On Edge

[JFontaine]

Literally and figuratively. 

 

Happy to be on board. Second time in a Villa and it is very nice. Retreat sundeck has been very busy, except this afternoon when it was too windy in the back. Luminae has been disappointing at lunch and dinner,  breakfast was fine. Had a good dinner in one of the main dining rooms - fairly empty, great service and good food. Also had a nice meal at the steakhouse tonight and a good lunch in the buffet. I was told 1300 and 1600 on board. Service throughout has been  perfect.  Staff could not be nicer, kinder, more professional.  Arrival was messy - despite my suite and having the Priority placard I was directed to regular checkin. When I said I should be in Retreat checkin I was told it doesn't matter, and then stood around as staff discussed who wanted to see a Villa suite and escort me on board. It was actually funny listening to this conversation,  but I finally gave up and walked on. I had everything on my phone other than passport and vaccine card, and it took a while to show them everything.  You stand on line, no desk. Messy. 

 

The figurative part. I knew that masks wouldn't be required but I thought some people would wear them. Very very few wear them.  I get that this is the new rule, but I didn't realize how after 2 years it would be so hard for me to be in unavoidable crowds with maskless people.  And that's the purpose of my thread. I wasn't mentally prepared for the elevators, the maskless children, the maskless people sitting next to me in the casino (despite the rules).  Also other hygiene reminders out the window - no person with hand sanitizer, no reminder to use it on boarding.  Saw one haz mat team cleaning a room and about 100 new hires who boarded in Fort Lauderdale on a familiarization tour of ship.  Mask wearing among staff very good with many double masked. 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by JFontaine
Typo

[DaKahuna]

If I were in an Edge Villa and had been treated the way you were treated shoreside, I would have made a bee-line for the retreat Concierge Desk and ask to speak to Guest Services Director immediately.  Even as I regular suite guest I would have immediately registered a complaint.  

 

Edge embarks at Pier 25 and having sailed on her and having used as well as also having read numerous reports of the separate entrance for Suite Guest this would be totally unacceptable. 

 

Also am curious why you did not elaborate on why lunch and dinner at Luminae was disappointing.  The embarkation lunch in Luminae is one of our favorite things about sailing in suite class.  

[JFontaine]

As other people have reported, the suites appear full (all villas are taken, last time I was here (2/20) only two were) and Luminae is very full. So between the crowd (crazy for embarkation lunch) and the extremely limited menu (some previously available items like white rice and mashed potatoes now gone) it just wasn't great. Today at lunch nobody at my table finished the lobster rolls. Other people might love the food and not mind the line to get in.  

 

On my arrival -  I did mention it to my butler, but there was no follow up.  Many little niceties of high end cabins are gone. It's all about the cabin,  in my opinion. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

28 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

When I said I should be in Retreat checkin I was told it doesn't matter, and then stood around as staff discussed who wanted to see a Villa suite and escort me on board. It was actually funny listening to this conversation

 

Would love to hear this conversation, care to share?

 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, JFontaine said:

As other people have reported, the suites appear full (all villas are taken, last time I was here (2/20) only two were)

 

We can thank MoveUp bidding for that

[JFontaine]

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

We can thank MoveUp bidding for that

Or lots of FCC to use. I wanted to move up to the Iconic. Between what I paid for the Villa (no promo, no moveup) and the minimum bid on the Iconic I could've bought a very nice car. 

[JFontaine]

7 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Would love to hear this conversation, care to share?

 

 

Not that interesting. I was directed to another checkin desk without explanation.   I asked what the problem was, and after a few minutes I was told that I needed to be escorted aboard. And then three youngish women asked each other if they had seen the Villa. Two of the three hadn't. Then 'do you want to go?' 'Yes, but you go ahead' 'no, you go'.  Finally, I said FFS and just followed the crowd.  

[crusinthrough]

Sorry to hear you are not off to a great start.  At pier 25 there is a lighted sign that says "Suite Check In".  Next time walk towards the sign and if someone tells you to go a different line,  you can smile and keep walking or politely say you will go to the suite line but thank you.  If it doesn't matter, then it will not matter that I go to the suite check in vs regular check in.  

 

I stand behind Luminae is overrated by people on CC and other social media sites.  Breakfast is better than dinner, imo.  Service is good but no better than I had in the MDR.  I'm confused as to why it's closed for lunch on port days.  On my last cruise there were 4 ports.  Luminae was closed for lunch more than it was opened.  

 

People have been itching to take off masks.  It's not surprising no one is wearing one.  At Strat up Celebrity did not require masks.  They became required during Omicron.  

[mfs2k]

I go to Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s a crowded casino with thousands of people and no vaccine or mask mandates. I’d say about 10% of guests are wearing masks. It’s a little jarring coming from NYC all day when I’m working where 80% are wearing masks outdoors by choice. 

[graphicguy]

FLL Embarkation building, while nice, could use some better signage.  I know it wasn’t clear to me when I was booked in a Suite which line I should be in.  The “porters” are mostly contractors with the airlines and work independently.  So, they normally aren’t privy to who should go where.  That creates the confusion you spoke of.

 

As far as being escorted aboard, not sure why that’s required.  But, if you were, nice touch.

 

Not going to touch the “mask protocols” as that gets a thread shut down around here.  But, Celebrity’s policy is repeated in several areas when you book.  Shouldn’t be a surprise.

 

Luminae….some people love it (me included).  Some people are ambivalent about it.  Their menus are more adventurous and some don’t care for that.  They have more traditional choices available for them.

[Sam.Seattle]

I’m sorry the OP did not have a better check in experience. My experience was exactly the opposite. We easily found the suite/retreat line. This week concierge was at the check-in line and greeted us by name as we sailed with her before. Yes, we felt special and we’re escorted to our room. 
 

Warning warning warning… The chair hogs are back in full force! They exist in the retreat and the main pool. It’s so amusing to just watch and laugh.

[NCHPcruiser]

We will be boarding the Apex in three weeks in FLL.   From the outside of the embarkation building is there a separate entrance for suite guests or should we just look for a separate line once we are in the building?   Thanks!  

[RichYak]

6 minutes ago, NCHPcruiser said:

We will be boarding the Apex in three weeks in FLL.   From the outside of the embarkation building is there a separate entrance for suite guests or should we just look for a separate line once we are in the building?   Thanks!  

For Terminal 25 there is a separate entrance to the left of the main entrance. I'm not sure which terminal Apex typically uses.

[NCHPcruiser]

6 minutes ago, RichYak said:

For Terminal 25 there is a separate entrance to the left of the main entrance. I'm not sure which terminal Apex typically uses.

Thank you!  According to the Port Everglades website Apex also uses Terminal 25.  

[PTC DAWG]

I would have headed for the Suite line in the beginning and never looked back.

 

I sailed Celebrity in August without any masking required at all, it was great.   I am glad they headed back that way.  

 

Enjoy the cruise..

Edited February 23, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[JFontaine]

3 hours ago, mfs2k said:

I go to Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s a crowded casino with thousands of people and no vaccine or mask mandates. I’d say about 10% of guests are wearing masks. It’s a little jarring coming from NYC all day when I’m working where 80% are wearing masks outdoors by choice. 

I live and work in NYC, so that pretty much explains me. 

[JFontaine]

3 hours ago, graphicguy said:

But, Celebrity’s policy is repeated in several areas when you book.  Shouldn’t be a surprise.

 

 

Actually,  the protocols changed a couple of weeks ago,  well after I booked, but definitely known to me. The only "surprise " is my own mental status, a by-product of the last 2 years, enhanced by living and working in NYC. I hope this thread might help prepare others like me to adjust their expectations prior to boarding. 

[JFontaine]

I agree that the signage could be better.  The Priority drop off is now at the beginning of the drop-off area, furthest from the Retreat door - it had been at the furthest end, near Retreat door.   I had a placard, but the guy directing traffic said most people say theirs is in their bag. When I got out of car, there were dozens of suitcases, none with the red Suite tags.  So people who are anxious to checkin are saying they are priority, but aren't. There was no Celebrity rep with clipboard monitoring for priority checkin, as in past at 25.  And my expedited bag delivery took 5 hours,  because 'priority ' had gone out the window.  Maybe the rep had simply walked away for 15 minutes, my luck. Not really a big deal in the realm of things, and it has happened to me before in NJ checking into penthouse. 

 

Now in Tortola and the retreat sundeck (pool area) is nearly empty. Gorgeous here.  

[Mimiya11]

4 hours ago, JFontaine said:

Actually,  the protocols changed a couple of weeks ago,  well after I booked, but definitely known to me. The only "surprise " is my own mental status, a by-product of the last 2 years, enhanced by living and working in NYC. I hope this thread might help prepare others like me to adjust their expectations prior to boarding. 

Thanks for this as as person from Toronto, where masks are still mandatory.  Just preparing myself  for a cruise in 3 weeks.  

[fsdorado]

We were on the Edge a few weeks ago (the last sailing before the mask policy changed back to pre-Omicron).  We got to Terminal 25 around 10:45 AM and there were no lines for either suites or regular check-in.  This was our first time in a suite.  We knew there was a separate check-in area (and process) for Retreat guests.  We showed the people near the doors our Express Pass and they escorted us up to the shoreside Retreat Lounge.  We were quite surprised to see how full it already was.  We had read that you shouldn't get to the pier before your check-in time (11AM for us).  There were no seats available in the lounge.  One of the Retreat Concierges did come and complete the check-in process where we were waiting.  Overall, it was a very quick and painless process.  We were cleared to board by 11:15.  I imagine if we got to the pier later, we would have had a different experience.  OP, I hope you enjoy your cruise!!

 

 

Frederick

[fsdorado]

4 hours ago, JFontaine said:

Actually,  the protocols changed a couple of weeks ago,  well after I booked, but definitely known to me. The only "surprise " is my own mental status, a by-product of the last 2 years, enhanced by living and working in NYC. I hope this thread might help prepare others like me to adjust their expectations prior to boarding. 

 

I totally understand how you feel.  We've been living in lockdown for so long, especially those of you in NYC.  It felt very weird to be around that many people again, even though there were only 1000 passengers on our sailing at the beginning of February.  Have a great cruise!!  We loved the Edge!!

 

 

Frederick

[tugboat]

23 hours ago, JFontaine said:

Literally and figuratively. 

 

Happy to be on board. Second time in a Villa and it is very nice. Retreat sundeck has been very busy, except this afternoon when it was too windy in the back. Luminae has been disappointing at lunch and dinner,  breakfast was fine. Had a good dinner in one of the main dining rooms - fairly empty, great service and good food. Also had a nice meal at the steakhouse tonight and a good lunch in the buffet. I was told 1300 and 1600 on board. Service throughout has been  perfect.  Staff could not be nicer, kinder, more professional.  Arrival was messy - despite my suite and having the Priority placard I was directed to regular checkin. When I said I should be in Retreat checkin I was told it doesn't matter, and then stood around as staff discussed who wanted to see a Villa suite and escort me on board. It was actually funny listening to this conversation,  but I finally gave up and walked on. I had everything on my phone other than passport and vaccine card, and it took a while to show them everything.  You stand on line, no desk. Messy. 

 

The figurative part. I knew that masks wouldn't be required but I thought some people would wear them. Very very few wear them.  I get that this is the new rule, but I didn't realize how after 2 years it would be so hard for me to be in unavoidable crowds with maskless people.  And that's the purpose of my thread. I wasn't mentally prepared for the elevators, the maskless children, the maskless people sitting next to me in the casino (despite the rules).  Also other hygiene reminders out the window - no person with hand sanitizer, no reminder to use it on boarding.  Saw one haz mat team cleaning a room and about 100 new hires who boarded in Fort Lauderdale on a familiarization tour of ship.  Mask wearing among staff very good with many double masked. 

 

 

 

 

When we checked in at Port Everglades on the Edge I ask when going into the building is this for Suite guests.at the top of the escalator I asked again after going the x-ray machine I ask I don’t think this was the Suite line. Oh yes follow them when they tried to seat us upstairs I started looking for someone that looked like they knew what was going and I wasn’t going to stop till I found. Once on the ship they said that never happens. I told her she couldn’t say that anymore because the staff didn’t have a clue that was January 30th on the Edge.

[tugboat]

21 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

Sorry to hear you are not off to a great start.  At pier 25 there is a lighted sign that says "Suite Check In".  Next time walk towards the sign and if someone tells you to go a different line,  you can smile and keep walking or politely say you will go to the suite line but thank you.  If it doesn't matter, then it will not matter that I go to the suite check in vs regular check in.  

 

I stand behind Luminae is overrated by people on CC and other social media sites.  Breakfast is better than dinner, imo.  Service is good but no better than I had in the MDR.  I'm confused as to why it's closed for lunch on port days.  On my last cruise there were 4 ports.  Luminae was closed for lunch more than it was opened.  

 

People have been itching to take off masks.  It's not surprising no one is wearing one.  At Strat up Celebrity did not require masks.  They became required during Omicron.  

Sorry when we checked in No Signage was up yet 11:00AM staff seemed confused 

[jelayne]

Apparently we were lucky.  We had seen photos someone had posted on CCof the entrances to the Terminal which clearly showed where the entrance for Retreat guests was so we found it and checked in without delay.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Boarded the Millie in FLL last week, outside of the building I can't recall if I saw a separate sign.  Inside there was a separate retreat section that was all the way to the left.