Denny01

I always hesitate on listing how many cruises we’ve done, but it’s probably needed here: Done 28 Celebrity cruises, on the Mercury, all the M-Class ships, all the S-Class and 2 of the E-Class - 3 cruises on Edge and one on Apex. We’ve done standard SRs on most cruises and only did a Suite/Retreat on the recent Edge TA because of the extended sea days. 

So I guess (hehe) I enjoy Celebrity, and Love each of the Class ships including E-Class.

  M-Class: Love the Solarium Pool, think it’s the best at-sea pool around. Enjoy the forward lounge and bars. A more intimate El Bacio area. Great standard SRs.The single MDR could get noisy, but not a big problem. 

  S-Class: Just a beautiful ship design. Again love the forward lounge areas, the bars and just the overall layout. Only drawback was when the band was on the lower deck, their music was heard all the way up in the top inside decks, and had to find quieter areas away from the central sections. But not a biggie. 

  E-Class. Our favorite now. Just beautiful. We enjoy the IV SRs because they open the entire SR up and make it much larger, and if I want to sunbathe (Idont), Id do it on a pool deck. The Eden is fantastic; miss the forward lounge, but Eden was even better…..for us. All the best is the 4 MDRs. Excellent differing venues, not nearly as noisy and crowded. Enjoyed the Retreat, but wont use it unless doing an itinerary with lots of sea days cruise. I found the general ship to be quite fine for us. And I Dont think E-Class is focused on Retreat customers. And care less about the ‘special’ shops on E-….we dont shop on stuff on board. 

So there you go. Each Class has a positive, and it’s one major reason we love Celebrity….each Class provides a very different venue, but has the core outstanding Staff service and support. 

enough. E-Class isnt for just ‘new cruisers’, many experienced cruises such as us Love It and make it our go-to….but we enjoy changes, so will be ‘seen’ on the others…..just not any ship with 4k+ passengers; City parks in the center of the ship; climbing walls; hairy chest contests (hair doesnt grow on steel!!) and so on. 

Try each class and see for yourself. 

Den

7 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

What is the point of this? The author made it clear that he did not ask to move. 

Because others were suggesting they move. And also these threads are providing others. Info…..and you are right my tone is a bit too harsh.  Written words can come across edgier than intended. 
 

den

In rough seas, if the ship isnt ‘creaking and moaning and banging….and so on’ It Will Sink. It must flex and move and Guest Relations cannot stop that.

And what will happen is they will move you and you will be happy because your next SR wont make as much noise….because the rough seas will have calmed down. But go ahead and take the time, effort and pain and move and feel better that you did something ‘productive’….or just wait it out a bit. 

And before we get into the ‘Ive been in rougher seas’, the wave height isnt the only reason for ship flex, it is what direction the sea is coming from, ship heading and speed, frequency of the waves, winds, gusts and so on which drive the amount of ship pitch and roll. So it’s not All based on height of a wave. 

You left later so the Capt may have to make up time to the next port so cant take a slower or less direct route that is ‘smoother’. 

Den

Our 26 April cruise has check-in opening on 12 March which 45 Days prior. The X App should have the date. Open the App, then select the little ‘person’ at the top right and it should have your general booking info and the Check-in opening date. 

Den

@Kelownadon, Barcelona is a fantastic place to enjoy. A week would be great. We visited the Picasso Museum. Its his earlier work and loved it. Recommend tickets online so not waiting in long lines. There is so much to do in and around Barcelona. 

Den

Yes, all Edge-Class Eden Restaurants, including Edge, have the updated menu and not the original Edge menu. 
 

had the Lobster Casserole and no idea why they call it that. It is a tower of lobster claws. Fantastic. The crab cake is pure crab with a very minor binder. Again fantastic. Excellent service. 
 

dined on Edge in ‘19 and enjoyed the experience but it was exotic. The ‘characters’ interacted w us but weren’t waitstaff. 
 

dined again on Edge in 2022 and new menu and no ‘characters’. Did Alex in ‘21 and same. 
 

den

On 11/15/2022 at 1:26 PM, roxette said:

I agree about the Baltics. But there is no chance that St Petersburg will be an option until, earliest, 2026, I would guess.

How about 2126?

both are great. Done both.

For the Baltic. Estonia was fantastic. Wandering on our own and Loved the openness of the city and people. Stockholm overnight is a must and the sail in and out is fantastic. 
 

for the UK. This one focuses on Scotland and I’d die to do this one. 
 

just look at it this way: pick one and book the other next year…..or do a B2B Now!

den
 

We had a few days of rolling seas, but I didn’t notice anyone reacting to it. No real smaller crowds or complaining except noted the sea state. 
 

my wife is a bit sensitive to motion but wasn’t impacted. 
 

but no one can predict whether seas will be pretty calm. Our cruise went further south after leaving the Azores then planned to stay out of rough seas so crossings have some options. I’d think there is as much chance of running into sea issues cruising the Caribbean as a crossing…..just an opinion. 
 

den

@JeanieC,Aston, I agree the trams are handy and for those who do the train on their own, that would work, but not for those on a tour.

My comments were for those looking at that tour. 

Den

10 hours ago, RenieRaider said:

Thank you so much for your response.

Happy a Happy Thanksgiving!

Will you be cruising over the holiday?

No, we are in NYC catching some plays. Then spending Thanksgiving w a daughter and friends at home and Xmas in AZ with most of the family. 
 

have a good holiday too. 
 

den 

If you are boarding at Port Everglades, the Edge will be a Terminal 25 (most of the time unless another is there) and usually has the same enclosed wraparound ramps used by many other ships and you’ll come onboard at Dec 5. 

At other terminals that you enter at pier-level, it’ll be stepping up the open ramps into deck 2. Lots of open security area to pass the checks and so on. 

I found the Edge Class to be very effective in their embark and debarking

den

16 minutes ago, letsgocruising58 said:

Is the lobster night night 5 

We were on a 15N TA so the lobster was 2N’s prior to the end. Its the last of the Chic nights normally. And all that depends on lengths and port calls.

den

15 hours ago, jelayne said:

Elite Plus does come not into play.  We are Elite + and  changed to a different ship and date and were charged the $100.  

I agree it isnt automatic or assured, but when I transferred to another X cruise, my TA asked X to look at how much Ive cruised X and did they really want to charge me because I was just moving to another X cruise?? They didnt charge me. 

Now that is probably more to do with a good TA, but the status did help. Any excuse to save a few bucks! 

Den

Yes, the lobster is spiny warm water lobster. I like it. Obviously not as much as cold water large claw lobster. But it is fine for me. 

Many of the specialty restaurants have NE/Canadian cold water lobster. 

Den

Just wondering why the question. 

Den

2 hours ago, rwf1 said:

Great review! Thank you!

 

I was curious if you feel you received a better table when the butler made reservations for you. I am happy to make our reservations, unless like you, we can't find the time we want. However, I also wondered if going through the butler perhaps increases our chances of being seated by a window, etc.

I don’t think so, but could be. We had good seats! Didn’t think about that. One thing that happened was when we had an issue of waiting for the very extended time for breakfast in Luminae, and my Butler asked us how all was going, I mentioned that. He wrote it down. A day later, when we went to Luminae, the staff was all around us and we have Great service.

Coincidence? I’ve give my Butler the edge on that one. And I tipped him the extra for all he did for us. 

Den

2 hours ago, RenieRaider said:

Denny, Thank you for your info.

I would LOVE to do a TA one day.

Pros and cons, East to West? West to East?

 

Eden. I thought that was just for Suite Class, no?

Is Eden an "area" AND a dining room?

 

Thanks again.

Irene

 

 

There are a few differences:

Going West, from Euro to US, you roll your clocks back an hr 6 or 7 times so about 1/2 the days are 25hrs, and you pick up a bit more time. And most find it easier to adjust adding an hr. 

Going East US to a Euro port, you roll your time forward and lose an hr for 6 or 7 days. And some find that a bit of an issue.

For me, it isnt a biggie at all since you are aboard ship and each day you have lots of time to sleep in and relax and whatever so even losing an hr is No Big Deal. Some will disagree.

And it depends on when you want to cruise. Usually, the ships head to Europe in the Spring, so usually April/May you’l find the TA’s heading for Europe. While they return in the Fall, usually Oct/ Nov. 

The weather is just too impossible to guess at, but there is always a bit more of a chance of picking up stormy action in the Fall than in the Spring. But that is a Big generality, but Atlantic Hurricane season does go from 1 June to 30 Nov, and we seem to be getting more storms into Nov. But we’ve been fine except for a few rainy days and a bit of a rolling seas on our all crossings. 

I find going West, from Euro, to US a bit better for my schedule. We like to spend time in Europe when we go over, and the Fall seems easier to go wandering around on our own prior the to cruise. 

Or even better, a B2B! We’ve done two crossings with B2B’s. Did the Eastern Med on the Solstice out of Rome followed by its TA to FLL from Rome. With the Reflection, we did a cruise out of Venice to Barcelona, then a crossing. With Silouette, we spent a week in Cornwall, then did a TA from Southampton to FLL. On the Constellation, we did the only Eastbound, FLL to Dover and spent a week in London afterwards. This last one on the Edge, we spent just 3 days in Civitavecchia prior to crossing to FLL.

Heck, I just realized, I said we did 4 crossings, we did 5! 

So each has a point to it, usually your vacation options will drive you to one. 

enjoy!

Den

It has a walkway that winds around the stern glass with seating areas. The bar/lounge has lots of seating and agree with @JaLayne. Love the place The specialty restaurant is on the 3rd deck below the lounge/seating.

One of our favorites. 

Den

10 minutes ago, RichYak said:

If you don't mind a question... How would you compare a TA on an E-Class ship versus other ships? I guess I'm referring to consecutive sea days and things to do on this ship vs others.

Appreciate your interest. Ive done TA’s on Millinium (Constellation) going East FLL to Dover; on Solstice Class (Solstice and Reflection going west Rome to FLL and Barcelona to FLL) and now Edge Class (Edge going west Rome to FLL). 

Each Class has a strong positive to spending time onboard during extensive sea days.

The Millinium Class has what I think is the best at-sea pool, the Solarium pool with warm active saltwater and pipes at the corners that rush down on our neck and back, and the pipes on the side that make into a lounge with bubbles coming up between. Fantastic! And a great Observation Lounge on the bow.

The Solstice Class is just a lovely experience overall. Beautiful, great non-crowded venues and places to watch the sea sail by. Spend a good deal of time in the Observation Lounge.

the Edge Class has the 4 MDRs, the Eden area to watch the stern, which I now find as interesting and relaxing as up on the bow. Love the wraparound at the stern with places to sit and socialize. 

So I dont think you can miss out. Yes, the Edge Class has more extensive areas for Suite guests and so on, but for standard SRs, you have such great options and differences in the various Celebrity Classes. Kind of what I enjoy and cruise X as my choice. 

I overheard one guy complaining that he disliked TA’s because they are like Groundhog Day, same over and over. I disagree completely. So much to do each day that differ…..but I also enjoy just spending time with my wife and don’t need distractions…..my biased read on his complaint. 

Den

2 minutes ago, Super_Tuscan said:

Denny, my wife and I were also on this sailing in an Aqua Class cabin. I would love to here your views on the lack of crew and their lack of experience above and beyond your suite perks and experience. 

 

Shaun

We spent a good deal of time in the venues throughout the ship, El Bacio, Eden and so on, and we dined outside the Suite dining, and found the staff to be excellent. And as I stated about Suite dining, I found the MDRs and locations such as the Spa and Eden Cafe to be well staffed and didnt notice any issues with any ‘lack of experience’, and only found the Luminae to be slower. 

Not sure how ‘lack of experience’ showed up. I was treated by a group of professionals and didnt see any issues. 

Den

As posted on the previous thread about our overall Edge TransAtlantic cruise, we booked a Sky Suite for the 1st time and thought we’d share comments focused on that.

Again, we’ve cruised 42 times and 28 with Celebrity so you know my biases. I book with Celebrity as primary and go with other Lines for itineraries or join friends. We usually go with a balcony and on Edge Class, we like the Infinite Veranda.

We booked a Sky Suite 2 on the Edge TransAtlantic to experience the Retreat with so many sea days. And it greatly exceeded our expectations.

SR:

We had SR 9178. Midship and a Sky Suite 2. Larger than a standard SR and the bed is against the BR but faces the veranda, not an opposite wall (well bulkhead on a ship!). One side of the bed has USB and plug outlet. Loved the bed setup! Lots of drawers and good closet for hanging items. Large couch and great SR to add a 3rd person. BR was large. Square tub and shower with glass enclosure. Euro shower head. Closed toilet. Large sink with 2 facets and lots of storage. Odd thing: the mirror over the sink opens to the SR area. You can see the veranda/sea when you are at the sink…..I told my wife I could watch her shower without stepping in!! She wasn’t impressed with my idea. SR is quiet and mid between the front and back elevators (a bit closer to the fwd).

Butler and SR Staff:

One word: Outstanding! The butler, (GeDe ‘Goodday’) was the one thing I wasn’t sure of and he really added to our experience. Saw him every day, he got us reservations at the various dining venues and when we could only get 8:30pm at Eden, he called and got us what we wanted at 6:30pm. Took care of minor issues and gave us good gouge on using the facilities. I had No Idea what I’d do with a butler and it is one of the major reasons I loved going Suite/Retreat.

Retreat:

Loved the lounge. Although the ship was 68% full, suites were fully booked, but there was never a crowd in the Retreat areas. They had light snacks in the morning and afternoons; excellent and quick waitstaff and I tried more than a few ‘exotic’ cocktails. Played cards. Met others and had a great time. The hosts were personable and very helpful. They had entertainers and ship staff come up and socialize a bit. The outside Retreat area is just fantastic. Lots of lounging, great bar, didnt do the pool or hot tub but it appeared to be very nice. Lots of space for all. Again, well above what I expected.

Dining Luminae:

Very elegant venue. Seated immediately whether 2, 4 or 6 of us. Enjoyed, but it has a more limited choice of appetizers and entrees than the MDRs. We enjoyed the MDRs more. As Suite, we could dine at the MDRs and Blu which is for Aqua Class, as available. Our butler got us set in two of the MDRs, our favorites of Normandie and Cypress and we loved them. Blu was also excellent. Enjoyed Luminae but there were issues beyond the more limited menu. For breakfast, we waited an hr to be served. And I knew the time we entered and when served…..not the classic exaggeration. Was about to leave when they brought it. Dinner was better serviced, but still longer than in the other venues. I would Not go Suite for the dining, but since you can go to other venues, it wasn’t a show-stopper, and did enjoy Luminae items we did order, just more limited choices. You can order off the menus of the MDRs but it wasn’t offered and it was a pain….for us. This was the one issue we had with Suite/Retreat.

Boarding/Departing:

Wow. At Civitavecchia, they had a separate boarding area with seating, a bar and light food. Didn’t use it since you could step on immediately. Not that different from the standard boarding, all very quick. By the way, we board as standard guests at the FLL terminal on an Apex cruise last Nov and it was Very Quick also.

Departure was the real difference. We had boarding tags that allowed us to depart very early, right after they announce those that were departing with all the luggage, or we could stay until 9:30ish at the end. Went to the Retreat lounge and relaxed there. They had light breakfast and service, and the hosts let us know when our luggage was available which was at 8. Then escorted us to the elevator and the other hosts were at the elevator landing to escort us to departure. Out we went, got our luggage and passed quickly through security. We used a local taxi and they were available immediately. I Do Not recommend using the ship shuttle buses; the taxi was $25 for the two of us and was quick and right to our terminal. Buses wait to be filled and the one time we did it in FLL, they dropped us off at one spot and had to walk a goodly distance. Not handy and more expensive. No reason to do that.

Finally:

Are we now Suite/Retreaters? If I can get one at a reasonable cost (that is always subjective isn’t it) and If one is available! We are booked for 4 Celebrity cruises and none….again None….have Suites available. The plus beyond standard SRs is the SR its self, larger, nice veranda and bed facing it; and yes, the butler; and the Retreat lounge and staff. All well worth it. Dining, which is So subjective, wasn’t a hallmark. But so many other options area available, and Luminae was good enough for us to use a number of times, just not a major draw….again for us. I hate telling people to use or not use some dining venue since dining opinions are so biased.

Enough. We love standard SRs, and yes, love the Edge Class Infinite Veranda, but if one is available, we will go with a Sky Suite!

Den

We just completed our TransAtlantic on the Edge. So I thought I’d drop a few comments on the experience. I will add a 2nd thread on comments about being in a Suite, as first timers, and what we thought. Separating them so we, and others who wish, can focus on each.

First, our cruising background so you can ‘judge’ our biases and so on: We’ve cruised 42 times and this is our 28th on Celebrity. Yup, love Celebrity. We pick X unless there is a very specific itinerary or joining others on another Line. We find it what we are currently looking for. So yes, biased. We are currently booked on 4 future X cruises.

We Loved It! This was our 4th TA, both directions, and 4th time on an Edge Class ship. The ship was about 65% full and staffing was outstanding. Still at the level we’ve come to expect from X.

Stay in Civitavecchia and Boarding:

We flew into Rome 3 days prior. Did Not stay in Rome this time because we wanted to just relax and veg out. Used Rome Cabs down to Civitavecchia and stayed in the Hotel San Giorgio. Great medium-level hotel. Right across from the water and close to the old town section. Nice room, European style and excellent staff. Free breakfast and had dining and outside bar. Didn’t dine there, walked to a few of the many Pizzaria’s and local diners. Our favorite was MyLove, outstanding choices of local seafood and classic Italian dishes. Outside seating and excellent service. Hotel had a shuttle to the terminal for 20+ and got there at 1130. Very quick check-in and onto the ship. Could drop off our carry-ons in the SR prior to them being fully open, and had lunch. Will focus on dining in the Retreat restaurant, the Luminae, and the Sky Suite SR, on the next thread on the Retreat experience.

Dining:

We had the Retreat dining room, the Luminae, but used the others too. We did one specialty restaurant, Eden. Fantastic. Had the crab cake which is All crab, and the Lobster casserole which is a pile of cold-water lobster claws….no idea why they call it a ‘casserole’. Dined also in two of the MDRs, Normandie and Cyprus. Excellent. Great service and great choices. Just love the atmosphere, the smaller venues and lower noise than the standard single large MDRs. All 4 are great and love being able to move one to another, but those are our 2 favorites. Also dined at the Spa Cafe which has very healthy choices and at the Eden Cafe Loved them. The Oceanview is as fine as it always is, great choices and well laid out. Excellent service in all.

Ship Venues and Service:

Not crowded. As said, 65% full. All in excellent shape. Spent a lot of time in El Bacio downing the great Aspen Coffees. Love Eden. Great place to relax, have a few drinks and play cards. Staff was outstanding and had no problems being served.

Entertainment:

Ship had some rocky weather a few days so the major shows were modified a bit, but the major Hot Mid-Summers Dreams went a later night and was outstanding. Fantastic band, singing and aerial work. Good comedian and special shows too. Excellent music around the ship, especially in Eden.

Beyond the Podium:

Outstanding speakers. One of the things I love about X is this. Had a scientist speaking on the Ocean, climate, and history. And an aviator speaking on the history of flight, of airlines and air control. Fantastic. The Cruise Director interviewed the ship Capt at two gatherings and it was some of the most interesting and informative talks I’ve been to.

Spa:

We booked the spa for the entire cruise. Ended up not using it as much as we could have. Will do it daily next time. Thought we’d use it more on a TA. Didn’t go for a massage or any special, just the spa saunas and steam rooms. Love the warm tile lounges facing the bow.

Ports:

Enjoyed the ship tours we took. And did one tour with ToursByLocals in Azores….outstanding.

Corsica: OK general bus tour. Very focused on Neapolitan, since he was from there, but didn’t find it that interesting. Would do better on our own.

Palma: Love this port. Did a train trip from Sollar. Loved it but the walk down to the Sollar port was a major hike on cobblestones and narrow streets with cars rushing by. Worth it but you need to be ready to walk more than they inferred in the description.

Cartagena. Loved it. Toured the Roman ruins in town then a bus into the countryside. Great.

Gibraltar: Did the WWII Fortifications tour. Outstanding. Not rigorous and extremely interesting. Saw the apes, but I could take or leave them. Nasty things.

Azores: The ship canceled Bermuda due to their COVID requirements and added this. Fantastic. I do love Bermuda but the Azores are a place I’d go back to on our own. Green, friendly, not expensive and just lovely. Did a private tour with ToursByLocals. Well worth it. Just the 2 of us. Very flexible on what to do and see and had a full island tour…..its a small island!

Overall, another grand cruise. Met a number of people and connected with 2 other couples and hope to see again. We were active on the Roll Call and we set up a Chocolate Tasting social. Was fun.

I highly recommend going on a TA and cruising on an Edge Class ship.

Den

Im currently on the Edge TA about to leave Azores….a fantastic port by the way!…..and this is the first time Ive booked a Suite and using the Retreat. Im in the Retreat and asked the host about this issue and this is her response:

Yes, it is theoretically possible a Suite guest can get their family to join them….BUT….this is decided prior to the cruise and only available if the Suites stay unsold. Otherwise if all Suites are booked, it is not offered and the people asking to do this are told that if….IF…it is sold out prior, the offer is rescinded. Her strong suggestion is that all book the same Class and not rely on the minimal chance of this being available. Every one of the cruises I have booked in the future have no Suites available and this is cruises into early 2024!!

Den

Agree that underway, smoke from an open deck below isnt an issue. Of course, there are reports of smokers on adjacent verandas and so on. All very isolated situations. 

Been on many cruises and really never had noise issues from outside….a few times could hear shouting in the next room through a common wall and  banging doors, and maybe hear workers in the passageways especially with a storage area nearby,  but all are very isolated cases….in most situations! 

den

17 hours ago, WestLakeGirl said:

We heard that the potential for rough seas going both ways with so many sea days put people off and it never sold well

Did the Hawaii R/T on Princess. You get a bit of sea just out of LA (or San Diego) crossing the California current which lasted a few hrs, and the rest was very nice. Our cruise was pretty sold out, and just as TransAtlantics, many love sea days and they are very popular. 

We enjoyed the 4 islands we stopped in. Agree I wish Celebrity would do it. I would jump on it again 

den