New to Celebrity and Edge.

[Qld13]

Hi

 

We are looking at doing a Celebrity cruise in November from Sydney to New Zealand roundtrip on Edge. We have cruised before on Regent, Silversea and Seabourn. Not cruised with Celebrity since the 90's. We have decided on an Aqua Sky Suite which will give us the Retreat. Looking forward to it but a bit nervous that right decision has been made!!

 

Would like to hear about the Celebrity experience in the Retreat, any hints and tips we need to know to make the most of our "new" experience.

Does the premium drinks package include French Champagne, it mentions Champagne but there are so many "champagnes" out there but not real French. What brand do they use?

Should we do a dining package or wait until onboard?

Never cruised to New Zealand, only been in Caribbean and Med before, what should we expect with crossing from Sydney to NZ?

Being the size it is, does the ship feel crowded? Only been on maximum 700 passengers before.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

[jelayne]

The champagne included with the premium beverage package, which is included with your Suite, is Haslinger  from Reims France. 
 

Booking a suite your dining room is Luminae and you can also dine in Blu on a space available basis.  Many feel Luminae is as good or better than the specialty restaurants. 
 

A ship of 2900 passengers will have a different feel and at times it could feel crowded.  But the entertainment and things to do offer more options.  We enjoy the Retreat Sun Deck and during day and later in the evening the Retreat Lounge can offer a quiet place to read, relax and have a drink. 
 

[Qld13]

Great, thank you for your input.

[Qld13]

Also does anyone know the cost of the speciality restaurants? Can't find anything on the Celebrity website except sample menus.

[jelayne]

The price (including gratuity) if booking once on board 

Eden $102 per person

Fine Cut Steakhouse $78 pp

Le Petit Chef $72 pp

Roof Top Grill $54 pp

 

If you book before the cruise there are discounts offered.  

[Northern Aurora]

We spent 40 nights on the Edge last fall.  We were in a suite the entire time.

 

While the ship is large it did not feel crowded to us.  And we were told that it was full.

 

We had a considerable amount of OBC so did dine a number of times in the specialty restaurants.  Le Grand Bistro was US$30 per person.  Raw on Five is priced a la carte.  I do not remember prices of the other venues.  Others will chime in.

 

We have crossed between NZ and Australia several times.  We have experienced high seas on every one.

[Folsomdoc]

We are just off Apex. The champagne widely available was Montaudon not Haslinger. Montaudon has had its day but what we had was just passable. The sparkling wine in our suite was from France but not a champagne. It was just OK. In general we were disappointed with the wine selections. We enjoyed Luminae with just a few misses. We also had an Aqua Sky suite. We thought we’d take advantage of the thermal suite and Blu, but we did not. If you don’t you are spending a lot of money above the coast of a sky suite and getting nothing for it. You’ve sailed top cruise lines where there are all suites. Celebrity retreat class is there attempt to replicate that. You’ll be in a bubble of sorts but one trip to the OVC on a sea day will pop that! We enjoyed our cruise but would consider the lines you have cruised for our next adventure (add Crystal to the mix). 

[keesar]

17 hours ago, Qld13 said:

Hi

 

We are looking at doing a Celebrity cruise in November from Sydney to New Zealand roundtrip on Edge. We have cruised before on Regent, Silversea and Seabourn. Not cruised with Celebrity since the 90's. We have decided on an Aqua Sky Suite which will give us the Retreat. Looking forward to it but a bit nervous that right decision has been made!!

 

Would like to hear about the Celebrity experience in the Retreat, any hints and tips we need to know to make the most of our "new" experience.

Does the premium drinks package include French Champagne, it mentions Champagne but there are so many "champagnes" out there but not real French. What brand do they use?

Should we do a dining package or wait until onboard?

Never cruised to New Zealand, only been in Caribbean and Med before, what should we expect with crossing from Sydney to NZ?

Being the size it is, does the ship feel crowded? Only been on maximum 700 passengers before.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

The food in Luminae does not compare to most of the Specialty Restaurants in my opinion.  There are excellent champagnes available but may incur an additional cost-  plus tip

 

The ship will feel crowded as compared to those you have been sailing. Stay away from the Oceanview buffet upon boarding and on sea days.  Quite the experience I must say.  

 

If you are celebrating a special occasion, then book early so as to pick your day and time.  Otherwise, wait until you are onboard.  You will possibly get a discount once on the ship. On our cruise, it was about 20- 30% off with good availability.

[GIZMO81]

14 hours ago, jelayne said:

The price (including gratuity) if booking once on board 

Eden $102 per person

Fine Cut Steakhouse $78 pp

Le Petit Chef $72 pp

Roof Top Grill $54 pp

 

If you book before the cruise there are discounts offered.  

Pre cruise they are-

Eden $77

Fine Cut $58.99

Le Petit Chef $54.99

Roof Top Grill $39.99

Quite a nice savings. So book them early if you decide to do Specialty restaurants. Also Eden has a tasting Menu that is just over $100.00. Enjoy. 

[Qld13]

Hi

 

Thank you for all the replies, very helpful. We just thought we would try something different closer to home.

 

Am I correct in assuming that the "Celebrity Signature Dry Age" section of the menu in Fine Cut is an additional charge to the charge you have paid to get in?

[tscoffey]

17 hours ago, jelayne said:

The price (including gratuity) if booking once on board 

Eden $102 per person

Fine Cut Steakhouse $78 pp

Le Petit Chef $72 pp

Roof Top Grill $54 pp

 

If you book before the cruise there are discounts offered.  

I assume those are AUS$ prices? I paid 78 US$ per person, plus $31 total in gratuity, for Eden in the upcoming Apex Transatlantic.

Edited April 7 by tscoffey

[cruisestitch]

AFAIK all prices on Celebrity are always in USD no matter where in the world the ship is.

[81Zoomie]

We are currently on board Edge in the Retreat.  In this part of the world, we consider the ship to be transportation to beautiful locations and awesome people and history.  It’s all about the land portion.
 

If you think the “premium” beverage package includes premium wines you will be disappointed.  Plan to pay extra for something that is above low average and drinkable.  In our experience Eden has the best food on the ship.  Book specialty dining as soon as possible.  The Retreat sundeck is nice, and the Retreat lounge can be a quiet refuge, at times.  Other times it can be crowded. Not much atmosphere up there, but fabulous views!  Our crossing from Sydney to NZ was quite smooth.  The return trip from NZ to Sydney was like a washing machine.  Book the trip!  The experience will be what you make it!  Australia and NZ are amazing 🤩.

[Qld13]

Thank you everyone. At least we can go into this with our eyes open!! Looking forward to November.

[sofietucker]

We quite liked the Edge in a Sky Suite, only done AQ once as a fluke & no need to repeat--but it was not Edge-class ship. You will love the spa on Edge! Spoil yourselves silly with those AQ  freebies. We also have dined all over all the ships and found that Luminae and Blu are sufficient for great food. Maybe Eden. But LPC is a cute cartoon gimmick--NOT about the fairly ordinary  food--and you can still get a great steak off the Luminae/Blu menus unless you are particular  about dry-aged/Waygu. We also found that, with our premium bev pkg and that fact that they didn't sell bottles of Caymus but only by the glass, the upcharge for the glass actually we came out ahead! And drank up all their bottles, lol. But no Molly Dooker to be found at all! bring your own.

Edited April 7 by sofietucker

[Qld13]

4 hours ago, sofietucker said:

sofietucker

Thank you for your input. we have now paid the deposit and booked our flights to Sydney so no turning back. From what everyone has said, I am sure we will enjoy ourselves.