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

[WonderMan3]

Here is the Daily for Wednesday plus the info about the special Colors of Cozumel events that the CEO was coming onboard for. Also the reservation confirmation card for our Magic Carpet booking and our Nate Berkus bag. The bag looks nice but it has no snap or zipper to close and no internal pockets, so pretty impractical for a beach bag.

 

Our annoyance with this information was the revelation that we would not be sailing away from Cozumel until 10:45pm which meant that our Dinner on the Edge would not be taking place while we were sailing. Also, the special CEO event was st 8pm while our dinner was at 7pm so it seemed likely we would miss the event. If they had advised us the schedule at the start of the cruise I might have rethought the DOTE.

[floridaag]

11 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

No one can just wander into the suite area but as in any card controlled area there is the possibility that someone could follow in after someone who does have access. Also some guests like Zenith and high Blue Chip tiers are supposed to have access to the Retreat Lounge but not the sundeck. Once you are in the lounge you have unrestricted access to the sundeck. I don’t know definitively why she was checking room numbers. Perhaps it was more of a capacity monitoring situation to measure how busy they were and she didn’t want to double count people? Not really sure. And not sure what you mean by window locking. All suites on Edge have full balconies. The infinite verandas if that is what you are referring to are in non-Suite cabins.

 

We have 2 cruises booked on MSC for next year and are very interested in seeing how they are. We have talked to several people on this cruise who have done MSC and stayed in Yacht Club and still said they preferred Celebrity by far which actually has us a bit nervous. They said food and service are nowhere near what Celebrity offers. Those are important to me. You can have all the awesome spaces in the world but if your service and food fall flat then what’s the point?

 

But anyway, back to my cruise...

 

Agree with those - unless you are into Cocaine (several crew drug trafficking busts)- other than being cheaper MSC offers nothing IMO

[marylander2]

1 hour ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

I was in a midship S class Sky Suite on Reflection in April and this Edge Sky Suite balcony feels the same. I checked the stats for each cabin and the balcony sizes are the same at 79 square feet. (For Edge stats on places like cruisedeckplans.com you have to go by the S2 stats for the midship S1s as the stats they have for S1 balconies are only for the aft cabins.

I will try to find and post the comparative pictures - like I said, when on one of your pics your SO sat in the rocker chair, I noticed the shorter - MUCH shorter, mind you - width of the separation board than on S class ships. I was specifically talking about regular balcony size, although I would imagine that in the SS they MUST be bigger anyway... 

What X writes number-wise about the sg ft, - I am sorry... I am NOT buying it even if I had 16 martinis on the house at the Martini bar. I dare you to get a measuring tape from the customer relations desk and tell me that is measures exactly 79 sq ft...

I just thought that these SS balconies could be longer but NOT deeper, so in comparison they should look like shallow, but they have enough length to make it up to 70+ sg ft...

Edited December 13, 2018 by marylander2
add ons

[chamima]

12 hours ago, miched said:

 

 

I think you are referring to Anitsa.   Don’t know if the OP  spelled the name wrong but we had Anitsa on the Eclipse in Blu and also in Luminae.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🌅🇺🇸

 

 

 

Positive that her name is Anita.

As I said earlier, we got to know her pretty well on a 35 day cruise on the Solstice where she was an assistant in Blu.

Then we met up with her again on the Eclipse  several times where she opened Luminae as Maitre D' when it started.

She is a beautiful, statuesque, poised young lady.

Celebrity is lucky to have her.

 

WonderMan - if you get a chance please send regards from Allan and Karen.

Edited December 13, 2018 by chamima

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

I was in a midship S class Sky Suite on Reflection in April and this Edge Sky Suite balcony feels the same. I checked the stats for each cabin and the balcony sizes are the same at 79 square feet. (For Edge stats on places like cruisedeckplans.com you have to go by the S2 stats for the midship S1s as the stats they have for S1 balconies are only for the aft cabins.

WM3 - I, personally, want to again thank you for taking the time to post 'your' thoughts and experiences while aboard The Edge.

 

It does appear that there are times when your opinion is asked concerning areas/specifics of the ship and then when given promptly challenged.. or that is how I Am reading it, intentional or not.

 

Please continue to enjoy the sailing and posting back the wonderful commentary, answers to questions and photos, too!

 

Thank you.

 

bon voyage

Edited December 13, 2018 by Bo1953

[marylander2]

45 minutes ago, marylander2 said:

I will try to find and post the comparative pictures - like I said, when on one of your pics your SO sat in the rocker chair, I noticed the shorter - MUCH shorter, mind you - width of the separation board than on S class ships. I was specifically talking about regular balcony size, although I would imagine that in the SS they MUST be bigger anyway... 

What X writes number-wise about the sg ft, - I am sorry... I am NOT buying it even if I had 16 martinis on the house at the Martini bar. I dare you to get a measuring tape from the customer relations desk and tell me that is measures exactly 79 sq ft...

I just thought that these SS balconies could be longer but NOT deeper, so in comparison they should look like shallow, but they have enough length to make it up to 70+ sg ft...

 

[marylander2]

I looked at your pictures of Day 2, and it is clear that the length of the balcony is bigger than in standard balcony stateroom on S ships, as I suspected... 

I am not trying to pin you down (as some say above) - I am trying to find a reason for myself to NOT buy the SS for the Edge cruise :))))))))) So far the things that have been said by you and others are helpful in this approach...

I know I may sound inquisitive - however,  I am not the only one who tries to use you eyes and your brain for getting things lined up before our cruise. Hope you do not mind this. 

[Bountyplum]

13 hours ago, Oren said:

That is awful.  We were counting on the traditional Port Day free access to the Thermal Suite which is an Elite perk on all other Celebrity ships but was removed, with no prior disclosure, per your experience.  For them NOT to honor a documented benefit with no advance notice is terrible P.R. and is sure to create an issue.  Perhaps the Captains Club representative who main purpose is the administration of club benefits can step in and do what is right in this case.

It wasn’t honored on the Equinox in August.     They do not want it too crowded for those in Aquaclass who pay a premium for the perk.     Looking at it from someone who books Aquaclass and also elite I am fine with it

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks again for your wonderful pictures and info.

Keep up the good work.

Hope you have good luck in the casino.

 

[WonderMan3]

24 minutes ago, Bountyplum said:

It wasn’t honored on the Equinox in August.     They do not want it too crowded for those in Aquaclass who pay a premium for the perk.     Looking at it from someone who books Aquaclass and also elite I am fine with it

 

They need to remove it as a listed perk for Elites then or at least with a disclaimer like “Not available on Celebrity Edge. May not be offered on other Celebrity ships based on capacity.” And they definitely should not have put it in the FAQ for Edge stating that the perk would be honored. 

[WonderMan3]

1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

WM3 - I, personally, want to again thank you for taking the time to post 'your' thoughts and experiences while aboard The Edge.

 

It does appear that there are times when your opinion is asked concerning areas/specifics of the ship and then when given promptly challenged.. or that is how I Am reading it, intentional or not.

 

Please continue to enjoy the sailing and posting back the wonderful commentary, answers to questions and photos, too!

 

Thank you.

 

bon voyage

 

Thank you! 🙂

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

They need to remove it as a listed perk for Elites then or at least with a disclaimer like “Not available on Celebrity Edge. May not be offered on other Celebrity ships based on capacity.” And they definitely should not have put it in the FAQ for Edge stating that the perk would be honored. 

A different question but along the same lines.  Are the locker rooms in the Spa Area accessible if you're only using the Gym? 

[chicagopaul]

Hi Adam - Thank you for taking the time to post not just information but give your opinions on everything as well. After 16 cruises (15 on S Class) we're very excited to try the new Edge in February but also will miss the comfort of knowing where everything is and how everything works. Your blog is definitely helping us get familiar with the Edge and even more excited for our sailing.

 

Keep winning in the casino and enjoy your cruise!

[miched]

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

Positive that her name is Anita.

As I said earlier, we got to know her pretty well on a 35 day cruise on the Solstice where she was an assistant in Blu.

Then we met up with her again on the Eclipse  several times where she opened Luminae as Maitre D' when it started.

She is a beautiful, statuesque, poised young lady.

Celebrity is lucky to have her.

 

WonderMan - if you get a chance please send regards from Allan and Karen.

Here is a photo of Anitsa

 

 

happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[WonderMan3]

Our plan for Wednesday was to spend the day at the main pool since we had done the Retreat on Monday. We have never spent time at a main pool in our 8 prior Celebrity cruises as they are always so crowded. We usually do the Solarium once per cruise. This time though we really liked the look of this pool and the size and it didn’t seem crowded the other day so we figured we’d give it a shot. We planned to wake up at 7:30 and hit Luminae for breakfast before the pool but we were tired and wound up sleeping until 9. Apparently everyone else did too as I heard room attendants complaining in the hallway that  it was like a Sea day with people leaving their cabins late. We made it down to the pool a little after 10 and there were only maybe 30 or so people scattered about the whole area.

 

It took some strategy to select a lounge chair as there is, as people feared, very little shade anywhere on the pool deck. Even the areas under the jogging track get a lot of sun. You never know where the shade will be each day either as the ship is positioned differently depending on the port or sailing at sea and then of course the sun moves through the day. We selected chairs in the corner near the stairs and the pool bar where there was some shade from the champagne hot tub. Tucked over there it stayed shady all day as the sun was blocked by the structures above. The loungers themselves are not overly comfortable and they have lined them up so closely together it feels like you are on top of the person beside you. If it’s not too busy you can spread them out a bit though. They are very low to the deck so that actually resolved the issue of “where do you put a drink” since there are no small tables on the pool deck. The pool itself is really nice. It’s the largest one I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship. You can definitely do laps and it ranges from 3 to 5 feet. The loungers in the water are nice to lay on and soak up the sun while getting a little wet. The water was a little chillier than I expected but once you’re in it gets comfortable quickly. I had a great time swimming as hardly anyone actually went into the pool the whole day. Myself and couple others were easily able to do laps without fear of crashing into anyone.

 

Cocktail servers were very present, quick and friendly. The pool bar though only had one bartender so service at the bar was very slow. It was faster to get a drink from your chair. We hit the Mast Grill for lunch and it was very good. I had a bacon double cheeseburger with Celebrity sauce while Mike had a hot dog. The burger was much better than what I had at the Retreat earlier in the week. They have a variety of toppings for your burger, fries are available and there is a soft serve ice cream machine. While leaving the grill I peaked at the Cabanas. I don’t know if any were occupied but people, both passengers and crew, were fully using the walkway to pass through the area. At the opposite end I did see a sign saying “Private Function” but there were no ropes present on either end. I really think those Cabanas are way overpriced for what you get so I’m glad we did not reserve them.

 

As far as music goes, there was just some chill out music playing in the background when we arrived in the morning. Around 2:30 the music changed to light rock and the volume was increased some. When we left around 3:30 some disco music was starting. By the evening it basically turns to dance and pop music at a much louder volume but I’m not sure what time that starts. So you can go most of the day it seems without loud music especially if you head out there in the morning.

 

We had an exception with noise though as they unexpectedly were doing rehearsals for the special events that evening. So there was a band playing and singing very loudly for the first two hours we were there. Luckily they were pretty talented and it wasn’t a bother. They were also rehearsing with a stilt walker and some water ballet performers so that was interesting to watch.

 

Overall this was definitely the best day I’ve ever had at a ship’s main pool and I think we’ll try to visit again before the end of the cruise.

[WonderMan3]

22 minutes ago, miched said:

Here is a photo of Anitsa

 

 

happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

That does not look like the maitre’d here on Edge so I think it’s Anita for the win! 😄

[WonderMan3]

36 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:

Hi Adam - Thank you for taking the time to post not just information but give your opinions on everything as well. After 16 cruises (15 on S Class) we're very excited to try the new Edge in February but also will miss the comfort of knowing where everything is and how everything works. Your blog is definitely helping us get familiar with the Edge and even more excited for our sailing.

 

Keep winning in the casino and enjoy your cruise!

 

Thanks! I’m sure you will enjoy this ship. It does take getting used to after years of S-class where I know them like the back of my hand. If you are on for more than 7 days then that’s a good thing. I wish we had more than 7 days as I know we won’t be able to try everything before we leave. Guess that just means we have to sail on her again!

[chamima]

52 minutes ago, miched said:

Here is a photo of Anitsa

 

 

happy crusing 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

That is NOT our Anita 

[WonderMan3]

Here are photos and videos of the show rehearsals at the pool I mentioned above.

[HAM]

35 minutes ago, chamima said:

That is NOT our Anita 

 

Karen, I totally agree that is not the wonderful Anita !!

[Rob the Cruiser]

Thank-you for one of the best reviews ever.

[alishac]

Great review! I love all of the details and photos. Did you happen to notice if there were veggie burgers available at Mast Grill?

[jcpc]

Adam, 

Thanks so much for this review.  It is excellent.  I can't wait to see the ship for myself next month. It's nice that you're trying to answer everyone's questions.  Ignore posters who have never stepped foot aboard Edge when they make negative comments.  I say to those folks - if you have made up your mind that you don't like anything about the ship then don't sail on it! 

[hcat]

16 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I would have to agree with you. THEY are the ones who said the benefit would apply on the Edge. Also the printout showing the Elite benefits states a 15% discount. 

I will be on the ship this Sunday. 

Hope to hear more  about the Thermal Suite perk after you cruise. Yes or no?

 

The 15 % discount on spa services is fairly useless,,,most often only applies while ship is in port so it's the same as the port pricing for everyone

 

Will they give a 15% discount on the Thermal suite pass?

Have  great cruise!

 

Thanks to Wonderman for mentioning this issue.......great review!

[cricketgirl]

55 minutes ago, jcpc said:

Adam, 

Thanks so much for this review.  It is excellent.  I can't wait to see the ship for myself next month. It's nice that you're trying to answer everyone's questions.  Ignore posters who have never stepped foot aboard Edge when they make negative comments.  I say to those folks - if you have made up your mind that you don't like anything about the ship then don't sail on it! 

 

I agree that Adam is providing excellent information, pictures, and insight.  Thank you - I'm devouring every word!

 

As far as those that chime in pointing out everything they consider negative about the ship and proclaiming they will never sail on the Edge, I can't help but wonder why they bother reading this thread, much less taking the time to comment if their mind is already made up.  What's the point?  There's nothing wrong with having an opinion, but it's strange to me why some feel the need to publicly down the ship.  Clearly others are having a great time and I would never want to rain on their parade.  There are certain cruise lines and specific ships that I never want to sail on, but i don't waste my time on those boards or in those threads, and surely don't comment negatively - especially on someone else's trip report.  Perhaps I'm in the minority here thinking this way.