PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT CELEBRITY

[Cruisegirl6]

HELLO,

 

I been on 83 cruises so far and considering the Edge for November this year.  I mostly travel on RC, been on Princess, Carnival and NCL which NCL being our least favorite cruise line.  With that being said, we have a few questions if you can help us and we can decide whether celebrity is right for us, we are both 56.

 

1-  I assume it would be a more older crowd, maybe averaging above 60 years old (heck I am near there I don't mind just asking, because Holland America for us was more of a crowd of 70plus years and just getting an idea what celebrity is).

 

2-  Are there any entertainment past 11pm and what type?

 

3-  Is the ship pretty much all quiet, meaning people sleeping by 11:30 or would we find alot of people up and about past midnight?

 

4-  Do they close the casino after a certain time if they don't meet quota in the casino?  Will the casino be open to at least 2am?

 

5-  Is there anything to eat past 11:30pm, we like to stay up late and generally on vacation like to get a late night snack.  Room service we are not interested in, don't want to wait for food in our cabin.

 

6-  How are the specialty restaurants on the Edge, any favorites and do you suggest just going to the MDR or going nightly to the specialty restaurants?

 

7-  How far in advance can reservations be made for the specialty restaurants?

 

9-  What are the complimentary eateries, what is open for breakfast, lunch and late night snack?

 

9-  Does Celebrity have a casino program, if so, what is it called so I can research it.

 

Thank you!

Edited February 13, 2019 by Cruisegirl6

[mfs2k]

22 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I been on 83 cruises so far

 

I'll wait for others to answer you, because I'm a Celebrity newbie, but 83 cruises!!!  OMG. I love it!!!   I thought my 12 cruises was a lot.  

[Cruisegirl6]

LOL, go figure, been cruising so much and never tried Celebrity lol....I am soon to be 56 and my bucket list is going for 100! 

[mfs2k]

3 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I am soon to be 56 and my bucket list is going for 100!

 

Sounds like you'll reach your goal by October.  lol

[Aralim]

Hi @Cruisegirl6! Full disclosure, I have yet to take my first Celebrity cruise (in August of 2020), but I've asked some of the same questions as you to my Facebook friends and on another site, and I'm happy to share the answers I got.

 

Regarding question 1 (average age) -- it's not as old as you (or I) think. While it's older than Royal, I've been told by several who've sailed X, as well as a sales rep (who I'll grant may have a smidge of sales bias 😉) that it's more low- to mid-50s and up. The sales rep I spoke with also told me that X is actively working to draw in more folks in their mid- and upper-40s. Impression I got from that last is that X is trying to position itself as the line for folks who have "outgrown" Royal Caribbean and are looking to make a step up.

 

For question 9, X revamped their program to the Blue Chip Club (see this article here on Cruise Critic for a very light overview, and this page on Celebrity's site for tiers and benefits). Some of the folks I know who are members of  Royal Caribbean's Club Royale casino loyalty program reported a month or so back that they got emails from X indicating that they may be instituting a cross-loyalty policy similar to the passenger loyalty programs (Crown & Anchor / Captain's Club); this person is mid-tier in Casino Royale, and the email they got indicated they were being classified at the same mid-level (Amethyst?) in Blue Chip.

[Cruisegirl6]

No, I need 17 more cruises, I don't always go three times a year, as we love to go to a land based trips and go to Aruba for 2-3 weeks during the year.  I say I reach it 2015 if I live that long.

 

Can anybody answer our questions?

[hcat]

I think you should try a few X ships.  As an experienced cruiser, you know that  you can only tell if you like a ship  by trying it for yourself.  A week on board  would do the trick.

 

EDGE is the newest and has late night activity ...but maybe not enough for you.  Reflection also has a  lively vibe.   We prefer Silhouette and Equinox.

[ghstudio]

You will unlikely get any answers for  your questions 2-5 due to the answer due to the answer to question 1 🙂

[vtcruising]

I've cruised on the Edge and can't really give you the usual demographic.  I think that is a work in progress, as reviews come in and maybe prices will go down. I saw all age groups onboard, but maybe more in the 50-70 age group, but to tell you the truth, I really didn't think too much about it. We are in that demographic, but enjoy cruising with all ages. One of our favorite couples to chat with onboard was in the 35 age range - they seemed to enjoy the ship as much as we did. It really felt like there was something for everyone.

 

This thread may help with the dining questions:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2622434-edge-dining-venues-and-menus-navigating-the-choices/?tab=comments#comment-56527014

 

I'm not sure what cabin type you were thinking about, but you may want to look at this thread before choosing, if you won't be in a suite:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2633148-edge-cabin-category-overview-non-suite/?tab=comments#comment-56755854

 

Here are some daily planners from a Jan Edge Western Carib cruise, the first one is a sea day and the second a port day. This may give you an idea of hours venues are open and what is going on at night. On our Edge cruises we were usually in bed by midnight so can't comment on the later hours. Hopefully someone else can comment. 🙂

 

Sea Day:

 

 

 

 

Port Day:

 

 

 

 

[Cruisegirl6]

Aralim thank yo!!!

 

Vtcrusing, thank you so very much, we truly appreciate it and certainly it answers most of our questions.  Thank you again, you were the only one so far to help us

[Pier290]

2 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

No, I need 17 more cruises, I don't always go three times a year, as we love to go to a land based trips and go to Aruba for 2-3 weeks during the year.  I say I reach it 2015 if I live that long.

 

Can anybody answer our questions?

What do u recommend in Aruba for beach lovers who don't snorkel or dive?? We love a good beach, good drinks and a fun atmosphere....

[firesail]

Hi.

We just booked the Edge and it will be our fifth Celebrity cruise. We have been on a lot of other cruise lines, so we do have some comparisons. As some other poster mentioned, the average age is older than Royal but not by a huge amount. It also varies by cruise. The 8 day or less have a younger crowd. The 10 day and larger tend to attract the older retired crowd as they have the $$ and time.

All of our previous Celebrity trips have been on Solstice class ships. We like this ship class. My impressions. Cabins well appointed, good storage, decent size balconies. Food better than Royal, on par with Holland-America, bit less than Princess. Specialty restaurants were unique. We loved Murano -- with real candles, and flaming deserts. We also loved the quirky Qsine where its table served courses, each one ordered on a tablet and presented in a very unique fashion. (One course came in something resembling a doll house with a different treat in each "room".) Service is a cut above Royal, as you would expect.

Shows were excellent.

Yes there is a lot to do late at night. The Oceanview restaurant has some late night snacks. Not sure when it closes. Casino is open late as well. There are usually some late night happenings. There is a DJ that plays late into the night in one of the lounges.

 

We love Celebrity. We used to cruise more on Royal. Both are good, but we like Celebrity a bit better.

 

We are looking forward to the Edge as it is quite different from the Solstice class in design.

 

[Cruisegirl6]

Wow, I have some excellent information, VTcruising wow, thank you again!

 

Firesail thank you for that, I think I have to pass this info onto family and go in 2020...I am all booked up for my trips this year ugh lol ha.

 

Pier290-  We been going to Aruba for the past few years, in fact, every year when we go we go for a longer time, we just can't get enough of Aruba.  It is true, once you go to Aruba you be like everybody else that goes there, you keep going back and back and back.  

I personally recommend highly the Marriott Stellaris Hotel.  You have a few different types of rooms to choose from, and our most favorite is the Tradewinds Club.  You get the top floor oceanview room plus club access to the lounge, where you can have a full American buffet breakfast daily...espresso/cuppincino/coffee machines access day and night, all the beer you want all day long, soda/juices/bottles water all complimentary from the moment it opens which is around 7am to close which is 9pm.  Lunch they have sandwiches, salads, fruit, cheese platter, desserts, etc.  lunch is from 12-2pm.....then around 6-7pm they have hot food usually a seafood dish and a meat dish, vegetable and potato, fruit, desserts, cheese platter, etc. (many people in lieu to paying and going out for dinner do this I do not because there is an abundant of fine excellent restaurants to eat in)...AND A FULL PREMIUM OPEN BAR from 6-9pm!!  You have your own concierge, I can go on its so worth the extra money if you wanted to spend it.  If not, the hotel is all updated last year.  There are three properties actually, Marriott Stellaris hotel which has the largest casino on the island, an adults beautiful huge pool, you just have to google and take a look for yourself, but right next door with a walkway from marriott hotel is to the Marriott Ocean Club which is time share villas that many people rent out, you can get a lock out which is a queen bed although they are renovating all the villas this coming summer so they will include king beds there and it has a full bath, pull out sofa bed, balcony, mini refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, coffee pot, etc....then there is the one bedroom villa which has a full kitchen and a full living/dining area with a separate full bath and a jacuzzi....then they have 2 bedrooms with full bath and all....then another few steps is the Marriott Surf Club another time share only a tower/high and has a lazy mans river and all but the Surf caters more to kids and the Ocean Club to adults and the grounds are breathtaking, so beautiful with beautiful pools in each.  I only recommend the Marriott love the location also...there is a Ritz Carlton next door don't like it too simple for me and the grounds not as nice and not a big nice pool there.  You can rent a palapta on the beach...you do not have to participate in any waterspouts, heck we don't.  The people are the best I ever encountered in my travels, so friendly and it IS VERY SAFE!!  There is so much choices for dining and honestly one of the reasons why we keep expanding our trip to a longer time each year lol.  This place WILL NOT disappoint!!!!  You do not need to rent a car, actually alot is in walking distance but cabs are inexpensive.  

 

Aruba is a dream, its our true love place, its a place you can go in July/August and not sweat, you get strong Tradewinds 18-29 mph so nice!!!  It is one of the most expensive islands, but you won't find any "riffraff there"....nobody will come up to selll you things or ask you to take a look at what they want to sell its illegal there.  I give up a cruise or two a year just to go to Aruba!!!  Actually, I prefer Aruba better than a cruise.