What do you know about Edge?

[dkjretired]

Nice observation. The last Solstice class, Reflection, added a few feet onto the aft of the ship, adding cabins and suites. The Sky Lounge was cut in half to have space for Reflection suites, as I recall. I'd seen one during a cabin crawl in 2014, and it was fantastic. A bit pricey for my cruise wallet, but they sell out. I wasn't offended by the luxury. Or the cost.

 

There actually was a precedent for cutting the size of the Sky Lounge, they had done it on the M class ships a few years prior in order to move the Children's facilities from their prior location. And yes, there were loads of complaints when that was done.

[BrendaJ]

I'm very much looking forward to seeing deck plans and itineraries for the Edge. I'm most curious about the standard cabins and how different they could possibly be. I think that the S-class cabins are great. Although the over-the-bed storage is difficult to access, the cabins seem pretty well laid out and the bathroom without the dreaded shower curtain is heaven. I'd like to see bedside tables with drawers, more hooks for hanging a wet bathing suits and hats, and perhaps hard surface floors rather than carpet, but other than that, I wouldn't change much. For the square footage they are working with, I think the S-class standard cabins are pretty good. I'm wondering if any other cruise line is doing anything else radically better with 194 square feet. Is there a line that uses that amount of space better? My experience with lines other than Celebrity is pretty limited.

 

Someone speculated that Celebrity would be trying to complete with higher end lines with the Edge class. I think that would be difficult to do (having more inclusions on only one class of ship) and it would seem silly for Celebrity to compete with Azamara for the premium market. If RCI wanted to compete with the likes of Crystal and Regent, they would be best off having a new build for Azamara. In the meantime, dollar for dollar, Celebrity's suite class gives a very nice experience at a lower price than most of the luxury lines. Small ships cost a lot to run and have limited entertainment and variety, so Celebrity's suites can give you the variety of a large ship and the perks of a luxury ship (other than the varied ports that small ships can visit).

 

Although we usually sail in verandahs, the suite experience on Celebrity is first class, and if I could afford it, I'd always sail in a suite. That experience comes at a high price though, and from what I can see, Celebrity is not having a lot of trouble filling their suites, so it makes sense for them to expand on the suite concept. For 1/3 more space, a Sky Suite is often triple the price of a verandah. If Celebrity decided to have a suites-only pool or other facilities on the Edge class, I can hardly blame them. Selling suites is a lucrative business and those who can afford a suite are certainly not getting something for nothing. They deserve to get more for the high premium they pay. My next four cruises are in verandahs, but if a see a good price on a suite, I'll certainly take it. Luminae alone has made me aspire to suites more often. It's all about how you want to spend your hard-earned dollars - cruising more often or cruising more luxuriously. I'm hoping to have a happy balance.

[Mynki]

 

Although we usually sail in verandahs, the suite experience on Celebrity is first class, and if I could afford it, I'd always sail in a suite. That experience comes at a high price though, and from what I can see, Celebrity is not having a lot of trouble filling their suites, so it makes sense for them to expand on the suite concept. For 1/3 more space, a Sky Suite is often triple the price of a verandah. If Celebrity decided to have a suites-only pool or other facilities on the Edge class, I can hardly blame them. Selling suites is a lucrative business and those who can afford a suite are certainly not getting something for nothing. They deserve to get more for the high premium they pay. My next four cruises are in verandahs, but if a see a good price on a suite, I'll certainly take it. Luminae alone has made me aspire to suites more often. It's all about how you want to spend your hard-earned dollars - cruising more often or cruising more luxuriously. I'm hoping to have a happy balance.

 

We booked an AQ verandah for our Pingxi Lantern Festival cruise in one year and four days time. It came with $500 OBC, grats and classic drinks package thrown in for $2969.

 

 

To upgrade to an S2 today on the same sailing with all four perks, Celebrity want $9029 and this is for a 17 year old M class ship. In short, I think X have reached a point where they are now charging 6 * line prices for a mainstream 5 * product.

[Seapoint]

A better profile pic;

 

Weird bow??

What is the big square shape where the main pool should be?

[TFLG]

We booked an AQ verandah for our Pingxi Lantern Festival cruise in one year and four days time. It came with $500 OBC, grats and classic drinks package thrown in for $2969.

 

 

To upgrade to an S2 today on the same sailing with all four perks, Celebrity want $9029 and this is for a 17 year old M class ship. In short, I think X have reached a point where they are now charging 6 * line prices for a mainstream 5 * product.

 

Cabin cost always varies depending on availability. I recently booked an Aqua cabin for way less than standard Verandas were going for. Probably lots of Aquas available and few standard Verandas. But overall the value of cruising seems to be less and less every year. When we started cruising a little over a decade ago it was a very good value compared to a land vacation back then. In the last couple of years that value just doesn't seem to be there any more, especially now that the want extra for specialty restaurants (a good meal), and the entertainment does not seem as good as it was. Shows are short and bands play in the lounges for maybe an hour and then leave. dublU TF? I can rent a great VRBO go to nice restaurants and hit great night clubs for the same price as a decent cruise. Hopefully the Edge class will have some cool stuff to keep me interested in cruising.

[TeeRick]

I'm very much looking forward to seeing deck plans and itineraries for the Edge. I'm most curious about the standard cabins and how different they could possibly be. I think that the S-class cabins are great. Although the over-the-bed storage is difficult to access, the cabins seem pretty well laid out and the bathroom without the dreaded shower curtain is heaven. I'd like to see bedside tables with drawers, more hooks for hanging a wet bathing suits and hats, and perhaps hard surface floors rather than carpet, but other than that, I wouldn't change much. For the square footage they are working with, I think the S-class standard cabins are pretty good. I'm wondering if any other cruise line is doing anything else radically better with 194 square feet. Is there a line that uses that amount of space better? My experience with lines other than Celebrity is pretty limited.

 

Someone speculated that Celebrity would be trying to complete with higher end lines with the Edge class. I think that would be difficult to do (having more inclusions on only one class of ship) and it would seem silly for Celebrity to compete with Azamara for the premium market. If RCI wanted to compete with the likes of Crystal and Regent, they would be best off having a new build for Azamara. In the meantime, dollar for dollar, Celebrity's suite class gives a very nice experience at a lower price than most of the luxury lines. Small ships cost a lot to run and have limited entertainment and variety, so Celebrity's suites can give you the variety of a large ship and the perks of a luxury ship (other than the varied ports that small ships can visit).

 

Although we usually sail in verandahs, the suite experience on Celebrity is first class, and if I could afford it, I'd always sail in a suite. That experience comes at a high price though, and from what I can see, Celebrity is not having a lot of trouble filling their suites, so it makes sense for them to expand on the suite concept. For 1/3 more space, a Sky Suite is often triple the price of a verandah. If Celebrity decided to have a suites-only pool or other facilities on the Edge class, I can hardly blame them. Selling suites is a lucrative business and those who can afford a suite are certainly not getting something for nothing. They deserve to get more for the high premium they pay. My next four cruises are in verandahs, but if a see a good price on a suite, I'll certainly take it. Luminae alone has made me aspire to suites more often. It's all about how you want to spend your hard-earned dollars - cruising more often or cruising more luxuriously. I'm hoping to have a happy balance.

 

Brenda - Nice summary. Thanks!