Back From the Edge-a post cruise review of July 3-10 w/ pics

[EMc&DrS]

  V  SUNSET VERANDAH     

    

 

After hearing some of the nightmare stories from people who had been stuck on cruise ships at the start of the pandemic, we decided back then that we’d always book a balcony room moving forward just to guarantee we’d have access to the outside if we ever found ourselves in such a situation.  With the lack of true balconies on the Edge, we were happy to snag two of the last remaining Sunset Verandah staterooms on our sailing. 

 

             

 

           (The view looking up--we could hear the drinks being shaken up there at the sunset bar!)

 

 

 

 

 

             

 

                           (The view looking down.  There was one deck between us and Eden.)

 

 

Both of the rooms we booked are typically set aside for groups of 4, but when our TA inquired if we could book them with just 2 per room, Celebrity agreed. Our room was really a nice size for 2, but would have been much more challenging for 4.  My wife and I were assigned 8323, which is one of the two staterooms in the center of the aft section closer to port side.  Our daughter was two doors down from us closer to starboard in 8312. 

 

         

 

 

 

Apparently, the two staterooms in the middle of the aft hallway (like ours) are slightly wider and have slightly larger balconies (not including the Sky Suites on the end of each deck).  Our daughter noticed the difference in size compared to her room as soon as she walked into ours.

 

           

 

 

I asked our steward if there was any way we could have a lounger on our balcony. A few hours later we had 2!  With all of the depth on these balconies, it seems like these should be included automatically.

 

 

 

We have had a couple of corner aft balconies on different ships (including a sky suite on Reflection several years ago), and we have always loved those because you get the back view and the side view while getting a great breeze. We had an enclosed aft balcony on MSC Divina at one point, but we could never enjoy the balcony because it was so stifling hot with no air movement. This balcony, however, was very usable when the ship was sailing into the sun with a nice amount of breeze and shade at those times. So, the balcony was great in the AM on the first 4 mornings as we sailed east, and was better in the afternoon on days 5-7 as we sailed west.

 

 

 

One weird thing about our room was that there was several feet of empty space between the couch and the sliding door to the balcony (which was great to have for storing luggage and extra pairs of shoes)...

 

               

 

 

....but at the other end of the room, you could barely open the closet door by the bed, nor could you get between the closet door and the bed if the closet was open.

 

 

Bathroom was great, especially for a non-suite stateroom.

 

                

 

 

Probably the largest shower we have had outside of a suite.

 

                

 

 

 

Took a few days to discover the big drawer under the sink.

 

              

 

 

 

My wife decided to add her own decorations for the 4th!

             

 

 

But of course, the real reason for booking an SV is the view--which we never get tired of whether docked..

 

 

                

 

 

 

                                                                                    ...or at sea!

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by EMc&DrS

[RoamingRetirees]

Very nice that they brought you loungers. We had the huge corner family veranda on Infinity Around the Horn. They said we couldn't have loungers. 

[EMc&DrS]

We interrupt this review to take a 30 second balcony break....

 

[EMc&DrS]

Just now, RoamingRetirees said:

Very nice that they brought you loungers. We had the huge corner family veranda on Infinity Around the Horn. They said we couldn't have loungers. 

Wow--that's unfortunate.  I don't think they were saying "no" to any reasonable requests.

[3red7s]

wow, what a great review.....you covered everything!! We sail the Edge on 8/14 & cant wait....it has been a long time!!!  We are casino people....did you go to the casino at all? was it busy? \

 

[EMc&DrS]

19 minutes ago, 3red7s said:

wow, what a great review.....you covered everything!! We sail the Edge on 8/14 & cant wait....it has been a long time!!!  We are casino people....did you go to the casino at all? was it busy? \

 

We gave up casinos on cruise ships once they stopped letting you use real quarters in the slot machines! (So, that was awhile ago). With that said, we passed through the casino several times.  There were always people playing, but there were open machines at all times as well.  (I will say I overheard several people saying that they did not do so well in there on this cruise..)

[3red7s]

5 minutes ago, EMc&DrS said:

We gave up casinos on cruise ships once they stopped letting you use real quarters in the slot machines! (So, that was awhile ago). With that said, we passed through the casino several times.  There were always people playing, but there were open machines at all times as well.  (I will say I overheard several people saying that they did not do so well in there on this cruise..)

good to know....i guess we are not the norm....we have always done well....or at least know when to walk away....thanks again

[EMc&DrS]

Thanks to everyone who has been following along.  I’ll be wrapping up this review tomorrow with the last few categories/details.

 

 

[miched]

On 7/17/2021 at 2:09 PM, EMc&DrS said:

😂 Just my iPhone 11.  I brought my nice Nikon, but barely even used it.

The quality of the camera helps but great photos are the result of someone that knows how to make them.  
 

I look back  at all the money I spent on my Nikon that was a 35mm SLR, all  the AI lenses and accessories and can do just as good with my IPhone, that is a drop in the bucket compared to the prices I paid in the 70’s. 

 

You have that touch.   Great photos.   Food is one of the hardest thing to photo without making it look like a plate of garbage.  Your photos are nice. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[EMc&DrS]

1 minute ago, miched said:

The quality of the camera helps but great photos are the result of someone that knows how to make them.  
 

I look back  at all the money I spent on my Nikon that was a 35mm SLR, all  the AI lenses and accessories and can do just as good with my IPhone, that is a drop in the bucket compared to the prices I paid in the 70’s. 

 

You have that touch.   Great photos.   Food is one of the hardest thing to photo without making it look like a plate of garbage.  Your photos are nice. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Wow—thanks so much. I rarely buy anything while traveling. I use my pics as my “souvenirs” and turn them into screen savers until my next trip. 

[cangelmd]

Thank you so much! This has been one of the best reviews I’ve read - love the format.

[mjmagee]

Great review!  Thx.

[kbmr]

Your review and pics are the best I have ever seen from anyone!  I not only appreciated the information but the formatting was perfect, thank you so much! Sailing on her in September.

[txtechmk]

Thanks for the great review.  I have reserved the Rooftop Grill for our next cruise, however I think I will change it to Eden.  I do not want to eat with "wind" at dinnertime, even if the food is good.

 

We usually book cabins near the middle of the ship due to my hubby's motion sickness.  However, on our next cruise, we have booked a sky suite in the far back corner of the aft.  I was wondering if he will feel the movement of the ship a lot more in this location? 

 

[cruiztime]

One more picture request please. If you have a picture of the balcony and wake from your daughter’s cabin.  We had yours but with Lift & Switch we had to move to 8312. 

[EMc&DrS]

12 minutes ago, txtechmk said:

Thanks for the great review.  I have reserved the Rooftop Grill for our next cruise, however I think I will change it to Eden.  I do not want to eat with "wind" at dinnertime, even if the food is good.

 

We usually book cabins near the middle of the ship due to my hubby's motion sickness.  However, on our next cruise, we have booked a sky suite in the far back corner of the aft.  I was wondering if he will feel the movement of the ship a lot more in this location? 

 

Remarkably smooth for an aft cabin.  On some other ships the whole room would shake and things would rattle when the ship was backing into port.  Not on this ship.  I couldn't believe it when I opened my eyes on Thursday morning and we were already docked in St. Maarten and we hadn't felt or heard a thing.

[EMc&DrS]

12 minutes ago, cruiztime said:

One more picture request please. If you have a picture of the balcony and wake from your daughter’s cabin.  We had yours but with Lift & Switch we had to move to 8312. 

I don’t have a pic of her room, but she sent me this video from her balcony. 

[EMc&DrS]

VI  ACTIVITIES/ENTERTAINMENT—

My wife and I both have careers in the performing arts, so we rarely go to shows on cruise ships because, honestly, it’s too much like going to work. On this cruise, however, our daughter insisted we attend a few shows with her, and I have to admit that I’m glad we did. The guest artist they currently have onboard, Charity Lockhart, performs an Aretha Franklin tribute concert. Since her concert was scheduled on July 4, we were given an added treat of hearing her open the show with our National Anthem—maybe the finest live performance of this I have ever heard in person. The remainder of the concert was outstanding, and we were equally entertained by her adult daughter who serves as her back-up singer (and dancer). The performance is accompanied by the ship’s music director and his band.  Probably the finest performance I have ever heard on a cruise ship, and I was never a big fan of Aretha Franklin.  We enjoyed it so much that we had to go watch her encore performance in Eden on the last night of the cruise—equally as good!

 

We also attended the final production show of the cruise on the last night that featured excellent singers along with cirque-style artists. The projections in the Edge theatre certainly add to the overall experience.  The sound quality was excellent as well. As someone who teaches classical voice, I have to say the singers in the show were all fantastic and well trained. 

 

 

This was true with all of the artists who perform around the ship. There is one particular young man who sings and plays his guitar (can’t remember his name) who is particularly talented.  We heard him in Eden, at the Martini Bar, and even by the pool.  All of his performances made us want to stay right where we were until he finished his set.

 

 

These 2 pics are from the first night of the cruise.  I guess everyone was tired and turned in early!

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

Activities continued—One event that was very popular onboard and really fun was the Silent Disco.  We missed it the first time it was held, but attended the second one on Thursday night in the Grand Plaza.  What’s better to do right after eating a big dinner of Beef Wellington, lobster tail, and baked Alaska than to jump up and down while singing at the top of your lungs?!? Whether you choose to dance or not, this is an event you can attend and enjoy just by watching everyone else.  You wear a set of earphones and can choose from 3 different songs at any given moment while the 3 corresponding DJs are battling it out to get the most amount of guests listening to their selection. Your headphones light up with a color that corresponds to the DJ whose music you are enjoying. Those not wearing headphones can’t hear any of the music, but they can certainly hear the chaos of all the participants attempting to sing along with the current song blaring in their headphones!  
 

At this particular moment, the Red group was clearly dominating:

 

[EMc&DrS]

Activities continued--I must confess that I rarely pay attention to the Cruise Director on a ship.  While I appreciate their energy and stamina, many of the activities they are typically promoting are usually not the ones I’m looking for to make my cruise complete. With that said, a huge shout-out to the Edge’s current Cruise Director, Lauren Michelle Vaitkus. (I didn't take a picture 🙁). We happened to meet Lauren in the Eden lounge late on Monday night.  We had just finished dinner at Eden, and she had just finished with her last show of the night. She looked pretty tired from the first 10 days back on the job, and who could blame her. Regardless, she stood and talked with us for 30-45 minutes as if we were the only passengers on the ship.  At the end of the conversation she asked our names. Although we saw her from afar over the next 4 days, we never spoke to her again until we were departing the ship on Saturday.  To my amazement, she recalled all of our names on the spot—very impressive! She has great energy and great enthusiasm for her job.  Celebrity needs to hold onto her just like they need to hold on to Captain Kate!

 

                        

 

 

Speaking of Captain Kate, she is the real deal!  She is funny, commanding, confident, and outgoing. Our daughter really wanted to meet her, but at first I was skeptical that this wasn’t going to happen.  When we attended the Captain’s Club reception, she was ushered in at the last minute and quickly whisked away after she spoke.

 

 

 

 

                        

 

 

 

From time to time we would see her out and about, but never in a place or at a time we could speak to her. 

 

 

 

We attended her Q & A session on the 2nd sea day...

 

 

 

 

...and then my daughter and wife went to Bug trivia. It was after the second event that they finally got their chance to meet Captain Kate, and apparently she talked to them for several minutes.

                    

 

Much to our surprise, she and Lauren the Cruise Director were waiting in the terminal on the last morning to personally say goodbye to all of their guests.  Very classy!

                         

 

I have to say that the entire crew of the Edge was friendly and welcoming throughout the week. There were a few times, especially in restaurants, where it felt like they were still trying to get back into the groove, but overall they seemed just as happy to be onboard as we all were. We find that if you take a moment to ask them about themselves or where they’re from, most are happy to stop and talk and tell you a little bit about home. My younger brother is a pilot who has never been on a cruise, and he swears he will never try one. “I see those crowds of people coming off the ships in port. I want to go to small places without crowds and really meet the locals.”  What he can’t seem to understand is that not only do we meet locals when we cruise, we meet people from all over the globe—from places we may never get to visit. His loss.

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by EMc&DrS

[EMc&DrS]

 

      VII  BARS--It sure is nice to have the premium drink package included! 

 

 

           

 

 

 

We visited most of the bars onboard including the Martini Bar, Eden Bar, Magic Carpet, Pool Bar, and Cafe Al Bacio. We walked past the Sunset Bar on the first afternoon, but we never made it back there again. Drinks were consistently good, but as I said before, Alexander on the Magic Carpet and Tas at the Eden Bar were especially friendly.

 

 

 

 

My daughter and her husband frequented Cafe Al Bacio a lot, and they said the service was always excellent. That was our experience there as well.

 

 

 

My favorite martini is the traditional gin martini, but I do have to say that I really enjoyed a Banana Fosters Martini at the Martini Bar—tasted like banana pudding!

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by EMc&DrS

[EMc&DrS]

We interrupt this review for a quick stop at the Martini Bar (hope you like your martini shaken, not stirred!):

 

[librarylady19]

Great review. We are on Apex in January and I’m wondering what time theater shows are held so I can plan our dinner reservations accordingly. 

[KKB]

LOVE this review--the Silent Disco video was SPOT ON. 

I honestly don't know which I enjoy more--dancing or watching others!

[wolfganghowell]

1 hour ago, EMc&DrS said:

My wife and I both have careers in the performing arts, so we rarely go to shows on cruise ships because, honestly, it’s too much like going to work.

Ok, I have to laugh.  I'm an agent and that is EXACTLY what I say when people ask me about going to the shows.  Thank you for an excellent review!  This is the next best thing to being there!