I Cancelled My Journey on the Edge...

[Georgia_Peaches]

I've followed along with some pretty thorough and balanced reviews of the recently launched Celebrity Edge.  I am ever so appreciative of the comprehensive pictures, details, and even personalized answers to individual questions that have been provided by VTCruising and a few others.  It pains me to admit that the closer I got to final payment, which was 12/26, the less excited I felt about this ship.  And that's HUGE considering that on any given day, I'd trade my first born for an opportunity to get away on a cruise...ok, well maybe not my first born, but you get the idea.  After reading everything I could get my eyes on, I remained troubled about spending $7k on an S2 on the Edge.  Recent pricing for my March 31 sailing on Edge has S2's at $5500pp so by those prices, my $7k was a pretty good deal (we booked in August, 2017).  But later in the year (2019), DH and I are booked in a RS on Silhouette for 9 nights and the cost of that is still less than current S2 pricing on Edge.  There are certain things I've come to count on when traveling on an S class ship and in a suite...that I don't think have quite translated over to the Edge.  To name a few... 

• a balcony table that's big enough to have breakfast
• balcony loungers or comfortable seating
• a ship library
• intimate cocktail lounge areas ideal for conversation
• reasonable charge for Thermal suite pass

So, for now at least, I'm going to back off the Edge and wait a while to see how both reviews and prices shape up over the next year.  Maybe by then the price will have stabilized along with some of the reported issues so that we can consider her again in the future. Many thanks to those who have taken precious vacation time to document their journey.  I will continue to read and follow along and wish all my fellow X cruisers safe travels.

[Lastdance]

15 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I've followed along with some pretty thorough and balanced reviews of the recently launched Celebrity Edge.  I am ever so appreciative of the comprehensive pictures, details, and even personalized answers to individual questions that have been provided by VTCruising and a few others.  It pains me to admit that the closer I got to final payment, which was 12/26, the less excited I felt about this ship.  And that's HUGE considering that on any given day, I'd trade my first born for an opportunity to get away on a cruise...ok, well maybe not my first born, but you get the idea.  After reading everything I could get my eyes on, I remained troubled about spending $7k on an S2 on the Edge.  Recent pricing for my March 31 sailing on Edge has S2's at $5500pp so by those prices, my $7k was a pretty good deal (we booked in August, 2017).  But later in the year (2019), DH and I are booked in a RS on Silhouette for 9 nights and the cost of that is still less than current S2 pricing on Edge.  There are certain things I've come to count on when traveling on an S class ship and in a suite...that I don't think have quite translated over to the Edge.  To name a few... 

• a balcony table that's big enough to have breakfast
• balcony loungers or comfortable seating
• a ship library
• intimate cocktail lounge areas ideal for conversation
• reasonable charge for Thermal suite pass

So, for now at least, I'm going to back off the Edge and wait a while to see how both reviews and prices shape up over the next year.  Maybe by then the price will have stabilized along with some of the reported issues so that we can consider her again in the future. Many thanks to those who have taken precious vacation time to document their journey.  I will continue to read and follow along and wish all my fellow X cruisers safe travels.

 

I think you you made a very well thought out decision.  If your gut is telling you something, then you need to listen.  The Edge is not for everyone, and having an RS booked sounds fantastic to me, not to mention the price you paid...I too hope the price on Edge stabilizes, but we have a TA booked in an S1aft for 2019.  Our cost for 15 days was 10,000, as I booked the first hour.  Now it is double that.  If I do not enjoy Edge, I may cancel my SV in 2020, but I love the itinerary...my SV was a little over 8,000 for 11days, so also a little high IMHO....

 

Thank you for sharing your thought process and future information about Edge...very practical indeed!

[Presto2]

Have to say, I do understand your thinking.

 

In the UK though we do not keep our deposit if we cancel and we have paid for our flights as part of our transfers so no option to cancel as the deposit and cost of hotel and flight would not be refunded.

 

It is our 25th anniversary so a special one and I suppose we are worried about negative comments re the IV cabins and lack of quiet drinking areas. Having said that, we have so many lovely memories re the build up to the ship as she 'grew' and the other members of CC we chatted with that it would be sad to end 'our journey' now and not see it through. Will never forget the major discussion re the polar bear and Mr Edge ;-)

 

The only thing I would change if I could is the location of the cabin. Don't like the outside area below the cabin that we have booked as that was not on any plans at all (and we were reassured would not be noisy at all) but we think may be. If the SV cabins weren't above Eden we would have gone for one of those …… but I liked the novelty of the IV cabin.

 

We will go and make the most of it

 

 

 

 

[vtcruising]

Thanks for letting us know about your thoughtful decision. I always think about each cruise one more time before making that final payment, so I know the agonizing that goes on.  We all have to follow our gut feelings and it sounds like the right decision for you. You will have the beautiful Silhouette RS to look forward to!

 

Hopefully, X will rethink the sky suite balcony furniture (that decision to skimp will cost them in the long run, IMO) and hopefully they will morph some other area into a lounge area eventually, but not for our cruises, most likely.

 

While there are things we are disappointed in, there are still more positives than negatives for us at this point and we are really looking forward to getting back onboard.

 

Hope to cruise with you in the future, Georgia! 🙂

Edited December 28, 2018 by vtcruising

[PatC]

You made a wise decision because you would most likely anticipate the issues that Edge is experiencing.  We are on the January 13th cruise and are sailing without high expectations but curiosity.  We plan on having a wonderful time as we are with 18 other friends and celebrating birthdays and anniversaries so we can find something positive.  As you say, you can wait until things stabilize but I don't see that happening on Celebrity.  We have sailed with them since 1992 and are seeing a very troubling trend for those of us who loved the experience of the C, M and S class ships.  We are fortunate to leave Edge on the 20th and go right on to Silhouette, which is one of our favorite ships.  Now, that's not to say when they finish messing around the the rest of the fleet we will sail Celebrity again but, for now, we have no other cruises booked for the near future.  Waiting to see what happens and then our decisions will be made on our impressions of Edge class, what they do to the other ships and th experiences we would miss.  You have a great price for the other cruise you have booked and I hope you have happy sailings.

Pat C

[hcat]

I think you  did what is right for you at this time. There is  certainly enough info out there in posts,  photos and reviews pro and con to figure it out.

 

We are  headed to EDGE in a few weeks and hope we made a good decision sticking with it.  We got a very good AQ class price  and  could not afford  that AQ class  cabin today.  We have one more EDGE cruise booked for Nov ....8 nights in a SV right over Eden ( ugh!),   and have time to decide based on what we experience . Hoping to see corrections and changes coming about on the ship before our final payment is due,.

 

Interestingly, we are looking at Silhoutte for 2020 in hopes it stays as nice as it has always been. Great ship, great vibe, great programming!

Happy Sails!

Edited December 28, 2018 by hcat

[vtcruising]

5 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Have to say, I do understand your thinking.

 

In the UK though we do not keep our deposit if we cancel and we have paid for our flights as part of our transfers so no option to cancel as the deposit and cost of hotel and flight would not be refunded.

 

It is our 25th anniversary so a special one and I suppose we are worried about negative comments re the IV cabins and lack of quiet drinking areas. Having said that, we have so many lovely memories re the build up to the ship as she 'grew' and the other members of CC we chatted with that it would be sad to end 'our journey' now and not see it through. Will never forget the major discussion re the polar bear and Mr Edge 😉

 

The only thing I would change if I could is the location of the cabin. Don't like the outside area below the cabin that we have booked as that was not on any plans at all (and we were reassured would not be noisy at all) but we think may be. If the SV cabins weren't above Eden we would have gone for one of those …… but I liked the novelty of the IV cabin.

 

We will go and make the most of it

 

 

 

 

I really hope you have a wonderful anniversary on this beautiful ship! 🙂

[dkjretired]

We had to cancel our Edge trip next month for a couple of reasons.  After reading the reviews and the elements of the ship, I am very happy we did.  

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

I really hope you have a wonderful anniversary on this beautiful ship! 🙂

 

Thinking about it I suppose we should remember how blessed we are to have 3 days in Rome before the cruise, the itinerary and just to be on the ship at all. My parents could only have dreamed about a holiday like this and sometimes it is easy to forget just how fortunate we all are to have the choice to be on the ship at all. 

 

(Remind me I said this if those creepy Eden people come anywhere near me !!! 😉 )

[jelayne]

We are booked on the Edge in 2 weeks, so for us final payment was before any sailing.  We have all of the same concerns, except the Thermal suite pass, that caused you to cancel. 

 

We are also concerned about the reported noise levels in the venues around the Grand Plaza as DH wears hearing aids and they amplify all sounds.  When the music got too loud around the Martini Bar we could always move to Cellar Master, the Sky Lounges or Ensemble but from some reports quiet venues are limited.

 

At this point it is too late to turn back and hope to find that we love the Edge.

 

 

 

 

 

[Esprit]

I can see you have thought this through very carefully.

For me on the other hand I had no desire whatsoever to try the Edge.

My preferred cruise line is Princess so I had no interest in Celebrity's new concept ship.

It was only when we learned in August both our DD and SIL would be working on board together that the idea came about. Not seeing them both at Christmas year after year pushed me into booking the December 16th cruise but nothing is definite with crew placements so it was only in October when they both got on board that sailing on the Edge looked a reality.

I was blown away by the ship.

I still prefer Princess but I would book the Edge(Apex) again over the S or M class ships.

[vtcruising]

4 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Thinking about it I suppose we should remember how blessed we are to have 3 days in Rome before the cruise, the itinerary and just to be on the ship at all. My parents could only have dreamed about a holiday like this and sometimes it is easy to forget just how fortunate we all are to have the choice to be on the ship at all. 

 

(Remind me I said this if those creepy Eden people come anywhere near me !!! 😉 )

I have read negative things about ships just before going on a cruise and have fretted that we made the wrong choice, but have always had a great time. In the Med, our cabin is mainly a place to sleep, though we do enjoy a drink on the balcony at night at times. I would bet that you will enjoy the IV for many reasons (and maybe not like it for other reasons), but the beauty of this ship, her gorgeous restaurants, beautiful art and lovely outside lighting at night would be so romantic for a 25th anniversary..... and adding Rome for 3 days, I envy you!! 🙂

 

 

[deeva211]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I've followed along with some pretty thorough and balanced reviews of the recently launched Celebrity Edge.  I am ever so appreciative of the comprehensive pictures, details, and even personalized answers to individual questions that have been provided by VTCruising and a few others. 

• a balcony table that's big enough to have breakfast
• balcony loungers or comfortable seating
• a ship library
• intimate cocktail lounge areas ideal for conversation
• reasonable charge for Thermal suite pass

 

 

Based on the above list of things that make you happy on a cruise, I think this is a wise decision.  You will love the Silhouette (my favorite ship!!)  Enjoy!!

[Full90]

I changed our Edge sailing in December 2019 to the Reflection.  We just could not get excited about the Edge after reading the reviews and seeing all the pictures.  A lot of things we enjoy on the S Class ships they took away and we did not care for any of the new additions that the Edge has.  So now we are on a 10 day cruise instead of 7 for $700 less than what we would have paid on Edge.  Not to mention the ports are better in my opinion. 

 

We just got off the Silhouette and we loved the new deck furniture, the world class bar, the hideaway, the ensemble bar, the passport bar and the pool loungers.  The Edge does not have the bars and the deck furniture (low back chairs) do not look comfortable.  I like putting my feet up!

 

We love Celebrity and hope Edge is successful so the other ships might not be as crowded.

[Lastdance]

21 minutes ago, Full90 said:

We love Celebrity and hope Edge is successful so the other ships might not be as crowded.

 

 

I was just thinking the opposite...the S class ships will go up higher due to more wanting to book those ships.  I also have Reflection booked for her TA from Barcelona next Nov. 5.  The price was a steal when I purchased...at least compared to my Edge TA...

Edited December 28, 2018 by Lastdance

[ohhbother]

We canceled our April 7 cruise on the Edge as well. We had an S1 corner aft booked at $6K total - a great price based on current pricing. But we were on the Dec. 1 preview cruise on the Edge and, while we liked the ship, we didn't love it. So we've decided to save our money and book a cruise on a ship more to our tastes. I suspect Celebrity was happy to see us go. The S1 corner aft will bring them a lot more than $6K at current pricing.

[chemmo]

OP, totally understand your reasoning....Knowing what is important to you on a cruise is all about ensuring you make the right choices.

 

 

 

[C-Dragons]

We were on the Dec. 9 sailing. Although we thought the ship was absolutely beautiful and the service and food very, very good, there were a few issues which we and others on board thought X needs to address and correct. We spoke to several officers and shared our feelings and disappointment regarding these issues which hopefully will be relayed to corporate. Simple things that can be changed, and if they are not, may cost X more in the long run.

We canceled our Fall 2019 TA on the Edge, and one on the Apex for 2020. We are keeping our upcoming Spring TA on Edge only because there are many crew members on board that we know and are friends with and do not want to miss this opportunity to sail with them again. We will wait to see how X responds going forward before we will book another cruise on the E class ships. Here’s hoping they don’t mess up the rest of the fleet, we'll be paying close attention to reviews of the “evolutions”. 

Edited December 28, 2018 by C-Dragons

[TeaBag]

We cancelled too, an AQ IV that we booked on opening day.  Like C dragons, I hope they don't mess up the rest of the fleet with their revolutions or whatever they call them.  Why can't each class be distinct?

Edited December 28, 2018 by TeaBag

[Water babies]

I was able to switch our booking in a Celebrity Suite on the Edge in June 2019 to a connecting S1 and deluxe inside stateroom on the Apex in June 2020. Saved us about $5k, same itinerary. Hoping feedback from the Edge sailings favorably impacts the Apex. Meanwhile we booked a 10 day Med/Adriatic on the Constellation in a Royal Suite in July 2019 that cost the same as our Edge booking. Win/win. Thanks for all the info from these boards!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We had a back-to-back booked on Edge in March. Having read everything here I could find and watched You Tubes, we decided to cancel the first leg of the cruise and pushed back the second leg until late 2019. That gives us time to read more reviews and maybe even change that cruise too. 

 

Here is the main reason we changed.  I spend a lot of time on the balcony. I love to eat out there, read, nap, admire the view, play crosswords, stargaze, etc. But I am out there a lot. Now what happens? The new IV balconies and furniture have made all the things I love to do on the balcony very difficult or impossible. I know the bathrooms are bigger, the ship is beautiful, the entertainment different, food is good, but the thing I care about most, the comfortable balconies on S-Class ships, is gone. The worst part is the captain can close  the windows remotely making the cabin an expensive Ocean View. 

 

So we'll wait and see if any modifications are coming to Edge and Apex. If not, we'll continue sailing on S-Class ships.  If Celebrity changes those to be more like Edge, well, I just hate to do it and give up our Elite Plus loyalty tier, but we may have to look elsewhere for the traditional balcony I enjoy so much.

[ecslady]

5 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

There are certain things I've come to count on when traveling on an S class ship and in a suite...that I don't think have quite translated over to the Edge.  To name a few... 

• a balcony table that's big enough to have breakfast
• balcony loungers or comfortable seating
• a ship library
• intimate cocktail lounge areas ideal for conversation
• reasonable charge for Thermal suite pass

So, for now at least, I'm going to back off the Edge and wait a while to see how both reviews and prices shape up over the next year

 

You made a good decision IMO.  I am usually not this vocal, and love Celebrity, but after  sailing on the Dec 9-16 cruise, the things that you mention are not easily changed. I hope Celebrity does not make too many drastic changes when they "revolutionize " the other ships. Otherwise, there will be a whole segment of their most loyal demographic looking elsewhere to cruise.

 

[ecslady]

21 minutes ago, Silvery Seas Cruiser said:

We had a back-to-back booked on Edge in March. Having read everything here I could find and watched You Tubes, we decided to cancel the first leg of the cruise and pushed back the second leg until late 2019. That gives us time to read more reviews and maybe even change that cruise too. 

 

Here is the main reason we changed.  I spend a lot of time on the balcony. I love to eat out there, read, nap, admire the view, play crosswords, stargaze, etc. But I am out there a lot. Now what happens? The new IV balconies and furniture have made all the things I love to do on the balcony very difficult or impossible. I know the bathrooms are bigger, the ship is beautiful, the entertainment different, food is good, but the thing I care about most, the comfortable balconies on S-Class ships, is gone. The worst part is the captain can close  the windows remotely making the cabin an expensive Ocean View. 

 

So we'll wait and see if any modifications are coming to Edge and Apex. If not, we'll continue sailing on S-Class ships.  If Celebrity changes those to be more like Edge, well, I just hate to do it and give up our Elite Plus loyalty tier, but we may have to look elsewhere for the traditional balcony I enjoy so much.

 

I love to read, nap etc on the balcony also, so I know how you feel.  The IV doesn't cut it.  If you can, switch to a Sunset Veranda, or spend the money for a Sky Suite, at least you will get a  real balcony then, even though the furniture is still the same. Hopefully, X will do something about the furniture, as what is now on the IV is worse than on the S class ships.  This, of course, is my opinion. 

[Lastdance]

I really appreciate all the information about Edge too, as information is power and knowledge.  All of us have different expectations, concerns and budgets, so having the freedom to monitor and adjust is very important.  I only hope that Celebrity listens to concerns and acts accordingly if possible.  However, I also realize that Celebrity may choose a different path, and that I have the ability to do the same.  For now...two bookings on Edge and one on Reflection!  My glass is always half full regarding upcoming cruises, and Europe is my favorite destination for a minimum of 10 days...

 

Celebrity...please put loungers on our aft suites or at the very least, allow all of us to request, as is the unwritten policy now.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Lastdance

[Georgia_Peaches]

17 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

 

We will go and make the most of it

 

 

 

 

I KNOW you will have a fabulous time!  By all reports and pictures, the ship is absolutely beautiful.  Had we moved forward with final payment, we would have found things to love and enjoy.  Fortunately, we had time on our side so that we could make a more informed decision about going now, or waiting until later.  

 

As someone else mentioned, it may behoove Celebrity to keep each class of ship, E, S, and M as unique classes within the fleet so that customers have options when choosing the Celebrity product.