Just off the Edge My Thoughts

[gordylad]

Currently having a couple of nights in Dubai after our 14 night sailing on the Edge through the Suez Canal.

 

The good stuff….The people on board were great very friendly having a great time. Can’t remember being on a Celebrity cruise where we could go to the pool around 10am and still have loads of beds around the pool area or solarium. Really liked the Cruise Director. Enjoyed spending time in Eden listening to the acoustic acts.

Enjoyed the food at the Buffet. Enjoyed our ports and sailing through the Suez Canal. Did not enjoy Muscat. 
 

The bad stuff….We thought the meals in the four main restaurants were pretty average. In one on the restaurants I was served chicken. After eating the first piece I discovered the second was raw in the middle. Sent it back manager apologised. Next day I had the belly ache pretty bad. Manager called me in the room to apologise again.

 

So overall we thought the cruise was really good…But the jury is still out on the actual ship as personally we are not sure if we are keen on the Edge Class of ship. Maybe we are so used to the Solstice class but we just feel the layout of the Solstice class works better for us. We missed the Ensemble, we enjoy the MDR, we enjoy the pool area as it has a lot more shaded spots than the Edge, we prefer the Sunset bar area on the Solstice class, we just think the Solstice class ships flows better.

 

Pretty tired right now so will post more no doubt…

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, gordylad said:

Did not enjoy Muscat. 

Did you go to the giant Mosque?

[BOB999]

18 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Did you go to the giant Mosque?

 

The cruise stopped in Muscat on a Friday, both the mosque and the opera house were closed.

[kwokpot]

27 minutes ago, BOB999 said:

 

The cruise stopped in Muscat on a Friday, both the mosque and the opera house were closed.

With the mosque being one of the major things to visit there I can see why you didn't particularly enjoy your time there. 

[upwarduk]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

With the mosque being one of the major things to visit there I can see why you didn't particularly enjoy your time there. 

Bad planning on  Celebrity’s part.

[Random Cruizer]

Great review. I totally agree that the flow on the Solstice Class ships is better than the Edge Class. The only thing I'll really miss when I go on the other ships is Eden--Eden on the Edge Class ships is beyond awesome.  Otherwise, I'm a bit ho-hum about them--I prefer traditional dining and some quiet places on ships where there is no music.

[blueslily]

I'm new to Celebrity. Which Solstice ships do you like the most? Some are more than 10 years old. Have some been renovated (in addition to just the normal drydock maintenance)? 

 

Thanks! 

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for your well written critique.  We will be joining Edge on Nov 25 so just starting to pack.

I have to agree with you.    I have learned to enjoy Edge Class ships after 5 cruises but there are really some misses -   e.g. The Open Atrium adjacent to a number of Restaurants  - Blu, Raw on 5 and Fine Cut and Le Grand Bistro.     In the evenings when they put on the "Show" in the lobby you can't even have a conversation over dinner.

 

I do however lover Eden and Eden Restaurant.    As a avid walker I also love the jogging / walking track that converses 2 decks. 

 

Like you our sweet spot is the S-Class ships.

[blueslily]

2 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for your well written critique.  We will be joining Edge on Nov 25 so just starting to pack.

I have to agree with you.    I have learned to enjoy Edge Class ships after 5 cruises but there are really some misses -   e.g. The Open Atrium adjacent to a number of Restaurants  - Blu, Raw on 5 and Fine Cut and Le Grand Bistro.     In the evenings when they put on the "Show" in the lobby you can't even have a conversation over dinner.

 

I do however lover Eden and Eden Restaurant.    As a avid walker I also love the jogging / walking track that converses 2 decks. 

 

Like you our sweet spot is the S-Class ships.

 

Hi there, which S class ships do you like the most? 

 

Thanks 

[Jim_Iain]

41 minutes ago, blueslily said:

I'm new to Celebrity. Which Solstice ships do you like the most? Some are more than 10 years old. Have some been renovated (in addition to just the normal drydock maintenance)? 

 

Thanks! 

 

My favorite personally is Silhouette.    Solstic and Reflections have not been Revolutionized the other two Silhouette and Equinox have .

 

M- Class

• Celebrity Millennium — February 9, 2019 — Completed!
• Celebrity Summit — March 23, 2019 — Completed!

S-Class

• Celebrity Equinox — June 1, 2019 — Completed!
• Celebrity Silhouette — February 14, 2020 — Completed!

[blueslily]

40 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

My favorite personally is Silhouette.    Solstic and Reflections have not been Revolutionized the other two Silhouette and Equinox have .

 

M- Class

• Celebrity Millennium — February 9, 2019 — Completed!
• Celebrity Summit — March 23, 2019 — Completed!

S-Class

• Celebrity Equinox — June 1, 2019 — Completed!
• Celebrity Silhouette — February 14, 2020 — Completed!

 

Awesome. Thanks so much for this information

[hcat]

2 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Bad planning on  Celebrity’s part.

this  happens  more than it should. ..itin planners seem not very aware of traditional  port holidays or other closures.  No fun when everything is closed!

[Jim_Iain]

We had a stop in Noumea once and NOTHING was open.    They did have a little cho-cho train to drive around the small town and Fee Wifi in the parks but that was about it.   We were off an back on the ship in 45 minutes. 

[verizon]

4 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Bad planning on  Celebrity’s part.

Come on Celebrity have done their best to secure a port to dock on the way to Asia.

[jelayne]

5 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Bad planning on  Celebrity’s part.

Muscat was a very last minute replacement when our stop in Jordan was cancelled.  There were few options for replacement ports that would retain our place to go through the Suez and not upset the remaining port schedule.

[Gracie115]

16 hours ago, gordylad said:

 

 

So overall we thought the cruise was really good…But the jury is still out on the actual ship as personally we are not sure if we are keen on the Edge Class of ship. Maybe we are so used to the Solstice class but we just feel the layout of the Solstice class works better for us. We missed the Ensemble, we enjoy the MDR, we enjoy the pool area as it has a lot more shaded spots than the Edge, we prefer the Sunset bar area on the Solstice class, we just think the Solstice class ships flows better.

 

 

Totally agree with you about the Solstice class.  We've been on 2 cruises on Apex and if we cruise Celebrity again it will be on an S class for all the reasons you state and more.  

[Northern Aurora]

On 11/13/2023 at 2:21 PM, upwarduk said:

Bad planning on  Celebrity’s part.

I am currently on the Edge on a B2B2B series as the ship moves from Europe to Australia and New Zealand before moving to Alaska for their summer season.  Repositioning itineraries often have rather unique port stops.  And on the Suez Canal segment Aqaba, Jordan was dropped due to safety concerns.  Oman was a last minute substitute.

[chemmo]

Thank you for your review…Thoughtful and informative.

 

I am sure at some stage I will try E class but I don’t feel drawn to it…

[kr00t0n]

12 hours ago, blueslily said:

I'm new to Celebrity. Which Solstice ships do you like the most? Some are more than 10 years old. Have some been renovated (in addition to just the normal drydock maintenance)? 

 

Thanks! 

The later ships built in a given class tend to be better as they improve on the learnings from the first few.

Silhouette and Reflection are better (imo) layout-wise that the earlier Solstice Class ships.
Beyond and Ascent are the same for Edge Class.

In both instances, the sunset bar is much improved in the later ships in a given class.

Beyond has been my favourite Celebrity ship over all.

[Cruise a holic]

As far as S class ships, Silhouette and Reflection our favorites.  Love the lawn club grill.  The M Class, the Summit was redone so it is nice.  Overall we loved the Apex and especially if you are suite class.  The edge was nice, but the Apex new and improved.  Sailing on the Silhouette in January-Hope to try the newest edge class ships soon.

[cruisegirlppp]

55 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Thank you for your review…Thoughtful and informative.

 

I am sure at some stage I will try E class but I don’t feel drawn to it…

We have been actively avoiding booking that class because of the balcony/veranda situation. I know we are missing lots of innovations on beautiful ships but this is what we choose for now.

[chemmo]

14 minutes ago, cruisegirlppp said:

We have been actively avoiding booking that class because of the balcony/veranda situation. I know we are missing lots of innovations on beautiful ships but this is what we choose for now.

Totally understand. As a family group of three adults our favourite room on S class is the RS. Much better than two rooms and paying a single supplement for me! On E class you seem to be paying a lot more for less space…Don’t even get me started on the veranda size!

 

When I was younger missing ‘lots of innovations’ and experiencing new ships would have mattered…now my room is more important, especially the veranda!

[gordylad]

Further thoughts.

 

We missed the Tuscan Grill on Edge. The position of the two hot tubs at the main pool is crazy and I could not be bothered climbing stairs to get to them.
 

We always sail aft therefore we had a balcony otherwise we would not sail without one.

As for the stop in Muscat we took the free shuttle that was laid on to go to the Souk however we found the majority of the people to be selling the same similar stuff. We wondered who they sell to when there are no tourists.

 

I think Celebrity should have thought of a separate coffee/reading area because I’m sure some people sit at Cafe al Bacio for hours…….this applies to all ships.

 

We had booked this cruise a couple of years ago when it was first released and had the all inclusive deal. I must admit the basic internet package is pretty poor as you can’t even view pictures that has been sent by family via WhatsApp. You can’t access the App Store on the phone and I needed an app on the second last day so asked the internet guys if they could assist and they could for $25 for an hour. It’s all about the money folks…..

 

But everyone has a preference and our next door neighbour mentioned he wasn’t going back to the older ships….I wonder if he will be in the same frame of mind after 52 days on board….

[gordylad]

5 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

As far as S class ships, Silhouette and Reflection our favorites.  Love the lawn club grill.  The M Class, the Summit was redone so it is nice.  Overall we loved the Apex and especially if you are suite class.  The edge was nice, but the Apex new and improved.  Sailing on the Silhouette in January-Hope to try the newest edge class ships soon.

What is new and improved about the Apex? Thanks 

 

[PTC DAWG]

I like the Retreat areas on the E Class..otherwise, give me a nice hump cabin on the S class.  

 

I still want to sail on M Class in one of the cabins overlooking Sunset Bar. 

 

regarding last minute port changes and Celebrity having bad planning, war can cause issues.  

Edited November 14, 2023 by PTC DAWG