Edge - SO Disconnected and disappointing!

[Baron Barracuda]

 "Having no Chefs table last night we were far too late to find any dining times within reason at any of the ship restaurants.  The room service menu is quite slim - so off to the food court to eat with the crew we went."

 

Don't know what you consider a reasonable time, but have always been able to book acceptable same day Select or Specialty reservations as long as we call in the morning.  .

[mafig]

"overcrowded Retreat sun deck"   ????  Is it?  I haven't read that before, I would like to know if it's true.

 

 

[zltm089]

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity onshore customer service is pretty poor to be honest.

[alexsarasota]

We are presently on the edge in a SS and spend most of our day time at the Retreat bar/pool area and Retreat Lounge. Just the opposite of OPs experience.  NOT CROWDED AT ALL. In fact always able to get a seat at the bar. Love the Retreat concept. 

[Covepointcruiser]

We have never had a problem linking reservations for dining in Celebrity.   OP is in a Sky Suite so expectations need to be managed.  This is only a larger cabin, not an actual suite.   While in a RS we have had problems getting reservations at some specialties.   Butler service also suffered because our Butler covered 12 suites, two of them very demanding and needy.   I was not aware that Celebrity provided special sleeping accommodations for young children, guess a crib is all they had.  I did not realize cribs could be only suited for 3 months old and below.  If OP is expecting a fine dining experience at the Chef’s table I hope he gets it.    We have not been happy with the foods served but did enjoy the company at the table.    If Regent and Princess are more to his taste he should stick with those lines.

 

 

 

[mafig]

13 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

   OP is in a Sky Suite so expectations need to be managed.  This is only a larger cabin, not an actual suite.   

 

 

 

 

Did not know this.

[Ken the cruiser]

35 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We have never had a problem linking reservations for dining in Celebrity.   OP is in a Sky Suite so expectations need to be managed.  This is only a larger cabin, not an actual suite.

Really?? That's NOT the experience we encountered on the Reflection earlier this year on our 21 day B2B. Besides having a large corner aft-facing sky suite cabin and the GO BEST perks included in our fare, we ate in the Luminae every day, had a great butler with all of the perks that go along with that, had complete access to Michael's and their concierge, and everything else that goes with being in the suite class, except for the free specialty restaurants the much more expense suites get. So, not quite sure where you got the idea you ONLY get a larger cabin if you book a sky suite.

Edited December 19, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[Oville]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

 

Did not know this.

Ignore Covepointcruiser, Ken the Cruiser has it right.  No you will not get free Speciality restaurants or a call from the onshore Concierge pre cruise but you will get access to all the suite venues and have a butler.

Edited December 19, 2019 by Oville

[Jameson pirate]

3 hours ago, alexsarasota said:

We are presently on the edge in a SS and spend most of our day time at the Retreat bar/pool area and Retreat Lounge. Just the opposite of OPs experience.  NOT CROWDED AT ALL. In fact always able to get a seat at the bar. Love the Retreat concept. 

We were on last week and found the retreat deck and bar very crowded during the day...even on port days.  It seemed many people stayed onboard.  Very difficult to find seats at or near the bar and all shaded areas “taken”.   We had a different itinerary than you, so perhaps that makes a difference?  

[Pushka]

3 hours ago, mafig said:

 

Did not know this.

Agree. Last time I made a booking - this week in fact, the Sky Suite is, ummm, a suite with access to all the usual suite amenities - except the sparkling is a cheaper one. 

[DebInAntigua]

12 hours ago, mafig said:

 

Did not know this.

Sky Suites may be “entry level” suites but they are not just larger cabins. While the staff may not fawn, bow and scrape as they do for RS or PH suite guests, Sky Suites get almost all of the suite experience and amenities. Luminae, access to the Retreat, priority seating in the theater on chic nights, etc. 

[Tapi]

So sorry to hear that you had some glitches that soured the experience. We’ve taken two family cruises (14 family members including toddlers that needed cribs, one on Holland America and one on Royal Caribbean) without issues, but I know that I would’ve been frustrated if I’d had any problems.

 

I’ll echo what others said. A better TA should’ve been able to handle with Celebrity what you attempted unsuccessfully to do yourself. Obviously Celebrity needs to take responsibility for their customer service, but your TA should’ve minimized your exposure to any type of heartburn. 
 

About specialty dining reservations online, on both of our family cruises we waited until we were onboard the ship to coordinate specialty dining for the entire group. Yes, we ran the risk of missing out had it been full, but both times we were able to get reservations without a problem. On Royal in particular, the interesting thing was that online we couldn’t make the reservations because it showed no availability for our big group (we could reserve some but not all), but once we got onboard and we asked in person we had our choice of dates. 

Edited December 20, 2019 by Tapi

[dogs4fun]

We have a TA scheduled on the Edge in April - hopefully we will not experience the OP's glitches. In any event, we intend to make the best of it and enjoy our cruise.

[hubofhockey]

On 12/19/2019 at 5:04 PM, zltm089 said:

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity onshore customer service is pretty poor to be honest.

 

Azamara's is probably worse.  

 

In any case, Edge class is not a game changer the way Oasis and Solstice classes have been in the cruising industry.  

[Texed]

We enjoyed Edge very much.  We are going again on Edge in April.  🙂

[DaKahuna]

As I read you story I could not help but keep wondering to myself, what was your TA doing for you?

 

Any time I have had any pre-cruise issues, my TA has easily taken care of them.

 

On a cruise in early 2008, I made reservations for four rooms for my family.  I made the deposit for all of them on my card.  Since I have a TA designated with RCCI and Celebrity all of the reservations went to her.   Through out the period, all payments were made on my credit card and not until we checked in at the terminal did my daughter and son produce a credit card to pay for onboard charges. 

 

I'd be interested in your La Petite Chef experience.  I have not heard anything that compels us to try it.  I hear it is for guest much younger than we are.