Thrifty Couple Celebrity Edge Review Jan 27th to Feb 3

[cgolf1]

Hits (Not in any particular order)

-   Magic Carpet, very nice spot to relax

-   Celebrity Theater Shows, especially Kaleidoscope. Overall this was the best entertainment we have seen on a cruise ship:)

-   With the tall windows and the loungers that face the ocean, shame on lines like Disney and RCCL for having their loungers face into the ship, we felt very connected to the ocean. The Magic carpet was on Deck 5 one night and we got to sit out there a while, it was a very unique feeling. The magic carpet in general felt very connected to the ocean.

-   Live music around the ship Michael Reddon was our favorite.

-   While the activity list was not huge, we were busy onboard and actually missed some of the live music around the ship because we were doing other things.

-   The inside stateroom attached to the sky suite was the best inside room we have ever stayed in.

-   We got lucky all of the people we sat next to in the MDRs were very friendly and it we had wide ranging discussions during dinner.

-   Staff was very friendly onboard. I don’t think we encountered one cranky staff member.

-   The CD Damian was great and he really seemed to be a perfect fit for the edge.

-   Food - This was the best food we have had on a cruise ship.

-   Gluten Free labeling in the Oceanview buffet. This is something all lines need to do, I felt like a normal passenger for once at the buffet. Other lines I always had to ask for a chef to walk me around.

-   The desserts, gluten free and gluten loaded, all had a lot of flavor. This always seemed to be a miss on other lines especially with the cakes.

-   There didn’t seem to be any obstructed views in the theater.

-   The ship was super easy to navigate and the signage was helpful without being tacky.

-   The chair hogs didn’t seem to be as bad as we are used to. They did put signs on the chairs in the morning saying that personal belongings would be moved if a chair was unoccupied for more than 30 minutes.

-   The artwork and the design was very whimsical, between the wooden figures, Mr Edge, textured walls, pictures, etc. (lots of pictures)

[cgolf1]

Misses (Not in any particular order except the first) 

-   The scent they use in Eden is awful. My wife likened it to beef jerky mixed with urine. She tried to watch the Eden show, but had to leave after 5 minutes and step outside to clear her head, it made her very nauseous.

-   Judging by the reactions of the crowd, some of the shows were a miss. Not sure what Celebrity does here, but I am sure they will figure it out, because for us this was the best entertainment top to bottom we have ever encountered on a ship.

-   This ship I saw more inconsiderate and entitled people than we ever saw on Disney or Royal. It wasn’t a majority by any means but it was definitely noticeable.

-   Clocks – get some, not sure why, but this is a common issue where cruise ships don’t have enough clocks. Ones near the pool would be very helpful since many people don’t wear a watch in a pool.

-   On island days, there should be a free dining venue open between 11 and 12 that serves gluten free food. We found out that the Mast Grill isn’t gluten free because of the potential for cross contamination. We did end up eating late breakfast in oceanview a little before the next day before our next excursion.

-   On deck 5, other than the seating outside of Eden, no spots to sit and look out at the water. While the views up top our nice, a promenade deck with a view is always nice because of the protection from the weather and sun, so maybe find some more spots on deck 5 for chairs if possible. 

-   Showtimes/Theater Capacity - It seemed that everyone wanted to go to the 9 pm show and seats were difficult to get if you didn’t show up 15 to 30 minutes early. I believe a decent amount of people had to either stand through the show or left. Perhaps either having a bigger theater and/or moving the early show earlier to allow more people to have the opportunity to attend the early show.

-   How reserved area for retreat guests was handled during shows - It needs to be made obvious to everyone that the balcony is reserved for retreat guests during the 3 Celebrity production shows and available to all for the other shows. We tried to sit on deck 5 and didn’t know until we got to the seating section that the whole thing was reserved. We only later learned that it was open seating for non Celebrity produced shows because of a call we got because of a comment we put on our comment sheet they handed out early in the cruise. 

-   Gluten Free preorders when dining in different dining rooms each night. I tried two different methods and the chefs didn’t get my order ahead of time with either method. I am guessing that they will work this out as time goes on. Had we stayed in the same dining room every night, I am pretty confident it would have been better.

-   While the Martini hot tubs are nice and provide a nice view, there should be a hot tub on the resort decks too.

-   The shops should offer a wider range of Edge products. Having only higher end stuff really limited what we bought. Had there been magnets, playing cards, etc we would have picked up some items for family members as gifts.

-   No forward facing view. I totally get that the retreat guests get an area to themselves, we experienced something similar on Disney sailing a concierge room. All I am asking for is maybe an area down one side it doesn’t have to be a huge area. Or on the Edge see how much of the retreat area is utilized and perhaps downsize it on the future ships. When we were on Disney the area was not that large and wasn’t used all that often by guests. On Disney all guests had access to a forward facing view.

-   The Mast Grill doesn’t support gluten free burgers or hot dogs. This is unfortunate since it is the most convenient on port days.

[cgolf1]

So-Sos

-   The dinner service was really spotty, but we did have more good services than slow ones. I really think with time this will smooth out. You can tell how new the ship is, when they use maps to find the location of the table you will be seated at.

 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, cgolf1 said:

Day 7 

Got up at our normal 7 and grabbed breakfast. After breakfast we swam for a little bit between the rain drops and then got ready for the galley tour. We got down to the galley tour and we were one of the first in line. As we got going, somehow we got shuffled to being last in line and it got to the point that we couldn’t hear the person taking us around. Thankfully we have been on galley tours so we knew what a lot of the areas were, or we would have had to work our way back up front. We just rolled with it, but it was a bit disappointing. The galley itself was really nice and they took us up a level to the bakery area. All in all it was a fun surprise, just wish we could have heard what was being described.

 

We saw the crowds come through on the galley  tours..way too many people and groups.  Long lines.

 

We booked the All Access Ship Tour as an excursion.  It was a bit pricey but they had sales  for this tour  at various times before our sail date.  We did a mini security  clearance,   had nice souvenier  lanyards with name badges , and ear pieces so we could hear the guide and other speakers!

 

It was well worth the price. We  had only  20 people  and a top notch guide from Shore Excursions Dept who was awesome.  At each stop..restaurants, galley, engineering,  laundry, re cycling, crew  bar areas etc  and the private Bridge Tour ,  we had the manager or top officer spend time with us..Each had the mic.  The Captain  greeted us along the way but had to dash off to another event.   Another highight was the hallway where the original ship,s steel was left open ...very interesting!

 

This tour was a bit long with some up and down stairways but was  a highlight  of being onboard! Seeing behind the scenes  was an eye opener..so many hardworking people that cruisers never see or interact with!

 

Next time we'll  buy the Theater Tour...unless the Elite theater tour is comparable!

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2019 by hcat

[cgolf1]

5 minutes ago, hcat said:

 

We saw the crowds come through on the galley  tours..way too many people and groups.  Long lines.

 

We booked the All Access Ship Tour as an excursion.  It was a bit pricey but they had sales  for this tour  at various times before our sail date.  We did a mini security  clearance,   had nice souvenier  lanyards with name badges , and ear pieces so we could hear the guide and other speakers!

 

It was well worth the price. We  had only  20 people  and a top notch guide from Shore Excursions Dept who was awesome.  At each stop..restaurants, galley, engineering,  laundry, re cycling, crew  bar areas etc  and the private Bridge Tour ,  we had the manager or top officer spend time with us..Each had the mic.  The Captain  greeted us along the way but had to dash off to another event.    This tour was a bit long with some up and down stairways but was  a highlight  of being onboard! Seeing behind the scenes  was an eye opener..so many hardworking people that cruisers never see or interact with!

 

Next time we'll  buy the Theater Tour...unless the Elite theater tour is comparable!

 

 

 

 

We debated booking the all access tour when it was 99$, and by the time we decided to do it, it had gone up to 199$ so we passed. Really wished we had booked it early. 

[hcat]

Just now, cgolf1 said:

 

We debated booking the all access tour when it was 99$, and by the time we decided to do it, it had gone up to 199$ so we passed. Really wished we had booked it early. 

$99 ...a bargain. We paid a bit more...and had one adjustment

.Perhaps for APEX ??

Thanks for a very fun review!

[cgolf1]

16 minutes ago, hcat said:

$99 ...a bargain. We paid a bit more...and had one adjustment

.Perhaps for APEX ??

Thanks for a very fun review!

 

Thanks, I am going to take some time to read through yours now that I got through this one:)

[FolsomMike]

On 2/9/2019 at 10:48 AM, cgolf1 said:

After we reboarded we were able to catch Michael Reddon performing in the rooftop garden. He did a mix of covers and his own music. The rooftop garden is a really nice place to catch some live music. We dined in Tuscan and both the food and service was incredible. Our dinner service went quick enough that we were able to catch the 7 pm show, December 63, a Frankie Valli tribute band.

 

I will say that the Celebrity theater performers and Marcus Terrell were at the performance to watch. We sat in our normal location, right of stage down by the tables, which wasn’t great for this show. December 63 mostly stood at the front of the stage, so we were mostly looking at backsides lol. The music was good, but IMO the singers were not as good as the Celebrity singers or Marcus. Yes, I actually knew all the songs and liked them, so it wasn’t the type of music that formed my opinion, it was truly their vocal tone. The crowd on the other hand went from the majority sitting still and not moving during the other performances to moving to the music and giving an emphatic standing ovation to the singers. We honestly felt bad for the Celebrity performers and Marcus that sang their butts of and didn’t even get a standing ovation to witness this. The one song I want to give these guys massive props for is the acapella song they did. They raised their game a lot on this song and it was incredible. We love Straight No Chaser so really appreciated this song.

 

 

I will jump ahead and say that people went out of their way to compliment these guys whenever they were around the ship. I get it, they played songs you know, but the other performers deserve some credit too. We did thank one of the Celebrity singers and gave complimented him on the incredible job they did. The thing that bothered me the most though was when we were sitting in the club. The December 63 group was sitting near Marcus and I believe one of the Celebrity singers. A lady came up and started off praising the December 63 group to one of the singers, ok. I have nothing but praise for how he handled it because he did everything he could to stop her at how good of job they did. Unfortunately she kept talking and said less then flattering things about the other performers with Marcus sitting right there! Sometimes I wish people would think and just compliment the people they like, there is no reason to comment on the other performers in a negative way. If it was just you were my favorites and left at that, that would be ok. Sorry about venting a bit, but this just didn’t sit well with us, especially since we enjoy all types of music. 

No offense, but...do they make any announcements before the shows about photography? I appreciate your videos but I know I get annoyed with looking at folks bright phone screens in darkened theaters. 🙂 

[cgolf1]

16 minutes ago, FolsomMike said:

No offense, but...do they make any announcements before the shows about photography? I appreciate your videos but I know I get annoyed with looking at folks bright phone screens in darkened theaters. 🙂 

 

They actually wanted people to post pics and videos. I used a small camera to do my videos and not my phone. I did have to turn the LED off when videotaping. Or I used My DSLR because my little camera didn’t let me turn off the LED light even though no flash was selected, found this out after the first show and felt bad. 

[FolsomMike]

1 minute ago, cgolf1 said:

 

They actually wanted people to post pics and videos. I used a small camera to do my videos and not my phone. I did have to turn the LED off when videotaping. Or I used My DSLR because my little camera didn’t let me turn off the LED light even though no flash was selected, found this out after the first show and felt bad. 

Ok, good to know. Thanks for your consideration of other folks.  🙂. 

[hcat]

I turn off my  little Sony camera flash, and the photos come out nicely lit.

Sometimes there is too much movement but depends on the show...

[Oville]

Thanks cgolf1, excellent review.  Katie

Edited February 11, 2019 by Oville

[cgolf1]

33 minutes ago, Oville said:

Thanks cgolf1, excellent review.  Katie

 

You’re Welcome. It was fun to do and it extended the vacation mindset another week for me🙂

 

Now just can’t wait to see the Apex

[barb in ga]

Thanks for the review, especially the comments and pictures about the gluten free options. DH has to be GF, so this is good to know. It's been 9 years since we were on Celebrity, but we cruise RCCL a few times a year. We're looking forward to sailing a new ship.

Barb 

[Jesseslola]

Thanks for the info on Asian stir fry area. Loved the Harmony offerings, fried rice, chicken and hugeee shrimps!, Hoping they have the same in Celebrity.

 

Love your review, thanks again!

[cgolf1]

34 minutes ago, barb in ga said:

Thanks for the review, especially the comments and pictures about the gluten free options. DH has to be GF, so this is good to know. It's been 9 years since we were on Celebrity, but we cruise RCCL a few times a year. We're looking forward to sailing a new ship.

Barb 

 

You’re welcome and if you eat in the main dining rooms I hope they smoothed out the gluten free preorders. We commented on it, so hope they are reading the after cruise surveys as closely as the ones the comment cards they had us do during the cruise. 

 

28 minutes ago, Jesseslola said:

Thanks for the info on Asian stir fry area. Loved the Harmony offerings, fried rice, chicken and hugeee shrimps!, Hoping they have the same in Celebrity.

 

Love your review, thanks again!

 

You’re welcome 

[Oville]

1 hour ago, cgolf1 said:

 

You’re Welcome. It was fun to do and it extended the vacation mindset another week for me🙂

 

Now just can’t wait to see the Apex

What was very interesting was to read a review from someone who is not a frequent Celebrity cruiser.  It was fun seeing Edge through a non-X cruiser’s eyes.

 

Thanks again, Katie

Edited February 11, 2019 by Oville

[alishac]

21 hours ago, hcat said:

It was well worth the price. We  had only  20 people  and a top notch guide from Shore Excursions Dept who was awesome.  At each stop..restaurants, galley, engineering,  laundry, re cycling, crew  bar areas etc  and the private Bridge Tour ,  we had the manager or top officer spend time with us..Each had the mic.  The Captain  greeted us along the way but had to dash off to another event.   Another highight was the hallway where the original ship,s steel was left open ...very interesting!

 

I remember seeing a picture of this when the ship was first built, before there were passengers, but I can't remember anyone who has sailed since posting pictures or mentioning it. Do you remember where this hallway is?

[hcat]

16 minutes ago, alishac said:

I remember seeing a picture of this when the ship was first built, before there were passengers, but I can't remember anyone who has sailed since posting pictures or mentioning it. Do you remember where this hallway is?

 my husb says maybe  it was on deck 3.....maybe on the way to / from Tuscan...I know we passed it sev times without realizing what it was...until the tour.  I have a photo as well...will look for it and try to post later today,.

[hcat]

5 hours ago, alishac said:

I remember seeing a picture of this when the ship was first built, before there were passengers, but I can't remember anyone who has sailed since posting pictures or mentioning it. Do you remember where this hallway is?

 

[hcat]

I found my 2 photos of this area ( hope they are worth it  hard to visualize it all)  but  I have no way to post on CC if the shots first came from my camera....even if they were re sized.

 

.I will ask for help but may be awhile .  I was very moved by these long panels.. hard to graspn that from that raw material..came such a marvelous creation! So glad the creators  keft this artifact.

 

I also have a new idea for oyr bext time on EDGE.  .We did the tour, a cabin crawl and flitted aroud the ship.  In Nov, we are going to  do a deck by deck walk by...non suite and non AQ areas.... so we have a better sense of the ship!

[cgolf1]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

I found my 2 photos of this area ( hope they are worth it  hard to visualize it all)  but  I have no way to post on CC if the shots first came from my camera....even if they were re sized.

 

.I will ask for help but may be awhile .  I was very moved by these long panels.. hard to graspn that from that raw material..came such a marvelous creation! So glad the creators  keft this artifact.

 

I also have a new idea for oyr bext time on EDGE.  .We did the tour, a cabin crawl and flitted aroud the ship.  In Nov, we are going to  do a deck by deck walk by...non suite and non AQ areas.... so we have a better sense of the ship!

 

I will find my picture of it soon. I forgot to post it:)

[cgolf1]

The interior exposed wall:)

[cgolf1]

34 minutes ago, hcat said:

I found my 2 photos of this area ( hope they are worth it  hard to visualize it all)  but  I have no way to post on CC if the shots first came from my camera....even if they were re sized.

 

.I will ask for help but may be awhile .  I was very moved by these long panels.. hard to graspn that from that raw material..came such a marvelous creation! So glad the creators  keft this artifact.

 

I also have a new idea for oyr bext time on EDGE.  .We did the tour, a cabin crawl and flitted aroud the ship.  In Nov, we are going to  do a deck by deck walk by...non suite and non AQ areas.... so we have a better sense of the ship!

 

I have been using the PhotoShrinker app. I email my DSLR pictures to my iPad and use the app to shrink them to a size that works for CC. 

[Jesseslola]

Hi cgolf1,

Did you notice if the laundry bag is cloth or plastic?

Thanks