Just off the Edge My Thoughts

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, gordylad said:

What is new and improved about the Apex? Thanks 

 

 

my 2 cents....  Suite class on Apex gives you the "suite deck" up top which has a small pool and bar area that serves drinks & sandwiches on days it isn't raining. They are nice and am sure on warm weather cruises get lots of traffic from suite guests.  The suite lounge is just below(unlike S class where it is the old Michael's Club on deck 5).  Many prefer the E class lounge, we did not.  Found it's atmosphere cold, it's munchies inferior and bar service pretty much nonexistent on our 2 Apex sailings, except the poor bartender.  

 

Luminae is far better on the S class.  Smaller, more intimate and far more menu choices than the E Class, which does not allow you to pick MDR selections. 

 

Eden is a nice area on Apex & the theatre is definitely an improvement over "S" class.  Other than that I don't know of anything that I would rate better on E Class.  I suppose the technology advances impress some, but that's not what we cruise for. 

[aggiejd2000]

We've only tried Edge on E-Class, but on S-Class, have sailed on Solstice, Reflection, Eclipse, Infinity, Silhouette, and Equinox.

 

Pros of Edge:

• Bathroom!  I think the bathroom on Edge is a huge improvement over the S-Class ships.  Spacious, better designed, more storage.  I can't stand that bowl sink with the giant faucet arm on S-Class.
• The cabin design and decor is modern and lovely.  SV is the way to go but there aren't that many of them and they get snapped up quickly.
• Eden.  We loved going there for HH before dinner and enjoying the acoustic music.  And on sea days, I'd go there, find one of the hanging chairs, and read.
• MDR dining.  When the quality of the food overall went down fleet-wide, I think the food in the MDRs on Edge was better in terms of quality, variety, and presentation on Edge than the MDRs on S-Class.  And we sailed on Edge and S-Class post-pandemic. 
• The theater is gorgeous and high tech; the productions were quality.
• Hand washing station at Oceanview Buffet!

Cons of Edge:

• Is it me or are the ceilings lower around the ship?  When we were in Guest Services or other areas where there should be a normal ceiling height, the ceilings just felt lower than on S-Class.
• Main atrium/bar area is dark and meh, due to lack of windows.
• More hotel like feel, especially with the enclosed elevators.  And so much gray!
• No library and just a general lack of public spaces.
• No World Class Bar, which my husband says has the best bartenders and drinks on S-Class
• Smaller and tighter casino
• Not much shade on the top deck

We have mixed feelings about Edge.  The things we loved, the pros, we really loved... Okay, with the exception of the MDR food.  I wouldn't say we loved the food but it is better than the S-Class MDR post-pandemic food, where there's too many scoops of mashed potatoes, matchstick carrots, and broccoli florets.  But the cons are pretty big cons for us.  We love the main atrium area in the S-Class ships and the glass elevators.  We love the windows, the library and other public spaces, including the Sky Observation Lounge.  We love Blu on S-Class.  It's unlikely that we'll try Blu on E-Class because Aqua only has Infinite Verandas and we don't care for IVs.  We're going to try Ascent next year so we'll see if our feelings about E-Class change.   

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by aggiejd2000

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, aggiejd2000 said:

We've only tried Edge on E-Class, but on S-Class, have sailed on Solstice, Reflection, Eclipse, Infinity, Silhouette, and Equinox.

 

Pros of Edge:

• Bathroom!  I think the bathroom on Edge is a huge improvement over the S-Class ships.  Spacious, better designed, more storage.  I can't stand that bowl sink with the giant faucet arm on S-Class.
• The cabin design and decor is modern and lovely.  SV is the way to go but there aren't that many of them and they get snapped up quickly.
• Eden.  We loved going there for HH before dinner and enjoying the acoustic music.  And on sea days, I'd go there, find one of the hanging chairs, and read.
• MDR dining.  When the quality of the food overall went down fleet-wide, I think the food in the MDRs on Edge was better in terms of quality, variety, and presentation on Edge than the MDRs on S-Class.  And we sailed on Edge and S-Class post-pandemic. 
• The theater is gorgeous and high tech; the productions were quality.
• Hand washing station at Oceanview Buffet!

Cons of Edge:

• Is it me or are the ceilings lower around the ship?  When we were in Guest Services or other areas where there should be a normal ceiling height, the ceilings just felt lower than on S-Class.
• Main atrium/bar area is dark and meh, due to lack of windows.
• More hotel like feel, especially with the enclosed elevators.  And so much gray!
• No library and just a general lack of public spaces.
• No World Class Bar, which my husband says has the best bartenders and drinks on S-Class
• Smaller and tighter casino
• Not much shade on the top deck

We have mixed feelings about Edge.  The things we loved, the pros, we really loved... Okay, with the exception of the MDR food.  I wouldn't say we loved the food but it is better than the S-Class MDR post-pandemic food, where there's too many scoops of mashed potatoes, matchstick carrots, and broccoli florets.  But the cons are pretty big cons for us.  We love the main atrium area in the S-Class ships and the glass elevators.  We love the windows, the library and other public spaces, including the Sky Observation Lounge.  We love Blu on S-Class.  It's unlikely that we'll try Blu on E-Class because Aqua only has Infinite Verandas and we don't care for IVs.  We're going to try Ascent next year so we'll see if our feelings about E-Class change.   

 

Some of your cons have been changed on the Beyond and  Ascent.

 

Yes Deck three where Guest Relations is located does seem to have lower ceilings.

 

Your comment about public spaces maybe should be amended to USABLE. The E-Class ships have LOTS of corridors that leads to other usable public spaces. Some of these corridors/passageways actually are usable but in reality they aren't used at all, either because there's no furniture OR there's furniture but they are in awkward areas. Some of these areas include the space on Decks 3 & 4 in front of the MDRs Those areas should have seating for people to sit on if they need to wait for a table. The corridor leading to Eden has some beautiful sculptural chairs but I never see anyone sitting in that area. Another space is on Deck 5 just beyond the shops there's this very nicely setup sitting area but NO ONE EVER sits there.

 

One of my biggest pet peeves about E-class wasted space is the forward outdoor deck in front of the Spa. There's this HUGE beautiful forward facing outdoor deck, the only one in fact bedies the Retreat Deck, and it's totally wasted. NO ONE ever is using this space. As a spa space, there's no hot tub, no chairs, no loungers, nothing except for some sculptures.  How can a cruise ship that has a finite amount of space waste such valuable property? 

 

The Club on the Beyond has new windows so when the space is being used during the day there's natural light coming into it. 

 

Photos highlighting wated and/or space that's not used.

 

The little tibbits about the Xcel seems to imply even more changes to counter some of the comments about the E-Class design.

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by kwokpot

[Random Cruizer]

2 hours ago, aggiejd2000 said:

  We love the main atrium area in the S-Class ships and the glass elevators.  We love the windows, the library and other public spaces, including the Sky Observation Lounge.  

 

 

I really loved standing on deck 5 or whichever it was on the Equinox, looking out over the Atrium and watching people in the glass elevators!  I'm not a big people watcher at beaches or malls, etc., but those snapshots of peoples' lives in the elevators were something I enjoyed more than expected!

 

The Equinox was my first cruise, and I loved the feeling of the ship.  I wasn't crazy about the Apex last summer, but the Beyond was much better (the only thing I liked better on Apex was the art on the ramp seating area at the back of Eden)--but other than Eden and the walking track, I preferred the Equinox.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Random Cruizer

[KKB]

On 11/14/2023 at 11:36 AM, gordylad said:

 

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…..

 

This is odd saying they would charge you...I have regularly asked for tech assistance & NEVER been charged any thing....

[mac_tlc]

I'll chime in as an apparent minority that overall like E-class over S-class.

 

My S class advantages:

-- real balcony in Aqua and below

-- Availability of MBR menu in Luminae

 

My E-class advantages:

-- Eden

-- Theatre - wow

-- Retreat Lounge - not a fan of interior darker Michaels Club

-- Retreat Sundeck -- size and amenities much better since it was designed into the ship.

-- Rooftop Garden

-- Sunset Bar on Beyond,, and hopefully Ascent & Xcel

-- Four MDR's 

-- The Club, we seem to spend a lot of time there. 

 

 

I wouldn't exclude a cruise on any of the S or E class ships, just prefer some things on E vs S. 

Choice is good. 

 

mac_tlc

 

 

 

 

[someguyfl]

23 hours ago, kwokpot said:

One of my biggest pet peeves about E-class wasted space is the forward outdoor deck in front of the Spa. There's this HUGE beautiful forward facing outdoor deck, the only one in fact bedies the Retreat Deck, and it's totally wasted. NO ONE ever is using this space.

I was on Edge for a Panama Canal partial transit cruise this year, and I went on that deck a few times ... It was always INCREDIBLY windy, much moreso than any of the other outdoor decks. Very difficult to spend more than a few minutes there.

[KKB]

22 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

I'll chime in as an apparent minority that overall like E-class over S-class.

 

My E-class advantages:

-- Eden

-- Theatre - wow

-- Retreat Lounge - not a fan of interior darker Michaels Club

-- Retreat Sundeck -- size and amenities much better since it was designed into the ship.

-- Rooftop Garden

-- Sunset Bar on Beyond,, and hopefully Ascent & Xcel

-- Four MDR's 

-- The Club, we seem to spend a lot of time there. 

 

I wouldn't exclude a cruise on any of the S or E class ships, just prefer some things on E vs S. 

Choice is good. 

mac_tlc

I second all of this (tho I cannot compare Retreat to any other class since only tried it once!)

I also love the upscale design of the ship.

 

(tho I HATE far too many of the seating choices throughout the ship--did no one actually SIT on every chair before choosing them??!!)

I do agree they could put some seating around the restaurants...

Edited November 16, 2023 by KKB

[gordylad]

On 11/15/2023 at 6:34 PM, KKB said:

This is odd saying they would charge you...I have regularly asked for tech assistance & NEVER been charged any thing....

yes....we had the basic package and for an upgrade to the premium package to allow me to download the app I required they wanted $25 for an hour...personally thought for one app they might have waived the fee