LIVE from EDGE - 12/9/18 - 7 night Western Caribbean Maiden Voyage

[WonderMan3]

All packed and ready to get away from 28 degree temperatures!

[WonderMan3]

Our airport driver arrived right on time this morning and we were on our way at 7:45am. Had no traffic on the way to Boston Logan and arrived at 9:45am. We used a different company this time around for transportation. They are called Pro Limo and serve all of Cape Cod. Driver was very friendly, car looked brand new and was comfortable. Cost us $200 each way. I would definitely recommend them. No waiting to check in with Jet Blue. We are Mosaic which has much shorter lines but there was no real wait at any station; airport was pretty quiet today. We received TSA pre-check so we were able to sail through the security check. Once we passed through though we had to wait awhile for our bags to come through due to a family in front of us who had every bag of theirs pulled aside. Then one of Mike’s bags was pulled off for a second check. That wasted about 10 minutes but we still arrived at the gate with an hour to spare. I was able to grab a sandwich and now just waiting to board.

 

 

Edited December 8, 2018 by WonderMan3

[WonderMan3]

We have arrived in Fort Lauderdale! Flight departed and arrived on time and was a pretty smooth flight with only a few bumps. Bags were timely at baggage claim and then it was in a cab and on to our hotel here in Hollywood, The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. As I mentioned in a prior post, we always stay here when cruising from south Florida as we get a free room based on our casino play. Our junior suite is very spacious. Now just waiting to charge my phone and it’s off to an early dinner as we are both starving! Temperature was around 81 degrees when we arrived. Such a contrast to the 28 degrees we woke up to this morning!

[Lastdance]

Hope you have a very enjoyable cruise!  Thanks for sharing information, so the rest of us can become more educated before our cruises on Edge!  

Edited December 8, 2018 by Lastdance

[hcat]

BON VOYAGE!

 

We returned to Fla today..Not yet for EDGE..

It is .sunny and quite  warm...compared to 25 degrees as we headed to the airport this am 

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[WonderMan3]

For our early dinner this afternoon we stopped in at Blue Plate, which has a diner-style menu. Mike had a breakfast platter with pancakes, eggs and bacon while I had a breaded chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy. The food was underwhelming. This used to be a favorite place of ours to eat but the food quality has declined over the past year. 

 

After dinner we headed into the casino to play some slots. We each discovered an amount of free play on our player’s cards; Mike had $320 and I had $500. I was able to play on that free play for a few hours and turned it into $2200 in cash hitting a $1400+ jackpot along the way which made for a nice start to the trip. Mike wasn’t so lucky and finished down $500 for the night. He headed off for an early bedtime around 8pm and I followed around 9pm. Those are early times for us on a casino night but we have been up since 5am and are exhausted from traveling. I slipped into the hotel’s pastry shop on the way back to the room to grab a sweet piece of German Chocolate Cake.

[Rina155]

Following along as curious.  I have watched several YouTube videos of the Edge, but none of them show regular balconies or any outside cabins in them.  Have a great trip and look forward to your live blog!

[parrothead33]

Following along.  Thanks for taking the time from your vacation to post do this review.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Can't wait to read about your experience on the EDGE. We are on her March 31st also in a Sky suite. I am especially excited to hear about your impressions of the new terminal.  I hope you have a wonderful time!

Edited December 9, 2018 by Georgia_Peaches

[puppycanducruise]

Following along with your adventures.

Looking forward to reading more.

Have a great cruise!

[WonderMan3]

EDGE day has finally arrived! I’m not sure if it was anticipation or Mike’s snoring, but I found myself up early today at 5:30am. I leisurely got myself up and made my way down to the casino around 7 to play off my second round of free play from the casino. That $180 plus another $200 of my winnings was gone within the hour and that was enough play for me. Mike and I met for breakfast at Blue Plate. Another underwhelming meal but it’s the only restaurant that offers breakfast at this hotel. When we next visit they should have their new hotel finished which will feature an array of new shops and restaurants with hopefully better quality. After breakfast Mike played out his $125 in free play with no luck and we went to pack up and check out. Our meal charges were reduced by points we had accumulated from our play so our whole stay only cost $20. Plus I’m leaving up $2000 so all in all a great stay. Now we’re in a cab on our way to the pier and our home for the next 7 days!

[SHIP TRAVELER]

Loved the gambling review.  We have always wanted to visit that casino and it was great to follow on the coat tails of a couple of comp players.  Looking forward to hearing about your  EDGE casino adventures also.

[RonnieL]

Reading in anticipation as board next Sunday.. have a great cruise!!

[WonderMan3]

We are onboard and enjoying lunch at Luminae! Boarding was very pleasant. Once onboard it was a little more chaotic. Will share details and photos after lunch!

[Ken the cruiser]

Looking forward to your review, especially with regards to eating in the Luminae and evening shows in The Theater. One reason we love cruising with Celebrity is for their great evening shows!

Edited December 9, 2018 by Ken the cruiser

[Freestyle Cruiser]

 

Say hi to Sooner and Victoria in Luminae. They are fabulous!

[WonderMan3]

On 12/7/2018 at 9:22 PM, ecslady said:

 

Do you know for sure if Celebrity is stilll honoring that perk on EDGE? Since it has only been preview cruises I haven't heard.  Hope to run into you on the 9th.

 

So I did get an answer on this one. Even though it stated in the Edge spa FAQ that the Elite perk would be honored for the Thermal Suite it is NOT being honored on board. You can only get a 10% discount on a daily pass. That was a bummer as I wanted to try it out but have no interest in paying the prices they are charging.

[WonderMan3]

Here are the materials we found in our cabin including the Daily and the Elite perks and a map of the ship. Someone last earlier this week reported there were no paper maps being given out so my husband was happy to see this.

 

One thing I was surprised about was the lack of any special events on this first day. No special sailaway party and no reference to this being the maiden voyage for the 7 night cruises or about LLP being onboard. We’ll see what happens as the week progresses.

 

Some pieces of information from our butler:

 

-Luminae will be open everyday for lunch on Edge including port days which is a change from the rest of the fleet.

-There are no lifejackets in cabins. You would only get one at your muster station in the case of an emergency.

 

[lola2013]

Watching sail away on the webcam!  Enjoy ⚓️

[SevenSeas1492]

So envious as I sit here in Virginia watching it snow like crazy!  Enjoying following along.  Have a great cruise!

[hcat]

5 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

So I did get an answer on this one. Even though it stated in the Edge spa FAQ that the Elite perk would be honored for the Thermal Suite it is NOT being honored on board. You can only get a 10% discount on a daily pass. That was a bummer as I wanted to try it out but have no interest in paying the prices they are charging.

 

That's disappointing..While we will be in AQ class in Jan.....we won't be in Nov...we hoped for a nice  thermal suite visit as per Elite perks.  How much is the daily pass?

 

Thanks for posting all the event info.,,,Very helpful...

Glad to see some acoustic guitar and  many of the usual events...but in new spaces!  

Edited December 10, 2018 by hcat

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Is is just me, or is the daily planner full of opportunities to sell you something, far more than before?  Then again I don't know what "Poet for Hire" or "Timeplay" are.

[WonderMan3]

So we arrived at the port around 10:15 am. It was not very busy so it was easy for our taxi to pull in and unload our bags. Porters were right there waiting. We didn’t have baggage tags (requested them online but they never came) but the porters took the printed tag I had and whipped up their own. Then we walked across to the terminal. There were people waiting at the  entrance to look at your documents (on the app or on paper) in order to direct you to the right place. There is a big sign directing you to the side for The Retreat if you‘re a suite guest so you won’t miss it. There were some holiday decorations displayed in the foyer which was nice. You take an escalator up for non-Suite registration. To the left is suite registration. Some very nice people will look at your documents to make sure you are a suite guest and then someone will walk you to the elevator and send you up to the Retreat Lounge. Upon exiting the elevator you go into security for baggage scan. There was no waiting when we arrived which was nice. Then you enter the lounge. Someone met us as we entered and explained that we could sit and relax anywhere and a staff member would come around to register us. We went in and grabbed a seat at the bar. I was surprised as the lounge was pretty busy with passengers; there weren’t that many seats left. We sat down and a pleasant woman behind the bar offered us a drink. We both chose to have some Vitamin Zero water. There was coffee, tea, soft drinks and water that I saw. It seemed like we could’ve ordered an alcoholic drink too but that wasn’t clear. After sitting only a few minutes a staff member came over and scanned our Xpress pass from the app and we were all set. So easy if you register everything in advance like photos and scan your passports. We sat for maybe 10-15 minutes and I wandered taking some photos and then it was time to board, which was around 10:50. The line got long very quickly but moved fast and we were onboard within 5 minutes. They scan each person’s Xpress pass right before you go up the gangway. Some people were taking a little longer and got pulled aside I believe to have their photo taken if they had not uploaded in advance. They erected a nice covering where the gangway met the ship to keep the rain off as it was massively down pouring at the time. (That will factor into an issue later on...) Then upon entering the ship you are met by some staff with free sparkling wine and some photographers. I guess this must have been where embarkation photos were taken but I didn’t see the typical screen set up so not sure. There was no other spot on the way to boarding for suite guests to do an embark photo. As you board a staff member will instruct you that you can go right to your room and get your keys from the slot outside the room, drop your bags and go get food. As we walked into the room I stepped out on the balcony and saw sheets of rain pouring from the sky. Thankfully the balcony was dry. 

[WonderMan3]

Tried to add a video link in prior post but it failed, so trying again.

 

 

[WonderMan3]

On 12/7/2018 at 12:46 PM, doubled said:

Adam

 

Have followed your live threads before and looking forward to hearing about Edge.  Especially interested in hearing about casino.  If you have time could you check the machines that are installed IN the casino bar top and if blackjack is an option on any of the machines installed in bar countertop.  Have a great time and don't go "Over the Edge"

 

Art

 

Just checked at the Casino Bar and it looks like it’s all poker.