djh

Years ago we had four in the penthouse, my husband and I, and my sister and her traveling buddy. It was no problem, one used the sofa bed with extra padding and the other was in the far corner of the living room where the connecting door is on a roll away bed. Neither had any complaints.

I think it depends on several factors, one of them being the category booked. We are in a suite and received a move up offer over 2 and a half months before our upcoming cruise. (Still heard nothing back on any of our bids.) I was also attempting to do a move up bid for our grandsons inside cabin but that was not eligible for bidding until a month before the cruise. Btw, I usually just check to see if the move up window is open and not wait for an email inviting me to move up.

Does anyone know if the testing onboard before departure is fleet wide? We are on the Apex at the end of June and would like to know if we can use their testing option or if I need to carry a bunch of testing kits.

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

This site was mentioned on a thread a few days ago.  I have no experience with them but like Jim I bookmarked it as a backup.

 

https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/

Thank you! Good information to know!

On 5/27/2022 at 12:23 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Good to hear of all the positive experiences.   We've also tested on-board and had no trouble.

 

I always bring some of those free kits with us and I have bookmarked a couple of the non-EMed sites that will monitor testing with these just in case of a product failure.   We have 3 Abbot tests left so should be ok.as we will be testing from land.

 

We are doing the RT to Greenland/Iceland from EWR and it still is not clear if we will need a test to return to the U.S.   Many say you do not need testing arriving by sea but nothing from Celebrity yet.

We are bringing emed and some of those govt freebies as back up. Can you share the proctored no Emed sites that you have bookmarked? Thanks!

6 hours ago, sunlover33 said:

Maybe it would be better not to overbook suites by move up offers,  while the staffing crisis remains unsolved? 

Yes, exactly one of my points that I was making to the guest relations manager. 

56 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Perhaps, you expect too much.  I don’t make many requests on a butler/cabin attendant. While, butlers often offer services that make a cruise good, most people make few demands.  The nicest thing that a butler did for me was fix a broken wheel on my suitcase.  He noticed it when we got our luggage.  In any cabin, suite or not, I expect it be cleaned and serviced.  Empty trash, make beds, clean bathroom, replace dirty towels/linen, etc.  while, it is nice if my suite is serviced early,  I understand that if it isn’t immediate.  If you are a demanding guest,  maybe you should try an all suite ship.  There are other lines that offer very prompt service. They cost more.  

We don’t consider ourselves high maintenance, and usually ask very little of our PRHs. We don’t expect them to be at our beck and call 24/7. If I want a cappuccino I’ll go get it myself.  In fact, many times in the past they they have said that we don’t use them enough and ask if there isn’t something more that they can do. We generally use them to make reservations, take care of laundry and sometimes afternoon canapés. When we book the penthouse as we did for  this trip, we usually host a sailway or two for a few friends and that’s about it.  BTW, we have traveled on all suite ships but Celebrity seems to suit us better. Perhaps it’s because we are not extremely demanding, 😁.

There’s a vlogger Tony that has an extremely popular cruise news channel. He has also started a channel, Time to Lose, in which he talks about cruising and dieting. I believe he is on WW too. It might be worth checking out.

10 hours ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Thanks for posting as we are sailing on Summit late July.  Would love to hear more about the cruise if you would like to share.  How is the live music, bar service?  Has dining room improved?  Have you been to the lido in evening?

We had a wonderful cruise. I enjoyed most of the live music but some of it was a little too sleepy for my taste. We frequented the martini bar the most and we thought the service was excellent, even though it was at times very crowded.  We were in a suite but chose to eat at Blu with our friends. It was always full, and after straightening out a misunderstanding about a reservation time, we never had to wait for our table and service was excellent. I will say that I was hearing quite a few complaints about wait times in the MDR. We ordered quite a few dishes off the MDR menu and the food was good, maybe not the best I’ve had but I know they are still dealing with supply issues. We did not go to the lido in the evening so I can’t speak about that. I think some of there issues had to do with having staffing in the right areas. They went from having 350 on the cruise before to 1600, and I think it took them a couple of days to adjust to that. Enjoy your cruise! The ship is beautiful and the staff is great!

17 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Did the OP post all this on to Cruise Critic for validation and expect to be lauded as helpful suite do-gooders?  And then are surprised that others may see it in a very different light?

Wow, you really do not know me at all and I must say that I am happy not to know you. I posted this more over concern in overworking staff in a time when there are obviously shortages. You are definitely entitled to your opinion but do not even try to explain to others what my motivation was because clearly you have no clue. I also doubt that Daniel would want to be described as a “beleaguered manager”. Have a blessed day.

6 minutes ago, George C said:

Service wasn’t a problem at all on our summit cruise a couple of months ago , concierge was great . Our butler and many others on the ship staff were Ukrainian.

 

Yes, one of the Ukrainian butlers had to take personal leave due to the conflict. 🙏 

Perhaps I wasn’t making myself clear. I heard a couple of  passengers complaining “I spent $10,000 for my suite and I’m not getting the service I deserve, etc.”  That is not us. We are extremely flexible and go with the flow, made very few requests from the butler (personal retreat host)or suite attendant even though we were in a high level suite. I could see them struggling, forgetting things, generally overwhelmed and they are well trained not to show that.The problem I’m seeing is that they keep accepting move up bids to suites up until the day before, to give more passengers a taste of the suite life when they are obviously short of PRHs fleet wide. I’m not talking Covid issues, because that was not the case on our ship.

We just got off of the Summit and had a great time, but in our seven cruises since the restart, the service on this cruise was definitely the most inconsistent. Service was a bit uneven in areas but the biggest problem was with the suites. There were three butlers, yes three, to service the 50+ suites onboard. They normally have five, but we’re down two due to staffing shortages. Our butler was good but he had 18 suites, including several top level suites. There was absolutely no way he could provide the service that many suite guests expect. We met with Daniel, the guest relations director to voice our concerns. He took a lot of time visiting with us and was extremely responsive. They acknowledge they they have a severe staffing issue, especially with butlers on most the ships. When a butler goes down (or in this case has to depart on emergency compassionate leave) there is simply no other crew member to step into their role. My question to him was, is there any way to communicate to corporate that perhaps they shouldn’t fill the suites to capacity if they cannot provide the service expected in a suite? I know many are experiencing suites for the first time, thanks to move up bids and fccs, but are they going to continue to book them if they receive lackluster service? I understand that it’s a revenue thing, but in my opinion, someone should be looking a bit further down the road.  It was important to us to voice our concerns because I did not want to just do the post cruise survey where my comments might be misconstrued and there was no way I wanted it to come back as something negative against our butler because he and the other two were absolutely trying their hardest. FYI, Daniel also told us that those guest satisfaction surveys for the top tier suites go directly to VPs at Celebrity, which was good to know. 

29 minutes ago, baron9 said:

FYI On the apex now. There has been a covid outbreak among the crew. Crew members affected have been  transferred to the infinity. For a 10 days The whole production cast left on Saturday.  Also include were nine butlers in the retreat. We do not know total numbers as the ship itself has yet to knowledge this. Information is from individual crew members as service this week has been slow. This also will affect next weeks  transatlantic.

Wow, there’s usually only 14 -15 butlers on Edge class ships so they must be scrambling. When there was an outbreak on one of the ships in January, they transferred a butler to that ship from the Edge to help cover. 

We are on the same cruise at about the same time. I usually don’t wait for a move up email to come. I check periodically and do one when they open. It appears that the move up bids begin a couple weeks ago for suites. The invitation went to junk mail, as did my bid confirmation. My dil and grandson are traveling with us in a inside cabin and I want to do a move up bid for them but they haven’t opened bidding up for their category yet. I guess they start at the top and work their way down on bids. That being said, you are definitely not too late.

Pics of the suites would be great. I’m curious if they have improved the tub in the Celebrity  suite and expanded the balcony in the Royals. Thanks!

The shoreside concierge told me they discontinued mailing luggage tags in mid February.

I absolutely hate the balcony on the Edge class RS. Last time we were on Edge, I had asked for a lounge chair and they had to stack all of that heavy uncomfortable furniture in one corner in order for it to fit. We are on the Apex in June in an RS (booked years ago) and we have so far been unable to upgrade since all the suites are sold out. I’ll try a move up and keep my fingers crossed! 

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

 If you read the government website and also scroll back through the thread.......the application  is not supposed to be filled out more than 30 days in advance.  Ship and sailings are being added at about 30 days before the cruise. 

Instructions for Your Travel Authorisation Application: 

Step 1: You may begin your travel authorisation application form by clicking the “Apply for Travel Authorisation” button at the bottom of this page. Cruise dates will be added to the application form shortly, and no later than 10 March 2022.

If you are an adult travelling with children under 18 years old, complete your Travel Authorisation first, then complete a Travel Authorisation for each of the children travelling with you.

You do not need to complete a Travel Authorisation for children under 2 years old.

Step 2: Complete the application form and upload proof of vaccination.

Step 3: Pay $40 to complete and save your Travel Authorisation application. Only Visa and Mastercard credit cards are accepted (no American Express). Before saving your application, please verify that the email address entered on your application form is correct.

Step 4: Your application will be stored until the departure date listed on your application. Four days before your scheduled departure to Bermuda, you will receive a reminder email to upload your pre-travel negative test result to complete your travel Authorisation application. A link will be provided to allow you to return to your application form. You must submit your completed application at least 1 day before your scheduled departure. Once submitted, your application will be reviewed by the Quarantine Authority.

If approved, the Quarantine Authority will email your approved Travel Authorisation. All travellers must have an electronic or paper copy of the Travel Authorisation to travel. If you do not receive your Travel Authorisation email, check your junk/spam folder to make sure the Travel Authorisation is not there.

Non-residents who do not submit a valid pre-departure test result will be notified by email that their test is not valid and will be given the opportunity to submit a valid result. If a traveller cannot submit a valid test result, they will be denied a Travel Authorisation and will not be able to travel to Bermuda

For any queries, contact Bermuda's COVID hotline at +1 (441) 444-2498 or on Toll Free Number (1-833-570-2594) or via email at TAapprovals@gov.bm

I guess that I was a bit confused because what I read didn’t say anything about more than 30 days, just that cruise dates would be added no later than March 10th. Oh well……

We are on the Summit at the beginning of May and are scheduled to arrive in Bermuda on May 10th. The Bermuda Travel Authorization form does not even list our ship yet. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

32 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Ok.  That’s one.  What about the other 12?

I could think of several places on every ship that are under utilized and could be transformed into meeting place.  The bottom line is, if Celebrity considers it a priority and really wants to do it, they will figure it out.

On 3/4/2022 at 9:11 PM, cruiseerf said:

We very much enjoy our time in the Retreat/Michaels club lounge.   We book mostly suites however last minute sometimes we do book aqua class or veranda cabins.  We are Both Zenith members at least twice and would like to be clear.   For those that say the Retreat was "never crowded" you must be a Zenith looking for a seat there?   Our experience has been that on day of Arrival and Departure, Many Zenith members hold court in The Retreat/Michaels club.....often inviting their friends and family to depart with them in pre arranged transport.   When we have been onboard and there have been groups of 10+ with people in Various cabin types it makes the Retreat lounge hosts the bad guys explaining the rules everyone knows Before boarding.   Pre Covid Transatlantic we had 28 Zeniths onboard with partners which meant 56 extra people......Michaels club was a horror......no seats, talkers who didn't' know when to shut it, no dress code enforced,   and many Zeniths who felt they owned the ship.  Transatlantic B4 that we had 22 which equated to 49 extras and we had a group in Michaels that was not only disrespectful but also nasty.   After several of these VERY CROWDED transatlantics,  I would say that the Retreat should indeed be kept separate and only for suites.   Zeniths are well taken care of in Tuscan for Brekkie,  Lunch, so many choices, and dinner as well, and Laundry pressing and dry-cleaning is covered.   Too many people in Celebrities program are continually trying to game it.    This is not fair to the people actually paying in Todays $$$ for the services they do not get when the Zeniths are out in full force.   It only takes a few to spoil it for all of us.   

We have been loyal Celebrity suite cruisers for years and have met several lovely zeniths in years past.  I’ve never seen them “hold court” in Michaels Club or the Retreat but I have experienced a similar situation on Royal. We pretty much have stopped going to the suite lounges on their ships because of Pinnacles holding court, pulling the majority of chairs over to save them for their Pinnacle friends and parking there from 5:30 pm until 8:00pm. It’s distressing to me if this is now happening on Celebrity. It appears to me that there is a large influx of passengers becoming Zenith,

(we actually became Zeniths last year). This  could cause crowding issues in the suite lounges in the future, especially since Celebrity appears to be filling the suites since the restart. JMO

On 1/10/2022 at 10:23 AM, earthpoet said:

Yes, confinement would not be pleasant, for sure. We are in AquaClass, and I'm wondering if it's even worth it now--they may not have the steam rooms/sauna rooms open, etc. due to the masking. Uggh...what to do.

I am currently on the Edge and the Thermal Spa is open, no masking in there, they just ask that you social distance. I also must say that the spa has had very few people in it.

20 hours ago, cangelmd said:

Did you get all the perks for your Royal Suite? Did you have those perks on your original cabin?

We already had perks that came with a suite but we also received any perks that came with the class of room (royal suite). Two bottles of liquor, free specialty dining and thermal spa pass. Interesting tho, on my account of future cruises it is listing that I will be getting the points for being in a royal, 12 a day, instead of the 8 a day with a sky suite. You usually do not get the extra points on a move up so we shall see.

5 hours ago, rkcruiseky said:

 

Celebrity Edge January 2, 2022 

 

This is probably my 8^th or 9^th cruise on Celebrity.  My 2^nd on the Edge. I have been on the Millennium Class, Solstice Class and Edge Class Ships.  This cruise I was supposed to be with some others, but because of a variety of reasons, some Covid, some not, I ended up sailing alone.  Which, has been great, relaxing week so far for me. 

 

Room

Sky Suite, Aft corner

 

I was originally booked in an Infinite Verandah, but was looking for something different.  Popped over to Celebrity’s MoveUp and placed a low-ball offer on a SkySuite.  Love the room.  So glad I moved up.  Lots of space, plus the ability to use the Retreat Amenities is a great.

 

You will notice several people on the forums knock the bathrooms of the SkySuites.  Not really sure why, but the bathroom is spacious.  The tub/shower combo is very large compared to the standard showers in the other rooms.  Is the tub really a soaking tub?  Not really, but it is a tub.

 

This room is on the aft and in the left corner, so the balcony is much larger than most.  Room for 2 lounge chairs and 2 standard chairs.   

 

Frustration with the room – knowing that I was traveling during COVID, I loaded my laptop with tv shows and movies to watch on the tv.  On the Edge Class Ships, you are not able to stream or physically hook up (HDMI) an external device to the television.  I tried all of the “tricks” online, but it didn’t work.  I talked to the IT manager who said only in Royal Class Suites and above do you have the functionality of switching inputs… That is frustrating.  But I’ll survive! 

 

Covid World 2022

We live in a pandemic, and everything has changed even if temporarily.  I was nervous about cruising during the current surge mainly for the changes that would be implemented onboard.  I was on the Edge in September 2021, and at that time it seemed the virus was going away. When I was on board then there were no masks anywhere and no signs of any positive cases. 

 

In my real-life job, I have dealt with enforcing Covid protocols and procedures, and have worked closely with close contact situations and deciding if a quarantine is needed.  I don’t envy anyone who is in the position of being in the middle and enforcing and communicating changes.  I was not surprised at all when Celebrity required masks, honestly, I was a little relieved.  Not because I love masks, but because it reminds us to not let our guard down.  No one wants to be quarantined, especially in a cruise ship.  

 

I do think that how this was communicated to passengers could have been handled differently.  We were handed a sheet of paper at check in stating that masks are now required.  Would I have canceled my cruise?  No, but I think giving everyone the opportunity to make their own informed decision is important.  

 

Upon arrival on board, it seems that a small part of Deck 6 Aft has been seaside for quarantines in the event it was necessary.  This deck has a number of IV cabins, which, if you are indeed quarantined, would be nice to have access to fresh air.  I don't know if any passenger is quarantined. 

 

Everyone seems to be doing just fine.  People seem happy and are enjoying the great ship and fantastic weather.  

 

Covid Announcements

• We did hear one day that a small number of crew tested positive (Casino staff)
• Tuesday night, in the casino, we were informed that the Casio would be closed on Wednesday, not sure about the rest of the voyage. 

 

Food

The food on all of Celebrity Ships is amazing.  The Ocean View Buffet was good as ever.

 

Luminae, the Suite Restaurant, was good but not as “stellar” as I had hoped.  Very good food, great staff, menu is a bit small.  They will go out of their way to make sure you have what you want.  The menu is just a suggestion, traditional cruise dinner fare is always available.  

 

On my September cruise, I neglected to go to Eden Café for lunch.  Just forgot about it even existing really.  It is sort of hidden away.  Well, this cruise I made a point to go and I love their lunch offerings.  Great sandwiches, salads and soups.  AND, the only place on board that I have found potato chips!

 

Fine Cut Steakhouse and Rooftop Garden Grill were both very nice.  Food and service was great.

 

On a cruise I always end up really wanting salty snack foods like chips and popcorn which you can’t really find… 

 

I really want to like the Edge Ships model for dinning, but really miss the true Italian Restaurant Tuscan Grille on the Solstice Class Ships.  

 

Retreat Amenities

I love having access to the Retreat.  Nice and quiet pool deck with lots of shade. One thing that has surprised me about this sailing is that all of the pools and hot tubs (inside and out, main pool, Solarium and Retreat) are ghost towns by 6 PM.  They don’t close until 11 PM.  So, each night I have been able to go and enjoy the hot tubs basically by myself! 

 

Final thoughts about the Edge Class and Celebrity

I have been very happy with Celebrity, and given the chance for my next cruise it will likely be on Celebrity again.  If everything aligns, I would book a Solstice Class Ship next time just for a change of pace and some different venues. The Edge is great, but I’d like something a bit different next time. 

Ask your PRH to keep you stocked with potato chips. We are onboard too and Rhona brings my husband chips every night because she knows he loves them.