EDGE REVIEWS POSTED...not very positive!

[hcat]

Sorry but I can,t  locate the thread or post that  mentioned  only 1 EDGE  review was posted..esp with new CC system.  If someone can move this or match it up..ok with me.

 

Now there are 6 reviews on CC .Only 1 is positive..  that person must be a New Style X cruiser..loved most if it...

 

The Enclosed verandas are uniformly panned and the mention of BLU confirms there is no real sea view, no sep from the lobby and folks were seated next to a mesh curtain not a wall...that will NOT be me!

[Cruise Junky]

they are not good at all.  I'm surprised to read how cheap people say it looks. I didn't get the impression from the pictures. IV's yeah, that's not surprising.

[yorky]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Sorry but I can,t  locate the thread or post that  mentioned  only 1 EDGE  review was posted..esp with new CC system.  If someone can move this or match it up..ok with me.

 

Now there are 6 reviews on CC .Only 1 is positive..  that person must be a New Style X cruiser..loved most if it...

 

The Enclosed verandas are uniformly panned and the mention of BLU confirms there is no real sea view, no sep from the lobby and folks were seated next to a mesh curtain not a wall...that will NOT be me!

A look at a couple of vids of the cabins is all you really need to see that the enclosed verandas are a huge mistake and in my view a big step down from a traditional balcony.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Cruise Junky said:

they are not good at all.  I'm surprised to read how cheap people say it looks. I didn't get the impression from the pictures. IV's yeah, that's not surprising.

 

From the pics, I thought it  looked very spartan, cheap, and basic dorm or hostel  style.  Not very luxurious at all except the  AQ class bathroom which looked nice, Colors also very somber,

 

Won't be filing my review until I cruise next month,,,

Edited December 6, 2018 by hcat

[kearney]

I thought some of the complaints were over the top.... complaining about distance to the elevator from the cabin. Tell me another 3000 passenger ship that doesn't have cabins located far from the elevators. If you look at the deck plan... no worse than other ships.

Complaints about a sticky inadvertently left on a bread basket during a PREVIEW or Soft opening cruise.... petty stuff.

Now size of veranda is an issue... and alas there is nothing that they can do about that on this ship or probably on Apex either. I have been skeptical about a lot of the design choices... but have been pleased by the photos of the actual ship ...  Comments that cabins looking cheap.. I can understand... as I recall the S class had granite counter tops... but then again this ship is very fuel efficient and using lighter materials probably contributes to that.. and so I am willing to over look the lack of granite. The more I think about the more I suspect the rather subtle color scheme of cabins is intended to focus the eye on the view.. and not the surroundings. Yes when you sit you see the railing.... I assume the railing height is required to be a certain height... and is it any different than the height on regular veranda? I can't imagine it is much different than a regular cabin... It would be interesting to see how they compare.... the problem may be that you are sitting so close to the railing that it impacts view in a way that is different than with a deeper veranda. Any way I will see in a few weeks.

[bajathree]

I was really hoping to be WOWED by the Edge but that just didn't really seem to ever happen for me. There just seemed to be many misses. IMO Celebrity hit a home run with the Reflection and the introduction of the Edge seemed to me like Celebrity heading into a different direction...maybe to attract a different demographic. I haven't seen many people talking about things like the Sunset bar or the Martini Bar that much but both these areas were a disappointment to me compared to them on the Reflection. The Sunset Bar on the Edge seems very separated and once again they turned the bar away from the ocean so you are staring at a wall when sitting at the bar itself.....this was corrected on the Reflection compared to the rest of S class ships by floating the bar and not having it sitting against the wall like on the previous S class ships...so IMO this went backwards again on the Edge. The Martini Bar now sits on the floor of the Grand Plaza....half the seating are bar stools and the other half low seats and it doesn't wrap around the bar like it does on S class which works so well. The rest of the Grand Plaza was filled with tables and chairs making it feel cluttered to me. They also took away the ice top to the martini bar which was such a neat attraction on S class and gave it that signature martini bar feel. They did create the Rooftop Garden which is a neat area but honestly there isn't much of an ocean view from it. Eden I expected to be much more like TWO70 from Quantum Class on the Royal side....so I thought that was a big miss. The specialty restaurants went to a much more open atmosphere which I really don't understand. The IV's were not my cup of tea but thats been discussed plenty already. The retreat and suites I think were done very well and will be a big attraction for suite gusts to book this ship...but I think if your used to a traditional balcony cabin you need to know what you are getting into with an IV cabin compared to the traditional balcony cabin most of us are used to. The ship was overall very pretty and hopefully maybe this class ship will continue to make changes and evolve like they did with S class and tweak it just right.

[MightyMike]

The thing that concerned me most were the "plastic" and "laminate" comments. If that is the design direction, then it is probably going into all Celebrity ships post-revolution.

[FolsomMike]

Some of the negative reviews are so over the top it’s hard to take them seriously. - “I never did figure out what the big orange elevator is for”. Really?

[richstowe]

2 hours ago, kearney said:

I thought some of the complaints were over the top.... complaining about distance to the elevator from the cabin. Tell me another 3000 passenger ship that doesn't have cabins located far from the elevators. If you look at the deck plan... no worse than other ships.

Only 2 banks of elevators not 3 might be the issue .

[kearney]

14 minutes ago, richstowe said:

Only 2 banks of elevators not 3 might be the issue .

What am I missing... how does this compare to S class?

[richstowe]

2 minutes ago, kearney said:

What am I missing... how does this compare to S class?

Also 2 . I was giving a possible explanation for the complaints .

Many cruise ships have 3 clusters of elevators . 

[kearney]

44 minutes ago, richstowe said:

Also 2 . I was giving a possible explanation for the complaints .

Many cruise ships have 3 clusters of elevators . 

Sorry, I just assumed that they were familiar with Celebrity or at least Royal... virtually all of their ships have two banks. It just seemed like an odd comment... someone else complained about twin beds... appeared unfamiliar that the beds are pushed together. Given that this was what they would call on Oceans 13... "a soft opening"... customers should expect issues... especially the staff still learning things. also a complaint about how there should be usb ports on both sides... not recognizing that having an outlet at all by the bed is not common on celebrity... I am watching too many news programs... seemed like Russian bots writing the reviews... Only one had a track record on CC...

[RICCruisers]

I also noticed that most of the reviewers were new. Not sure what to make of that. If they are new to cruising, that I believe is who X was in part aiming to attract with Edge and these reviews could be bad news for X or at least troubling. If they are more experienced cruisers but new to X hoping to expand their reach it is also troubling.  Even the negative reviewers gave the overall design of the common areas decent marks for the most part. 

 

The real reviews will will come from guests that take the 7 night cruises that are just now beginning. We are anxious to try Edge in February and decide for ourselves. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I find that Cruise Critic has two completely different communities.  People who post reviews don't seem to participate in the Boards, and people from the Boards post their reviews here and rarely double-post to the reviews section.  Since 'my people' are here, I rarely read the reviews...

[Betsynh]

We’re sailing on her January 6th, so I’ve been voraciously reading up about the early cruises and CC reviews... not worried yet! We’ve sailed so much on Royal, that I was looking for something different. I’ve sailed Celebrity twice, but this is hubby’s first. Frankly, I’ve never met a cruise ship I didn’t like... obviously some better than others... but excited nonetheless. 

[JSR]

Like anything new, early adapters, are also early guinea pigs. If you are going to be among the early cruisers you have to expect things will not always go smoothly and kinks need to be worked out. It is the trade off for being among the first when everything is new and shinny. 

[vtcruising]

I agree with Jazz - I wouldn't have read them, but after seeing the comments here, I had to see for myself. A couple of them seem balanced, but I don't look at the ones that are over the top positive or over the top negative - I just throw those out (unless with many reviews, they all are one way or another).

 

I have to say that I wondered if we were on different ships. I am pretty sensitive when something seems cheap and plastic and this ship is not that, IMO - she is very classy and I am impressed that they put so much money into the details. The 4 MDRs are works of art - just gorgeous,. with real art on display and details that were not needed to feed us, but were added anyway (the gorgeous panels, elaborate chandeliers, even the plates, napkins to match). The beautiful staircase/ pendulum in the aft of the ship, the spa entrance/desk/backdrop are stunning and no expense spared for artwork that touches people (not just pretty to look at).

 

My feeling is that the cabins/suites are supposed to be soothing, sleek, relaxing and I found them to be so. I did not feel that there was anything cheap about them. The fabrics were obviously expensive and I felt that the cabins had a feel of understated luxury. The pillows alone in my cabins probably cost > $1000. Would I decorate my house in the grey paneling? No, but I don't think I would decorate my home like a cruise ship cabin or a hotel room ever - they have to be a relaxing place for a large spectrum of people.

 

We ate in every specialty and enjoyed each one - this is a new ship and they will need to work out the bugs and switch up the things that don't work. as they always have. We also ate in one MDR (Cyprus) and Luminae and had great experiences. We didn't eat in Blu, but it is gorgeous and I heard a lot of positive comments about it by those in AQ. I am disappointed about the lifeboat view, but will have to live with that.  They can hopefully put up some sound barriers for the curtain-side dining, if it is indeed an issue.

 

The ship has issues, but I won't be canceling any cruises. I said right from the beginning that I wouldn't book an IV cabin because we wanted to be on an open balcony and still feel that way after trying one. I was surprised how much I did enjoy the experience though and I think it will be great for many people (with maybe some tweaking, like a curtain and a coffee table or bigger balcony table) - I just hope it will work for 69% of the people who want to book the Edge.

 

This ship is still a work in progress - they are seeing what works and what doesn't and will likely have some rapid changes as they settle into a routine that works. Luckily, the staff are top notch and will also help guide changes. Hopefully, we can also help the process by giving specific positive and negative feedback.  🙂

[kearney]

7 hours ago, JSR said:

Like anything new, early adapters, are also early guinea pigs. If you are going to be among the early cruisers you have to expect things will not always go smoothly and kinks need to be worked out. It is the trade off for being among the first when everything is new and shinny. 

I think that is one reason I found some of the comments odd. This was not a regular cruise... it was a preview cruise.. so one would expect there would be issues. Frankly I am going on one of the maiden voyages and wondered if it was a good idea to go so soon after its launch... but then..like Betsynh... I have yet to find a cruise ship I didn't like... or a cruise experience. 

Some of the decor issues, I think are generational.... I love solid hardwoods, classic furniture design in deep dark stains.... my nephew takes this type of furniture and paints it, distresses it and sells it for a nice price. While I swoon hoping that what he painted was a reproduction and not an antique... but to each his own. From the pictures the ship looks wonderful... the entertainment might take some getting used to.... but to be honest... the cruise ship entertainment is somewhat predictable... so kinda nice to shake things up some. Not sure I want to engage with Edenists... but we will see. At least so far there does not appear to be snakeman... so we have that going for us. 

[cruise47]

Thanks you Vtcruising for your thoughts.

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, kearney said:

I think that is one reason I found some of the comments odd. This was not a regular cruise... it was a preview cruise.. so one would expect there would be issues. Frankly I am going on one of the maiden voyages and wondered if it was a good idea to go so soon after its launch... but then..like Betsynh... I have yet to find a cruise ship I didn't like... or a cruise experience. 

Some of the decor issues, I think are generational.... I love solid hardwoods, classic furniture design in deep dark stains.... my nephew takes this type of furniture and paints it, distresses it and sells it for a nice price. While I swoon hoping that what he painted was a reproduction and not an antique... but to each his own. From the pictures the ship looks wonderful... the entertainment might take some getting used to.... but to be honest... the cruise ship entertainment is somewhat predictable... so kinda nice to shake things up some. Not sure I want to engage with Edenists... but we will see. At least so far there does not appear to be snakeman... so we have that going for us. 

A lot of us on CC predicted that people who are unfamiliar with cruising or at least cruising on a first commercial cruise would pan the ship. It is one reason staff were proud to be chosen for a new ship, but were steeling themselves for some guests to be unhappy. Unfortunately, the prices per person per day for the cruise were similar to regular Edge cruises (without all of the regular programs in place), so when people pay those prices many expect perfection. Most experienced cruisers realize that they won't like everything, but if they found enough onboard to have a wonderful experience, it was a good cruise.

 

I think it will take time to get an overall impression of how the ship is received. Many of the reviews so far appear to have been written on the fly, without much thought about what worked or didn't - the more detailed reviews are yet to come.  I'm waiting with baited breath! 🙂

[kearney]

VT I had not thought about the price paid for the preview... good point... for that kinda money... I guess I would expect a more complete product

[richstowe]

1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

A lot of us on CC predicted that people who are unfamiliar with cruising or at least cruising on a first commercial cruise would pan the ship.

I have found novice cruisers are usually very generous with their praise . 

I do agree that it takes a bit for a new ship (or one coming out of extensive upgrades) to hit its stride.

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, bajathree said:

I was really hoping to be WOWED by the Edge but that just didn't really seem to ever happen for me. There just seemed to be many misses. IMO Celebrity hit a home run with the Reflection and the introduction of the Edge seemed to me like Celebrity heading into a different direction...maybe to attract a different demographic. I haven't seen many people talking about things like the Sunset bar or the Martini Bar that much but both these areas were a disappointment to me compared to them on the Reflection. The Sunset Bar on the Edge seems very separated and once again they turned the bar away from the ocean so you are staring at a wall when sitting at the bar itself.....this was corrected on the Reflection compared to the rest of S class ships by floating the bar and not having it sitting against the wall like on the previous S class ships...so IMO this went backwards again on the Edge. The Martini Bar now sits on the floor of the Grand Plaza....half the seating are bar stools and the other half low seats and it doesn't wrap around the bar like it does on S class which works so well. The rest of the Grand Plaza was filled with tables and chairs making it feel cluttered to me. They also took away the ice top to the martini bar which was such a neat attraction on S class and gave it that signature martini bar feel. They did create the Rooftop Garden which is a neat area but honestly there isn't much of an ocean view from it. Eden I expected to be much more like TWO70 from Quantum Class on the Royal side....so I thought that was a big miss. The specialty restaurants went to a much more open atmosphere which I really don't understand. The IV's were not my cup of tea but thats been discussed plenty already. The retreat and suites I think were done very well and will be a big attraction for suite gusts to book this ship...but I think if your used to a traditional balcony cabin you need to know what you are getting into with an IV cabin compared to the traditional balcony cabin most of us are used to. The ship was overall very pretty and hopefully maybe this class ship will continue to make changes and evolve like they did with S class and tweak it just right.

 

Thanks for your balanced comments.  I appreciate the perspective from a frequent cruiser and a top CC poster.

Edited December 7, 2018 by TeeRick

[pl281]

I find it interesting to read the reviews / feedback - here are my 2 cents

 

1) This is a brand new ship / class - so if you expect the exact same experience as other ships you are going to be disappointed 

 

2) these preview cruises are as much a way to show off the ship as they are training for the crew - My country club recently renovated our clubhouse and before we opened backed up we went through a about a month of "shakedown" where it was limited the number of people who came and after every meal we were giving a survey to complete before we left.

 

I would say to expect the first month or so of regular schedule to get things worked out - once they get into their rhythm of the weekly turn around I think a lot of things will be worked out. I also wouldn't be surprised if over the next few weeks we hear about various mechanical issues that might creep up - I remember many years ago we were on a new NCL ship for new years and it was the 4th sailing and one night in the middle of the cruise the ship was listing for about 45 minutes because on of the stabilizers wouldn't retract - they can only test so much before it comes online

 

3) I always find food subjective - what one person thinks is wonderful - someone else really doesn't like

 

4) Room size / IV - The IV is something new  - long time celebrity customers are used to a "cookie cutter" experience on the cabins  - so now they have something completely different 

 

I will be on the Edge in July out of Barcelona - My expectation is that it is a new ship and I have no exception otherwise - it will be a new experience

 

[richstowe]

43 minutes ago, pl281 said:

I will be on the Edge in July out of Barcelona - My expectation is that it is a new ship and I have no exception otherwise

Wow! your expectations are very different then mine would be . An expensive summer Mediterranean cruise out of a fabulous city on a brand new ship - My hopes for a amazing cruise would be very high .

I had high expectation for the Epic and the Mariner ,both of which probably cost less than half your cruise . ( Yes big $'s raise expectations) These trips met my expectations both for the itinerary and for the ships themselves .