omarchs

I agree with everyone’s comments. Not overly impressed with this new suite setup so far, but will reserve judgement until we sail in just over a week.

Basically the Edge suite class provides a pool deck which is nice, but probably too small for the number of suite guests. Personal preference is to sit at a bar so think Retreat lounge is a downgrade to Michael’s IMO. The ship seems to have a shortage of nighttime lounges compared to other ships which is why I would have preferred a full scale Retreat lounge with bar.

Luminae menu is 1/2 the size compared to the other Celebrity ships since they don’t offer the main dining room menu.

VT’s pictures of the suite area in the new terminal do look nice so there is one big plus 😎

We did love the Havana cabana, but it does get packed on sea days due to having more cabins with access than Vista. Also read recently that the top suites will now also have access so it will get even more crowded so don’t expect you can go out at noon and find a space.

Bar can sometimes be slow since they take care of both inside/outside the Havana area.

still worth the premium IMO, but Carnival needs to stop adding additional rooms with access to make it worthwhile.  They did do an excellent job at enforcing people wearing their bands to control access on our cruise.

VT, so sorry about your fall. Please rest up and enjoy the suite life and hope you are feeling better. They should have moved you into an Edge Villa to speed your recuperation.

28 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

If you watch that Affluent Journeys Edge tour video I shared in the Edge blocks thread he walks through the whole Retreat Lounge and there is no bar there. There is a bar up on the sundeck. I assume that when sitting in the lounge there will at least be cocktail service even though there is no bar to sit at.

Thanks! Seems like a strange decision when they are trying to create a dedicated suite area. Can’t expect the pool bar to stay open too late unless they have to staff it to allow waiters to get drinks there at night in the lounge. Suite lounges on NCL and MSC were always fun at night with the bar. Definite miss here In my opinion.

Thanks VT! I haven’t seen a single photo or video of this space anywhere. Looks great!

Thanks VT for following up on this item!

i did get an email response recently to my Luminae menu question indicating what you reported that it would be the small menu since everything is cooked from scratch.

They did indicate that they would aim to accommodate any requests to make it a memorable experience to paraphrase.  They didn’t mention about eventually adding an everday menu as you had indicated they told you, but hopefully they will implement it quickly.

Appreciate that they will make everything from scratch, but the variety will be much lower without having the main dining room menu also available. Can’t believe they wouldn’t expect some pushback with a smaller menu at these price tags for the suites. Would have thought a daily Caesar salad, chicken entree etc would be included without having to ask.

Cant wait for your suite feedback!

VT,  thanks for all the info/pics you have provided and glad you are having a great trip!

Thanks for the chart VT!  Have a great trip and safe travels.

One thing that surprised me is that Luminae is only open for lunch on sea days. NCL and Msc both had their suite dining rooms open for lunch all 7 days in case people stay on the ship.

Wonder if the still unseen Retreat lounge will have some type of food at lunchtime. Otherwise this would seem to be a miss on Celebrity’s side trying to create more of a ship within a ship concept for the suite area and keeping up with the other suite products.

Sorry, my screen grab isn’t working well on my IPad, but cut/paste info is below.

HOME/DINING/THE EDGE SPLIT CABANA (UP TO 2 GUESTS)

The Edge Split Cabana (Up To 2 Guests)

Prices Starting From*$200.00 USD Adult

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! So excited for all those finally getting their own in-person Edge visits starting this weekend. Hope they have plenty of storage space on all their devices for plenty of photos!

9 hours ago, vtcruising said:

None of mine offer a split cabana. Which sailing is it for? 🙂

12/9 sailing.

Noticed Pool Cabanas are now in the planner under dining?

They now have a split Cabana for $200 for just 2 guests. Don’t know if these are smaller or if you have to share. There is a link for a cabana food menu but it doesn’t work yet.

40 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

We checked in a couple of months ago online, uploaded our photos and printed our X-press passes. Recently we received the email from X asking us to check in via the X app. Well today I opened the app and proceeded to do the check in. As I clicked through the process, all of our info from the online check in was there including our photos and passport info. We shall see how things go at the port. 😉

Interesting, we did the same, but only see x-press passes in the app and have no option to check in again via the app. We will just have the printed passes along with those in the app for however they want to check us in.

Finally loaded on my phone and you click on the Grand plaza and it says to visit the location to enable tour. Some virtual reality tour!

Noticed in the app under dining for Eden there is now a list of drinks. Those listed range from $15-20 so there would be an up charge for at least some drinks even for the premium package is still at $15 max.

I also liked in the email how you had to click on a link to confirm that you received the message that only expedited arrival is available through the app so nobody can complain at the pier if it is slow.

Ok, they have me completely confused with the app now. Just received an email from Celebrity indicating you can only get expedited check in via the app. We had already checked in a long time ago on the website. Xpress passes already show up in the app so you can’t check in again or provide a scan of a passport photo. Regular jpeg photo was provided during web check in.

Anyone else on the early voyages confused by this process either? Assuming that anyone who did a web check in prior to the app must settle for non expedited arrival. 

Guess anyone yet to check in for their cruises should only use the app. There is even a separate path on the website for Edge check in now which avoids the old standard path.

Royal did have the failed attempt of Dynamic Dining on the Anthem which was trying to be a happy compromise.

They had one of the available dining rooms designated as formal all the time It was entirely your choice to ever go there for dinner.

You could just go casual to the other dining rooms. There were no designated shipwide elegant nights.

Their execution of the concept was poor which ultimately doomed it, but it did seem to have something that appealed to everyone.

Gave the ship a different dynamic seeing people dressed up for the formal dining room any given night instead of only potentially the 2nd or 5th night. They actually gave the guys jackets if you didn’t wear one so they did enforce it.

3 hours ago, hcat said:

Hope if I book 2 spa treatments, I could use the Thrrmal suite  at no chargd, but that would leave dh out..Maybe we could get him a 2 day pass to match with my spa days..

 

Do they make you pick the days ahead of time? 

I have to check what is showing for our 8 night ABC cruise.

 

..We get 1  port day pass ( usually for E +) but a two day pass might be a nice add on...

 

Are you sure that a 1 day port day pass is still an E+ perk? Never heard of it before and I don’t see it listed on the Celebrity captain’s club listing.

Maybe it is hidden in the Retreat lounge since I don’t think we have seen any pictures of that venue yet.

What has really surprised me most has been how tight the tables are in the various dining venues. Even the last photos now from Lloyd show the Oceanview with tables right next to each other, but more surprising is the lack of space between rows of tables.

Would expect this on a mega ship, but the passenger space ratio on this ship is even better than the S class yet tables/chairs seem extremely jammed into food venues. Maybe just optical illusions and maybe we will need to see in person.

I have actually seen umbrellas on both Carnival and Norwegian. They are huge so they pretty sturdy covering about 4 loungers, but they keep them down on very windy days.

15 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

I have heard from a corporate pre-cruise person that Edge suite guests will be able to dine in Blu and the 4 MDRs, if space is available.

 

We have spoken to the Luminae Host about dining at a particular time. It is different on each ship likely, but I've found they haven't made a definite reservation, but if we had a time in mind and went to Michael's Club (obviously the Retreat Lounge on the Edge) a little early for a cocktail, they would call the concierge as soon as our table was ready. That worked out very well.

 

Others on CC have reported getting a reservation but I can't remember the circumstances. Either way, we've rarely waited, though this is a new ship with 176 suites so time will tell.

Thanks for the info VT! 

Any my idea on how they figure out if space is available. Would the concierge or Luminae Maitre’d have to call the specific main dining Maitre’d or Blu Maitre’d to check on space when you want to eat? Assuming would need to coordinate it with them rather than just show up at an alternate. Would expect that many would like to try the different main dining rooms even if in a suite although some may stay in Luminae if the menus are decent.

Did corporate provide any info on additional everyday items on the Luminae menu since they don’t want to answer my question or if they will offer anything from the MDR?

There need to be more things than posted since I can’t believe you can’t get a salad at night since none are shown.  Blu menus seem much more extensive than Luminae including everyday and salad options. 

Thanks!

We are also in a sky suite for the Dec 9th and had similar questions after being underwhelmed

with the posted Luminae menus in the app.

Others have noted that Blu has been available on a space available basis for suite guests on other Celebrity ships. Nobody is sure if this will also be a possibility on Edge.

Also noted that suite guests could also order from the main dining menus and have served in Luminae. Luminae is not located anywhere near the main dining rooms on Edge so it doesn’t seem possible that they could continue to offer this. I has sent Celebrity an email asking if Luminae would have everyday menu items since none are shown on the posted menus. Almost 2 weeks now and no answer.

I know they will just credit you the 15% if you book a speciality on the ship. Expect they will credit it onboard if you book online. Not sure if you book a specialty in advance with onboard credit if you would receive the 15% onboard. We booked two with onboard credit.

Others have also noted that shoreside concierge doesn’t contact sky suite passengers in advance. Only the upper suites are contacted. Not sure if we can email in advance.

We can certainly see ourselves wanting to go to Blu or the main dining room some nights if the Luminae menu is as small as shown if they allow. Would be nice if Celebrity would provide more info on suite dining/options.

Have done 2 NYE sailings on the Breakaway when it was in NY.  People in general did dress up for NYE, but Not many tuxes/gowns. Many in suits/dresses, but as others noted it is still freestyle so others were still in t-shirts/shorts.  I would expect similar out of NO, so you would have company if you want to dress up, but never mandatory on NCL.