Fun on the Edge Review - 1/20 - 1/27

[slei15]

Background

We are a couple in our mid-30’s from Central Florida. We sailed without the kids for this trip.  Our cruising background includes 20+ cruises spread between Celebrity, RCCL, MSC, NCL, Carnival, and Princess.  We are not loyalists to any one brand, and go where the best deal is for where and when we want to go. We find each cruise line to have its own pluses and minuses, and enjoy the differences between them.

 

The Ship

The Edge is stunning. The layout of the ship can be tricky at times (quite a few areas of having to go up and across to get somewhere on the same deck), but we managed our way around just fine. The buffet area was well thought out and had a great flow to it. The biggest complaint about the ship design for us would be the lack of seating around the bars. The martini bar, especially, has about a dozen seats at the bar, and nowhere near enough tables around to suffice as the main gathering point on the ship prior to dinner, which it was. This is where the pre-dinner live music and drinks happened for most everybody on the ship. The artwork on the ship is unique and fits the theme well.  The guest services/shore excursions/port shopping area was well thought out and never felt crowded. There is technology everywhere on this ship. The art auction area was kind of stuck off to the side and not a major focal area as it is on many ships, and the shops are spread out in a few different areas. The future cruise desk had up to 5 people working, and they were always busy. I felt horrible for the people working in the iLounge on this ship, as with all of the technology and app based functionality, it was non-stop for them. Those have to be the most patient crew members on the ship. Eden was a great area to relax and hang out, but unfortunately, we never made it there for the show. One thing that bothered us was the casino minimums.  The lowest table for blackjack all week was a $15 per hand minimum, which is just too high. The shopping on this ship was also a big complaint from many people. The shops are way too high end, and there is none of the typical $10 sales, cheap t-shirts, etc. that many people like to use for souvenirs, mementos, etc. Don't even think about looking for an inch of gold; the only one you will find is at Tiffany's for thousands of dollars! We had quite rough waters for most of the sailing, but the stabilizers on the ship were quite good. You did feel the forward/back up and down bobbing, but nothing side to side.

 

The Cabin

We were in an Oceanview cabin on deck 3 forward, right behind the martini bar. The location was great from a convenience standpoint. We never heard any unwanted noise and had easy access to get almost anywhere we wanted to go.  The cabin itself was huge for an Oceanview at about 200 square feet. The bathroom was also quite large, with the shower being almost twice the size of a typical cabin. There was plenty of storage in the cabin with lots of hidden areas. There were plenty of outlets and USB ports to meet our needs (we always bring a 6 port USB hub as well). Joy, our cabin attendant, was amazing.  Friendly, always smiling, and always managed to get into our cabin when we weren’t there. The design of the cabin was bright and modern. The minibar actually kept drinks cold.

 

The Food/Dining

We found the food on this ship incredible. We felt no need to go to specialty dining at all, as the MDR food was very well done, and could not justify the stratospheric prices for specialty on this ship. The 4 main dining room concept was great. They gave the feeling of being in a much smaller venue than a typical MDR, and the unique choices in each one added a little something extra to the typical main dining experience. We also found the buffet food to be quite good, although sometimes a bit out there. One day for lunch there was an Indian/Italian fusion station which had Chicken Tikka Lasagna.  It was slightly weird, but an interesting combination. The one area we felt could use a bit of work was the desserts. I don’t know if it was a combination of being too full from the appetizers and entrees, or if they really didn’t look that appealing, but I think we only ordered dessert in the dining room twice. We did go up to the buffet for dessert a few times, but nothing stood out as a must have (besides the after 8 ice cream and the double chocolate chip cookies).

 

Bar Service

There were plenty of bar servers all around the different venues, and waits for drinks were not long at all. The bartenders at the martini bar were entertaining and poured very strong drinks. We had the Premium Beverage Package, and thoroughly took advantage of it.  A couple things were slightly disappointing with it however; the craft drinks in Eden that were supposed to be the highlight of the area were almost all priced out of the packages.  Sure we could have paid a couple dollars for them, but it just didn’t seem right to have to. Around the pool area there were servers constantly around taking orders and cleaning up empty glasses and plates.  The other thing to keep in mind is that the ship has zero disposable plastic items. The paper straws are terrible, I would suggest bringing your own reusable straw if you like a straw. Also, there are no more plastic water bottles. The premium waters are in heavy glass bottles, and the standard bottles of water are in 16 oz aluminum cans.

 

The Entertainment

We enjoyed the three production shows we saw, and absolutely loved the music group “The Reckless Charms”, who were a group of young ladies who just graduated college in Nashville, TN. The music on the ship tended to gear more towards our age group, with a lot of top 40 type and mainly music from this century. We really enjoyed that. There was another group on board as well, Impulse, who played more of a mix of 60’s – modern, but we didn’t think they were as good. The production shows also trended towards the more modern end of the spectrum.  The comic for this week was definitely playing to an older crowd than us, as many of his jokes were not funny to us. We really liked the daytime entertainment things we went to, including the laser maze, archery, and family feud game show. The activities staff were all upbeat and fun. We felt that Deal or No Deal was a bit of a rip-off, and would rather have it back to Bingo. Only 2 people actually got to play the game, and everyone else was just playing for minor casino matchplay $, etc., with a very low chance of getting anything.

 

Overall

We spent the week trying to figure out who this ship was being targeted to. Based on the entertainment, design, and technology, it definitely felt more geared towards our generation, however; when you see the prices of the cruise as well as the onboard shopping prices, etc., it seems to be more geared towards an older demographic with more disposable income. After talking to many senior officers through the week, we seem to have narrowed it down to the following target…Multi-generational families sailing together, teenagers and up sailing with their parents and grandparents. This has the parents at an age that they have established themselves in their careers and have disposable income, grandparents at or approaching retirement age who are more into the modern world, and teenagers who are old enough to appreciate the great food and ambience of the ship, combined with all of the technology aboard. We did overhear many complaints throughout the week from “old-school Celebrity” loyalists, who felt they were being alienated by this new “Edgy” ship and entertainment. Other items we heard through the week were that the Infinity Balconies are not all they are cracked up to be, for reasons including that the captain locks them from opening when it is windy, to not being able to go outside in the morning without letting tons of light in, to not really feeling like a balcony.  We felt that the Magic Carpet was a huge miss as well. It cannot be used for tendering unless the water is perfectly calm, so we did not get to experience that feature in Grand Cayman. It was very windy on the Magic Carpet when it was used as a bar on Deck 14, which made it difficult to sit and enjoy it. It seemed like a very expensive experiment that doesn’t really serve any realistic purpose. Destination Gateway, on the other hand, was the best debark/embark point we have ever used for ports. It was open, airy, and never got overcrowded. Embarkation at the beginning of the cruise was painless, we were onboard within 10 minutes of walking into the terminal. Debarkation was also quick and easy. The facial recognition for customs made everything super quick.

 

Overall, we absolutely loved the ship and the cruise. The crew was amazing, and we had a great week.  We would definitely sail the ship again, for the right price. Since we booked this cruise in January 2017, prices have pretty much doubled, and that would not be worth it to us. If the prices come back down to normalized levels, we would definitely go back.

 

Please feel free to ask me anything I might have missed in this.  I’ll be happy to answer!

[TeeRick]

11 minutes ago, slei15 said:

Background

We are a couple in our mid-30’s from Central Florida. We sailed without the kids for this trip.  Our cruising background includes 20+ cruises spread between Celebrity, RCCL, MSC, NCL, Carnival, and Princess.  We are not loyalists to any one brand, and go where the best deal is for where and when we want to go. We find each cruise line to have its own pluses and minuses, and enjoy the differences between them.

 

The Ship

The Edge is stunning. The layout of the ship can be tricky at times (quite a few areas of having to go up and across to get somewhere on the same deck), but we managed our way around just fine. The buffet area was well thought out and had a great flow to it. The biggest complaint about the ship design for us would be the lack of seating around the bars. The martini bar, especially, has about a dozen seats at the bar, and nowhere near enough tables around to suffice as the main gathering point on the ship prior to dinner, which it was. This is where the pre-dinner live music and drinks happened for most everybody on the ship. The artwork on the ship is unique and fits the theme well.  The guest services/shore excursions/port shopping area was well thought out and never felt crowded. There is technology everywhere on this ship. The art auction area was kind of stuck off to the side and not a major focal area as it is on many ships, and the shops are spread out in a few different areas. The future cruise desk had up to 5 people working, and they were always busy. I felt horrible for the people working in the iLounge on this ship, as with all of the technology and app based functionality, it was non-stop for them. Those have to be the most patient crew members on the ship. Eden was a great area to relax and hang out, but unfortunately, we never made it there for the show. One thing that bothered us was the casino minimums.  The lowest table for blackjack all week was a $15 per hand minimum, which is just too high. The shopping on this ship was also a big complaint from many people. The shops are way too high end, and there is none of the typical $10 sales, cheap t-shirts, etc. that many people like to use for souvenirs, mementos, etc. Don't even think about looking for an inch of gold; the only one you will find is at Tiffany's for thousands of dollars! We had quite rough waters for most of the sailing, but the stabilizers on the ship were quite good. You did feel the forward/back up and down bobbing, but nothing side to side.

 

The Cabin

We were in an Oceanview cabin on deck 3 forward, right behind the martini bar. The location was great from a convenience standpoint. We never heard any unwanted noise and had easy access to get almost anywhere we wanted to go.  The cabin itself was huge for an Oceanview at about 200 square feet. The bathroom was also quite large, with the shower being almost twice the size of a typical cabin. There was plenty of storage in the cabin with lots of hidden areas. There were plenty of outlets and USB ports to meet our needs (we always bring a 6 port USB hub as well). Joy, our cabin attendant, was amazing.  Friendly, always smiling, and always managed to get into our cabin when we weren’t there. The design of the cabin was bright and modern. The minibar actually kept drinks cold.

 

The Food/Dining

We found the food on this ship incredible. We felt no need to go to specialty dining at all, as the MDR food was very well done, and could not justify the stratospheric prices for specialty on this ship. The 4 main dining room concept was great. They gave the feeling of being in a much smaller venue than a typical MDR, and the unique choices in each one added a little something extra to the typical main dining experience. We also found the buffet food to be quite good, although sometimes a bit out there. One day for lunch there was an Indian/Italian fusion station which had Chicken Tikka Lasagna.  It was slightly weird, but an interesting combination. The one area we felt could use a bit of work was the desserts. I don’t know if it was a combination of being too full from the appetizers and entrees, or if they really didn’t look that appealing, but I think we only ordered dessert in the dining room twice. We did go up to the buffet for dessert a few times, but nothing stood out as a must have (besides the after 8 ice cream and the double chocolate chip cookies).

 

Bar Service

There were plenty of bar servers all around the different venues, and waits for drinks were not long at all. The bartenders at the martini bar were entertaining and poured very strong drinks. We had the Premium Beverage Package, and thoroughly took advantage of it.  A couple things were slightly disappointing with it however; the craft drinks in Eden that were supposed to be the highlight of the area were almost all priced out of the packages.  Sure we could have paid a couple dollars for them, but it just didn’t seem right to have to. Around the pool area there were servers constantly around taking orders and cleaning up empty glasses and plates.  The other thing to keep in mind is that the ship has zero disposable plastic items. The paper straws are terrible, I would suggest bringing your own reusable straw if you like a straw. Also, there are no more plastic water bottles. The premium waters are in heavy glass bottles, and the standard bottles of water are in 16 oz aluminum cans.

 

The Entertainment

We enjoyed the three production shows we saw, and absolutely loved the music group “The Reckless Charms”, who were a group of young ladies who just graduated college in Nashville, TN. The music on the ship tended to gear more towards our age group, with a lot of top 40 type and mainly music from this century. We really enjoyed that. There was another group on board as well, Impulse, who played more of a mix of 60’s – modern, but we didn’t think they were as good. The production shows also trended towards the more modern end of the spectrum.  The comic for this week was definitely playing to an older crowd than us, as many of his jokes were not funny to us. We really liked the daytime entertainment things we went to, including the laser maze, archery, and family feud game show. The activities staff were all upbeat and fun. We felt that Deal or No Deal was a bit of a rip-off, and would rather have it back to Bingo. Only 2 people actually got to play the game, and everyone else was just playing for minor casino matchplay $, etc., with a very low chance of getting anything.

 

Overall

We spent the week trying to figure out who this ship was being targeted to. Based on the entertainment, design, and technology, it definitely felt more geared towards our generation, however; when you see the prices of the cruise as well as the onboard shopping prices, etc., it seems to be more geared towards an older demographic with more disposable income. After talking to many senior officers through the week, we seem to have narrowed it down to the following target…Multi-generational families sailing together, teenagers and up sailing with their parents and grandparents. This has the parents at an age that they have established themselves in their careers and have disposable income, grandparents at or approaching retirement age who are more into the modern world, and teenagers who are old enough to appreciate the great food and ambience of the ship, combined with all of the technology aboard. We did overhear many complaints throughout the week from “old-school Celebrity” loyalists, who felt they were being alienated by this new “Edgy” ship and entertainment. Other items we heard through the week were that the Infinity Balconies are not all they are cracked up to be, for reasons including that the captain locks them from opening when it is windy, to not being able to go outside in the morning without letting tons of light in, to not really feeling like a balcony.  We felt that the Magic Carpet was a huge miss as well. It cannot be used for tendering unless the water is perfectly calm, so we did not get to experience that feature in Grand Cayman. It was very windy on the Magic Carpet when it was used as a bar on Deck 14, which made it difficult to sit and enjoy it. It seemed like a very expensive experiment that doesn’t really serve any realistic purpose. Destination Gateway, on the other hand, was the best debark/embark point we have ever used for ports. It was open, airy, and never got overcrowded. Embarkation at the beginning of the cruise was painless, we were onboard within 10 minutes of walking into the terminal. Debarkation was also quick and easy. The facial recognition for customs made everything super quick.

 

Overall, we absolutely loved the ship and the cruise. The crew was amazing, and we had a great week.  We would definitely sail the ship again, for the right price. Since we booked this cruise in January 2017, prices have pretty much doubled, and that would not be worth it to us. If the prices come back down to normalized levels, we would definitely go back.

 

Please feel free to ask me anything I might have missed in this.  I’ll be happy to answer!

Great review!  We were on the same cruise and share many of your thoughts.  Edge is really a beautiful and elegant ship but yes very pricey. I was constantly trying to figure out if there were any passengers actually buying anything in the Edge shops.  I tried to find a simple Edge Tee-Shirt but not paying over $50 for one!

Edited January 29, 2019 by TeeRick

[lv2cruisgrl]

Thanks for the review. We sail her in March and feel we will either love her or never sail that class of ship again.  It seems many of the "dislikes" are similar with other reviews.  We just hope we enjoy the cruise enough to feel we got our $$$'s worth.  Luckily we booked very early and have lots of OBC.  Time will tell.....

[pa-annie]

1 hour ago, slei15 said:

The lowest table for blackjack all week was a $15 per hand minimum, which is just too high.

 

Thanks ... Enjoyed your concise well thought out review.  I totally agree with you, $15 min. BJ tables are too pricey and I don't get the logic of pricing us low-rollers out of the games as peeps that want to bet big can always do so.  My max min. is $10, and if there are not any such tables ... I just don't play.  I have had luck on a couple of occasions asking if they would open up a lower min. hand table, and if there aren't a lot of players at the $15 and up tables they will acquiesce.  More often than not our low-roller table fills up quickly.

 

Thanks again for your post - BZ

[frankdp]

We were on the cruise just prior to this one and our experience was similar, the biggest difference being that we are in the "grandparents" group.    We have sailed with our kids and grandkids in the past, but this trip was just my wife and I. 

 

We really liked Edge for many of the same reasons, great staff etc.   We had mixed feelings on the food.  For us, Cyprus and Normandie were very good, Tuscany was good,  and Cosmopolitan was just OK.  Of course food is very subjective so, grain of salt here.

We really enjoyed Le Petit Chef.  The animation was very cool and the food was better than I expected.   We had lunch at the morning and afternoon iteration of the same venue,

Le Grand Bistro, well worth the $20.00 surcharge.   Ate dinner at Eden on the last evening and it was off the chart!  You're sitting at your table, Looking down 1/2 level at the completely open kitchen watching about a dozen cooks and chefs buzzing around cooking your meal.   You might not watch the chefs for long because the Edenists are greeting you with a lovely "Good Eden!" or bringing you a welcome drink.   They each have a "personality" and seem to have fun with freestyling with the diners.   Not at all overbearing, and will give you as much or as little attention as you desire.  Be sure to watch for the sitar player.   I should mention that the food here was really, really good.   They offer five courses, two choices per course.   Some of the choices are a bit edgy (no pun intended), like my app, raw oysters with sea urchin.   Most of the plates they serve are pretty standard foods but with interesting preparations.   The apple desert is a must, almost too beautiful to eat.  Almost.

 

OP, please forgive me for hijacking your thread, this started out as a comment, but sort of got out of control.....   

[slei15]

17 minutes ago, frankdp said:

 

 

OP, please forgive me for hijacking your thread, this started out as a comment, but sort of got out of control.....   

Not a problem at all! The more information and opinions the better!

[dazey]

I was happy to hear that your cabin on Deck 3 Oceanview opposite the Martini Bar was good.  We are in 3158 coming up this weekend and I was concerned about the noise. Did you get to see the Magic Carpet at all from your cabin?  After your review I am reassured that we will be fine with this choice.

 

So enjoyed your review.

[slei15]

1 hour ago, dazey said:

I was happy to hear that your cabin on Deck 3 Oceanview opposite the Martini Bar was good.  We are in 3158 coming up this weekend and I was concerned about the noise. Did you get to see the Magic Carpet at all from your cabin?  After your review I am reassured that we will be fine with this choice.

 

So enjoyed your review.

We were in 3113 much further forward than yours and on the opposite side of the ship. No magic Carpet view from our cabin. Deck 3 isn’t one of its stopping points and it is only on 2 when used for tenders, so not likely that you would see it much anyway. 

[davekathy]

seli15...thanks for taking us along on your cruise. 

[DaCruiseBug]

9 hours ago, slei15 said:

Background

We are a couple in our mid-30’s from Central Florida. We sailed without the kids for this trip.  Our cruising background includes 20+ cruises spread between Celebrity, RCCL, MSC, NCL, Carnival, and Princess.  We are not loyalists to any one brand, and go where the best deal is for where and when we want to go. We find each cruise line to have its own pluses and minuses, and enjoy the differences between them.

 

 

 

Please feel free to ask me anything I might have missed in this.  I’ll be happy to answer!

 

Wait...were you guys the ones that won one of the $100 spa certificates?

[slei15]

3 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Wait...were you guys the ones that won one of the $100 spa certificates?

Haha no that was the other couple our age! We were up near the front during the raffle by the stairs!

[vtcruising]

Thanks for the great review! I found your insights very interesting. We were on the same cruise and were in the older demographic without extended family and enjoyed almost every aspect of the cruise.

 

We were in a sky suite so that certainly makes a difference in some ways,  but since our preferred entertainment is listening to good music in smaller venues (and the Retreat offered no entertainment, hence being in a suite didn't help us with the thing we wanted the most), we were concerned that the ship would be a bust for us due to the bar/lounge set ups. We were on some preview cruises and though we loved the ship, the cabins, the food and the staff, we were lukewarm about the music venues.

 

We came back for this cruise with an open mind and were pleasantly surprised. We saw many great musicians in a variety of venues and found places to have pre-dinner drinks with good music. We loved the Reckless Charms too and followed them around the ship - my husband was their biggest groupie.

 

I agree that it wasn't perfect, but many things had improved since early December. I think they did a pretty good job of having a variety of things going on at once in different venues to cover many different interests so that there was often something for everyone.  I think some places were underutilized, leaving the Grand Plaza crowded and loud at times. Hopefully, things will even out over time as Celebrity tweaks the program to help spread people out.

 

On the last day of the cruise, I walked by an oceanview on 3 being made up and I was surprised at how nice the cabin looked. We booked future cruises for a sunset veranda on the Edge and a sky suite on Apex, but if the prices don't come down some, that may be a better option to enjoy what this ship has to offer. 🙂

[jigger]

Nice review !! looking forward to sail her on in 2 weeks !!

 

[leadvocal]

On 1/29/2019 at 9:22 PM, slei15 said:

We were in 3113

 

I will be in 3119 Ocean View in April. Do you have any pics of the room? Great review by the way.

[slei15]

46 minutes ago, leadvocal said:

 

I will be in 3119 Ocean View in April. Do you have any pics of the room? Great review by the way.

I don’t unfortunately. Every cruise I tell myself I am going to take pictures for the review and every cruise the martini bar finds me first and I forget!

[FM]

On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 11:09 AM, slei15 said:

... The shopping on this ship was also a big complaint from many people. The shops are way too high end, and there is none of the typical $10 sales, cheap t-shirts, etc. that many people like to use for souvenirs, mementos, etc. Don't even think about looking for an inch of gold; the only one you will find is at Tiffany's for thousands of dollars!

Hilarious re: the inch of gold … high end shops though?  We all may have 'champagne dreams and caviar wishes' … but to afford it is another matter …

 

On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 11:09 AM, slei15 said:

... We also found the buffet food to be quite good, although sometimes a bit out there. One day for lunch there was an Indian/Italian fusion station which had Chicken Tikka Lasagna.  It was slightly weird, but an interesting combination. The one area we felt could use a bit of work was the desserts. I don’t know if it was a combination of being too full from the appetizers and entrees, or if they really didn’t look that appealing, but I think we only ordered dessert in the dining room twice. We did go up to the buffet for dessert a few times, but nothing stood out as a must have (besides the after 8 ice cream and the double chocolate chip cookies).

Looking forward to sampling the 'bit out here' and 'slightly weird' … lol

 

On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 11:09 AM, slei15 said:

 

Bar Service

There were plenty of bar servers all around the different venues, and waits for drinks were not long at all. The bartenders at the martini bar were entertaining and poured very strong drinks. We had the Premium Beverage Package, and thoroughly took advantage of it.  A couple things were slightly disappointing with it however; the craft drinks in Eden that were supposed to be the highlight of the area were almost all priced out of the packages.  Sure we could have paid a couple dollars for them, but it just didn’t seem right to have to. Around the pool area there were servers constantly around taking orders and cleaning up empty glasses and plates.  The other thing to keep in mind is that the ship has zero disposable plastic items. The paper straws are terrible, I would suggest bringing your own reusable straw if you like a straw. Also, there are no more plastic water bottles. The premium waters are in heavy glass bottles, and the standard bottles of water are in 16 oz aluminum cans.

Do you know if they have soft drinks by the can available?

 

On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 11:09 AM, slei15 said:

 

We spent the week trying to figure out who this ship was being targeted to. Based on the entertainment, design, and technology, it definitely felt more geared towards our generation, however; when you see the prices of the cruise as well as the onboard shopping prices, etc., it seems to be more geared towards an older demographic with more disposable income. After talking to many senior officers through the week, we seem to have narrowed it down to the following target…Multi-generational families sailing together, teenagers and up sailing with their parents and grandparents.

Boy … remember what it used to be like to be part of the younger generation - lol -

 

[slei15]

1 minute ago, FM said:

Do you know if they have soft drinks by the can available?

 

 

Yes....Almost every bar used canned drinks.  Very little if any fountain drinks anywhere on the ship.  If you order a coke, you get a can and a glass of ice (with a disintegrating paper straw if desired).

[leadvocal]

On 1/31/2019 at 8:03 AM, slei15 said:

I don’t unfortunately. Every cruise I tell myself I am going to take pictures for the review and every cruise the martini bar finds me first and I forget!

 

Thanks anyhow. I get a pretty good picture from your review. You don't see many reviews or pics of Ocean View or Inside rooms.

 

I know what you mean about the martini bar, while I am not a martini drinker I do like bourbon and with the classic drink package I have my Jim Beam is available to me  🙂

[Amylynner]

Thank you for your review. Our family is looking at the Edge but I just don't know if this will be our "type of cruise". The ages of the kids range from 23-27, adults 47 to 73. We have cruised on Oasis of the Seas, Adventure and Freedom of the Seas and are looking for a newer ship for next trip. I am afraid of it being, excuse me for saying this, "an old peoples cruise" and the kids will be bored.  The You Tube videos I watched so far just make it seem so subdued and nothing happening. Can someone give us any advice?