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

[nikel]

I am loving your review and abundance of pictures.  So happy to be following along with you since we have  never been on an E class yet, but  will be on the Apex next year.               Before that we are supposed to  be on the Eclipse in May, but doubtful if it will sail as it is coming from Australia.

[Silkroad]

I'm really enjoying your review! Thanks for helping me keep my return to Edge dream alive🙂 You ordered some of my favorite dishes at Eden. Can't wait to try them again. Were your SVs on deck 8? Looking forward to your cabin review and pics.

[afto]

Thank you for taking the time to review. Loving the balance of detailed useful information and pretty pictures. Following!

[hoopslover]

Wonderful review.  Can't wait to cruise.

[TeaBag]

This is an absolutely great review and such a treat for those of us who can't cruise at the moment.  I love the food pictures.  What is the green stuff around the glass that has the raspberries and something chocolate in it?  Looks amazing.  Thank you for sharing.

Your first picture of the ship with the greenery in the foreground should be made into a poster.  It is gorgeous.  Celebrity could sell cruises on Edge with just this photo!

Edited July 17, 2021 by TeaBag

[EMc&DrS]

2 hours ago, Silkroad said:

I'm really enjoying your review! Thanks for helping me keep my return to Edge dream alive🙂 You ordered some of my favorite dishes at Eden. Can't wait to try them again. Were your SVs on deck 8? Looking forward to your cabin review and pics.

Yes, we were on deck 8. We had 8323 and our daughter was in 8312. 

[EMc&DrS]

1 hour ago, TeaBag said:

This is an absolutely great review and such a treat for those of us who can't cruise at the moment.  I love the food pictures.  What is the green stuff around the glass that has the raspberries and something chocolate in it?  Looks amazing.  Thank you for sharing.

Your first picture of the ship with the greenery in the foreground should be made into a poster.  It is gorgeous.  Celebrity could sell cruises on Edge with just this photo!

That was my dessert in the glass. I think the grass was like icing. Honestly, I can’t remember!

[Luckiestmanonearth]

3 hours ago, EMc&DrS said:

 

Normandie was our favorite “main dining room” (we never tried Cosmopolitan).

 

That’s too bad you didn’t try Cosmopolitan.  That was our favorite one

[macaroni]

We are in 8323 in January…..can’t wait…

[Dolebludger]

If you know, what has the experience in the retreat been like?

[Shadow9612]

@EMc&DrS thank you for this review.  I love the format, and the photos are stunning. 

 

[loupana]

Excellent review and fantastic photos, thanks...We cruised on the Edge Maiden Voyage and absolutely loved the ship.

[natefish95]

Loving the review, and especially all the food pics!

 

I'm an aviation nerd myself, so I'll have to remember that restaurant near MIA next time I'm down there. 

[crusingnut]

Great review! The Edge is one of my favorite ships, reliving our cruise on her. Did you happen to check out the Future Cruise offers? We used to book a future cruise while on board because of the perks they offered. Wondering what they offer now since the "always included" perk is on all cruises.

 

[rhblake]

Maybe I running ahead of your review but I have to ask did your daughter get to meet Captain Kate?

[cluso]

8 hours ago, natefish95 said:

Loving the review, and especially all the food pics!

 

I'm an aviation nerd myself, so I'll have to remember that restaurant near MIA next time I'm down there. 

 

The 94th Aero Squadron restaurant chain started up more than 40 years ago.   They were located next to airports/runways.  Many have since closed, but a few remain across the USA.  Google for locations and history.

[Oxo]

16 hours ago, EMc&DrS said:

EDEN CONTINUED-There are no more cirque type entertainers in Eden, so not sure if we missed something there, but there was no need for any distractions from the food and service.  Ironically, this was the one specialty restaurant that we didn’t book in advance.  I had read several negative reviews from the past, but then saw some very positive posts just days before the trip. 

Thank you for your excellent and informative review! We were on the Edge Feb 2020 and that was our last cruise before C19. We are going back on the Edge Sept 4 as our first cruise since C19 lock down.

You have shown us that we should have done Eden as a Specialty Restaurant. The food reminds us of Wonderland on RCI which is our favorite. Very unique and different. An experience! 

We do hope they will have the cirque type entertainers when we get back on. That was very good. 

Stay Safe! Happy Cruising!

[Caribbean Chris]

Your review is wonderful! Excellent food photos and descriptions. Looking forward to more!
 

The following is off topic, and not intended to be nit-picking. Just thought you might like to know that the “Alligator Alley” nickname actually was given to the toll road section of I-75  that crosses the Everglades from Naples to Fort Lauderdale. It opened in 1968 and is a fast, straight shot from the Gulf Coast to Port Everglades.
 

The southernmost part of U.S. Highway 41 is known as the Tamiami Trail or simply “The Trail” as my late grandmother (who moved to Coral Gables as a widow in the 1930s) always referred to it. It runs from Tampa to Miami and was completed in 1928.

[wrk2cruise]

12 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

If you know, what has the experience in the retreat been like?

 

We were on the same sailing and staying in the Retreat.  First time on Edge but have been in Retreat on most S class ships and on Summit.   The Retreat areas are very nice and being co-located and close to our room by the elevators on deck 10 was a positive.   We found the due to the greater number of suites that the lounge and dining experience to be much less intimate.

 

Luminae is large and there were a couple of very large parties 9 and 14 I think which caused the noise levels to match that of the large MDR's on other ships.  The galley seemed to get backup up easily and there were excessive delays between courses at some meals.  Food overall was very good, service a bit hit or miss.   Our waiter said they were short staffed, I think 4 assistant waiters and that several of the waiters were not experienced Luminae waiters but had been pulled from other restaurants.  We had had our waiter on Summit a couple of years ago so we had excellent service.

 

Retreat lounge although large and relatively comfortable we just didn't feel the vibe as on other ships.  Generally we find it a place where we meet others and have some great conversation.  Here people mainly stayed to themselves or just came and went quickly.  Whenever we visited later in the evening there would be a couple people in the lounge but we would always have to knock on the pantry door to get someone out to provide service.  There is wine out for self service but sorry I don't drink wine and I'm not interested in self service in the Retreat.

 

Sundeck is huge.  The bar out there is where I guess most of the socialization happens.  I found the pool crowded.  Had posted capacity of 8 but most afternoons there were 15-20 in the pool.  The area is very hot and it's been well reported that there is limited shade.  Plenty of sun beds available.  It wasn't until day 2 or 3 that I found the large area of the sundeck aft of the elevator lobby!  That area was very sparsely used.

 

Our Sky Suite was the nicest Sky Suite stateroom we have ever been in.  It was an S2 10120 very convenient to everything.  Bed facing out to sea and the very spacious bath were wonderful.  DW did find the corner of the bed to be too close to the end of the sofa when she whacked her shin in the middle of the night.  Being big fans of the corner S1 on S class ships we found this cabin to be our new favorite.

 

Given suites were sold out 100% but the overall capacity of the ship was at 58% in hind sight we might have been better off booking a non suite cabin on this sailing to really take advantage of the reduced capacity.  The non suite areas of the ship were not overly crowded and we probably missed our opportunity to take advantage of this.   I certainly wouldn't have the same opinion if the ship were close to full capacity as the buffet and theater were pretty crowded even at this low capacity.

 

My $.02

 

 

[phabric]

I have enjoyed reading your review.  Looking forward for more.

[EMc&DrS]

2 hours ago, crusingnut said:

Great review! The Edge is one of my favorite ships, reliving our cruise on her. Did you happen to check out the Future Cruise offers? We used to book a future cruise while on board because of the perks they offered. Wondering what they offer now since the "always included" perk is on all cruises.

 

We did not, but I talked to a very young couple who were bursting with excitement when they got on the elevator with me because they had just come from booking a 14 day repositioning cruise (I believe on Edge) from FLL to Amsterdam next April. I know they said the price was just over $6K for the two of them, and she mentioned it came with the drink package, etc.  I think the perk they were promoting was some big OBC with bookings onboard for future cruises.  The place was always busy, so I bet someone on here will be able to give you a more specific answer.

[EMc&DrS]

FOOD CONTINUED—Before I get to the disaster, I will mention that my son-in-law and I ate lunch at Raw on 5 on the 2nd sea day.  We enjoyed it, but I was glad we ate there for lunch rather than dinner.  It was something for us to do while our better halves were at the spa. We each ordered two items and spent about $25 each including tip. (I had a delicious spicy tuna roll for $9 and a somewhat lackluster lobster roll that had just tiny pieces of lobster for $12).We were in and out in less than an hour.  

 

Despite the fact that our daughter doesn’t like sushi or seafood, we had actually reserved Raw on 5 prior to the cruise for Wednesday’s dinner. (We were hoping that we might get to eat on the Magic Carpet because we had read that it’s often moved to deck 5 to become an extension of Raw).  However, when we passed by the restaurant on several occasions early in the cruise, the fishy smell wafting into the corridor completely turned my wife off from eating there—and our daughter needed no convincing. (You’ll understand this better when you read about our fiasco meal). Ironically, the Magic Carpet was never on 5 the entire week.  It sat at deck 14 for most of the week until it was moved to 16 for the last two days at sea. As it turned out, we were able to visit the Magic Carpet numerous times and never had trouble finding a chair or couch to sit on while enjoying the breeze and a cocktail. One of the nicest bartenders on the ship, Alexander, can be found there most afternoons before he moves to the bar in the Eden restaurant at night.

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

        THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM......

 

 

         

 

          

 

.....IT'S ABOUT TO GET WINDY!

 

 

 

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

FOOD CONTINUED--So, the disaster of a meal was at the Rooftop Grill.  My wife really didn’t want to eat there in the first place, but we thought it might be a great place to eat on the evening of the 4th of July for some traditional grilled favorites.  Wrong!  This is not a restaurant, it’s a wind tunnel.  The wind was relentless, and it would blow into the kitchen before dragging all the smoke and smells from the grill across our table all night long.  Some might think that smoke and the smell of the grill just adds to the ambience of the experience, except they kept grilling fish kabobs that had a very fishy odor (and we love seafood). If that had been the only problem then we would have dealt with it, but no.  We were seated at 7:55 PM.  When we still didn’t have our entrees at nearly 10 PM, we called it a night and asked to be credited for the 4 dinner I had paid for in advance. That, however, was after many other errors and missteps along the way including:

 

1. They didn’t have the featured sparkling wine my wife ordered, but didn’t inform her for nearly 10 minutes after she ordered. Drinks finally arrived about 25 minutes after we sat down.
2. Food order wasn’t taken until drinks had been served. We ordered just 1 appetizer for the table—not 2 per person like some tables. (We were saving room for the good stuff!) Just 1 plate of 4 mini pulled pork sliders.  How long could that take?  Pulled pork is cooked in advance!  Well, more than an hour passed before any food arrived when they brought the salad course first followed by the appetizer.
3. Apparently, our waiter was assigned a table of 8 just prior to our arrival.  Many of the guests at that table ordered 2 entrees each; it looked like a feast at the next table while we sat staring at our place mats.  The waiter and cooks seemed overwhelmed by this one group. Why would you present all 16 entrees to 8 people when it means others have to wait with nothing to eat?? (I in no way blame the big party. I bet they would have preferred to have their 2nd entrees delivered to the table after they had had time to eat some of their first). The hostess was actually in the kitchen trying to help get orders onto the grill when I walked up to tell her we were leaving. She tried to tell us that it was our orders going on the grill, but our waiter had already fibbed too many times telling us that "our order was being worked on."
4. On a ship that does most things digitally, for some reason the cooks at the Grill receive orders on strips of paper like at your local diner.  (Remember—the kitchen is completely open to most of the tables, so you can watch everything they are doing). Anyway, they put the strips of paper on the counter and hold them down with a cup or a plate.  Did I mention the wind? On two separate occasions that we noticed, the wind picked up an order and blew it out of the kitchen and past our table at great speed.  Both times my son-in-law jumped up to retrieve the order as it headed towards the garden and returned it to the kitchen where the cook was not only oblivious, but seemed neither surprised nor appreciative. We are pretty sure our order must have blown past us and into the Atlantic!
5. Well into our 2nd hour of waiting, the cooks were busy preparing the 16 entrees for the table of 8–who apparently ordered numerous fish kabobs.  The smoke infused smell of what seemed like fish skin on a grill became so intense that my wife had to leave the table and retreat to the garden area to breathe some fresh air before she became sick to her stomach. It was then that the couple seated next to us (who had arrived after us, but had completed their entrees at this point—different waiter) told us that his lamb chops were inedible.  Sure enough, his plate was virtually untouched.  He couldn’t find one bite that wasn’t all fat and gristle. Well, since my wife and daughter had been waiting for lamb chops for nearly 2 hours, that was the deciding factor to make our escape.

 

Not surprisingly, I don’t have any food pics from this meal since there was nothing to photograph!  I do, however, have a pic of the small cakes theat were delivered to every stateroom on the afternoon of July 4.

 

         

 

On a positive note, this was our only real unfortunate experience we had on the cruise, and while frustrating in the moment, did not in any way diminish our overall impression of the ship or the crew. I also know that someone on our roll call reported having had a wonderful meal at the Grill on the first night of the cruise.  Something was obviously wrong the night we were there, whether it was a lack of staff, a different chef..who knows. As much as the hostess didn’t want us to leave, we had lost our appetite.  I am happy to report that our money was credited before I woke up the next day, and Guest Services followed up a day or two later to make sure we knew. We also received a plate of chocolate covered strawberries delivered to our room the next afternoon compliments of the hostess.  Ironically, our daughter didn’t receive a plate, so we shared ours, but then hers appeared a day or two later—right on cue.

[EMc&DrS]

WRAPPING UP FOOD-

 

Buffet—We try to avoid the buffet on most ships, but we did stop there a few times when it was the only place open.  Nothing special.  My daughter did say it was worth the time to stand in line to wait for an omelette.  I settled for scrambled eggs, but couldn’t finish them.  Didn't taste much like eggs. We did create a make shift charcuterie plate late one afternoon that was good, and had some finger sandwiches after a day at the pool, but never went there for a real lunch or dinner. We could always find a table, even during the breakfast rush.

 

Eden Cafe—Our favorite spot for breakfast was the Eden Cafe. Tucked over in the corner beyond the Eden bar, this quiet little place was totally ignored by 99% of the passengers.  Here you can order breakfast sandwiches that they cook to order (similar to the type you might get at Starbucks that are pre-made, but then they heat them in the oven or in the panini machine) as well as fruit, pastries, muesli, yogurt, etc.  They also have coffee and tea you can fix yourself as well as a small coffee station where they can make lattes and the such.  All of the employees here were super nice, and they usually outnumbered the guests at any given time.  There are a few tables for two in the cafe along with several bigger tables outside the window on the promenade deck.  You can also take your meal out to the main seating area in Eden. This was so much quieter and less hectic than the buffet!!

 

Mast Grill—always great for a hamburger by the pool!

 

Room service--we only ordered this once as a snack before dinner while we hung out on our balcony watching the drama of the people leaving the ship in St. Maarten (at the time, we thought we were waiting for late arrivals). Food arrived quickly and was fine-- nothing special.  Our daughter ordered breakfast a few mornings and had no complaints.

 

 

Up next, ports of call.