VT Living On The Edge Review: Hits, Misses and A Little Drama!

[vtcruising]

Here is my review for the 3 cruises November 25 - December 4. I posted submitted a similar review under Cruise Critic Edge reviews for the December 1 cruise, which should come out soon.

 

This review is meant to sum up the info from the live thread and evaluate the experience, now that I've had some time for reflection. I didn't put pictures in this review - please see the full thread for lots of pictures that I took and many more details:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2609353-living-on-the-edge-with-vtcruising-a-live-review/?page=31

 

Background:

 

We have previously been on 9 Celebrity cruises, both on the S Class and M Class ships. We prefer the S Class ships, though have happily sailed on both classes since 2012 (sailed Royal Caribbean previously). When the Edge was announced, I watched closely as she was built over the last two years and fell in love with the beauty of the ship. I booked cruises on the first day they were available to book. I was able to get a good deal on a Sky Suite for January B2B cruises, though changed that to just one cruise after adding preview cruises in November and December.

 

After much anticipation, my husband and I boarded on November 25 for a two night non-revenue cruise (as invited guests due to my strong interest in the ship - I am not a travel agent) staying in an infinite veranda (12136), then stayed on for the November 27 two night cruise in an S1 mid-ship Sky Suite (10147) purchased to benefit the United Way and then re-boarded on December 1st for the three night Preview cruise in an S1 corner aft Sky Suite (11268).

 

Embarkation (December 1 cruise):

 

Embarkation went very smoothly. We had scanned in pictures of ourselves, but had not scanned in our passports. We arrived at about 10:15 and were guided into the terminal, There were agents with facial recognition screens set up at face level and we were instructed to look into the screens - we were recognized and so were guided to the Retreat area since we were in a suite for this cruise.

 

We were greeted there and sent through security (2 scanners). You then can head to the waiting lounge, which has some food and beverages (mostly continental breakfast-type stuff). There are people with ipads who come up to you while seated and scan passports (I think they were scanned here and not in the main terminal, if you hadn't done so previously) and Xpress Passes, and make sure everything is in order. They let us know that our SeaPass cards would be outside our suite so we could go there first and drop off our carry ons  They are very friendly and answered any questions.  They also kept us up to date on boarding times. There is comfortable seating downstairs or you can take an elevator up to the outside terrace lounge (right next to ship for some nice photo ops). It gets quite hot up there on a nice day so there are umbrellas over the tables.

 

When the ship was ready, they made the announcement and we lined up and went onboard. There were the usual beverages offered at boarding, though we headed to our suite to get our SeaPass cards and drop off the carry ons. We then headed to the Retreat! This was the most efficient embarkation ever!

 

Ship:

 

This ship is gorgeous! From the outside, I love the sleek look of having the infinite verandas - it makes other ships with traditional balconies look somewhat outdated to me now. 

 

They spared no expense in designing the main venues of this ship. One example is the 4 beautiful Main Dining Rooms, with lovely chandeliers, artwork, paneling and table settings. Each one is elegant and inviting. Blu, Luminae and all of the specialty restaurants are beautifully designed as well.

 

The artwork throughout the ship is an eclectic collection of the beautiful, whimsical, awe-inspiring and comical. I love the variety - there is something for everyone. The Faceless People, the Haunted Forest and Mr Edge, as many of us call him (horse sculpture by the Roof Top Garden) were my favorites and I tended to visit them daily.

 

The lighting on the ship was amazing! In addition to the lovely chandeliers and lighting fixtures throughout the ship, at night the outside of the ship was beautiful to walk through. The pool area became magical at night, with the pool, butterfly, giant Prism, martini hot tubs and walkway lighting up in soft, pretty hues (different each night). It was a quiet, peaceful place to be. The Magic Carpet was also lit up and the Roof Top Garden was magical with its "trees" lit up. Even the Solarium had a beautiful glow at night.

 

The Grand Plaza area is a lovely area. During the day, there are many quiet nooks for reading, conversing, people watching. Sometimes someone will play the piano or other mellow music will be playing. On my first cruises, it was very loud there in the evening due to the Martini Bar. The evening dining areas - Le Grand Bistro, Steakhouse and Raw on 5 - are open to the plaza so were affected by the noise. They must have changed their policy in between cruises because on the December 1 cruise they held back the loud music until after 10:00 PM, so we were able to enjoy a nice quiet dinner in the Steakhouse one night.

 

The Roof Top Garden space is my favorite space on the ship. We enjoyed music up there, food and drink and just enjoyed hanging out. There is plenty of comfortable seating there and the space is beautiful, day and night. It can get windy up there at times.

 

The Magic Carpet is an interesting focal point for the ship. It was a comfortable space. We had a nice dinner out there on a lovely nighty and enjoyed cocktails there during the day. It was great as a tender dock when we did the launch demo and got to ride in the fancy tenders. Due to wind, Dinner on the Edge is more difficult to execute than originally thought.

 

Misses for the ship as a whole: No forward facing lounge for all guests, no ocean-facing elevators, open concept of restaurants may need rethinking.

 

Staterooms:

 

We had an infinite veranda (Concierge 1) on November 25. We were in 12136 on Deck 12. Though I had no interest right from the beginning in booking an infinite veranda because we really enjoy being out in full sun when we leave VT in the dead of winter (and if hadn't gotten a decent deal on a suite, would have booked an SV), I was excited to try it because of its versatility. Surprisingly, we liked it. We enjoyed sitting out there reading and watching the ocean and liked the bigger cabin area since we left the bifold doors open almost all of the time. The only issues we had were: 1) I get up earlier and had no way to open the window shade to enjoy the morning ocean view without waking my DH (normally have a curtain you can sneak through and leave closed while going out on the balcony) and 2) while my DH slept, I couldn't peek around the shade to see what the weather was like in the morning since it was in a track and I didn't want to raise the shade because of the noise. Hopefully, Celebrity will rethink the design - a curtain may be the way to go. The cabin itself was pretty well-designed, with a good amount of storage and the bath was nice, with a larger shower than S Class. We loved the electronic controls and enjoyed using the app to control things. This cabin was cool because it was so close to the Magic Carpet - I was able to watch it move up past the cabin. It was noisy while changing position but it was only for 5 minutes or so and was during the day. Wayan was an excellent cabin attendant.

 

For the United Way cruise on November 27, we had a Sky Suite (S1) midship portside - 10147. I was very pleased to see that the bed was facing the ocean and there was a window/mirror in the bathroom facing the ocean.  It had a beautiful Kelly Hoppen rocker with lovely plush cushions. The balcony was about 75 sq ft and had the same two chairs and tiny table as the infinite veranda. Since there were no reclining chairs as there are on S Class S1's, my DH dragged the Kelly Hoppen rocker out there with the tiny table as a footstool so he could recline comfortably.  The bathroom was good-sized with a large tub and lots of storage. The shower/tub leaked around the edge during showers so should have a curtain or splash guards added. I absolutely loved that layout and ended up switching our S1 to this one in January (instead of the aft S1).  Denisa was an attentive butler. 

 

Misses:  a coffee table, reclining chairs and footstools on the balcony and a table big enough to have room service upon on the balcony.

 

We had a Sky Suite (S1) in the corner aft on December 1.  It was well-appointed and comfortable, with a  huge balcony (163 sq ft) and lots of storage. It had a comfortable Kelly Hoppen rocker that was great to snuggle into to read. The bathroom was bigger than S Class S1 bathrooms and we enjoyed the double sink, big tub/shower, vanity, separate toilet and ample storage.

 

Initially all of the Sky Suites were billed as having a bed facing the ocean with a window in the bathroom from which you could see the ocean. Unfortunately, this one did not have that. Other downsides were that the bed was pretty close to the closet and bathroom door so there were a few traffic jams, the lack of a coffee table to have tea/coffee or dine in the suite and the lack of balcony reclining chairs/footstools and good-sized table for room service, as seen on S Class S1 balconies (had same two chairs and tiny table as regular cabins). We did discuss our concerns about the balcony furniture and they said they are looking into it, as others had also given similar feedback. It is a longer walk to the Retreat than the mid-ship suite. We knew that ahead of time, but wanted to mention it as a potential downside for some.

 

The butler, Edwin, was amazing, as well as the wonderful Asta, the cabin attendant. They took great care of us!

 

The Retreat:

 

The Retreat Lounge (for suites) was a great space, with plenty of comfortable seating and attentive bartenders (no bar in the lounge - the bartenders walked through and took orders and prepared them behind the food area - they were excellent!). This worked pretty well though my DH missed the bar and in the end, I think I did as well. The concierges were very responsive - always rotating through and seeing what needs or feedback people had. Joao helped us with reservations and other requests and was very generous with his time in discussing the ship and the Edge suite experience.  Denisa, the other concierge, was also working the room, helping other guests.

 

There wasn't any special entertainment during this 3 night preview cruise, that I knew of - I'm assuming special events will be offered in the future. The early mornings and afternoons seemed pretty lively there - not much was happening later in the evening when we stopped by.

 

The Retreat sundeck was not completely full during the times I was up there. There were always available loungers. It was a mellow, but vibrant place (people chatting, swimming, in the hot tub, in the basket chairs above the pool, others sitting around the bar). The piped in music was awful - hopefully that will change (mellow, but worse than elevator music). The back part of the sundeck was much quieter, with plenty of loungers available. The pool butlers covered both areas, but seemed to go to the back area less, but that might have been my timing.

 

I didn't spend a lot of time at the Retreat since there was so much to see and do around the rest of the ship.

 

Dining:

 

We were very impressed with the food on this ship. It was the best we have ever had on a ship!

 

Even the Ocean View Cafe had taken it up a notch, with many comfortable seating choices and lovely ocean views. The food that we had was excellent. Service was great - people were circulating and offering to get things - they even offered to get our tea with honey, which we usually get ourselves while our food is getting cold. Tables were cleaned off right away and food replenished as it ran out. We love getting the Eggs Benedict there - they were excellent, as usual. The fruit was especially good this time around!! The Cafe al Bacio II is there to get the good orange and grapefruit juices, if you have a drink package. They added some nice high counters with seats facing the ocean that were very popular and the outdoor seating is lovely. I usually avoid the OVC, but actually enjoyed it on this cruise.

 

They had great ice cream at the OVC, as they usually do, but less flavors than usual. The gelato that you pay for (or get free scoop for Captain's Club perk) was moved up there and they only had 2-4 flavors so that was a disappointment. People were confused about paying for some flavors and not others - my suggestion is to move the gelato to its own space.

 

We ate at the Mast Grill one day. it was pretty good - similar to other ships. I thought it was going to have additional items (like salads), but they weren't offered when we were there.

 

We didn't have time to try the other complimentary venues such as Eden Cafe, Grand Plaza Cafe and Spa Cafe, but the sandwiches looked really good in Eden and the other places had some good looking nibbles.

 

We heard mostly positives about the MDRs - we had one dinner in Cyprus and had a great experience. The food and service were superb. Absolutely loved the Greek salad. Of course, as I said earlier, these venues are all gorgeous.

 

Luminae was excellent as always, with great food and the best service on the ship, IMO. The new restaurant was so pretty and comfortable, with nice ocean views. With 176 suites, they will need some time to work out how to accommodate everyone when they show up at the same time (as with the embarkation lunch and debarkation day breakfast). These situations were handled professionally, though I'm sure some were unhappy.

 

Specialties:

 

Fine Cut Steakhouse was excellent - it was the first time we have had a truly high quality steak on a ship - the aged, prime steaks were delicious. I don't eat much steak, but the bone-in filet mignon was so good with bearnaise and mushrooms (you can choose sauces and sides). The scallops appetizer was also yummy!  Za Za, the waiter is the best! Definitely my favorite restaurant afloat!!

 

Raw on 5 was also very good. We had the imperial seafood tower - Wow! The waiters are fun and attentive there.

 

We ate on the Magic Carpet when it was attached to Raw on 5 one night. They had a special menu of sushi and seafood. The menu was a bit limited, but they are trying different things. We loved our shrimp tempura rolls (had two!), Asian salad and seafood plate (raw oysters for the DH, shrimp, lobster, crab to share). We ate there for < $60 for both of us (a la carte). The staff is so nice - we enjoyed chatting with them. It was magical out there, watching the sun set while hanging out over the ocean. Wind will be an issue there some nights.

 

Dinner in Eden was an experience. There were 5 courses, with 2 choices for each course. The food was excellent - we were not big fans of their drinks. They had nice wines by the glass. The Eden show was unusual, with characters who interacted with guests and then had an interesting show later in the evening. We enjoyed being a part of it, but It's not for everyone and we would probably only do once.

 

We did Le Petit Chef at Le Grand Bistro one night and had an enjoyable experience. Again, it was fun to do once. The food was quite good, especially the ravioli - I might go back just for that! The servers are excellent and it is a fun, lively place. When I return to the Edge in January, I look forward to eating lunch at Le Grand Bistro - there just wasn't enough time on this cruise! The menu and bread, pastries, etc. looked amazing!

 

We had lunch at the Roof Top Grill. That place has some great items on the menu. We shared the pulled pork sliders (3 different types) and the smoked chicken wings  - so good!! Maike was our waiter and we had so much fun with him. It can be windy there, but a great place to eat. We tried a sample of the smoked brisket - it was really good - we look forward to having dinner up there next time. Tip:: Avoid the Smokehouse Margarita unless you like A1 Sauce in your margaritas!

 

Entertainment/Activities:

 

There were some interesting activities offered, but we just didn't have time on this short cruise, but plan to look at classes, lectures, etc. on the next cruise. They are nicely described on the app.

 

We did the Edge Inside Access Ship's Tour, which was well worth the cost. It was 2 hours long. There were 20 people in our group and we got to tour the galleys, laundry, crew area, provisions, recycling area, the control room and the bridge, where we met the captain. We saw and learned so much about the ship and could ask questions of the experts. Seeing the control room was pretty amazing, but of course getting a selfie with the captain after being able to ask him questions was the best!!

 

Eden was a nice quiet area during the day, with many comfortable nooks to sit and read or converse. It is a pretty space with great aft views. There are some classes, wine tastings and other activities there during the day. At night, it hosts an unusual show that won't be for everyone. It was fun to watch once.

 

The Theater:

 

Great theater in the round with all the bells and whistles. Seating comfortable and good views, even up high. We are not into production shows, but if you are going to see them, this is the best way to see them. The performers are talented, but it just isn't our cup of tea. We prefer talented guest entertainers. We saw a comedian one night, who was pretty good. We will get a better sense of the entertainment in the theater on the 7 night cruise.

 

The Club:

 

They did have some mellow music in there, but the night life is a bit much for us as it was often loud, with flashing lights. It was fun to stop by and watch - people of all ages having fun. Maybe we will be more into it when we cruise with friends in January. It is a nice space and it looks like it will be used for a variety of things.

 

One of the things we love most on a ship is listening to duos, guitarists, strings, jazz, piano or a good house band in smaller, mellow venues, such as the Ensemble Lounge on S Class ships. We were disappointed not to have a place like that on this ship. The Roof Top Garden is good for that, but weather doesn't always permit the shows and sometimes other things are happening up there at night (like football games being broadcast). When they did have the guitarist or band that we liked there, it was magical.

 

The Reckless Charms was an excellent group and Michael Reddon a superb singer/guitarist, but they didn't play enough for us on this cruise. Some evenings there was no music that was worth listening to (to our taste) and we went to bed earlier than we usually would. That was our biggest complaint about this cruise, but it was just a 3 night preview cruise. I hope that The Club, Eden, Theater, Roof Top, Cafe al Bacio and Grand Plaza can balance the evening entertainment between the venues so that there is something for everyone at night, once the 7 night cruises start.

 

Cabanas:

 

We rented a cabana for a day and had a great time. It started out shaky as everyone was walking through and stopping to talk. Unfortunately, it was not designed well. There should be a path for people to get around the cabanas when in use, IMO. They did put up a barrier eventually, but that creates ill will for other guests who were on their way to the Mast Grill, etc.

 

Anyway, the service was superb, with Maike as our cabana butler. He was so personable and attentive. Tatiana, the manager and the others who worked there were lovely people and we had a great day with them all. The furniture is comfortable - there was sun and shade. We had Evian water, all the sodas, etc. we wanted, 6 bottles of beer of our choice and choice of wine, vodka or champagne on ice.  We could order cocktails with our beverage package and they would get them for us.  We had a cabana food menu and could order what we wanted up until 3 PM. We had a very nice lunch served there and so enjoyed our cocktails and wine - it felt so luxurious. They walked by with ice cold towels once in a while, which were nice as the day got hotter. They will have a phone to use eventually so that you can call them when you need something. One thing that I noticed was missing was a place to charge our phones. They did offer to take them to their office and charge them, but we really didn't need them and enjoyed reading and chatting. Surprisingly, the pool music was not loud. A really nice way to spend a day!

 

Service:

 

I must say that the people on this ship are the best! What an experienced, professional group of people. One manager told us that many on the Edge have 10-20 years of experience. The staff is friendly, funny, kind and made us feel special!

 

Pools:

 

The main pool was lovely. My DH swam laps in that pool every day and loved the size and temperature. The music was not so loud around the pool on the December 1 cruise (had been louder on the Press and Trade cruises). The Solarium was a gorgeous area, with plenty of comfortable loungers in pretty aqua colors. It had a nice mellow atmosphere. The pool is smaller than other X Solarium pools. The Retreat pool was small and we didn't use it, but it seemed to always have people enjoying it when I walked by.

 

Spa:

 

The Thermal Suite is a nice addition to the Spa and a great benefit for AQ guests. I had a two-day Thermal Suite pass for the first cruise and was only able to use it one day. I really enjoyed my experience in the spa. The people there are very nice and really want you to have a good experience. I went back on the last cruise to see if they had any day passes available. The manager, Luke, said that if I came back the next day, I could have a complimentary day pass since I never used both days of my pass a couple of cruises previously. Very sweet of him to remember. The Spa has a rich, luxurious feel and is very peaceful.

 

Ports:

 

We only went to the Bahamas and we didn't get off, except I got off to take pictures of the ship. With such a short cruise, we wanted to spend time on the Edge.

 

Other:

 

They really wanted us to use the app for a daily planner. The app worked well for most things, but we found some errors and omissions so always had a paper copy of the dailies with us. We enjoyed using the app for room controls, the ship's map and for more details about events. I'm sure it will only improve over time.

 

I had an injury during boarding of our second cruise. It was a scary event, but Edge Medical is amazing. Dr Lever, Jane and Miguel took great care of me and helped me through a difficult time. Dr. Lever placed 8 stitches after going through my options and several days later removed them. She did such a good job that it appears that the scar will be barely visible. We passengers are lucky that the Edge has such a great medical team!

 

Many people checked on me after my accident. Hoda, a Guest Relations manager, checked in on me a few times, Denisa, our butler for that cruise, brought ice constantly to help with the swelling and Lorenzo, who was the Celebrity person by my side after the accident and the one who called ahead to Medical, came up to me at Raw on 5 to see how I was doing and made sure we had some nice wine with our dinner. A bad experience was made easier by a great group of people!

 

Disembarkation:

 

Again, it was very easy (for December 1 cruise). After breakfast, we went to the Retreat to say good-bye . We chose not to go with the suite concierge to be guided off the ship. We went down on our own about 9:00 and there was a line - we waited about 10 minutes and then we were off the ship. We walked to the luggage area and found ours immediately in the numbered areas. We had the facial recognition screen again and didn't need to show our passports. We went into the "nothing to declare" line and were waved right through without stopping. The taxi stand is a 5 minute walk from the terminal (across the street).  We got a cab and then were whisked away! Quick and easy!

 

Overall:

 

With three short cruises, it was hard to really relax and do everything we wanted to. It was a taste of the Edge and we are so looking forward to our return in 7 weeks!! We felt pampered, had exceptional food and drink, slept well in our comfortable beds, met some amazing people (guests and crew), saw art that made us think and feel, saw interesting performances we will never forget and relaxed to music that made us happy.

 

Are there things we would change about the ship? Of course, as I outlined above, there are things that could improve (for us, the two major items are that the balcony furniture needs improvement and the music/other entertainment needs balancing in the evening to cover a broader range of interests). We probably won't book an infinite veranda, but hope they improve those as well. Hopefully, Celebrity will take the feedback they receive and make necessary changes to improve areas of weakness so that the Edge Class will be a huge success!

 

Special Note: The Cruise Critic Edgies were a wonderful support system after my accident. The support I received through posts helped keep me going and have wonderful cruises, despite the drama. I also loved meeting CC people onboard. I was often recognized because of the black Edge hat and battered face and people would come up to me to give me encouragement and talk Edge. What a pleasure to meet so many wonderful people! It really made these cruises special! Thanks to all!!

 

 

I wanted to start a new thread for this review in part to remind people who have sailed on the Edge to please post a cabin review on the Edge Cabin Information Compilation. If you look at the first post in the thread, you will see the review categories that you can copy and paste into a post. You can then fill in your cabin information and post it. I will enter the info into the spreadsheet. We have about 10 staterooms entered so far. You can see the spreadsheet link in the first post and soon there will be enough cabins to search for future cruises.  Please limit the posts in that thread to cabin info posts and ask cabin questions in other threads to keep it easier to maintain. Thanks for your participation!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2609144-edge-class-cabin-information-compilation-please-do-not-post-cabin-questions-here/

 

Edited December 9, 2018 by vtcruising

[Jesseslola]

Thank you, you are amazing for doing this, generous for sharing your time with us and providing useful information and wonderful for making us all even excited for our upcoming trips.  

 

Great to know about the exciting new stuff (this is our first Celebrity cruise) we are Oasis class addicts. We are however a little worried about the entertainment part of the cruise. We will be doing an 11 nights Amalfi cruise. We have not seen at least one great entertainment review so far. Mostly singers? Do they have any Broadway quality shows on board?

 

Again, thank you so much for sharing!

[Oville]

Marilyn, what an excellent review, thanks so much for doing this.

 

Katie

[kearney]

Wonderful review....good summary of all your comments over the past few weeks. You captured in a very balanced way the pluses and minuses. I really enjoyed reading it and can’t wait for our cruise.

[gw2fll]

Thank you for all your hard work getting us the great information. Truly appreciate it.

 

Hope you have a wonderful holiday season...

 

Doug

[Betsynh]

We are on the 1/6 Western to escape the NH weather and read your Live Review. Glad you’ve recovered and had a great time! Do you know if the Edge has a sing-along style piano bar like Royal’s Schooner Bar? 

[vtcruising]

1 minute ago, Betsynh said:

We are on the 1/6 Western to escape the NH weather and read your Live Review. Glad you’ve recovered and had a great time! Do you know if the Edge has a sing-along style piano bar like Royal’s Schooner Bar? 

They have a gorgeous piano near the Martini Bar in the Grand Plaza. On my short cruises, it wasn't used for that, but I can see that in the future. Since it is a multi-purpose area, my guess is that it might be scheduled here and there, as opposed to something done every night.

 

One of my fondest memories of the cruise is when we were walking through the Plaza one afternoon and someone was playing the piano and another guy the sax. Hardly anyone was there, but it was so lovely. We had been running from place to place to see it all, but we sat down and listened. Another unplanned magical moment!  Love those cruise surprises! 🙂

 

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, gw2fll said:

Thank you for all your hard work getting us the great information. Truly appreciate it.

 

Hope you have a wonderful holiday season...

 

Doug

Thanks, Doug! Happy holidays to you as well!

[vtcruising]

9 hours ago, Jesseslola said:

Thank you, you are amazing for doing this, generous for sharing your time with us and providing useful information and wonderful for making us all even excited for our upcoming trips.  

 

Great to know about the exciting new stuff (this is our first Celebrity cruise) we are Oasis class addicts. We are however a little worried about the entertainment part of the cruise. We will be doing an 11 nights Amalfi cruise. We have not seen at least one great entertainment review so far. Mostly singers? Do they have any Broadway quality shows on board?

 

Again, thank you so much for sharing!

They have a plan so far for 3 production shows during the 7 night cruises (these are shows developed and produced by Celebrity), a resident performer series (have some guest performers who stay onboard for multiple cruises) and some guest entertainers.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/edge/entertainment/

 

Royal has better entertainment than Celebrity, IMO, though the downside is the reservations you have to make (or did when we cruised Royal). We are not into the production shows, though on this new stage, they may be more interesting to watch. We do enjoy the comedians and other guest performers (have seen "Not Really Three Tenors" who are very talented singers and funny, other featured singers, Beatles or other tribute bands, some illusionists are good, the hypnotists can be entertaining, etc.) and will go to those shows. If there is a show we don't care for playing in the theater, there are usually other things going on around the ship (guitarist, duos, bands, etc. or fun activities).

 

I think the Edge will try different things to hit the sweet spot for what works for their eventual demographic. A work in progress.... 🙂

[vtcruising]

10 hours ago, Oville said:

Marilyn, what an excellent review, thanks so much for doing this.

 

Katie

Thanks, Katie! It was difficult to get my hands around the three cruises. Once I got it down on paper, I was able to see that the positives far outweighed the negatives and that the most of the negatives seemed fixable.

 

We had a wonderful time trying everything! 😊

[vtcruising]

9 hours ago, kearney said:

Wonderful review....good summary of all your comments over the past few weeks. You captured in a very balanced way the pluses and minuses. I really enjoyed reading it and can’t wait for our cruise.

Thanks, kearney! I hope you and your DH enjoy your cruise! You deserve to relax and enjoy what Edge has to offer after all your detective work this last year!  😊

[beachbunny6]

Marilyn, once again you have a hit here!  Your review is wonderful, and really captured the essence of all your previous posts from your 3 trips.  It is so difficult to find the words to express how grateful we all are to you for your efforts put forth on these boards.  So, all I can say is THANK YOU! from me, and I am sure so many, many others, for all the time you spent photographing, commenting, and compiling all this for all of us.  It has been a magical time for all of us who were not able to sail yet, because of you and the others who added to your threads here.  

Have a wonderful holiday season, and see you in January!

~Barbara~

[vtcruising]

3 minutes ago, beachbunny6 said:

Marilyn, once again you have a hit here!  Your review is wonderful, and really captured the essence of all your previous posts from your 3 trips.  It is so difficult to find the words to express how grateful we all are to you for your efforts put forth on these boards.  So, all I can say is THANK YOU! from me, and I am sure so many, many others, for all the time you spent photographing, commenting, and compiling all this for all of us.  It has been a magical time for all of us who were not able to sail yet, because of you and the others who added to your threads here.  

Have a wonderful holiday season, and see you in January!

~Barbara~

Thanks, Barbara! I don't know if I can wait that long! I have such Post Edge Depression!

 

Just six weeks from today - we are going to have so much fun!!😊

[beachbunny6]

7 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Thanks, Barbara! I don't know if I can wait that long! I have such Post Edge Depression!

 

Just six weeks from today - we are going to have so much fun!!😊

You CAN make it!  I know you are a strong, competent woman, and you will do fine.  Besides, Christmas and New Years will help.  By the 20th of January, you will be first in line for boarding and will lead all of us, your Edgies, aboard to glory.  Or to the RTG or Sunset Bar for a bon voyage adult refreshment.  I have faith that we will all make it and have a super time!  With all of the CC fans on that trip, I am not too sure the Edge is ready, but they are hereby forewarned.  Mr. EDge, here we come!

~Barbara~

Edited December 9, 2018 by beachbunny6

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, beachbunny6 said:

You CAN make it!  I know you are a strong, competent woman, and you will do fine.  Besides, Christmas and New Years will help.  By the 20th of January, you will be first in line for boarding and will lead all of us, your Edgies, aboard to glory.  Or to the RTG or Sunset Bar for a bon voyage adult refreshment.  I have faith that we will all make it and have a super time!  With all of the CC fans on that trip, I am not too sure the Edge is ready, but they are hereby forewarned.  Mr. EDge, here we come!

~Barbara~

So true! They had better get prepared for our group! The ship will never be the same....😉

[FM]

Great overall summary. 

 

In re: to the Cabana, is there any signage noting that these are reserved areas or that this particular cabana is reserved for Guest "Name"?  I take it then that the Cabanas are reserved from sun-up to sun-down for that day?  You also noted that the cabana food menu was available till 3 PM; do you know what the hours are that the Cabana butler is available for?

Edited December 9, 2018 by FM

[vtcruising]

26 minutes ago, FM said:

Great overall summary. 

 

In re: to the Cabana, is there any signage noting that these are reserved areas or that this particular cabana is reserved for Guest "Name"?  I take it then that the Cabanas are reserved from sun-up to sun-down for that day?  You also noted that the cabana food menu was available till 3 PM; do you know what the hours are that the Cabana butler is available for?

So, I think this is a work in progress. Some people in my roll call went the next day and they opened up the ends for everyone to walk through per the Hotel Manager. The people who paid $400 were very unhappy to have people sitting on the chairs that went with their cabana, etc. (and embarrassing for those people to be asked to get off from them since they didn't know). I don't know what they will finally do about this - unfortunately they didn't design a good alternate pathway on that side so that it wouldn't be inconvenient for people to be re-routed. The people who rented it went up the chain and were happy with the resolution so they may be back to blocking off the ends again.

 

When we arrived there was a sign with our name on the table in number 1. We swapped since no one had number 2 and we wanted a little more privacy. They were available to us for 9 AM to 6 PM. I believe the cabana butler was available until 6 PM. Maike left around 3:30 to work in his restaurant (RTG) and another person introduced themselves as taking over. Tatiana, who was in charge, was around the whole day. We left around 4 or so and she said that it was still ours until 6 so to come back, if we wished.

 

 

Not sure if you saw this thread?

 

Edited December 9, 2018 by vtcruising

[Silkroad]

Marilyn, thank you for summarizing your three mini cruises for us. This is a valuable addition to your live review. I shudder each time I think of your injuries, but I’m very happy that you received excellent care, and were able to stay the course😉

 

Like you, I love Mr. Edge, the faceless people (though I think of them as the enigmas lol) and the haunted forest. I’m sure I’ll want to visit them every day (along with the pendulum and several other pieces). You & Beachbunny will board three months before me, so please, don’t wear the patina off Mr Edge before I meet him🤣

 

On 12/8/2018 at 9:48 PM, vtcruising said:

One of the things we love most on a ship is listening to duos, guitarists, strings, jazz, piano or a good house band in smaller, mellow venues, such as the Ensemble Lounge on S Class ships. We were disappointed not to have a place like that on this ship. 

Your comments about the entertainment really resonated with me, because we (DH and I) feel the same. I would be quite disappointed to find no space like the Ensemble Lounge or Rendevous Lounge (m-class ships), and no live Jazz, Blues, Classical, Latin, or versatile House Band performers on Edge. We can certainly enjoy loud party music at theater performances & dance parties, but we enjoy a much different vibe for romantic cocktails before dining, or small gatherings with friends. 

 

I want to ask ask about one thing. The cabin safes appear ridiculously small, though they reside in spaces that would hold larger safes. I believe I read somewhere (sorry, can’t recall which thread it was) that a regular iPad (such as iPad Pro) would not fit in the safe. Did you find this to be true?

 

I shall look forward to hearing about your January cruise, and I hope Beachbunny and others will chime in too. I wish you could join our April TA! There will be a lot of Edgies on that cruise, and we need our Queen to party with us for fifteen nights! I’m trying to be a baaad influence here, and keep you sailing nonstop through May😈😁

 

Cheers, Michelle 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Silkroad

[MVPinBoynton]

Hi Marilyn,

I know that I was exhausted from my 2 day cruise trying to see everything; so I know that you and Henry must be even more exhausted since you were seeing and doing so many things on your 3 short cruises.  I certainly agree with your opinions on the plusses and minuses.  There are way more plusses on this amazing ship.  

 

It will be most interesting to experience the ship when it is much fuller and they are doing regular revenue cruises.  I certainly hope that very high service level and food quality continues after these preview cruises that were intended to impress TA's and the media.  We will find out soon enough.

[hcat]

Great review Vt..

We expected  as much based on all you've shared so far.. Review is well organized,  concise and has lots of useful info. Thanks for doing it as well as your live reports!

 

Cruise Critic will likely  select it as Review of the week/month! It will add balance to the cnversation,  esp with a number of neg reviews out there.

 

Celebrity will love it too.  While it is well balanced it appears you are mostly quite positive about the ship, and had great cruise experiences, despite your accident. Good to know you felt your  med  care was excellent!  Glad to hear your scars will fade .

 

Enjoy your next EDGE cruise...time for  you to have fun and relax!

Edited December 10, 2018 by hcat

[Caribbean Chris]

Great summation! I enjoyed following you long thread so much, and it has really sparked my anticipation for our January 6 cruise on the Edge! So glad to get your comments about the Spa thermal suite since we’ll be in Aqua Class, and about the Rooftop Grill. Looking forward to going to both.

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, Silkroad said:

Marilyn, thank you for summarizing your three mini cruises for us. This is a valuable addition to your live review. I shudder each time I think of your injuries, but I’m very happy that you received excellent care, and were able to stay the course😉

 

Like you, I love Mr. Edge, the faceless people (though I think of them as the enigmas lol) and the haunted forest. I’m sure I’ll want to visit them every day (along with the pendulum and several other pieces). You & Beachbunny will board three months before me, so please, don’t wear the patina off Mr Edge before I meet him🤣

 

Your comments about the entertainment really resonated with me, because we (DH and I) feel the same. I would be quite disappointed to find no space like the Ensemble Lounge or Rendevous Lounge (m-class ships), and no live Jazz, Blues, Classical, Latin, or versatile House Band performers on Edge. We can certainly enjoy loud party music at theater performances & dance parties, but we enjoy a much different vibe for romantic cocktails before dining, or small gatherings with friends. 

 

I want to ask ask about one thing. The cabin safes appear ridiculously small, though they reside in spaces that would hold larger safes. I believe I read somewhere (sorry, can’t recall which thread it was) that a regular iPad (such as iPad Pro) would not fit in the safe. Did you find this to be true?

 

I shall look forward to hearing about your January cruise, and I hope Beachbunny and others will chime in too. I wish you could join our April TA! There will be a lot of Edgies on that cruise, and we need our Queen to party with us for fifteen nights! I’m trying to be a baaad influence here, and keep you sailing nonstop through May😈😁

 

Cheers, Michelle 

My cruise buddy who is still onboard could not fit her ipad into the safe. I didn't measure it, but my 10 X7.5 inch soft jewelry case fit in there by bending one end a bit so it felt like the safe was at least 9 X 7.5 inches.  It would fit in the locking refrigerator, but not sure if it would like the cold. 😉

 

I think that is a miss they will hear about and maybe change with Apex. 

 

Believe me, if my fortunes change next year, I will so be on that TA with you guys!!

 

PS: Mr Edge's legs are my favorite to hug (especially the left front) - I'll try not to take too much of the new statue shine off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, MVPinBoynton said:

Hi Marilyn,

I know that I was exhausted from my 2 day cruise trying to see everything; so I know that you and Henry must be even more exhausted since you were seeing and doing so many things on your 3 short cruises.  I certainly agree with your opinions on the plusses and minuses.  There are way more plusses on this amazing ship.  

 

It will be most interesting to experience the ship when it is much fuller and they are doing regular revenue cruises.  I certainly hope that very high service level and food quality continues after these preview cruises that were intended to impress TA's and the media.  We will find out soon enough.

I felt the difference between the Press and Trade cruises and the 3 day. They said we were at 60% for the Press and Trade cruises (so about 1800) and 2500 for the 3 night. You could feel the difference, but by the third day, people started to spread out as they discovered favorite places and it didn't seem as crowded.

 

I am looking forward to being able to completely unpack and not feel the need to run to each place (you and I were on a mission 😉). Henry will be happier too if I can relax and enjoy the ride. He was supportive of the mission, but I know he would have liked to have more relaxation time together. We will have fun, even if she is not perfection! 🙂

 

 

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Great review Vt..

We expected  as much based on all you've shared so far.. Review is well organized,  concise and has lots of useful info. Thanks for doing it as well as your live reports!

 

Cruise Critic will likely  select it as Review of the week/month! It will add balance to the cnversation,  esp with a number of neg reviews out there.

 

Celebrity will love it too.  While it is well balanced it appears you are mostly quite positive about the ship, and had great cruise experiences, despite your accident. Good to know you felt your  med  care was excellent!  Glad to hear your scars will fade .

 

Enjoy your next EDGE cruise...time for  you to have fun and relax!

Thanks! It was such a whirlwind, with a mixed bag of good and bad, that it took me a few days to write about it. As I began to put it all together, I realized that it was an overwhelmingly positive experience, despite the glitches. 🙂

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Great summation! I enjoyed following you long thread so much, and it has really sparked my anticipation for our January 6 cruise on the Edge! So glad to get your comments about the Spa thermal suite since we’ll be in Aqua Class, and about the Rooftop Grill. Looking forward to going to both.

Can't wait to go back to both of those lovely places! 🙂