What do you know about Edge?

[WonderMan3]

I would imagine the trickiness with eliminating a MDR in favor of multiple smaller restaurants where you are free to eat wherever you want is that some people would eat at some restaurants all the time and never at others and it would become unbalanced meaning that some people wouldn't be able to get in to certain places. It would almost have to be a set rotation situation so that everyone gets to experience the different dining equally.

[conquesodor]

Thanks for indulging me. Good points and explanations!

[jan-n-john]

I would imagine the trickiness with eliminating a MDR in favor of multiple smaller restaurants where you are free to eat wherever you want is that some people would eat at some restaurants all the time and never at others and it would become unbalanced meaning that some people wouldn't be able to get in to certain places. It would almost have to be a set rotation situation so that everyone gets to experience the different dining equally.

 

Not necessarily. Only if one/some of the concepts are demonstrably better and more popular than others, and in an unpredictable way. The ship could certainly make adjustments, to even things out, if this really were a problem, say by adding more interesting food selections to the ones that initially didn't get so much traffic. There could, of course, be a reservation system but one that nevertheless guarantees everyone can try every venue at some point. It's not an insurmountable problem.

 

Personally I like the idea of getting rid of the (IMHO fuddy-duddy) MDR, with its typically 1960's menu choices and service style,and replacing it with something more in tune with the contemporary restaurant scene, say, the 1990's? that also gave folks some real choices, not just a selection from among various really dull and dated dishes which is what the MDR has IMO. Could be far more interesting. As it is, I admit, DW and I avoid the MDR like the plague. But again, just my humble opinion.

[ECCruise]

Princess (Sapphire/Diamond) and RCCL (Quantum Class) have both tried the idea of 4 smaller complimentary dining venues, each with a unique menu, and in both cases the concept has failed to resonate with passengers. Cruise passengers are strangely resistant to the elimination of the "traditional" dining experience. Even NCL for all their Freestyle ballyhoo still have a 2 or 3 MDR's on most ships that all have the fairly standard rotating cruise menus that are the same regardless of which MDR you choose.

 

I could see them adding additional smaller complimentary and pay venues, and possibly moving to 2 single level MDR spaces (that big hole hole in the middle of a multiple level MDR eats up a LOT of floor space they are going to need!).

 

That is definitely not the case on Sapphire/Diamond. We've spent over 100 days on those ships and the 4 Anytime restaurants work fine. There is not a unique menu in each, rather one entree that is available in a particular venue (although they will get it for you in the others should you ask). The ability to chose a different restaurant should one be busier than the other is a distinct advantage.

[WonderMan3]

Not necessarily. Only if one/some of the concepts are demonstrably better and more popular than others, and in an unpredictable way. The ship could certainly make adjustments, to even things out, if this really were a problem, say by adding more interesting food selections to the ones that initially didn't get so much traffic. There could, of course, be a reservation system but one that nevertheless guarantees everyone can try every venue at some point. It's not an insurmountable problem.

 

 

 

Personally I like the idea of getting rid of the (IMHO fuddy-duddy) MDR, with its typically 1960's menu choices and service style,and replacing it with something more in tune with the contemporary restaurant scene, say, the 1990's? that also gave folks some real choices, not just a selection from among various really dull and dated dishes which is what the MDR has IMO. Could be far more interesting. As it is, I admit, DW and I avoid the MDR like the plague. But again, just my humble opinion.

 

 

I'm with you there. Have you been in a suite and tried Luminae yet? It's basically taking that MDR style menu and cranking it up a few notches in good quality and variety (although choices per night are more limited).

 

 

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[AtlantaCruiser72]

That is definitely not the case on Sapphire/Diamond. We've spent over 100 days on those ships and the 4 Anytime restaurants work fine. There is not a unique menu in each, rather one entree that is available in a particular venue (although they will get it for you in the others should you ask). The ability to chose a different restaurant should one be busier than the other is a distinct advantage.

 

When first launched the two vessels were unique in that each of the 4 themed central anytime dining rooms each had their own menu themed around the decor. They also had the typical MDR menu items. The aft dining room was traditional early/late dining. This lasted about a year or so before Princess switched the 4 themed dining venues to the normal menu with 1 themed entree per venue each evening

 

From sealetter website at time of launch:

 

Diamond Princess At-A-Glance

 

The 116,000-ton, 2,670-passenger Diamond Princess launched a new ship design for Princess, incorporating Princess' trademark design philosophy -- including an abundance of balcony cabins, flexibility in dining and entertainment options, Princess' renowned service and a variety of intimate spaces -- and giving the ship all of the choice of a large ship with the feel of a much smaller vessel.

What's New

 

Themed Dining Rooms -- Diamond Princess offers guests five main dining rooms -- one traditional seating dining room and four smaller restaurants for those choosing Princess' Anytime Dining option. These four dining rooms will each feature a unique theme and menu -- Vivaldi (Italian cuisine), Sterling (steakhouse), Santa Fe (Southwestern) and Pacific Moon (Asian). Diners in these four dining rooms will have the option of ordering from each restaurant's themed dishes in addition to the day's regular dinner menu. Guests who choose traditional dining won't be left out of the culinary fun either, as they will enjoy a changing array of options including items from the themed restaurants' specialty menus.

Edited January 12, 2017 by AtlantaCruiser72

[Cruise Junky]

Princess (Sapphire/Diamond) and RCCL (Quantum Class) have both tried the idea of 4 smaller complimentary dining venues, each with a unique menu, and in both cases the concept has failed to resonate with passengers. Cruise passengers are strangely resistant to the elimination of the "traditional" dining experience. Even NCL for all their Freestyle ballyhoo still have a 2 or 3 MDR's on most ships that all have the fairly standard rotating cruise menus that are the same regardless of which MDR you choose.

 

I could see them adding additional smaller complimentary and pay venues, and possibly moving to 2 single level MDR spaces (that big hole hole in the middle of a multiple level MDR eats up a LOT of floor space they are going to need!).

 

Princess never really had dynamic dining. They had and still do have 4 smaller dining rooms. They all had the same dinner menu except each dining room had one signature dish. Other than that, the menu was the same.

[jan-n-john]

I'm with you there. Have you been in a suite and tried Luminae yet? It's basically taking that MDR style menu and cranking it up a few notches in good quality and variety (although choices per night are more limited).

 

 

Unfortunately my bank account generally does not put me in the suite class market, so I haven't had the opportunity to try Luminae. Anyway if I'm going to spend that sort of money I'll pick up the phone and call at least Azamara if not Regent, each of which I've sailed on once so far (booked on both in the future as well). Yes their dining is also somewhat toward the fuddy-duddy end of the spectrum, but at least they, especially Regent, do it exceptionally well, which helps.

[OCA REP]

Have you been in a suite and tried Luminae yet? It's basically taking that MDR style menu and cranking it up a few notches in good quality and variety (although choices per night are more limited).

 

We thoroughly enjoyed Luminae and only ventured away from it for one evening on our last cruise. Really digging the Suite Class offerings on Celebrity and imagine it will only get better with Edge.

 

Concerning dining venues, since they are now providing an embarkation day lunch for Concierge Class, do you suppose there is any chance that class might get a dedicated restaurant on Edge? It seems to be a hit for most people that book Aqua or Suites.

[ISABELLA]

It was discussed awhile ago, not in this thread. The discussion pretty much compared it to the Royal Caribbean new concept of dining which I believe was instituted on the Anthem. They had some problems with it so who knows what is going to happen.

 

O no -not another Anthem!:eek: Beside specialty restaurants we didn't care for any of" free" ones. I hope there will be no pre-reservation required for free MDR venues...

[kevinyork]

O no -not another Anthem!:eek: Beside specialty restaurants we didn't care for any of" free" ones. I hope there will be no pre-reservation required for free MDR venues...

 

 

 

Well we loved the restaurants on Anthem. A huge choice, flexible dining times with great venues. We would love it if Edge eliminated traditional dining times. The idea is so outdated. If you wanted to eat at you local restaurant and they always said it was always 6.15 or 8.30 would that be ok?

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

We thoroughly enjoyed Luminae and only ventured away from it for one evening on our last cruise. Really digging the Suite Class offerings on Celebrity and imagine it will only get better with Edge.

 

Concerning dining venues, since they are now providing an embarkation day lunch for Concierge Class, do you suppose there is any chance that class might get a dedicated restaurant on Edge? It seems to be a hit for most people that book Aqua or Suites.

 

If so you'd probably see a drastic increase in price for that class.

[Mynki]

Posted on january 10th

 

 

Somebody else brought up the unfortunate subjects of 'suite envy' and 'suite resentment', unfortunately human nature will ensure that this topic is blighted by people suffering from either or of these conditions as you'll see when the new ship design is revealed to all. But for now we'll try and avoid those areas.

 

And I didn't even use my crystal ball! :D :D :D

 

This has been a very interesting thread, especially watching it morph into a discussion about the merits of dedicated areas for suite passengers. Although it is impossible to know how these ships will eventually be configured, what is clearly obvious is who the posters are that are fans of suites. They are the ones adamantly defending the concept of carving out more and more space for suite passengers, even if it is at the expense of the "cheaper" passengers. It is amusing how they continually claim that "you won't even notice the lost space since you wouldn't have had it in the first place". It's like if they told a blind person that he shouldn't complain about them blocking his view of the sunset since he's blind and can't see it in the first place.

 

Kind of selfish, IMHO.

 

PTMary, you need to read the thread again, it's really not that difficult to understand. Anyway, if you're still not happy there's always Carnival and Thompson amongst other cruise lines. ;)

 

I don't have a problem with suite amenities on newer vessels where they're specifically built on decks people don't access otherwise.

 

I think many non-suite space posters fail to realize that on new builds they could simply leave the space out. Specifically, if talking about spaces like the Haven or Yacht Club, if the suites didn't exist, I'm sure the lines would just not build those decks altogether. The assumption that suite space on new builds would become "regular" passenger space is ignorant.

 

On retros I would agree- taking the space away is not appealing. The ship was designed for a specified number of people, and reserving a portion now for suite guests only is insulting. On new builds? Not at all.

 

Agree 100%.

 

I very much doubt I'll be sailing in an Edge suite. I'm expecting additional price hikes when itineraries are released and lets be honest looking at late 2018 and 2019 prices we've already seen some big price increases. But regardless I'd be very sad and petty if I whinged about others desiring an improved suite experience.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Mynki

[kevinyork]

Posted on january 10th

 

 

 

And I didn't even use my crystal ball! :D :D :D

 

 

 

PTMary, you need to read the thread again, it's really not that difficult to understand. Anyway, if you're still not happy there's always Carnival and Thompson amongst other cruise lines. ;)

 

 

 

Agree 100%.

 

I very much doubt I'll be sailing in an Edge suite. I'm expecting additional price hikes when itineraries are released and lets be honest looking at late 2018 and 2019 prices we've already seen some big price increases. But regardless I'd be very sad and petty if I whinged about others booking suites. :)

 

 

 

Really well observed, agree entirely. I struggle to imagine increased prices for the Edge class without encroaching on Oceania or even Regent or Crystal prices. If people want a 5/6 star plus service, food and amenities then why not look towards those lines unless they really want to cruise mass market but feel rewarded for being in the 'suite class' that others onboard cannot access?

 

 

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[Mynki]

Really well observed, agree entirely. I struggle to imagine increased prices for the Edge class without encroaching on Oceania or even Regent or Crystal prices. If people want a 5/6 star plus service, food and amenities then why not look towards those lines unless they really want to cruise mass market but feel rewarded for being in the 'suite class' that others onboard cannot access?

 

 

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Funny you should say that, we were looking at a couple of 6* lines the other day and noticed that the price gap between Celebrity and them has narrowed in recent times. We don't so much buy on price but like most others, buy on value and so Celebrity looked less and less appealing.

 

It will be interesting to see how quickly Edge suites sell. Then again, with the number of cheerleaders the line has I won't actually be surprised to see it sell out quickly, even if there is better value to be had with other lines!

[FreestyleNovice]

"Celebrity Cruises sales boss claims Edge class ship will 'trump' Solstice class

 

The innovations onboard Celebrity’s newest ship, Celebrity Edge, will “trump what the line did with Celebrity Solstice class”.

 

That was the message from Celebrity’s senior vice president of sales, Dondra Ritzenthaler.

 

Speaking to TTG at the line’s Agent Appreciation Awards in London this week, Ritzenthaler revealed that details about the ship’s innovations and itineraries were set to be released in March.

 

She refused to disclose what these would be, but said: “Solstice class put Celebrity on the map, and Edge will trump what we did for Solstice class. It’s extremely innovative.”

 

She also revealed that it would be open for sale from mid-March, when itineraries and destinations will be announced. “There will be significant revelations,” she added."

 

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/news/celebrity-cruises-sales-boss-claims-edge-class-ship-will-trump-solstice-class-8679

Edited January 15, 2017 by FreestyleNovice

[Mynki]

significant revelations,” she added."

 

 

That's a big and interesting statement. But with 'Celebrity marketing' it could mean anything from a truly desirable and technically innovative new class of ship. To an extra scoop of gelato for captains club members who sail on her. Here's hoping it's the former! :)

 

Thanks for posting.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Mynki

[DYKWIA]

"Celebrity Cruises sales boss claims Edge class ship will 'trump' Solstice class

 

The innovations onboard Celebrity’s newest ship, Celebrity Edge, will “trump what the line did with Celebrity Solstice class”.

 

That was the message from Celebrity’s senior vice president of sales, Dondra Ritzenthaler.

 

Speaking to TTG at the line’s Agent Appreciation Awards in London this week, Ritzenthaler revealed that details about the ship’s innovations and itineraries were set to be released in March.

 

She refused to disclose what these would be, but said: “Solstice class put Celebrity on the map, and Edge will trump what we did for Solstice class. It’s extremely innovative.”

 

 

This is standard marketing hype, i'd be amazed if they weren't saying this

[MR_T]

"Celebrity Cruises sales boss claims Edge class ship will 'trump' Solstice class

 

The innovations onboard Celebrity’s newest ship, Celebrity Edge, will “trump what the line did with Celebrity Solstice class”.

 

That was the message from Celebrity’s senior vice president of sales, Dondra Ritzenthaler.

 

Speaking to TTG at the line’s Agent Appreciation Awards in London this week, Ritzenthaler revealed that details about the ship’s innovations and itineraries were set to be released in March.

 

She refused to disclose what these would be, but said: “Solstice class put Celebrity on the map, and Edge will trump what we did for Solstice class. It’s extremely innovative.”

 

She also revealed that it would be open for sale from mid-March, when itineraries and destinations will be announced. “There will be significant revelations,” she added."

 

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/news/celebrity-cruises-sales-boss-claims-edge-class-ship-will-trump-solstice-class-8679

 

 

What would you think the head of sales would say.... "the edge class isn't going to be as good as the solstice class ships but please still book them..." [emoji849][emoji23]

 

 

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[Mynki]

What would you think the head of sales would say.... "the edge class isn't going to be as good as the solstice class ships but please still book them..." [emoji849][emoji23]

 

 

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He's quoting the article. No need to shoot the messenger! :)

[cruise47]

Really well observed, agree entirely. I struggle to imagine increased prices for the Edge class without encroaching on Oceania or even Regent or Crystal prices. If people want a 5/6 star plus service, food and amenities then why not look towards those lines unless they really want to cruise mass market but feel rewarded for being in the 'suite class' that others onboard cannot access?

 

 

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Sounds good to us and we will include Azamara Cruise line to your list.

[FreestyleNovice]

He's quoting the article. No need to shoot the messenger! :)

 

Thanks :)

[hcat]

Whatever Edge offers, we'll try it at least once...after the kinks, if any, are worked out and prices settle down. We can then decide if we like it or skip it like we do for Reflection.

 

Two things we would NOT appreciate are a rotational dining like on Disney...makes sense to change themes for children but not needed for grown ups...and a make res nightly system

 

Not a fan of making res for everything...We think BLU is the right approach...could make smaller dining venues with assignments but not set times...would avoid the tensions of set trad time diners, walk in select and reserved time select...Specialty venues seem ok as is

 

Guess we'll find out soon enuf

.

Edited January 15, 2017 by hcat

[Oceangoer2]

Does anyone else think that more people, more specialty restaurants, more suites may equate to smaller cabins in the other classes? IMHO small enough now.

[FreestyleNovice]

Does anyone else think that more people, more specialty restaurants, more suites may equate to smaller cabins in the other classes? IMHO small enough now.

 

I am certain staterooms will be of adequate size, none of the new mega ships build in the recent years is known for absurd small staterooms.