cachouonacruise

I also had to change my password on X website and it worked. Of note, yesterday, I was unable to log in Cruise Critics either.

I certainly don't have your cruise experience level, nor do I sail in the retreat or in suites. This said, I agree with your conclusion! Celebrity Edge did not do it for us! The bars, the specialty restaurant, and even the MDR and the food, were much more enjoyable on S and M class ships than the Edge. In addition...the Infinite Verandah, did not do it for us either. But, even more significant, for non Retreat Passengers, all activities are held in The Box... sorry, I meant, The Club, which is a windowless, boring environment. I Really, really, missed the Sky Lounge! Cruising, for me means being close to the seas, seeing and smelling the ocean. On the Edge, I really felt boxed-in with no front view access for non-retreat passengers. It really did not feel like a cruise! The only aspect that really blew me away on Edge, were the production shows and other shows at the theatre! With one exception, they were all a Wow! For us. Bravo for this! But, despite, the show quality on Edge, I am not planning to return to this type of class ship!

My most sincere apologies! I really tried to be respectful, and sadly, I missed the mark! My sincere apologies to both you, Jim and Iain!

Sorry for this weather related change of plan! I'm sure you and Lain have experienced that risk related to cruising in the past; however, it does not make it less disappointing! Best wishes for smooth sailing for the rest of your cruise! P.s. I will take this opportunity to thank you for all the beautiful pictures you post! You really have a keen eye for colors and perspective that is unique! Bravo!

Looking forward to follow you on this trip Jim! I look forward to see if things have changed on Solstice, since we sailed her from Honolulu to Vancouver 7 years ago. Best wishes for smooth sailings and for the addition of beautiful experiences to your travel book, to both you and Lain.

Being from the greater Montreal area, I would love to see more cruise offer departing from Montreal, especially during the summer time. Sadly, Celebrity does not offer these options: Embarking in Montreal or Summer Canada/New England cruises. (Last I check, Celebrity cruises mostly sail on that itinerary in the fall, and don't embark in Montreal. ( ships may be too big). This said Holland America offers these itineraries.

We just disembarked the Edge on February 15, 2024 and we had an assign late dining seating. Our table 231, in the Tuscan restaurant, was reserved to us as long as we showed up between 08h and 08h30 PM. Our neighbours in the restaurant, also had an assign late dining. Just to say that unless changes were made this week, select seating was still an option, at least on the Edge.

i have travelled a bit, and knew not to bring meats or fresh produce, plants, flowers to or from a foreign country. I do understand and fully respect New-Zealand right and duty to protect its eco-system from any bio-hazard. I should have checked more carefully! I agree! To my defence, leaving Canada, I did not plan to make a purchase of honey until I was in the Australian gift shop. At that moment, I did not have access to the detailed list of Nez-Zealand regulations. My perception/assumption was that things in cans or sealed jars, did not pose a bio-hazard, therefore, I did not take a minute to second guess that purchase. It would have been nice, if the touristic shops where I bought the honey, had posted a warning or even Celebrity, prior to board the ship. I may have had other options available. But, as a traveller, I understand that the final responsibility, lies with me. Sadly, I ended up with an unauthorized product in my suitcase, and was not too sure what to do once I became aware of all the warnings on board the Edge. Definitely a live and learn experience for me, and I am posting it, because I think it was an easy trap to fall in as a tourist.

On a recent trip, we flew to Sydney Australia. During one of our excursions, we found, what we thought would be something nice to bring home: creamy honey made by a unique kind of bees in Australia. We bought two jars! We then boarded the Edge in Sydney, no questions asked! However, during our cruise around New-Zealand, we saw multiple adds warning us about consequences for bringing agricultural substances considered a bio-hazard by New-Zealand. So, we begun to be quite concerned! Especially since sniffing dogs are used to smell luggage in both Australia and New-Zealand. The penalty for contravening to these rules is a $400 fine and the cancellation of the visa. We elected not to risk the penalty and to declare the honey, on the electronic form filled while aboard the ship. So, after the cruise, upon disembarking from the Edge, customs, immigrations and dogs were waiting to greet disembarking passengers. The officers of course, asked us about the honey. We mentioned that the honey was in two jars, unopened and sealed and that we were just hoping to carry them from the port to the airport leaving New-Zealand, the same day. The officers thanked us for our honesty....and then confiscated the honey. We were not subjected to the fine though. So, just posting this experience, in case it could help fellow cruiser not to become....honey criminals like us! ( just joking by exaggeration a bit, but this added stress and an unnecessary expense to our trip) For your consideration!

We had the Premium Package on Edge, February 4-15, 2024. Australia-New-Zealand My observations: All drinks and cocktails $20 and below were included. Most martinis at the Martini bar were included. We had to pay extra, for cocktails at the Eden bar, priced between $22-24. The wine list by the glass was quite limited. My wife likes white Chardonnay and the only options were La Crema and Elegance. A glass of Mer Soleil cost extra. Similarly for the red wine, only one option for a red from either Spain, Portugal or Italy. ... In short, it's not the end of the world, but we had significantly fewer wine options on Edge in 2024, than on Millenium (2023) or Silhouette ( 2022).

We only have 6 cruise on X, 3 on M Class, 2 on S Class and last week on Edge. All these cruises, we ate in the Main Dining Room/Restaurant, except one cruise where we dined in Blu. We have alway enjoyed good to great service on all of our cruises. Food temperature and presentation was excellent on all our cruises. Food taste, have varied, not necessarily from ship to ship, but ... in time. On Edge in 2024, I would rate the taste of our food at about 8/10. We found that on our last cruise on Edge, menu and drink options with the premium drink package to be much more limited than they used to be. Regarding Specialty Restaurants, we really enjoyed our experiences in Murano on Solstice in 2017, Tuscan and The Porch on Silhouette in 2022, Roof Top Grill and Eden on Edge in 2024. (Of note, to people complaining about noise, our dinner in Eden was by far, the loudest one, due to the musical performances at the Eden Bar, just above us. ( We enjoyed the music, but chatting was not...easy.)

We just disembarked from the Edge on February 15, 2024. We ate at the Tuscan restaurant. We were on the late dining. Our table was reserved every night! The only difference, we were encouraged to go for dinner at 8 PM rather than 8h30 PM. Service from our Maitre D, our Head waiter, Assistant waiter and sommelier was excellent! And yes, we could order from the other restaurants menus. The plus side of being assigned a specific dining time includes always having the same reserved table, and the same staff; which we really enjoyed. ( We were not the only ones with an assigned late dining time in that restaurant) The con side of being on the late dining was besides the theatre shows presented at 7.30 PM and 9.30 PM, all other activities were aimed at the early seating or the anytime seatings. In fact, there was little to do on board, between 5 PM and 8 PM besides sitting at a bar listening to music, and we missed quite a few interesting opportunities scheduled between 07h30 and 09h30 PM. So, this cruise convinced me to let go of the assigned late seating and to, finally, convert to the any time dining system.

I would also suggest that you checked the status of your flights from time to time. A recent experience with United and Flight by Celebrity...surprised me. My outbound flight from Montreal to Sydney, initially involved a 3 hours lay over in Newark and another two hours lay over in San Francisco. However, United cancelled our flight from Newark to San Francisco and rebooked us on a different flight, with only a 40 minutes lay over in Newark, in the heart of our Canadian winter. In my opinion, this was clearly insufficient and a recipe either for us or our luggage to miss the connecting flight. To be noted, neither United nor Flights by Celebrity notified us of the change. I only noticed the difference upon receiving a copy of our bill from my TA after final payment. Upon noticing the issue, I am glad to say that both Flights by Celebrity and United worked to find us a better solution. And they did! We were re-booked on a flight with only one 2 hours lay over in LA. Thank you to both companies! But, what would have happened, had I not noticed the change?

On NCL, my BIL passed away about three weeks before an Alaska cruise. After examining her options, and talking to an NCL representative, my SIL was able to replace her husband by her daughter, and even to add her son in their cabin booking. However, the flights could not be changed because of the type of fare booked. My take on this issue, is that for special and unique situations, such as the one experienced by my SIL, some cruise line can elect to show some flexibility, on a case by case basis. But, IMHO, these situations, are much better discussed directly with a cruise line representative.

I asked the question thread #25, and the answers provided by locals, #26 to 29 and then again from 39, lead me to understand: no tipping, period.

I had booked the upgrade from Classical to Premium and also the upgrade to premium internet one device, a while ago. Saw the sale, cancelled and rebooked both. The total saving was about $90 CDN. Not a huge saving, but a bit more money to have fun on the cruise.

Jim, Thank-you very much for your review, comments and beautiful pictures! I really reading it and looking at all these beautiful images! I have learned a lot, thanks to your sharing of information and I am able to adjust my expectations more appropriately. I wish you and Lain a safe return home and continued enjoyment on your future cruising experience, on whichever cruise line you will deem better suited for you. For us, if things go as booked, we will also be experiencing both the Edge and New-Zealand for the first time in just a bit more than a month! So we are beginning more and more to really look forward to this experience!

@Jim_Iain Thank-you again, for all the pictures and shared information. It is really enjoyable to follow you! One picture raised a question in my mind: your group picture on Evening Chic (beautiful picture, by the way). My question is, regarding Celebrity Evening Chic. Yes, I know, that it can range quite a bit, from business casual to fully formal. This said, in the Caribbean for example, I found most people tended to dress more on the casual side of the dressing code. However, in Europe, the trend was a little more towards the formal side. In short, how do most passengers dress, on Evening Chic nights in Australia and New-Zealand? ( More like the Caribbean? Europe? Or somewhere in between? ) P.s. best wishes for a continued good time on your cruise!

I totally agree with hcat, your pictures and your instinct for capturing natural, yet beautiful images are exceptional! Thank-you so much for bringing us with you on your discoveries!

@Jim_Iain Hi Jim, I am wondering about the use of the Magic Carpet while at sea. Is it mainly a restaurant with reservations required? Is it sometimes a bar, where you can just pop in and have a drink? is it normally accessible or too crowded? Too windy? Did you and Lain try it? What are your thoughts on the Magic Carpet Experience?

Happy Birthday Jim, enjoy this special moment! A small image from the snowless flat world of the land of snow 🤣 that we call home! But a beautiful blue sky for us today.

@Jim_Iain I am also curious about the reason behind this ... unorthodox boarding process. Was it mainly caused by a Celebrity issue, for example, staff shortage or other? Or was it a Singapore Port Authority/Local government issue with complex formalities. In short, if things go as planned, we should be boarding the Edge in Sydney in February and I am just wondering if the boarding process you described was typical for the Edge? ( If Suite guests submitted to a 1.25 hour process, I can just imagine the delay for non-suite guests.)

Thank-you Jim and Lain, for posting your new adventure! As usual, your trip has just begun, and we're already on page 7, of your thread. This really shows, how appreciated, are all the pictures and informative comments of your threads! Bravo! First, I wish you and Lain a beautiful trip Down Under on Edge! Selfishly, I will follow your threat with great interest, since we will also, be doing a cruise similar to your second cruise, on Edge, in February 2024. I really look forward to all your tips about the ships and the ports! Thank-you again, for taking the time to share your discoveries with us! It is really appreciated! P.s. I was really touched to read your post about your your personal life history. It is not always easy for someone living in another part of the world, and in other spheres of life, to understand, what someone like you has experienced. Bravo for your long term relationship with Lain! And best wishes, for a well deserved happiness!

@Georgia_Peaches First: Happy Anniversary and Bravo for 19 years of marital life to you and your husband!!! Definitely an impressive milestone nowadays! Second, thank-you in advance for sharing your adventure on Ascent! I really look forward to read it, and eventually to compare to our own trip on Edge in February!

We were on Constellation, just before the pandemic, so in May 2019. We really had a great cruise. We were in a Concierge Class cabin.