Edge (and Apex?) issues...

[Gishua_]

Just off the Edge 2/23/20, I would say all those things are true. The "noisy" atrium didn't really bother me and I and I didn't think it was noisy. What bothered me about it was lack of space at the bar. How secluded the seating is. Its definitely not the social oval shape martini bar on the solstice class ships that becomes the hub of nightly activity as people pass from dinner to the theater. It's a closed of hole that works well for small groups or couples. 

 

Bar staff is so thin, getting a drink is a struggle. Especially on sea day around the pool. They had two servers walking around the pool and 2 bartenders... thats it. Waiving down a waiter was almost impossible and then your drink would come 40 mins later. We gave up and just went to the bar and waited 20 mins each time. Also there is a severe lack of shade in popular areas. Let me explain before I get roasted. Can you find shade?, yes! However, it's secluded and off in it own space. You can't be in the middle of the action around the pool and find shade. The sunset bar is a sun roast, no shade. Not even for the workers. 

Also, if you like to go from your chair, to the pool, to the hot tub back to your chair and repeat, this would involve climbing two levels and descending two levels each time. God forbid you need a drink when you climb up to the hot tub, cause you'll have to go back down and wait 20 mins for a drink. 

 

The Edge is a beautiful ship, her furnishings are beautiful, albeit somewhat beat up for being 14 months old. However, we miss the solstice pool area, the hot tubs on the same level as the pool, shade at the center of the pool, regular balconies, the sunset bar (especially on the Reflection). While some people may not care about these items, these are things we loved the most on the Solstice class ships and they have all been changed ... for the worse. 

 

[NMTraveller]

On 12/30/2018 at 4:01 AM, cruiseerf said:

Lets be clear.....You have Bars....and BARS.  

 

Ocean View Bar is there most of the time to serve drinks to the buffet guests.....nope, not going there for my pre dinner drinks or after dinner for that matter.   not really a bar as much as a service station.

 

Sunset bar outside and Yes, you CAN smell the smoke from smoking section.....Nope, not a useful bar for many.

 

Magic Carpet --Outside, again who wants to get windblown before or after dinner?

 

Cafe A Bacio.....Limited alcoholic beverages, my experience...and service takes time for them to run to other bars etc, depending on order.  

 

Club bar......Loud....Not going before or after dinner.  Who wants that noise?

 

Casino bar?  With the TV's blaring down sporting events?  nope.  

 

So I am now down to 3 bars I would frequent at any given time (Depending what Edens got going on, could be 2).....NOT many at all for a ship holding 2500+People.   To each their own however much of the negative feedback I have received is the lack of bars and long wait times for drinks.....not something I am looking forward to. 

 

Good Job that Travel agent gave an honest opinion and saved their customer what could have been an annoying vacation.  

 

Safe sails all!  

 

  

 

 

I would say that you really have 2 and 1/4 bars that are usable.  For our Med cruise The Club only had bar service when there was a show or dancing in the evenings.  I would not count Cafe A Bacio as a bar.  They may serve drinks,  but I have seen very few go there for drinks.  That leaves you with Eden or the Martini Bar both of which were overcrowded in the evenings.  Should I go to the Eden Bar or the Martini Bar.  Or should I go to the Martini Bar or the Eden Bar?  Choices?  Not really...

 

Now on S class you have a bunch of choices many of which can be relaxful and quiet and not LOUD and SHOUTY like the Edge in the evenings.

[traveline]

On 12/27/2018 at 6:24 AM, Esprit said:

The TA's were given free drinks so of course they had trouble getting a drink!

The Martini bar certainly didn't have a wide variety of beers either as unsurprisingly it specialises in Martinis. When the theatre shows finished it would be extremely busy just like any other ship bar at those times. The proximity of the casino bar meant that I could get our drinks more quickly. The Edge Sunset bar also had a better configuration than the Reflection Sunset bar so getting a drink there was easier. I accept the MC wasn't open all the time but I still believe the TA was misinforming the facts.

Hello Everyone, there are different cruise lines and different ships for various reasons, different people like different things.If I like oranges and you like apples does not mean your apples are not good.Pick the line and ship you like and cruise.Celebrity Edge and apex will do fine, there will be a different group of people cruising on those ships.Life is too short to worry about such things. Find the ships you like and cruise on them.

[Madio]

On 12/27/2018 at 4:35 AM, Esprit said:

So the misinformation continues to be spouted out about the Edge.

There are actually NINE bars serving alcoholic drinks for non suite guests.

Martini bar

The Club

Casino bar

Eden

Magic Carpet

Resort bar

Sunset bar

Café a Bacio

Ocean View bar

I had the drinks package and it was used just as much as on my Reflection cruise earlier this year.

I would respectfully suggest you go back to your travel agent and ask her to stop misinforming her clients.

 

Thanks for straightening this out for us, Esprit.  We are booked on the Edge for Mar. 15, and already had some misgivings such as our IV cabin, noise in steakhouse (which we booked for my birthday), the entertainment, lack of shade, etc.  So hearing there were only 5 bars for us,  was just another nail in their coffin.... LOL.  We did great a great deal though, and always manage to have fun.  The OP’s TA must not be a drinker.  Cheers!  

[PTC DAWG]

On 3/2/2020 at 8:26 PM, NMTraveller said:

I would say that you really have 2 and 1/4 bars that are usable.  For our Med cruise The Club only had bar service when there was a show or dancing in the evenings.  I would not count Cafe A Bacio as a bar.  They may serve drinks,  but I have seen very few go there for drinks.  That leaves you with Eden or the Martini Bar both of which were overcrowded in the evenings.  Should I go to the Eden Bar or the Martini Bar.  Or should I go to the Martini Bar or the Eden Bar?  Choices?  Not really...

 

Now on S class you have a bunch of choices many of which can be relaxful and quiet and not LOUD and SHOUTY like the Edge in the evenings.

I've never seen your comments on the Edge before.  🙂

 

My two cents worth...I'd rather be outside than inside having a drink, all things equal.  Casino bar sounds fine too...sports fan here.  

 

Different strokes, different folks.  

Edited March 4, 2020 by PTC DAWG

[Bo1953]

11 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I've never seen your comments on the Edge before.  🙂

 

My two cents worth...I'd rather be outside than inside having a drink, all things equal.  Casino bar sounds fine too...sports fan here.  

 

Different strokes, different folks.  

How could you have missed them??? LOL

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

55 minutes ago, Madio said:

Thanks for straightening this out for us, Esprit.  We are booked on the Edge for Mar. 15, and already had some misgivings such as our IV cabin, noise in steakhouse (which we booked for my birthday), the entertainment, lack of shade, etc.  So hearing there were only 5 bars for us,  was just another nail in their coffin.... LOL.  We did great a great deal though, and always manage to have fun.  The OP’s TA must not be a drinker.  Cheers!  

You may want to peruse the deck map at X's website, which shows most of the venues deck by deck...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[DYKWIA]

Not been keen on the Edge class to date, but I've just watched a couple of videos showcasing Virgin Scarlet Lady.  There's a ship with some real design issues! Apparently Virgin didn't use ship designers and it shows.

 

It's made me realise that my worries and concerns abut edge class were nothing c.w. what Virgin have launched. 

Edited March 4, 2020 by DYKWIA

[Madio]

1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

You may want to peruse the deck map at X's website, which shows most of the venues deck by deck...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Thanks!  Yes, I've done that, but that cute little map they give you when board is what I have with me all the time.  Never know where you'll be when you get thirsty, so I'll put a red mark on all the important places.

[NMTraveller]

On 12/27/2018 at 3:33 PM, Doubt It said:

Seems that Celebrity deliberately reduced the volume of true bar/conversation areas.

 

Sooo, the question is why.

 

Considering the past year of various threads stating the difficulty in getting a drink in the drink package era (attributed mostly to cut back in staff)  - I believe that Celebrity has limited the physical venues to acquire drinks - to increase profits.

 

So the cut back in staff combined with a reduction in physical venues dispensing alcohol = winner Celebrity.

 

Celebrity already has your $ - so no need to provide alcohol. 

 

It is beyond brilliant and the CEO is smiling all the way to the bank, with guests $.

 

 

This by a landslide.

 

The reduction of real balconies was another profit grab.

Edited March 5, 2020 by NMTraveller

[Oville]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

This by a landslide.

 

The reduction of real balconies was another profit grab.

For those who read your review we know you were mad about about cancellations of a couple of excursions not the bars or the cabins.  Without this hiccup you would have rated the Edge a 3 or a 4 per you.

 

For those with up coming cruises please check out the review of NMTraveller as there is no mention of LOUD AND SHOUTY.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Oville

[NMTraveller]

10 minutes ago, Oville said:

For those who read your review we know you were mad about about cancellations of a couple of excursions not the bars or the cabins.  Without this hiccup you would have rated the Edge a 3 or a 4.

 

For those with up coming cruises please check out the review NMTravller, never mentioned  LOUD AND SHOUTY.

I would have rated it a 3 without the cancellations.  The average rating for Edge is a 3.5 which is the lowest of all X ships.

 

My review was done while in Rome so it was not as detailed as it could have been.

 

Others have the exact same complaints.

 

Explain the low review ratings if you can.

 

There are many many cruisers with the same issues.  Explain that if you can.

Edited March 5, 2020 by NMTraveller

[ipeeinthepool]

6 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I would have rated it a 3 without the cancellations.  The average rating for Edge is a 3.5 which is the lowest of all X ships.

 

Explain the low review ratings if you can.

 

There are many many cruisers with the same issues.  Explain that if you can.

 

 

That’s easy the Edge was poorly designed by people who never cruised and didn’t really think about how people enjoyed their time on a ship.

[Bo1953]

3 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

 

That’s easy the Edge was poorly designed by people who never cruised and didn’t really think about how people enjoyed their time on a ship.

I believe you mean 'how you would enjoy the ship'? Correct???

 

Many of us enjoyed the ship and its' different aspects.

 

Very few glitches or dislikes.

 

The ship still sails quite full.

 

bon voyage

[ipeeinthepool]

1 minute ago, Bo1953 said:

I believe you mean 'how you would enjoy the ship'? Correct???

 

Many of us enjoyed the ship and its' different aspects.

 

Very few glitches or dislikes.

 

The ship still sails quite full.

 

bon voyage

 

I’ll let you edit the response for improvements.  😉  But actually I think I wrote it correctly.   My perspective was that before you design a new ship you should study how people use the current ships.  You should take note of thinks people enjoy and enhance those areas and eliminate spaces and features that are not fully utilized.  Again, my biggest complaint with the Edge are the IV balconies.  I’ll continue to suggest that many people like to have traditional balcony space for a lot of reasons.  The Edge minimized that space and made it difficult to use.

 

So perhaps it could have been written better,  but I think I wrote it correctly.  The Edge designers did not study how people used features on ships before they designed the Edge.

 

I’m glad you enjoyed your time on the Edge, many others have not.

 

Enjoy your cruises.

 

ps.  Pleas feel free to edit this response for improvement 😉

[hcat]

18 hours ago, Madio said:

Thanks for straightening this out for us, Esprit.  We are booked on the Edge for Mar. 15, and already had some misgivings such as our IV cabin, noise in steakhouse (which we booked for my birthday), the entertainment, lack of shade, etc.  So hearing there were only 5 bars for us,  was just another nail in their coffin.... LOL.  We did great a great deal though, and always manage to have fun.  The OP’s TA must not be a drinker.  Cheers!  

EDGE has enough bars but is not a drinking cruise per se..and hope it remains so..  Short cruises are gen  better for that and perhaps other cruise lines.

 

They have or will add craft social near the casino

 

We enjoyed  2 cruises on EDGE and are booked on APEX!

Edited March 5, 2020 by hcat

[Madio]

On 3/5/2020 at 7:36 AM, hcat said:

EDGE has enough bars but is not a drinking cruise per se..and hope it remains so..  Short cruises are gen  better for that and perhaps other cruise lines.

 

They have or will add craft social near the casino

 

We enjoyed  2 cruises on EDGE and are booked on APEX!

Didn't mean to imply that we are huge drinkers.  Just don't want to walk a mile to get one.  Don't see the point of short cruises.  If I'm going to go through all the motions of packing, transport, etc., we want to have time to relax for a while. Never been on Carnival, but I hear they do some heavy partying, and we are too old for that.

[hcat]

You should be fine.  We enjoyed the EDEN bar..never overcrowded, great views and nice music on and off.  Also near  the  EDEN lunch cafe,  coffee and desserts!  And you can step outside for ocean air and views and some shade!

[kr00t0n]

On 3/5/2020 at 12:33 AM, NMTraveller said:

This by a landslide.

 

The reduction of real balconies was another profit grab.

How does switching balconies to IVs profit them? I would have though the motorized window alone costs more than a normal balcony sliding door.

 

As for the drinks, they could inact a drinks/day limit like some other lines if they really wanted to profit off beverage packages.

[NMTraveller]

34 minutes ago, kr00t0n said:

How does switching balconies to IVs profit them? I would have though the motorized window alone costs more than a normal balcony sliding door.

 

There is a substantial fuel savings associated with the IVs that save them quite a bit of money.  This was disclosed on the Edge bridge tour.

 

Taking out most of the views and bars was also a profit grab.  Less bars to staff.  Expensive suites where the views used to be.

 

The Edge was my first cruise where there were complaints about the ship on the first night.  There were complaints about the IVs just being a movable window and not a balcony.  Real balconies for me.

Edited March 6, 2020 by NMTraveller

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 3/5/2020 at 4:36 AM, hcat said:

They have or will add craft social near the casino

 

More accurate to state that the craft social bar will replace the casino bar.  

[kr00t0n]

45 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

There is a substantial fuel savings associated with the IVs that save them quite a bit of money.  This was disclosed on the Edge bridge tour.

 

Taking out most of the views and bars was also a profit grab.  Less bars to staff.  Expensive suites where the views used to be.

 

The Edge was my first cruise where there were complaints about the ship on the first night.  There were complaints about the IVs just being a movable window and not a balcony.  Real balconies for me.

Fair enough, but improving fuel efficiency also have a positive environmental impact, calling it a profit grab is a bit sensationalist and emotive. I'd also argue they offer better value for certain destinations, like Alaska or Northern Europe, where bad weather renders a normal balcony nigh on useless.

[NMTraveller]

34 minutes ago, kr00t0n said:

I'd also argue they offer better value for certain destinations, like Alaska or Northern Europe, where bad weather renders a normal balcony nigh on useless.

The Edge is rather useless for scenic cruising as they have taken out many of the public views.  Inward facing vs outward facing design.  Even in Alaska we went outside.

 

Real balconies function as a window also.

Edited March 6, 2020 by NMTraveller

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, kr00t0n said:

Fair enough, but improving fuel efficiency also have a positive environmental impact, calling it a profit grab is a bit sensationalist and emotive. I'd also argue they offer better value for certain destinations, like Alaska or Northern Europe, where bad weather renders a normal balcony nigh on useless.

Additionally, some of us while we enjoy the 'real balcony' such as they are, many of us really enjoy the IV as well, even in the Caribbean...

 

Many of the 'haters' do sensationalize this issue with the IV's and the ship....

 

Most of us just flow with it and sometimes just push back without fear of being outed as an apologist... 😁

 

Oh, oh, oh I Am sorry for the previous line... LOL

 

bon voyage

Edited March 6, 2020 by Bo1953

[Doubt It]

The Edge design is to benefit the RCL corporation, not the guest.

 

Inward for increased sales, removals of forward viewing area again inward focused, less bars, perfect RCL, well played you win, they already have your $ on the "free" beverage package.

 

As a CEO I would have done the same, anything, anything to make a $.

 

The Edge class is a new category of superficial ship designed to distract and shake you down for $. No thank you.

 

There seems to be 2 groups of passengers - those who cruise for the itinerary/vista/ship experience and those who go only for the ship - you can tell whom is who based on threads and reviews.

 

Guests choose what attracts them, for now, there seems to be sufficient capacity in each category to satisfy guests.

 

I would never set foot on a fake ship like the Edge, and my 32 year old niece finds it ostentatious and obnoxious based on pictures and videos. No future customer there.

 

Thankfully the internet helps each guest get the maximum info on a future purchase, so at least we have a very good idea what the ship and experience is before we go - not like my earlier cruising days!

 

To each their own and safe sailing.