Quick Review of Jan 13, 2019 Edge Cruise

[MVPinBoynton]

Our first cruise on the Edge was a very rushed 2-day experience.  I spent most of my time on the ship taking photos of all the over 60 public venues on the ship, along with many menus.  As a result, I didn’t comment much on the positives and negatives of the ship.  I wanted to wait until I had a full week’s experience.  I am glad I waited, since I feel more qualified to give a fairer opinion. 

 

I really like the ship itself.   It is beautiful, well laid out and has some great innovations.  We really wanted to love the new Infinite Veranda type cabin, since it should be perfect for us.  Living in south Florida, we don’t care that much about laying in the sun when on a cruise, so the extra cabin space would be nice to have.  The cabin itself is great!  There is so much storage space in the cabin and the bathroom.  The larger bathroom allows for a shower that is large enough where I never hit the sides of it with my elbows, which is most unusual for a ship cabin shower.  

 

Unfortunately, we just don’t care for the Infinite Veranda and would not book one again.  I would just as soon have an oceanview for a cheaper price, due to the veranda portion of the cabin.  The veranda area itself is quite small and crowded.  There is no footstool, which is just as well, since there isn’t room for it.  With the warm outside temperature, we needed to close the inside doors to keep the cool air in the main cabin.  This is quite a hassle, since the chairs need to be moved closer to the window to be able to shut them, then you need to move them back after the doors are shut to be able to sit down.  At the same time, you need to move around the small round table.  Kind of frustrating.  Putting the window down, takes about 16 seconds, putting it back up 28 seconds.  This is after you already spent 50 seconds putting the blackout blinds up, which previously took 40 seconds to close to keep the sun from heating up the cabin.

 

Once the hassle of setting up the veranda is completed and you sit down in the chairs, the view through the window is not that great.  The windows are tinted plus they are dirty with water drops, wet and dry.  It isn’t that bad when the window is closed; but when open, there are two thicknesses of ting and window dirt to look through. Not enjoyable.  With the bottom pane of glass being a bit more than half the height of the veranda, you can’t see directly through the opening, unless you stand up.  I will say that it is pleasant when standing up and looking out to the sea.  It is just not a quick and easy process like with a normal veranda.  And it is an impossible process in the morning when I like to sit on the veranda before my wife wakes up.  The blind and window motion is loud and the whole cabin gets too bright for someone to sleep.

 

I will put down some other positives and negatives with the ship below.  As you can see, we really liked most things on the ship.  I even enjoyed most of the entertainment, including Eden. 

 

Positives:

1.    The ship is beautiful throughout

2.    New open concept for guest services and excursions works well and feels more friendly

3.    Destination Gateway is a great area for leaving ship with restrooms close by.  It is also very nice for meetings during the day

4.    The new tenders and using the Magic Carpet to enter them should be a major plus.

5.    I enjoyed the great ocean views from Eden, the pool area and the buffet

6.    Great Infinite Veranda cabin storage and bathroom space 

7.    Stairs between decks 3, 4 and 5 for restaurants makes it easier to get around, since no rear elevators.

8.    Lots of comfortable chairs throughout ship; but many quite low

9.    Mast grill covered location and size is a significant improvement.

10.  Very smooth cruising ship, at least the week we were on it.

11.  Large screen TV is a real pleasure.

12.  Lots of Oceanview Buffet seating and single tables helps free up larger tables.

13.  Celebrity App works quite well, except for the texting that is in beta

14.  I enjoyed the 4 different main dining rooms.  Much better than one large one.  More intimate and quieter.

15.  Eden and Rooftop Garden are great large beautiful areas. 

16.  Liked having stairs between the Sunset Bar on 15 that go down to the protected outside seating area on deck 14 behind the Oceanview Buffet. 

17.  An amazing theater with no poles obstructing views, and great lighting and sound systems.

 

 

 

Negatives:

1.    Lack of activities and enrichment speakers.  Most activities are shopping, or spa related to get additional revenue.

2.    Shops are very expensive for basic souvenirs.

3.    These items were not negatives to us; but I am sure they will be for others:  no library, no game rooms or bingo.

[micheleata]

Thanks for  your review.  I don't think I would like the IV either.

[dides]

Our review touched on the same issues with the IV and your negatives too.  Nice to read about some other positives though!

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by dides

[Bo1953]

m - thank you for your review and previous photos, too..

 

bon voyage

[hcat]

Short, succint and to the point..learned a few tips for our cruise next week..thank you!

 

hope you'll submit it to the Cruise Critic review section..gives a balanced perspective.

 

.Can you please  post a link to your more extensive EDGE photos, menus etc?  Lost track of it..

[MVPinBoynton]

8 minutes ago, hcat said:

Short, succint and to the point..learned a few tips for our cruise next week..thank you!

 

hope you'll submit it to the Cruise Critic review section..gives a balanced perspective.

 

.Can you please  post a link to your more extensive EDGE photos, menus etc?  Lost track of it..

 

I posted this to the CC review section when I posted this one.  I am not permitted to post a link to my website, where I will also post a review for this cruise with even more menus.  But the link is in my CC signature. You can see it if you show signatures. 

[hcat]

Got it..thanks

[Host Anne]

Thanks Mike for returning to share more thoughts now that you sailed for a week.  So wish we could have been onboard with you Carole....next time!

 

 

[Caribbean Chris]

Mike, thanks - your review was very accurate from my viewpoint, having sailed the week before. Your explanation of the IV summed up the issues so well.

 

 

 

[Pennstateman]

Do the inside doors need to be closed for the a/c to work or does the a/c only turn off when the window is down?

 Thanks 

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[MVPinBoynton]

7 hours ago, Host Anne said:

Thanks Mike for returning to share more thoughts now that you sailed for a week.  So wish we could have been onboard with you Carole....next time!

 

 

I hope you enjoy your first Edge cruise.  Since it was our second, it has really grown on us.  We do hope to cruise with you again.

[MVPinBoynton]

1 hour ago, Pennstateman said:

Do the inside doors need to be closed for the a/c to work or does the a/c only turn off when the window is down?

 Thanks 

 

I was going to check that out; but it was such a hassle to go in and out when the doors were closed that I didn't think about it.  We also didn't have the windows down that much to find out.  

[Pennstateman]

Ok thanks that’s what I figured .  Looks like doors open all the time for me

[MVPinBoynton]

20 minutes ago, Pennstateman said:

Ok thanks that’s what I figured .  Looks like doors open all the time for me

 

That is probably the best way, but when the sun is shining directly into the cabin and it is hot and humid outside, it might take a long time to cool the cabin.  That wouldn't work for us, except in the cooler evening temperatures.

[Pennstateman]

Can’t I just lower the shade in that Instance?

[TMLAalum]

1 hour ago, MVPinBoynton said:

 

That is probably the best way, but when the sun is shining directly into the cabin and it is hot and humid outside, it might take a long time to cool the cabin.  That wouldn't work for us, except in the cooler evening temperatures.

 

24 minutes ago, Pennstateman said:

Can’t I just lower the shade in that Instance?

 

When the veranda window is open, even closing the clear bifold doors, which are not airtight, messes with the A/C.

The shade is opaque so even if you closed it just halfway, your view would only be through the double glass of the bottom opened veranda.

 

Agree with MVP about the negatives of the Infinite Verandas, although tweaks could be made to make it more enjoyable: less bulky veranda furniture, some type of light filtering drape, & airtight bifold glass doors so the A/C can keep the cabin cool while someone is out of the veranda!

 

[Pennstateman]

23 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

 

 

When the veranda window is open, even closing the clear bifold doors, which are not airtight, messes with the A/C.

The shade is opaque so even if you closed it just halfway, your view would only be through the double glass of the bottom opened veranda.

 

Agree with MVP about the negatives of the Infinite Verandas, although tweaks could be made to make it more enjoyable: less bulky veranda furniture, some type of light filtering drape, & airtight bifold glass doors so the A/C can keep the cabin cool while someone is out of the veranda!

 

Got it.  So I looks like the only way to make sure a/c stays on is keep the window up, would you agree?

[TMLAalum]

1 minute ago, Pennstateman said:

Got it.  So I looks like the only way to make sure a/c stays on is keep the window up, would you agree?

 

Yes. And come to think of it the shade cannot be lowered unless the veranda window is fully shut!

 

[verylind]

Thanks for great review. Looking forward to our first cruise on The Edge later this year.

In pictures I dont see ice buckets in room, dont they supply ice in the room daily anymore?

[MVPinBoynton]

10 minutes ago, verylind said:

Thanks for great review. Looking forward to our first cruise on The Edge later this year.

In pictures I dont see ice buckets in room, dont they supply ice in the room daily anymore?

 

Have no fear, they still put ice buckets in the cabins.  They aren't in my review pics because I take them when we first get in the cabin and we haven't yet asked for them.