Edge Review - Exceptional - Hits - Misses - Failures - Edenists

[leadvocal]

On 1/14/2019 at 10:15 PM, Host Anne said:

Our daughter and her husband were in an inside

 

How did they like the inside? My wife and I are going to be in an Oceanview Inside on the March 31 cruise.

 

You don't see many reviews or comments on the inside cabins. After sailing on RCCL ships in balcony cabins a couple of times and realizing we spent very little time actually in the cabin, on our last cruise (Adventure OTS) we booked our first inside cabin and it was perfectly ok for us, especially the money savings.

 

I guess there aren't many "value cruisers" like my wife and I here  🙂

[Host Anne]

4 minutes ago, leadvocal said:

 

How did they like the inside? My wife and I are going to be in an Oceanview Inside on the March 31 cruise.

 

You don't see many reviews or comments on the inside cabins. After sailing on RCCL ships in balcony cabins a couple of times and realizing we spent very little time actually in the cabin, on our last cruise (Adventure OTS) we booked our first inside cabin and it was perfectly ok for us, especially the money savings.

 

I guess there aren't many "value cruisers" like my wife and I here  🙂

 

Lead Vocal ~ they actually liked it a lot.  It was a very nice room and since our daughter likes it dark when she sleeps, she slept like a rock.  An inside was the only way for them to afford to take this cruise with us.  They had the option to upgrade to an oceanview on board and decided they were happy with the inside.  Here's a photo.....although I'm not sure what an oceanview inside is that you list above.  

 

 

[MisterBill99]

54 minutes ago, Host Anne said:

 

Celebrity did have a six-day promotion last week where you got ALL four perks if you booked Edge.  It looked like it included most cruises over the next year.  

 

Now the promotion is 2 perks, onboard credit, and $25 deposits.  Not as good as the ALL four perks just a week ago.  My guess is they are playing around with various promotions to see which one fills the most cabins. This promotion says it's for 7 days only.

 

These promotions are changing frequently so you have to watch your email or the Celebrity website.

 

They still have the 4 perks offer on Edge. As you can see, it is combinable with the $25 deposit.

 

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by MisterBill99

[Host Anne]

Thanks Mr. Bill for the correction.  I couldn't find the four perks promotion on Edge when I went to the Celebrity website.  I had to dig a little and sure enough, that promotion is still there with the $25 deposit.  Thanks for posting it.  

 

Looks like for now it's available for another 3 1/2 days (approximately).

[Pennstateman]

They’re advertising it on television today 

[go fish 44]

Thanks for the great review and all the info you provided, it will make our week on the Edge even more special.

 

We actually have a regular balcony 7303 as we thought the IF's were a bit to expensive.

 

So looking forward to this cruise.

 

Sue

[cgolf1]

3 hours ago, Host Anne said:

 

Lead Vocal ~ they actually liked it a lot.  It was a very nice room and since our daughter likes it dark when she sleeps, she slept like a rock.  An inside was the only way for them to afford to take this cruise with us.  They had the option to upgrade to an oceanview on board and decided they were happy with the inside.  Here's a photo.....although I'm not sure what an oceanview inside is that you list above.  

 

We would be interested in how much the upgrade would have cost. Looking at our upcoming cruise they are a lot of unsold cabins and jumping out of an inside to another room might be an option for us if the price is right:) PM would fine too Thanks

[The Retiree]

1 hour ago, Pennstateman said:

They’re advertising it on television today 

You are quite right - this week’s offer ($25 deposit) does include all 4 perks, as well as a discount of $200 for an IV. This offer is only good for cruises this year - we are booked on back-to-back cruises on the Edge next January. We booked this last January (whilst on a Celebrity cruise), and we are paying significantly less than if we were to book the cruise today. There appears to be something like a 30% premium for booking the Edge over an S-class. The Edge and a S-class leave on consecutive days for the Western Caribbean. Check out the price differential for what is basically the same cruise.....

[The Retiree]

4 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

They still have the 4 perks offer on Edge. As you can see, it is combinable with the $25 deposit.

 

 

 

This is the offer I received, and it is good for the next 81 hours.....

 

[The Retiree]

4 hours ago, Host Anne said:

 

Celebrity did have a six-day promotion last week where you got ALL four perks if you booked Edge.  It looked like it included most cruises over the next year.  

 

Now the promotion is 2 perks, onboard credit, and $25 deposits.  Not as good as the ALL four perks just a week ago.  My guess is they are playing around with various promotions to see which one fills the most cabins. This promotion says it's for 7 days only.

 

These promotions are changing frequently so you have to watch your email or the Celebrity website.

You can sign up to receive emails from Celebrity - I get one each week (on a Tuesday, I think) with the latest offer (which usually has a countdown clock starting at 7 days). The downside is that I get an email from Celebrity on a daily basis.

[The Retiree]

5 hours ago, Host Anne said:

 

Retiree (I love that name) ~ I'm not sure how Celebrity is going to respond.  They aren't going to change the Retreat area (and it takes up a good chunk of the forward top of the ship.  Don't think they can change the IVs for Apex...but (and I could be very wrong) that if they don't put more traditional verandas on the third and fourth ships, they are going to have trouble filling those ships.  My reasoning is that there is a ton of other inventory out there both on other Celebrity ships and other cruise lines that can fill the veranda void on the E-class ships.  Will Celebrity care or gamble?  Perhaps.  But while I liked many things about Edge, the IVs are something I would never book.  If you can switch to a sunset veranda, I'd do that now.  

 

I always recommend that people try things for themselves.  We didn't like the IVs at all but some people do.  If we hadn't moved, we still would have had a great cruise.  Wishing you a wonderful time regardless of what you decide. And thanks for the kind comments!

Thank you, Host Anne, for your dedication, commitment and (always) sunny disposition. We are coming around to looking at the SV’s as an alternative to the IV’s. When we booked, we were looking at artist renderings because the Edge was still being built. The IV’s on the artist rendering did look much bigger! Because of the innovative nature of Edge, Celebrity could perhaps waited a year before commissioning Apex + two others. This would have given them some time to receive customer feedback before ploughing on. Being a realist, and based on your review (plus a couple of others), I have a spreadsheet made up of Pro’s, Cons and Tips. Currently, there are 13 pro’s, 51 cons and 8 tips! On analyzing the cons - 23 were either difficult to fix, “not sure” if they could be fixed or would be “expensive to fix”. The good news is that the other 28, Celebrity can resolve e.g. music too loud; music only goes back as far as 1990.

 

Thanks again for all of your fabulous input, and that of fellow cruisers on Cruise Critic.  Finally, how do you go about organizing a Cruise Critic event on the Edge?

[Host Anne]

7 hours ago, The Retiree said:

Thanks again for all of your fabulous input, and that of fellow cruisers on Cruise Critic.  Finally, how do you go about organizing a Cruise Critic event on the Edge?

 

Normally, Celebrity set up a Cruise Critic gathering on every sailing providing 25 people sign up before the cruise.  They then send an invite to your cabin (or they are supposed to) that includes the day, time and location of the gathering.  

 

At the top of page on the main Celebrity boards here on Cruise Critic, you'll see this graphic....

 

 

Click on the box and it will take you to the spot where you can sign up.  You will need your booking reservation number to sign up.  That is on your confirmation from your travel agent or Celebrity if you booked direct.

 

Hopefully, the parties on Edge will be more like the parties of the past where Cruise Critic members actually get to chat with one another.

 

Other things like cabin crawls or slot pulls are typically arranged by folks on  a roll call.  Have you found your roll call?  If not, let me know your sailing and I'll help you find it!

 

 

[Host Anne]

10 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

 

We would be interested in how much the upgrade would have cost. Looking at our upcoming cruise they are a lot of unsold cabins and jumping out of an inside to another room might be an option for us if the price is right:) PM would fine too Thanks

 

cgolf ~ the price to upgrade is going to vary from sailing to sailing depending upon the available inventory.  I'm guessing it could range from a few hundred to more than $1,000 depending upon inventory and what you are upgrading from and upgrading too.   Going from an inside to an oceanview is probably the least expensive.  If you are interested, stop at Guest Relations when you board and they can give you details.  It's definitely worth asking about.  It doesn't cost anything to inquire.

[leadvocal]

21 hours ago, Host Anne said:

although I'm not sure what an oceanview inside is that you list above.  

 

Thanks for the quick response.

I actually "misspoke" when typing Oceanview Inside, it's actually just 'Ocean View' on deck 3.

We did have a true inside on the last cruise and it is dark inside. Looking forward to this room with the round window for a little light.

[kearney]

1 hour ago, leadvocal said:

 

Thanks for the quick response.

I actually "misspoke" when typing Oceanview Inside, it's actually just 'Ocean View' on deck 3.

We did have a true inside on the last cruise and it is dark inside. Looking forward to this room with the round window for a little light.

I think it is more oval than round..... or rectangular with rounded edges... if it matters... but you will have light. I was on a cruise with Diamond plus on Royal. A passenger we met insisted on an inside cabin for total darkness. Her problem was that they kept upgrading her to a veranda and she had to go back and insist on her inside cabin.... man I would like a nice upgrade.... 

[dodger1964]

On 1/19/2019 at 4:15 PM, Host Anne said:

Here's a link to some photos I've uploaded:  https://edgejan2019cc.shutterfly.com/  I limited the number I included because there have already been a bunch of Edge photos available.  I tried to post some of the different ones I took.  I also like sunsets so you'll see a few of those.

 

They are in random order (apologies) but I did caption them under each photo (most photos).

 

ENJOY!

 

Thanks for posting pics.

 

one question...pic 99 (i looked at them all!) seems to show you in a tender (and you can see a tender at the ship), BUT the magic carpet appears to be at the top of the ship??

 

I thought one of the main benefits of it was to make the tendering process better...Do you know what's what?

 

[The Retiree]

1 hour ago, dodger1964 said:

Thanks for posting pics.

 

one question...pic 99 (i looked at them all!) seems to show you in a tender (and you can see a tender at the ship), BUT the magic carpet appears to be at the top of the ship??

 

I thought one of the main benefits of it was to make the tendering process better...Do you know what's what?

 

What amazing pictures - loved the ones of the Edenites - thanks for posting....

[dodger1964]

2 hours ago, The Retiree said:

What amazing pictures - loved the ones of the Edenites - thanks for posting....

I didn't post them...but I'm sure the person who did (that I was quoting) appreciates your comment! (i just quoted to ask about the tendering process that pic 99 seemed to show)

[emileg]

We were on the same cruise as Host Anne. Her comments are spot on.  Yes, the cabin decor, cabin service, food and dining room service were outstanding.  The Magic Carpet was a fun place to bring hamburgers to for lunch. I didn't see it used for tender service as advertised. The four different main dining rooms had individual style and some unique dishes. Service was great with wine stewards who knew their wines.

 

However, the amount of space and service devoted to the Retreat certainly took away from space for non-suite passengers. There were only two main lounges: the Martini Bar lounge and Eden.  It was very difficult to find a seat. If you could find a seat, it would take as long as 35 minutes to get a drink and often the wrong one at that.

 

While the chairs were very comfortable in the theater, the production shows were painfully loud as Anne reported. I had to use earplugs. Some shows told a story, but I had no idea what the story was about. Bar waiters continued to take orders once the show began making it impossible to concentrate on the opening statement that introduces the story. The production shows certainly had talented performers, but I don't think there was any show that would appeal to anyone over 40.

 

There were no lectures other than sales pitches for tours. There was no information provided on port talks for people traveling independently. The handouts on the ports were solely devoted to shopping and no places of interest were listed.

 

Tender service seemed disorganized. 1.5 hours for a 5-minute boat ride and that two hours after tendering began.  To make matters worse, they withdrew the ship's new deluxe tenders from the water after an hour or so, leaving only shore-based tenders available. At shore in Grand Cayman, there was only one place for a tender to dock. We had to wait a good 25 minutes for another tender to leave before we could pull over. We were supposed to get priority tendering for elite passengers, but people who showed up to the assigned dining room when we did, found it empty.

 

We would not book an Edge-class ship again. We have cruises booked on M and S class ships post "revolution."  If they remove significant public areas for the Retreat, such as the Sky Lounge, we would likely cancel these cruises and choose other lines to sail on. I have nothing against suite passengers. We have sailed in suites on S-class ships and believe that Michael's Club and Luminae are sufficient perks. However, I would look forward to refreshed staterooms and dining rooms on the older ships.

[hcat]

Thanks for your comments

We cruise next week but have no tender ports.  in Nov we will have GC  with an excursion , so hopefully they will get the tender situation better organized, ...

 

I think that using EDEN for one type of show is a big loss.. once you see it, where do you go on the other nights,,,theater maybe once if not too loud..They should consider more of a variety in EDEN,.some  dancing, musuc, soloists, bands..etc,

 

We are looking forward to experiencing EDGE..it looks beautiful and  fresh!

[The Retiree]

5 hours ago, emileg said:

We were on the same cruise as Host Anne. Her comments are spot on.  Yes, the cabin decor, cabin service, food and dining room service were outstanding.  The Magic Carpet was a fun place to bring hamburgers to for lunch. I didn't see it used for tender service as advertised. The four different main dining rooms had individual style and some unique dishes. Service was great with wine stewards who knew their wines.

 

However, the amount of space and service devoted to the Retreat certainly took away from space for non-suite passengers. There were only two main lounges: the Martini Bar lounge and Eden.  It was very difficult to find a seat. If you could find a seat, it would take as long as 35 minutes to get a drink and often the wrong one at that.

 

While the chairs were very comfortable in the theater, the production shows were painfully loud as Anne reported. I had to use earplugs. Some shows told a story, but I had no idea what the story was about. Bar waiters continued to take orders once the show began making it impossible to concentrate on the opening statement that introduces the story. The production shows certainly had talented performers, but I don't think there was any show that would appeal to anyone over 40.

 

There were no lectures other than sales pitches for tours. There was no information provided on port talks for people traveling independently. The handouts on the ports were solely devoted to shopping and no places of interest were listed.

 

Tender service seemed disorganized. 1.5 hours for a 5-minute boat ride and that two hours after tendering began.  To make matters worse, they withdrew the ship's new deluxe tenders from the water after an hour or so, leaving only shore-based tenders available. At shore in Grand Cayman, there was only one place for a tender to dock. We had to wait a good 25 minutes for another tender to leave before we could pull over. We were supposed to get priority tendering for elite passengers, but people who showed up to the assigned dining room when we did, found it empty.

 

We would not book an Edge-class ship again. We have cruises booked on M and S class ships post "revolution."  If they remove significant public areas for the Retreat, such as the Sky Lounge, we would likely cancel these cruises and choose other lines to sail on. I have nothing against suite passengers. We have sailed in suites on S-class ships and believe that Michael's Club and Luminae are sufficient perks. However, I would look forward to refreshed staterooms and dining rooms on the older ships.

As far as Eden is concerned, is the show free, or do you have to pay for it?

[The Retiree]

On 1/20/2019 at 7:58 PM, Host Anne said:

 

Normally, Celebrity set up a Cruise Critic gathering on every sailing providing 25 people sign up before the cruise.  They then send an invite to your cabin (or they are supposed to) that includes the day, time and location of the gathering.  

 

At the top of page on the main Celebrity boards here on Cruise Critic, you'll see this graphic....

 

 

Click on the box and it will take you to the spot where you can sign up.  You will need your booking reservation number to sign up.  That is on your confirmation from your travel agent or Celebrity if you booked direct.

 

Hopefully, the parties on Edge will be more like the parties of the past where Cruise Critic members actually get to chat with one another.

 

Other things like cabin crawls or slot pulls are typically arranged by folks on  a roll call.  Have you found your roll call?  If not, let me know your sailing and I'll help you find it!

 

 

Thank you very much - very helpful!

[B-Rizzle]

1 hour ago, The Retiree said:

As far as Eden is concerned, is the show free, or do you have to pay for it?

 

You know what?  Totally FREE!  Dinners and Drinks extra.

[The Retiree]

1 hour ago, B-Rizzle said:

 

You know what?  Totally FREE!  Dinners and Drinks extra.

Thank you very much

[BPCW]

On 1/20/2019 at 8:39 AM, leadvocal said:

I guess there aren't many "value cruisers" like my wife and I here  🙂

 

We are somewhat price conscious cruisers.  We pay more for Celebrity because we love the cruise line but some of the prices for Edge are insane.  We just booked our January 2020 cruise on Summit (7 night southern) for $850pp (with all port fees and taxes) for an Oceanview.  We paid about $1,000pp for a balcony room on Equinox for the cruise we just got off of 2 weeks ago.  

 

Looking at Edge for January 2020, an inside stateroom is $1,700pp, oceanview is $2,500pp, and a veranda room is $2,900pp.  To each their own but that is almost 3x "normal" Celebrity cruises. 

 

No wonder they are struggling to fill it... 

Edited January 22, 2019 by BPCW