Edge review 1/13

[NMTraveller]

3 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

I really don't understand the change in beef selections.  Royal Caribbean, which just introduced new MDR menus, have prime rib, filets and other beef items included on the menus.  Why would Celebrity, which is part RCI, not offer the same?  It makes no sense.

Agreed.  Why does X have menus with less quality cuts than Royal?

[newtocruiseinblue]

On 1/24/2023 at 9:11 PM, gizmodog said:

Just got home today from a very very different Celebrity cruise. First let me say, I am elite plus so I am not a newbie with celebrity, secondly I love cruising and even though this was not the cruising style I am use to I enjoyed myself just being on the ocean and enjoying the wind, weather and sounds of the sea.

now…..the ship is clean, the staff try, but whatever has happened to this cruise line in a year is hard to understand.

the buffet is drastically cut back in the evening, no pasta bar, but there is a stir fry area, there are breads and cheeses, dessert choices, fruit, salad bar and a station with food of the evening. That is it. Pizza is always available in the back, which I love. I ate twice in the buffet for dinner, had stir fry each night and ate pizza quite a bit for lunch or a snack.

Drinks were terrible the number of fru fru 

blended drinks I got, BBC, DIRTY MONKEY, MIAMI VICE, PINA COLADA, more than half of them were undrinkable. Not blended enough, not smooth and creamy, no drinks were ever made the same which makes me wonder if the bartenders were ever trained. The number of servers in the pool area was not able to keep up with the number of people at the pool.

now the biggie, the main dining rooms. There was never a steak on the menu for all 10 nights other than the always available sirloin. No filet, no rib eye, no prime rib. The beef choices were short ribs, beef bourginonne, which was like having stew, I like stew, but I do expect a little more on a cruise. There was lots of pork, lamb, a pasta choice each night, black cod in one of the restaurants, other than that not even much seafood. 
my big disappointment was the stale breadsticks (which I love and look forward to) and do I even want to mention the lobster? These lobster were so small they looked like they would be illegal to keep if caught. Mine was served upside down with the shell showing, the meat was tough and no melted butter was offered to sprinkle on the lobster. It was served with a pile of rice pilaf and broccoli. We never had enough butter at our table of 6. No coffee was ever offered after dinner, not once!  We were informed a charge of 16.99 plus 18% gratuity would be charged if we wanted another lobster….who would??? Desserts were for the most part good, the bananas foster tasted like old bananas that probably should have been thrown out so they used them for dessert, plus they were not nice sliced bananas they were one banana cut in fours, you were served two of those 4..

I really don’t know what else to say, did I go hungry? no. Did I enjoy my dinners? Not really, I’m very saddened as to what has happened to what was my favorite cruise line

We leave in a month for Antartica on the Infinity and I can say my usual excitement is just not there, I’m sure I will love the scenery and the thrill of being somewhere I’ve never been but 14 days of this food and service is not my idea of a celebrity cruise.

What about salmon? Is that still on the menu? Sorry you were disappointed and I hope your next cruise goes better. ❤️

[Gracie115]

13 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Agreed.  Why does X have menus with less quality cuts than Royal?

 

Makes no sense at all.  

[gizmodog]

Yes salmon on menu everyday

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

I really don't understand the change in beef selections.  Royal Caribbean, which just introduced new MDR menus, have prime rib, filets and other beef items included on the menus.  Why would Celebrity, which is part RCI, not offer the same?  It makes no sense.

Sounds like all of the Celebrity beef is being shipped over to Royal!!

[jalves]

On 1/28/2023 at 12:16 AM, Reel Love said:

But where I honestly become a bit confused and hoping you or someone else can help me understand is how/why they continue to raise prices when the ships are not sailing full? 

If they can make the same money from fewer guests it works to their advantage.  

[Texed]

Gizmodog,

We will be on Edge in April.  So, thanks for the report.  😊

[gizmodog]

You’re welcome, and I do hope you have a better cruise and things on board get better. Could have been an isolated number of incidents on ours.

[tfred]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:42 PM, Jockocruiser said:

Just off the Infinity 12-day South American Santiago to BA 02-14Jan2023.

Replaced a cancelled 2022 Oceania similar itinerary. 

Extremely disappointing is the only way to describe it.  We were Aqua class, Blu.

 

Food -

Food just OK; we had Anytime MDR four nights, Tuscan 2-nights, Blu for the other nights. None were outstanding. Yes, Steaks were sirloin not ribeyes.  Le Pitit was poor service, and we were told that the promised "media show" was down due to AV problems.  When the waiter deposited foil wrapped butter on the bread plate, and when the bar service and waiter never materialized, we got up from the table and left the room.   Spoke to the Maiter 'd who didn't even apologize. (We weren't charged)

 

Cruise Director Alejandro was simply awful. Three theatre presentations with him. He should NEVER be allowed on another cruise. Entertainment was equally bad. High school reviews at best.

 

There was ZERO destination enrichment, discussion of history, politics, important events, etc. Never a mention, let alone discussion, of the Portuguese and Spanish explorers.  Magellan, Darwin, Cook, the Beagle? NOTHING!  We expected much much more on this cruise. Instead the staff treated this departure as a Caribbean cruise with South American day stops.

 

Activities -

Activities were very juvenile.  One Constellation Lounge show was "Simon Says", "musical hoops/chairs” and body balloon pops.  This in the late afternoon or evening in the Constellation Lounge…. Are you kidding me?!  Gee, I was expecting Hairy Chest and Biggest Belly contests next!  It was like NCL or Carnival around the pool in the 1970s.

 

I don’t recall the activities director’s name - as she was easily forgettable.  She was clearly going though the motions; The eye-rolls told you she didn’t like Alejandro’s antics much either.  Golf putting contest, and Bocce in the hallway by the Martini bar?

 

There were at least two sessions of music and general trivia knowledge.  One where the MC’s accent couldn’t enunciate the name of the song or artist. Gee that’s fun!  (Not)  There were THREE theatre discussions about past Hollywood movie stars and celebrities.  Did we fly nine hours for 12-days of South America experiences for that?  Give me a break!

 

Entertainment -

Nice if you like high school kids pretending to be on Broadway.

Comedian was pretty good, but they moved his second show to 2:30 in the afternoon.  Sure, lot of laughs from a sober audience in the mid-afternoon.

 

Two other “late shows” were cancelled.  Alejandro’s “explanation”: Too many Americans went to bed early, and the Latins wouldn’t show up because they were still eating.

 

The “Silent Disco” was different, but again only lasted for 45 minutes.  Solo guitarist was awful, the Latin group playing past hits and the reggie band were tolerable, but just barely.

 

Best music was by the two ladies on the violin and cello in the Wine Cellar and foyer.  They were excellent!

 

Embarkation -

Embarkation was a TOTAL DISASTER!  Despite repeated email notices about boarding at assigned times to ensure a quick and orderly boarding, the pier-side area was a long line backed up for hours.  The check-in process was totally redundant.

 

What is the purpose to complete the ON-LINE check-in days before departure if the entire process is repeated upon arrival and handled by a bunch of 20-year old locals with zero familiarity with the process? The third party cruise port staff stood around doing nothing! Refreshments, snacks, adequate seating, or music while waiting?  Nope. No sign of the cruise staff at all.  Apologies afterwards?  No again.

 

The online app is worthless, and the inability of crew to explain the workings of the app and internet access was very poor. We eventually got it working on our devices, but it was still very frustrating.  And the changes required messed up our iPhone settings when we reached shoreside excursions and at the end of the cruise. 

 

I stopped counting cruise ship trips after 50.  This will surely be the last Celebrity cruise departure.

you should probably find another way to vacation 

[Reel Love]

2 hours ago, jalves said:

If they can make the same money from fewer guests it works to their advantage.  

True!  

[granddutchess]

We were just recently on the Edge and had a wonderful sailing.   All of the dining room staff were personable and present.  Different menu choices daily.  Enjoyed all of the 4 MDR's.  No complaints whatsoever. My DH and I felt all of the Celebrity Edge staff went above and beyond to make sure we had an excellent cruise experience.  Our sailing was at FULL CAPACITY.  Concierge cabin with the IV was beautiful.  Celebrity still provides a quality product.  I guess each of us has a different definition of quality.  

[horseymike]

22 hours ago, jalves said:

If they can make the same money from fewer guests it works to their advantage.  

Bingo.

[sharonann24]

10 hours ago, granddutchess said:

We were just recently on the Edge and had a wonderful sailing.   All of the dining room staff were personable and present.  Different menu choices daily.  Enjoyed all of the 4 MDR's.  No complaints whatsoever. My DH and I felt all of the Celebrity Edge staff went above and beyond to make sure we had an excellent cruise experience.  Our sailing was at FULL CAPACITY.  Concierge cabin with the IV was beautiful.  Celebrity still provides a quality product.  I guess each of us has a different definition of quality.  

Good to hear!  We leave two weeks from today and I am definitely in "pre cruise" mode!  Looking forward to the warmer weather.  How did you find the pool/sundeck with regards to crowds?

[Ipeeinthepools]

On 1/28/2023 at 11:11 AM, NMTraveller said:

Agreed.  Why does X have menus with less quality cuts than Royal?

Because they know they Celebrity cheerleaders won’t care

[granddutchess]

Sharonann24.  We spend our time in the Solarium pool area.  It was not bad at all finding a lounger in a good spot.  Enjoy your cruise. We had wonderful weather.

[gizmodog]

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise on the edge, I’m hoping mine was just a one time bad cruise. Was this your first celebrity cruise?

[sharonann24]

1 hour ago, granddutchess said:

Sharonann24.  We spend our time in the Solarium pool area.  It was not bad at all finding a lounger in a good spot.  Enjoy your cruise. We had wonderful weather.

Thanks again for your input.  I know everyone's experience is different.

[jelayne]

On 1/27/2023 at 11:16 PM, Reel Love said:

Great post terrydtx and agree with all of your comments.  But where I honestly become a bit confused and hoping you or someone else can help me understand is how/why they continue to raise prices when the ships are not sailing full?  I have read several posts of some ships sailing a few hundred to even several hundred passengers below capacity so to my way of thinking, would Celebrity not lower the prices to fill the cabins?  Granted I have a pretty rudimentary understanding of economics lol

One reason is they are short staffed.  The specialty restaurants on all 6 sailings we have been on in the past year have only been booking to 50% because they don’t have staff to handle more.  Staff shortages can be seen in slower beverage service, cabin attendants handling more cabins,  waiters handling more tables. 
 

Some crew chose not to return after Covid, others are hampered by delays in getting visas.  Our cruise at the end of October we had over 100 brand new crew board to begin training and there were at least another 100 who had been on for 10 days and were still learning their jobs 

So while they aren’t turning away bookings they aren’t dropping prices to fill the ships which would further impact service until they can get staff trained and on the ships.

[Reel Love]

4 hours ago, jelayne said:

One reason is they are short staffed.  The specialty restaurants on all 6 sailings we have been on in the past year have only been booking to 50% because they don’t have staff to handle more.  Staff shortages can be seen in slower beverage service, cabin attendants handling more cabins,  waiters handling more tables. 
 

Some crew chose not to return after Covid, others are hampered by delays in getting visas.  Our cruise at the end of October we had over 100 brand new crew board to begin training and there were at least another 100 who had been on for 10 days and were still learning their jobs 

So while they aren’t turning away bookings they aren’t dropping prices to fill the ships which would further impact service until they can get staff trained and on the ships.

Thank you so much, jelayne.  Makes sense.

[sunandsalt]

After years of sailing exclusively on  RC, we decided to book X for the different itinerary and their reputation for high quality food. Over all, we had a great cruise, enjoyed the ship, ports, entertainment  and have booked another X cruise. But I completely agree with OP regarding the main dining room meals and the inconsistency of the drinks. We found the breakfast and lunch in the buffet had a nice selection and were well prepared. Never ate there for dinner, but we did walk through and the offerings looked quite sparse.

 

The biggest disappointment for us was the Fine Cut Steakhouse. In comparison to Chops on RC it was a letdown. We were seated at the back of the restaurant facing the freight elevator at the busy entrance to the kitchen.  I ordered the "Lobster Tail" which consisted of 2 tiny strips of lobster meat on top of a singular piece of lobster ravioli. DW ordered the rib steak, which she shared with me. We found it to be comparable to what we could get at your average land based chain steakhouse. Not worth the extra cost and will not do that again.

 

To end on a positive note, the Edge is a beautiful and well designed ship. The crew was always pleasant and helpful. 

[kwokpot]

39 minutes ago, sunandsalt said:

We were seated at the back of the restaurant facing the freight elevator at the busy entrance to the kitchen. 

If a particular dining table location isn't suitable for you for whatever reason one should request whether there's another table elsewhere. We routinely do this whether on a cruise or a land based restaurant. It isn't being difficult or demanding, you're the customer. The worst they can say is there isn't any other table available. The best is you are seated at a table that enhances your dining experience instead of detracting from it. 

[cruisemom42]

On 1/25/2023 at 8:01 PM, NMTraveller said:

I have heard a lot of talk about these small lobsters.  Are you sure that they aren't crawdads? 🙂

 

Celebrity: Where the crawdads sing....for your supper.

[JDPCruisers]

We have cruised on Millie (2019), Apex and Infinity (both in 22) and had a great experience across the board. Food was very good, staff friendly and attentive, and no issues at the bars with any drinks. We don't typically do shows, so no feedback there. We are on RC Allure next week and booked for Edge (Southern Caribbean) in April and Reflection in October (Greece/Malta/TA), so hoping our previous X experiences hold true for those! I will chime in and let CC folks know. 

[PTC DAWG]

I have enjoyed sailing Celebrity, some of the higher ups better start paying attention to these complaints..the food cutbacks since Jan 1 are not acceptable to me.  
 

I was just on MSC Meraviglia Yacht Club…standard balcony less than 6k all in for my Wife and I. I am not sure I could have asked for more. 

[granddutchess]

gizmodog.  It was our 18th cruise with Celebrity/Royal Caribbean.  Enjoy.