alyssamma

Agree with this. It also allows you to pick a hotel virtually anywhere since you can easily drive to the port. We did this twice with Avis and they have it down to a science...extremely easy and their (free) shuttle drops you off right net to the baggage porters. I'm sure National (and the others) are the same. That being said, we had a rather complicated journey last month (2 cruises, amusement parks, and visiting friends). We did the car thing twice, but also used Happy Hour Shuttle when we landed (to get to our hotel) and when we left. They were super fast and reasonably priced (private shuttle was approx $100).

I generally arrive a day early. But lately have been booking air through FBC and am comfortable arriving day of. But if you aren't going with the cruise air, definitely arrive a day early. Especially now when it seems like virtually all flights are delayed or worse (cancelled).

I know this thread is primarily about the Edge, but the other E class ships (Apex and Beyond) I think "fixed" the wind problem on the MC. I haven't sailed the Edge, but on the Apex I didn't find it windy. I remember reading an old post here (or somewhere) about a few architectural tweaks the Apex did and that was one of them.

I find this thread fascinating. My wife and I are in our late 50s and we only have one X sailing under our belts - Apex last Feb. But we liked it so much that we booked 4 more (Beyond in a couple of weeks, Apex again next Feb, Edge in Oct 23 and Ascent in Feb 24). We were among the youngest on the ship. We found it very quiet compared to Carnival and Royal. And we *loved* the martini bar (but hey, we also like the IV cabins...I'm afraid of heights and this was a way for me to have a "balcony" without a true balcony...also gave us extra space in the room...but I 100% get why some don't like it). The Apex was hands down the most beautiful ship we'd been on and also had the best food. Before this our favorite ships were MSC/Yacht Club. All of that being said, so many people talk about the other X ships that I think we will eventually try them also...but the Edge class ships are perfect for us. But now I'm wondering if our one good experience was an outlier - hopefully not 🙂

I went back and read some reviews after your comment. It does seem like if there is a problem, it can be difficult dealing with FBC. I guess I'm a little jaded in that whenever their is an air problem, the airlines seem just as difficult to deal with. Anyway, in all things, YMMV...

FBC = Flights by Celebrity And while I don't doubt @Virginia100's experience, I think it is an outlier. You'll find the vast majority of people have had positive experiences and contacting FBC has been easy and helpful. Not having to pay for a flight upfront + (almost always) cheaper price + "guarantee" of getting you to the ship far outweighs the few bad experiences that will occur with *any* transaction.

I've never booked seats based on status, but have booked on United, AA, BA, and AF, and Delta. In all cases I've been able to either pick my seat online, or call FBC and have them do it. But status usually involves and upgrade from whatever seat comes with the fare you purchased so it makes sense it needs to be fully ticketed. And, I've only done business on BA and AF, so unsure how economy would work with them.

That must be the issue...interesting (and kind of makes sense) that status selection "doesn't work"...

We've been able to book seats on BA and others that don't allow online/charge by simply calling FBC and having them do it.

Oh, I believe it's official. But until the cruise lines and the TA site are updated, I won't feel comfortable about not having to test...

Yes...it's great reading it in the newspaper, but the TA site and cruise sites don't reflect this yet...