Just booked Apex (1st celebrity cruise) - why so much hate for edge class?

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 minute ago, cgolf1 said:

 

I was one, and following the Edge build thread being excited about a new ship and trying a new cruise line, it was difficult staying excited reading some of the posts. When I first saw the renderings of the Edge I told my wife we are sailing on that ship and booked it 2 days later, so the ship brought us to Celebrity. People like VT, Hcat, Oville and many others kept me excited about the brand and the ship.

 

I am a glass half full person when cruising. We note and comment on the negatives in reviews and to the cruise line, but always try to find the good and and enjoy the heck out of that. Heck our last Disney cruises were the most boring ever, but we found an amazing piano player and singer, general cruise staff, that we became groupies of and it made our trip. At the end of the trip he actually came over and thanked us for coming to all his performances, which I thought was cool that he didn't think we were creepy;).

 

Yep. Prior to final payment I almost canceled multiple times. I'm excited that I've kept it - not only to experience something new ship-wise but also because the itinerary is letting me do some things I've always wanted to do - funny how being willing to take a chance in one thing helps make taking those chances easier in other things. (More will be revealed when I do my mostly live review! 😛 )

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

 

And if it gets really bad you have lots of pillows to take out your frustration on;)

 

Hee! As opposed to throwing myself against the walls! 😛 

[chisoxfan]

Of course the root problem here IMHO is that X designed the wonderful S class ships that a clear majority of us loved and were an evolutionary breakthrough . It was (is) a tough act to improve on these highly successful vessels. 

I do lament the 'loss' of a significant ship area for suite only use. I was always sensitive to this on NCL who pioneered with the Haven.  Of course since we migrated to MSC YC we are OK with having this space dedicated as long as we can use it !

 

CC members rely on this format so much for info and experiences that we can use to weigh our ultimate cruise decisions that it is critical to get 'all sides' of view to understand what we might be getting into.  I wish I had been more sensitive to past cruise comments when we chose the new (at the time) NCL Epic which was clearly a market disappointment and relegated to Europe (not equating this with APEX or Edge).

 

 

 

[fragilek]

5 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

Of course the root problem here IMHO is that X designed the wonderful S class ships that a clear majority of us loved and were an evolutionary breakthrough . It was (is) a tough act to improve on these highly successful vessels. 

I do lament the 'loss' of a significant ship area for suite only use. I was always sensitive to this on NCL who pioneered with the Haven.  Of course since we migrated to MSC YC we are OK with having this space dedicated as long as we can use it !

 

CC members rely on this format so much for info and experiences that we can use to weigh our ultimate cruise decisions that it is critical to get 'all sides' of view to understand what we might be getting into.  I wish I had been more sensitive to past cruise comments when we chose the new (at the time) NCL Epic which was clearly a market disappointment and relegated to Europe (not equating this with APEX or Edge).

 

 

 

Not sure a ship gets Relegated to Europe a large proportion of the very expensive lines spend much of their time in the EU in the summer

[Cruise a holic]

On 1/24/2020 at 2:04 PM, kag19 said:

I am interested in the answer to this as well.  We have been all sizes of ships and have loved them all.  We love Oasis class and have been on smaller ships as well that we have loved.   Loved our first Celebrity cruise on the Equinox so much that we have another booked for next year.  Was looking to try Edge/Apex but am hesitant with the negative reviews.

We enjoyed our edge cruise and look foward to our next march edge cruise.  I think some complaints are about the infinite balcony cabins.  Those are IMO are window cabins and are overpriced 

 

ship different the S and M class, but has positive features 

[VitaminSea53]

“and more bizarre is some of these commentators have never sailed the ship”

 

For anyone new to these forums, beware of reviews by those few Never-Edgies who have never stepped foot on the ship herself. 
 

Many who have experienced The Edge firsthand call it their best cruise experience (IV and all). 

[drakes2]

41 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

We enjoyed our edge cruise and look foward to our next march edge cruise.  I think some complaints are about the infinite balcony cabins.  Those are IMO are window cabins and are overpriced 

 

ship different the S and M class, but has positive features 

I had originally booked an ocean view verandah 9303 on Apex then decided to upgrade to a CC with no perks. Veterans day sale price drop of $600 so took advantage and 9303 still available so booked it and added 4 perks.  I'll miss the embarkation lunch but like the $600 savings. We'll see what happens once final payment has past.

[chisoxfan]

1 hour ago, fragilek said:

Not sure a ship gets Relegated to Europe a large proportion of the very expensive lines spend much of their time in the EU in the summer

A fair comment and my generalization (memory) was perhaps unfair. What I remember was a general outpouring of negativity regarding the Epic after its 2010 launch . The ship did go to Europe in 2015.The 'rumor' was that they had eventually  pushed it off to Europe because it was unpopular in the US market. Everyone was surprised that a ship this large would base in Europe at the time (maybe supporting the popularity issue). That said it did return to Port Canaveral for Caribbean cruises (it famously hit dock in San Juan early in 2019). 

Point being that some new designs and innovative ships are not a hit with cruisers. I believe the sink in the main part of the cabin was a particular negative.

 

 

[Oville]

3 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

 

And if it gets really bad you have lots of pillows to take out your frustration on;)

The pillows are gone.  Here’s a pic taken Jan 17th:

 

 

[drinkoj]

Just completed our first week of a b2b on Edge as Aqua Class, as first time cruisers, and we like the IV concept over the sliding glass door room build that we’ve seen on so many other ships while in port. While my in-laws who are frequent cruise ship sailors have mixed feelings (one hates the ship layout and the other likes the room layout with a mixed bag of thoughts about the rest of it). We have the bed next to the IV and that is an amazing feeling in throughout the day to have, as my in-laws are jealous about this. The only negative we found was you need a flipping user manual to figure out the shower controls the first day. HINT: Look behind the lower knob for a stem , as that controls On/Off for water. The lower knob controls Hot/Cold water, and the top knob controls which shower head water comes out

 

The cabanas seem to be wasted space as the area is nothing but a huge wind tunnel with a limited appeal to us.  Along with stores fronts being nothing more than “eye candy” as almost everything and be purchased on the land for a better price.  Will admit we purchased a watch with some on board credits due to FnLaw leaving his at home.   Also duty free store left my in-laws shaking there head as they were caught off guard by the merchandise and liquor being as expensive and most cases more expensive than on land

 

Dinning was amazing and a pleasure where ever we ate. If anyone is weighing the cost difference for Aqua, the private dinning, service, and attention to detail offered at The Blu is Amazing. Cannot emphasize how nice the entire staff there is.  The entire cruise staff (minus 1 server) have been above our expectations, as they and we have learned each other’s names and a little about she other’s backgrounds

 

NOTE:  If the bar does not have a brand of alcohol that is listed on your package, do not accept this, ask the bar to get it or ask where it is served, and if it is not resolved speak with guest services immediately to find out how to get what you paid for. One thing I will briefly touch on as a negative is the premier drink package that I wrote about last week in having problems finding Woodford Double Oak. It did not show up at any of the four bars it was supposed to be at (Eden , Martini, The Club, and Casino) until Thursday at ONLY the Martini bar after  we  spoke to the lady over the entire bar network on board. I am going to see if she fulfills her word to me about availability on this weeks cruise before I give a full account of the problems that occurred. Again, my first sentence of this paragraph would have resolved so much if I had just spoke up earlier on my cruise

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, VitaminSea53 said:

Many who have experienced The Edge firsthand call it their best cruise experience (IV and all). 

 

And many believe the Edge is a poorly designed ship.  Please read the discussion and look into the details about why many people feel the E-class doesn't meet their needs.  After that, potential new cruisers should be able to make an informed decision about spending their time and money on E-class ships.

[upwarduk]

Am I correct in thinking that the iLounge has been taken away from the Edge class ships?

Only asking because my iPad needs upgrading and I’m hoping that they are still selling Apple products on the refurbished Silhouette. 

[Cruise a holic]

50 minutes ago, Oville said:

The pillows are gone.  Here’s a pic taken Jan 17th:

 

 

So glad that the silly useless rocker has been replaced by a table.  Now a place to enjoy your breakfast in a sky suite.

[Oville]

20 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

So glad that the silly useless rocker has been replaced by a table.  Now a place to enjoy your breakfast in a sky suite.

If you enjoy eating a foot off the floor.😉

[Cruise a holic]

1 minute ago, Oville said:

If you enjoy eating a foot off the floor.😉

Not a problem- at least the food can go on the table- and you can eat on your lap or on the balcony.  The rocking chair took up so much room and wasn't comfortable 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Cruise a holic

[Oville]

2 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Not a problem- at least the food can go on the table- and you can eat on your lap or on the balcony.  The rocking chair took up so much room and wasn't comfortable 

Not to mention a weapon.

[JBare]

57 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Am I correct in thinking that the iLounge has been taken away from the Edge class ships?

Only asking because my iPad needs upgrading and I’m hoping that they are still selling Apple products on the refurbished Silhouette. 

The iLounge was there when we were on board, its just in a public walkway.

[Denny01]

It’s interesting to read the posts about how popular the S-Class ships are. During the building of the Solstice, the first S-Class, there were tons of posts about how terrible it looked and how it was too modern, deck layout was terrible, no M-Class Soliarium pool, etc. One guy who loved Princess must have posted dozens and dozens of times about Solstice not having a true full walk around panoramic deck, and many other complaints; all done while is was being built and obviously he had never stepped aboard and if I remember right, never posted that he did later. 

 

You can make judgements of whether a ship’s design or a Line’s approach will meet your needs and wishes without actually going onboard. As one poster listed from what they’ve read or can see from the Edge’s layout, it is missing what is a requirement for them, such as no Sky Lounge/front bar area, just as the guy I mentioned before hated no ‘true’ panoramic deck. But what I puzzle about is why come back time and time again about something you won’t like. And of course, I’m coming back again and again on what I like and why.......got it. 

 

It’s quite simple: Do Not Cruise On It....if it’s missing one of your basic requirements.

 

By the way, the whole discussion on the Infinite Balcony and it not being a true balcony. Having been on many Lines and different class ships with balconies, most balconies had sidewalls and overhangs. To look out forward or aft, I had to lean out over the rail and there was minimal time of direct sun due to the overhangs or the sun being at an angle that provided only a relatively short time of exposure. I’m also not a sunbather. I don’t want women (or men) going crazy over my beautiful body and embarrassing themselves!! The Infinite Veranda opens the entire room into an outside exposure. Hearing/smelling/feeling the sea and the outside. You stand at the rail and look forward or aft and so on. There are ships with much larger balconies that have lots of sun exposure and openness, but most standard balconies are more like what I described. So I’m not sure why all the ‘its not a balcony!’. 

 

So enough. It is so great that the Line I enjoy most because of its overall approach has 3 Class of Ship design options, and I take Full advantage of all of them.

 

Den

 

 

[fragilek]

can someone explain the floor thing we were in an IV and had both a table on the balcony  that fitted 2 plates and a small side table inside the cabin that took 2 glasses.  both tables easily movable to in or out.  Were we just special lol

[mafig]

I remember......

 

I remember when Solstice first came out.  It was NOT universally loved.

There were many complaints.

No one liked the storage in the Balcony rooms.  "These are supposedly designed by women?"  "not enough room to put clothes.  Shelves above the bed that are meant for only tall people."

 

I remember reading the dining room was too sterile, too cold-looking.

 

Complaints about the large overhang that blocked sun on the upper decks.

 

Complaints about putting the new Aqua Class directly below the pool deck.

 

 

My memory fails me for the rest.  But I know there's more.....

[evag]

On 1/24/2020 at 3:30 PM, fragilek said:

funny how 2 sailings can be so different- I like peace and quite and spend a lot of my time reading and found this ship much better for this than Infinity was.  I am surprised that any ships still have libraries/ book lending as this is an sure fired way to spread viruses about.  

I had to address this issue RIGHT away, especially with the new Asian virus going around, there is practically NO chance of people getting viruses from a book https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71875/just-how-gross-are-library-books-exactly.

 

I was on a Holland American ship where they had the norovirus and although I can't remember reading books at that time, they had a lot of prohibitions i.e., we couldn't borrow the DVDs, use the hot tub (and I am talking about in the Persian Gardens which you pay EXTRA for so a little more exclusive), or use the washing machines etc.  Now this is the irony of the whole thing, you COULD use the slot machines who somehow were "vaccinated" from the virus.

 

I took Celebrity once which had the norovirus which left the dock late because of what they had to do and remember that the library was closed the first few days because they were "sterilizing" the books and that's why the cruise ships are doing away with the libraries, is the extra cost, books cost money to buy and add weight to the ship which entails using more fuel to sail NOT because people don't want them or read the books (noticed how many there are with not so friendly people not wanting to talk to others,  before shows, events, dining by themselves, etc.)

[drakes2]

10 minutes ago, evag said:

that's why the cruise ships are doing away with the libraries

Cruise lines are doing away with the libraries as they are used very little. They can utilize that space to add extra cabins and increase revenue. 

[evag]

On 1/24/2020 at 3:41 PM, kwokpot said:

Again that's just not a feature that non cruisers are looking for. You certainly don't find libraries in a land based resort hotel. That's just a feature that 'traditional' cruise ships have offered. I have 85 cruises under my belt and not once did I ever take a book from a ship's library.  With ebooks you have a whole library in your hand!

Yes, but they should still have libraries for people who don't have ebooks and WANT to read (and yes some hotels DO have libraries., usually small locally owned ones or hostels.) 

 

What bugs me, is that people criticize what other people want to do.  NCL  (know this is Celebrity forum but only wanted to make a point) wants to promote their cheap entertainment which doesn't cost money for individual use, games and escape rooms and such vs. ones that do, books or DVDS that require to be purchased. Other than pretty insipid ones which can be watched for free, you had to purchase the other movies OnDemand, was a while ago,  so couldn't remember how much, maybe $7.99 or 9.99 @ seemed pretty high.  When I suggested on this websites forum and some others that they should have some movie pass one could purchase so that a person could watch as many movies that they wanted on the TV (remember paid, not for free so those not wanting to watch would NOT have to pay) you can't imagine the vitriol  and ridicule I got from others, saying she's on a cruise ship, she should do other things besides watch movies, ad nauseam. 

 

I've been cruising almost twenty years, and in the beginning I would run from activity to activity, and now that I am older, I don't feel compelled to do all that. I travel mostly for the destinations, like to relax reading or watching TV, eat the good food, half the time I skip the shows having seen so many similar ones.  So, yes, there still should be libraries for people who STILL want to use them, maybe more paperback and magazines, if weight is a factor. 

Edited January 27, 2020 by evag

[fragilek]

7 minutes ago, evag said:

I had to address this issue RIGHT away, especially with the new Asian virus going around, there is practically NO chance of people getting viruses from a book https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71875/just-how-gross-are-library-books-exactly.

 

I would not agree with this at all  while undergoing treatment for Leukemia - all books and magazines were completely band from being brought into my room due to too high a risk of catching an infection from them.  2 years later I am still advised against ever borrowing a book or even browsing in a library or 2nd hand book shop  and if I have a puzzle magazine to get rid of it with a few months as not only do they pick up bugs but the also can be a source of fungal infections if been used in damp hot environments.

News paper (old style ink  kind) is the one that is least likely to harbor bacteria or viruses.   

 

I will take my advice from my medical team rather than article on the web

 

[cgolf1]

5 minutes ago, evag said:

Yes, but they should still have libraries for people who don't have ebooks and WANT to read (and yes some hotels DO have libraries., usually small locally owned ones or hostels.) 

 

What bugs me, is that people criticize what other people want to do.  NCL  (know this is Celebrity forum but only wanted to make a point) wants to promote their cheap entertainment which doesn't cost money for individual use, games and escape rooms and such vs. ones that do, books or DVDS that require to be purchased. Other than pretty insipid ones which can be watched for free, you had to purchase the other movies OnDemand, was a while ago,  so couldn't remember how much, maybe $7.99 or 9.99 @ seemed pretty high.  When I suggested on this websites forum and some others that they should have some movie pass one could purchase so that a person could watch as many movies that they wanted on the TV (remember paid, not for free so those not wanting to watch would NOT have to pay) you can't imagine the vitriol  and ridicule I got from others, saying she's on a cruise ship, she should do other things besides watch movies, ad nauseam. 

 

I've been cruising almost twenty years, and in the beginning I would run from activity to activity, and now that I am older, I don't feel compelled to do all that. I travel mostly for the destinations, like to relax reading or watching TV, eat the good food, half the time I skip the shows having seen so many similar ones.  So, yes, there still should be libraries for people who STILL want to use them, maybe more paperback and magazines, if weight is a factor. 

 

When we were on a 15 night cruise I saw people do one of those book exchange things by hanging a bag with a few paperbacks in the hallway. Not sure if that is a common thing but it was kind of cool.

 

Disney ships never had a library, so that is what we got used to.

Edited January 27, 2020 by cgolf1