Jim_Iain – Edge Live Post – B2B – Greek Islands and West Bound TransAtlantic

[cricketgirl]

9 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I’m sure about the rest of you.  I was expecting to hate Eden from the reviews of the Edenets.   Haven’t seen them yet but the lounge is beautiful, quiet and a great getaway spot. 

 

Really enjoying your posts Jim.  I too loved Eden during the day, such a peaceful area.  Be sure to try Eden Cafe for lunch - the potato salad there was one of my favorites!

[vtcruising]

45 minutes ago, cricketgirl said:

 

Really enjoying your posts Jim.  I too loved Eden during the day, such a peaceful area.  Be sure to try Eden Cafe for lunch - the potato salad there was one of my favorites!

Don’t forget the brownies and fresh carved roast sandwiches! 🙂

 

Also glad to hear that Eden is still peaceful after a recent report of it being loud and crowded. Was hoping that meant at night. It was my day go to space.

 

The Eden show isn’t for everyone, but we did enjoy it - they are lovely and talented people - fun to talk to and learn about their characters and them personally. 

Edited October 25, 2019 by vtcruising

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Looks like there are some super places to chill with a book during the day!!

 

I'm having to remind myself to take everything I read with a grain of salt (sometimes a boulder) - I've cancelled cruises more than once based on overly negative reviews only to revisit and suddenly everyone is singing the praises of whatever was being blasted a month or so before. I'm doing some reading of things but planing to go in with an open mind and experience it! 🙂

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

A couple pictures of the bathroom for the CS.  It has two room which are connected. The only real failure is there are no hooks on the wall for towels.   Bath Towels are on a bar inside bath enclosure while hand towels are on shelves. 
 

 

 

 

Glad to see the tub is fully enclosed - that drove my friend crazy that it was only partially enclosed when she was in a CS. It looks nicer too. There have been complaints about that bathroom being divided up and losing space. I liked the separate toilet area. 

Edited October 25, 2019 by vtcruising

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, cricketgirl said:

 

Really enjoying your posts Jim.  I too loved Eden during the day, such a peaceful area.  Be sure to try Eden Cafe for lunch - the potato salad there was one of my favorites!

We will definitely try it out.  It really looks like a perfect place to have a light lunch. 

[Jim_Iain]

34 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Don’t forget the brownies and fresh carved roast sandwiches! 🙂

 

Also glad to hear that Eden is still peaceful after a recent report of it being loud and crowded. Was hoping that meant at night. It was my day go to space.

 

The Eden show isn’t for everyone, but we did enjoy it - they are lovely and talented people - fun to talk to and learn about their characters and them personally. 

 

We are approaching with an open mind.   We have reservations for dinner on October 28th. 

[Jim_Iain]

9 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Glad to see the tub is fully enclosed - that drove my friend crazy that it was only partially enclosed when she was in a CS. It looks nicer too. There have been complaints about that bathroom being divided up and losing space. I liked the separate toilet area. 

 

We have been told that they are installing full shower doors on the bath's of the Sky Suites.   Many of them have already been completed and there are workers onboard doing work on the ship.

[vtcruising]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We are approaching with an open mind.   We have reservations for dinner on October 28th. 

I don’t think they do the show for dinner now. Just at 10:15 a few nights of the cruise. You can eat in peace. 🙂

 

The actors may interact, but usually only when you raise your orb. 

Edited October 25, 2019 by vtcruising

[Jim_Iain]

35 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Looks like there are some super places to chill with a book during the day!!

 

I'm having to remind myself to take everything I read with a grain of salt (sometimes a boulder) - I've cancelled cruises more than once based on overly negative reviews only to revisit and suddenly everyone is singing the praises of whatever was being blasted a month or so before. I'm doing some reading of things but planing to go in with an open mind and experience it! 🙂

 

I would have to agree with you.   We all have different perspectives but some go overboard and complain about everything.   I'm really happy to see that Celebrity has heard the disappointments and misses and are addressing them.  

 

After only 4 days aboard I have to say I am really impressed with the ship.   Are there things that are different - definitely.   Do they affect my enjoyment of the cruise?  -   Not at all. 

 

Even on sea days the ship seems open and lots of places to relax and quiet nooks and crannies. 

 

I guess the only complaint I would have is the cost of Edge.    I suspect that will drop over time.

[Jim_Iain]

7 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

I don’t think they do the show for dinner now. Just at 10:15 a few nights of the cruise. You can eat in peace. 🙂

 

The actors may interact, but usually only when you raise your orb. 

 Good to hear......   My dinner reservations are at 9:15.   It also appears that if one wanted to avoid the actors the balcony areas look like a nice spot to sit.    

 

I'm sure we will check out the show.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

14 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I would have to agree with you.   We all have different perspectives but some go overboard and complain about everything.   I'm really happy to see that Celebrity has heard the disappointments and misses and are addressing them.  

 

After only 4 days aboard I have to say I am really impressed with the ship.   Are there things that are different - definitely.   Do they affect my enjoyment of the cruise?  -   Not at all. 

 

Even on sea days the ship seems open and lots of places to relax and quiet nooks and crannies. 

 

I guess the only complaint I would have is the cost of Edge.    I suspect that will drop over time.

 

Understood. As for the pricing, being accustomed to Disney it seems inexpensive to me relatively speaking. I was surprised to see that for Feb break 2021 the Apex is less than the Edge - I can only guess that is the Western vs. Eastern itinerary making that happen! (Depending on my experience and assuming it's positive, I'm pondering Edge Eastern or a Summit Southern - airfare to San Juan would about make them equal.)

[Sascol]

Jim - you mention Peter at the Martini Bar...is it this Peter?

[LEESRE]

On 10/23/2019 at 4:21 PM, LEESRE said:

Jim,

Many thanks for all your posts really good reading them.

Not sure if you have any photos of the spa area the steam and sauna areas, I believe that they do not have any free sauna areas is this true.

 

Thanks again.

Jim Not sure if you saw my post re the spa area.

 

Thanks

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 Good to hear......   My dinner reservations are at 9:15.   It also appears that if one wanted to avoid the actors the balcony areas look like a nice spot to sit.    

 

I'm sure we will check out the show.

Looks like no Eden show tonight per your daily - Acoustics with Florencia at 10:15 - sounds mellow. Oh well, plenty of time to catch the show another night. 😊

[GeorgesGal]

Jim, all that talk about food reminded me of an excellent we had in Sept while on Infinity. We had the butter-poached lobster tails and I have to say they were superb - the best I've ever had!  If you like lobster, don't miss the opportunity.

Donna

[suzyluvs2cruise]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yesterday we took a nap after getting back from our tour.  After getting up at 5:45 we were definitely in need of one.  

I haven't mentioned one of the most important aspect of our cruise -  the food. 

 

I decided to hold off posting pictures of the new Menu's for Luminae until the second cruise.  

I have to say we have been impressed with the food everywhere on the ship from the Ocean View to Luminae.   One aspect missing from Luminae is the ability to order from the main dining menu.   On the first day we were told by the Luminae Manager that we were welcome to visit any of the regular 4 restaurants and Blu.   I am sure we will try out some otheres.

 

Celebrity recently started rolling out new menus for Luminae with many changes.    I have to say it is nice to see some of the new items.   One thing that is very noticeable is that having the kitchen near by insures your meals can be quick and hot off the grill.   In fact the first night the service was so fast we were done in an hour.   We mentioned it to the Asst. Manager and he siad he would direct the waiters to slow the service down to our pace.   He assigned us one of the best waiters in Luminae and since then every thing has been perfection.    Last night we both ordered the Chicken Liver starter which is always delicious.    For main courses Iain had the Chicken Breast covered in Prosciutto and I had the Peppered Tuna.    Iain said it was the best chicken he had ever had.    I always enjoy the Tuna and wasn't disappointed. 

 

We stopped by and saw a bit of the show.  I have to admit that we generally don't go to the shows but was interested in the rounded stage.   They had a Tribute to the Beatles which was pretty good.    Theater is well laid out and acoustics are good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found food on EDGE to be very good. Kumar was our waiter in Luminae and he paced our dinner as we wanted. If you see Kumar, Belen or Dennis, the Sommelier, please say hello from Sue and Jim. We found Oceanview Cafe to be the best buffet we've experienced on any cruise ship. Our least favorite dining experience was at Fine Cut. We found the food to be just OK and the service was a bit intrusive. More than 1 person came by every course asking how everything was and at the end of the meal we were reminded about the survey and asked to give 10s. 

 

Have you been to the Retreat Sun Deck? 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

2 hours ago, vtcruising said:

I don’t think they do the show for dinner now. Just at 10:15 a few nights of the cruise. You can eat in peace. 🙂

 

The actors may interact, but usually only when you raise your orb. 

 

We ate at EDEN on our Sept 30 cruise. The actors were visible, wandered by the tables and did several aerial acts. We intended to see the show but never made it. 

[tcmagnum]

On ‎10‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 10:45 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

 

We did a Wine Tasting here in June.  Took a cab and booked the wine tasting on our own.  We got the 12 tastings/with snacks.  The wine was amazing.  We ended up buying many bottles to take home - and the ship let us taken them all (over 12 bottles for the four of us) to our room (3 nights left on our cruise).  The walk down the hill trying to avoid the 'presents' from the donkeys was amusing.  Lol...But we didn't fall and didn't drop any wine!!

[calicakes]

Jim, if you can, can you post some pics of your meals?  Since our next cruise( Dec 2020) is in a sky suite, I'm very curious about the food.  Julie my wife is super duper picky.  I have a feeling she'll be eating from the kids menu. 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

9 hours ago, abbydancer said:

We talked to the Luminae staff about the main dining menu thing.  The reason, of course, is that Luminae is miles away from the main dining room (ok, maybe not miles, just decks).  So, they don't have easy access to the main dining kitchen.  I was told that if you didn't want the Luminae menu, they'd call down to the main dining and you could go there.  Not the best solution, but understandable.  

 

They were less clear about special requests made the day before.  I suspect at that time they just didn't know.

 

Enjoying your reports - it's fun to revisit our cruise of 2017.

 

My husband is not an adventurous eater. With advance notice he was able to get Chicken Parm one night in Luminae and was told it he wanted something different another night to just let them know the day before. 

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by suzyluvs2cruise

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Sascol said:

Jim - you mention Peter at the Martini Bar...is it this Peter?

Yes that is THE PETER.  He is a great bartender. 

[Sascol]

 

Thank you Jim - we will be on the Transatlantic and look forward to seeing him again.  Thanks for your reporting and maybe we'll see you.  Don't go out of your way to do this but if you are chatting with him and care to ask if he will be on the TA we'd be interesting in knowing. 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Sascol

[zitsky]

Jim I am enjoying your posts.  We were "neighbors" of yours from Mountain View, CA before we moved to Raleigh.  I just did one of these live blogs for a Viking Mediterranean cruise.  I know it's a lot of work, so I just wanted to say thank you.

[JBare]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

  It also appears that if one wanted to avoid the actors the balcony areas look like a nice spot to sit.   

 

Don't count  on it, the guy that sits in the moon and the girl with the bell will find you :-)

[gfkcruiser]

Your photos of Santorini are beautiful.  Hard to take a bad photo with those blue skies.  Makes me want to go back to the Greek Islands.  

 

After reading your review so far,  makes me want to sail on Edge and sail in a Suite.  Edge might happen but not sure about the suite.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your trip review.