EDGE AQUA CLASS REVIEW ....1/27/19, Eastern Carib...by Hcat

[hcat]

7 hours ago, Lovecruising50 said:

Hi, BLU is decorated beautifully and the staff was great!!!!!  Two issues, having been on the Silhouette, I was expecting a lot more from the EDGE.  The food is better in the BLU on the Silhouette.  Also as you notice from HCAT's pictures the shades are down.  There is a reason for that - NO VIEW!!!!!.  The bad location is due to the accommodation of the new suite classes and the Eden. On the Silhouette the shades are up because there is a beautiful view of the ocean.  Besides the infinite balconies being a joke, the AQUA class got the short end of the stick when it comes to BLU.

Agree..BLU got the worst location possible..long walk through the dark forest 4x day,  and no views.

 

Shades were up once but no point to it..even in the am,  The windows were doused by the early window washing! 

Wonder if anyone has eaten dinner at the outside tables . ???

 

Food was  good to very good..table staff excellent, but sometimes slow kitchen...bad acoustics! Trade off is you get the Thermal Suite included...

 

We had no issues with the IV..

[hcat]

On 3/27/2019 at 5:20 AM, Radio said:

Wow, Thank you hcat for such a detailed review. I think that an Aqua Class might be in my future.

I was scheduled to sail Edge in Feb 2019, but had to change it due to work. I will be sailing "LIVE" on Celebrity Summit this May.

 

Thanks again for the nice review.

 

Radio

😉😉

 

Thanks..will look forward to you "live" on Summit..We have that booked for 2020!

[piper]

One of the hints said the bottled water comes in aluminum containers rather than plastic and that you need a "water carrier" to take water off of the ship.  Can anyone please clarify? 

Also, we have the Classic non-alcohol beverage package.  The details state "premium" coffee.  Does that include lattes, cappuccino, etc?  TIA

[Lovecruising50]

Hi, yes they have aluminium water bottles.  Sometimes they run out and provide plastic water bottles.  Not sure what you mean by water carrier, but you do not need one unless things have changed since January.  Yes premium coffee includes lattes, cappuccinos, teas, hot chocolate, specialty coffees, etc.

[piper]

So, if you buy a bottle of water, (or, in our case get it with our package) it comes in disposable aluminum bottles like beer?

[Lovecruising50]

Yes.  It also depends on what size you buy.  The large size is plastic.  You can request plastic if that is your preference.  When going to shore it is aluminium until they run out then it is plastic.

[Oville]

We boarded the Edge again today.  A few observations:

 

*20 mintutes from car to stateroom12:20.

 

*Lunch was very good al Le Grand Bistro but a lot of food.

 

*Have enjoyed the IV, it has been quite breezy since sail away.

 

*As usually muster was slow and a long wait getting back to our cabin.

 

*There is a lot of new entertainment, only Dos Duo remains from January.

 

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by Oville

[hcat]

Hi Katie..

Can't wait to hear more...esp about music , shows and dining!

Enjoy everything!

[vtcruising]

36 minutes ago, Oville said:

We boarded the Edge again today.  A few observations:

 

*20 mintutes from car to stateroom12:20.

 

*Lunch was very good al Le Grand Bistro but a lot of food.

 

*Have enjoyed the IV, it has been quite breezy since sail away.

 

*As usually muster was slow and a long wait getting back to our cabin.

 

*There is a lot of new entertainment, only Dos Duo remains from January.

 

 

 

 

What was the special at LGB - the ribs?

 

When you have time, can you see if turning the Go Green off on your room control panel will keep the AC on when the IV is open? Someone reported that so wondered if that is why we never felt hot with the IV open (we had our Go Green turned off).

 

Give Mr Edge a pat for me!

 

Hope you keep us updated (when you have time)!

 

Have fun!!

Edited April 7, 2019 by vtcruising

[Oville]

4 hours ago, vtcruising said:

 

 

What was the special at LGB - the ribs?

 

When you have time, can you see if turning the Go Green off on your room control panel will keep the AC on when the IV is open? Someone reported that so wondered if that is why we never felt hot with the IV open (we had our Go Green turned off).

 

Give Mr Edge a pat for me!

 

Hope you keep us updated (when you have time)!

 

Have fun!!

Yes Marilyn, the short ribs were the meal so for me quite heavy at lunch.

 

We did turn the Go Green light off and the cabin had some AC, it did get a bit stuffy.

 

Wow what a shock from our January 21st cruise to today/tonight. Grand Plaza had swing, Sinatra dance style music at 7:45 and two mild pianist at 9:00 and and the second at 10:00.  Today for lunch at LGB it was country instrumentals from Elvis to Cash and beyond in the Grand Plaza.  It’s a different vibe from 2 and a half months ago.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by Oville

[vtcruising]

9 hours ago, Oville said:

Yes Marilyn, the short ribs were the meal so for me quite heavy at lunch.

 

We did turn the Go Green light off and the cabin had some AC, it did get a bit stuffy.

 

Wow what a shock from our January 21st cruise to today/tonight. Grand Plaza had swing, Sinatra dance style music at 7:45 and two mild pianist at 9:00 and and the second at 10:00.  Today for lunch at LGB it was country instrumentals from Elvis to Cash and beyond in the Grand Plaza.  It’s a different vibe from 2 and a half months ago.

 

 

Wow - that is a change! How are the musicians?

 

Yes, we found that if we had lunch at LGB, we needed to go hungry and eat a late, light dinner. 🙂

 

Enjoy all the Edge has to offer!

[hcat]

 

 

We missed the Bistro last time..hours did not work out for us...we wanted  brunch...We will def  try again in Nov ....

 

Some of the changes sound great for us..esp the country music on day of the Country Music awards .....shows they will be having more of a  musical variety..

 

After 10 in the Plaza sounds good for the louder  vibe and music.. what time is the light show?  We missed that last time.. it was too crowded ..

 

 

[hcat]

Can you list names of  the CD, activity director, Bistro maitre d  and other  staff on bd?

[Oville]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

 

 

We missed the Bistro last time..hours did not work out for us...we wanted  brunch...We will def  try again in Nov ....

 

Some of the changes sound great for us..esp the country music on day of the Country Music awards .....shows they will be having more of a  musical variety..

 

After 10 in the Plaza sounds good for the louder  vibe and music.. what time is the light show?  We missed that last time.. it was too crowded ..

 

 

Last night they had pretty mellow music at 10, a piano/singer.  It was pretty hopping from 7:45 to 8:30. 

 

Light show was 8:30, I don’t know if there was and earlier one.  I doubt there was a later on as the music didn’t lend itself to it.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Oville

[Oville]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

Can you list names of  the CD, activity director, Bistro maitre d  and other  staff on bd?

Damian is the CD, I’ll try to find out the rest.

 

We felt really rushed in Blu last night, fingers crossed it will be better tonight.

 

New seating on the Eden ramp, more comfy.  The wire chairs have been moved up to the back of deck six.

 

Hcat, we are really enjoying our IV, more veranda like than I remembered but very private.  Katie

Edited April 8, 2019 by Oville

[piper]

We have friends sailing with us who are not in AQ class.  So, we don’t want to dine in Blu. Do you think we will have any trouble getting changed to Anytime dining in the main dining room? TIA 

[hcat]

3 hours ago, Oville said:

Damian is the CD, I’ll try to find out the rest.

 

We felt really rushed in Blu last night, fingers crossed it will be better tonight.

 

New seating on the Eden ramp, more comfy.  The wire chairs have been moved up to the back of deck six.

 

Hcat, we are really enjoying our IV, more veranda like than I remembered but very private.  Katie

Really appreciate these updates...we had Damien as our CD...that's when the big turn around started!  Hppe you enjoy BLU  tonight...

Edited April 8, 2019 by hcat

[Fighterone]

On 2/5/2019 at 4:14 PM, hcat said:

Pre-cruise: 

 We drove from the West Coast of Florida the day before the sailing. Heavy rain was expected from Naples across Alligator Alley, but we were so lucky to avoid it all. We had a fast food lunch to save time,  and were checked into our pre-cruise hotel, a Hilton Garden Inn, just in time to beat the rain.  The hotel was fine for our needs..We ate dinner and breakfast ( extra charge) on site.  Food and service were excellent. We met a well known investment author and his wife, and enjoyed their pleasant company during dinner..Travel and meeting people does broaden horizons, even at a Hilton Garden Inn.

 

Parking:

Easy morning drive to the port.  Because rain was threatened and we overpacked a bit, we dropped off our luggage with the porters. I waited with the carry ons while my husb parked in the Mid Port Garage. It was a hefty but manageable walk back to the point of entry...

 

Cruise check in:

As we got off the escalator, a cruise rep scanned our cruise paperwork and passports, and we were invited to take seats .No need to line up  which was very nice

 

. We had a bit of a surprise because there was no sep area for AQ Class or E plus  as in the past.  Seems only suites, Zenith and the upper blue Chip cruisers  have the nice waiting area.  Everyone else waits together without any organization or sorting of priority as a prelude to boarding. 

 

The main boarding area reminded us of a no frills bus station.  It had very uncomfortable circular bench type seating, definitely nothing ergonimic about it and few aisles to get through with the carry on,  With all the hype about this new terminal, we expected more than a cold warehouse environment,  and more staff to keep things orderly!

 

Fortunately , our wait was short!  They announced  boarding for AQ Class  first

and short term chaos immediately ensued...everyone wants to be first! We try not to rush, as the gradient going up around the levels is steep and there are little seams marked in yellow,here and there.  Please watch your step while boarding!

 

To the Stateroom..

Once onboard we were directed to our stateroom for our sea passes and to drop off luggage!  Awesome first reaction to the inf Veranda stateroom!   The flowers I ordered arrived..big arrangenent fit well in the niche, the smaller one went on

 the Veranda table.  Our attendant graciously removed the coral sculpture..it was already chipped,  and he also took away the Hoppen vase  which clearly says "no water" on the bottom. ..Maybe next time I will bring  a colorful paper or fabric bouquet !

 

 At this point we were thrilled to be on the EDGE...and we headed out for lunch!

Thank you for your review! You just gave me 2 brilliant ideas: I shall have a fabric bouquet ready for that vase. I had been trying to locate the field to order fresh flowers but had given up because I thought it was not an option since it was impossible  for me to find it on the website. After more research, I found it and ordered a bouquet of spring flowers. Is that what you ordered and were you happy with them? I also ordered a robe for hubby's birthday now that I can navigate the ordering fields. 

[hcat]

I believe the smaller bouquet  we kept on the veranda was the Spring bouquet... least expensive choice I think.

 

The larger arrangment fit well in the niche...but was more expensive..The smaller bouquet might not look good in the niche.    

 

All the flowers were fresh , fragrant and long lasting with minimal care...had fun watching the blooms open!

 

Next EDGE trip I will bring a nice fabric bouquet  for the Hoppen vase.  Would love it if you could post yours..

 

Hope your husb has a fun birthday and enjoys the new robe!

[piper]

Is body lotion supplied in the AQ class cabin? Trying to lighten the luggage load!

[hcat]

Yes... a huge pump btl of COBigelow...I slathered it on daily.

X also supplied shampoo and cond and a bar soap..same company

I bring my own hair products but loved the body lotion...can't take it home but enjoyed using it...one of the nice AQ Class perks!

Edited April 23, 2019 by hcat

[piper]

Thanks!