Living on the Edge with vtcruising!: A Live Review!

[mit429]

VT ... a few more questions for you, when you get a chance:

 

1. Any word on if/when Christmas decorations are going up?

2. Do you know if they'll still be offering stateroom tours on the 06dec preview sailing? 

[mit429]

On 11/27/2018 at 5:26 PM, gottacruisemore said:

for anyone that's interested, a SV cabin (12261) video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqstEzLhFGC/

 

Thank you for this! I am in an aft-facing S1 on Deck 12 and have been terrified that the balcony would not be bright enough. I see there are no reasons for my fears!

[vtcruising]

6 hours ago, mit429 said:

VT ... a few more questions for you, when you get a chance:

 

1. Any word on if/when Christmas decorations are going up?

2. Do you know if they'll still be offering stateroom tours on the 06dec preview sailing? 

I can ask about the decorations. I’m half hoping for some holiday trimming tomorrow when we board since it I’ll be Dec  1. 

 

My guess is no for the cabins being open for viewing formally ( it wasn’t a tour per se, but open house for those staterooms from 12-6), since they were open on those first two day cruises to show to the  TAs and press, I imagine. Maybe they will have some open since it’s a new ship, but if not, it doesn’t hurt to ask. I’ll never be in an Iconic, but it was fun to see it. I hope they do keep a few cabins open  for people. I just checked and it looks like my Dec 1 cruise is sold out (though they may have not booked every cabin since it is the first commercial cruise).

 

Oh, we did get a couple of things from X on the trade and press cruises. Edge water bottles (with the $25 price tag still attached) and a nice paperback booklet about the ship . I’m looking into the hard cover book tomorrow, along with deciding on my ship’s model. 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by vtcruising

[vtcruising]

6 hours ago, mit429 said:

 

Thank you for this! I am in an aft-facing S1 on Deck 12 and have been terrified that the balcony would not be bright enough. I see there are no reasons for my fears!

Ill post pix of one hopefully by 1:00 tomorrow!!

[happicruzer]

When boarding tomorrow, could you please post the luggage scanner details.  We usually carry on our luggage and am planning on two smaller suitcases vs one large 24” suitcase.  

 

Everything has to be placed in a large bin down in Miami at the new RCI terminal banning the larger suitcase.

thanks.

[beachbunny6]

11 hours ago, vtcruising said:

We enjoyed it too and look forward to you looking down on us in the aft in January!!😎

 

And I am looking forward to meeting you ALL in January!  Safe travels, Oville, and Marilyn, I hope you are feeling well today and enjoy your time in FL.  Hope it warms up for you, too.  It is supposed to be nice for the next few days over here, so I can hope it is the same over there.  Feel better and have a great day!

[beachbunny6]

10 hours ago, MVPinBoynton said:

 

We were on 3 and I was feeling for folks on 5. 

 

So, can any of you please tell us if it was a REALLY long walk to the Midport Garage from T25?  I remember there were some who were wondering about it.  I had said I thought it was just diagonally across the street.  Is that close to correct?  Glad you all finally got out of there, and now we all need to remember that it would be a great idea to have some "coffee and" before leaving the ship, too.  Thanks for the info!

 

Safe travels to all!

~Barbara~

[beachbunny6]

8 hours ago, Oville said:

Hey girl, you so deserved that after what you’ve been through.  Luminae sounds so much better than BK.

 

Our house was chilly when we got back, how rare.  I had a long sleeve jersey under  another long sleeve top and had to grab a fleece after getting home.  Somehow I’m not New England tough anymore.☹️

 

Enjoy your day in Lauderdale tomorrow and Bon Voyage on Saturday.

 

Katie

I second that thought!

 

Katie, where are you?  I know your profile says Cape Cod, but you parked in the garage and now said your house was chilly, so I am guessing you are not back home in MA now.  (If you don't want to say, that's ok.  I understand.  Just sounds like you are still in FL)

[MVPinBoynton]

14 minutes ago, beachbunny6 said:

 

So, can any of you please tell us if it was a REALLY long walk to the Midport Garage from T25?  I remember there were some who were wondering about it.  I had said I thought it was just diagonally across the street.  Is that close to correct?  Glad you all finally got out of there, and now we all need to remember that it would be a great idea to have some "coffee and" before leaving the ship, too.  Thanks for the info!

 

Safe travels to all!

~Barbara~

 

It wasn't that bad.  It was a bit longer than it appeared; but should not be a problem for most.  We could not cross the street in front of the terminal.  We had to walk to the official cross walk, which did make the walk a bit longer.  There was one area along the sidewalk, where it was very narrow and I can see it being an issue.  It was a bit tight for Carol's scooter.

[beachbunny6]

12 hours ago, ccod said:

I usually bring a universal remote control on cruises. I program it for the brand of TV in my cabin and then can use the INPUT button. While the S suites on the Edge have TVs that swivel out from the wall the  IV cabins definitely have fixed mount TVs. I was ALMOST able to insert an HDMI cable into the right side of my IV TV. If I had had more patience I might have succeeded, or if my hand was slightly smaller, or if the TV was just a quarter inch farther away from the wall, or if I had asked my DW to try it....

 

I think that is a great idea and very smart, too.  I would do that in a heartbeat IF I had any reason to hook anything to the TV, which I don't.  But I applaud your creativity and problem-solving skills!  I am sure there will be others who will need that information, and use it, too.  Bravo!  And, thanks for sharing it!

 

By the way, I agree that the location of the TV across from the bed in the IV cabins without a swivel mount is really lacking in forethought.  How are you supposed to watch TV if you are not sitting/lying on the bed?  The angle from the sofa/couch and chair in the area by the IV is at a bad angle for viewing a flat panel TV.  What were they thinking? Or not, as this case probably is.  Maybe if they get enough complaints about the situation, they will change the wall mount.  That would, however, give an even better chance for people to hit their shoulder on it, as someone else mentioned, if it is not replaced flat to the wall after use.  All in all, putting the TV across from the bed is the worst idea, and it needs to be relocated to over the dresser where the artwork is.  Just switch them, change the mount and Voila! problems all solved at once.  They really needed to have some of us on their design panel, you know.  We are a LOT more logical and experienced in cruise travel than their designers.  

Edited November 30, 2018 by beachbunny6

[beachbunny6]

11 minutes ago, MVPinBoynton said:

 

It wasn't that bad.  It was a bit longer than it appeared; but should not be a problem for most.  We could not cross the street in front of the terminal.  We had to walk to the official cross walk, which did make the walk a bit longer.  There was one area along the sidewalk, where it was very narrow and I can see it being an issue.  It was a bit tight for Carol's scooter.

 

Thanks, Mike!  May I ask what kind of scooter Carol has?  I, too, have one (well, actually more than one) that I will be taking along, and need to decide which one to take to make it easier.  Does she have any comments about areas on the ship that were easier or more difficult for her to maneuver with it?  How did the staff handle her having it, etc?  Please tell her Thanks in advance for any input.  I appreciate it!

~Barbara~

 

P.S.  Maybe you should contact the Port Office regarding that area along the sidewalk.  There are ADA rules for that kind of thing, and maybe someone just missed seeing the problem when the new walkway was installed.  You could save them a lawsuit in the future.  And, mention the crosswalk thing.  That is just stupid, if it could just as easily be farther north on the sidewalk, closer to  the entrances of T21 and T25.  If not, then that is not as bad a problem as the sidewalk itself.

Edited November 30, 2018 by beachbunny6

[TeeRick]

22 hours ago, vtcruising said:

Yes it was! 

 

It’s funny but but I was posting in the Retreat yesterday and posted a picture of a strawberry daiquiri. A little while later someone found me and came over and sat down to chat - she said that she was  just reading CC and saw the drink I was having and came to the Retreat looking for me. I had sat next her at dinner the night before and had a lovely talk. She wanted to debrief on her CS so had come to find me when she saw where I was  ( and to get a strawberry daiquiri). 😀

 

I would love to hear some info on the CS.  Does she like it?

[MVPinBoynton]

Carol has a TravelScoot.  It is a wonderful device and only weighs 35 pounds.  It can easily fit into the trunk of a car, which means, it isn't a problem if taking a standard taxi.  Here is a pic showing it open and closed.

 

She had no problem getting anywhere around on the ship.  They did put it away for her in restaurants where there wasn't any room for it near the table.  

 

As far as the path to the parking garage, the reason for it being too narrow is that they put thick round barrier poles in the sidewalk to prevent cars from getting through I presume.  That took away a lot of the area.  I was going to take a photo, but didn't.  It was wide enough for a scooter or wheelchair, but if someone was coming from the other way,  they would have to walk on the grass.  Since I was rolling a full size and carry on suitcases, I had to carry one in front and the other in back.  

[MVPinBoynton]

Marilyn, 

By any chance did you ever use the Scenes feature on the AC controls or on the app?  I didn't play with it, since I assumed that it was just for the lighting.  Now I am wondering if it also controlled the curtains.  I hope you tried it so I can figure what it was for.

[hcat]

30 minutes ago, beachbunny6 said:

 

I think that is a great idea and very smart, too.  I would do that in a heartbeat IF I had any reason to hook anything to the TV, which I don't.  But I applaud your creativity and problem-solving skills!  I am sure there will be others who will need that information, and use it, too.  Bravo!  And, thanks for sharing it!

 

By the way, I agree that the location of the TV across from the bed in the IV cabins without a swivel mount is really lacking in forethought.  How are you supposed to watch TV if you are not sitting/lying on the bed?  The angle from the sofa/couch and chair in the area by the IV is at a bad angle for viewing a flat panel TV.  What were they thinking? Or not, as this case probably is.  Maybe if they get enough complaints about the situation, they will change the wall mount.  That would, however, give an even better chance for people to hit their shoulder on it, as someone else mentioned, if it is not replaced flat to the wall after use.  All in all, putting the TV across from the bed is the worst idea, and it needs to be relocated to over the dresser where the artwork is.  Just switch them, change the mount and Voila! problems all solved at once.  They really needed to have some of us on their design panel, you know.  We are a LOT more logical and experienced in cruise travel than their designers.  

Relocating TV  and mount is probably a bigger job than we think.

 

And they probably were not thinking much....or  have never cruised. Again poor cabin design.

 

 Many hotels have 2 tvs in a bit larger space, but the usual swivel mount location with 1 TV would work here just fine .

 

Seems  TV could be bumped in present location, bed by bath or bed by balc..???

Time will tell.

Edited November 30, 2018 by hcat

[beachbunny6]

2 minutes ago, MVPinBoynton said:

Carol has a TravelScoot.  It is a wonderful device and only weighs 35 pounds.  It can easily fit into the trunk of a car, which means, it isn't a problem if taking a standard taxi.  Here is a pic showing it open and closed.

She had no problem getting anywhere around on the ship.  They did put it away for her in restaurants where there wasn't any room for it near the table.  

 

As far as the path to the parking garage, the reason for it being too narrow is that they put thick round barrier poles in the sidewalk to prevent cars from getting through I presume.  That took away a lot of the area.  I was going to take a photo, but didn't.  It was wide enough for a scooter or wheelchair, but if someone was coming from the other way,  they would have to walk on the grass.  Since I was rolling a full size and carry on suitcases, I had to carry one in front and the other in back.  

 

Thanks for the scooter information!  That is a wonderful little scooter, and I bet she really likes having it to make her life easier.  Regarding the sidewalk, if you could not roll both suitcases because of the barrier poles, then the sidewalk is too narrow!  That is insane.  It is not like they didn't have room for it to be wider, if there is a grassy area next to it.  That is just dumb.  Bad planning.  Please call them, or send a letter or something.  There are lots of us who have scooters, or who roll two pieces of luggage and cannot carry one of them, or just don't want to.  There are wheels on them for a reason.  

 

Thanks for all your replies and information!

~Barbara~

[hcat]

11 hours ago, MVPinBoynton said:

 

We were on 3 and I was feeling for folks on 5. 

Parking Questions;

How early did you arrive at the Port  to get parking on the lower floor ?

 

Did you drop off luggage and your wife first and circle around to park or just park and  then walk over to the ship?

 

 If we  walk off with luggage early,  do you think this would this help us get out of the garage earlier?

 

 Sitting in a parking garage   breathing all sorts of fumes  is not a good thing....not to mention awfully annoying.

 

We are hoping the jam up was because it was a short cruise with more than usual number of locals drivng to port..We  will monitor situation and msy resort to parking off site  or maybe our hotel will let us keep the car there for a week...doubtful?

[C-Dragons]

2 hours ago, vtcruising said:

Ill post pix of one hopefully by 1:00 tomorrow!!

As a member of the “11268” club, I can’t wait to see those photos! 😁

I have been trying so hard to pack, but reading all of your posts about Edge are keeping me from my task! 😉 Thanks for everything, Marilyn. ❤️

[floridatravelersforlife]

11 hours ago, citruscruiser said:

I think I have you beat! I was in garage at 9 and had parked on the 5th floor (only thing available when I got there). One hour to get to booth. I thought I was being smart by staying on board late to avoid rush hour traffic!

Anyone do early self debarkation and care to comment on the parking garage?

[MVPinBoynton]

4 minutes ago, hcat said:

Parking Questions;

How early did you arrive at the Port  to get parking on the lower floor ?

 

Did you drop off luggage and your wife first and circle around to park or just park and  then walk over to the ship?

 

 If we  walk off with luggage early,  do you think this would this help us get out of the garage earlier?

 

 Sitting in a parking garage   breathing all sorts of fumes  is not a good thing....not to mention awfully annoying.

 

We are hoping the jam up was because it was a short cruise with more than usual number of locals drivng to port..We  will monitor situation and msy resort to parking off site  or maybe our hotel will let us keep the car there for a week...doubtful?

 

We got to the garage around 10:30 and got probably the last spot on level 3.  It was at the far end of the garage from the elevator.  Since my wife has the scooter, we both left the garage together with our luggage.  The earlier you are off the ship the better.  With there not being assigned times to leave, I am sure that didn't help.  Plus the only other ship arriving was the Infinity.  We usually use offsite parking, as I am sure other locals do, which makes a big difference.

[kearney]

4 minutes ago, MVPinBoynton said:

 

We got to the garage around 10:30 and got probably the last spot on level 3.  It was at the far end of the garage from the elevator.  Since my wife has the scooter, we both left the garage together with our luggage.  The earlier you are off the ship the better.  With there not being assigned times to leave, I am sure that didn't help.  Plus the only other ship arriving was the Infinity.  We usually use offsite parking, as I am sure other locals do, which makes a big difference.

How was scooter use on the ship. I hear the elevators are larger... is that the case? How were the hallways with the scooter travel... I know the ship wasn't full...but want to get an idea on how it will be.  Did you have bed by the bath IV cabin on an accessible cabin. How did you handle it in your cabin ...if you had an IV cabin... thanks

[hcat]

10 minutes ago, MVPinBoynton said:

 

We got to the garage around 10:30 and got probably the last spot on level 3.  It was at the far end of the garage from the elevator.  Since my wife has the scooter, we both left the garage together with our luggage.  The earlier you are off the ship the better.  With there not being assigned times to leave, I am sure that didn't help.  Plus the only other ship arriving was the Infinity.  We usually use offsite parking, as I am sure other locals do, which makes a big difference.

Thanks.. we will be sailing for 7 days...and another for 9  in Nov so we will have more luggage..

 

what  off site parking do you use.?

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

 

I would love to hear some info on the CS.  Does she like it?

She did like many things about it, but had a list of what she considered design issues. Since she was so detailed, I recommended that she outline everything to Celebrity so that they would have her feedback.

 

I didn't write it down, but the lack of loungers really bothered her (and everyone else I have spoken to so far in a suite - I think they start having loungers in the PH suites). She said that they expect to lay in lounge chairs some of the time on cruises, pay a premium to have a private balcony and expect loungers. I think they usually do Royal Suites on Celebrity and was amazed to tour the one here that didn't have a lounger. I think the size of the bathtub (smallish) bothered her. She mentioned that there wouldn't be a way to share this suite with anyone else, unless you were close and didn't care about privacy. The bedroom isn't really separate/private because the concept was to keep it open.

 

She had a funny experience in the bathroom, which is separated into its own space. She was in there and the lights suddenly went off (green initiative) and it was completely dark. It was a little scary until she figured how to get out.  She thought of elderly people not knowing what to do, if suddenly plunged into darkness. My DH let her know that you can disable the green features on the panel (he wondered why the cabin was too warm when he came back from some place - always 2 degrees higher than the set number - I heard in a lecture from LLP that when you leave the cabin, the thermostat goes up 2 degrees to save energy). Apparently lights go off at a certain time as well. Good features, but good to know about. 😊

 

I think she enjoyed her experience in the CS in many ways (she liked the living area and large balcony), but just wanted to give some feedback to me. She reads CC some so maybe she will read this and expand upon it.

 

I went back to get more pictures:

not mirror art - protecting the camera person's ID

 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by vtcruising

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, MVPinBoynton said:

Marilyn, 

By any chance did you ever use the Scenes feature on the AC controls or on the app?  I didn't play with it, since I assumed that it was just for the lighting.  Now I am wondering if it also controlled the curtains.  I hope you tried it so I can figure what it was for.

Yes, I played with it and was opening and closing curtains and lights were coming on and off until DH had had enough. 🙂

[beachbunny6]

3 hours ago, vtcruising said:

I can ask about the decorations. I’m half hoping for some holiday trimming tomorrow when we board since it I’ll be Dec  1. 

 

My guess is no for the cabins being open for viewing formally ( it wasn’t a tour per se, but open house for those staterooms from 12-6), since they were open on those first two day cruises to show to the  TAs and press, I imagine. Maybe they will have some open since it’s a new ship, but if not, it doesn’t hurt to ask. I’ll never be in an Iconic, but it was fun to see it. I hope they do keep a few cabins open  for people. I just checked and it looks like my Dec 1 cruise is sold out (though they may have not booked every cabin since it is the first commercial cruise).

 

Oh, we did get a couple of things from X on the trade and press cruises. Edge water bottles (with the $25 price tag still attached) and a nice paperback booklet about the ship . I’m looking into the hard cover book tomorrow, along with deciding on my ship’s model. 

 

 

Is that $25 each?  I don't know that I need one more water bottle, since I normally don't use the ones I already have, even if it is EDGEy.  Now the book, I can get into.  Is that paperback one in the cabin, like they used to have the X books on the desk?  Maybe you can let us know tomorrow, ok?  And, please check about the hardcover book, too.  Regarding the ship models, you never said if the crystal one was like that sailing ship we saw in the photos, displayed in a public space, or if it is a crystal model of the Edge herself.  That would make ALL the difference!

 

Hope you are feeling better and resting and enjoying your day.  Have a great time at the 15th Street Fisheries!  Yum!

~Barbara~