Aug 7th W-E-W Caribbean Edge Cruise - B3B

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, CruisinBanka said:

Ken, curious what the procedure was for your customs today, as we will be on B2B next week. Where and what time did you meet and did they take you off into the terminal I imagine? Thanks! 

First, we are in a suite, so I can only answer your questions from that perspective.
 

Thursday, we received a letter telling us where to meet Friday morning at 9:15 to get the antigen test. It took about 5-10 minutes and we were done. Then came the 60 minute wait. Basically, if you didn’t hear from them, your test was negative and you were good to go to sail on the next leg.
 

On Saturday, embarkation day, we met in the Retreat Lounge at 9:15 and were escorted off the ship as a group, turned in our old sea pass cards and headed to the terminal to go through Customs. There Customs used facial recognition to identify you, then it was back to the ship. On the way back they gave us our new sea pass cards, took our picture at the gangway and we were then allowed to go back onboard.

 

We later went back off the ship to put some stuff in the car and used our Transit Pass to get back on the ship allowing us to bypass the normal terminal check-in process all of the new passengers were waiting to do. Easy peasy … 😎

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[CruisinBanka]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

First, we are in a suite, so I can only answer your questions from that perspective.
 

Thursday, we received a letter telling us where to meet Friday morning at 9:15 to get the antigen test. It took about 5-10 minutes and we were done. Then came the 60 minute wait. Basically, if you didn’t hear from them, your test was negative and you were good to go to sail on the next leg.
 

On Saturday, embarkation day, we met in the Retreat Lounge at 9:15 and were escorted off the ship as a group, turned in our old sea pass cards and headed to the terminal to go through Customs. There Customs used facial recognition to identify you, then it was back to the ship. On the way back they gave us our new sea pass cards, took our picture at the gangway and we were then allowed to go back onboard.

 

We later went back off the ship to put some stuff in the car and used our Transit Pass to get back on the ship allowing us to bypass the normal terminal check-in process all of the new passengers were waiting to do. Easy peasy … 😎

 

Thanks Ken for your thorough answer. Much appreciated. We are also in suites so procedure should be identical. Enjoy your 3rd leg and looking forward to your upcoming observations! 

[CruisinBanka]

Ken is Luminae reservation only or combination walk up and reservation. Thinking mostly first evening. Thanks! 

[Ken the cruiser]

38 minutes ago, CruisinBanka said:

Ken is Luminae reservation only or combination walk up and reservation. Thinking mostly first evening. Thanks! 

I wasn’t even aware you could make reservations in Luminae. But, no worries, all you need to do is show up and you’ll be seated as there are plenty of tables. Now, if you want a table by the window, you may want to get there within the first 15-20 minutes after opening as those tables are usually in high demand.

 

[CruisinBanka]

24 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I wasn’t even aware you could make reservations in Luminae. But, no worries, all you need to do is show up and you’ll be seated as there are plenty of tables. Now, if you want a table by the window, you may want to get there within the first 15-20 minutes after opening as those tables are usually in high demand.

 

Thanks Ken! I assume there isn’t a bad seat in the house ,where you couldn’t see out a window one way or another, and the food would taste the same regardless! 

[Ken the cruiser]

Just found out there are 883 booked passengers and thanks to The Bahamas new vaccination rule, all passengers 12 years and older must be vaccinated. Yay!!!😎

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[CruisinBanka]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just found out there are 883 booked passengers and thanks to The Bahamas new vaccination rule, all passengers 12 years and older must be vaccinated. Yay!!!😎

 

👍    Should be able to hear an echo throughout the ship all week! 

[CruisinBanka]

4 minutes ago, CruisinBanka said:

👍    Should be able to hear an echo throughout the ship all week! 

Towards the end of the cruise, let us know if you hear how many they are expecting next sailing, as that is when we start our B2B. Thanks! 

[Ken the cruiser]

17 minutes ago, CruisinBanka said:

Towards the end of the cruise, let us know if you hear how many they are expecting next sailing, as that is when we start our B2B. Thanks! 

I wouldn’t be able to find out until embarkation day after, of course, we already got off the ship. As an alternative may I suggest you do a fake booking of each of our booked cruises, if the price for your category on either booking has gone down, submit the Best Price Offer form to get the difference posted in OBC to the applicable shipboard account, and then count all the vacant SS cabins before you get out of the booking process. I know, but one must keep oneself occupied if you’re retired like myself and I have mastered this process. 😎

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[Fouremco]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

I believe in transparency as well. Celebrity has extensive "healthy at sea" protocols which I've read repeatedly. That's transparency. Ships that sail from the US report positive cases to the CDC on a daily basis. Again, transparency. I would imagine it's the same for other homeport governments. If I'm a close contact, I trust that the crew will find me and make sure I'm quarantined and tested, per the protocols.

 

Making a shipwide announcement each time those protocols are implemented is not transparency, it's redundant. The protocols are working. Cases are contained. There have been no large outbreaks. No ship has gone Red per the CDC. I think that should be celebrated.

As I said previously, that's you opinion, one with which I totally disagree. Restating you viewpoint does nothing to change that, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[RICCruisers]

5 hours ago, RichYak said:

I believe in transparency as well. Celebrity has extensive "healthy at sea" protocols which I've read repeatedly. That's transparency. Ships that sail from the US report positive cases to the CDC on a daily basis. Again, transparency. I would imagine it's the same for other homeport governments. If I'm a close contact, I trust that the crew will find me and make sure I'm quarantined and tested, per the protocols.

 

Making a shipwide announcement each time those protocols are implemented is not transparency, it's redundant. The protocols are working. Cases are contained. There have been no large outbreaks. No ship has gone Red per the CDC. I think that should be celebrated.

YOU STATED:
 

I believe in transparency as well. Celebrity has extensive "healthy at sea" protocols which I've read repeatedly. That's transparency

 

No - That’s not transparency - That’s what Celebrity needed to do to start sailing. 
 

Ships that sail from the US report positive cases to the CDC on a daily basis. Again, transparency.

 

Again No - That’s not transparency. It is what Celebrity is required to do in order to sail. 
 

Making a shipwide announcement each time those protocols are implemented is not transparency, it's redundant.
 

Your definition of redundant is certainly different than mine. Making current passengers aware of what is actually taking place on their cruise is keeping them informed about the current situation and that’s what I call transparency. It’s going above and beyond what is required to do  

 

if you were to make the statement that you feel it was simply the wrong decision to make the announcement of when there’s were positive cases, I might actually agree with you.
 

Where I feel you are wrong is when you state not keeping passengers informed about the current status of positive COVID cases is Celebrity being transparent. 
 

MY APOLOGIES TO KEN FOR   TAKING YOUR AMAZING THREAD IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. 

Edited August 21, 2021 by RICCruisers

[Ken the cruiser]

That’s OK. It’s been a long 17 months with a lot of twists and turns for everyone. I’m just glad my DW and I are fortunate enough to be on this cruise. It has been such a great joy to kid around with the crew again. They work so hard, but are also so happy to be sailing again!! 😎

[jcpc]

Ken, I would be interested on your perspective as to whether 3 weeks on a cruise ship is a little bit too much time.  As much as I love to cruise, the longest cruise I did was a 14 nighter.  I'll be honest -- towards about night 11 or 12 I was kind of looking forward to going home.  Now, mind you, I was only home for 2 days and I wanted to go back on another cruise.  I think my ideal cruise length is 11 or 12 nights.  Do you think 21 days is too much or are you ready to re-up for next week's sailing?  Thanks.

[Tayana Freedom 45]

Hi Ken,

If you have a chance, please post the price of the bourbon being sold in the liquor store.  If you already posted this, just tell me and I will go back through this thread again.  I am enjoying your review and am looking forward to sailing on the Edge Sept. 4th.

 

Thanks, Diane

[CruisinBanka]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I wouldn’t be able to find out until embarkation day after, of course, we already got off the ship. As an alternative may I suggest you do a fake booking of each of our booked cruises, if the price for your category on either booking has gone down, submit the Best Price Offer form to get the difference posted in OBC to the applicable shipboard account, and then count all the vacant SS cabins before you get out of the booking process. I know, but one must keep oneself occupied if you’re retired like myself and I have mastered this process. 😎

 

Thanks! Thought I was the only one who did this! Last check only 4 SS cabins for the 28th and 47 for 9/4. 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, jcpc said:

Ken, I would be interested on your perspective as to whether 3 weeks on a cruise ship is a little bit too much time.  As much as I love to cruise, the longest cruise I did was a 14 nighter.  I'll be honest -- towards about night 11 or 12 I was kind of looking forward to going home.  Now, mind you, I was only home for 2 days and I wanted to go back on another cruise.  I think my ideal cruise length is 11 or 12 nights.  Do you think 21 days is too much or are you ready to re-up for next week's sailing?  Thanks.

It all depends on the itinerary. For quite awhile we did 7-11 day cruises around the Caribbean, to the Galapagos and to Alaska until we did a 21 day B2B on the Eclipse. The first 10 days was a RT Canary Islands cruise from Southampton followed by an 11 day TA back to NY. That was our first step into the 21+ day cruises.
 

After that we did a 22 day Antarctica cruise on the HAL Zaandam. We’ve also done a 40 day B2B cruise on the HAL Maasdam which included a 10 day cruise around the New Caledonia Islands followed by a 30 day Australia circumnavigation cruise which was truly outstanding.
 

We have also done a 25 day cruise on the Island Princess from Ft Lauderdale through the Panama Canal then onto Easter Island before winding up in Santiago, Chile. Then we did a 45 day B4B on the Oceania Riviera through the Mediterranean which included a TA back to Ft Lauderdale. Then there was the 16 day Cuba B2B cruise on the Oceania Sirena.

My point being, besides the fact that we are retired and have the time and funds to do these type of cruises, is that the itinerary has to be to places that interest you. For us it’s all about animals and in the case of the Med, ancient civilizations. As you can see in our future bookings, we have Africa and another Antarctica cruise in our sights along with some other itineraries that wow us.

 

As far as this B3B on the Edge, it was all about getting back to cruising regardless of what the destination was. But most IMPORTANTLY you have to cruise with someone you truly love sharing life with, because after all, isn’t that what it’s all about, creating memories with someone you love! 😎

 

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

But most IMPORTANTLY you have to cruise with someone you truly love sharing life with, because after all, isn’t that what it’s all about, creating memories with someone you love! 😎

Of course you're referring to @graphicguy, right? 🤣

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Tayana Freedom 45 said:

Hi Ken,

If you have a chance, please post the price of the bourbon being sold in the liquor store.  If you already posted this, just tell me and I will go back through this thread again.  I am enjoying your review and am looking forward to sailing on the Edge Sept. 4th.

 

Thanks, Diane

Here’s a list I found in the liquor store. Hope you can read it.

 

 

[Tayana Freedom 45]

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a list I found in the liquor store. Hope you can read it.

 

 

Thank you very much Ken.  This is perfect.

 

[graphicguy]

13 hours ago, RichYak said:

Of course you're referring to @graphicguy, right? 🤣

You funny!

 

Ken, unfortunately I don’t think we had a chance to meet on board, but am thoroughly enjoying your B2B2B report.  Agree with everything you’ve posted.

 

Enjoy this week.  Looking forward to hearing about it.

[Ken the cruiser]

The internet speed is on fire this morning at 3.54 mbps! Two weeks ago when we were on this same itinerary, the speed ranged between 2.5 - 2.75 mbps.

[Ken the cruiser]

6 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

You funny!

 

Ken, unfortunately I don’t think we had a chance to meet on board, but am thoroughly enjoying your B2B2B report.  Agree with everything you’ve posted.

 

Enjoy this week.  Looking forward to hearing about it.

Thanks! Our two threads definitely complimented each other as we were seeing the Edge from two different perspectives, but both emphasizing how great it was to be cruising again on such a wonderful ship! 😎

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Since I’m sitting on our balcony watching the waves go by along with a lone cargo ship off in the distance, I was thinking about this question that every once in a while comes up on CC and thought I’d mention it here. “What side of the ship should we book our cabin on?”

 

For us on this cruise we have been so lucky to be on the starboard side as our balcony has been on the shady side most of the time during the day, which really has been nice considering how hot and humid it’s been in the Caribbean our entire cruise.

 

We used to pick the side of the ship which we thought might be the most advantageous when it came to seeing land, especially in scenic places like Alaska and Antarctica, or cruising through the Med or the Baltic or even the Galapagos. Then, of course, there are the transoceanic cruises where land is rarely seen.

 

However, a few years ago we changed our strategy, mostly because we very much enjoy sitting on the balcony. Now, we look at which side of the ship would have the more likelihood of being in the shade based on the location of the sun.
 

For example, on a transoceanic cruise where you are going from east to west, an aft-facing balcony would most likely be in the shade from noon on whereas if you were going from west to east, that afternoon sun would not be so friendly. However, when it comes to picking either the port or starboard side, it depends on the location of the equator as well as the direction you’re going. For example, if you wanted to book a TP B2B cruise from Sydney to Hawaii and then on to Vancouver, what side would be the more shadier side or would an aft-facing cabin be the best pick?

 

Anyway, we’re getting ready to go to an enrichment lecture about Space exploration, so I will leave you that to ponder on if this subject interests you. 😎

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[countess5]

16 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Since I’m sitting on our balcony watching the waves go by along with a lone cargo ship off in the distance, I was thinking about this question that every once in a while comes up on CC and thought I’d mention it here. “What side of the ship should we book our cabin on?”

 

For us on this cruise we have been so lucky to be on the starboard side as our balcony has been on the shady side most of the time during the day, which really has been nice considering how hot and humid it’s been in the Caribbean our entire cruise.

 

We used to pick the side of the ship which we thought might be the most advantageous when it came to seeing land, especially in scenic places like Alaska and Antarctica, or cruising through the Med or the Baltic or even the Galapagos. Then, of course, there are the transoceanic cruises where land is rarely seen.

 

However, a few years ago we changed our strategy, mostly because we very much enjoy sitting on the balcony. Now, we look at which side of the ship would have the more likelihood of being in the shade based on the location of the sun.
 

For example, on a transoceanic cruise where you are going from east to west, an aft-facing balcony would most likely be in the shade from noon on whereas if you were going from west to east, that afternoon sun would not be so friendly. However, when it comes to picking either the port or starboard side, it depends on the location of the equator as well as the direction you’re going. For example, if you wanted to book a TP B2B cruise from Sydney to Hawaii and then on to Vancouver, what side would be the more shadier side or would an aft-facing cabin be the best pick?

 

Anyway, we’re getting ready to go to an enrichment lecture about Space exploration, so I will leave you that to ponder on if this subject interests you. 😎

 

Ken

 

It's all you this week for updates and thoughts! Graphicguy is on land and we have one week before our August 28th Edge cruise so keep it coming! 

 

Great observation and thoughts on cabin selection, at this point we just want to get on a ship! 😜

 

Look forward to the weeks comments.

 

Cheers! 

[Ken the cruiser]

Entertainment Update: So far we have seen a new comedian (Jim Collicon) as well as a new Enrichment lecturer (Ted Blank) on this leg, which have both been very entertaining. The new lecturer is a NASA Solar System Ambassador and is very good at explaining technical scientific advances in space travel in a way you can understand. He also provides lots of pictures, which is good!

 

We were kind of worried that we were going to be seeing the same guest entertainers from the first 2 legs,  but happily that’s not the case!

 

Today we decided to have lunch at Raw On 5. My DW had a lobster roll, which was lobster salad served in a tasty hot dog bun and I had the traditional fish and chips. We also shared a Sunset Roll, which was 8 pieces of sushi. It was all very tasty and the total bill was $34. As a side note, they use the same menu for lunch and dinner, except you can only get the Fish and Chips at lunch time.
 

However, since they still had no chocolate desserts, we headed down to Eden and shared a piece of absolutely wonderful chocolate cake and a brownie. So far, my DW’s favorite specialty restaurant is Raw On 5.

 

BTW as I believe I mentioned early on, the only reason we’re paying to eat at these specialty restaurants rather than eating our meals (for free) in Luminae is because we have a ton of nonrefundable OBC and will probably never have this chance again to eat like royalty when we’re on a cruise. But, at least this way, we will have some knowledge of what type of food these Edge class SRs serve, and which ones are actually worth the price when we have to spend real dollars when we sail on the Apex in November in a SV. Tonight, for example, we’re going to Le Petit Chef which should be pretty quiet as tonight is also the first Chic Night of the cruise! 😎