A pre pre-cruise

I have about 5 days left of vacation time and could go to our Condo in SK then drive for the 2 day cruise. They still have the OV for 900! Tough decisions!

I have about 5 days left of vacation time and could go to our Condo in SK then drive for the 2 day cruise. They still have the OV for 900! Tough decisions!

You know you want to do it!! :D

Just booked this. We’re going to do an inside room but went to book and they were gone. So ocean view for us now. Excited to see the ship before our March sailing.

Nice! I thought of doing that, but thought I would keep my “porthole veranda”, just because they are unique. I hope we can do a quick cabin crawl. There will likely be some open cabins for the TAs and media to view- maybe they will let us peek as well. [emoji2]

 

If not I will see quite a few different cabins on my Dec 1 cruise.

When we booked the Oceanview cabin we would have loved to book a cabin like yours as it was a great value but they were all booked. Yesterday we made the decision “what the heck” a good cause and why not check it out. We have a S1 aft on Jan 20th so this is an opportunity to see and experience an Infinite Balcony..

I have about 5 days left of vacation time and could go to our Condo in SK then drive for the 2 day cruise. They still have the OV for 900! Tough decisions!

As Nike would suggest “Just Do it”. It should be great fun and we will be able to experience the ship without the masses. Also 100% of the cruise fare goes to the charity albeit not tax deductible.

Katie

Just booked this. We’re going to do an inside room but went to book and they were gone. So ocean view for us now. Excited to see the ship before our March sailing.

Welcome to our group. We seem to be growing.

When we booked the Oceanview cabin we would have loved to book a cabin like yours as it was a great value but they were all booked. Yesterday we made the decision “what the heck” a good cause and why not check it out. We have a S1 aft on Jan 20th so this is an opportunity to see and experience an Infinite Balcony..

It will be fun to try out an IV and if you don't care for that style of balcony, it is only for 2 nights. Just working the controls will be fun! :D

Just booked this. We’re going to do an inside room but went to book and they were gone. So ocean view for us now. Excited to see the ship before our March sailing.

Sounds like they are selling fast! Glad you were able to get a cabin. :D

I just read through this thread and it has incread my interest level for this pre pre. We booked an IV and I am looking forward to my magic balcony. When Celebrity says that these cabins are 20+ percent larger than Veranda cabins on Solstice Class ships does anyone know if that is because they are including the balcony area for the Edge IV’s but not for Solstice? The actual cabin size appears about the same to me.

There is so much to see and do in 1and 1/2 days. We are booked In an S1 in January, so this will be a great opportunity to check out the ship ahead of time and to experience the unique IV, which is not available in a Sky Suite. I plan on posting some photos after we return on Nov. 29.

I just read through this thread and it has incread my interest level for this pre pre. We booked an IV and I am looking forward to my magic balcony. When Celebrity says that these cabins are 20+ percent larger than Veranda cabins on Solstice Class ships does anyone know if that is because they are including the balcony area for the Edge IV’s but not for Solstice? The actual cabin size appears about the same to me.

 

There is so much to see and do in 1and 1/2 days. We are booked In an S1 in January, so this will be a great opportunity to check out the ship ahead of time and to experience the unique IV, which is not available in a Sky Suite. I plan on posting some photos after we return on Nov. 29.

Great! Glad you decided to book! It will be a great way to try out the IV cabins. Yes, Celebrity has said more usable space in cabin because you can open the bifold doors with balcony window shut and have 20% more living space. :D

We upgraded to a sky suite for this sailing now. Looking forward to October when we get the details.

We upgraded to a sky suite for this sailing now. Looking forward to October when we get the details.

Nice!! I can’t wait for more details either!![emoji2]

I didn't book! We are either going to our condo or if booked will do a last minute ABC cruise on the Silhouette. This will move us to Elite for our Edge cruise!

There are a few more details on the Broward County United Way website. The Q&A has had some additions since I last checked.

We upgraded to a sky suite for this sailing now. Looking forward to October when we get the details.

It's funny, but I was thinking about upgrading to a suite early last week and had sent Trish some questions about what suite benefits would be included. She emailed Celebrity last week and finally got back to me on Friday. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go with a suite and called her back. She had left early for the holiday weekend, but did answer my email and said to book it online and she would refund my original reservation when she returned Tuesday. Since there were only 4 left, I booked the suite.

Since we are in a suite on the Preview Cruise on Dec 1, I thought it might be worth it to get to know the Retreat staff (concierge, bartenders), as well as the Luminae staff. I was surprised that Luminae would be open for us (I thought it would be used for execs, etc.). We won't be having any dinners on our preview cruise since we have booked specialties every night, but had planned to do breakfast and lunch there some. Hopefully, we can experience a dinner at Luminae on this pre-preview cruise.

Of course, another burning question will be answered soon after I board: Do all of the sky suite beds really face the ocean? With a butler and a Retreat Lounge concierge, I should be able to get that and other questions answered! :D

Also, happy to contribute to the UW (a win-win!) :D

Here are the questions I asked and the responses:

Here are a few answers. We only have four Sky Suites left at this point, we do however have a number of the Stateroom with Veranda.

2) Do you know which type of sky suites they are (S1, S2 or S3)? They don’t know yet

3) In a suite, will we have full use of the Retreat Lounge, Retreat Sundeck/Bar and will Luminae be our restaurant? yes

4) Will we have a butler? yes

5) Will we be able to board through the suite lounge at the terminal? They don’t know yet

PS: If anyone wants to book or upgrade to the Deluxe Ocean View with Veranda, there should be one back in the inventory tomorrow ($1050).

It's funny, but I was thinking about upgrading to a suite early last week and had sent Trish some questions about what suite benefits would be included. She emailed Celebrity last week and finally got back to me on Friday. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go with a suite and called her back. She had left early for the holiday weekend, but did answer my email and said to book it online and she would refund my original reservation when she returned Tuesday. Since there were only 4 left, I booked the suite.

 

Since we are in a suite on the Preview Cruise on Dec 1, I thought it might be worth it to get to know the Retreat staff (concierge, bartenders), as well as the Luminae staff. I was surprised that Luminae would be open for us (I thought it would be used for execs, etc.). We won't be having any dinners on our preview cruise since we have booked specialties every night, but had planned to do breakfast and lunch there some. Hopefully, we can experience a dinner at Luminae on this pre-preview cruise.

 

Of course, another burning question will be answered soon after I board: Do all of the sky suite beds really face the ocean? With a butler and a Retreat Lounge concierge, I should be able to get that and other questions answered! :D

 

Also, happy to contribute to the UW (a win-win!) :D

 

Here are the questions I asked and the responses:

Here are a few answers. We only have four Sky Suites left at this point, we do however have a number of the Stateroom with Veranda.

 

2) Do you know which type of sky suites they are (S1, S2 or S3)? They don’t know yet

 

3) In a suite, will we have full use of the Retreat Lounge, Retreat Sundeck/Bar and will Luminae be our restaurant? yes

 

4) Will we have a butler? yes

 

5) Will we be able to board through the suite lounge at the terminal? They don’t know yet

PS: If anyone wants to book or upgrade to the Deluxe Ocean View with Veranda, there should be one back in the inventory tomorrow ($1050).

That is one of the reasons we upgraded, we wanted to see the suite areas before our March cruise in a RS. Having never sailed Celebrity we wanted to see what we would have in March and Decied if we want to keep it. I’m excited to see what category sky suites we get. October can’t come soon enough.

Doesn't the ship have to stop in an international port... eg Nassau? How do they get around this, does anyone know? Is it because it is essentially a test vs paid passengers? Just curious... I thought cruises to now where are verboten

Doesn't the ship have to stop in an international port... eg Nassau? How do they get around this, does anyone know? Is it because it is essentially a test vs paid passengers? Just curious... I thought cruises to now where are verboten

It's a good question. I know I've seen them before, sometimes for travel agent-type junkets, but I think I've seen cruises to nowhere for other special, short cruises for guests. The Jones act always confuses me - not sure if you have to stop in a foreign port or just that, if you do stop in a port, it has to be foreign. The Jones act gurus will jump in, I'm sure. :D

I've always wanted to do a cruise to nowhere, especially on the Edge. I don't want to waste time getting off on our first Edge cruise. :D

I think it needs to stop at a foreign port if it is going from US Port A to US Port B. Since we are starting and finishing at the same port it is not an issue. We did the same cruise on Solstice pre-maiden voyage, and a freebie on Granduer of T Ss when it came out of a major dry dock. On the other hand when we did repos from Boston to Miami we had to stop in Aruba.

Hope this helps answer you questions.

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Customs-says-cruises-to-nowhere-were-never-legal

I may have found the answer to my own question. This article talks about cruises to nowhere. In a statement last week, CLIA said, “… beginning in 2016, in compliance with U.S. laws and regulations, foreign-flagged cruise lines operating out of U.S. ports are not to offer cruises for sale that do not include a call in a foreign port.” I assume that since technically the passengers are not paying the cruise line... (travel agents... and donation to charity?) that the cruise is technically offered for sale. Anyone familiar with the regulations involved?

The schedule for initial cruises are as follows, as far as I can determine:

November 25-27 - very first cruise and it is for invited guests (likely execs, TAs, media, other invited guests)

November 27-29 - invited guests (execs, TAs, media, other invited guests and 500 cabins donated to United Way to sell)

November 29 - December 1 - ? if there is a cruise during this time

December 1-4 - first Preview Cruise for paying guests

December 4-6 - invited guests

December 6-9 - second Preview Cruise for paying guests

December 9 and December 16 - Maiden Voyage cruises

I think most know my saga of trying to be on the very first Edge cruise because of my Edge obsession. I had booked preview cruises for Nov 21 and 24 that were canceled and I moved them to the Dec 1 and 6 preview cruises. Then Dachshunds told us about the United Way cabins on the Nov 27 cruise and I booked that cruise and was very happy to be onboard even earlier.

Well, I'm very excited to say (though feel a little embarrassed to share this, but I have to tell people who will understand what a big deal this is), I got an invitation to the November 25th very first cruise (hopefully will remain first cruise) from LLP's office!! :D:cool:

I just can't believe it and am walking on air. I can bring a guest, so my DH is going too. I thought of telling him that only I could go and then invite one of you, who would explore the ship with me, taking pictures, measuring things, peeking in cabins, interviewing other guests about their cabins (and maybe bribing them with some VT Maple syrup to see their cabins ;)) and badgering staff and crew with questions, but that might be a deal breaker for my DH if he found out. :D

We will be assigned a cabin so have no idea what we will get. I think we will find out in October. I don't care what type we are assigned and where it is - I am ready for the adventure of it. The specialty dining is by invitation only so may not get to do any specialties for dinner, which is fine. It will be great to try the MDRs.

I won't speculate on here why I was invited, but have some ideas. I don't care why - I just know that LLP is my BFF today! :D Thank you for letting me share this exciting news!

The schedule for initial cruises are as follows, as far as I can determine:

 

November 25-27 - very first cruise and it is for invited guests (likely execs, TAs, media, other invited guests)

 

November 27-29 - invited guests (execs, TAs, media, other invited guests and 500 cabins donated to United Way to sell)

 

November 29 - December 1 - ? if there is a cruise during this time

 

December 1-4 - first Preview Cruise for paying guests

 

December 4-6 - invited guests

 

December 6-9 - second Preview Cruise for paying guests

 

December 9 and December 16 - Maiden Voyage cruises

 

I think most know my saga of trying to be on the very first Edge cruise because of my Edge obsession. I had booked preview cruises for Nov 21 and 24 that were canceled and I moved them to the Dec 1 and 6 preview cruises. Then Dachshunds told us about the United Way cabins on the Nov 27 cruise and I booked that cruise and was very happy to be onboard even earlier.

 

Well, I'm very excited to say (though feel a little embarrassed to share this, but I have to tell people who will understand what a big deal this is), I got an invitation to the November 25th very first cruise (hopefully will remain first cruise) from LLP's office!! :D:cool:

 

I just can't believe it and am walking on air. I can bring a guest, so my DH is going too. I thought of telling him that only I could go and then invite one of you, who would explore the ship with me, taking pictures, measuring things, peeking in cabins, interviewing other guests about their cabins (and maybe bribing them with some VT Maple syrup to see their cabins ;)) and badgering staff and crew with questions, but that might be a deal breaker for my DH if he found out. :D

 

We will be assigned a cabin so have no idea what we will get. I think we will find out in October. I don't care what type we are assigned and where it is - I am ready for the adventure of it. The specialty dining is by invitation only so may not get to do any specialties for dinner, which is fine. It will be great to try the MDRs.

 

I won't speculate on here why I was invited, but have some ideas. I don't care why - I just know that LLP is my BFF today! :D Thank you for letting me share this exciting news!

Congrats on the special invitation from Celebrity. I’m very happy for you! Mark

WHAAAAAAAAT?! Amazing!!! You deserve it Vt! So they really DO read these boards!

The schedule for initial cruises are as follows, as far as I can determine:

 

November 25-27 - very first cruise and it is for invited guests (likely execs, TAs, media, other invited guests)

 

November 27-29 - invited guests (execs, TAs, media, other invited guests and 500 cabins donated to United Way to sell)

 

November 29 - December 1 - ? if there is a cruise during this time

 

December 1-4 - first Preview Cruise for paying guests

 

December 4-6 - invited guests

 

December 6-9 - second Preview Cruise for paying guests

 

December 9 and December 16 - Maiden Voyage cruises

 

I think most know my saga of trying to be on the very first Edge cruise because of my Edge obsession. I had booked preview cruises for Nov 21 and 24 that were canceled and I moved them to the Dec 1 and 6 preview cruises. Then Dachshunds told us about the United Way cabins on the Nov 27 cruise and I booked that cruise and was very happy to be onboard even earlier.

 

Well, I'm very excited to say (though feel a little embarrassed to share this, but I have to tell people who will understand what a big deal this is), I got an invitation to the November 25th very first cruise (hopefully will remain first cruise) from LLP's office!! :D:cool:

 

I just can't believe it and am walking on air. I can bring a guest, so my DH is going too. I thought of telling him that only I could go and then invite one of you, who would explore the ship with me, taking pictures, measuring things, peeking in cabins, interviewing other guests about their cabins (and maybe bribing them with some VT Maple syrup to see their cabins ;)) and badgering staff and crew with questions, but that might be a deal breaker for my DH if he found out. :D

 

We will be assigned a cabin so have no idea what we will get. I think we will find out in October. I don't care what type we are assigned and where it is - I am ready for the adventure of it. The specialty dining is by invitation only so may not get to do any specialties for dinner, which is fine. It will be great to try the MDRs.

 

I won't speculate on here why I was invited, but have some ideas. I don't care why - I just know that LLP is my BFF today! :D Thank you for letting me share this exciting news!

To add to your already detailed post! November 29 - December 1 is in fact also an invited guest cruise!

To add to your already detailed post! November 29 - December 1 is in fact also an invited guest cruise!

Thanks! I missed it when looking at my cruise info sheet, but you are correct - it lists the following 2 night cruises being covered by the info they gave me:

Nov 25, 27, 29 and Dec 4

I guess I missed it in all the excitement! :D