Semi-live from the Edge | February 3-13 | Southern Caribbean

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Surfguyxxx said:

Question you might be able to answer.  I'll be in a Concierge Class stateroom and definitely want to go to Eden, understanding that the reservations are super hard to come by.  Does the concierge class host contact us prior to sailings?  Can I get a reservation through them?  I ask because the husband hates getting on the ship early 😴😴 😴 and I'm thinking of going on without him  LOL.  Thanks if you or someone has this answer.  Loving your postings. 

Have you tried making a reservation before your cruise online or in the app? We have already booked Eden for our September Apex cruise online plus we got a 10% discount for booking before the cruise. If you wait until you are on the ship you will pay more and have limited availability.

Edited February 9, 2023 by terrydtx

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, Surfguyxxx said:

Question you might be able to answer.  I'll be in a Concierge Class stateroom and definitely want to go to Eden, understanding that the reservations are super hard to come by.  Does the concierge class host contact us prior to sailings?  Can I get a reservation through them?  I ask because the husband hates getting on the ship early 😴😴 😴 and I'm thinking of going on without him  LOL.  Thanks if you or someone has this answer.  Loving your postings. 

We weren’t contacted by the concierge ahead of sailing, but I don’t know what their usual protocol is. We were a very last-minute booking, so that may have factored in.

 

We booked an Eden reservation online a week before sailing, but the last sea day at 8:30pm was all that was available. After checking the app once on board and not seeing anything else available, we stopped by the concierge desk and just asked if anything earlier in the week was available, time didn’t matter. And they were able to get us the same 8:30pm spot but on day 4. 

 

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from Antigua! What a beautiful rainbow and view to wake up to… 

 

 

 

And then a squall. Oh well, can’t have rainbows with some rain.

 

 

 

With a later arrival time into port, I went to grab coffee and enjoy it on the verandah while letting Snoring Beauty sleep in. 😴 

 

The Seven Seas Navigator and Seabourn Ovation are in port with us today.

 

 

Breakfast time. Yay for chocolate babka! It was one of my favourite things on the Solstice and I’m delighted it made an appearance this morning.

 

 

Our original plan was to go on another catamaran and snorkel tour, but a combination of rainy skies and husband not feeling 100% had us cancelling last minute. Apparently we’ll get 50% of the tour cost back, which I wasn’t expecting due to the late cancellation, but unfortunately it doesn’t sound like they keep a waitlist for anyone else to grab our spots. 

 

As an aside, I don’t love the self-serve kiosks in lieu of a properly staffed shore excursion desk. There was one excursions crew member there, but she was trying to disengage from questions (despite a number of people having them) so she could get to her position in the theatre. Apparently they only have staff there in the evenings, but it would seem to me that the morning would be when troubleshooting requiring an actual person to talk to is most likely to happen. 🤷‍♀️

 

So anyway, the husband is back in bed, I’m back on the verandah with an Americano and a BBC (it’s practically a breakfast smoothie) and we’ll see what the ship has to offer us later today.

 

Oh, it took a while to transfer the files, but a selection of videos from the husband’s scuba diving in Barbados are now up on my IG Stories.

[sharonann24]

Question for you as I have noticed you are in the MDR many evenings.  We have a standing 8:30 select MDR time.  Will we be in the same dining room each night?  I don't anticipate any specialty restaurants since my dad is not really a fan.  Enjoying your postings even though our itinerary is different.

[OrcaGirl]

6 minutes ago, sharonann24 said:

Question for you as I have noticed you are in the MDR many evenings.  We have a standing 8:30 select MDR time.  Will we be in the same dining room each night?  I don't anticipate any specialty restaurants since my dad is not really a fan.  Enjoying your postings even though our itinerary is different.

I’m afraid I don’t know how the seating times work on Edge-class ships with the four main dining rooms. We haven’t made any MDR reservations at all.

 

 

[AbbyCruiser45]

13 minutes ago, sharonann24 said:

Question for you as I have noticed you are in the MDR many evenings.  We have a standing 8:30 select MDR time.  Will we be in the same dining room each night?  I don't anticipate any specialty restaurants since my dad is not really a fan.  Enjoying your postings even though our itinerary is different.

You'll be seated in the same dining every night. However, you should be able to ask the maître d' to try another dining room. From my understanding though, all the dining rooms share the same kitchen, so you could probably just order off the other dining rooms' menu. 

[OrcaGirl]

My Sleepy Beauty finally roused himself out of bed around 12:30pm and we headed up for lunch. Only to get chased inside by another quick cloudburst that turned my guacamole and sour cream into a weird soup.

 

 

After that, we settled in poolside for some reading (him) and future cruise contemplation (me).

 

 

 

 

We attempted trivia again but obviously Celebrity *hates* Canadians because the sports-themed trivia didn’t have a SINGLE question about hockey. Who pays attention to football (either kind), baseball, basketball and golf anyway? Phhhffff.

 

And the Long Island iced tea we ordered between trivia rounds didn’t help our score on the General Knowledge trivia either. 5 out of 20?!?! 🤣

 

Tonight for dinner we made a return trip to Cyprus. Service was unusually slow compared to our last visit, and the entrees didn’t live up to expectations (the short ribs were gristly and tough and nowhere near as flavourful). But at least the saganaki was still amazing? Mmmm gooey cheese.

 

 

We skipped dessert in order to grab our usual seats for tonight’s theatre show, Feel the Funk. It was very good, although definitely my least favourite of the three production shows we’ve seen so far.

 

 

 

 

Really wish we could stay up for the ABBA trivia and singalong, but alas, we’ve got an early day tomorrow so it’s back to the cabin to get our stuff prepped (and start season two of The White Lotus).

 

 

Random thoughts and observations:

 

The husband is wondering which cruise line is known for the softest mattresses.

 

Meanwhile I’m wondering if the Disney cruise ships have Dole Whip on board.

 

We haven’t seen the Magic Carpet in use once. It’s a beautiful space but the intended function itself seems quite gimmicky.

 

Captain Tazos continues to be the best. 

 

Checked my email today and oh look a PUP offer. Guess I know what I’m watching tomorrow.

[SFCAcruiser]

27 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

...Checked my email today and oh look a PUP offer. Guess I know what I’m watching tomorrow.

 

FYI - This PUP runs a little under an hour; I hope the ship internet cooperates. The general consensus here is that this presentation is perhaps the best one to date. 

[sdnich]

I am so sad to hear that your husband was not feeling well to do the Lobster catamaran cruise! I looked forward to hearing your thoughts on your second time  .We booked it after reading about your last cruise and excursion. We hope  our weather will be good and we know will have a great time! 

[Xyla]

14 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

You'll be seated in the same dining every night. However, you should be able to ask the maître d' to try another dining room. From my understanding though, all the dining rooms share the same kitchen, so you could probably just order off the other dining rooms' menu. 

We are currently on the Edge as well and have only eaten in the Main Dining Rooms, although we don’t have a fixed time. It’s been a little hit or miss getting an item that’s featured from a different dining room than we were currently in. For example, tonight one of my dining companions requested the tiramisu for dessert, even though we were in the cosmopolitan and it’s a Tuscan exclusive.  Yesterday she requested the same thing from the same dining room, and got it without issues. Tonight the waiter essentially flatly refused to bring it, and said she could only order from the given menu. 

[OrcaGirl]

8 hours ago, sdnich said:

I am so sad to hear that your husband was not feeling well to do the Lobster catamaran cruise! I looked forward to hearing your thoughts on your second time  .We booked it after reading about your last cruise and excursion. We hope  our weather will be good and we know will have a great time! 

Actually that wasn’t the tour we had booked! We’d previously done a different catamaran & snorkel tour twice on Norwegian, and both times went to the same spot with a very sad coral situation, so this trip we were booked on the catamaran & snorkel that goes to Green Island on the far side of Antigua and (depending on how you interpret the language in the description) circumnavigates the entire island.

 

I’m sad to have missed it, but there’s always next cruise.

 

I’d love to do the lobster catamaran someday but since the husband doesn’t appreciate lobster, we’ve never booked it. I’ll do that one solo someday when the port times align better with scuba for him.

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from St Kitts. But where’s my daily rainbow? 

 

 

Once again had a deep sleep but messed up dreams (involving an outdoor adventure trade show, a now-retired NHL player that I used to work with, a well-known Canadian ultrarunner, and I found a dead body but it was no big deal?)…

 

The Seabourn Ovation is to our starboard side but quite a ways out from the pier so I guess they’re tendering today? And the Norwegian Getaway must have a later arrival time as their AIS shows them still en route. 

 

But the real star is the Sea Cloud II — gorgeous ship!

 

 

 

To breakfast!

 

 

And then dive for cover when it starts to rain again. Oh there’s my daily rainbow. Excellent. A perfect 5/5 for port day rainbows.

 

 

Then kisses to the husband as we head our separate ways: him to meet his dive boat and me to the theatre to await my excursion departure.

 

[itzfitz]

Love your posts!  We will be getting on board when you are debarking!  Do you know if Capt. Taszos will still be on board or is he leaving the ship?

[sdnich]

4 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Actually that wasn’t the tour we had booked! We’d previously done a different catamaran & snorkel tour twice on Norwegian, and both times went to the same spot with a very sad coral situation, so this trip we were booked on the catamaran & snorkel that goes to Green Island on the far side of Antigua and (depending on how you interpret the language in the description) circumnavigates the entire island.

 

I’m sad to have missed it, but there’s always next cruise.

 

I’d love to do the lobster catamaran someday but since the husband doesn’t appreciate lobster, we’ve never booked it. I’ll do that one solo someday when the port times align better with scuba for him.

I just realized I mixed up reviews. Another review by bnurick also did the same itinerary and did the catamaran and lobster lunch and said it was one there favorite excursions .

[KKB]

15 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

Random thoughts and observations:

 

The husband is wondering which cruise line is known for the softest mattresses.

 

 

 

We haven’t seen the Magic Carpet in use once. It’s a beautiful space but the intended function itself seems quite gimmicky.

 

Celebrity mattresses are the HARDEST. I like a firm mattress but not HARD. Other lines (NCL, RCCL, Princess, Carnival) are not nearly as hard, imo.

 

No bartender? Magic Carpet does NOT move while anyone is on it...We loved just sitting out there with a drink & a book. But it is gimmicky, I agree.

Edited February 10, 2023 by KKB

[Lastdance]

39 minutes ago, KKB said:

 

Celebrity mattresses are the HARDEST. I like a firm mattress but not HARD. Other lines (NCL, RCCL, Princess, Carnival) are not nearly as hard, imo.

 

 

They have a solution for that, so just ask your cabin/suite attendant.  💤

[OrcaGirl]

29 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

They have a solution for that, so just ask your cabin/suite attendant.  💤

As previously mentioned, we’re up to two foam toppers folded over double. Is there another solution you’re thinking of?

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

No bartender? Magic Carpet does NOT move while anyone is on it...We loved just sitting out there with a drink & a book. But it is gimmicky, I agree.

Sorry, to clarify: yes, there’s a bartender at peak times. But I just meant that we haven’t seen it be anywhere other than deck 14 or serve any purpose other than a bar/lounge. I thought it was supposed to be able to be an extension of restaurant space up higher or lower at certain times; that’s what I haven’t seen (yet).

[KKB]

9 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Sorry, to clarify: yes, there’s a bartender at peak times. But I just meant that we haven’t seen it be anywhere other than deck 14 or serve any purpose other than a bar/lounge. I thought it was supposed to be able to be an extension of restaurant space up higher or lower at certain times; that’s what I haven’t seen (yet).

Gotcha.

On 2 Edge sailings & 1 Apex, dinner was offered only once--I think that's the only time they move it to deck 5.

[natshala]

I was recently B2B on Beyond. Only saw it on 14 but I loved sitting out there. It never seemed crowded.

[cgolf1]

24 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Sorry, to clarify: yes, there’s a bartender at peak times. But I just meant that we haven’t seen it be anywhere other than deck 14 or serve any purpose other than a bar/lounge. I thought it was supposed to be able to be an extension of restaurant space up higher or lower at certain times; that’s what I haven’t seen (yet).

 

I believe early on they found that the wind was a bit much to do dining comfortably while sailing. Not sure how much they have tried it since. I do believe that they changed some things on later builds to help with the wind. We liked it up top as that was one of our favorite hang out spots.

[StillLooking4Adventure]

57 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Sorry, to clarify: yes, there’s a bartender at peak times. But I just meant that we haven’t seen it be anywhere other than deck 14 or serve any purpose other than a bar/lounge. I thought it was supposed to be able to be an extension of restaurant space up higher or lower at certain times; that’s what I haven’t seen (yet).

1st of all I'm enjoying your review. My wife and I will be on the same cruise in 2 weeks.  The magic carpet moves to the lowest deck deck when it is used by the tenders. The Edge class tenders are much larger and easier to board from the magic carpet. Your cruise doesn't visit ports that require tenders. It also acts as a  patio for Raw on Five on occasion.  It sounds like you have had some weather issues that would have made this not an option. Those are it's three positions,  so it is more than just a gimmick. Check for it at Raw on five if you have a nice sea day and they open for lunch. They also offer a specialty dining experience on it that is quite expensive.  

 

Keep up the good work!😁

[OrcaGirl]

My excursion today was the scenic rail and sail. I love trains, and I love catamarans. Win-win.

 

We started with the sail portion. Which seemed to confuse a lot of people, though the description did say it could operate in either order.

 

 

The boat crew asked a few trivia questions about St Kitts & American history, and I think I was only one who got them right, and I’m Canadian. Did no one see Hamilton?!?!

 

 

But apparently I’ve been mispronouncing Nevis my entire life so… 🤷‍♀️

 

The catamaran portion of the tour was lovely, a nice speed, scenic views, great crew. Strong rum punch, so I limited myself to one since I didn’t have the husband or the Fox with me to keep me from making good/bad decisions. But they only played reggae music, no country, so everyone was saved from my poor-but-enthusiastic singing. They also handed out potato chips and muffins.

 

 

 

I’m glad I remembered to grab my face mask, as there was a fair bit of coughing on the bus to the train.

 

The bus transfer was about 10 mins. Of note, our bus driver was the only person all day to actually reference the slave trade and colonization… (It was a little disconcerting on the catamaran to hear slave traders/owners referred to as simply plantation owners and ‘great men.’)

 

 

The train portion was also great, if a bit screechy. I wish I’d brought my earplugs.

 

 

But scenic AF.

 

 

 

 

A variety of beverages were on offer, inc. rum punch, pina coladas, etc. My one-and-done plan ended as soon as she said mango daiquiri and fired up the blender.

 

 

The catamaran had been so relaxing and the train was a bit of sensory overload, so in retrospect I think I would have preferred the reverse order. But still absolutely enjoyable and worth doing.

 

From the train station, it was another 10 min bus ride back to the port area.

[OrcaGirl]

By the time we were dropped off, the Norwegian Getaway was pulled up alongside us. (We’ve sailed on the Dawn, Epic, Encore and Bliss x2 but never the Getaway).

 

 

Once back on board, I serendipitously spotted my husband waiting for the elevators. (One gentleman jokingly admonished me for getting handsy in public; “at least this time I grabbed the right butt” was my retort.)

 

We quickly dropped off our bags and headed to the buffet. The husband has been planning to assemble a gastronomic monstrosity, but alas the buffet didn’t have the right ingredients out so it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

 

The lamb and chicken kabobs with tzatziki and tahini were really good, as was the chicken curry salad. The falafel was not.

 

 

Then it was off to trivia! (With a quick detour up to the pooldeck bar for a BBC.) Trivia in Eden comes with a nice view but without a screen. And it was supposed to be ‘theme trivia’ again but there was no discernible theme. We suuuuuuucked.

 

Okay, I need to let the trivia-induced stress go because it’s now massage time.

 

[cut to 75 min later]

 

Okay, the Thai herbal poultice massage was not what I was expecting based on the ‘massage teaser’ sampler on embarkation day. It was good, but I wasn’t prepared for just how up in my business the masseuse was going to get. It needs a rewrite and/or they need to explain it when you book it.

 

For dinner, we went back to Normandie. The husband had a salad, but they were out of the advertised greens so it was arugula. I had the escargot. 🐌 Yummy buttery garlicky snails.

 

 

As entrees, we both got the beef tenderloin en croute. Amazing! So tender and yummy. Definitely pushes Normandie into top spot of our MDR rankings.

 

 

Dessert was just okay — he had the blueberry-apple turnover (the filling-to-pastry ratio was way off) and I had the opera cake (it tasted like it was trying to be tiramisu but failing miserably).

 

 

 

After a quick trip back to the cabin to grab my phone charger and start the GoPro videos downloading (spoiler: 🐢, 🦁 🐠, 🦈), we headed to the Club for ‘Headline the Band’ e.g. karaoke. I wish I had the confidence, the husband wishes he had the voice. (There’s a video of a particularly drunken karaoke rendition of Let’s Dance in a bar in Germany from 30+ years ago that will haunt him forever.) 

 

 

Earlier in the day we had grand plans of staying up late tonight and go to Silent Disco, but… I’m exhausted. To bed!

 

 

Random thoughts and observations:

 

Someone asked, and yes, this is the final cruise on the Edge for Captain Tasos. 😢

 

The husband thinks the ship should have a Coke slushy machine that can also make Bellinis.

 

Tonight the husband asked if our next cruise could be on a line where (trying to word this delicately) he didn’t feel like one of the youngest people on board. (For the record, he’s in his 50s but certainly doesn’t act it.) 🤣 But the jokes on him — if I get another BCC offer and he doesn’t want to go, I’ll just bring my mom or the Fox again.

 

Speaking of, cruise lines that cater to more mature audiences need to rethink the lighting in the MDRs. Nary a night goes without someone or several someones using their phone flashlights to read the menu.

 

I guess the sustainability effort where you get a bonus CC point for opting to get your room serviced less isn’t a thing anymore? We actually left the Deep Sleep magnet on our door every other day since we didn’t feel we needed the room cleaned twice a day everyday; and apparently our steward tried calling us yesterday to make sure we were all right.

 

Cruise ships should have ‘backup singer’ karaoke. Like, I don’t have Lead Character Energy but I could sway along in the background and provide backing vocals.

 

The husband, on the other hand, wants Lip Sync Battle at sea.

 

 

I wonder how many people packed their jerseys for Super Bowl on Sunday? They’re going to play it in the theatre and there’s gonna be some type of betting grid thingy.

 

The husband appreciates being able to grab a cookie from Cafe al Bacio whenever, versus the “by request only until after 9pm” situation on NCL lately.

Edited February 11, 2023 by OrcaGirl

[Arubamoose]

1 hour ago, OrcaGirl said:

Someone asked, and yes, this is the final cruise on the Edge for Captain Tasos. 😢

 

Say it ain't so!!  No Captain Tasos!!  I was looking forward to sailing with him based on everything folks were saying about him and his sense of humor.

 

BTW - Loved your review.  Joining the ship for a B2B on Monday.  Great information.