M&J’s Sort of Live 10/9 EDGE Eastern + Sky Suite

[M&JfromSDL]

Hi everyone. We are a thirty-something couple from outside of Washington DC.  This is our first Celebrity cruise and the first time we‘ve splurged on a suite.  

Like many of you, COVID-19 ruined a bunch of trips we planned. We had low expectations this trip would take place as planned so we are extra excited it is here and actually happening.  

If you are like us you spent the pandemic looking through old live threads, watching cruise ship tours on YouTube while daydreaming about cruising again.  We also got caught up in Captain Kate’s #hopefloats posts on various social media sites.  

We initially set our sights on the 10/8 Equinox sailing because we did the ABC itinerary on the Freedom of the Seas 2 years ago and loved it.  But it was the newer Edge and what we felt was a great deal for the Retreat that sold us.  

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Why go on vacation if you can’t throw a fun packing party?   Packing parties are a staple in our house ahead of any vacation.  We open up all the suitcases on the living room floor, watch our cats panic because they realize we are leaving and figure out what clothes to bring.  Oh!  Can’t forget, you also need great food and a bottle of wine or 3. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

We enjoyed a ride on the scenic Amtrak California Zephyr from Grand Junction back to Denver a year ago.  Having grown up outside of NYC and now living in the DC area we have taken Amtrak along the northeast corridor a million times.  But the California Zephyr was different and we understood the mystique of train travel.  

So with that in mind, we decided to take the train to Florida.  For starters, it sounded like a fun adventure but it was also really simple.  We can board the train after work in our town and wake up the next morning in the northern part of Florida.  Had we flown we would would arrive in Fort Lauderdale a few hours earlier but exhausted from waking up early and doing the airport drill.

I got home from work at 7 and by 7:12 we were in an Uber headed for the station. We checked our bags and waited for the train to arrive.  The Silver Meteor was set to arrive at 7:44pm but was a few minutes late leaving Washington, DC.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

Once onboard we went straight to our roomette and our attendant took our dinner order.  We enjoyed a glass of wine from the bottle we brought with us while we waited for our 8:30 dinner time.  We were officially on vacation!

Off to the diner car for our dinner which was a [small] step above a pre-pandemic coach airplane meal.  Highly recommend the shrimp and andouille sausage, skip the chicken and fettuccine.  Afterwards, we retired to our roomette, enjoyed another glass of wine, and got some rest.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

Thursday, October 7, 2021

 

I have to admit, I slept like a rock. I woke up outside of Savannah and noticed we were stopped for a bit.  Turns out we hit a deer and damaged the locomotive.  After an hour or so we were underway again.  I walked to the dining car to pickup breakfast for us.  

 

 

 

 

We showered, ordered lunch, sat in the dining car and relaxed while northern Florida passed by

 

 

 

Overall, the train ride was wonderful.  We relaxed, read our books and took a fantastic nap.  We arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 7pm on Thursday and took an Uber to the Hilton Marina. 

Edited October 9, 2021 by M&JfromSDL

[Azulann]

Looking forward to your experience of Celebrity Edge.

Love your  pictures and your cats! I now need to  do a train trip sometime in 2022.

[mjmagee]

OMG what fun! Train ride to the cruise ship!  Love your attitude and cats.  Many years ago when living in Chicago, took the train to Florida.  It is something like two nights and a day and basically goes straight to the east coast then south to FLA.  We must have hit at least 3 things on that trip and I am convinced that it is a daily ritual for Amtrak.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.  Enjoy your cruise!   Hope you love Celebrity as much as I do.    Marilyn

[M&JfromSDL]

We settled on Boatyard for dinner.  The food was good but the restaurant had a DJ and kind of turns into a lounge at night. Not really our scene but the food and service were good.  This is the Key Lime Baked Alaska.

 

[M&JfromSDL]

I should note, before we went out to dinner we took our binaxnow home COVID tests.  The process was pretty simple.  I wanted to take the test on the train so I could shed the anxiety but luckily we both tested negative.  

 

If you have specific questions on our testing experience feel free to post them.  We are heading to bed tomorrow.  We have a nice view of the port and hope to wake up early enough to see the Edge arrive.  Thanks for following along so far!  

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review and photos.  I love train travel.

[mac_tlc]

We will be on Edge in three weeks. Say hello to Houssain and Joao in the Retreat Lounge, they are awesome!!  Last time, we had our first Sky Suite. A great trip! 
 

Have also done the auto train to Florida a number of times and have been pleasantly surprised by the dining car. 
 

I’ll be following along …

 

mac_tlc

[Ken the cruiser]

Can’t wait to compare your impressions of the Edge to our experiences on her in August! You are going to have a great cruise!!

[countess5]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Can’t wait to compare your impressions of the Edge to our experiences on her in August! You are going to have a great cruise!!

I second that comment, we were on Edge in September, Sky suite was enjoyable. Hope you have the suite (S1or S2) where the bed faces the slider. 

 

Let us know who your Host is. 

 

Cheers! 

[M&JfromSDL]

Friday, October 8, 2021

 

I am an early riser so I took a walk down 17th to Publix and Total Wine.  We contemplated picking up a nice bottle of champagne for the cruise but decided against it.  I was able to pickup a couple of my favorite Floridian beers at Total Wine.  

 

We lounged around the hotel in the morning since  it was so hot out.  Around lunch time we ventured to Tarpon River Brewing Company.  It was a quick $8 Uber ride over.  The seating was indoors but they had their large garage doors open for ventilation.  The food was just okay but the beers were very good.  

 

 

 

 

Back to the hotel for some more lounging and watch Equinox sail out from our balcony.  

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

Enjoying a nice cold Iguana Bait from Florida Keys Brewing Company while watching the Equinox sail away.

 

 

I love the view from our room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hilton Marina has its own water taxi stop. 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

We decided to lay low and order in for dinner. I’m half Cuban and we don’t really have great Cuban food in the DC area. So when in Rome…

 

Dinner was from Las Vegas Cuban Restaurant which is a local chain here in South Florida. 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we popped down to the hotel bar for a couple of cocktails and to watch the Dodgers lose. 

[dianedebuda]

Name the Cuban foods?  They look delish.

Edited October 9, 2021 by dianedebuda

[countess5]

“We contemplated picking up a nice bottle of champagnefor the cruise but decided against it.”

 

You are in a Sky Suite so you should have a bottle of champagne chilling in your Suite when you arrive. 

 

We did and I don’t believe it was because of our CC status. 

 

 

Cheers! 

[marti2282]

Hope by now you’re onboard and enjoying that sparkling wine! Will enjoy following along!!

[Jim_Iain]

I'm along for your virtual journey.   Thanks for taking the time to post.   

 

Really enjoyed the train  trip.   How fun.

[M&JfromSDL]

I mentioned earlier that we stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. Overall I was impressed with the hotel. The rooms were recently upgraded and the lobby is almost done.
 

 

 

 

The hotel also features a nice pool area with an outdoor restaurant and bar. 
 

 

You can’t beat the location. Our Uber to the port was $12 and took 10minutes. We selected an upgraded high floor, water view room.  I got to dork out and watch all of the ship traffic over the two days we were there.

 

 The standard rooms are in lower wings without much of a view.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by M&JfromSDL

[M&JfromSDL]

Saturday - October 9, 2021

 

Someday is Today! 
 

We ordered an Uber and our driver was there within 2 minutes. He dropped us off at the port at 12:30. 

 

 

We dropped our bags off with a valet. I have to say, I’m impressed with many of your bag tag efforts. I saw color printed bag tags within plastic holders on a lot of suitcases. Professional cruisers abound. 
 

 

The line on the right in the photo below is for regular staterooms. We weren’t sure we were in the right spot so we asked one of the workers where suite check in was located. 

He walked us through a set of doors and a nice woman checked our boarding pass and negative COVID tests. 
 

 

After that we were escorted to the retreat lounge for the rest of the check in process. Our passports and boarding passes were scanned again. 

 

They had a small selection of canapés and coffee/water out but the boarding was such a whirlwind so we didn’t partake.  
 

 

 

 

There was one last check of our boarding pass and at this time our vaccination cards as well. 
 

LET’S GO!!!!

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by M&JfromSDL

[M&JfromSDL]

First Impression… The crew at the top of gangway cheering as we walked on. Unexpected and dare I say brought a little tear to my eye. We’ve sat at home over the course of the pandemic daydreaming about traveling again. And the day was finally here!  
 

I carried on a backpack with my camera gear and wanted to drop it at our cabin. When we arrived our Retreat Host was next door, introduced himself, and gave us an orientation to the room. For time purposes, we were dropped off at 12:30 and had finished the room Walkaround at 1:15pm.  Pretty good embarkation process!

Here are a few shots of the suite:

 

 

 

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

21 hours ago, dianedebuda said:

Name the Cuban foods?  They look delish.

Chicken Chicharones

Papa Rellena

 

Yellow Rice

Lechon Asado

 

Moro Rice/Beans

Palomilla Steak 

 

20 hours ago, marti2282 said:

Hope by now you’re onboard and enjoying that sparkling wine! Will enjoy following along!!

 

Oh we enjoyed!

 

20 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm along for your virtual journey.   Thanks for taking the time to post.   

 

Really enjoyed the train  trip.   How fun.

We have been following your journeys over the past few weeks. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[NBliving]

2 hours ago, M&JfromSDL said:

I mentioned earlier that we stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. Overall I was impressed with the hotel. The rooms were recently upgraded and the lobby is almost done.
 

 

 

 

The hotel also features a nice pool area with an outdoor restaurant and bar. 
 

 

You can’t beat the location. Our Uber to the port was $12 and took 10minutes. We selected an upgraded high floor, water view room.  I got to dork out and watch all of the ship traffic over the two days we were there.

 

 The standard rooms are in lower wings without much of a view.

 

 

We stayed at the Hilton Marina before our last cruise, Jan 2020, and enjoyed the views also. Nice to see the renovated lobby, thanks for sharing pics.

 

Love that you took the train, what a great idea! And I may have to incorporate your packing party idea!  Looking forward to the rest of your journey.

[Jeremiah1212]

Sounds like you're off to a great start. We had a horrendous stay at the Hilton before our Edge cruise in June. Hope it was a fluke. Enjoy the suite experience!