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

[Surfguyxxx]

On 2/9/2023 at 9:22 AM, OrcaGirl said:

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. 

 

Thank you; much appreciated.

 

[Surfguyxxx]

On 2/9/2023 at 9:07 AM, terrydtx said:

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.

All set; just booked.  Thank you.

[OrcaGirl]

Woke up early and went to Cafe al Bacio for my morning espresso and croissant instead of risking disturbing Snoring Beauty by opening the verandah. 

 

 

Theoretically I’d planned to use today to (finally) start planning our upcoming trip to Fiji but looking at the list of interesting onboard activities, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.

 

But breakfast is definitely happening. I dragged the husband to Eden to check out the morning offerings there.

 

 

 

 

Then to guest services because I messed up and accidentally picked self-assist departure instead of luggage assist, which with all the husband’s dive gear, no. 

 

Once we got that sorted out, it was time for… second breakfast. The husband wanted some POY-TAY-TOES and I mostly wanted a mimosa. But also got some fruit, yogurt and a cinnamon roll because balance is important.

 

 

 

We headed to a shady spot to read for a bit, but of course I left my book in the room and was feeling too lazy to [checks notes] climb down and back up one flight of stairs. So instead I’m here on CC. But maybe the mimosa has already gone to my head because I just posted this to the wrong thread! 🤣 Oops.

 

[yknot13]

3 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Woke up early and went to Cafe al Bacio for my morning espresso and croissant instead of risking disturbing Snoring Beauty by opening the verandah. 

 

 

Theoretically I’d planned to use today to (finally) start planning our upcoming trip to Fiji but looking at the list of interesting onboard activities, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.

 

But breakfast is definitely happening. I dragged the husband to Eden to check out the morning offerings there.

 

 

 

 

Then to guest services because I messed up and accidentally picked self-assist departure instead of luggage assist, which with all the husband’s dive gear, no. 

 

Once we got that sorted out, it was time for… second breakfast. The husband wanted some POY-TAY-TOES and I mostly wanted a mimosa. But also got some fruit, yogurt and a cinnamon roll because balance is important.

 

 

 

We headed to a shady spot to read for a bit, but of course I left my book in the room and was feeling too lazy to [checks notes] climb down and back up one flight of stairs. So instead I’m here on CC. But maybe the mimosa has already gone to my head because I just posted this to the wrong thread! 🤣 Oops.

 

Thanks for you excellent review 

Edited February 11, 2023 by yknot13
Forgot to reply

[swigso]

18 minutes ago, yknot13 said:

Thanks for you excellent review 

Ditto, an excellent summary thank you 👍

[Sibsie]

On 2/10/2023 at 10:32 AM, itzfitz said:

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?

We did a bridge visit today and they said he’s leaving the ship. Each captain leaves a gift for the next captain and his was sitting on the seat 

[OrcaGirl]

We grabbed some refreshing beverages and headed to the theatre for the captain’s presentation. Unfortunately today’s Broadway lecture was going long and wow was that a painful five minutes. 

 

The captain’s presentation — billed as secrets of ship navigation — was more of a look at the differences between Solstice-class and Edge-class ships and cool behind the scenes photos from construction. Plus some fun videos of both construction and various port approaches. As always, Captain Tasos was a very engaging speaker.

 

Since his Q&A went long and we wanted to play TimePlay, we grabbed cookies from Cafe al Bacio in lieu of lunch. And then crushed TimePlay. Again. 🤣

 

 

By then we were starving so up to the buffet. Only to be greeted by the most insane desserts on offer. Cakes. Donuts. Chocolate fountain with all the usual accoutrements.

 

 

 

 

Somehow we resisted and went for proper food. Except that was over-the-top too. I’m not sure if it was in honour of the Superb Owl 🦉 or what but there were pork ribs, brisket, Buffalo wings, giant hamburgers/lamb burgers/chicken burgers, etc.

 

 

The husband created his DIY chili dog today. A French baguette, hot dog wiener from the Mast Grill, chili from the buffet, shredded cheese AND nacho cheese.

 

 

After lunch, we spent a little time in the pool, scouting out potential volleyball players for tomorrow. An excerpt:

 

“What about that guy? I like his tattoos.”

“Hmm, sure, he’s got a good body but he looks like he coasts by on his looks.”

 

“What about that guy? He’s built.”

“Sure, he’s probably a natural athlete, but he doesn’t look like a team player.”

 

“What about that guy? He kind of looks like an older Ice Man.”

“But will he be my wingman?”

“But you’re Goose, you don’t get a wingman.”

 

 

So yeah. We’ll see that happens tomorrow.

 

We dried off and headed to Music Trivia. But alas it was Motown-themed and we gave up after three songs. Not our strong suit. Now if it had been 80s country or 90s new wave…

 

We stuck around for General Knowledge and did a bit better but 10/15 just doesn’t cut it. These folks are here to WIN!

 

Naptime.

 

Random notes and thoughts and ramblings:

 

The premium wifi speed has been great; the Celebrity App seems slow and glitchy.

 

Time change back to EST tonight at 2am.

 

When did watching videos on your phone in public without headphones become okay? I just don’t get it.

 

Note to self: I need to order a tropical fish identification book for the husband.

 

During his talk, the Captain mentioned that the guest who was medivaced off the ship earlier in the week is now doing better.

[OrcaGirl]

59 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

The husband created his DIY chili dog today. A French baguette, hot dog wiener from the Mast Grill, chili from the buffet, shredded cheese AND nacho cheese.

 

 

The husband has requested some clarifications and corrections.

 

He used a French roll, not the French baguette.

 

He asked for the hot dog wiener to be split and cooked a bit longer on the grill before hustling back to the buffet.

 

He also added green onions and bacon bits from the baked potato bar.

[Covepointcruiser]

Seabourn does not dock in St. Kitty.   They always tender passengers to a private beach for the caviar in the surf event.   They also have a barbecue with unlimited lobster tails, steaks and barbecued ribs.   Passengers that want to ditch the event can go into St. Mitts proper for sightseeing or shopping.    

[dodger1964]

2 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

 

Time change back to EST tonight at 2am.

 

Do you know if the ship is actually crossing time zone when the ship changes clocks?  Just wondering if our iPhones will do the two time changes automatically or if we will have to do the math for some of the trip?

 

thanks for your time and review. Good info for us when boarding in 13 days!

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, dodger1964 said:

Do you know if the ship is actually crossing time zone when the ship changes clocks?  Just wondering if our iPhones will do the two time changes automatically or if we will have to do the math for some of the trip?

 

thanks for your time and review. Good info for us when boarding in 13 days!

We have had to manually change our phones.

[OrcaGirl]

Apres nap, we got showered and dressed up for ‘elegant chic’. Which, for me basically means a sparkly eyeshadow, sparkly shoes and a sparkly purse. And for the husband, it meant wearing his purple Fluevogs (sockless, in honour of Guiseppe). And for at least one dude, it meant wearing an NFL jersey in the MDR. 🤷‍♀️

 

 

We headed back to Normandie again. Interesting to note, for the second night in a row, we were asked if we’d like to be seated at a shared table by the window. But alas we’re anti-social, so we waited the extra 30 seconds for our own table (albeit not window-adjacent).

 

The husband had a Caesar salad to start, and I had the baked Brie. Yummy, but seemed more desserty to me.

 

 

The husband had the beef tenderloin en croute (again, some more) and I ordered the lobster.

 

 

It was delicious, although our waiter seemed a bit less practiced at removing it from the shell.

 

We skipped dessert again to head to the theatre for A Hot Summer Night’s Dream. 

 

 

 

Perhaps the expectations were raised too high by the cruise director and the activities team saying all day that it was their favourite of the production shows… but I thought it was just okay. (Or maybe I was distracted by the child watching a video on her mom’s phone in the front row the entire time?)

 

After the show, we headed to the casino to make a deposit on a future free cruise offer. 🤣

 

I lost $100 incredibly quickly on the slots, while the husband goes and wins $90 on the same $100 investment at roulette (even though we had no idea what we were doing and the roulette lady had to keep correcting us)… and then we lost the winnings but kept his original $100 (which was technically still part of my winnings from Deal or No Deal last cruise).

 

After that excitement, I started fading. We watched the tail end of some flair bartending at the Martini Bar. I love it when officers get up on the bar and do the fancy pour.

 

 

But I just couldn’t stay up any longer. So the husband tucked me into bed and headed back out to party the night away. 😘

 

 

Random thoughts and observations 

 

A stranger grabbed me on the way to the theatre, but it was five-year-old girl who (according to her mom) thought I was her nana. 🤔 At least say she thought I was her hot aunt or something.

 

I like that the photographers on Celebrity are less intrusive compared to NCL. We didn’t have to run a gauntlet of photo stations on elegant night, and nor have there been embarkation day or port photos.

 

We ‘joked’ that the Captain should give Guiseppe a lifetime supply of socks as a gift.

 

I think my final personal ranking of the production shows is:

1. Colours of Life

2. Kaleidoscope 

3. Feel the Funk

3. A Hot Summer Night’s Dream

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from I don’t know where because the GPS on my phone isn’t working and MarineTraffic says the Edge is out of coastal AIS range.

 

Woke up early and — due to the time change — actually had to wait for Cafe al Bacio to open up.

 

 

Headed up to breakfast, had another delicious omelet.

 

 

Went back to the room to change into my swimsuit and then snag a prime spot by the pool while waiting for the husband to wake up. Except oh look, every single chair around the pool is claimed by towels. At 8:06am. Sure.

 

But success! Grabbed a poolside chair when someone else didn’t like the look of the dark clouds rolling in.

 

 

The pool temperature was perfect this morning. Phooey on anyone declaring it too cold.

 

 

The husband showed up surprisingly early given his late-late shenanigans. Turns out he broke even at blackjack but then lost the rest of that $100 at more roulette. And had a great time at Liar’s Club.

 

 

 

Random notes and observations

 

Time zones continue to be dumb.

 

I do like a longer cruise. Usually with a 7-day, it feels like it’s almost over just as soon as it began. (Of course, the last time I told the husband that 7-day cruises were too short, the COVID shutdown started and we were denied disembarkation in Puerto Rico and our 7-day cruise turned into 9.5 days, so I should just keep my mouth shut.)

 

They changed up the schedule of activities so the guests vs officers pool volleyball is at the exact same time as the final TimePlay! Argh! It’s a conspiracy to keep me from winning, obviously.

 

If there are obviously many, many people waiting for their drinks and the lone bartender is in the weeds and struggling to keep up, it is not the time to be chatty. He doesn’t care how your day was. And everyone else waiting would appreciate it if you keep your many, many questions for him about onboard life until after everyone else has been served.

Edited February 12, 2023 by OrcaGirl

[terrydtx]

One question about dinner times in the MDR, did you make reservations or just show up when you were ready?  Did you experience any excessive wait times for tables?

 

Thanks

Edited February 12, 2023 by terrydtx

[OrcaGirl]

8 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

One question about dinner times in the MDR, did you make reservations or just show up when you were ready?  Did you experience any excessive wait times for tables?

 

Thanks

We never made any reservations for MDRs. Only one night we were asked to wait for five minutes, but it was actually more like one. All other nights we were seated immediately.

[bnurick]

@OrcaGirl Glad you are enjoying your cruise and Eden is the best dining experience on the Edge.  We did first and last nights on our January cruise and hope posting the dailies helped in your planning. Val was our favorite server and Pongi was a great sommelier; say hello for us if you see them. Cheers!

Edited February 12, 2023 by bnurick

[Momperson3]

Love your posts.  We got off Edge on day your got on.  I didn’t see the chocolate fountain on our cruise— and brisket.   Must of missed it 😞.   A day or two—- (pool day) I went to Eden Cafe for sandwich & potato chips (only place on ship u can get chips—) dang I would of love the brisket & chocolate fountain 

Love “reliving” the cruise.  Also, saw stuff we missed.   Guess that means we need to go on another cruise

[dodger1964]

1 hour ago, Momperson3 said:

Love your posts.  We got off Edge on day your got on.  I didn’t see the chocolate fountain on our cruise— and brisket.   Must of missed it 😞.   A day or two—- (pool day) I went to Eden Cafe for sandwich & potato chips (only place on ship u can get chips—) dang I would of love the brisket & chocolate fountain 

Love “reliving” the cruise.  Also, saw stuff we missed.   Guess that means we need to go on another cruise

There should be a way to have your X app make phone buzz whenever there is brisket available!

[TheHawk1]

6 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

We headed back to Normandie again. Interesting to note, for the second night in a row, we were asked if we’d like to be seated at a shared table by the window. But alas we’re anti-social, so we waited the extra 30 seconds for our own table (albeit not window-adjacent).

Do you think if you were a party of four, rather than two, it would be easy to get a window table?  We'll be a party of four (on Edge in 12 days) and we'd prefer to sit by the window, not just for the view but also because those tables appear less crowded than some of the other ones in MDR.

[sdnich]

Another question about seating we are a party of two on the edge and don’t want to share a table. We like to meet people and have conversations but we like to have dinner by yourself.

Are the tables so close together in the four main dining rooms  that we will not have that feeling of having dinner by ourselves? Our last couple of cruises have been in Luminae where  there is plenty of room.

Edited February 12, 2023 by sdnich

[swanhaven]

8 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Apres nap, we got showered and dressed up for ‘elegant chic’. Which, for me basically means a sparkly eyeshadow, sparkly shoes and a sparkly purse. And for the husband, it meant wearing his purple Fluevogs (sockless, in honour of Guiseppe). And for at least one dude, it meant wearing an NFL jersey in the MDR. 🤷‍♀️

 

 

 

ohhhhh I love me a nice pair of Fluevogs (or 9 or 11) - happy to see some out and about - they deserve to be on what sounds like a great cruise.

 

Thanks for sharing.....all of it that is - the shoes are the icing  🙂

[OrcaGirl]

Sun. Pool. Cocktail. Repeat.

 

 

Since they’d moved the time of the pool volleyball game, we didn’t have time to properly buffet so we grabbed burgers and hot dogs from the Mast Grill.

 

The husband signed up for volleyball, and although fun was had, their team didn’t even make it out of the semi-finals. (Funnily enough, two of dudes we scouted yesterday formed their own team and also lost in the semi-finals.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The officer introductions were of course the best part, and it was surprisingly good volleyball (even if some of the calls by the ref were suspect).

 

 

 

 

 

After the volleyball playing and spectating, it was time to tackle the dreaded task of packing up. 😢

 

We got partially packed, and then headed off for one last round of trivia. We got our wish for 80s music trivia, but completely blanked on two songs. Who knew that Toni Basil even had another song besides Mickey?!?! So no more prize cards for us. 

 

 

With nine tickets in hand, we got a second Celebrity hat.

 

Back to the room to continue packing.

 

 

Random observations and thoughts and whatnots:

 

Noon seems late for the buffet to open for lunch on a sea day.

 

Just realized an unexpected downside to the infinite verandah versus traditional balcony: the husband’s dive gear and wetsuit would usually be left (secured) on the balcony to air out. Without that option, it’s starting to smell like an NHL locker room in here. 🤢

 

I think there are more Eagles fans on board, but I could be wrong. The line-up for the theatre was getting a bit intense, people concerned about which doors on which levels would open first.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by OrcaGirl

[Skysmomma]

Question regarding the infinite veranda…does the a/c cut off when window is open?

[sharonann24]

Thank you again for all of your posts.  As you are packing up, I just finished our packing and have set our alarm for the ungodly hour of 4am for our flight from NY to Ft. Lauderdale.  Hoping our MDR experience (there are 5 in our party!) will be good. We have a standing 830 time so I am wondering where we will end up.  Also wondering where our last minute pre cruise health questionnaire is--nothing on the app or on the main site.  Oh well, we are good to go!

[CTSandy]

I am so loving your report!  We were on Apex in April and they did move the magic carpet a few times - no tendering on our itinerary, but they offered dining there twice.  Loved the train in St. Kitts - a fun ride with copious tropical beverages and beautiful scenery.  Also enjoyed your clip of “Umbrella”😁.  Thanks for taking the time to share with us!