Edge, Bad Knees, Scooters, CPAP other experiences Dec 16 sailing

[kearney]

I started to write a review and after 6 pages decided I needed to focus on items not generally discussed. So I thought I would focus on scooter use and accessibility. If you have experiences please share. DH and I are in our mid 60s. DH detached his quad muscle a few years ago and after two surgeries he still goes down stairs backwards... that has put pressure on his 'good' knee which turns out to actually be his bad knee. Anyway since Sept 17 we have taken 5 Celebrity cruises and one on Harmony. He has been toughing it out walking... until we did Harmony where we rented a scooter. Any boy what a difference. The scooter was a tough fit in the Harmony cabin... which had the bed by the bathroom...but it fit.. because the bathroom door opened into the cabin, freeing the entry space for the scooter. On Edge we decided on a scooter after booking and reluctantly moved from near the rear elevator to a cabin with bed by veranda... near the front elevator. But it fits.

 

However given the way the ship is chopped up, I recommend being positioned near the rear elevator to minimize hallway driving. If you want to go to the Martini Bar you need to go to deck 3.

 

DH does not need an accessible cabin... he can take the small step into the bathroom. The IV bathrooms are nice and large, relative to comparable cabins on other ships. The setup into the bathroom is about 4.5" and the lip of the shower is about 2". There was a plug...good for CPAP right next to the bed. CPAP fit on top shelf of night stand with room for other items. For those who want to charge iphone etc. there is a usb port by this plug AND the telephone also has one... which was on the other side of the bed. The chaise lounge was too low at a 15" height. I kinda thought this from the earlier photos so I brought chair risers which brought the seat up to a nice 18".... although it was not as useful given that we usually parked the scooter in front of the bed. I think if we pushed the vanity table in that we could have placed it there... but it worked where it was. Speaking of vanity table. One of my early concerns was where would I keep my makeup. I like to do this while DH is in the shower... I purchased something called a pudda basket from IKEA which is a flat basket that can be snapped together. It fit nicely in the bathroom drawer and I could just pull it out when needed. I included some photos of the flooring in the bathroom so you can get an idea on how large it is. I did not measure the tiles...but they are about 24"x12" tiles. The shower is 36" deep at the deepest and about 34" wide... there is a grab bar at the back. I never had issues with mirrors fogging up. shower goes up to about 1" from ceiling... just start drying while in shower...by the time you exit... no fog. There is a nice plug under the sink near outside wall of bathroom. Never had to use the plug box. Still wonder if that couldn't be built into the drawers...

[Bo1953]

Thank you for the info and update...

 

I know some of these were concerns and it appears that they were minimized to a great degree...

 

bon voyage

[kearney]

Elevators were plenty wide even for DH's slightly larger scooter. We never had an issue with elevators even on the last day. Now from my cabin count, there were at least 130 unsold IV cabins, so that might be why. The hallways on deck 3,4,5 were wide enough to easily handle scooter traffic. The forest of oscar losers... as DH called it, near Eden was a tad narrow...but not a problem... but I wouldn't want to go through drunk. I have noted issues with scooters in the Eden elevator. Now his scooter was 45" long vs 41" for the smaller one... but I still think making a 90 degree turn would have been near impossible with any scooter. If anyone has a different experience...please post... I would hate to mislead anyone about this. But on Deck 6 you pull straight in and on deck 4 you pull straight out but on deck 5 you need to turn 90 degrees... very little room to maneuver.  I liked Eden... but there was so much going on in terms of decor that the sea view is just not the same as the sky lounge. It is nice though. We did not spend much time there. So we only heard a nice girl band and not any of the Edenist stuff. One reason is that DH's charger was defective, so it guided our travels. We were fearful of running out of power far from the cabin. another reason to have a cabin near where all the action is... rear elevator.

 

We usually parked outside the restaurants and DH walked in. They were very helpful in finding a table not far from entrance. Loved the different restaurants... even with a menu that did not change much... changing the environment kept things fresh.

 

We only used deck 3 along the rail...in the Martini bar. We did not try the ramp... that end of the bar looked a bit crowded for the addition of a scooter. Most of the seating there was good for DH as was the seating in the cafe on Deck 4. We spent a fare amount of time in this part of the ship.

 

Ocean view was really great for DH ... he was able to park out of the way and there wasn't a time when someone did not offer assistance. Loved the food options... like the other Celebrity ships we have been on... I love the ocean view. I am not a real fan of Windjammer... which is too crowded... forget scooters... hard to get around period. The desserts on Celebrity are just so much better

[kearney]

The theater was our muster station, deck 5. When we came in I was surprised there was no space for wheel chairs along the back like S class. We were sent along the side and found a place... but it really didn't seem designed for this... we tried coming in late a couple of nights and noticed on deck 4 no place along the back for wheel chairs. I assume the table area up close was where we should have been going... but honestly did not see how to get there. Memo to self... get there early. Beyond that the theater was lovely. We saw a bit of some of the performances as we entered, but it did not interest us. Perhaps I am incorrect but I could not hear the lyrics... I think the volume of the background music was over powering the singer... or my hearing is worse than I thought. Alas that might be it.

I loved all the groups that performed in the Martini Bar and the girl group that performed in Eden. I was concerned that there would not be any 'normal' music. It was very nice. Did see a group painting in the Martini Bar. Unusual but everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was interesting watching the artist they had on board painting on the spot.... fun

[A Sixth?]

This is what Canadians call an accessible room 😉

[kearney]

Just now, A Sixth? said:

This is what Canadians call an accessible room 😉

Love it... My lab takes up most of my half.... I have to sleep curled up so she has room. We cruise to get caught up on sleep

[kearney]

17 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Thank you for the info and update...

 

I know some of these were concerns and it appears that they were minimized to a great degree...

 

bon voyage

Thanks, I have to think ahead... one thing I did not anticipate was the scooter having a charging issue. I was surprised that since RCCL suggests specific organizations for rental... I assumed they would have some spare chargers or have an idea on who had rented so we could borrow one... but no luck.  Fortunately the ship was able to lend us a wheelchair... so we could at least get around. The ship also had luggage valet which takes your bags straight to the airport...so one less thing to obsess about. I do like the ship... but not quite as much a S class

[villauk]

12 hours ago, A Sixth? said:

This is what Canadians call an accessible room 😉

 

 

Brilliant 😉.

[vtcruising]

Great review, kearney! Thanks for taking the time to go through the details, which will undoubtedly help others.

 

What were your favorite dishes at the MDRs (restaurant -specific dishes)?

 

Edited December 31, 2018 by vtcruising

[kearney]

3 hours ago, vtcruising said:

Great review, kearney! Thanks for taking the time to go through the details, which will undoubtedly help others.

 

What were your favorite dishes at the MDRs (restaurant -specific dishes)?

 

The baked brie and tenderloin en croute ( which looked like the beef wellington offered on regular part of menu on lobster night). I had this twice. I was surprised, I guess that there were four starters and entrees for each specialty restaurant that remained the same. Somehow I thought that there would be some variety there as well as regular menu...with only the classics remaining the same. It wasn't a problem... but I am glad we went to all four restaurants and did not stick with one or two. That could have gotten old. The food was fabulous as was the service we received.  

[vtcruising]

6 minutes ago, kearney said:

The baked brie and tenderloin en croute ( which looked like the beef wellington offered on regular part of menu on lobster night). I had this twice. I was surprised, I guess that there were four starters and entrees for each specialty restaurant that remained the same. Somehow I thought that there would be some variety there as well as regular menu...with only the classics remaining the same. It wasn't a problem... but I am glad we went to all four restaurants and did not stick with one or two. That could have gotten old. The food was fabulous as was the service we received.  

We had a sample of that tenderloin en croute - left us wanting a full portion!

[kearney]

Put anything in pastry and I will love it.

[kearney]

Some more notes on the cabin. Remember many of us were obsessing over storage was there enough... were would we put other stuff. So I try not to over pack. I packed three knee length dresses, four sets of capri pants and only one (unusual) pair of shorts along with enough tops for a change at dinner and an extra set of clothes should flights be canceled or some other emergency. For DH I packed jacket, four dress shirts two pairs of slacks one extra pair of shoes I packed three pairs of shoes (I am not a shoe person). I also packed about 9 polo shirts... and the usual socks underwear etc. Everything fit... I even placed a carryon in the closet along with two jackets..for the trip home.

For those who need to know there are three drawers... top about 6" high and the other two a tad over 9". The drawers are divided into two 15" x 14". easily fit t shirts and many of the polo shirts. The drawers in the close are smaller... about 12" x 12". Hidden storage fit shoes... if you are a shoe person... you could put them under the chaise lounge... not ideal perhaps. The safe will not hold an ipad in case you wondered. Long dresses could have replaced the shorter ones...but carryon would be in the way. They could use more hangers and thinner ones would conserve space.

 If using a walker or scooter... the narrowest opening between the rounded corner storage and the drawers is about 25".

[Silkroad]

On 12/30/2018 at 4:09 PM, kearney said:

one thing I did not anticipate was the scooter having a charging issue. I was surprised that since RCCL suggests specific organizations for rental... I assumed they would have some spare chargers or have an idea on who had rented so we could borrow one... but no luck. 

This would infuriate me. We’ve not had the need for a scooter, but I imagine one of us may need one someday. I would hate to assume we’d have a fully functional scooter, only to find we had instead a barely functional one. I hope you’re able to obtain a full refund from the rental company.

 

Thanks for your excellent review. I’m sure it will be very helpful to people who use mobity aids of any type, as well as CPAP users. It’s also a helpful reminder for the rest of us to consider how difficult it may be for people to maneuver scooters past a certain point in the Martini Bar, and other areas, and perhaps give way when a scooter appears. I’m still shaking my head over the Eden elevator. When I looked at the photos, I asked my husband where the scooter user’s partner was supposed to go while the scooter user tried to execute that quarter turn in a tight space! 

 

Thanks for the great packing info, and the photos of the cabin storage. Your iPad wouldn’t fit in the safe? I wish they’d thought that one through. There’s room for a larger safe. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by Silkroad

[kearney]

15 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

This would infuriate me. We’ve not had the need for a scooter, but I imagine one of us may need one someday. I would hate to assume we’d have a fully functional scooter, only to find we had instead a barely functional one. I hope you’re able to obtain a full refund from the rental company.

 

Thanks for your excellent review. I’m sure it will be very helpful to people who use mobity aids of any type, as well as CPAP users. It’s also a helpful reminder for the rest of us to consider how difficult it may be for people to maneuver scooters past a certain point in the Martini Bar, and other areas, and perhaps give way when a scooter appears. I’m still shaking my head over the Eden elevator. When I looked at the photos, I asked my husband where the scooter user’s partner was supposed to go while the scooter user tried to execute that quarter turn in a tight space! 

 

Thanks for the great packing info, and the photos of the cabin storage. Your iPad wouldn’t fit in the safe? I wish they’d thought that one through. There’s room for a larger safe. 

We are working on it... with special needs group.  I am not convinced a smaller scooter would work in Eden elevator... the partner would have to know to stand on the opposite side of the elevator controls... and the driver would have to know to pull as far to the right as possible... but the arm might hit the controls... I am not sure.... the hinge of the door on 5 is on the far side and it opens less than a full opening adding to difficulty. I hope others who had scooters can comment if they tried the Eden elevator.. maybe there is a trick I haven't figured on

 

[vtcruising]

Thanks for the storage details and details about the Eden elevator. They must have someone who helps them figure out accessibility issues. Sounds like they missed the boat on the elevator. It will be good to hear what others did on scooters - as Silkroad said, many of us are headed in that direction.

 

 

[kearney]

On 12/31/2018 at 5:41 PM, Silkroad said:

This would infuriate me. We’ve not had the need for a scooter, but I imagine one of us may need one someday. I would hate to assume we’d have a fully functional scooter, only to find we had instead a barely functional one. I hope you’re able to obtain a full refund from the rental company.

 

Thanks for your excellent review. I’m sure it will be very helpful to people who use mobity aids of any type, as well as CPAP users. It’s also a helpful reminder for the rest of us to consider how difficult it may be for people to maneuver scooters past a certain point in the Martini Bar, and other areas, and perhaps give way when a scooter appears. I’m still shaking my head over the Eden elevator. When I looked at the photos, I asked my husband where the scooter user’s partner was supposed to go while the scooter user tried to execute that quarter turn in a tight space! 

 

Thanks for the great packing info, and the photos of the cabin storage. Your iPad wouldn’t fit in the safe? I wish they’d thought that one through. There’s room for a larger safe. 

I thought I should post an update. As noted earlier... the charger on our scooter did not work. To be honest we did not enjoy the cruise as much as we should have because for half the trip we worried the scooter would die on us. That limited our travels around the ship... paying more attention to the types of scooters passing by than on what was going on on the ship. I reached out to special needs at sea to see if they had any ideas... but since there were not extra chargers... they were out of ideas.  When we got home special needs at sea reached out to us... the credited us for about 3 days use... and we will get a discount on next rental. After a letter to Celebrity... (suggesting that they keep some supplies on board.. eg a few extra chargers for different brands carried by the companies they generally work with.....) we got a nice call and they are giving us OBC on a future cruise. Both handled this professionally BUT... I hope the two will work together to develop a plan to keep this from happening in the future.  This was early on in Edges life so I hope that this was not something considered... I hope other ships have supplies on board. Anyway... that is where we stand

[hcat]

Hope your involvement results in change for the better.. esp for scooter rental.

 

EDGE may just  be too " rampy " with   level changes that are not conducive  to scooters....we  don't use one but will certainly be watching our step with all the ups and downs!

 

 Thanks for the closet photos .It is going to be tough for us.   For each day,  dh and I have  casual outfits for the day, (two extras for daytime special events ) and one  outfit for each night....plus socks , swim wear, gym clothes, etc. We pack light for shoes, handbags, sun hats  etc   Hope it will all fit well as we will be walking from the parking garage.

 

We do one load of laundry  for underwear and socks and  wear our boarding  outfits to disembark.  Our pre cruise hotel and post cruise clothing for  a short visit to grandma  will stay in our car at the garage.

 

We pack on Sat so may have to edit a bit!  It has to fit in the cases with carry ons for meds , cosmetics/ hygiene, 4 pack of Fiji water and electronics..

 

It usually works out...

 

 

 

 

 

[kearney]

I am a fairly light packer.... day time and night time outfits... different tops but repeat bottoms... This trip 3 dresses... nothing long. I suggest packing roughly half in each large bag... then remove items likely to wrinkle and keep the rest of one bag under the suitcase. If you have a chaise lounge... vs a sofabed... there is room under it for shoes that don't fit in side storage. I only pack one extra daytime change of cloths... should there be a delay or spill... I usually lay everything out in a guest bedroom and pack a day before leaving.. weeding out what I don't need. Since I am the one handling the luggage... it is amazing how my attitude has changed... Have fun... you will enjoy the ship... 

[hcat]

Thanks for the tips.  This is my Big Birthday cruise so my chic outfit is dressier  and fluffier than usual...dh is happy he need not bring a  jacket!

[vtcruising]

I’m glad you were compensated for the stress you had! I was given an envelope the last night of our last Edge cruise  - I thought it was just a promo, but just last week realized that it was pretty generous credit for another cruise, likely due to my accident on the gangway. Will enjoy picking one out next week!! 😀

[FM]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 1:34 PM, kearney said:

 

 

 

Re: the scooter, do you know what model of Pride the scooter was ...

 

Re: the CPAP, does Celebrity offer distilled water or did you bring your own ...

 

Thanks

 

[kearney]

7 hours ago, FM said:

 

Re: the scooter, do you know what model of Pride the scooter was ...

 

Re: the CPAP, does Celebrity offer distilled water or did you bring your own ...

 

Thanks

 

Info on scooter... for those over 250lbs...

 

They provided the water... asked room attendant day one.... although I had noted the need for this when we originally made the reservation. It is about 1" wider than the next model down and about 3" longer. Required a different charger than the next model down.. one reason we had trouble finding someone whose charger we could borrow.

[hcat]

23 hours ago, vtcruising said:

I’m glad you were compensated for the stress you had! I was given an envelope the last night of our last Edge cruise  - I thought it was just a promo, but just last week realized that it was pretty generous credit for another cruise, likely due to my accident on the gangway. Will enjoy picking one out next week!! 😀

 

Happy they compensated you..and hope the scar and trauma of the fall  fade away!

You really powered through like Wonder Woman!

[lobster129]

On 1/18/2019 at 2:02 PM, kearney said:

I thought I should post an update. As noted earlier... the charger on our scooter did not work. To be honest we did not enjoy the cruise as much as we should have because for half the trip we worried the scooter would die on us. That limited our travels around the ship... paying more attention to the types of scooters passing by than on what was going on on the ship. I reached out to special needs at sea to see if they had any ideas... but since there were not extra chargers... they were out of ideas.  When we got home special needs at sea reached out to us... the credited us for about 3 days use... and we will get a discount on next rental. After a letter to Celebrity... (suggesting that they keep some supplies on board.. eg a few extra chargers for different brands carried by the companies they generally work with.....) we got a nice call and they are giving us OBC on a future cruise. Both handled this professionally BUT... I hope the two will work together to develop a plan to keep this from happening in the future.  This was early on in Edges life so I hope that this was not something considered... I hope other ships have supplies on board. Anyway... that is where we stand

You can purchase a variety of mobility scooters for a couple of weeks of "rental" rates.  The airlines transfer them as a mobility device just as they would a w/chair, walker etc. In other words..."no fee")  A good place to begin looking at them is Amazon to compare issues such as wt capacity, speed, how far they can go on a full battery, turning radius and other things you wonder about...and of course, the price!