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

[prish]

6 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

I'm so glad you liked the pendulum. I really liked that stairway and pendulum. It is rarely discussed on here. Maybe it's one of those things you have to see. It fascinated me and I found it a lovely place to sit and relax. Again, I wonder what surprises the Apex will have in store for us?

 

Yes, it does look lovely. I can’t wait for next May to be on the Apex, always such fun to discover a new class of ship. There will probably be things we don’t like but we always have an open mind and appreciate new experiences. My sister and niece are doing a Caribbean itinerary on the Edge in December, so they’ll get a taste of her.

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, prish said:

 

We have three SVs on deck 8, #8321, 8323 & 8314, the ones on the higher decks were all booked. I think two of our cabins are the middle ones, am on my phone right now and don’t have the deck plan. 

 

We usually like to open up the partitions so that we have one long verandah, always book hump cabins and enjoy family time outside in the evenings. But we’ll be happy with the SVs even if they don’t open up, at least we’ll have an actual verandah 😃

 

There are two types of connections for the aft balconies - the non-firewalls have the usual end partition that is unlocked and folded back (by cabin steward) and the firewalls have a door in them about halfway back. You can see the doors are circled in this picture. I am assuming that they will open those as well so that the adjacent cabins are connected. It looks to me as if 8321 and 8323 have a door in the firewall and that 8323 and 8314 may have a partition that folds back. I think I see hinges, which would mean it folds back. Someone in different center SVs said they didn't connect, but maybe that isn't true for all centers. Sorry, the reflection from the glass makes it difficult to tell for sure. 🙂

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the partition  folded back in cabins 10269 and 10261 (on the end).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by vtcruising

[cgolf1]

On 5/17/2019 at 1:19 PM, Silkroad said:

DH and I were quite taken with this forward facing Ocean View. It really was lovely.

 

Thanks for these pictures, we are now in the process of trying to switch from a deluxe oceanview to one of these on our Apex cruise. Thankfully they handle 3 people. 

[vtcruising]

36 minutes ago, prish said:

 

Yes, it does look lovely. I can’t wait for next May to be on the Apex, always such fun to discover a new class of ship. There will probably be things we don’t like but we always have an open mind and appreciate new experiences. My sister and niece are doing a Caribbean itinerary on the Edge in December, so they’ll get a taste of her.

One thing the Edge has helped me with is to keep an open mind. 😉  She is a bit audacious and many things on the ship make me smile or laugh out loud.  Things I didn't think I would like have grown on me and are now favorites. It added another dimension to my cruises. 🙂

Edited May 18, 2019 by vtcruising

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, Silkroad said:

We did manage to keep busy. We had fifteen days, several of them sea days, and still didn't manage to experience everything. I'm still in awe of Marilyn's ability to post all those live reviews on her first few Edge cruises. She's amazing!

I'm lucky to be able to function without sleep (due to my career) and have an understanding husband who tries not to roll his eyes when I pull out the phone on a cruise and say "wait, I just have to post this picture." Probably 15 days would just about kill me. It is funny how each person who has reviewed the Edge in detail has done it a little bit differently - makes it interesting. I'm enjoying your slow roll out and can't wait for each post in your amazing thread! 🙂

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, Silkroad said:

We explored every piece of art accessible to us (we had no access to suite areas or Blu). By this, I mean that we walked every passenger deck, and gazed at every piece of art on every wall, multiple times. As you walk the hallway in which your cabin is located, you may notice that each deck, or deck segment, has a theme. On one deck, it may be 60's photos. On another, it may be photos taken in India. I had intended to take more photos of my favorites, but never did. Attached are a couple I returned to again and again. The woman was located on the wall in one of the stairwells (on an upper deck, I think). The other photo was on one of the passenger decks, deck 11 or 12, I think. Each time I stopped in front of these photos, I noticed something new and beautiful. 

I noticed the themes on each deck too. I never took the time to go to each one and look at the themes for each. On deck 11, African art was the theme. There some amazing pieces! I also liked the elevator pieces - they put some striking ones in those, likely because you see them multiple times.

 

Michelle, did you do your art tours systematically, with a list of places to go, or did you just head out and wander through the ship?

 

[citronella]

Hate, hate those erroneously called Infinite Verandahs - 2 chairs in the room by a window and they are calling it not only a verandah room, but an infinite verandah! Other than that, the ship looks very nice (excepting neon hallways).

 

Your photos and review are very good.

 

We are booked for next June in a SV.

[vtcruising]

3 hours ago, Silkroad said:

DH and I have just had lovely, long walk in the park near our home, and I'm ready to finish day 2🙂 

 

Early on, we had purchased a three-night specialty restaurant package, as had our four friends. One couple had booked a Sky Suite, so she tried to book our dinner reservations ahead of time. Had we all used the same TA, it would have been simple for the TA to link our reservations. Since we hadn't, linking reservations was impossible. Several times, our friend thought she had our specialty dining sorted, but alas, it wasn't. Having had this experience on a previous cruise, she checked our reservations immediately after boarding, and finally got it sorted (though we had to dine in one restaurant on a different night than we had planned). I mention this because I know many people want to dine with groups of friends or family, so just realize you should check your specialty restaurant bookings (or make them) immediately after boarding, especially if specific times are important to you. One of our party needed to dine early, so all our specialty restaurant bookings were at 6:00 or 6:15.

 

We had booked the Rooftop Garden Grill on night 2, because we were aware of the lack of shade & wind shielding (such as that found at The Porch or The Lawn Club Grill on Reflection & Silhouette) and hoped to have the best experience while we were closer to FL. Unfortunately, the wind rose during the afternoon. Imagine our surprise when we approached the restaurant to find our friends (and the occupants of the other tables) wrapped in woolly plaid blankets😂 They had managed to get one of the most protected tables, so DH & I weren't cold enough to use our blankets until late in our meal.

 

The service was excellent, and the staff really tried to reduce the effects of the the design flaws of their otherwise lovely restaurant setting. Our waiter actually recommended a specific salad (Caprese), because it was the least likely to be blown away. Our table shared all the starters. I recall chicken wings, Train Wreck Fries, and chili & thought they were very good. The pork sliders were good. We listened to the voice of experience, and ordered Caprese Salads😉 When I say "we" liked or didn't like something, I'm referring to DH and myself. Our friends had different opinions about parts of our meal. My main was a half rack of ribs (wet), and DH had the Brisket. My ribs were very good. I was cool enough to wrap my woolly blanket around my waist by then, but nothing short of a blizzard is going to make this girl impede the use of her arms when working on some ribs😜 Neither of us recall dessert, but I'm sure we had something. Despite having ordered half the number of starters suggested by our waiter, we couldn't finish everything. It was very similar the the LCG in that regard. Unless Celebrity installs wind shielding, DH and I would not book this restaurant again on a TA or cool weather itinerary. There are plans to install an awning. If that appears adequate, we may try RTG Grill during our Greek Isles cruise next year.

Loved that the Caprese salad was recommended because of its weight. I guess after Katie's salad hit the lady next to her, they started recommended the Caprese. 😉  I hope the awning helps, but that is likely more for the shade.

[hcat]

I am  enjoying  each new installment of the review...esp  posts about the art. We were assigned to BLU so we spent  much time in that area of the ship near EDEN, which itself has many hidden treats along the winding  walkway. The spa and Thermal suite area also had some very nice organic type art.

 

 We enjoyed  seeing many nice pieces as we visited Elite breakfast in Tuscan and  had a few meals in Cosmopolitan; plus the Behind the Scenes Tour highlighted art too. The one I really did not like was near Tuscan..the one with spikes or sticks that pierced  a head. Have to look that one up!

[hcat]

3 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Loved that the Caprese salad was recommended because of its weight. I guess after Katie's salad hit the lady next to her, they started recommended the Caprese. 😉  I hope the awning helps, but that is likely more for the shade.

 

If they do not add wind blocks on EDGE, we will defer dinner  or even lunch at  the RTG until we sail on APEX  which may have an improved area with wind block.

 

Our EDGE  Sunset Veranda is a middle  one on Deck 7 ( over EDEN)..It's just us so no need to undo the partitions if we could. We are 6 months out from the cruise so quite a wait...

 

 

[prish]

41 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

 

There are two types of connections for the aft balconies - the non-firewalls have the usual end partition that is unlocked and folded back (by cabin steward) and the firewalls have a door in them about halfway back. You can see the doors are circled in this picture. I am assuming that they will open those as well so that the adjacent cabins are connected. It looks to me as if 8321 and 8323 have a door in the firewall and that 8323 and 8314 may have a partition that folds back. I think I see hinges, which would mean it folds back. Someone in different center SVs said they didn't connect, but maybe that isn't true for all centers. Sorry, the reflection from the glass makes it difficult to tell for sure. 🙂

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the partition  folded back in cabins 10269 and 10261 (on the end).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, you guys are just too good, thank you so much, these SVs should open up I believe. Though of course we’ll be on the Apex, which may have a different configuration. My sister did ask when she booked but Celebrity wasn’t able to tell her. 

[vtcruising]

Just now, prish said:

My sister did ask when she booked but Celebrity wasn’t able to tell her. 

Most of the time, people on CC seem to know more about the details than the X reps. There are several ships and they are just given the basics, I'm sure. 🙂

[Silkroad]

23 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Loved that the Caprese salad was recommended because of its weight. I guess after Katie's salad hit the lady next to her, they started recommended the Caprese. 😉  I hope the awning helps, but that is likely more for the shade.

Yes, the awning is only meant to address the shade issue. Wind screening has been discussed, but there are no plans to add them at this time.

 

I loved that too! Believe me, DH and I kept a firm grip on our drinks😜

Edited May 18, 2019 by Silkroad

[Silkroad]

32 minutes ago, citronella said:

Your photos and review are very good.

 

We are booked for next June in a SV.

Thank you😊  

 

We're booked for next May in an SV. Can't wait!

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, cgolf1 said:

Thanks for these pictures, we are now in the process of trying to switch from a deluxe oceanview to one of these on our Apex cruise. Thankfully they handle 3 people. 

You're welcome😊 We were amazed at how that space by the window, despite being angled, made the cabin seem much more spacious. 

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

I'm lucky to be able to function without sleep (due to my career) and have an understanding husband who tries not to roll his eyes when I pull out the phone on a cruise and say "wait, I just have to post this picture." Probably 15 days would just about kill me. It is funny how each person who has reviewed the Edge in detail has done it a little bit differently - makes it interesting. I'm enjoying your slow roll out and can't wait for each post in your amazing thread! 🙂

I'm only able to function without sleep for a short time, though I do OK for a few days with least six hours sleep. My DH would have gone along with me doing my first live review, but he did remind me that I had said I wanted to fully explore the ship and try all the venues. We also wanted to spend time with our friends, and some quality time together. We did lose WiFi a couple times, though not for more than a couple hours, and it was slower once we were in the middle of the Atlantic. 

 

I enjoy all the different reviewing styles too. It's funny, but I can't stick to one style. I try to be methodical, but I break off on tangents occasionally. I have a very large whimsical streak😉 Like ohhhh look at the beautiful butterfly😂 Haha the slooow roll out is less by choice than by necessity, because of other responsibilities & my need to get up from this desk & move around regularly. I'm very excited about our cruise, and everything we experienced, and I can't wait to share what we learned on this first cruise outside the Caribbean🌺 

Edited May 18, 2019 by Silkroad

[vtcruising]

8 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

I'm only able to function without sleep for a short time, though I do OK for a few days with least six hours sleep. My DH would have gone along with me doing my first live review, but he did remind me that I had said I wanted to fully explore the ship and try all the venues. We also wanted to spend time with our friends, and some quality time together. We did lose WiFi a couple times, though not for more than a couple hours, and it was slower once we were in the middle of the Atlantic. 

 

I enjoy all the different reviewing styles too. It's funny, but I can't stick to one style. I try to be methodical, but I break off on tangents occasionally. I have a very large whimsical streak😉 Like ohhhh look at the beautiful butterfly😂 Haha the slooow roll out is less by choice than by necessity, because of other responsibilities & my need to get up from this desk & move around regularly. I'm very excited about our cruise, and everything we experienced, and I can't wait to share what we learned on this first cruise outside the Caribbean🌺 

Loving your relaxed style! Just like a good cruise, we sometimes go off on a tangent and that turns out to be a highlight of the cruise. 🙂

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

I noticed the themes on each deck too. I never took the time to go to each one and look at the themes for each. On deck 11, African art was the theme. There some amazing pieces! I also liked the elevator pieces - they put some striking ones in those, likely because you see them multiple times.

 

Michelle, did you do your art tours systematically, with a list of places to go, or did you just head out and wander through the ship?

 

That's right! I finally noticed the pieces in the elevator late one night, when we jumped on one that was empty. No, I wasn't systematic. I knew I wanted to see Mr. Edge, the Haunted Forest, the wooden people, those photographs in Cafe al Bacio, and a few other pieces. Other than returning to those multiple times, I was more like a little kid, racing here, there and everywhere😉We roamed the halls deck by deck, looking at the art, most nights because we were still too full to sleep and/or we needed a walk after sitting in the theater or other venues. We loved wandering around the pool deck and Roof Top Garden (including the track) late at night because the lighting and designs were so beautiful against the backdrop of the vast sea and sky. I must have 100 photos of Mr. Edge against an ever changing backdrop. I should do a Mr. Edge retrospective🤣 I had been skeptical of the upper deck lighting, wondering if it would look cheap and plastic in person. No such thing. With those repeating archways, it's very beautiful and mysterious against the night sky.

[vtcruising]

2 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

That's right! I finally noticed the pieces in the elevator late one night, when we jumped on one that was empty. No, I wasn't systematic. I knew I wanted to see Mr. Edge, the Haunted Forest, the wooden people, those photographs in Cafe al Bacio, and a few other pieces. Other than returning to those multiple times, I was more like a little kid, racing here, there and everywhere😉We roamed the halls deck by deck, looking at the art, most nights because we were still too full to sleep and/or we needed a walk after sitting in the theater or other venues. We loved wandering around the pool deck and Roof Top Garden (including the track) late at night because the lighting and designs were so beautiful against the backdrop of the vast sea and sky. I must have 100 photos of Mr. Edge against an ever changing backdrop. I should do a Mr. Edge retrospective🤣 I had been skeptical of the upper deck lighting, wondering if it would look cheap and plastic in person. No such thing. With those repeating archways, it's very beautiful and mysterious against the night sky.

You and I think a lot alike! I loved to wander at night looking at the lights and never got enough of Mr Edge. It was funny, but I saw an X press release where they talked about "Arion, who is playfully called Mr Edge on board."  No mention that we named him Mr Edge on the Blocks in the House thread last year! 🙂

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

The one I really did not like was near Tuscan..the one with spikes or sticks that pierced  a head. Have to look that one up!

I need to look that one up too. I really didn't like that one. I kept wanting to pull the spikes out and bandage the wounds! I suppose it could be meant to represent all the things that bombard our brains each day, rather than being literal spikes. Now I'm curious. Uh oh here I go on another tangent😉

[vtcruising]

5 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

I need to look that one up too. I really didn't like that one. I kept wanting to pull the spikes out and bandage the wounds! I suppose it could be meant to represent all the things that bombard our brains each day, rather than being literal spikes. Now I'm curious. Uh oh here I go on another tangent😉

That's what I feel like when I have a migraine!  I was worried someone was going to be impaled. I warned one guy as he was backing into him - that would have been an interesting one for Medical!

[Silkroad]

1 minute ago, vtcruising said:

You and I think a lot alike! I loved to wander at night looking at the lights and never got enough of Mr Edge. It was funny, but I saw an X press release where they talked about "Arion, who is playfully called Mr Edge on board."  No mention that we named him Mr Edge on the Blocks in the House thread last year! 🙂

Someday, we'll have to compare Mr. Edge photos😊 That is funny. You'd think they'd give us credit😉

[Silkroad]

2 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

That's what I feel like when I have a migraine!  I was worried someone was going to be impaled. I warned one guy as he was backing into him - that would have been an interesting one for Medical!

I get migraines too. My spikes would typically be all over the right maxillary & frontal sinuses, the right side of my head, and my right neck & shoulder. Miserable things😵 

[Lastdance]

Great review, Michelle, as I can second the issue of lack of sleep.  I just mustered up enough energy to go on CC, so just saw this...still a member of the walking dead, but at least I can read and look at photos.  I know that quite a few of us are happy that you are posting this review...it will help me remember what was happening, even though I was there...you go girl!  Oh...do not forget to share some of our stories...forgot that some things that happened on Edge stay on Edge!  One couple is still over in France for yet another week...someday it will be us!!!

Edited May 19, 2019 by Lastdance

[vtcruising]

2 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

Great review, Michelle, as I can second the issue of lack of sleep.  I just mustered up enough energy to go on CC, so just saw this...still a member of the walking dead, but at least I can read and look at photos.  I know that quite a few of us are happy that you are posting this review...it will help me remember what was happening, even though I was there...you go girl!

Good to hear from you! Hope all was okay at home when you returned....

 

Yes, Michelle is doing a wonderful job. I feel like I was there! 🙂

Edited May 19, 2019 by vtcruising