Denny01

I don’t think so, but could be. We had good seats! Didn’t think about that. One thing that happened was when we had an issue of waiting for the very extended time for breakfast in Luminae, and my Butler asked us how all was going, I mentioned that. He wrote it down. A day later, when we went to Luminae, the staff was all around us and we have Great service. Coincidence? I’ve give my Butler the edge on that one. And I tipped him the extra for all he did for us. Den

There are a few differences: Going West, from Euro to US, you roll your clocks back an hr 6 or 7 times so about 1/2 the days are 25hrs, and you pick up a bit more time. And most find it easier to adjust adding an hr. Going East US to a Euro port, you roll your time forward and lose an hr for 6 or 7 days. And some find that a bit of an issue. For me, it isnt a biggie at all since you are aboard ship and each day you have lots of time to sleep in and relax and whatever so even losing an hr is No Big Deal. Some will disagree. And it depends on when you want to cruise. Usually, the ships head to Europe in the Spring, so usually April/May you’l find the TA’s heading for Europe. While they return in the Fall, usually Oct/ Nov. The weather is just too impossible to guess at, but there is always a bit more of a chance of picking up stormy action in the Fall than in the Spring. But that is a Big generality, but Atlantic Hurricane season does go from 1 June to 30 Nov, and we seem to be getting more storms into Nov. But we’ve been fine except for a few rainy days and a bit of a rolling seas on our all crossings. I find going West, from Euro, to US a bit better for my schedule. We like to spend time in Europe when we go over, and the Fall seems easier to go wandering around on our own prior the to cruise. Or even better, a B2B! We’ve done two crossings with B2B’s. Did the Eastern Med on the Solstice out of Rome followed by its TA to FLL from Rome. With the Reflection, we did a cruise out of Venice to Barcelona, then a crossing. With Silouette, we spent a week in Cornwall, then did a TA from Southampton to FLL. On the Constellation, we did the only Eastbound, FLL to Dover and spent a week in London afterwards. This last one on the Edge, we spent just 3 days in Civitavecchia prior to crossing to FLL. Heck, I just realized, I said we did 4 crossings, we did 5! So each has a point to it, usually your vacation options will drive you to one. enjoy! Den

It has a walkway that winds around the stern glass with seating areas. The bar/lounge has lots of seating and agree with @JaLayne. Love the place The specialty restaurant is on the 3rd deck below the lounge/seating. One of our favorites. Den

Appreciate your interest. Ive done TA’s on Millinium (Constellation) going East FLL to Dover; on Solstice Class (Solstice and Reflection going west Rome to FLL and Barcelona to FLL) and now Edge Class (Edge going west Rome to FLL). Each Class has a strong positive to spending time onboard during extensive sea days. The Millinium Class has what I think is the best at-sea pool, the Solarium pool with warm active saltwater and pipes at the corners that rush down on our neck and back, and the pipes on the side that make into a lounge with bubbles coming up between. Fantastic! And a great Observation Lounge on the bow. The Solstice Class is just a lovely experience overall. Beautiful, great non-crowded venues and places to watch the sea sail by. Spend a good deal of time in the Observation Lounge. the Edge Class has the 4 MDRs, the Eden area to watch the stern, which I now find as interesting and relaxing as up on the bow. Love the wraparound at the stern with places to sit and socialize. So I dont think you can miss out. Yes, the Edge Class has more extensive areas for Suite guests and so on, but for standard SRs, you have such great options and differences in the various Celebrity Classes. Kind of what I enjoy and cruise X as my choice. I overheard one guy complaining that he disliked TA’s because they are like Groundhog Day, same over and over. I disagree completely. So much to do each day that differ…..but I also enjoy just spending time with my wife and don’t need distractions…..my biased read on his complaint. Den

We spent a good deal of time in the venues throughout the ship, El Bacio, Eden and so on, and we dined outside the Suite dining, and found the staff to be excellent. And as I stated about Suite dining, I found the MDRs and locations such as the Spa and Eden Cafe to be well staffed and didnt notice any issues with any ‘lack of experience’, and only found the Luminae to be slower. Not sure how ‘lack of experience’ showed up. I was treated by a group of professionals and didnt see any issues. Den

As posted on the previous thread about our overall Edge TransAtlantic cruise, we booked a Sky Suite for the 1st time and thought we’d share comments focused on that. Again, we’ve cruised 42 times and 28 with Celebrity so you know my biases. I book with Celebrity as primary and go with other Lines for itineraries or join friends. We usually go with a balcony and on Edge Class, we like the Infinite Veranda. We booked a Sky Suite 2 on the Edge TransAtlantic to experience the Retreat with so many sea days. And it greatly exceeded our expectations. SR: We had SR 9178. Midship and a Sky Suite 2. Larger than a standard SR and the bed is against the BR but faces the veranda, not an opposite wall (well bulkhead on a ship!). One side of the bed has USB and plug outlet. Loved the bed setup! Lots of drawers and good closet for hanging items. Large couch and great SR to add a 3rd person. BR was large. Square tub and shower with glass enclosure. Euro shower head. Closed toilet. Large sink with 2 facets and lots of storage. Odd thing: the mirror over the sink opens to the SR area. You can see the veranda/sea when you are at the sink…..I told my wife I could watch her shower without stepping in!! She wasn’t impressed with my idea. SR is quiet and mid between the front and back elevators (a bit closer to the fwd). Butler and SR Staff: One word: Outstanding! The butler, (GeDe ‘Goodday’) was the one thing I wasn’t sure of and he really added to our experience. Saw him every day, he got us reservations at the various dining venues and when we could only get 8:30pm at Eden, he called and got us what we wanted at 6:30pm. Took care of minor issues and gave us good gouge on using the facilities. I had No Idea what I’d do with a butler and it is one of the major reasons I loved going Suite/Retreat. Retreat: Loved the lounge. Although the ship was 68% full, suites were fully booked, but there was never a crowd in the Retreat areas. They had light snacks in the morning and afternoons; excellent and quick waitstaff and I tried more than a few ‘exotic’ cocktails. Played cards. Met others and had a great time. The hosts were personable and very helpful. They had entertainers and ship staff come up and socialize a bit. The outside Retreat area is just fantastic. Lots of lounging, great bar, didnt do the pool or hot tub but it appeared to be very nice. Lots of space for all. Again, well above what I expected. Dining Luminae: Very elegant venue. Seated immediately whether 2, 4 or 6 of us. Enjoyed, but it has a more limited choice of appetizers and entrees than the MDRs. We enjoyed the MDRs more. As Suite, we could dine at the MDRs and Blu which is for Aqua Class, as available. Our butler got us set in two of the MDRs, our favorites of Normandie and Cypress and we loved them. Blu was also excellent. Enjoyed Luminae but there were issues beyond the more limited menu. For breakfast, we waited an hr to be served. And I knew the time we entered and when served…..not the classic exaggeration. Was about to leave when they brought it. Dinner was better serviced, but still longer than in the other venues. I would Not go Suite for the dining, but since you can go to other venues, it wasn’t a show-stopper, and did enjoy Luminae items we did order, just more limited choices. You can order off the menus of the MDRs but it wasn’t offered and it was a pain….for us. This was the one issue we had with Suite/Retreat. Boarding/Departing: Wow. At Civitavecchia, they had a separate boarding area with seating, a bar and light food. Didn’t use it since you could step on immediately. Not that different from the standard boarding, all very quick. By the way, we board as standard guests at the FLL terminal on an Apex cruise last Nov and it was Very Quick also. Departure was the real difference. We had boarding tags that allowed us to depart very early, right after they announce those that were departing with all the luggage, or we could stay until 9:30ish at the end. Went to the Retreat lounge and relaxed there. They had light breakfast and service, and the hosts let us know when our luggage was available which was at 8. Then escorted us to the elevator and the other hosts were at the elevator landing to escort us to departure. Out we went, got our luggage and passed quickly through security. We used a local taxi and they were available immediately. I Do Not recommend using the ship shuttle buses; the taxi was $25 for the two of us and was quick and right to our terminal. Buses wait to be filled and the one time we did it in FLL, they dropped us off at one spot and had to walk a goodly distance. Not handy and more expensive. No reason to do that. Finally: Are we now Suite/Retreaters? If I can get one at a reasonable cost (that is always subjective isn’t it) and If one is available! We are booked for 4 Celebrity cruises and none….again None….have Suites available. The plus beyond standard SRs is the SR its self, larger, nice veranda and bed facing it; and yes, the butler; and the Retreat lounge and staff. All well worth it. Dining, which is So subjective, wasn’t a hallmark. But so many other options area available, and Luminae was good enough for us to use a number of times, just not a major draw….again for us. I hate telling people to use or not use some dining venue since dining opinions are so biased. Enough. We love standard SRs, and yes, love the Edge Class Infinite Veranda, but if one is available, we will go with a Sky Suite! Den

We just completed our TransAtlantic on the Edge. So I thought I’d drop a few comments on the experience. I will add a 2nd thread on comments about being in a Suite, as first timers, and what we thought. Separating them so we, and others who wish, can focus on each. First, our cruising background so you can ‘judge’ our biases and so on: We’ve cruised 42 times and this is our 28th on Celebrity. Yup, love Celebrity. We pick X unless there is a very specific itinerary or joining others on another Line. We find it what we are currently looking for. So yes, biased. We are currently booked on 4 future X cruises. We Loved It! This was our 4th TA, both directions, and 4th time on an Edge Class ship. The ship was about 65% full and staffing was outstanding. Still at the level we’ve come to expect from X. Stay in Civitavecchia and Boarding: We flew into Rome 3 days prior. Did Not stay in Rome this time because we wanted to just relax and veg out. Used Rome Cabs down to Civitavecchia and stayed in the Hotel San Giorgio. Great medium-level hotel. Right across from the water and close to the old town section. Nice room, European style and excellent staff. Free breakfast and had dining and outside bar. Didn’t dine there, walked to a few of the many Pizzaria’s and local diners. Our favorite was MyLove, outstanding choices of local seafood and classic Italian dishes. Outside seating and excellent service. Hotel had a shuttle to the terminal for 20+ and got there at 1130. Very quick check-in and onto the ship. Could drop off our carry-ons in the SR prior to them being fully open, and had lunch. Will focus on dining in the Retreat restaurant, the Luminae, and the Sky Suite SR, on the next thread on the Retreat experience. Dining: We had the Retreat dining room, the Luminae, but used the others too. We did one specialty restaurant, Eden. Fantastic. Had the crab cake which is All crab, and the Lobster casserole which is a pile of cold-water lobster claws….no idea why they call it a ‘casserole’. Dined also in two of the MDRs, Normandie and Cyprus. Excellent. Great service and great choices. Just love the atmosphere, the smaller venues and lower noise than the standard single large MDRs. All 4 are great and love being able to move one to another, but those are our 2 favorites. Also dined at the Spa Cafe which has very healthy choices and at the Eden Cafe Loved them. The Oceanview is as fine as it always is, great choices and well laid out. Excellent service in all. Ship Venues and Service: Not crowded. As said, 65% full. All in excellent shape. Spent a lot of time in El Bacio downing the great Aspen Coffees. Love Eden. Great place to relax, have a few drinks and play cards. Staff was outstanding and had no problems being served. Entertainment: Ship had some rocky weather a few days so the major shows were modified a bit, but the major Hot Mid-Summers Dreams went a later night and was outstanding. Fantastic band, singing and aerial work. Good comedian and special shows too. Excellent music around the ship, especially in Eden. Beyond the Podium: Outstanding speakers. One of the things I love about X is this. Had a scientist speaking on the Ocean, climate, and history. And an aviator speaking on the history of flight, of airlines and air control. Fantastic. The Cruise Director interviewed the ship Capt at two gatherings and it was some of the most interesting and informative talks I’ve been to. Spa: We booked the spa for the entire cruise. Ended up not using it as much as we could have. Will do it daily next time. Thought we’d use it more on a TA. Didn’t go for a massage or any special, just the spa saunas and steam rooms. Love the warm tile lounges facing the bow. Ports: Enjoyed the ship tours we took. And did one tour with ToursByLocals in Azores….outstanding. Corsica: OK general bus tour. Very focused on Neapolitan, since he was from there, but didn’t find it that interesting. Would do better on our own. Palma: Love this port. Did a train trip from Sollar. Loved it but the walk down to the Sollar port was a major hike on cobblestones and narrow streets with cars rushing by. Worth it but you need to be ready to walk more than they inferred in the description. Cartagena. Loved it. Toured the Roman ruins in town then a bus into the countryside. Great. Gibraltar: Did the WWII Fortifications tour. Outstanding. Not rigorous and extremely interesting. Saw the apes, but I could take or leave them. Nasty things. Azores: The ship canceled Bermuda due to their COVID requirements and added this. Fantastic. I do love Bermuda but the Azores are a place I’d go back to on our own. Green, friendly, not expensive and just lovely. Did a private tour with ToursByLocals. Well worth it. Just the 2 of us. Very flexible on what to do and see and had a full island tour…..its a small island! Overall, another grand cruise. Met a number of people and connected with 2 other couples and hope to see again. We were active on the Roll Call and we set up a Chocolate Tasting social. Was fun. I highly recommend going on a TA and cruising on an Edge Class ship. Den

Im currently on the Edge TA about to leave Azores….a fantastic port by the way!…..and this is the first time Ive booked a Suite and using the Retreat. Im in the Retreat and asked the host about this issue and this is her response: Yes, it is theoretically possible a Suite guest can get their family to join them….BUT….this is decided prior to the cruise and only available if the Suites stay unsold. Otherwise if all Suites are booked, it is not offered and the people asking to do this are told that if….IF…it is sold out prior, the offer is rescinded. Her strong suggestion is that all book the same Class and not rely on the minimal chance of this being available. Every one of the cruises I have booked in the future have no Suites available and this is cruises into early 2024!! Den

Agree that underway, smoke from an open deck below isnt an issue. Of course, there are reports of smokers on adjacent verandas and so on. All very isolated situations. Been on many cruises and really never had noise issues from outside….a few times could hear shouting in the next room through a common wall and banging doors, and maybe hear workers in the passageways especially with a storage area nearby, but all are very isolated cases….in most situations! den

Did the Hawaii R/T on Princess. You get a bit of sea just out of LA (or San Diego) crossing the California current which lasted a few hrs, and the rest was very nice. Our cruise was pretty sold out, and just as TransAtlantics, many love sea days and they are very popular. We enjoyed the 4 islands we stopped in. Agree I wish Celebrity would do it. I would jump on it again den

Thank you.

You are wrong in saying ‘not El’, it has and is referred as El and Al And even La in various documents and sites. The Al - The - is already part of the name The Red One in Arabic: Al Ham-ra. we can play this game all day. den

In Malaga, did the tour to El Alhambra Granada tour and it was fantastic. Beautiful drive to Granada and outstanding tour through El Alhambra which is part Islamic design with Catholic redesign. One of our better ship tours. Not crowded bus and tours were broken into smallish groups. Den

And properly reporting it limits you exposing crew that enter our SR either to clean, and bring in your food. They need to know for sure. Den

And why would the ship limit a passenger to how many specialty reservations they make? They want to fill to capacity and its up to the passengers to get what they want. Kind of saying you cant book more than one popular tour because….. The ship obviously ‘limits’ how many can make reservations at set times. Theoretically they can limit someone but I’ve never seen, heard, read, experienced, etc, the ship not allowing anyone to book additional. There are Many passengers who enjoy the specialty restaurants over and over, and a number of posters who have stated they Only dine at those. Myself? We book one per cruise, usually. First come, first booked. One time, I went to book the Eden which was pretty limited, and they offered me a discount to book the last night, which is usually lower use because so many are packing and getting ready to go off. We were on a B2B and jumped on it. Den

And as stated prior, just go into the website and cancel the tour and immediately rebook. Got my reimbursement within a day or so. I booked 4 and didnt realize I’d not used my available OBC doing it on line. So I went back, cancelled all 4 and rebooked using my OBC that I had. All done well prior to the cruise. Worked just fine. Den

I’m looking forward to getting on board and enjoying the lobster roll. Its still fun to eat……even if its warm water ‘longusta’ which I agree isnt as firm or as tasty as the classic cold water lobster with tasty claws, but I’ll take them anyway. Den

OP, so sorry you and your husband contracted COVID. What a hassle and also ill! @PKB, not sure what situations the OP is reporting that would be that different from self-quarantining. And trying to do it that way would probably not work because you’d need to tell your room steward Not to come in and so on, and that would flag you. Also, the suggestion that the OP needs to be more proactive and calling room service and contacting the help desk and so on is right. Need to bug them if you arent getting proper responses. Just as we’d do under normal situations. And the OP will find out once they talk with the right ship personnel that they will be reimbursed for the time they are in quarantine, which you would miss if you didnt report it. Its good to see another report that those that tested positive remained in their own SR, which was the reason some were posting theyd not report being contagious. Den

The OP has the handle on this, and although its good to respond with rational inputs of why just not returning to the ship is a Very Bad idea, I think the few who suggested it would never do it themselves…..I would hope. Den

Neither….she Isnt Laughing! Den

Great response @MarinerAlex of Not taking the ‘advice’ of just not going back on board at the port you’d have to fly home from. I tried to come up with the right wording to describe such suggestions but I’ll leave it there because most of the ‘words’ would get me banned!! Just Wow. Den

I just cant control myself!! You just gave me an idea! My wife has been having back pains and Ive been pressing on various spots, trying to help……I wonder if the pain is because I’m soooooo funny and she laughs and pulls a muscle!?!? …..well, maybe Not considering she doesnt spend any time ‘laughing’ but instead is giving me that very cold roll of the eyes….Oh well, just an idea. den

Ok, I’ll give it a go…… First, making sexist or racist post/comment/joke doesnt mean the person who did such Is a sexist/racist, it is an observation about the post or whatever. Second, there was No reason to even mention that some ‘woman’ made an error in controlling their craft and that a ‘guy’ had to take over, except to appear they were bothered by someone posting how a woman was doing something different from what they expect, and they had to point out ‘women’ made mistakes and in their post, a ‘man’ fixed it……that to me is a sexist post. And by the way, being impressed they was a woman at the helm of a small boat 20+ years into the 21Cent is a bet odd too, but what the heck. I have 3 very accomplished daughters, a wife with outstanding abilities, and sisters who are a cut above….but I see their accomplishments as what individuals can do, but at the same time well aware of how we have changed since ‘The Good Old Days’. den

If I have to explain it, I’m afraid a sexist wouldn’t understand…..but I’m sure no one here is one. Den

Just love judging how judgmental posters are about how judgmental others are judging what someone wears to dinner…….I’ll work on how to get the phrase ‘judge’ into one sentence more times later….edit: got one more in!! and 14pages and 325+ posts…..wow, love it!! den