bye-seaya

My husband had a knee replacement in each knee last May and July. He worked super hard at his PT and it was a rough summer. But we wanted something to look forward to and took a Caribbean cruise 4.5 months after the second knee. Since the ports were beach locations it wasn’t too rigorous and he was able to really enjoy the trip. He could dance, walk the track and the length of the ship for hot dogs & beer! He was a very happy camper on this trip. At that point in time, if it were a European cruise he would not have been able to do the touring which requires a lot of walking over uneven surfaces. That said, we have a European cruise coming up this spring and he’s been hiking on uneven wooded paths (not mountains) daily 1-2.5 hours in preparation for our trip. It’s definitely given him a goal to aim for. DH was 68 when the knees were done and the only regret is he waited too long. Good luck with your surgery and have an awesome cruise! Go easy and work hard at your PT. Wishing you the Best.

I know some folks have had good luck using Flights by Celebrity and cost savings. Based on our experience we are now in the camp of “never again”. Our cost savings wasn’t worth losing control over the reservation.

Hi! All great questions. Eden is a specialty restaurant where you pay a flat fee for dining there for dinner. Drinks are covered by your drink package unless they are over your package’s dollar amount in which case you would pay the difference. Some of the drinks in Eden are quite fancy & fun. When we were on the Edge back in Nov 2021 - they weren’t doing the interactive performances while you ate. But that was when social distancing was still in place so things may have changed. They did have musicians playing on the Eden lounge area nightly. We didn’t discover that until late in the cruise. Yes, the menu has some very unique dishes which our group of 4 felt were delicious. I didn’t know if our son-in-law would like the food since he tends to eat fairly plain basic food, however he loved it! And they have reservations in Eden for their upcoming sailing on the Apex and we do too for our comping Edge cruise. I believe there is a sandwich bar serving lunch (I think at no charge) which is adjacent to or in the Eden area. We didn’t get a chance to try it. But would like to at some point. It’s been a little over a year since we sailed on the Edge, so others may be able to give better details. 😀🛳 I think the night time dining in Eden is worth a try. The service was awesome and the food uniquely amazing.

Nice! We gave our son and son in law a celebrity cruise in a suite on the Edge as a wedding gift. They liked it so much that they booked the Beyond for this spring. And are talking about another booking for 2024. They are in their mid-thirties. 😀 Have a wonderful cruise!

Thank you for posting the info & link!

I think not to be missed is taking the time to continuously explore different venues on the ship throughout your entire cruise. We missed out in doing that as we quickly found our “favorites” (mostly the Retreat and Luminae) on the Edge and frequented those spots instead of continuing to explore. Nothing bad about that, but when the cruise was over...I kept wondering why we hadn’t tried a bunch of cool places for food/drinks/entertainment. So, for our upcoming Edge cruise I’m going to take my own advice with a plan to “keep exploring” on all 12 days! Eden is not to be missed. Have a great cruise! 🛳

Thanks for posting! Apologies for my post coming after this one. My bad.

For Celebrity , yes a captain’s club happy hour is daily (except embarkation day) from 5-7pm, where you able to order beer, wine or mixed drinks from a limited list. I think you can go to almost any bar on the ship during that happy hour timeframe to request a drink from the CC menu. Some folks pick up a drink and bring it to the dining room. Also, if actively playing in the casino - free drinks are available. There is also a CC daily light breakfast (usually in Tuscan) where you can order a mimosa or Bloody Mary or smoothies at N/C. You may want to google Celebrity’s Captains Club perks to confirm the info I’ve provided as I don’t want to mislead you! Sounds like you have an awesome cruise in the planning.

Welcome! We watch a lot of the utube videos for the various Celebrity ships and find them super helpful. The videos provide great insights to ship amenities, cabin locations/sizes and dining options. There may be videos that can help provide info on the types of cabins or even specific cabins you are interested in. Pictures help me visualize whether or not the cabins or ships would be a good fit for our vacations. Another thought would be to consider getting a good travel agent to help with your booking. We can’t list TAs on the CC forum, but google could also be helpful in finding one, or maybe a friend or family can recommend one. There are magic carpet sky suites and regular sky suites. If you are considering a magic carpet suite on deck 7, you will want to see if the view is obstructed when the carpet is in it’s lowered position. It may not be ...but something to look into. We had a reg sky suite on the Edge on deck 9 & loved it. But I wouldn’t hesitate to book a magic carpet suite in the future - but that’s just me. A European cruise is usually port intensive - so maybe not as much time would be spent in the cabin. However, 3 adults in one cabin who will have long touring days may want their own space to rest & relax for some “downtime”. I know that I would. 😀 In therms if the drink packages, you don’t all need to have the same drink package. My Sis & I shared a cabin and she didn’t get the drink package and I got the premium package. She preferred to pay for her occasional beer as she went along, having the drinks charged to her room account. I preferred to order wine and top shelf drinks without having to worry about a bill at the end of the cruise. For regular evening MD rooms - there are 3 to choose from and I’ve been reading rave reviews. There are also specialty restaurants that can be booked for a fee. So much to do and so little time! Have a wonderful sailing! 🛳

We had a similar experience in Luminae on the Edge last November. I let the sommelier know that I like full body reds and open to trying & learning about wines based on his recommendations. Every night, he’d come to the table and would say “ we have Pinot, Chardonnay or Cab - which would you like?” No recommendations, no asking what are having for your meal or appetizer for a pairing suggestion, no talking about the region or varietal. If I wanted to try something- I needed to ask for the specific brand. So ended up quite often ordering ones I was familiar with. I had a feeling he wasn’t a trained sommelier. Also, he was going home at the end of the cruise and thought perhaps was a bit “over” waiting on guests and maybe a bit homesick - which I can understand.

I think you found the perfect solution to the post-cruise blues. Get a puppy! Congratulations! Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your new family member. 🐾🛳

Our online check in opened up about 45 days prior to sail date. Once you have completed filling in check in info (passport, etc) there is a boarding time window that offers several boarding times to choose from. Once the earlier time slots are filled, the ones remaining open are on the list as an option to choose from.

Also keep in mind if you have the drink package (classic or premium) no corkage fee for the 2 bottles per person is allowed when served in the dining room. So if there is a really nice wine you like, you are able to bring it onboard and ask to have it served in the dining room or enjoy in your cabin. Also, if you find that once onboard, you are ordering a lot of drinks that would have an up-charge, you cal always upgrade your package to premium on the ship. Your waiter or bartender would be thrilled to help you with that upgrade. 😀

Based on what I’ve been reading, I think we will be bringing 2 bottles each onboard with us to have in the dining room. A trip to Total Wine preboading will be worth the it. Four nice bottles this that w hand pick to have with dinner & we can count on will be awesome. No corkage fee if you have the drink package.

I do think going straight to the MD once onboard to get in line to check with the Maitre D your table location and see if your DH will be happy with it. The. Maybe give it a try the first night. I’m a “what if person” so in addition to going to see the Maitre D, I would also book Tuscan just in case the MD options can’t meet our expectations. And if they do & if we are happy with the MD seating - then I’d keep a couple of the Tuscan reservations and cancel the rest. But that’s just me. 😀