JBare

When we went to Valencia on Equinox the port authority only provided a shuttle to the port gates as it can be a very long way from where the ship docks. After that it's still a very long way to the centre of Valencia. The question is do Celebrity provide a shuttle, they did provide one and it was not free. It took you to Placa de la Reina. We didn't use the Celebrity shuttle as we wanted to visit both the centre of town and the modern Museum of Sciences which is a way out of town. We used the port shuttle to the port gates and then used three buses, one to the centre of town, one to the Museum of Sciences and one back to the port, each approx two euros, so twelve euros for the two of us which was a lot less than the cost of the Celebrity shuttle for one person although thats not why we did it. The buses are frequent clean and quick and a map can be picked up online or at the port entrance information office where the staff told us which three buses to catch, the first into town is right opposite the port entrance and also goes to Placa de la Reina.

What route ? Which UK airport ? If you booked with a Celebrity agent in the UK they'll book (at least give you a price for) whatever airline you choose within reason from and to the destinations you choose. for example I always choose Emirates as they fly from Birmingham.

No fees, just ask the dining room host or hostess for a table and if ones free you can go there.

The old balcony chairs seem to have found a new home.

If you can keep control of the temperature (difficult) and don't mind the loss of a real balcony which you can keep separate from the room the IV's are not a bad place. My wife likes them more than I do to be fair but we both still prefer a conventional room because in warmer climates they can be unpleasant. Some more pictures .

Now the IV The IV glass is double glazed and tinted and being closer to the edge of the balcony than the sliding doors get dirty from sea spray or bad weather quite easily. It takes about 15 to 30 seconds to open the window and you have to keep your finger on the button. When the window is open you are looked through four panes of glass while sat on the balcony.The outer panes cannot be reached by a cabin attendant, the upper window blocks the lower when open, thats the one we look through when sat down with the window shut. So you are dependent on whenever the Captain decides to wash the windows so they can stay salt encrusted for several days. Even when the windows are washed by the jet wash they are not sqeegeed so spots of water are left and dry out still dirty. The inner bi-fold doors can be closed for privacy but the only way to block the sun if it is low in the sky and shining straight into the room is to use the blind which comes down vertically and cannot be used if the window is open due to its position. So if you want to use the balcony and keep the sun out of the room you can't. When the sun is low in the sky say in the Med it shines in and the room is like a greenhouse, the air con is not good enough unless the blind is closed so the view has gone. This all clearly depends on the orientation of the sun, the ship and time of year etc which is one of the reasons why I think many people have different experiences with the IV.

First a few pictures of the more conventional S class balcony for comparison It is clear that there is room for reclining chairs and a decent table. The sliding doors can be opened or closed in just seconds, there is only a single pane of glass on the outer edge of the balcony. There are curtains behind the sliding doors which can be part closed from either side or completely closed (also in seconds) whilst someone can stay on the balcony. This allows the sun to be blocked out and the air con to stay functional and keep the room cool. The balcony becomes a completely independent space. In all my time on this type of balcony only once has the single outer pane of balcony glass been really dirty, it is however easy to clean and the cabin attendant cleaned the glass for me with a squeegee type device on a pole , its easy to reach both sides of the glass from the balcony. The Sliding glass doors are also easy to clean by the attendant if requested.

I have been in IV rooms on both the Edge and the Beyond, they are exactly the same, however the balcony chairs on the Beyond are now much better than they used to be on the Edge. Our experience on the Beyond was a much better one in an IV than the one on the Edge due to the different climate outside the ship. On our Beyond cruise the climate was cool not much greater than 22 degrees C at any time so it was easier to keep control of the room temperature with window open. Our Edge cruise temperature outside exceeded 30 degrees most days, this will have a huge impact on how people view the rooms. The ambience of the IV is a light airy space with great views of the sea which we both quite liked, its a pleasant space to be in, thats the pro. I think a few pictures might illustrate some of the points made, either to enforce or debunk.

Celebrity Silhouette in St Thomas.

Celebrity Eclipse in Gibraltar.

Celebrity Constellation in Barcelona.

Celebrity Eclipse in Warnemunde

Celebrity Reflection in La Spezia and Mykonos.

Our cabin was next to a double line which indicated a fire door location. This may be the same.

She doesn't.

Celebrity Beyond in Bilbao, Lisbon and Malaga.