Live From the Edge 12.16 Sailing!

[kearney]

Were you able to keep your seapass? We purchased a watch on board and had to go through customs.... time from arrival at Raw on 5 , for wheelchair assistance to exiting terminal, 2 hours! There were not enough wheelchairs for those waiting, and no process set up, like other ships, to organize exit. People walking in were given chairs while others, with earlier departure numbers were forgotten. Hopefully this was just a one time occurrence. I can not recall seeing that many needing help. 

 

We knew we might have a duty issue , so I had gone to guest relations earlier, to get declaration form and was told no problem... they will know when you get off the ship.... the buzzer went off when we were getting off the ship and someone took seapasses and passports and took us to customs....at one point DH waited nearly 30 minutes to go down elevator...not enough help with wheelchairs (might explain shortage on ship). When we finally got to customs there was one poor guy there. I don’t know if it was because it was the day before Christmas Eve, the government shutdown, or the fact that there were many ships in port....but I will think twice before purchasing any thing onboard that might exceed duty limits. The good news is that our flight was mid afternoon so that was not an issue.... But we never got our seapasses back. I was so focused on our passports I did not notice til later....kinda collect those. I was wondering if they took them from other passengers. 

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, kearney said:

Were you able to keep your seapass? We purchased a watch on board and had to go through customs.... . 

 

We knew we might have a duty issue , so I had gone to guest relations earlier, to get declaration form and was told no problem... they will know when you get off the ship.... But we never got our seapasses back. I was so focused on our passports I did not notice til later....kinda collect those. I was wondering if they took them from other passengers. 

They did not collect our Seapass cards.

[blue925]

3 hours ago, ecslady said:

 

Let me remind you, that the comments I made about the band being set up with music instead of seating, was about the first 7 day revenue December 9-16 not a preview cruise.

That is a great point -- I had forgotten that myself.

[blue925]

35 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

They did not collect our Seapass cards.

We also kept ours.

[blue925]

2 hours ago, kearney said:

Did you notice the drone that was stuck in the chandelier in the martini bar? Day one they had drone races and one got stuck there. We came back and each day it was there and then one day it was gone. We thought it would need a major ladder to reach it...but one of the bar tenders managed to free it after standing on the bar with a long pole. So perhaps it is good the bar is not covered in ice after all 🙂 

It is so funny you mentioned that!  My husband pointed it out and I thought that although it looked like a drone, it couldn't be possible that a brand-new ship would have a drone implanted in a key structure!  And then yes, it suddenly wasn't there one day...maybe we were there when it was removed?  I'll have to ask my husband since his memory is more, um, clear than mine for all things Martini Bar.  Thank you for clarifying what it was and how it got there!!

[hvsteve1]

1 hour ago, kearney said:

Were you able to keep your seapass? We purchased a watch on board and had to go through customs.... time from arrival at Raw on 5 , for wheelchair assistance to exiting terminal, 2 hours! There were not enough wheelchairs for those waiting, and no process set up, like other ships, to organize exit. People walking in were given chairs while others, with earlier departure numbers were forgotten. Hopefully this was just a one time occurrence. I can not recall seeing that many needing help. 

We had the opposite experience on the 12/9 cruise.  People were already in wheelchairs when we arrived at Raw on Five.  I assume they had them sent to their cabins I we had been made that offer and declined.  Despite numerous requests for those with later numbers who could to give up the chairs, nobody moved.  Staff members made it clear that those chairs not being available were slowing things down, but persisted in following the numbers. We had 7 and those in the chairs much higher. I'm going to do a post about the wheelchair situation shortly.

[Tall-Cruiser]

Blue925 - Very good detailed review. Looks like you guys had a great time on this cruise. It was pleasure meeting you and your husband. 

 

Wishing you all Happy New Year.

[LouieT]

Thanks for sharing your experience and including all the photos. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Edge looks great.

[blue925]

14 hours ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

Blue925 - Very good detailed review. Looks like you guys had a great time on this cruise. It was pleasure meeting you and your husband. 

 

Wishing you all Happy New Year.

Thank you, Sallah!!!  We really enjoyed meeting you and I loved seeing your smiling face around the ship. And at the Renaissance, too! 🙂  Happy New Year to you and the family.

[blue925]

12 hours ago, LouieT said:

Thanks for sharing your experience and including all the photos. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Edge looks great.

 

Thanks, Louie!  I appreciate that.  Edge really was very fun and we are still a little bummed to be home rather than on the ship. 😉 

[suizas]

Thank you so much for the positive review! I have been reading other not so positive reviews and have been having a pitt in my stomach thinking about my 83 year old mom's and my first ever Celebrity cruise the end of January.  We are loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers.

 

Question about disembarking... Can you do "self-assist" to get off the ship, meaning you walk off with your own bags in tow as soon as the ship clears customs?  I have an early flight back...  Thanks and thanks again for taking the time to write all this!

 

Susan

[hcat]

22 hours ago, kearney said:

Did you notice the drone that was stuck in the chandelier in the martini bar? Day one they had drone races and one got stuck there. We came back and each day it was there and then one day it was gone. We thought it would need a major ladder to reach it...but one of the bar tenders managed to free it after standing on the bar with a long pole. So perhaps it is good the bar is not covered in ice after all 🙂 

Indoor drone races?  Wow....can hardly wait for that!

[hcat]

1 hour ago, suizas said:

Thank you so much for the positive review! I have been reading other not so positive reviews and have been having a pitt in my stomach thinking about my 83 year old mom's and my first ever Celebrity cruise the end of January.  We are loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers.

 

Question about disembarking... Can you do "self-assist" to get off the ship, meaning you walk off with your own bags in tow as soon as the ship clears customs?  I have an early flight back...  Thanks and thanks again for taking the time to write all this!

 

Susan

We are also very  interested in this procedure on Edge ...

.Not in a suite so we usually line up  early and wait til  suites are taken off first. 

 

I know from others there's a longish walk to Customs ( as in the past) ,   and about a total est. 1/2 mile walk from ship and customs to the parking garage.

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, suizas said:

Thank you so much for the positive review! I have been reading other not so positive reviews and have been having a pitt in my stomach thinking about my 83 year old mom's and my first ever Celebrity cruise the end of January.  We are loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers.

 

Question about disembarking... Can you do "self-assist" to get off the ship, meaning you walk off with your own bags in tow as soon as the ship clears customs?  I have an early flight back...  Thanks and thanks again for taking the time to write all this!

 

Susan

We were able to do it for one cruise. Here is the link to Lou The Glue's dailies - it has a copy of disembarkation procedures on the Edge day 7 link. It describes the process for walking off early on your own as soon as the ship is cleared.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by vtcruising

[hcat]

25 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

We were able to do it for one cruise. Here is the link to Lou The Glue's dailies - it has a copy of disembarkation procedures on the Edge day 7 link. It describes the process for walking off early on your own as soon as the ship is cleared.

 

 

Thanks Vt...you have so many answers at your fingertips. Amazing!

 

The daily says in sum and substance.. for self assist....once the ship is cleared at 7:15,  the announcement will be made and you can report to the gangway.

 

But  is no info about where we should line up ( usually a very long line for self assist).

 

Where is the gangway what area is closest to the gangway where we can  congregate?  Best is an area where we can pre position ourselves with our walk our suitcases...nit needing an ekev to the gangway.   There is an Elite area to wait in, but not sure if that works well  with self assist...usually it does not!

 

 I  am going to re print this in a new thread for more responses...thanks for putting me in a good direction,

[ecslady]

34 minutes ago, hcat said:

Thanks Vt...you have so many answers at your fingertips. Amazing!

 

The daily says in sum and substance.. for self assist....once the ship is cleared at 7:15,  the announcement will be made and you can report to the gangway.

 

But  is no info about where we should line up ( usually a very long line for self assist).

 

Where is the gangway what area is closest to the gangway where we can  congregate?  Best is an area where we can pre position ourselves with our walk our suitcases...nit needing an ekev to the gangway.   There is an Elite area to wait in, but not sure if that works well  with self assist...usually it does not!

 

 I  am going to re print this in a new thread for more responses...thanks for putting me in a good direction,

 

Gangway for debark is on Deck 5.  I watched all the self assist people getting off from my IV on deck 9.   I did not use self debark this time, but was watching since I was in one of the first groups after that.  I believe they just waited on deck 5.  Announcements were made and you heard them in all public areas.  Since I was still in my cabin, if you open the door you will hear them.   Customs is a piece of case with the facial recognition. 

[deeva211]

3 hours ago, suizas said:

Question about disembarking... Can you do "self-assist" to get off the ship, meaning you walk off with your own bags in tow as soon as the ship clears customs?  I have an early flight back...  Thanks and thanks again for taking the time to write all this! 

 

Yes, the first groups off were the people hauling their own luggage.  Exit to the Gangway is right next to the Jewelry shop on deck 5.  Next to Raw on Five.

[kenevenpar]

On 12/17/2018 at 10:08 AM, blue925 said:

Woke up feeling a little queasy from the ocean movement. I slept well; the bed is definitely on the extremely firm side. Quickly got ready and had breakfast in Luminae. Once I had food (egg white wrap, cherry danish, chicken apple sausage and baked beans) and coffee in my stomach I felt much better. The fresh orange juice was insanely good. 

 

 

If you remember, could you ask if it is fresh.  On other =X= ships the fresh is actually "previously frozen fresh squeezed orange juice".

 

Thanks in advance

[kenevenpar]

18 minutes ago, kenevenpar said:

 

If you remember, could you ask if it is fresh.  On other =X= ships the fresh is actually "previously frozen fresh squeezed orange juice".

 

Thanks in advance

 

Oops, I see you have already returned home

[miched]

I know it isn’t polite to ask a female her weight so I am not really asking that.  I am curious about one thing.  Did you gain any weight?    If not I think my wife and I need to step up our workouts.  

 

Here is why I ask.  My wife and I try to be active and are fairly fit but not as good as we probalby could be with a little more effort.   We follow a decent diet almost as close as yours and weight everything and keep track.  I don’t thing we train as much as you do as we just do the Beachbody programs like P90x, Insanity, Focus, Max 30 and etc during the winter and  enjoy riding our bikes doing at least 20 miles per day in the warmer months.  Nothing exceptional but better than nothing to keep from being  72 year old couch potatos.  

 

Problem is we alway gain at least 10 lbs on a cruise that will be 12 to 14 days and as many as 21.   I know that we eat more than normal  and have many drinks but very rarely do deserts, and avoid pizza, fries, hot dogs and etc.  On a few cruises we did our workout videos everyday while on board but it didn’t help.  I  burn  around 400 calories on average doing them.  We finally decided that why not rest on a cruise as our bodies need it.  Taking the stairs  as we do don’t really burn many calories and  the walking in the ports and on board don’t equal a beer considering calories are still burned when laying around doing nothing so the extra calories being burned  aren’t that many.    As we get older it seems  as of the weight goes on very easy but it is really hard to get rid of.  Problem is when we go on a cruise it is really hard not to indulge.  

 

Thanks for your reply and sharing your cruise experience.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

Edited December 29, 2018 by miched

[angelfeathers]

blue925, Thank you so much for such a great review and all the photos & info!! We are looking forward to our cruise Jan. 27th. Happy we have a Celebrity Suite!  🙂 

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, miched said:

I know it isn’t polite to ask a female her weight so I am not really asking that.  I am curious about one thing.  Did you gain any weight?    If not I think my wife and I need to step up our workouts.  

 

Here is why I ask.  My wife and I try to be active and are fairly fit but not as good as we probalby could be with a little more effort.   We follow a decent diet almost as close as yours and weight everything and keep track.  I don’t thing we train as much as you do as we just do the Beachbody programs like P90x, Insanity, Focus, Max 30 and etc during the winter and  enjoy riding our bikes doing at least 20 miles per day in the warmer months.  Nothing exceptional but better than nothing to keep from being  72 year old couch potatos.  

 

Problem is we alway gain at least 10 lbs on a cruise that will be 12 to 14 days and as many as 21.   I know that we eat more than normal  and have many drinks but very rarely do deserts, and avoid pizza, fries, hot dogs and etc.  On a few cruises we did our workout videos everyday while on board but it didn’t help.  I  burn  around 400 calories on average doing them.  We finally decided that why not rest on a cruise as our bodies need it.  Taking the stairs  as we do don’t really burn many calories and  the walking in the ports and on board don’t equal a beer considering calories are still burned when laying around doing nothing so the extra calories being burned  aren’t that many.    As we get older it seems  as of the weight goes on very easy but it is really hard to get rid of.  Problem is when we go on a cruise it is really hard not to indulge.  

 

Thanks for your reply and sharing your cruise experience.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

If I may answer your question based on what you posted the answer is very simple, you are taking in too many calories. Alcohol is a deceptive way to drink all your calories. If you're having more than A COUPLE OF ALCOHOLIC DRINKS A DAY, you will put on weight. Breakfast also is a meal where you can consume too many calories. I see people pile on bacon, syrup, pastries - all calories. Orange juice, over 200 calories! Breakfast SHOULD Be coffee, bowl of oatmeal, some yogurt piece of fruit. If you want eggs, 2 eggs, one piece of toast, small portion of potatoes, no bacon, sausage, nothing that you need to add syrup,some fruit. 

Lunch, a sandwich and salad, no desert.

Dinber,ONE APPETIZER, ONE, ENTRE, ONE DESERT,ONE GLASS OF WINE. I see people consuming all the sweet mixed drinks, over 10 a day, and that's just alcohol! I'm 57 and have weighted the same weight (+/- 2 lbs) for the past 11 years. 

[cruise47]

Sounds liked you had an outstanding cruise experience. Thanks for all your posts and photos.

[blue925]

On 12/28/2018 at 2:58 PM, kenevenpar said:

 

Oops, I see you have already returned home

Hi, I'm not sure whether it was actually fresh squeezed each morning or not, but it certainly tasted like it had been.  I've had frozen juice, and this was so much better than that.  (Caveat -- I virtually never have juice due to an aversion to sugar, so it may well have been frozen at some point.  But...it certainly tasted delicious!)

[blue925]

On 12/29/2018 at 3:55 AM, cruise47 said:

Sounds liked you had an outstanding cruise experience. Thanks for all your posts and photos.

Thank you for such kind feedback!  I appreciate it.  I hope to cruise again soon, but first have to earn the vacation time and money to do so. 😉