously immaculate due to its newness. The Infinite Veranda was a waste of time and space. The interior folding door for the veranda felt cheap and ready to break, and to operate it, one has to move the veranda chairs out of the way by pushing them forward about 18 inches, then give a very firm pull on the cheap aluminum handle to close the door, then move the chairs back to sit. There is a wall button to raise and lower the exterior half-window, but the veranda never feels like a real balcony. I grew tired of having to move the furniture around to use it, so it was basically an oceanview cabin for me.

The onboard experience relies very heavily on an app that you use on your cell phone. There is an iLounge on the ship where you can buy a wide variety of Apple products, so it all ties in very nicely -- unless, like me, you have an Android phone. For the Android, there was a vast difference in the app's shipboard schedule content. I spent a lot of time waiting in long lines at the Guest Sevices desk.

I truly hated the cruise until about four days into it, when I just let it all go and stopped caring. The buffet food was standard current cruiseline fare - repetitive selections of curries, stews, minute steaks, and really bad unidentifiable meat-like and vegetable-like substances. The buffet layout was confusing, and non-intuitive. The steak sauce was eight stations away from the meat station, for example. The desserts, though, were consistantly excellent.

The least expensive adult-sized t-shirt in the signature shop was $55. 

The entertainment on the ship was OK. I saw all three production shows, which were earnestly performed, but unimaginitive and somewhat lackluster. Too much about the shows was showing off the theater's "technology" (multiple video walls and lasers).

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not pay for the cruise, but rather was a guest of the ship's Casino. I would have hated the cruise a lot more had I had to pay for it. In retrospect, after having a month and a half to reflect and process, I would not volunteer to return to the Edge, even if it were for another complimentary voyage. The things that are designed to make the ship special are the things that I liked the least.

Opinions of the casino?    Thx!

[Tom.Kitten]

On 2/3/2019 at 8:03 PM, tompeter said:

Opinions of the casino?    Thx!

 

The casino has a decent selection of slots, of course all very new and shiny. There was no smoking allowed anywhere in the casino (in fact, only two smoking areas on the whole ship, both on deck 15), so it didn't have that terrible stale-smoke-in-dusty-carpeting smell that most ship casinos have. I lost my budget extremely quickly, with almost no turnover, so I spent much less time in the casino that I normally would have. From my experience the slots seemed extremely tight, and there were not a lot of jackpots going on around me. I know most ship casinos feel tighter than land-based casinos, but this one was ridiculous.

[tompeter]

11 hours ago, Tom.Kitten said:

 

The casino has a decent selection of slots, of course all very new and shiny. There was no smoking allowed anywhere in the casino (in fact, only two smoking areas on the whole ship, both on deck 15), so it didn't have that terrible stale-smoke-in-dusty-carpeting smell that most ship casinos have. I lost my budget extremely quickly, with almost no turnover, so I spent much less time in the casino that I normally would have. From my experience the slots seemed extremely tight, and there were not a lot of jackpots going on around me. I know most ship casinos feel tighter than land-based casinos, but this one was ridiculous.

Thanks again, we'll see how long our "budget" lasts....LOL

[Tom.Kitten]

11 hours ago, tompeter said:

Thanks again, we'll see how long our "budget" lasts....LOL

 

Good luck, and, most of all, have fun!

[tompeter]

11 hours ago, Tom.Kitten said:

 

Good luck, and, most of all, have fun!

Thanks, we will!