Our life on the Edge, 28 April 2019 TA, some photos & video

[Silkroad]

I booked this TA the day the schedule opened, and then spent over a year watching the build. This was both a reunion cruise with friends, and a much needed break from work. Despite some frustrations with our IV cabin, my DH & I had a wonderful cruise on this beautiful ship. During our fifteen days aboard Edge, I had hoped to try every venue at least once, visit every piece of art, and thoroughly explore the public areas of the ship. I didn't quite reach my goal, but we almost made it🙂 This was our sixth cruise, and our first at Captain's Club Elite level (hello, lovely laundry benefit!). We've sailed both M & S class, most recently on Silhouette last summer. Our music and art tastes are broad, and we enjoy both the classical and the Edgy (couldn't resist lol).

 

I'll review:

 

• embarkation in Ft. Lauderdale
• our cabin, including our experience with the layout & functionality of the IV itself
• our impressions of cabins we saw on our cabin crawl
• our impressions of the ship herself, and her officers, staff, and crew
• the four main dining rooms, the OVC, plus lunch at Eden
• four specialty restaurants, including Eden
• drinks in Eden, the Casino bar, the Martini bar, Sunset bar, and on the Magic Carpet
• several shows, including Eden
• the music
• the art
• the pool deck, Rooftop Garden, and track
• Guest Relations & Future Cruises
• Captain's Club, Concierge, and Cruise Critic events
• disembarkation in Southampton

 

I'll try to post segments daily, including some photos and video, and hope to have finished within a week. Please remember that I'm posting my opinions (sometimes including those of my DH) only. Others on the same TA will have had different experiences, and have different opinions. 

[wendyam76]

Thank you so much for doing this - looking forward to seeing your thoughts!

[vtcruising]

At last!! Thanks for all the info!!

[Oville]

Looking forward to reading it.

[Silkroad]

Mr. Edge says helloooooo

[Oville]

Looking stellar.

[parrothead33]

Looking forward to your review!

[hcat]

This ia going to be informative and fun....Can't wait for more!

Thanks for doing this....

[Silkroad]

Loved this mural outside Eden.

[vtcruising]

11 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Loved this mural outside Eden.

I missed that it was a live mural on the first cruises. Thought I was seeing things at first in January. Love the colors and the peacefulness ....... Great video!

[Oville]

16 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Loved this mural outside Eden.

 

It took me two 7 day cruises to notice this, loved it in April.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Oville

[Silkroad]

Please excuse my random posts tonight. I’m too tired to follow my list😜 Testing the theory that clothes wouldn’t dry as well in the IV showers, because the glass enclosure nearly meets the ceiling. Hand washed two Chico’s slub cotton tanks (thin cotton fabric) and hung them from our clothesline mid afternoon. They were dry early next morning.

[Silkroad]

[Oville]

8 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Please excuse my random posts tonight. I’m too tired to follow my list😜 Testing the theory that clothes wouldn’t dry as well in the IV showers, because the glass enclosure nearly meets the ceiling. Hand washed two Chico’s slub cotton tanks (thin cotton fabric) and hung them from our clothesline mid afternoon. They were dry early next morning.

Michelle, get some rest.  Can’t wait for the rest of the review glad the tanks dried.  Katie

Edited May 16, 2019 by Oville

[Silkroad]

I love roaming the ship late at night. It's a great time to enjoy the beatiful pool deck

 

[vtcruising]

16 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

I love roaming the ship late at night. It's a great time to enjoy the beautiful pool deck

Lovely pictures! Loved not knowing which colors they would have each night. It was always a surprise.

[cricketgirl]

Looking forward to your thoughts and hearing about your cruise.  Thanks for taking the time to share with everyone!

[Silkroad]

Just posted my cabin review on Vtcrusing's wonderful Edge class cabin spreadsheet (post #88). It would be great if all of us who have sailed Edge would post our cabin reviews on the spreadsheet. It will become the same excellent resource as the M & S class cabin spreadsheets, but only if we all contribute. Thanks😊

Edited May 16, 2019 by Silkroad

[vtcruising]

36 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Just posted my cabin review on Vtcrusing's wonderful Edge class cabin spreadsheet (post #88). It would be great if all of us who have sailed Edge would post our cabin reviews on the spreadsheet. It will become the same excellent resource as the M & S class cabin spreadsheets, but only if we all contribute.

Thanks! Just received 4 new ones this morning from your TA. Learned some new things - very helpful info!

[Silkroad]

We made the short hop from the DC metro area to FL the day before the cruise, and took the complimentary hotel shuttle to the Hampton Inn Ft Lauderdale Airport North Cruise Port (on 12th Ave). We hadn't flown into FL before, and it was a complete zoo while we hunted for our shuttle, but we connected within half an hour. We arrived at the hotel around lunchtime. They held our bags while we walked across the street to a little Greek place recommended on Yelp (and also recommended by the desk staff). Enjoyed our lunch, and found that our room was ready when we walked back to the hotel. We had a view of the pool and some lovely palms, one of which brushed our window in the breeze😊 The front desk staff members at this hotel were simply lovely. Very friendly and helpful.

 

Next morning, DH contacted Uber, and off we went. I was grinning like a fool when I saw Edge for the first time😀 We found the FL porters MUCH less aggressive than those in Miami, which was nice. We were in the terminal before 11:00, and since we'd already checked in online (including photos), we waited around until they let us onto the ship. There had been reports from prior cruisers that there wasn't much control of the passengers waiting to board the ship, because passengers were refusing to listen to staff instructions not to block the entrance to the ship. Naturally, this led to chaos while entering the walkway to the ship. I'm happy to report that this was not an issue for us. Staff insisted that passengers leave a reasonable perimeter near the entrance to the ship clear. I believe veterans & people with mobility issues were called first (suite passengers had a different waiting area) after which Concierge passengers were called, so off we went.

 

We went up to our cabin (which wasn't completely ready yet, as expected) to gather our keys and drop our carry on bags in the closet. We met our cabin attendant, and then left for the Concierge Luncheon, which was held in Cosmopolitan from 11:30 to 1:00. We had a calm, enjoyable lunch at a table for two near a window, which was lovely.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2019 by Silkroad

[Silkroad]

15 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Thanks! Just received 4 new ones this morning from your TA. Learned some new things - very helpful info!

You're welcome! I had posted the same request, including the link, on our roll call earlier this morning😊

[little britain]

13 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Are there clothes lines in the shower or is it a DIY job?

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Silkroad said:

Just posted my cabin review on Vtcrusing's wonderful Edge class cabin spreadsheet (post #88). It would be great if all of us who have sailed Edge would post our cabin reviews on the spreadsheet. It will become the same excellent resource as the M & S class cabin spreadsheets, but only if we all contribute. Thanks😊

Wow..just realized I never posted my Jan AQ  class cabin to the spread sheet.

.will do it as soon as I can.. thanks for the reminder!

[Silkroad]

11 minutes ago, little britain said:

Are there clothes lines in the shower or is it a DIY job?

DIY. I'll post a better photo of our clothesline. I purchased it several years ago, either at REI or from Amazon. It's quite versatile and strong. One can push the corner of small items like socks into the braid, or use clothes pins or clips for larger items. As you can see, we used the velcro to wrap the ends around the metal brackets at the tip of the shower glass, and looped the middle around the pole for the shower head. There are also loops at the ends, which is useful with hooks. We also have small, sturdy, magnetic hooks we place on the shower walls when necessary to hold our clothesline.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Silkroad

[hcat]

A few questions about  your pre cruise experience, if you have time.

 

We are booked at that Hampton Inn for our Nov EDGE cruise. First time for that one, We usually stay along 17th Street if we can,  but area  was pricey,  and not much was  available when we booked. Beside the Greek place,  were there other places you could walk to for dinner? Looks like there is a shopping center nearby ..Is that where the Greek place was located?   How was the included breakfast?

 

Was it worth waiting for the shuttle to the hotel ( did not know they had one), or should we just grab a cab from the airport?  We will probably order a cab to the ship as we do not Uber. Was it a short ride?

 

Thanks... for our EDGE cruise in Jan  we drove to the port from West coast and stayed in Dania....It was okay but it will actually be easier to fly there... avoids parking and luggage issues!