I noticed fewer bars on the Edge. Is it a problem?

[MVPinBoynton]

5 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

ok good to know!

This is what it looks like in when flipped and unflipped.

 

 

[SandG]

OP here.  I'm pleased to see that my original question spawned a lot of discussion and others who feel the same.  We have a beverage plan so if we cannot find a quiet place for a drink, we may run down to grab a drink at one of the bars and bring it back to try the "balance act" on the tom tom, ha ha.  But even that idea takes me back to my original point / question.  Which bar would lend itself for a quick trip from the cabin without much waiting?  On s-class, depending on time of the day, the answer might be the passport or ensemble, wine cellar, or the little further but never busy oceanview bar (behind the buffet).  What would be our best bet on the Edge for this?

 

I too wish that they had dedicated more space to public areas and not so many high-end shops.

Sue   

Edited December 18, 2018 by SandG

[hvsteve1]

They DO offer wine, mixed drinks, etc in Cafe Al Bacio. The also have bar service at Al Bacio in Oceanview Cafe.

 

[TeeRick]

8 hours ago, SandG said:

OP here.  I'm pleased to see that my original question spawned a lot of discussion and others who feel the same.  We have a beverage plan so if we cannot find a quiet place for a drink, we may run down to grab a drink at one of the bars and bring it back to try the "balance act" on the tom tom, ha ha.  But even that idea takes me back to my original point / question.  Which bar would lend itself for a quick trip from the cabin without much waiting?  On s-class, depending on time of the day, the answer might be the passport or ensemble, wine cellar, or the little further but never busy oceanview bar (behind the buffet).  What would be our best bet on the Edge for this?

 

I too wish that they had dedicated more space to public areas and not so many high-end shops.

Sue   

 

I guess your options for a quick take-out bar trip might be al bacio or maybe one of the pool bars?

[vtcruising]

8 hours ago, SandG said:

OP here.  I'm pleased to see that my original question spawned a lot of discussion and others who feel the same.  We have a beverage plan so if we cannot find a quiet place for a drink, we may run down to grab a drink at one of the bars and bring it back to try the "balance act" on the tom tom, ha ha.  But even that idea takes me back to my original point / question.  Which bar would lend itself for a quick trip from the cabin without much waiting?  On s-class, depending on time of the day, the answer might be the passport or ensemble, wine cellar, or the little further but never busy oceanview bar (behind the buffet).  What would be our best bet on the Edge for this?

 

I too wish that they had dedicated more space to public areas and not so many high-end shops.

Sue   

Your best bet would probably be al Bacio Secondo in the OVC - they had pretty quick service there. The Pool Bar would be my next choice. It may have been my timing, but I tried to walk up and order something a couple of times at Cafe al Bacio and was unsuccessful (waited awhile and had somewhere to be). They seemed so busy with lounge orders that the counter orders seemed to back up. They will probably find their rhythm, but it may be busier there because it is a true lounge with ocean views and comfy seating.  Of course, if you want a nice pastry or dessert with that drink, it might be worth waiting....🙂

[poffles]

On the Edge next month and reduction in bars also makes me wonder about wait times for a drink.  Last cruise was on Equinox in November and if I had to wait at the Martini bar during the evening every time I wanted a drink I would be very frustrated.  I tended to go to the Gastro Pub bar as it was usually quieter and I typically just wanted a beer so really didn't want to wait for line ups with most getting mixed drinks.  I also wonder if the casino bar is now busier than ever due to no other bar close by but perhaps this is an area where they will have more waiter/bartenders walking around to take orders.

 

I had the Premium Alcohol Package last cruise and really enjoyed it, but this time no drink perk at all and I keep debating purchasing, not only due to cost but with consideration of the ease of getting a drink.  My thoughts are to go with the Premium Non Alcohol package and buy alcohol drinks as I go and then if I can't stand waiting I have not paid anything ahead for that frustration.  Silly ... maybe won't be an issue ???  Can you tell I am an over thinker!!!!!!!!!!  Life crisis bwahahahahaha

 

I am in the minority (I think) with my not liking the Martini bar so much, it tends to have too many gathering there at the bar and getting a drink can be a challenge for those that are walk bys like me.  And I will definitely agree with others that speak about the boom boom boom of music in this area as this is also the case on other ships, it was so bad on my last cruise that it filtered up to my room on 7th floor which was located on the hump, and this would be 10 at night, if one can't get away from such noise then I fear I may get turned off by the future of cruising.

 

I will be sure to circle back to give my honest opinions ... I know it will be an awesome cruise and my over thinking will fade into the background once I step onto the ship (at least I hope)  🍺🍻🥂🍹

Edited February 12, 2019 by poffles

[kwokpot]

5 minutes ago, poffles said:

On the Edge next month and reduction in bars also makes me wonder about wait times for a drink.  Last cruise was on Equinox in November and if I had to wait at the Martini bar during the evening every time I wanted a drink I would be very frustrated.  I tended to go to the Gastro Pub bar as it was usually quieter and I typically just wanted a beer so really didn't want to wait for line ups with most getting mixed drinks.  I also wonder if the casino bar is now busier than ever due to no other bar close by but perhaps this is an area where they will have more waiter/bartenders walking around to take orders.

 

I had the Premium Alcohol Package last cruise and really enjoyed it, but this time no drink perk at all and I keep debating purchasing, not only due to cost but with consideration of the ease of getting a drink.  My thoughts are to go with the Premium Non Alcohol package and buy alcohol drinks as I go and then if I can't stand waiting I have not paid anything ahead for that frustration.  Silly ... maybe won't be an issue ???  Can you tell I am an over thinker!!!!!!!!!!  Life crisis bwahahahahaha

 

I am in the minority (I think) with my not liking the Martini bar so much, it tends to have too many gathering there at the bar and getting a drink can be a challenge for those that are walk bys like me.  And I will definitely agree with others that speak about the boom boom boom of music in this area as this is also the case on other ships, it was so bad on my last cruise that it filtered up to my room on 7th floor which was located on the hump, and this would be 10 at night, if one can't get away from such noise then I fear I may get turned off by the future of cruising.

 

I will be sure to circle back to give my honest opinions ... I know it will be an awesome cruise and my over thinking will fade into the background once I step onto the ship (at least I hope)  🍺🍻🥂🍹

With regard to getting a drink at the Martini Bar on The Edge, my advice would be that you need to be a bit assertive. I would get to bar level and politely BUT assertively make your way to a spot in-between guests seated at the bar. Because of the multi-level nature of the Grand Plaza where the Martini Bar is on the Edge, I notice some people waiting far back on the upper level in front of the bar. It's hard to describe but what happens is that if you're waiting there you're standing above floor level of the bar and consequently never really AT the bar, even though you're above it. IMO that strategy will cause you to wait quite awhile and be frustrated. 

[vtcruising]

3 minutes ago, poffles said:

On the Edge next month and reduction in bars also makes me wonder about wait times for a drink.  Last cruise was on Equinox in November and if I had to wait at the Martini bar during the evening every time I wanted a drink I would be very frustrated.  I tended to go to the Gastro Pub bar as it was usually quieter and I typically just wanted a beer so really didn't want to wait for line ups with most getting mixed drinks.  I also wonder if the casino bar is now busier than ever due to no other bar close by but perhaps this is an area where they will have more waiter/bartenders walking around to take orders.

 

I had the Premium Alcohol Package last cruise and really enjoyed it, but this time no drink perk at all and I keep debating purchasing, not only due to cost but with consideration of the ease of getting a drink.  My thoughts are to go with the Premium Non Alcohol package and buy alcohol drinks as I go and then if I can't stand waiting I have not paid anything ahead for that frustration.  Silly ... maybe won't be an issue ???  Can you tell I am an over thinker!!!!!!!!!!  Life crisis bwahahahahaha

 

I am in the minority (I think) with my not liking the Martini bar so much, it tends to have too many gathering there at the bar and getting a drink can be a challenge for those that are walk bys like me.  And I will definitely agree with others that speak about the boom boom boom of music in this area as this is also the case on other ships, it was so bad on my last cruise that it filtered up to my room on 7th floor which was located on the hump, and this would be 10 at night, if one can't get away from such noise then I fear I may get turned off by the future of cruising.

 

I will be sure to circle back to give my honest opinions ... I know it will be an awesome cruise and my over thinking will fade into the background once I step onto the ship (at least I hope)  🍺🍻🥂🍹

We had the Premium Pkg and got more than our money's worth. 🙂 The service was excellent and we almost felt that there were too many servers at times (in the Grand Plaza - we sat at the other end away from the Martini Bar), we would order a drink sometimes and then have 2 more people come and ask if we needed drinks while waiting for our orders. Eden during the day until about 6 was very chill - usually good seating (we liked to be on deck 6 by the rail looking out at the wake). They often had good music and plenty of servers who wandered around all the little nooks and crannies finding people and taking orders. Events at the Club also had excellent service. If the weather is good, a lovely bar is the Magic Carpet Bar - wonderful views, great friendly service. Sunset bar had very good service too, even at Sail Away - never had to go to the bar for a drink as on other ships at Sail Away. I didn't go to the Casino Bar - it didn't look that busy. They had gambling machines at the bar (at least that is what it looked like).

 

Bar and wine service were excellent in all the restaurants we went to - cocktails were readily available and our wine glasses were never empty. I found that the sommeliers were generally quite good on this ship.

[Hlitner]

Just a thought about smaller lounges/bars.  Having live entertainment in that kind of venue costs more money for the cruise line..not to mention finding extra cabin space for the entertainers.  Celebrity has been "cutting back" on entertainment for several years.  Quartets shrank to duos or even solo entertainers.  Bands disappeared or were reduced in size.  This has also been an issue on some other mass market lines.   Walk around some older ships that have many bars/lounges and you will often notice no entertainment or very reduced hours of live entertainment.  On some lines/ships they will put multiple bars around large atriums and provide a single point of entertainment (so one entertainer can provide music from multiple venues).   When we recently were on our first MSC cruise (Divina) we were delighted to be able to walk through the vessel in the evening and hear live music in 3 or 4 locations..all going on at the same time.  Apparently MSC has not yet gotten the message that they need to cut-back on the number of entertainers in smaller venues.  But that line does not have any kind of ship band that plays in their main theater for production shows (it is all pre-recorded).  HAL recently reduced entertainment on several of their smaller vessels and often tries to make up for the lack of live music by providing more movies!  It seems like so many lines are looking for ways to cut-back on live entertainment.  ARGH!

 

As to bars, more bars mean more bar tenders, supervisors, etc.  And fewer bars also feeds into drink packages where it can be more difficult for cruisers to get drinks.  We still remember the days when you could not sit in a deck chair for more then 5 minutes before a deck waiter would come by to ask if you wanted to order a drink.  Now, we can often sit in a deck chair for hours without ever seeing a waiter.!  Drinks are certainly available, but it often means you have to walk a few hundred feet to the nearest staffed bar and wait while one or two bar tenders handle all the customers.  This is not a specific reference to Celebrity as it is similar on some other cruise lines.

 

Hank

[poffles]

29 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

We had the Premium Pkg and got more than our money's worth. 🙂 The service was excellent and we almost felt that there were too many servers at times (in the Grand Plaza - we sat at the other end away from the Martini Bar), we would order a drink sometimes and then have 2 more people come and ask if we needed drinks while waiting for our orders. Eden during the day until about 6 was very chill - usually good seating (we liked to be on deck 6 by the rail looking out at the wake). They often had good music and plenty of servers who wandered around all the little nooks and crannies finding people and taking orders. Events at the Club also had excellent service. If the weather is good, a lovely bar is the Magic Carpet Bar - wonderful views, great friendly service. Sunset bar had very good service too, even at Sail Away - never had to go to the bar for a drink as on other ships at Sail Away. I didn't go to the Casino Bar - it didn't look that busy. They had gambling machines at the bar (at least that is what it looked like).

 

Bar and wine service were excellent in all the restaurants we went to - cocktails were readily available and our wine glasses were never empty. I found that the sommeliers were generally quite good on this ship.

Oh that is great to hear!  I am really looking forward to sailing the Edge, definitely looks like a different experience which I find exciting as I tend to not be so excited when there is nothing new to explore.

 

Thanks for sharing this and now the drink package will come down to cost 🙂  Holding out on the hopes they do a promotion in the short time before I sail but starting think it may not happen.

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Just a thought about smaller lounges/bars.  Having live entertainment in that kind of venue costs more money for the cruise line..not to mention finding extra cabin space for the entertainers.  Celebrity has been "cutting back" on entertainment for several years.  Quartets shrank to duos or even solo entertainers.  Bands disappeared or were reduced in size.  This has also been an issue on some other mass market lines.   Walk around some older ships that have many bars/lounges and you will often notice no entertainment or very reduced hours of live entertainment.  On some lines/ships they will put multiple bars around large atriums and provide a single point of entertainment (so one entertainer can provide music from multiple venues).   When we recently were on our first MSC cruise (Divina) we were delighted to be able to walk through the vessel in the evening and hear live music in 3 or 4 locations..all going on at the same time.  Apparently MSC has not yet gotten the message that they need to cut-back on the number of entertainers in smaller venues.  But that line does not have any kind of ship band that plays in their main theater for production shows (it is all pre-recorded).  HAL recently reduced entertainment on several of their smaller vessels and often tries to make up for the lack of live music by providing more movies!  It seems like so many lines are looking for ways to cut-back on live entertainment.  ARGH!

 

As to bars, more bars mean more bar tenders, supervisors, etc.  And fewer bars also feeds into drink packages where it can be more difficult for cruisers to get drinks.  We still remember the days when you could not sit in a deck chair for more then 5 minutes before a deck waiter would come by to ask if you wanted to order a drink.  Now, we can often sit in a deck chair for hours without ever seeing a waiter.!  Drinks are certainly available, but it often means you have to walk a few hundred feet to the nearest staffed bar and wait while one or two bar tenders handle all the customers.  This is not a specific reference to Celebrity as it is similar on some other cruise lines.

 

Hank

That makes a lot of sense about why the Edge and other ships don't have multiple small lounges. Luckily there was a good variety of live music for us on the Edge (not a plethora of choices, but adequate enough to make us happy).

 

Examples:
Grand Plaza, like the Grand Foyer in that they had entertainers, with music heard up through the atrium (though more space to sit, so noisier):

We saw two different bands (one was exactly our taste, the other very good), an excellent duo, a great solo guitarist, an excellent soloist, pianist and sax once.

 

Eden (a separate lounge area - not small because it is spread out, but many cozy, comfortable areas): Seating on various levels, with lots of nooks and crannies and most with wonderful ocean views:

We saw many of these same performers at Eden - this was my favorite venue for live music and drinks

 

The Club: smaller lounge feel, though 2 levels. They had a nice bar and some great live entertainment, including some of the same performers as above, as well as the Edge Ensemble Band (sometimes with a dance hour), which was excellent.

 

Rooftop Garden was lovely, though weather dependent. When the weather was nice, it was a peaceful, relaxing place to listen to mellow live music.

 

The Resort Deck had these same performers throughout the cruise, with good bar service.

 

The Theater: The Edge Theater Band was a joy (percussion, brass, electric guitar all excellent)!  I would go to some of the performances to see them more than the headliner performer. There were two headline guest singers and a violinist/singer (missed her unfortunately), 2 comedians and 3 production shows.

 

As far as bar service, I have been on some X cruises where the bar service was slow, without sufficient bartenders. I assumed that the Edge would have slow service because of the larger venues, with seating spread out over multiple levels. I was so wrong - at least for this cruise, I would say the service was the best I've experienced in many years. Both my DH and I feel that we drank more than usual on this trip because of the staff's disdain for empty glasses. My wine glass was never empty at dinner until I asked then to stop and someone almost always appeared right after I sat down in a bar, lounge or sundeck, asking if I needed a cocktail. We were thinking of not getting a drink package on the next cruise and just drink less (it is a charter and we would have to pay full price). On the Edge cruise, we were like kids in a candy store. 😉

 

 

Edited February 12, 2019 by vtcruising

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, vtcruising said:

We had the Premium Pkg and got more than our money's worth. 🙂 The service was excellent and we almost felt that there were too many servers at times (in the Grand Plaza - we sat at the other end away from the Martini Bar), we would order a drink sometimes and then have 2 more people come and ask if we needed drinks while waiting for our orders.

I'm very happy to see this, but I do wonder if you received superior service because they knew who you were. Besides having been crowned Queen of the Edge by the Edgies, you've sailed Edge several times. In fact,  when I board her in April, I'm thinking about wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with "I'm with VTcruising" or "Friend of VTcruisng"😉

Edited February 12, 2019 by Silkroad

[vtcruising]

18 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

I'm very happy to see this, but I do wonder if you received superior service because they knew who you were. Besides having been crowned Queen of the Edge by the Edgies, you've sailed Edge several times. In fact,  when I board her in April, I'm thinking about wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with "I'm with VTcruising" or "Friend of VTcruisng"😉

LOL! I don't think that t-shirt would get you very far.   🙂

 

On the TA, with fewer drink packages, they will want to sell drinks and you should have excellent service!   I just wish I could be there to make sure you get the service you deserve! 😊

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

LOL! I don't think that t-shirt would get you very far.   🙂

 

On the TA, with fewer drink packages, they will want to sell drinks and you should have excellent service!   I just wish I could be there to make sure you get the service you deserve! 😊

Join our party! I think there's a midship S1 with your name on it😉 I cancelled our drink packages as soon as I read reports about too few bartenders & servers on earlier cruises, so they will acquire our "beverage money" only if they are able to provide their usual excellent service. That said, this will be our first cruise with Elite perks, so we do hope to easily acquire a cocktail or two before dinner😊

[Silkroad]

On 12/18/2018 at 12:17 AM, SandG said:

Which bar would lend itself for a quick trip from the cabin without much waiting? 

We won't sail Edge until April, but based on our experiences on other X ships, we intend to pop up to Il Secondo Bacio (in OVC) for basic wine/beer if we should wish to take them back to our cabin. In our experience, that's been the quickest option. 

[cluso]

On ‎12‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 12:02 AM, hvsteve1 said:

They DO offer wine, mixed drinks, etc in Cafe Al Bacio. The also have bar service at Al Bacio in Oceanview Cafe.

 

But very limited options.

[Bo1953]

9 hours ago, cluso said:

But very limited options.

Then again on other X ships, not ALL beverages are in abundance at ALL bars, unless I missed the right bar tender...

 

Cheers and bon voyage