Comments on Edge and a TA

[Denny01]

We just completed our TransAtlantic on the Edge. So I thought I’d drop a few comments on the experience. I will add a 2nd thread on comments about being in a Suite, as first timers, and what we thought. Separating them so we, and others who wish, can focus on each.

 

First, our cruising background so you can ‘judge’ our biases and so on: We’ve cruised 42 times and this is our 28th on Celebrity. Yup, love Celebrity. We pick X unless there is a very specific itinerary or joining others on another Line. We find it what we are currently looking for. So yes, biased. We are currently booked on 4 future X cruises.

 

We Loved It! This was our 4th TA, both directions, and 4th time on an Edge Class ship. The ship was about 65% full and staffing was outstanding. Still at the level we’ve come to expect from X.

 

Stay in Civitavecchia and Boarding:

We flew into Rome 3 days prior. Did Not stay in Rome this time because we wanted to just relax and veg out. Used Rome Cabs down to Civitavecchia and stayed in the Hotel San Giorgio. Great medium-level hotel. Right across from the water and close to the old town section. Nice room, European style and excellent staff. Free breakfast and had dining and outside bar. Didn’t dine there, walked to a few of the many Pizzaria’s and local diners. Our favorite was MyLove, outstanding choices of local seafood and classic Italian dishes. Outside seating and excellent service. Hotel had a shuttle to the terminal for 20+ and got there at 1130. Very quick check-in and onto the ship. Could drop off our carry-ons in the SR prior to them being fully open, and had lunch. Will focus on dining in the Retreat restaurant, the Luminae, and the Sky Suite SR, on the next thread on the Retreat experience.

 

Dining:

We had the Retreat dining room, the Luminae, but used the others too. We did one specialty restaurant, Eden. Fantastic. Had the crab cake which is All crab, and the Lobster casserole which is a pile of cold-water lobster claws….no idea why they call it a ‘casserole’. Dined also in two of the MDRs, Normandie and Cyprus. Excellent. Great service and great choices. Just love the atmosphere, the smaller venues and lower noise than the standard single large MDRs. All 4 are great and love being able to move one to another, but those are our 2 favorites. Also dined at the Spa Cafe which has very healthy choices and at the Eden Cafe Loved them. The Oceanview is as fine as it always is, great choices and well laid out. Excellent service in all.

 

Ship Venues and Service:

Not crowded. As said, 65% full. All in excellent shape. Spent a lot of time in El Bacio downing the great Aspen Coffees. Love Eden. Great place to relax, have a few drinks and play cards. Staff was outstanding and had no problems being served.

 

Entertainment:

Ship had some rocky weather a few days so the major shows were modified a bit, but the major Hot Mid-Summers Dreams went a later night and was outstanding. Fantastic band, singing and aerial work. Good comedian and special shows too. Excellent music around the ship, especially in Eden.

 

Beyond the Podium:

Outstanding speakers. One of the things I love about X is this. Had a scientist speaking on the Ocean, climate, and history. And an aviator speaking on the history of flight, of airlines and air control. Fantastic. The Cruise Director interviewed the ship Capt at two gatherings and it was some of the most interesting and informative talks I’ve been to.

 

Spa:

We booked the spa for the entire cruise. Ended up not using it as much as we could have. Will do it daily next time. Thought we’d use it more on a TA. Didn’t go for a massage or any special, just the spa saunas and steam rooms. Love the warm tile lounges facing the bow.

 

Ports:

Enjoyed the ship tours we took. And did one tour with ToursByLocals in Azores….outstanding.

Corsica: OK general bus tour. Very focused on Neapolitan, since he was from there, but didn’t find it that interesting. Would do better on our own.

Palma: Love this port. Did a train trip from Sollar. Loved it but the walk down to the Sollar port was a major hike on cobblestones and narrow streets with cars rushing by. Worth it but you need to be ready to walk more than they inferred in the description.

Cartagena. Loved it. Toured the Roman ruins in town then a bus into the countryside. Great.

Gibraltar: Did the WWII Fortifications tour. Outstanding. Not rigorous and extremely interesting. Saw the apes, but I could take or leave them. Nasty things.

Azores: The ship canceled Bermuda due to their COVID requirements and added this. Fantastic. I do love Bermuda but the Azores are a place I’d go back to on our own. Green, friendly, not expensive and just lovely. Did a private tour with ToursByLocals. Well worth it. Just the 2 of us. Very flexible on what to do and see and had a full island tour…..its a small island!

 

Overall, another grand cruise. Met a number of people and connected with 2 other couples and hope to see again. We were active on the Roll Call and we set up a Chocolate Tasting social. Was fun.

 

I highly recommend going on a TA and cruising on an Edge Class ship.

 

Den

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by Denny01

[Texed]

Thanks for posting Mr. Den. 😊

[JonoBhoy]

Thanks Den. Wife and I are in a SS on Edge (first on an E-Class ship) in January and throughly looking forward to it. Your review has re-affirmed my decision to try an E ship in a suite.

 

Looking forward to your follow-up on Retreat, Luminae and SS.

[BEAV]

Thanks for your comments. 

 

I was on the Spring TA on Edge and can relate to so much you said. 

 

I’ll always be “stuck” at Elite Plus, never making Zenith. But that really doesn’t matter to me. I’ve been in Retreat Class many times, but wasn’t on the Edge TA. Personally speaking, I don’t need to “heighten” my experience by booking the Retreat on an Edge-class ship. Between the 4 MDR’s, specialty restaurants, Martini Bar, etc, there’s just so much “joy to enjoy” no matter your accommodation level.

 

Glad to see in your and Orator’s Silhouette TA reviews the Beyond the Podium program is alive and well. It didn’t exist on the Spring TA, but maybe that was a Covid thing at that time which pretty dicey with all the testing, quarantine stories, etc. 

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, Denny01 said:

This was our 4th TA, both directions, and 4th time on an Edge Class ship.

If you don't mind a question... How would you compare a TA on an E-Class ship versus other ships? I guess I'm referring to consecutive sea days and things to do on this ship vs others.

[Denny01]

10 minutes ago, RichYak said:

If you don't mind a question... How would you compare a TA on an E-Class ship versus other ships? I guess I'm referring to consecutive sea days and things to do on this ship vs others.

Appreciate your interest. Ive done TA’s on Millinium (Constellation) going East FLL to Dover; on Solstice Class (Solstice and Reflection going west Rome to FLL and Barcelona to FLL) and now Edge Class (Edge going west Rome to FLL). 

 

Each Class has a strong positive to spending time onboard during extensive sea days.

 

The Millinium Class has what I think is the best at-sea pool, the Solarium pool with warm active saltwater and pipes at the corners that rush down on our neck and back, and the pipes on the side that make into a lounge with bubbles coming up between. Fantastic! And a great Observation Lounge on the bow.

 

The Solstice Class is just a lovely experience overall. Beautiful, great non-crowded venues and places to watch the sea sail by. Spend a good deal of time in the Observation Lounge.

 

the Edge Class has the 4 MDRs, the Eden area to watch the stern, which I now find as interesting and relaxing as up on the bow. Love the wraparound at the stern with places to sit and socialize. 

 

So I dont think you can miss out. Yes, the Edge Class has more extensive areas for Suite guests and so on, but for standard SRs, you have such great options and differences in the various Celebrity Classes. Kind of what I enjoy and cruise X as my choice. 

 

I overheard one guy complaining that he disliked TA’s because they are like Groundhog Day, same over and over. I disagree completely. So much to do each day that differ…..but I also enjoy just spending time with my wife and don’t need distractions…..my biased read on his complaint. 

 

Den

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Denny01 said:

but I also enjoy just spending time with my wife and don’t need distractions

We are very much alike in that respect. Thanks for taking the time out and responding so thoughtfully.

[RenieRaider]

Denny, Thank you for your info.

I would LOVE to do a TA one day.

Pros and cons, East to West? West to East?

 

Eden. I thought that was just for Suite Class, no?

Is Eden an "area" AND a dining room?

 

Thanks again.

Irene

 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by RenieRaider
spelling

[jelayne]

Eden is a bar, a restaurant,  a cafe for breakfast and lunch on sea days, has entertainment at night, great for sitting and watching the wake, a pre or post dinner drink.  It is open to all passengers. 

[Denny01]

It has a walkway that winds around the stern glass with seating areas. The bar/lounge has lots of seating and agree with @JaLayne. Love the place The specialty restaurant is on the 3rd deck below the lounge/seating.

 

One of our favorites. 

 

Den

[dreamer321]

2 hours ago, RenieRaider said:

... Eden. I thought that was just for Suite Class, no?

Is Eden an "area" AND a dining room?...

 

 

I think you may be confusing Eden with "The Retreat." The Retreat is exclusive to suite guests and consists of a lounge, dining room and sun deck.

 

Eden is open to all passengers and contains a bar, restaurant and café. They put on shows in Eden some nights and have solo or duo artist preforming at other times.

Edited November 8, 2022 by dreamer321

[Denny01]

2 hours ago, RenieRaider said:

Denny, Thank you for your info.

I would LOVE to do a TA one day.

Pros and cons, East to West? West to East?

 

Eden. I thought that was just for Suite Class, no?

Is Eden an "area" AND a dining room?

 

Thanks again.

Irene

 

 

There are a few differences:

 

Going West, from Euro to US, you roll your clocks back an hr 6 or 7 times so about 1/2 the days are 25hrs, and you pick up a bit more time. And most find it easier to adjust adding an hr. 

 

Going East US to a Euro port, you roll your time forward and lose an hr for 6 or 7 days. And some find that a bit of an issue.

 

For me, it isnt a biggie at all since you are aboard ship and each day you have lots of time to sleep in and relax and whatever so even losing an hr is No Big Deal. Some will disagree.

 

And it depends on when you want to cruise. Usually, the ships head to Europe in the Spring, so usually April/May you’l find the TA’s heading for Europe. While they return in the Fall, usually Oct/ Nov. 

 

The weather is just too impossible to guess at, but there is always a bit more of a chance of picking up stormy action in the Fall than in the Spring. But that is a Big generality, but Atlantic Hurricane season does go from 1 June to 30 Nov, and we seem to be getting more storms into Nov. But we’ve been fine except for a few rainy days and a bit of a rolling seas on our all crossings. 

 

I find going West, from Euro, to US a bit better for my schedule. We like to spend time in Europe when we go over, and the Fall seems easier to go wandering around on our own prior the to cruise. 

 

Or even better, a B2B! We’ve done two crossings with B2B’s. Did the Eastern Med on the Solstice out of Rome followed by its TA to FLL from Rome. With the Reflection, we did a cruise out of Venice to Barcelona, then a crossing. With Silouette, we spent a week in Cornwall, then did a TA from Southampton to FLL. On the Constellation, we did the only Eastbound, FLL to Dover and spent a week in London afterwards. This last one on the Edge, we spent just 3 days in Civitavecchia prior to crossing to FLL.

 

Heck, I just realized, I said we did 4 crossings, we did 5! 

 

So each has a point to it, usually your vacation options will drive you to one. 

 

enjoy!

 

Den

[RenieRaider]

On 11/8/2022 at 5:58 PM, dreamer321 said:

I think you may be confusing Eden with "The Retreat." The Retreat is exclusive to suite guests and consists of a lounge, dining room and sun deck.

 

Eden is open to all passengers and contains a bar, restaurant and café. They put on shows in Eden some nights and have solo or duo artist preforming at other times.

You are correct! I was confusing the two.

Thank you.

I think we will be enjoying The Eden!

 

[RenieRaider]

On 11/8/2022 at 6:39 PM, Denny01 said:

There are a few differences:

 

Going West, from Euro to US, you roll your clocks back an hr 6 or 7 times so about 1/2 the days are 25hrs, and you pick up a bit more time. And most find it easier to adjust adding an hr. 

 

Going East US to a Euro port, you roll your time forward and lose an hr for 6 or 7 days. And some find that a bit of an issue.

 

For me, it isnt a biggie at all since you are aboard ship and each day you have lots of time to sleep in and relax and whatever so even losing an hr is No Big Deal. Some will disagree.

 

And it depends on when you want to cruise. Usually, the ships head to Europe in the Spring, so usually April/May you’l find the TA’s heading for Europe. While they return in the Fall, usually Oct/ Nov. 

 

The weather is just too impossible to guess at, but there is always a bit more of a chance of picking up stormy action in the Fall than in the Spring. But that is a Big generality, but Atlantic Hurricane season does go from 1 June to 30 Nov, and we seem to be getting more storms into Nov. But we’ve been fine except for a few rainy days and a bit of a rolling seas on our all crossings. 

 

I find going West, from Euro, to US a bit better for my schedule. We like to spend time in Europe when we go over, and the Fall seems easier to go wandering around on our own prior the to cruise. 

 

Or even better, a B2B! We’ve done two crossings with B2B’s. Did the Eastern Med on the Solstice out of Rome followed by its TA to FLL from Rome. With the Reflection, we did a cruise out of Venice to Barcelona, then a crossing. With Silouette, we spent a week in Cornwall, then did a TA from Southampton to FLL. On the Constellation, we did the only Eastbound, FLL to Dover and spent a week in London afterwards. This last one on the Edge, we spent just 3 days in Civitavecchia prior to crossing to FLL.

 

Heck, I just realized, I said we did 4 crossings, we did 5! 

 

So each has a point to it, usually your vacation options will drive you to one. 

 

enjoy!

 

Den

Thank you so much for your response.

Happy a Happy Thanksgiving!

Will you be cruising over the holiday?

[Denny01]

10 hours ago, RenieRaider said:

Thank you so much for your response.

Happy a Happy Thanksgiving!

Will you be cruising over the holiday?

No, we are in NYC catching some plays. Then spending Thanksgiving w a daughter and friends at home and Xmas in AZ with most of the family. 
 

have a good holiday too. 
 

den 

 

[Smmessineo]

59 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

No, we are in NYC catching some plays. Then spending Thanksgiving w a daughter and friends at home and Xmas in AZ with most of the family. 
 

have a good holiday too. 
 

den 

 

 Have a great holiday season, Denny!

I always enjoy your posts, whether they are informational or just fun!

[JeanieC,Aston]

“Palma: Love this port. Did a train trip from Sollar. Loved it but the walk down to the Sollar port was a major hike on cobblestones and narrow streets with cars rushing by. Worth it but you need to be ready to walk more than they inferred in the“

 

Hi Den

Just for info maybe for others doing the trip in future..

You must have missed the tram that goes down the hill from Soller to Port Soller.

No need to walk down.

 

[Denny01]

@JeanieC,Aston, I agree the trams are handy and for those who do the train on their own, that would work, but not for those on a tour.

 

My comments were for those looking at that tour. 

 

Den

[Kelownadon]

Denny, my wife and I are thinking about doing a TA cruise next fall on the Apex. We just did a Mediterranean cruise on the Apex this fall and loved it. Our only concern is whether or not we should be worried about seasickness on a TA cruise? On your cruises did you notice whether or not there was a significant number of people being affected by it in some way or other. Thanks. 

[Denny01]

We had a few days of rolling seas, but I didn’t notice anyone reacting to it. No real smaller crowds or complaining except noted the sea state. 
 

my wife is a bit sensitive to motion but wasn’t impacted. 
 

but no one can predict whether seas will be pretty calm. Our cruise went further south after leaving the Azores then planned to stay out of rough seas so crossings have some options. I’d think there is as much chance of running into sea issues cruising the Caribbean as a crossing…..just an opinion. 
 

den

[Kelownadon]

Thanks for the quick response. That takes a big load off our minds. Now we can get down to planning the cruise with probably a week’s stay in Barcelona prior to the cruise. 

[Denny01]

@Kelownadon, Barcelona is a fantastic place to enjoy. A week would be great. We visited the Picasso Museum. Its his earlier work and loved it. Recommend tickets online so not waiting in long lines. There is so much to do in and around Barcelona. 

 

Den

[cangelmd]

On 11/15/2022 at 3:34 PM, Kelownadon said:

Denny, my wife and I are thinking about doing a TA cruise next fall on the Apex. We just did a Mediterranean cruise on the Apex this fall and loved it. Our only concern is whether or not we should be worried about seasickness on a TA cruise? On your cruises did you notice whether or not there was a significant number of people being affected by it in some way or other. Thanks. 

I just got back from this Nov Apex TA. We left on Oct 29.

I am not at all prone to seasickness, but I took meclizine twice, once when I was feeling the motion and no one else seemed to be affected, and a second time when significant motion was expected and the captain recommended people take precautions. It was rough that evening.

My answer is be prepared- hard to know how rough it will and how it will bother you. I traveled with someone more prone to seasickness than I am. She felt the meclizine made her feel worse than the motion and didn’t take anything the second time we were warned about rough seas. She had her sea legs by then and it didn’t bother her. Be prepared.

[Kelownadon]

Thanks guys. Just bit the bullet today and booked the Apex for a TA next November. We will be sure to bring the recommended medication.