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Secrets of the Edge


vtcruising
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From an accessible standpoint, I thought the hallways in public areas were quite good, the elevators (with exception of Eden) the best I have seen in terms of space. Area to park scooter if going to dinner was great. Now if you needed to drive into dining room that might have been more of a challenge...fortunately DH could handle short distances. It did seem inconvenient to go from cabins in the front to the Ocean View... if you wanted to stay out of the weather...  But that might also be an issue on S class... not sure.. we always stay near aft elevator... this trip we were up front...   Now on S class it was easy to get to Martini bar... vs Edge which (if you are staying in front of the ship) required either driving down hallways or multiple elevator rides. That was a tad inconvenient but once you know the lay of the land...so to speak... manageable.  The sunset bar was a tad tight... when we went their day one... it was too crowded to do deep into the bar so we sat in what turned out to be the smoking area. Enough of a breeze that it was not an issue. One area that they should look into is some of the thresholds where you go from tile to carpet. At one point we were using a wheelchair and I came very close on multiple occassions to dumping DH out of his chair as we transitioned from one material to another. I realized that if I approached on an angle that I avoided this... but I can see this happening to someone not experienced. Now perhaps the Eden elevator can be used by the smaller scooter... although I don't think you can have someone with you... but that should be re-evaluated on the next ship. 

Since we have been sailing Celebrity... I have been surprised by the sheer number of people who come up to DH when he walks with a cain asking if he has had knee of hip replacement.... given the age demographic I am surprised and how low and deep many of the chairs in public areas are and many have no arms to help someone get out of these chairs. Now on Edge the only real issue with seating was in Eden... DH was able to sit comfortably in the other public spaces...but did not even try in Eden. But on S class the chairs were impossible most everywhere. Now I do not understand the logic of the low chaise lounge in many cabins. I actually suggested in a letter that they have 3" chair risers available to raise these for passengers with knee issues who might like to sit higher than 15". Cheap solution vs new sofas. 

DH did not need handicapped stall, so can not comment on that.... but overall felt the ship was pretty good in terms of accessibility. Since the ship is so techi...perhaps they can add directions on an app. hit where you want to go and accessible path and they could layout the best way to get their from your cabin... might remove some of the frustration. We never tried that mid level of the Martini bar... from a distance the ramp looked tight and we did not want to have to ask anyone to scoot over to let DH by... only to find no place to sit...so we got their early and took a table by the rail... worked out well for us...since we went to dinner at 6:15. 

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22 minutes ago, kearney said:

From an accessible standpoint, I thought the hallways in public areas were quite good, the elevators (with exception of Eden) the best I have seen in terms of space. Area to park scooter if going to dinner was great. Now if you needed to drive into dining room that might have been more of a challenge...fortunately DH could handle short distances. It did seem inconvenient to go from cabins in the front to the Ocean View... if you wanted to stay out of the weather...  But that might also be an issue on S class... not sure.. we always stay near aft elevator... this trip we were up front...   Now on S class it was easy to get to Martini bar... vs Edge which (if you are staying in front of the ship) required either driving down hallways or multiple elevator rides. That was a tad inconvenient but once you know the lay of the land...so to speak... manageable.  The sunset bar was a tad tight... when we went their day one... it was too crowded to do deep into the bar so we sat in what turned out to be the smoking area. Enough of a breeze that it was not an issue. One area that they should look into is some of the thresholds where you go from tile to carpet. At one point we were using a wheelchair and I came very close on multiple occassions to dumping DH out of his chair as we transitioned from one material to another. I realized that if I approached on an angle that I avoided this... but I can see this happening to someone not experienced. Now perhaps the Eden elevator can be used by the smaller scooter... although I don't think you can have someone with you... but that should be re-evaluated on the next ship. 

Since we have been sailing Celebrity... I have been surprised by the sheer number of people who come up to DH when he walks with a cain asking if he has had knee of hip replacement.... given the age demographic I am surprised and how low and deep many of the chairs in public areas are and many have no arms to help someone get out of these chairs. Now on Edge the only real issue with seating was in Eden... DH was able to sit comfortably in the other public spaces...but did not even try in Eden. But on S class the chairs were impossible most everywhere. Now I do not understand the logic of the low chaise lounge in many cabins. I actually suggested in a letter that they have 3" chair risers available to raise these for passengers with knee issues who might like to sit higher than 15". Cheap solution vs new sofas. 

DH did not need handicapped stall, so can not comment on that.... but overall felt the ship was pretty good in terms of accessibility. Since the ship is so techi...perhaps they can add directions on an app. hit where you want to go and accessible path and they could layout the best way to get their from your cabin... might remove some of the frustration. We never tried that mid level of the Martini bar... from a distance the ramp looked tight and we did not want to have to ask anyone to scoot over to let DH by... only to find no place to sit...so we got their early and took a table by the rail... worked out well for us...since we went to dinner at 6:15. 

I too noticed the changes from tile to carpet and the raised metal bars used for some of those transitions (since my fall on the Edge gangway in Nov, I watch every step) and thought about having a walker of wheelchair and those people who tend to shuffle when they walk, for whatever reason.

 

That Martini Bar ramp was tight - one time I walked up through there when it was fairly busy and people had moved chairs around at add more to small tables. I had to ask people to please move to be able to get by.

 

I like the idea of having something on the app for accessible cruising on the Edge - pathways, wheelchair seating, scooter parking and accessible restrooms. You should work for X as an accessible advisor! 🙂

 

Edited by vtcruising
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1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

LOL! Do you have any dance experience in your background,  MisterBill? 

 

Sorry, no. Which reminds me, one of the Edenists (who we got friendly with on board and went out of character to talk to us a few times and I am friends with on Facebook) posted the following Eden casting call on his Facebook page. I was wondering what the "job description" was for those performers. If anyone was thinking of applying, sorry to say the tryouts were last month. Also, if anyone remembers the character Coy, she left the ship yesterday. We also spoke to her out of character. She was a dancer on Constellation and got invited to join the Eden cast when the person they originally had for that character couldn't get medical approval to travel. So she'd been away for 13 months straight!

 

Celebrity Cruises is seeking cutting edge, dynamic professional performers for cast of “Eden”, the exclusive immersive experience featured on Celebrity Cruises’ newest addition to the fleet, Celebrity Edge! Shipboard contracts range from 6-8 months beginning as soon as February 2019.

 

Performers should be excellent storytellers with an engaging, welcoming and real presence; must be comfortable and excited to interact directly with audience members; grounded and real performers who can fully become their characters for an evening, and who are able to pull from their own experience on the spot in filling out a character and interacting with the audience; experience working in devised theatrical settings, environmental and immersive theater, and storytelling encouraged, but not required.

 

Especially Seeking: Edenists – Seeking strong-bodied immersive street performers who act and have a firm understanding of dance with a strong background in expressionist and contemporary dance styles. Performers should be comfortable performing barefoot. Additional performing skills - gymnastics, juggling, contortion, hand balancing, popping and locking, break dance, magic a plus. Union & Non-Union performers over the age of 18 are encouraged to submit. Diversity strongly encouraged.

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9 minutes ago, Caymus88 said:

Could not figure out the tiny elevators in Eden, neither could someone who tried to help us.

So BH limped on down

 

What couldn't you figure out? You needed to push the button of the floor you wanted to go to the entire time you wanted to move in the elevator. There was a sign with that info when I used it. I did not try removing my finger between floors to see if it actually stopped.

Edited by MisterBill99
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3 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

What couldn't you figure out? You needed to push the button of the floor you wanted to go to the entire time you wanted to move in the elevator. There was a sign with that info when I used it. I did not try removing my finger between floors to see if it stopped.

Probably needed a drink 

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1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

I too noticed the changes from tile to carpet and the raised metal bars used for some of those transitions (since my fall on the Edge gangway in Nov, I watch every step) and thought about having a walker of wheelchair and those people who tend to shuffle when they walk, for whatever reason.

 

That Martini Bar ramp was tight - one time I walked up through there when it was fairly busy and people had moved chairs around at add more to small tables. I had to ask people to please move to be able to get by.

 

I like the idea of having something on the app for accessible cruising on the Edge - pathways, wheelchair seating, scooter parking and accessible restrooms. You should work for X as an accessible advisor! 🙂

 

VT

Bad level transitions in the gym too..watched a few stumble..no reason for that.  The gangway was truly an accident waiting to happen! So sorry it happened to you..

 

Kearney..how did your dh do going through the dark forest on the way to EDEN? ..  Narrow dark pathway...it was really poorly placed there..

 

Chairs in EDEN, outside of BLU  and many other places were way too low to the ground...and had no arms to assist in getting up   very poor choice in gen and esp  for a ship that has movement.  Eden is a great space but has furniture suited for pre school!

.

Edited by hcat
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7 minutes ago, cruise47 said:

Can someone please explain the story line?

I couldn't figure it out either. It would be nice if they had a little blurb for us (but maybe it is ever-changing?).

 

As a long-time Edgie, I hope you enjoyed the Edge!! 🙂

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24 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Sorry, no. Which reminds me, one of the Edenists (who we got friendly with on board and went out of character to talk to us a few times and I am friends with on Facebook) posted the following Eden casting call on his Facebook page. I was wondering what the "job description" was for those performers. If anyone was thinking of applying, sorry to say the tryouts were last month. Also, if anyone remembers the character Coy, she left the ship yesterday. We also spoke to her out of character. She was a dancer on Constellation and got invited to join the Eden cast when the person they originally had for that character couldn't get medical approval to travel. So she'd been away for 13 months straight!

 

Celebrity Cruises is seeking cutting edge, dynamic professional performers for cast of “Eden”, the exclusive immersive experience featured on Celebrity Cruises’ newest addition to the fleet, Celebrity Edge! Shipboard contracts range from 6-8 months beginning as soon as February 2019.

 

Performers should be excellent storytellers with an engaging, welcoming and real presence; must be comfortable and excited to interact directly with audience members; grounded and real performers who can fully become their characters for an evening, and who are able to pull from their own experience on the spot in filling out a character and interacting with the audience; experience working in devised theatrical settings, environmental and immersive theater, and storytelling encouraged, but not required.

 

Especially Seeking: Edenists – Seeking strong-bodied immersive street performers who act and have a firm understanding of dance with a strong background in expressionist and contemporary dance styles. Performers should be comfortable performing barefoot. Additional performing skills - gymnastics, juggling, contortion, hand balancing, popping and locking, break dance, magic a plus. Union & Non-Union performers over the age of 18 are encouraged to submit. Diversity strongly encouraged.

I was hoping rhey would be phasing out this troupe after awhile..Too few venues onboard to devote this large area to one type of  " non trad" performance.

 

  Hope they take out the stage that someone has already tripped over with alleged injury.. Put in a small dance floor  with nicer adult size  seats with lounge tables, and use the space  for pre and post dinner dancing  by guests.  They can also feature other performers  nightly.

 

Doing away with the upstairs  club  was fine,  but  there,'s no real replacement.  The "Club" is a dark interior space with a small bar.. ..not that appealing.. Martini Bar area is very loud..no dance floor

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3 minutes ago, hcat said:

Bad level transitions in the gym too..watched a few stumble..no reason for that.  The gangway was truly an accident waiting to happen!

This is what I tripped on: 

the electrical outlets were raised up about 1/3 - 1/2 inch on the ends

 

image.png.f03f42f70f2e0a174a9b8e87e47f33c9.png

 

I saw when we reboarded that the Retreat area in the terminal had them covered like this:

 

image.thumb.png.e1ced4ea65f3fba5123c71d601f01fe9.png

 

 

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17 minutes ago, hcat said:

 

Kearney..how did your dh do going through the dark forest on the way to EDEN? ..  Narrow dark pathway...it was really poorly placed there..

 

 

My theory was that it was to keep the drunks out of Eden since they wouldn't be able to make it through. But I never saw anyone on the ground. But yes, it was a poor use of the space. Of course I'm sure if they could have they would have put another overpriced jewelry store there.


Speaking of which, the assistant HD told me that the overpriced jewelry stores were actually doing well (this was when I discussed the lack of affording Edge merchandise and overpriced stores with him). I think the watch store does very well. Tiffany seemed to do OK. Not sure I ever saw anyone at Bulgari.

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11 minutes ago, hcat said:

I was hoping rhey would be phasing out this troupe after awhile..Too few venues onboard to devote this large area to one type of  " non trad" performance.

 

  Hope they take out the stage that someone has already tripped over with alleged injury.. Put in a small dance floor  with nicer adult size  seats with lounge tables, and use the space  for pre and post dinner dancing  by guests.  They can also feature other performers  nightly.

 

Doing away with the upstairs  club  was fine,  but  there,'s no real replacement.  The "Club" is a dark interior space with a small bar.. ..not that appealing.. Martini Bar area is very loud..no dance floor

Absolutely agree. BH refused to go to some areas cause couldn’t get out of chair

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9 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Was this Coy or Bloom? We enjoyed talking with her, but never got her name.

 

 

This was Coy (found on someone's Instagram page). She had 2 buns in the back of her hair. She was very sweet. Fun fact, she knew Tyler (the blond male singer) from a previous ship where they worked together (she was a dancer).

 

Coy.JPG

Edited by MisterBill99
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23 minutes ago, hcat said:

Hope they take out the stage that someone has already tripped over with alleged injury.. Put in a small dance floor  with nicer adult size  seats with lounge tables, and use the space  for pre and post dinner dancing  by guests.  They can also feature other performers  nightly.

 

Yes, we saw the aftermath of that, they had her head bandaged up. I was actually in Eden when it happened and heard the call for medical. It was only after the second call that I realized it was in Eden, near where I was sitting! The lip on the end that is used as a step is a hazard. I would call it an accident waiting to happen, but clearly it already did. I walked into it once and almost tripped.

Edited by MisterBill99
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This could be a secret on any ship!

Several people on board complained ( as I did) about IV s obstructed views.

One couple was moved to a concierge suite. Way older than us.

Another couple was given a large future cruise credit . She told us they

cruise 10xs a year.

we have 30 cruises done but only select level on this one.

and I really hate complaining.  Guess I should have caused a ruckus.

So if you have status you get what you want

Edited by Caymus88
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BTW here's another secret of Edge. If you want to eat at the Eden restaurant (the $65 sit down place downstairs, not the counter for breakfast and lunch) and have problems with some of the stuff on the menu, go there and ask to speak to the chef. I found him to be very accommodating and willing to make stuff that was not on the menu. We ate there twice. The first time I had 3 dishes that were on the menu and he made me 3 off (yes, he gave me an extra dish). The second time my entire meal except for dessert was off the menu and he did 2 different dishes than the first time. He told me that he used to work at a Michelin starred restaurant and had not been on a cruise ship before. He enjoyed the opportunity to be creative and do something different. All of the stuff he made me was vegetarian (not vegan) but it was really good.

Edited by MisterBill99
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4 minutes ago, Caymus88 said:

This could be a secret on any ship!

Several people on board complained ( as I did) about IV s obstructed views.

One couple was moved to a concierge suite. Way older than us.

Another couple was given a large future cruise credit . She told us they

cruise 10xs a year.

we have 30 cruises done but only select level on this one.

and I really hate complaining.  Guess I should have caused a ruckus.

So if you have status you get what you want

 

At the end of our second week I was at Guest Services and overheard someone who'd had a problem and they were given some OBC (or future cruise credit, I forget). I figured I would menton a problem I had.  The bottom section of the full-length mirror in my cabin was cracked, they were taping it the first day when we got to the cabin after lunch and it never got fixed. I guess I wasn't forceful enough because the GS person simply said she would report it.

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3 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

BTW here's another secret of Edge. If you want to eat at the Eden restaurant (the sit down place downstairs, not the counter for breakfast and lunch) and have problems with some of the stuff on the menu, go there and ask to speak to the chef. I found him to be very accommodating and willing to make stuff that was not on the menu. We ate there twice. The first time I had 3 dishes that were on the menu and he made me 3 off (yes, he gave me an extra dish). The second time my entire meal except for dessert was off the menu and he did 2 different dishes than the first time. He told me that he used to work at a Michelin starred restaurant and had not been on a cruise ship before. He enjoyed the opportunity to be creative and do something different. All of the stuff he made me was vegetarian (not vegan) but it was really good.

Good to hear about the chef, although I usually never have any issues with chef's and being creative when it comes to my vegan eating habits.. one who is very proactive is a real treat...

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

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53 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

My theory was that it was to keep the drunks out of Eden since they wouldn't be able to make it through. But I never saw anyone on the ground. But yes, it was a poor use of the space. Of course I'm sure if they could have they would have put another overpriced jewelry store there.


Speaking of which, the assistant HD told me that the overpriced jewelry stores were actually doing well (this was when I discussed the lack of affording Edge merchandise and overpriced stores with him). I think the watch store does very well. Tiffany seemed to do OK. Not sure I ever saw anyone at Bulgari.

Not a drunk  by any means yet I found it hard to go through with  my graduated lenses,  .lots of glare  2 way traffic, scooters riding through...

 

Had to go through to and from BLU every day  plus trips to EDEN.. Ridiculoys design for a hallway!  Ones on S class are nicer and more fun!

 

The Tiffany store had  a reasonable range of prices...but all of it is in the current catalog.

 

Only jewelry I bought was the EDGE prism necklace..about $200.  And a Swavorkski (can never spell that) crystal necklace for my dtr...That display is tucked into the handbag store..

 

I doubt all the hi end jewelry stores will stay...better deals at home or in ports!

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59 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Yes, we saw the aftermath of that, they had her head bandaged up. I was actually in Eden when it happened and heard the call for medical. It was only after the second call that I realized it was in Eden, near where I was sitting! The lip on the end that is used as a step is a hazard. I would call it an accident waiting to happen, but clearly it already did. I walked into it once and almost tripped.

 

It certainly IS a hazard!  I am still recuperating from the broken arm I sustained in that fall, and will have a really obvious scar on my forehead right above the bridge of my nose, and one about the size of a silver dollar on my elbow, too.  When Eden is crowded with people, as it was at the time of my accident, it is difficult to walk through that area, dodging furniture, people, and that platform.  It is not marked or highlighted at all, and the dark color of it blends into the dark carpeting, making it easy to trip because it is not very visible.  

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9 minutes ago, beachbunny6 said:

 

It certainly IS a hazard!  I am still recuperating from the broken arm I sustained in that fall, and will have a really obvious scar on my forehead right above the bridge of my nose, and one about the size of a silver dollar on my elbow, too.  When Eden is crowded with people, as it was at the time of my accident, it is difficult to walk through that area, dodging furniture, people, and that platform.  It is not marked or highlighted at all, and the dark color of it blends into the dark carpeting, making it easy to trip because it is not very visible.  

beachbunny, so good to hear from you!  I've been thinking about you.  How are you doing? I hope you are doing okay, in spite of your injuries (with your stoic attitude, I'm sure you wouldn't say much anyway).  Are you using Mederma on your scars? It seems to help. ❤️

 

Here is the place she fell, so that people can watch out for this area (left of platform- tripped on part that protrudes, I believe).

image.thumb.png.4bacb8b5869cb81e65bb98bc82bb657b.png

Edited by vtcruising
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30 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Here is the place she fell, so that people can watch out for this area (left of platform- tripped on part that protrudes, I believe).

 

 

Another good reason to take the elevator down from the balcony rather than walking through that area during the show!

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