LIVE from the Edge - Alaska Dawes Glacier B2Bs May 24-June 7

[Stem to Stern]

You certainly have a knack for a thoroughly written, truly live review.  
This must not be your first rodeo.  😉

Enjoying every word and pic so far.👍

[vickykay]

Is the itinerary the same for both legs!

[hcat]

great review so far.. excellent pics.. brings back memories of being there  pre- cruise some years ago..

 

If I had that tub in my hotel room..I'd have to take a soak..esp pre- cruise and after a long flight.

 

I agree with you abt Crab Cakes.. Everyone raved about the ones in EDEN on Ascent..they had plenty of crab but were way salty!  Glad I only took a taste!

 

And those ribs   oh my !

[Chefwoody2]

Hey guys... great review so far.  We're onboard in two weeks.  Can you tell me what the shows are?.  

[mauimary]

Shannon and Ross… I am enjoying your review and are excited to follow along.  Have a wonderful cruise on the Edge. 

[SerraG]

 

The next morning we enjoyed the Nespresso in our room and packed up.  I can’t rave enough about the service and amenities of the Hotel 1000.  While I realize it was quite a splurge, it was by far one of the best hotels we’ve stayed in. 

 

We took an Uber from the hotel to Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91.  The ride was a little odd.   The car had a good vanilla smell when we got in, but progressively smelled worse as the ride went on.  I noticed there was a large stack of cardboard air fresheners 🌲on the console and two hanging from the rear view mirror. Also, our driver was strangely silent.  I asked how his day was going and he didn’t respond.  Maybe he didn’t hear me?  I tried a few more comments about the weather, but got no response.  🤷‍♀️

 

The first view of your cruise ship is so exciting, even if only in the distance!

 

 

There was quite a lot of traffic and a long wait to actually get into the cruise terminal, but eventually we pulled up between the Edge and the Ovation of the Seas.  

 

 

I was concerned we were unloading on the wrong side (next to the Ovation instead of the Edge)) but the road was set up in a nice loop so it was easy to get to the other side.   Because we are in a suite this cruise, we entered through the separate Retreat entrance and probably shaved an hour off of our wait time.  On one hand, I felt a little bad passing by other passengers, but on the other, it was glorious to be able to board so quickly. 

 

 

Our first view of the Martini Bar. 
 

 

We went directly to our  Magic Carpet Suite to drop off our carry-on.  The room was totally  ready for us when we arrived. 

 

 

 

 

We poured ourselves a glass of mediocre wine from our complementary bottle. 

 

 

Almost immediately our butler, Push, arrived  and introduced himself.  He was very friendly and explained a variety of things, such as how to order room service.  

 

He told us that they were implementing a brand new thing on this cruise that allows Retreat guests to text their butlers instead of calling them.  The program requires WhatsApp and you are supposed to just scan a QR code to add your butler to a chat. 

 

As soon as I scanned the code, my WhatsApp account was immediately suspended.

 

As I mentioned in another thread, this is particularly annoying because my daughter is currently in Spain and we were using WhatsApp to communicate.  At least Ross can still use his account. He did not scan the code after my failure.

 

Push contacted the retreat manager who met with us and looked at my phone, but didn’t think there was much she could do until WhatsApp reviewed my account.  She said they had tested lots of other phones and was surprised I had trouble.  We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. 

 

After breaking WhatsApp, we headed  to Luminae for our embarkation lunch.

 

 

 

 

The hostess had a perfect table for two right by the window overlooking the shoreline. 

 

 

Ross and I want to try as many cocktails as possible, which is going to be tough because we aren’t big drinkers.   We started with a Bourbon and Peaches to split. 

 

 

I tried it first and ended up with a big mouthful of bourbon because it wasn’t mixed in well yet.  After stirring it a bit, it was better.  Sweet with a peachy flavor as expected.  (Cocktail Rating:  6.5/ 10)

 

For my appetizer, I ordered the Kale Salad with Quinoa,  Orange Segments and Pistachios 

 

It was a very small serving, which was fine with me.  I’d rather try a variety of foods than have one big serving of the same thing.  The salad was good, however not exactly as listed on the menu.  It had fennel slices, but no pistachios.  Pistachios would have made it much better.   (Nuts seem to be a very rare item to find on Celebrity.)  The white vinegar dressing was light and the orange segments were refreshing.  

 

Ross had the Prawn Ceviche with Avocado and a Roasted Chili Emulsion.

 

 

 

This was great.  The shrimp were cooked well and flavorful. But the “chili emulsion” was more of a watered-down ketchup.  In any case, we both said we would order this one again. 

 

I had the Borscht Soup with Beef Short Rib and Sour Cream.  The flavor of the soup was good, but it was sooo oily.  To paraphrase Gordon Ramsey, “There is so much oil in this soup, that American might invade it!”  It definitely should have been de-fatted before serving.  There were pieces of short rib floating in the soup which were tasty, but felt a lot like the chef had just cut up leftover short ribs from the night before and chucked them in. 

 

 

Ross had the Luminae Signature Burger topped with Cheddar and Onion Jam on a Sesame Brioche Bun.

 

This was Good, but not the life changing experience like the first time we had it.  The patty itself was very juicy and seasoned well.  The cheese was okay, but the “onion jam” was just some pickled onions.  I would have preferred different toppings.   The french fries were adequate.  We could not detect any truffle flavor on them at all though.  

 

Ross also ordered a Creamy Lobster Roll on the side.  The lobster salad itself tasted good, but there was a _lot_ of bun and not much lobster.  I might order the lobster salad part in a bowl and tell them to hold the bun.

 

 

For dessert, I ordered the Creamy Dark Chocolate (Mouse) with Dulce de Leche and Mango Marmalade.

 

 

It was good, but the chocolate was very rich and there wasn’t enough Dulce de Lethe to offset the thick mouse.  In addition, I am almost certain that the “fruit jelly” cubes were pineapple and not mango marmalade, but I might be wrong.  

 

Ross had the Apple Berry Crumble. 

 

 

We loved this, although I didn’t realize it was supposed to the Apple Berry until I went back and read the menu.  It only contained blue berries.  There was maybe just a touch too much crumble and not enough berry, but the sweet topping was a perfect foil for the fruit. 

Edited May 26 by SerraG

[Georgia_Peaches]

SerraG it sounds like you are off and running!  Thanks for the pic of the Luminae menu.  The lobster roll appears to have too much mayo for my liking so will pass on that.  How nice you were able to snag a window view for your lunch!  And your stateroom looks lovely.  I noticed a lounger on your balcony, which is nice to see.

 

Question:  how has the indoor temperatures been in the public spaces?  A reviewer from last week indicated it was quite warm.  This intel has thrown my packing into a tail spin.  

 

Enjoy your first port of call!

Edited May 26 by Georgia_Peaches

[cruisetonowhere10]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

SerraG it sounds like you are off and running!  Thanks for the pic of the Luminae menu.  The lobster roll appears to have too much mayo for my liking so will pass on that.  How nice you were able to snag a window view for your lunch!  And your stateroom looks lovely.  I noticed a lounger on your balcony, which is nice to see.

 

Question:  how has the indoor temperatures been in the public spaces?  A reviewer from last week indicated it was quite warm.  This intel has thrown my packing into a tail spin.  

 

Enjoy your first port of call!

Will be watching for a temperature report.  🙂

[OrtonPark]

Loving this review! We will be in an Edge Magic Carpet Suite in September so I am eagerly reading your details. 
 

if you have time, could you please detail the Pier 91 boarding experience? I feel nervous about that part of the trip - is it well marked and easy to find? Is the suite line in a separate area? 
 

Thanks again! 

[billc23]

Thanks for taking time to do a live review! Your writing style is excellent having so much attention to detail and relevant information. Perhaps you are a professional writer?!!

What a treat to follow along.

[Jim_Iain]

8 hours ago, SerraG said:

Maybe he didn’t hear me?  I tried a few more comments about the weather, but got no response

 

I had an Uber Driver recently and he messaged us in advance letting us know he was hearing impaired and we could message him through the App.  He was one of the best drivers we have ever had.

[TinyG]

I am so glad you like the chowders! At the market location, we wish we would have had more time to get other things! That lobster roll is making me jealous. 

 

Glad to be following along! Enjoy your trip and please comment on the internet, we only had what was in the HIA package, so many times I was just getting nothing. 

[SerraG]

On 5/25/2024 at 3:21 PM, vickykay said:

Is the itinerary the same for both legs!

 

The itinerary is the exact same for both legs.  We wanted to take a long cruise and for one reason or another, this B2B was the only thing that fit while our daughter was on vacation.  It is working well though because it is allowing for a more relaxed vacation since we don't have quite so much FOMO.  Now we figure if we miss something, we can see it next time around.  

[SerraG]

On 5/25/2024 at 5:40 PM, hcat said:

If I had that tub in my hotel room..I'd have to take a soak..esp pre- cruise and after a long flight.

 

Oh, I did!  It was amazing.  The only thing that was a little strange was that the water spigot was actually located in the ceiling.  Ross said, "Huh, I wonder how they are going to keep this from splashing everywhere when it is running?"  Narrator:  They did not keep water from splashing everywhere.  lol.  🙂

[SerraG]

On 5/25/2024 at 3:51 PM, Chefwoody2 said:

Hey guys... great review so far.  We're onboard in two weeks.  Can you tell me what the shows are?.  

 

Here are screen shots of the shows from the app. Let me know you can’t see them well enough  to read them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope that helps! 😀

[SerraG]

11 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Question:  how has the indoor temperatures been in the public spaces? 

 

I have been happy with the temperature inside, but I generally run cold.  I packed one long-sleeved light weight cardigan that I bring with me everywhere.  I usually wear long pants, but many of my shirts are short sleeved, so I can just pop on my cardigan if I'm cold.  

 

I asked Ross and he said he feels comfortable in his short sleeved shirt and jeans, but he has a fairly wide comfortable temperature range, so that might not help you too much.  

 

 

[Gotten]

20 minutes ago, SerraG said:

 

I have been happy with the temperature inside, but I generally run cold.  I packed one long-sleeved light weight cardigan that I bring with me everywhere.  I usually wear long pants, but many of my shirts are short sleeved, so I can just pop on my cardigan if I'm cold.  

 

I asked Ross and he said he feels comfortable in his short sleeved shirt and jeans, but he has a fairly wide comfortable temperature range, so that might not help you too much.  

 

 

Shoot SerraG....we will be just missing each other.  From the Kansas City area, too, going on the same cruise June 7.

[SerraG]

10 hours ago, OrtonPark said:

Loving this review! We will be in an Edge Magic Carpet Suite in September so I am eagerly reading your details. 
 

if you have time, could you please detail the Pier 91 boarding experience? I feel nervous about that part of the trip - is it well marked and easy to find? Is the suite line in a separate area? 
 

Thanks again! 

 

I was trying to write some of my LIVE review while in the Uber, so I didn't pay a lot of attention until we were very close to the ship.  We pulled into a elipse-shaped roadway with the Edge on our right and the Ovation on our left.

 

I thought we would pull up to the curb in front of the Edge, but instead the driver kept going and pulled around so we were parked in front of the Ovation.  We got out of the car and there was a porter standing near us.  We asked if this was the correct location for the Edge and he said, "Yes."  He was wearing a bright colored vest (neither Ross, nor I can remember the actual color though.) with the word Celebrity printed on it.  He said anyone in a vest like that would be able to help us.  

 

The driver unloaded our luggage from the Uber and the porter loaded them onto his cart.  I had previously printed 3 luggage tags (one for each of our checked luggage) and folded them into strips as instructed.  The porter had me loop the strips around the handle of our luggage and he stapled them.  He then put them on his cart to deliver to the ship.  We kept our backpacks and one carry-on bag that we didn't want to be separated from.  

 

There was a lot of people and it was chaotic.  We walked next to the roadway (on a walkway) towards the top of the ellipse where we could see a building.  This part was obvious because everyone was headed in that direction.  As we got near the top of the circle, representatives from other cruise lines were kind of yelling for their passengers.  "Princess cruises this way!!"  We asked one of them where Celebrity was and they pointed to the building right in front of us at the top of the ellipse.

 

Many people were in line for Celebrity.  We saw a gray sign to the far right that said The Retreat.  We headed there and were greeted by a Celebrity representative who wanted to see our Xpass.  I had both of them pulled up on the app on my phone and showed them to her.  She also told us to make sure we had our passports. but did to require that I show them to her.  After that, we were directed up an escalator where we were directed to join the line for security.  Everyone (not just the Retreat) gets in this line.  It seems long but moved fast.  We had to empty our pockets and put our bags on an x-ray machine, and then walk through a metal detector.

 

At this point, we were directed to get in yet another line to check-in.  I spoke up and said, "We are in the Retreat.  Is this the correct line?"  The man said, "Oh, no.  Wait here."  So we waited by him for a bit and then a woman came and got us and another couple who had joined us in the mean time.  The woman led us behind a rope to a kiosk and then asked us for our passports and Xpasses.  She took our pictures, gave us our sea pass cards told us we would not need our passports again so we could put them away.   Then she led us to the gangway.  We had to show our new Seapass cards to someone and he "beeped" us through and onto the ship.  Yay!

Edited May 27 by SerraG

[SerraG]

9 hours ago, billc23 said:

Perhaps you are a professional writer?!!

 

Ha!  I am not, but thank you for the compliment! 🙂  I have written a few travel blogs from various trips though.  I like to keep a detailed blog so I when I return home, I can turn it into one of those photo books as a memento of our trip.  We have books from years ago and they are always so much fun to look through again. 

 

[SerraG]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I had an Uber Driver recently and he messaged us in advance letting us know he was hearing impaired and we could message him through the App.

 

That may have been the case, but I am now thinking that he might not have spoken almost any English. 

[SerraG]

39 minutes ago, Gotten said:

Shoot SerraG....we will be just missing each other.  From the Kansas City area, too, going on the same cruise June 7.

 

That is a bummer!  We saw someone in a Mahomes shirt last night and were so excited.  Ross walked up and said, "Oh!  Are you from Kansas City?"  The guy said, "No."  Ross said, "Oh, I just thought because of your shirt..” and pointed at it.  The guy just shook his head no.  It was like he didn't realize he had on a Kansas City shirt.  Alrighty then! lol. 

Edited May 27 by SerraG

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, SerraG said:

FOMO

Fear of missing out…I had to look that one up!

Going to try it out on my 20-something daughter to see if I’m more hip than she is…probably not 😂😆. 

[SerraG]

After lunch we explored the ship. Ross wanted to start at the top and work our way down, so I’ll start by sharing some views of the Retreat sun deck.

 

 

 

There is are cubbies with complementary towels, blankets, sunscreen and even sunglasses.

 

 

 

 

Next we got this view overlooking the main pool.

 

 

The jogging track does a figure-eight along two different decks on the Edge.  

 

 

 

At this point we encountered the Sunset Bar, which was the windiest and thus coldest area on the ship.  One brave couple was camped out at the bar but most others had ordered their drinks and the sought shelter from the wind elsewhere.  I think we were supposed to have a cruise critic meet-up here, but it was too unpleasant for me. 

 

We had a nice view of Seattle from Deck 15.

 

 

And I love that Ross got a picture of me taking that photo of the Seattle skyline.

 

 

I also really appreciated this giant statue of a horse.

 

 

The Magic Carpet was a bit busier than the Sunset Bar, but still too wet ☔️and cold 🥶 for my tastes! 

 

 

 

We made our way inside and found the Solarium.

 

 

There was a sign up saying that there would be family hours for the cruise between 5-7pm.  I think this is a good idea because most adults will be getting ready or eating dinner during this time and it gives the kids some at least some chance to swim during a bad weather cruise.

 

 

There were little signs on every lounger in the Solarium warning people not to reserve the chairs.

 

 

The solarium was a much better temperature for us, so we parked ourselves in front of a nice window and rested for a bit.

 

Edited May 27 by SerraG

[kxnhra]

We have a family trip on the Edge in August so am looking forward to your future commentary.  Great job so far!

 

[SerraG]

Here are several photos from the Ocean View Cafe’s Embarkation Lunch. It was probably towards the end of service but was still quite busy.  We did not eat there, but snapped a few photos on our way through.