Jan 13 Boarded the Edge Skeptical and Disembarked.......

[Nymich]

8 hours ago, jelayne said:

We booked a AQ cabin on the day bookings opened and for months were looking forward with excitement to our cruise.  Lo and behold the early reviews were not encouraging and the clamor of what was wrong grew.  We felt stuck as we were well beyond final payment so cancelling wasn't a option.  So off we went expecting to find that we had made a big mistake.

 

WRONG!!  We found so much to like about the Edge including:

- stunningly beautiful ship

- the best food we have experienced in our past 23 Celebrity cruises

- more dining options on sea day; 5 included breakfast options and for lunch 5 included options and 3 fee options

- large, covered seating area for the Mast Grill

- a excellent level of service unlike we have experienced on other X ships and we have always had great service.  Ex: the Martini bar had between 3-7 bartenders at peak times

--public walkways that were wider so no feeling of being crowded

- Destination Gateway (Deck 2 ) a nice area from which to disembark and return to the ship, no more stored equipment or feeling you when to the basement to exit

- no chair hogs, there were more than enough lounge chairs an pool butlers cleaning up towels, plates, glasses etc. left around the area

- a walking/jogging track that had elevations and you didn't go in endless circles

- embarkation from drop off of luggage to entering our cabin was less than 15 minutes

-- in 7 days never was asked to upgrade our beverage package or book a restaurant

-- no $10 sales with pushing and shoving crowds

- Eden is beautiful and the views are great.  Lots of seating games to amuse you if you choose to play

- the spa is simply amazing

- soft close doors on the closet and cabinet drawers

- new activities to try - Deal or No Deal (replaced Bingo?), Archery, Laser Maze, Drone Racing, Pool Olympics, Art sessions: Origami, Sketching, Coloring

 

Some things that we didn't care for:

- noise from the Grand Plaza can be heard in the FCS and Le Gran Bistro; music levels were way to loud at the beginning of the cruise in every venue. By the end of the cruise the      music had been reduced to a more pleasant level.

- Sunset bar has no covered area so sun beating down and the main entrance to the area takes you through the smoking area (ugh!)

- Cabana's have a public walking way going in front of them.  The walkway takes you to the Mast Grill so the walkway is heavily used.

- form versus function was evident - uncomfortable chairs, Rooftop Grill open to the elements,  decorative pillows - most made seating uncomfortable and they were hard as rocks

- using the Club as a venue to show movies but there are large pillars that block the view of the screen for a large part of the seating

- lack of seating at the Martini Bar, stools that are there in the daytime are removed in the evening so half the bar is for standing only.

 

The IV overall the cabin is very nice.   We  only closed the interior glass doors once when we first boarded and decided they were unnecessary. With the lack of a balcony I was concerned about how I could use the cabin when DH slept in on sea days.  I purchased a $10 blackout curtain and mounted it using magnetic hooks.  It blocked enough light that DH could sleep and

I could read, dress, etc.

I . 

 

 The bath is great but again form over function there are no towel racks and the shower offers the options of a rainfall, waterfall, low jets and a handheld shower head.   The handheld is mounted low and I could not get the shower head to reach my shoulder.  There is a definite lack of closet space for long hanging items.  As for the IV itself it was okay - we sat there with the window open and actually got a bit of sun burn.  Would it be our first choice of a cabin probably not but we would not pass on a cruise because of the IV.

 

So in a nutshell we left the ship glad we went and feel that with some minor adjustments the Edge is a winner.

Black Curtains are flying off the shelves around the world!

[Caribbean Chris]

11 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

I’ve been reading that Edge would be a good choice for Alaska due to the IV’s. That may be true for balcony use, but my concern is that there are NO areas that non Suite Pass can view forward. We used the forward outside deck area in the Fitness room when cruising on Solstice. 

 

Aqua Class passengers could go to the Thermal area (unlimited use) which has a rather large open deck at the bow end with three gold colored penguin statues at one side. It is located in front of the room with the heated tile lounges.

[hcat]

We are looking forward to  seeing the Penguins!  And the nice view...

[Caribbean Chris]

Good review, many very valid observations. The ship really does have many positives, but it’s quirky.

 

One minor thing I found puzzling was the absence of small tables between loungers curved around the pool in the solarium. They were tightly spaced close together on Jan. 6 cruise,  so not really possible to walk in between or place your water bottle on the deck. 

 

It is quite true that the only place to hang a big towel is the door hook. I put mine on same hook overtop a waffle bathrobe (I never use those enormous, thick robes and they took up a lot of the limited closet space anyway).

 

 

[hcat]

Tried to edit  a typo and lost my post????

Edited January 23, 2019 by hcat

[Caribbean Chris]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

 

How it the nightlight in the bathroom?

 

Very good, not too bright but functional. (I accidentally hit the control panel on the wall next to the bathroom entrance few times and lit up the room like a football field, though. 🤪)

[hcat]

Trying again

Agree about the lack of little tables at the pool...will result in dirtier loungers from spilled food and drink.  Maybe they can re purpose the small  tom toms at the pool.

 

 Are the mats just  thick towrls?  Wanted to bring a small mat but no room in luggage

Edited January 23, 2019 by hcat

[hcat]

Just now, Caribbean Chris said:

 

Very good, not too bright but functional. (I accidentally hit the control panel on the wall next to the bathroom entrance few times and lit up the room like a football field, though. 🤪)

Thanks   Looks like you saw my "lost post" but I made a new post..CC odd sometimes!

[marylander2]

16 hours ago, jcpc said:

I was also on the January 13th sailing and agree with what jelayne posted.  What irritated me the most was the fact that it was literally almost impossible to get a chair in the Martini Bar area evenings from 5 pm to 7 pm.  There is no dedicated lounge for the Captain's Club gathering so everyone seemed to get their "3 free drinks" at the Martini Bar.  I guess they all must have gotten there at 4:45 pm and camped out until 7 pm. 

 

 

I am very confused - we must have been on different Edge ships :))))))))))))))

I sailed on Jan 13 as well (will post a review shortly), and Captain's Club happy hour was held daily at dedicated area - the Eden bar, 5 to 7 pm, with unlimited drinks... We enjoyed it every evening. Unless there is another Captain's Club, or another illuminati-like social gathering at Martini bar, which CC gathering you are referring to, if you don't mind? 🙂

[jelayne]

55 minutes ago, marylander2 said:

 

I am very confused - we must have been on different Edge ships :))))))))))))))

I sailed on Jan 13 as well (will post a review shortly), and Captain's Club happy hour was held daily at dedicated area - the Eden bar, 5 to 7 pm, with unlimited drinks... We enjoyed it every evening. Unless there is another Captain's Club, or another illuminati-like social gathering at Martini bar, which CC gathering you are referring to, if you don't mind? 🙂

 

In addition to the cocktails at Eden,  Elites and E+ had 3 drinks loaded on the sea pass and they could be used at any bar between 5-7 for the same drinks that were available in Eden.  Many chose to got to bars other than Eden.

[CruisingTheWaves]

19 hours ago, jcpc said:

We were 3 women sharing this suite and the suite is DEFINITELY not made for 3 people (unless the 3rd person is a small child).  We did not complain and just figured we would "make it work", but we were very fortunate as the Suite Manager approached us in Luminae on the first evening and told us that 3 doors down from our suite was an empty concierge cabin.  She offered us use of that cabin for the entire week.  One of us "moved" to that cabin (but still retained all the suite benefits).  I would not recommend 3 adults ever book a S1 suite on that ship (or probably any cabin category on that ship!)

 

 

It's all in what you make of it - I shared an oceanview cabin on Deck 3 on Millennium my first Celebrity cruise with my mom, her friend, and my friend. 4 women in a small stateroom. We had a fantastic time and made it work.

[marylander2]

3 hours ago, jelayne said:

 

In addition to the cocktails at Eden,  Elites and E+ had 3 drinks loaded on the sea pass and they could be used at any bar between 5-7 for the same drinks that were available in Eden.  Many chose to got to bars other than Eden.

The welcome card for Elites in our room clearly stated unlimited drinks in the Eden bar only. Not that I wanted to fight for a spot at Martini bar, but I have met many former co-cruisers/Elites, and they all had the same pattern - Eden+unlimited, not "plus three" elsewhere.

Must have been miscommunication on X part.

Again, I enjoyed Eden far more than Martini bar, even though there were - at times - tons of Elites and RCCL Emerald (? - not sure if this is equivalent level to Elite) members. We were always able to find a good sitting spot, and waiters were very efficient there.

Initial invitation for Elites was saying (on the contrary) "any bar except Eden" and - I think - Sunset bar or some other.

We were very pleased to find out that Eden will be a CC happy hour place after all.

I am glad you enjoyed the cruise 🙂

 

[jelayne]

4 minutes ago, marylander2 said:

The welcome card for Elites in our room clearly stated unlimited drinks in the Eden bar only. Not that I wanted to fight for a spot at Martini bar, but I have met many former co-cruisers/Elites, and they all had the same pattern - Eden+unlimited, not "plus three" elsewhere.

Must have been miscommunication on X part.

Again, I enjoyed Eden far more than Martini bar, even though there were - at times - tons of Elites and RCCL Emerald (? - not sure if this is equivalent level to Elite) members. We were always able to find a good sitting spot, and waiters were very efficient there.

Initial invitation for Elites was saying (on the contrary) "any bar except Eden" and - I think - Sunset bar or some other.

We were very pleased to find out that Eden will be a CC happy hour place after all.

I am glad you enjoyed the cruise 🙂

 

 

Our Captains Club Welcome card was for Elite Plus and we had the 3 drinks on card and the option to go to Eden.  Don’t know why they would be different regarding happy hour but it looks like they were.

[jcpc]

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

 

Our Captains Club Welcome card was for Elite Plus and we had the 3 drinks on card and the option to go to Eden.  Don’t know why they would be different regarding happy hour but it looks like they were.

We had 2 separate Captains Club Welcome Cards - one for Elite Plus and two for Zenith (there were 3 of us sharing the room).  All cards indicated that Eden was the meeting place for Captains Club, however, we had 3 drinks on our cards for any bar from 5 pm to 7 pm.  We really didn't care about the free drinks as we all had the premium package.  We knew quite a few of the staff working in the Martini Bar and they said it was so crowded because of the 3 free drinks on everyone's card.  It really makes no difference as we had a great time.  Oh, and yes, marylander2, we were on the same ship! 

Edited January 23, 2019 by jcpc

[jcpc]

2 hours ago, CruisingTheWaves said:

It's all in what you make of it - I shared an oceanview cabin on Deck 3 on Millennium my first Celebrity cruise with my mom, her friend, and my friend. 4 women in a small stateroom. We had a fantastic time and made it work.

Absolutely we would have made it work.  However, after sailing numerous times on M class vessels I can tell you that the storage space on the M class, in my opinion, seemed to be better than the storage space in the S1 on Edge.   Storage space in the S1 is perfect for 2 people - for 3 people it is very tight.  

[kwokpot]

48 minutes ago, jelayne said:

 

Our Captains Club Welcome card was for Elite Plus and we had the 3 drinks on card and the option to go to Eden.  Don’t know why they would be different regarding happy hour but it looks like they were.

Looks like they continue to make changes to find the right fit. On the Dec. 16th cruise The Elite Cocktail Hour was in The Club with unlimited drinks and 3 drinks on the card available everywhere except MC, Restaurants, room service, and Mini bar.

[volk904]

20 hours ago, fleckle said:

 

Serenade of the Seas Cabin 1102

(photo credit to cloudfront.net)

 

It puzzled us that on sister cruise line Royal Caribbean we could book a cabin that came with a curtain to separate the bed from the sitting area, but if we want one on Celebrity, we need to provide it ourselves.

 

My Edge cruise is not unil Feb but I can tell you that on most all cruise ships the balcony is separated by glass doors and a curtain. 

 

On on the Edge they wanted to get creative so they made the balcony part of the room with no door or curtain in between.  The whole balcony is sealed with glass but the top glass above the rail goes down like a big window.   

 

Seems like typical of engineers and designers that nobody trought about the issue of what if one person wants to sleep or change and the other want to go out on the balcony.   

 

They probably need to add a curtain.  Great idea and way to adapt for the guy who posted his solution.  

[hcat]

We'd opt for  the Eden Elite gathering or other dedicated space...not for unlim drinks as   I drink Club Soda,  mostly,,,but to be with other  loyal cruisers.and maybe  and hopefuly less crowded.!