CHICAGOPAUL - LIVE!!!!!! CRUISE BLOG - The EDGE February 24th!

[vtcruising]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

 

I assume the 1 hr package is designed  for printing a boarding pass..  Most good resorts will do that as a courtesy and so should X.

. just my opinion.

I didn't think of that use, but sounds like a reason.  I was thinking of the person who didn't have any free minutes from their CC status and just wanted to check in on their families, etc. once during the cruise.

 

I know I have used my free CC minutes in the iLounge for checking in for a flight and printing my boarding pass in the past.  Now I tend to get unlimited internet and check in 24 hrs before and get boarding passes at a kiosk at the airport (or could use my phone).

[chicagopaul]

Good evening everyone.

Wow is it confusing being on a new ship! I think I have the basics down. Let’s talk about my initial experiences.

Boarding was easy. The retreat has their own boarding and security which is wonderful. Upon getting there they couldn’t find our name on the list but they saw our boarding pass so no problem. Since we already checked in online and uploaded a photo all they had to do was scan our boarding pass and we were good to go. Boarding was early, just after 10:30. It was great to get on the ship early. We made our way to the room right away. We grabbed our key cards but they wouldn’t work for our room. It turns out they “upgraded” us. The room we had booked was 12162. It’s a suite overlooking the magic carpet, in the corner of the carpet. Well I guess they’ve had a lot of complaints do Celebrity took it upon themselves to upgrade us to 10107. Still a Sky Suite but I guess this is an S2 versus an S3. The bad part was our friends Dawn and Lisa are traveling in 12160. We went to the retreat and spoke with Joao, the concierge. He gave us a couple options. One being moving Dawn and Lisa to a room a few floors down from our new one. Or we could check out our original booked room of 12162 and keep it. We looked at it and while we liked it, we stuck with our “new room” of 10107. I’ll have a video uploaded shortly. Here are some quick photos of the balcony from 12162 which is what people were complaining about. You’ll see the track for the magic carpet obstructing the view.





As an apology for the confusing they’re comping all four of us a night in Eden. They also alluded to taking care of another dinner for us as well. We have a 3 night package so there’s no need for them to comp us anymore but I will use this to help us get some preferred dining times in the specialties, especially Fine Cut which seems pretty booked.

My initial thoughts of the design is it’s beautiful. The colors are streamlined, subdued elegance in my opinion. The storage in our suite is very well thought out and more than enough. I have noticed all the bars are crowded. Surprisingly the retreat area was not that crowded at sail away. Below is retreat at sail away.



Here is our view from standing at the front of the retreat for sail away.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chicagopaul]

Lunch was in Luminae today. It was busy but service was prompt. We both had the ceviche and the lobster roll. There was not a lot of lobster, but the quality seemed pretty good. The bun was toasted nicely and very tasty. There was no mayo on the lobster, just a very light citrus vinaigrette. Mayo was offered on the side.









We saw some familiar faces in Luminae including Vishal. Joao and Priscilla have been fantastic in the retreat have been awesome.

Guess who I ran into today? Milton aka Santa Claus! He’s working at the pool bar.

I have noticed a few things here and there which I’ll share with you later.

Ok now it is time to try to fight for a seat at the martini bar!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[helen haywood]

That “lobster roll” needs three times as much lobster!!

[cgolf1]

Following along, we sailed from the inside end of January early February. 

[Jim_Iain]

35 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

That “lobster roll” needs three times as much lobster!!

 

I generally ask them to hold the lettuce and increase the Lobster.    No problem.  🙂

 

They generally load about 1/2 the roll with lettuce as filler - 

[cruisewmn]

Always enjoy your Live Blogs. Sorry you got an HA room at the Ritz. That’s where we always stay before a cruise and appreciate the regular bathroom. Also, that entry and hallway is pretty typical of all of their rooms - nice and big. Hope you were able to enjoy a drink at the hotel bar. Great bartenders and some tasty drinks. 

 

Wishing you a wonderful cruise on the Edge!

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, chicagopaul said:

We looked at it and while we liked it, we stuck with our “new room” of 10107.

A difficult choice to be next to friends and have a larger balcony vs a better view and a bed facing the ocean with the fun window/mirror in the bathroom (that I love anyway). It will be interesting to compare experiences with your friends.  Enjoy 10107!! 🙂

 

Edited February 25, 2019 by vtcruising

[bacm]

Thank you for posting the flyer listing the internet choices/specials. Are those internet choices available on day 1 of the cruise? I’m confused, because the prices listed pre-cruise on the Celebrity site go up considerably, if you want to add devices. This flyer seems to say that you can sign up up to 4 devices for the listed price. Can anyone clarify this? Thank you.

[Jim_Iain]

5 minutes ago, bacm said:

Thank you for posting the flyer listing the internet choices/specials. Are those internet choices available on day 1 of the cruise? I’m confused, because the prices listed pre-cruise on the Celebrity site go up considerably, if you want to add devices. This flyer seems to say that you can sign up up to 4 devices for the listed price. Can anyone clarify this? Thank you.

The prices that were listed on the flyer was from Edge and probably customized for the length of the cruise.  Prices are based on the number of days of the cruise and if your cruise is over 7 days it will probably by higher. 

 

You can sign up to 4 devices but there is a charge per device added. 

 

This flyer from Millennium in October may not be the current prices but will give you and idea of discounting on more than one device.    The prices are per day for the complete length of the cruise.    They did offer a 50% off sale at the 1/2 way point of the cruise.

 

They also apply cc discounts when subscribe

 

charge per device added. 

[jelayne]

As a Martini Bar “regular” I have no doubt you will be able to snag seats.  It is a bit more challenging than when we were on the Reflection TAs with you two, but we are sure you are up for the challenge. 

Joao is great, he will take good care of anything you need.

[Stem to Stern]

Have a great time guys!!  Looking forward to your assessments.

[vtcruising]

29 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Joao is great, he will take good care of anything you need.

He is a class act!

[bacm]

Thank you vtcruiser for the info & thank you chicagopaul for your live posts. We are leaving on Saturday for the Edge & very much appreciate your opinions and guidance.

 

Right now, I’m trying to assist one of our fellow cruisers who has had a situation crop up that requires them to have 24/7 access to WiFi. Although the pre-cruise rates for internet are 10% off, I’m just trying to figure out if there’s a better way by waiting to get on board.

[vtcruising]

5 minutes ago, bacm said:

Thank you vtcruiser for the info & thank you chicagopaul for your live posts. We are leaving on Saturday for the Edge & very much appreciate your opinions and guidance.

 

Right now, I’m trying to assist one of our fellow cruisers who has had a situation crop up that requires them to have 24/7 access to WiFi. Although the pre-cruise rates for internet are 10% off, I’m just trying to figure out if there’s a better way by waiting to get on board.

Is the cruise soon? They have flash sales with 20% off every few months, but if you are leaving soon, that may not happen in time. Maybe Paul will find a deal onboard and will let us know.

 

One reassuring thing for your friend is that the Edge WiFi is the best I've ever encountered on a ship. I don't think it was ever slow or dropped (and I was on it much of the time with my live thread). Each cabin has a router in the cupboard/closet so service was excellent in the cabins and on the balconies, as well as in public venues.

[bacm]

Thank you vtcruiser. It’s good to know that at least the service is good. The cruise is very soon, we leave this Saturday, March 3rd.

[vtcruising]

3 minutes ago, bacm said:

Thank you vtcruiser. It’s good to know that at least the service is good. The cruise is very soon, we leave this Saturday, March 3rd.

Lucky you!! Have a wonderful time!

[bacm]

Very excited...thank you!

[C-Dragons]

Paul could you let us know if Joao and Priscilla will be on the Edge TA in April?

TIA. 🌺

Edited February 25, 2019 by C-Dragons

[swigso]

Slooking forward to your review

[dodger1964]

Thanks for doing review. Look forward to your impressions of the ship.

 

I think suite vs non-suite perceptions is going to be an integral part of Celebrity cruising for years to come.

 

On a side note, you picked a good week to be away from midwest...(we are about 4 hours west of chicago...yesterday was blizzard conditions. they closed interstate highway for most of the day)

 

 

[MamaChach]

Chicago Paul,

 

Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to keep us all up to date on your experience on the Edge!  We are from the burbs and can't wait to get out of this awful winter in a couple of weeks!  Have a GREAT sailing!

[florisdekort]

Sunrise from bed this morning, on the beautiful Edge...

 

Edited February 25, 2019 by florisdekort

[clampsa]

11 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

Sunrise from bed this morning, on the beautiful Edge...

 

What a view!  I'm guessing I won't have the same view from my S3 room next month nor will you be complaining about the Kelly Rocker in this suite. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by clampsa
spelling

[TeeRick]

14 hours ago, helen haywood said:

That “lobster roll” needs three times as much lobster!!

When I got the Luminae Lobster Roll for lunch on the first day on Edge it was so pathetic that I started laughing!  The next day at breakfast I ordered hash browns and corned beef hash to go with my eggs.  Also laughable.  The corned beef hash was literally a teaspoon portion.  The hash browns portion was so small that I had to question whether they were even there.  Seriously not kidding.  Thanks Celebrity for helping me watch my waistline!