Cdresser

I just booked an S3 on the 4nt Apex cruise on Oct 24. Are we there yet?

You are correct that the only dance floor on Edge was The Club. They did have bands at the martini bar space - enough room to dance on carpet but not ideal for dancing.  One night they did silent disco in the Eden bar and that was quite popular.

My husband and I enjoy dancing together and we made do with what was available. One night we managed to get a little space on the tiny wooden area in the martini bar and had a bit of ballroom. We caught the attention of one of the officers who made a point of referring to us the rest of the week as "her dancers".

When we did the bridge tour, one of the passengers asked Capt Kate about the lack of ballroom dance space (we were on her first cruise as Edge captain). She said it was a matter of space and trying to accommodate as many entertainment interests as possible. 

That said, we loved the ship and look forward to cruising on Edge again.

42 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

I've forgotten - Do the minimum bid amounts ever change from the first offering?

No one  who has posted on this board has seen a minimum bid drop.

2 hours ago, rad798 said:

So, I have on board credit from prices falling on my June 19th, Millennium St. Maarten cruise.

I received MoveUp offers this week.

If I bid on an upgrade and win, will I loose the OBC?

No, you keep whatever perks/offers were included in your original booking. If you move up to a suite but don't already have the premium beverage package, you won't get it unless you move up to a royal or higher.

Also, you need to sign up for emails from Celebrity in order to get an email bid offer. 

We were in 15103 in Dec 2019. I loved the location because there is a "secret" side door to the retreat lounge directly across the hall that we were shown the first day. If I wanted a drink or a snack that wasn't already in my room it was 3 steps away. The balcony was completely secluded. I don't know how the other villa balconies are, but no one could see onto our balcony from the ship. 

I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did ours. It was magical and the memories have helped sustain me during the past year and a half.

1 hour ago, Denny01 said:

I’ve proven that Celebrity Lost and Found works!

 

den

Absolutely! On my last cruise I had to make 2 visits to lost and found. The first was when I left my tablet in the smoking area - it was morning and my caffeine/blood ratios were low - and someone had turned it in. The second time was late on the last night when I noticed my tanzanite tennis bracelet worth $$$$$ had come off my wrist and I had no idea when this occurred.  I frantically retraced my steps from the evening and came up empty. With no expectation of success,  I finally tried l and f. It almost brought tears to my eyes that some beautiful soul turned it in. I asked both times if they knew who my good Samaritan was so I could thank them but they did not know. Needless to say, that bracelet has been to the jewelers for a new closure mechanism. 

It depends on what is important to you. I liked aqua class and DH loved it because he enjoyed Blu and the spa so much. Those are really the only benefits worth paying extra to get so if you aren't interested in them get a verandah if an accessible one is available. 

Sign up for Celebrity emails in order to get the MoveUp bid offer. It usually comes out about 60 days before but sometimes you can get it sooner by checking through the website. The offer will give you minimum bids for various rooms - sometimes a good deal and sometimes not. It will also show a bid range and have a meter to tell you whether your bid is weak or strong. I wouldn't put too much stock in the meter. I had a bid accepted that was just over the minimum and another time I put in a strong bid but didn't get it because there weren't any of the rooms I bid for available (they will put out offers even for categories that are sold out because sometimes there are last minute cancelations). It varies when they start accepting/rejecting bids but usually around 4 weeks out. With the ability now for people to cancel 48 hours out, I wouldn't be surprised if there are a lot of last minute bid acceptances. Good luck!

4 hours ago, Barsnikel said:

Unfortunately, we did not. My wife and I have always booked a balcony on previous cruises, but this time it is just me and my adult son.  He wanted to book an inside cabin based on price (I hate inside cabins), so we compromised on an Ocean View.  I rationalized the concession on the idea that May would be too cold to enjoy sitting out on the balcony....  that may or may not be true, but It's what I used to rationalize the concession  :). 

 

I do see that Celebrity allows for bidding on upgrades, 30 days prior to the cruise.  Never seen that before on other cruise lines.  So when the time comes,  I'll make a bid on a balcony and see what happens.  Unlikely to win it, but it cost nothing to try...

On the non-revolutionized ships you had to wait to get into room - no carry-on drop-off until the room was ready. They will hold your bags in Michael's if you ask. At least this was the procedure on the Infinity in Dec 2019.

I agree with other posters here, nothing like going to Michael's or the Retreat lounge and getting that first glass of champagne. I can't explain why it is so special but it has been for all 3 cruises we took in suites.

Also in regard to the 2 bottles of alcohol for RS and up...I thought this was a bit unnecessary because we could get what we wanted anywhere in the ship and we don't drink much in the room. However, on our last cruise the ship ran out of Captain Morgan and never replenished the stock so the bottle in my suite was the only one aboard. I did not like the spiced rum they had as a substitute so I was really glad to have it on hand since capt and diet coke is my "go to" drink.

47 minutes ago, talljules1 said:

Is there a list anywhere of what liquors you can choose from?

When the shoreside concierge contacts you before the cruise to get your preferences, they will provide you with a list of alcohol choices. If you want something on that is not on the list you can ask and they will provide it if it is reasonable. I asked for Drambuie for my husband because he likes that as a nightcap.  It was not on the list but they had it waiting in the suite when we arrived. 

I would say deck 12 because that puts you closer to the retreat amenities.

I have closely watched moveup bids in the past and made one successful bid to go from sky suite guarantee to edge villa for a 7nt cruise in December 2019. My experience has been that the real savings are for the suites. The minimums are high, but with the suites I haven't seen them close to what the list price would be. I could never afford the villa at the price they list but we were able to get it for a total of $4550pp. However, that was before covid and the price increases because we only paid $2000pp for the original suite booking. Also, I bid $25pp over the minimum to make my bid stand out a little and there were 6 villas available when I bid.

My only other bid was on an Alaskan cruise in July 2019 to go from aqua to suite. We booked last minute and the suites were sold out so I knew it was a long shot to get one. 

Also, my experience and that of others I've seen is they do not lower the minimums. If they don't get the bids, they offer it to blue chip members.

Thank you for posting the info on the current offerings, it helps me in my decision making for a fall Caribbean cruise.

BTW, the edge villa was a stretch for our budget but I would do it again in a heart beat and DH would enthusiastically agree. It was a dream vacation and gave us so many great memories to savor over the past year when we were housebound due to the pandemic. 

We loved Eden (we both agreed it was one of the top five meals of our lives) and Fine Cut. Raw on 5 was excellent as well. I still dream about the mint sauce from Fine Cut and didn't have a problem with the noise level. We were in an Edge Villa so all the specialty dining was included and I wanted to try every restaurant. Roof Top Grille and Le Bistro were good, but I would have been disappointed if I'd paid extra for them.

So very sorry you got caught by this at all but worse since it was mid-trip to FLL.

My sincere condolences to all who just had their cruises cancelled. I am not among those effected, but can only imagine your distress.

It has been wonderful to read the reports of someone who loved their Edge experience as much as I did. Also, it has been gratifying and inspiring to read about your solo travels. Bravo!

We were contacted a week before our 5nt Infinity cruise in December. This made things difficult because we were on the Edge at the time. Regardless, I responded the day before the cruise and things were as we requested when we arrived. 

4 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

Are you saying it took care of all the swelling?  I really must try this then.

Yes, it all went away. Not sure if it would work for everyone since there are a number of possible causes for the swelling, but it's worth trying. 

13 minutes ago, Cruizen Susan said:

 

Okay now!!  Tell me about this detox smoothie.  I eat a very clean diet at home, but not possible when we travel.   Is this smoothie from the Aqua Spa cafe?

Yes, this comes from the aqua spa cafe. After a few days on Edge, my ankles were severely swollen. I tried the smoothie for a hangover remedy and it helped that but also took care of my ankle issue. I also liked the taste:).

15 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

After all these years we have never visited the Thermal Lounge on any ship.    We will be in Aqua on our next couple cruises so plan on trying them out.   Our first cruises are on Equinox and the next on Millennium so will be able to compare.

We did aqua on Millenium last year in July. We loved using the thermal suite to warm up on chilly days. 

Another little known suite benefit we enjoyed was having our butler set up nibbles for us to serve guests we were entertaining in our suite - including a party of 13 when we were in an edge villa. When we were invited to cocktails in a penthouse suite on infinity, the butler got our cocktail order in advance so it was waiting for us when we arrived in the suite. No charge for the food or drinks (although getting free bar service probably is reserved for the upper level suites - or at your butler's discretion).

Also, it isn't just coffee that you can get delivered. We had butler bring us a detox smoothie every morning. We learned about the benefits of the smoothie from our butler on the Edge and we became believers when we tried it one morning after an indulgent night. 

I'm really enjoying your blog. I know how hard it is to keep up with a live blog because I did one in December but only got 4 days of posting in because of all the distractions.

Congrats on spoiling yourself with a bracelet, I loved the prism style too. One note, if you paid over $800 (and it was not made in US with receipts to prove it) you will need to declare it on your customs form. In December, the onboard shops reported to US customs all of the purchases and passengers were pulled by customs officials as they were getting off the ship. The shops on the ship won't warn you about this. There was a thread by alishac in December on here about it.