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Semi-Live EDGE Review with bonus Accessibility Comments! Nov 15 2019 sailing


DebInAntigua
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1 hour ago, DebInAntigua said:

Dr Lever in the medical bay made a temporary splint and prescribed more pain meds. She’s trying to get me an appointment in Curacao (day after tomorrow).

She's a great doctor and a wonderful human being. That would be great if you can be seen in Curacao. Until then, let them pamper you.

 

PS: Nice view!

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We ate at Eden last night and loved it. I’d never realized they had an open kitchen concept. Between watching the chefs and the occasional Edenist performance nearby, it was a very entertaining evening. Each dish was presented with an explanation of the ingredients and textures. Well worth the specialty dining cover charge. 
 

As far as accessibility, there is a small elevator available from the middle Eden floor (deck 5). I could see how someone in a scooter could have trouble with it but we managed fine with the wheelchair. On deck 5 you can enter & exit straight in. If you go up to deck 6 of Eden the elevator opens to the right, so be sure to position yourself well when get in to be able to exit that way. If you go down to the Eden restaurant on deck 4, the elevator exits to the left. There are several 2 and 4 person tables on the ground floor of the Eden restaurant and you can watch the open kitchen and the performers. When booking Eden be sure to tell them if you need to avoid stairs as the majority of the restaurant seating is up a few stairs. You’ll want to get a table on that ground section if you can’t do stairs or have a wheelchair/scooter. 

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Edited by DebInAntigua
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On 11/17/2019 at 6:39 AM, DebInAntigua said:

Another cutback is the works. On Edge the Premium Plus included minibar Kind bars are being replaced with some much lower quality granola & fruit bars. Bleah. Definitely don’t like this change. 
 

Kind bar from the Silhouette minibar last week (top) compared to the Edge granola bar (bottom). This is what was restocked last night and our cabin steward said this is what they have now. 
 

Cheap puffy rice granola bars don’t say “modern luxury” to me. 

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Bleah. I love Kind bars too, guess I’ll bring my own stock

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Wishing you good luck with your medical visit in Curacao.We are on the Edge and are trying Eden for dinner tonight. Happy to hear your positive comments about it. I plan to write a full post cruise review but one key criticism on this otherwise wonderful ship is the lack of elevator capacity. The long waits and crowding on elevators seems especially frustrating for folks with mobility issues. 

Edited by edgee
Clarity
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Medical just called and Celebrity has arranged a doctor visit in Curacao in the morning. An escort has been requested from Guest Relations by Dr Lever so hopefully we will have assistance. 
 

Enjoying Normandy tonight. It seems to have the most size-friendly seating compared to Cosmo and Tuscan. Will eat in Cyprus later this cruise. 

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Sorry to hear about your accident. I've had a fractured foot and all I can say is it's not as bad as a fractured wrist. :)

I'm a wheelchair user and am sailing on the Edge next month. I will be reading your posts avidly. My TA is in a wheelchair, she had a short trip on the Edge and considers it one of the better ships for wheelchair users. 

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Hi Deb...on EDGE with you

Sorry to hear of your injury.  Today we just docked in Curacao so hoping the Dr here can alleviate your pain and make some other recs.  So far we prefer Tuscan  as our fav, (  Italian music, art, service and food are all excellent) , then Cypress.  Cosmo is pretty but just like any mdr..nothing so special. Have not tried Normandie yet,  will be doing some doing  dining reviews in my SV review thread..

Feel better!

Hcat.

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On ‎11‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 8:07 AM, DebInAntigua said:

Quick intro: Boarded yesterday and had a shocking development on the way onto the ship. Long story short - I tripped over my own suitcase during boarding and fractured my right foot! My very first experience onboard was the Medical Bay, which they had to open early to see me. The doctor took several x-rays and sure enough, I fractured it. I’m now enjoying Edge from the perspective of a wheelchair user (they assigned one to me).
 

So this review will have an added unexpected  “bonus” of lots of accessibility comments, straight from an injured fluffy cruiser staying in a normal IV Concierge room, in a wheelchair. 
 

Typing this from my phone but will share more later. Stay tuned!

 

P.S. We did ask if there was any way to get moved to an accessible cabin, but the cruise is totally sold out. So our IV will have to do, unfortunately. 

What a way to start the trip...

Hoping the rest of the cruise goes amazingly...

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For when you are home again:

 

I fractured my Fibula at the right ankle on Columbus Day.

 

A knee scooter ordered from Amazon has been invaluable.

 

I was too tippy on crutches.

 

The knee scooter is foldable so can go in backseat or trunk when I take an Uber to work and home again, as I can't drive.

 

https://www.amazon.com/NEW-KneeRover-Knee-Walker-Alternative/dp/B0743L5HW2/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=deluxe+knee+rover&qid=1574509994&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sr=8-14

 

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I had a similar incident a few years ago on the summit.  While walking in the hallway- I tripped over a tray of food, please people leave trays in your stateroom,!   I went to the  ships medical center via a wheelchair that they brought for me after my husband called to report the accident.  I was taken to sick bay- a nurse or assistant to physician x- rayed me.  The Dr. said my foot wasn't broken-  never examed me, just gave me pain pills.  Sent me away with a wheel chair and an  ace bandage.

 

When I got home, one of my sons, who is a physician, x-rayed me again as the foot still hurt- and it was fractured!  Perhaps Celebrity was afraid of a law suit!.

 

Hope you feel better, and of course when you get home, see your Dr.

 

PS never got a bill or report- as if the visit never happened.

Edited by Cruise a holic
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3 minutes ago, DebInAntigua said:

Bloom wrapped my foot in one of her special magical ribbons.

Very sweet! We loved her - always enjoyed talking with her.

 

Hope you were able to enjoy your cruise, albeit a different experience. Save travels home!

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19 hours ago, DebInAntigua said:


Just got back home safely to Guatemala. Going to try to get appointment with orthopedic specialist tomorrow or Tuesday. 

Glad you made it home..good luck with the dr . Hope you are not having  less pain and are more comfortable at home.,

 

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On 11/18/2019 at 12:33 PM, edgee said:

Wishing you good luck with your medical visit in Curacao.We are on the Edge and are trying Eden for dinner tonight. Happy to hear your positive comments about it. I plan to write a full post cruise review but one key criticism on this otherwise wonderful ship is the lack of elevator capacity. The long waits and crowding on elevators seems especially frustrating for folks with mobility issues. 

Agree...Long waits for elevs were evident and frustrating for all!

Folks really try cram in....often carrying hot coffee! One man in a scooter said..make room or I'll just run over people's toes..haha. Not very funny at the time.  A little extra patience and politeness  by all helps!

 

By contrast, we had no issues with  bar  and table drink  service...even at peak times!

 

Deb..how was it negotiating all the ups and downs on EDGE?

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Now that I'm back home and have time to type up longer posts on my laptop, I'll do my best to recap our cruise and provide more of a review.

 

Let's start with how well a concierge IV cabin worked with me hobbling around in a foot splint and having a wheelchair for getting around the ship. This info might be useful for anyone with some mobility and/or size challenges too.

 

Our cabin attendant Dan (might have been spelled Dahn) was amazing. He made sure we got whatever I needed to be more comfortable, including tons of pillows so I could sleep in a zero gravity / foot elevated position. He also arranged for ice packs to be brought anytime we asked, even if it was after his working hours (he would have a fellow housekeeper friend bring us one).

 

Celebrity provided a wheelchair that just barely fit through the cabin door (with like 1/2 inch each side to spare!). So my husband was able to get me into and out of the room in the wheelchair although turning in the hallways to get into and out of the cabin was pretty tight. While in the cabin, we stored the wheelchair like this:

 

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There was still enough room for someone to walk around the bed with the wheelchair tucked in like that. We moved the chair that normally goes there to be beside the sofa, against the closet. This did block one of the doors but it wasn't a big deal as we had very few hanging items. Almost all of our clothes were folded in packing cubes and stored in the smaller closets and dresser drawers (packing cubes rule, by the way, but that's for another post.)

 

For the bathroom, originally Dan brought a standard shower stool but it had some issues with sliding and the legs didn't seem sturdy enough for my weight (fluffy cruiser here). So Dan replaced it with one of the much maligned tom-toms and that actually worked great. The top of the tom-tom can flip from padded to solid and it's extremely stable to sit on, even for large people. I used it in the shower and in front of the sink so I could more easily do my hair, brush my teeth, etc.

 

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Notice in the picture above that there is a grab bar on the wall and that the shower height can be adjusted and used as a hand-held. We were in a concierge cabin so I'm not sure if a normal IV would have that same shower head.

 

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Since this cabin wasn't intended for wheelchair users, there was a step up and out of the bathroom, but it was not high and I managed it ok. We had luckily brought a couple of collapsible hiking poles on our trip and I was able to use one as a stand-in cane to help with balance getting into and out of the bathroom and around the cabin. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C46QPTR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 )

 

And of course we have to address the ultimate bathroom question... how easy was it to use and get up from the toilet?

 

Well, first off if you are a larger person, you will find the toilet area on Edge class to be "cozier" than S-class ships. It's rather tight on the shower side but you can open the door to give yourself a bit more room.

 

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There also is a ledge on the right hand side that is wide enough to place a foot on. I found this convenient especially the first few days after my accident, when having my foot down was a lot more painful. I could semi-elevate it while using the toilet.

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As far as getting up from the toilet, while this cabin isn't "accessible" it does have a handy built in feature of the towel bar that can work as a grab bar for helping yourself onto and off the toilet. I was also able to grab the sink lip while rising to help stabilize myself (can't reach it from the toilet, but you can grab it as you stand up).

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All in all, I found that with the help of our wonderful cabin attendant and some creative repurposing of an extra tom-tom, I was able to deal well with my sudden mobility challenges in a non-accessible cabin.

 

I'll share more soon - stay tuned!

 

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