Celebrity orders 5th Edge Class Ship[

[Mynki]

2 minutes ago, RickT said:

Just went yachtworld.com and there is an M-Class ship listed. $350 Million.

 

From memory it was originally $400 so there's obviously been little interest. 

[gcorgain]

I will say that I also thought food was a major step up on the Edge and from looking at the reviews it seems to be a common sentiment. Perhaps it is all subjective, but a a lot of people seem to have the same subjective opinion, even many who had other issues with the ship.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 hours ago, gcorgain said:

I will say that I also thought food was a major step up on the Edge and from looking at the reviews it seems to be a common sentiment. Perhaps it is all subjective, but a a lot of people seem to have the same subjective opinion, even many who had other issues with the ship.

 

I've noticed the same from reviews.  We've only had the MDR once in 2014, and since have been in BLU.  I keep reading that food is on decline, even post-Revolution, and wonder if this is an ongoing situation, or from levels before we first sailed.

 

It also seems strange that MDR quality is/was on the decline with M and S Class ships, but Edge is a major step up.  Do you think it is generally higher quality, better recipes, or that the old menus were getting tiresome?

[BeeMinor]

5 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

I've noticed the same from reviews.  We've only had the MDR once in 2014, and since have been in BLU.  I keep reading that food is on decline, even post-Revolution, and wonder if this is an ongoing situation, or from levels before we first sailed.

 

It also seems strange that MDR quality is/was on the decline with M and S Class ships, but Edge is a major step up.  Do you think it is generally higher quality, better recipes, or that the old menus were getting tiresome?

 

We were on the Summit in November and Edge in February. We ate in Luminae on both and in several specialties  on the Edge--no interest in QSine or Tuscan Grill on the Summit, where really the best food we had wasn't in Luminae but in the buffet. I'd say a combo of all three factors you mention made Edge superior. The quality of the meat especially seemed noticeably better--the dishes themselves seemed more in keeping with current dining trends--and the new specialties were just more interesting. Several staffers told us on Edge that there was a strong emphasis on the dining experience.

 

My sense is that the "Edge customer" is not the same as the traditional "Celebrity customer" and X is aware that they need a stronger and more contemporary dining program to attract the people they want as Edge customers. I do think Celebrity is aiming to differentiate Edge and not necessarily make it an M-class replacement to appeal to its existing customer base. Food is one of the ways it is doing so.

[DYKWIA]

5 hours ago, BeeMinor said:

 

....

My sense is that the "Edge customer" is not the same as the traditional "Celebrity customer" and X is aware that they need a stronger and more contemporary dining program to attract the people they want as Edge customers. I do think Celebrity is aiming to differentiate Edge and not necessarily make it an M-class replacement to appeal to its existing customer base. Food is one of the ways it is doing so.

 

I'm not a marketing or branding expert, so those of you who are will know better,  but it seems a strange idea to target a different demographic within a single brand, particularly when you've got several brands. Doesn't this risk causing confusion with your target customers if people book a brand they are familiar with, having cruised with them before, and then get a different experience.  There is a risk people become confused about what the brand stands for.

 

 

[jan-n-john]

5 hours ago, DYKWIA said:

 

I'm not a marketing or branding expert, so those of you who are will know better,  but it seems a strange idea to target a different demographic within a single brand, particularly when you've got several brands. Doesn't this risk causing confusion with your target customers if people book a brand they are familiar with, having cruised with them before, and then get a different experience.  There is a risk people become confused about what the brand stands for.

 

 

 

You raise an excellent point. I'm not a branding expert either, so take this FWIW. 

 

The way I see it, every brand out there, whether it's cruises or toothpaste or anything in between, to maintain its market position, has to move with the changing preferences and expectations of the underlying market base, or eventually succumb to its competitors who give the buyers what they are looking for as market preferences evolve.  For consumer goods this is fairly easy. I recall when there was a single type of toothpaste or cheese cracker or anything else for each brand. Now, there must be 50 variations of, say, Cheez-its snack crackers.  If you still like the original best you can get it, but if you're adventurous and into spicy or healthy or whatever you can get your Cheez-its in some combination of extra large, toasty, jalapeno, with grooves, whole wheat, or a bunch of other things. This is generally true for just about any consumer good you can think of.  To survive long term cruise companies need to move with the market as well, but it's more challenging for them. 

 

When you build a new ship things are pretty much set in stone for 20 or more years (significant changes are costly), so you need to guess what the market preferences are going to be for a while into the future, and you need to be able to appeal to a variety of different preferences now, and in the future, with the same ship.  But some things seem clear -- younger people today, compared with their elders, on average (and there are always exceptions) are into more diversity, eschew formality, and are more aggressive in seeking out new experiences, notably including culinary and entertainment experiences.  To be successful over its lifetime, a ship built today has to take account of this evolution over the future.  I see Edge as Celebrity's response to these realities.  It was designed to appeal to the younger crowd, which over time will of course become older but will retain many of the preferences formed already.  So the ship was not intended to appeal primarily to what I call the tux and beef wellington ("traditional") cruise crowd, but rather the allbirds and pho ("up and coming") cruise crowd, and that probably accounts for a good deal of the criticism here, heavily populated as it is by experienced and more traditional cruisers, and that's OK.  

 

Celebrity, a single brand, can continue to serve both groups.  Edge for one, Solstice for another. Compared with consumer goods companies, cruise companies may have an advantage in the role of experienced travel agents in cruise purchasing. Keeping in mind that there are always exceptions, I would not be surprised if it is the case that Celebrity marketing reps, in their visits with agents, emphasize that they should probably steer the young swinger crowd toward Edge and the older more traditional crowd toward S ships, and everybody will be happy and come back.  Just a thought.

 

 

Edited April 15, 2019 by jan-n-john

[ipeeinthepool]

On 4/12/2019 at 3:27 PM, justcrusn said:

The IV differs from a traditional verandah or balcony. First of all it can be closed or open like the windows in your car. Sometimes by the ship, sometimes by you.

it has been described as an oceanview where you can open the window.

The complaints are mostly that if you open the folding door to the verandah, the AC in the cabin is disabled. Also, there are not curtains so if you wake early and go out on the balcony your companion will have the bright light too and cannot sleep in. The only cabins NOT equipped with IV are sunset verandah which are traditional balconies.

 

But on the positive side, everyone can now join the balcony club.

[happy cruzer]

Agree with Jan n John's points.  Remember many of the newer cruisers have never experienced a traditional/more formal cruise.  They started on the bigger resort type ships.  That's what they are used to and now want.  They don't care for what they see as regimentation and rules.  Even the smaller luxury lines are moving that way.

 

So far there is room for both styles.

[TeeRick]

Interesting.  We found the Oceanview Cafe food overall very good on Edge.  Better than other Celebrity ships and we have sailed on most of them. We did not dine in the MDR's.  We found the Luminae food on Edge to be very good but not quite to the level of other ships' Luminae's.  Again food is subjective.

[jan-n-john]

On the subject of formality, along with most everybody I've certainly noticed a marked drop.  I had already reached the point where all I bring along any more is a blue blazer (usually worn with khakis), and I did bring it along on our most recent trip (Edge) but it never left the closet, even though we ate in two of the MDRs and several specialties.  The same was mostly true on a recent Regent cruise (Baltic).  In general, jackets and certainly ties are getting really scarce.   So it appears the era of formality is on its last legs if it isn't already dead.

[DYKWIA]

27 minutes ago, jan-n-john said:

In general, jackets and certainly ties are getting really scarce.   So it appears the era of formality is on its last legs if it isn't already dead.

 

I blame this firmly on the retail stores who are  now saving money and using less material and going for skinny / slim fit designs - I refuse to go up 2 suit sizes to get one to fit 🙂 

[jan-n-john]

19 minutes ago, DYKWIA said:

 

I blame this firmly on the retail stores who are  now saving money and using less material and going for skinny / slim fit designs - I refuse to go up 2 suit sizes to get one to fit 🙂 

I've read that women's clothing companies have been doing something like this for years.  What used to be a size "X" is now actually two or three sizes larger, so the buyer can feel good about herself still being able to wear the same "size" as years ago.  Is that true? I'm treading on perilous ground here.  Better stop now.

[gcorgain]

On 4/14/2019 at 6:04 PM, Stateroom_Sailor said:

It also seems strange that MDR quality is/was on the decline with M and S Class ships, but Edge is a major step up.  Do you think it is generally higher quality, better recipes, or that the old menus were getting tiresome?

 In all fairness we were in a Sky Suite so I didn't' eat in the MDR's. I ate in Luminae, Raw on 5, The Eden Cafe, The Buffet, The Mastop Grill, the Rooftop Grill, Eden Restaurant and Le Petit Bistro. I think that was a pretty good mix of included and extra cost venues. I thought all of them were better than their S class equivalents. I will agree the variety didn't hurt, but things just seemed fresher. Also things like the temperature always seemed right. Really we didn't have a bad meal.

 

Greg

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Sailed the EDGE and hated it. Had the APEX booked. Cancelled it as soon as we arrived home. A cold feeling ship, food was terrible everywhere. Decor was non existent. Noise was terrible. Seating was totally uncomfortable. If they do not change these ships they will lose their behind. Like sailing on a floating hotel. Not a cruise ship. If you want to sit and do nothing. It is for you. Decor: grey colors, beige colors, metal & marble. Blah.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 4/16/2019 at 6:08 PM, gcorgain said:

 In all fairness we were in a Sky Suite so I didn't' eat in the MDR's. I ate in Luminae, Raw on 5, The Eden Cafe, The Buffet, The Mastop Grill, the Rooftop Grill, Eden Restaurant and Le Petit Bistro. I think that was a pretty good mix of included and extra cost venues. I thought all of them were better than their S class equivalents. I will agree the variety didn't hurt, but things just seemed fresher. Also things like the temperature always seemed right. Really we didn't have a bad meal.

 

Greg

 

We're on Eclipse right now, and I believe there is a severe drop in buffet quality since our Infinity cruise last October.  Everything was lukewarm, and subjectively uninspired.  The fresh cooked pasta station was decent, but no where near the same options.  We booked 2 lunches in specialty restaurants to break up the sea days.

 

Blu however, was just as delicious as always.  Customer service is A+.