Live on Edge Down Under - Mar 24 & Apr 5 - NZ and S Australia 🛳️🇦🇺🦘🇳🇿🥝🛳️

[Galaxy2004]

Thanks so much for all the great information and letting us tag along virtually through your trip. Congrats on the grandbaby!

[Ciaranaman]

Awww, treasure those moments!  Best ending to a wonderful adventure!

~Bernadette

[emdmistycc]

Congrats on that new grandbaby….what a treasure!
 

Elaine

[afto]

Congratulations on the new grandbaby! Thanks for taking the time to post this great review. We took the Edge from Auckland to Sydney and February and visited many of the ports so enjoyed the chance to relive some of that trip through this review.

Edited April 17 by afto

[81Zoomie]

Well, we are finally on the last legs of our journey home 🏡, SLC-AUS-MCO on Southwest.  We had a wonderful time meeting our newest grandson 💙.  It is a crystal clear day in SLC, but a chilly 43 deg this morning.

 

 

I wanted to provide a quick final review of our cruises and adventures in Australia and New Zealand.  Everything is subjective and these are our takeaways.  Others may have a different opinion.

 

Sydney - It is an awesome world city 🌆👍🌆!!!  We spent 6.5 days there and loved every minute.  It is clean, easy to navigate, has a ton of things to see and do, and wonderful open spaces and walkways.  We would love to return!  The people are friendly and helpful 😀.  We enjoyed seeing the more diverse southern coast and Tasmania.

 

 

New Zealand - While Australia is big and bold, NZ is quieter and more understated.  It was more green and lush than we expected.  Agriculture is big business.  Kiwis live with the constant threat of earthquakes and volcanoes 🫨.  They have proven to be a very resilient people.  Like their Aussie neighbors, they are so very friendly and helpful. 😃

 

 

Edge - The ship was in very good condition. Appearance inside and out was commendable.  We were quite impressed with her upkeep 👍.

 

 

Food - This is subjective and YMMV.  We found the best food, presentation, and quality to be in Eden.  Hands down, it was a premium experience.  Luminae was good to very good, but not on the same level as Eden.  Le Petite Chef was fine for what it was.  For us, one and done.  Raw on 5 was a nice experience.  Food was as expected, and the staff was great.  The Oceanview had a good selection.  Perfect to grab breakfast or a quick lunch.  As usual, it could be very congested at peak times.  Spa Cafe is a nice place to grab a quick bite, but hours are limited.  Same goes for the Eden cafe.  We did grab hot dogs and burgers at the Mast Grill a few times.  The Retreat snacks were handy, but hours are limited and the offerings are pretty much the same everyday.  We did not eat in Blu, main dining, Chef’s table, Fine Cut, Rooftop Grill, or dinner on the Edge.  Waiters were selling specialty dining up to the last day at every entrance and inside the Oceanview.  We found specialty dining venues to have lots of empty tables.

 

 

Wine - There is so much written about this.  In summary, Celebrity should be embarrassed by the low end, poorly rated, cheap wines they serve as “premium”.  We either brought our own or paid $3 to $10 extra a glass to drink reasonable quality wine to complement our meals.  We were never asked to sign a slip in Luminae.  Our second cruise was billed as a “Wine Cruise”, but there were no special lectures, wines, or events to make the title a reality.

 

 

Bars - We found bar service to be good.  The outdoor bars were closed on several days due to poor weather.  On other days it was quite chilly out.  So Magic Carpet, Skyview, and Pool Bar did little to relieve congestion inside.  The Martini bar area was normally packed.  It was next to impossible to get a seat at the Martini Bar.  The Casino bar is a little known option.  Cafe Al Bacio seating was very full most times of the day.  It was a popular spot.  The Club is a bit like a dark box.  There was little atmosphere in that bar.  Our favorite bar was Eden.  It was bright, open, and had a view of the water!  We were always able to find a seat at the bar in Eden.  With few exceptions, drinks were liberally poured and bar tenders were happy to accommodate requests. NOTE: If you do not specify what brand of wine or spirits you want, you will most likely be served the classic package selections.

 

Gym - The best indoor public forward view of the ship is in the gym!  We frequented the gym about every other day.  It was more crowded on sea days and mornings which is to be expected.  The cardio equipment was plentiful and included treadmills, ellipticals, bikes (including Peleton), and rowers.  Some of the weight machines were odd pulley types.  There were 3 benches and the full range of free weights plus a rack.  The weight bench area got congested at times.  
 

 

Casino - Yea, three cheers for a smoke free Casino experience 🎉🥳🎊.  The Casino 🎰🎰🎰 was closed a considerable amount of time while we were at sea.  Twice it was closed for 48 hours when the route selected remained within 12 miles of the coast.  This is very different from Caribbean cruises where the ships zip out to sea to get the casinos open.  Other times it opened an hour or two later than what was printed in the schedule.  There was never an explanation.  This detracted from activity options during poor outside weather conditions.

 

 

Spa - We did not use the spa.  The spa attendants were all around the ship offering free 5 minute teaser treatments. 
 

Entertainment - Loved our cruise director Giuseppe 🇮🇹.  He was great!!! He seemed more genuine than others and had a great sense of humor. Apparently he saves room in his luggage by leaving socks at home 🧦🧦🧦🧦😂. The main act singers were pretty good.  Perhaps, not as high a caliber as in the past.  Musicians were quite good.  Production shows were fine.  They don’t change much throughout the year on all the ships.  We really liked the live music in the bars.  The game shows were fun, but were mostly in The Club which has limited seating and poor sight lines.

 

 

 

Crew - As always, the crew worked so hard and were eager to please.  The cabin and wait staff did appear to be at their limit with workload. The bridge officers were not very visible, or at least not when we were out and about.  We felt uninformed about expected weather conditions, which were quite bad at times. The Captain only briefed at 10 am when at sea.  There were no announcements or postings on the TV when we sailed away from port.  So, we had no idea about what to expect unless we looked up the sea state and weather online.  
 

Itinerary - The 12 night NZ itinerary provided a quick overview of the country.  I would liken it to speed dating.  The weather was very good on this sailing.  We would have appreciated a few less ports and more time in port.  For example, only had 4.5 hours in Napier.  We would have loved an overnight in Auckland or Christchurch.  The scenic cruising in the sounds was breathtaking!  The 9 night South Australian itinerary provided more sea days.  The weather was awful on all our sea days.  We all had to be flexible and enjoy the roller coaster conditions with wind and rain.  Fortunately, port days were nice. Tasmania was very interesting.  We would have loved an overnight in Adelaide to explore more of the wine regions.  We didn’t love Melbourne as much as Sydney, but still found it interesting.

 

 

 

Cabin - We were in an aft MC SS on deck 10.  We loved the cabin layout, large balcony, and the big bathroom!  We did not enjoy the clicking, snapping, creaking in rough seas and windy conditions.  Yes, we did lose some sleep over this and reported it.  There were no vacant suites to move us to.  Our cabin attendant was awesome!  Most comfortable bed we have had on any cruise 👍👍👍.  We attribute this to the memory foam mattress topper.  They only complaint other than the noise was that our windows and sliding door, balcony railing, and chairs were not cleaned by anyone but me for the entire 3 weeks.  They were frequently coated with salt spray and water 💦 (up on deck 10).

 

 

 

Butler - 😂😂😂 There was so much written about “butlergate” we didn’t know what to expect.  We did have a butler we shared with 22 other suites.  He was not a head butler.  Our butler had zero initiative.  He did bring us our requested water bottles and Red Bulls. When we saw him in the hall he would ask if we needed anything.  Beyond that nothing.  No fruit, snacks, chocolate, nothing.  We had to gather our own water on several occasions. He never went above or beyond the few things we asked of him.  Then again, we were in a lowly sky suite 😉.

 

Retreat Sundeck - When the weather permitted and in the NZ Sounds, this was a very nice amenity.  The outdoor bar was a nice feature.

 

 

 

 

Retreat Lounge - This was a nice place to go especially in poor weather or when DH was sleeping.  However, the layout is a bit odd with the seating lined up against the wall and low hanging lights.  The floor to ceiling windows at the sides allowed for unrestricted views 👍.  We found the Retreat Concierges tended to huddle around their table and podium wad were not very social.  We made a couple of requests which were met with minimal success.  The bar servers were just the opposite.  They were social and engaging.  However, when it was crowded drink service was very slow.  We wish E class had a bar you could sit at in the Retreat with live music.

 

Luminae - By the numbers according to our waiter; seating for 180 with full suite passenger capacity of 400.  Not certain how accurate his #s are.  Our wait staff was excellent.  They were helpful, accommodating, and looked after my food allergy. The food for the most part was good to very good.  The lamb chops and the filets were excellent.  The chocolate sphere was our favorite dessert. Capacity was an issue.  The more crowded it was, the slower the service.  Luminae did not appear to be adequately staffed to handle a full restaurant.  We were handed a buzzer on several occasions, it worked once.  Of all the meals, breakfast was the most mediocre with inconsistent service. They need more wine stewards and assistant waiters.  We frequently had to wait for water, wine, bread, coffee, etc.  While the Luminae experience was good, it is not up to the same standard as pre CV.

 

 

Shoreside Concierge - This can be summed up in one word, FAIL.  I am not certain why Celebrity sends out the emails and/or calls asking for your requests.  I filled it out for both our cruises and not one of the requests was met.  Special event - Ignored. Extra Hangers - Nope.  We finally received a handful of wire hangers. Choice of wine - Nope. Additionally, I requested a mattress topper - Nope.  The cabin attendant did bring one upon request.  Thermostat - Seems silly as you can adjust on your own.

 

E Class

 

- Pros - Magic Carpet as a tender platform

           - Retreat Sun Deck

           - Walking track

           - Eden (all the old creepy aspects are gone!)

           - Sky Suite bathrooms

           - High ceilings in Oceanview Cafe

           - Motion activated touchless doors in public areas

           - Clean contemporary decor.  Some of the  

             uncomfortable Hoppen seating has been

             replaced.

 

- Cons - No open atrium

            - Tends to be priced higher than M and S Class

              voyages

            - Higher number of suites

            - Slow tendering and disembarkation in ports of

              call

            - No views in Martini Bar and The Club Bar

            - IV Verandahs.  Not to our liking.  More like a

              panoramic oceanview.

            - Undisclosed noise issues in many cabins in

              rough seas.

            - Lack of shade outside

            - Lack for forward view public spaces. No

              forward view lounge.  No forward view except

              for Retreat Sundeck, Thermal Spa Sundeck,        
              and the gym 🏋️‍.

            - Lack of overhead space heaters and protection

              from rain in outdoor bars and restaurants.

              
In summary, we had a great experience down under 🦘🥝🍷.  Thank you for following along 😊.  We loved our time in Australia and NZ.  It was a long way to go, but so worth it ❤️.  We learned so much about the history, culture, and geography.  Our cruise experience was very nice and we wouldn’t hesitate to sail with Celebrity again if the itinerary, timing, and price make the voyage appealing.  For our third Celebrity cruise in a row, however, we did not book another cruise on board.  While there are positive things about the E class, our sweet spot is S class.  We have also found that rotating cruise lines helps to keep the experiences from becoming too repetitive.  For the moment, no cruise on any line is shouting book me 📣.

 

After 35 days, we are finally home ❤️.  This was twice as long as we have ever vacationed.  Our bodies still are not sure what time or day it is, or when to sleep.  The scale tipped in at a 2 pound gain for me.  Not too bad.  My watch reported health gains with a lower respiration rate and increase in flights of stairs!  I’ll take that as a positive 👍.  Should be easy to burn off those pounds pulling weeds in the garden 😎.  Our little princess kitty greeted us with multiple serenades… all night 😽.  Not sure if she was rejoicing we were home, or scolding us for being gone!

 

 

 

Our spring and summer will be filled with domestic 🇺🇸 trips to see family and friends.  Our next cruise is port intensive in the Adriatic/Mediterranean in September 2024.  We will be sailing on the Connie in an Oceanview cabin.  It will be our first time on the Connie.  We will mix in a few days in Venice 🚤 before and a few days in Rome 🏛️ after.  Then for a large side step up to the Netherlands 🇳🇱 to catch a TA back home on HAL’s Rotterdam.  One thing for certain, we will skinny down our packing by half 🧳🧳!  We are looking forward to our first TA and not having to fly ✈️ home!  Let the countdown begin 🕰️😁🛳️💶🛫.

 

 

Edited April 19 by 81Zoomie

[depplep]

Super detailed review and follow up. What a wonderful trip. Thank you for doing this.

[mchell810]

Thanks for this lovely trip blog.  I hope you'll bring us along for your September cruise.  😀

[Boatharbour]

Thank you so much for this wonderful review. We sailed with you on the first leg to NZ and wholeheartedly agree with your comments. You have an engaging writing style and I look forward to reading about your next trip. You deserve another holiday after such a long journey home!

[81Zoomie]

@Boatharbour, thanks so much!  The feel of the NZ trip 🥝🥝 had a better vibe than our S Australian cruise IMHO.  It may be due to the amazing weather we experienced in NZ versus the rough, tumble, and rain 🌊🌊 off the coast in S Australia!

 

Versus….

 

This is my first return from extended vacation after retirement, so I am on holiday 🥳😎🥳!  We will be land based all summer.  Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, NL, UK, France, Belgium, Bermuda, and Bahamas on our cruise itineraries in the fall! 🛳️🛳️

[scrapcreator]

Thank you so much for your detailed review and summary. Welcome home and congratulations on your newest grandson.

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for such a wonderful live post.   Really enjoyed all of your photos. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 4/14/2024 at 11:14 PM, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Is this based on what you win or how much you spend? Understood there’s likely a correlation.  Not really gamblers but curious.

It is based on the amount of money you gamble...

 

e.g.   if you put in $100 and won $500 you only get credits for $100.  

[Jim_Iain]

One thing I've noticed is that on Edge they have the same Daniel B menu every night.   On Solstice they have 7 days original and 7 day new.  So the Chocolate pill is replaced with the Pistachio Vacheron on the second half of many cruises.

[81Zoomie]

19 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for such a wonderful live post.   Really enjoyed all of your photos. 

 

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

One thing I've noticed is that on Edge they have the same Daniel B menu every night.   On Solstice they have 7 days original and 7 day new.  So the Chocolate pill is replaced with the Pistachio Vacheron on the second half of many cruises.

Hi @Jim_Iain!  We beat you to Honolulu 🤣😎🤣.  It looked a lot like Sydney on the day we met you ☔️🌧️☔️.

 

So glad you enjoyed the pics.  You and Iain warmed Edge up for us.  It sounds like you are enjoying a little more variety on Solstice👍.  A little change up is welcome.  We are enjoying following along on your journey as we have so many times.  Your pictures are amazing.

This is the best Vacheron I remember.  It may have been mixed berry, but there is some green???  Millennium 2022.

 

  

We wish you safe journeys, calm seas, and sunny skies ☀️!

 

[TheHawk1]

Thanks for the informative review... gave me some good ideas for our cruise.  I booked the Edge cruise that goes from Sydney to Auckland but drops you off there, rather than return to Sydney.  When you said you wished you had more time in Auckland, now I know I made the right choice, as we can stay in NZ for a couple nights post-cruise, before flying home. 

[81Zoomie]

4 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

Thanks for the informative review... gave me some good ideas for our cruise.  I booked the Edge cruise that goes from Sydney to Auckland but drops you off there, rather than return to Sydney.  When you said you wished you had more time in Auckland, now I know I made the right choice, as we can stay in NZ for a couple nights post-cruise, before flying home. 

I know you will enjoy both Sydney and Auckland ❤️❤️.  We wish we would have had more time to explore the interior areas in NZ.  It is a beautiful country!

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

 

Hi @Jim_Iain!  We beat you to Honolulu 🤣😎🤣.  It looked a lot like Sydney on the day we met you ☔️🌧️☔️.

 

So glad you enjoyed the pics.  You and Iain warmed Edge up for us.  It sounds like you are enjoying a little more variety on Solstice👍.  A little change up is welcome.  We are enjoying following along on your journey as we have so many times.  Your pictures are amazing.

This is the best Vacheron I remember.  It may have been mixed berry, but there is some green???  Millennium 2022.

 

  

We wish you safe journeys, calm seas, and sunny skies ☀️!

 

 

I had the Vacheron the other day.  It was nicely plated and really tasted good.     Safe time home