Edge Infinite Veranda - Love It

[cangelmd]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I agree that comment was 100% uncalled for. 

 

I am new to this forum because i booked our first X cruise in over 10 years for next year on the Infinity. I have been very active on the HAL boards in that time because I have cruised exclusivly on HAL  I had been thinkig about how much more the CC people in this forum have been civily to each better over the HAL one, until this thread.

 

I apprciate your opinions on the subject because what you bring up is actually what I do on a crusie. I am an early riser and I go out to our verandah to sit and read while my DW sleeps. Your comments would be something we would consider before we booked a cabin on the Edge or Apex with a IV.  Is it possible to book any AQ Class cabin without a IV verandah? If we enjoy our Infinity cruise next year on a AQ, I would like to do more X cruises in the future and would like to try one of the Edge class ships. BTW there have been several threads on the HAL forum about the Edge and the IV cabins and so many, who never sailed on X, make fun about the both the ship and concept. After reading more here about the Edge I would  really like to sail on her at least once, she has a lot to offer that HAL doesn't on their new Pinnacle class ships.

 

One of the big reasons we are trying X again are the private exclusive dining venues like BLU and Luminae,  something HAL doesn't offer exclusively. HAL's new Club Orange is a joke that any passenger can use if they pay the extra fees and on most of their ships is nothing more than a roped off area in the MDR. Our only other X cruise was in 2009 on the old Century in Europe and it was a terrible ship and cruise and turned us off on X.

Terry, since you are somewhat new to Celebrity and this board, I just want to address your first 2 paragraphs about the drop off in civility in this thread - just a little history (My first Edge cruise is next month, but we are in an inside cabin, I hope there's a cabin crawl so I can see an IV).

 

People get real touchy about Edge and the IVs and particularly about people expressing any opinion about the IVs when they haven't personally sailed in one. I think this is because before the Edge was launched, there was a speculative thread that had run for years about what the ship and particularly the Magic Carpet and the IVs would be like. Celeb had a promotional video that, IMHO, misrepresented what the IVs would be like, especially the size of the hard surface balcony part of the IV. People made impassioned statements on little to zero information. As Oville has said, some people changed their plans based on all the rhetoric, and sometimes that didn't work out. I think people get emotional on both sides because of the fallout from the early hype and misinformation and from slip-ups by Celeb - predominantly with what furniture was going to fit well and the decor.

 

My point, Terry, is welcome, this is usually a reasonable and reasonably civil bunch, don't judge us by one thread on one of the sore spots! I hope you have a great Celebrity cruise. I have been on several lines, but not HAL, Celeb fits us best.

[JBare]

10 hours ago, VitaminSea53 said:

You apparently don’t realize that there are frosted doors to the Verandah that can be closed thereby allowing you to read your book outside and the room does not get bathed in light as you may be imagining. 

 

If thats waht you think, then you too have clearly not tried it.

[VitaminSea53]

15 minutes ago, JBare said:

 

If thats waht you think, then you too have clearly not tried it.

 

[VitaminSea53]

I agree that it depends on the time of day and the degree that the sun is shining directly on the ‘Verandah’. It will never be the same as the black out curtains on a traditional balcony cabin.   It is a good thing that we have a choice in ships and cabin arrangements. 

[Bo1953]

53 minutes ago, JBare said:

 

If thats waht you think, then you too have clearly not tried it.

 

I do not think this light is representative of 5.30a... maybe 5.30p, clearly not the earlier time.

 

bon voyage

[highway180]

5 hours ago, DrKoob said:

 

I am sorry your Century cruise didn't live up to expectations. We sailed her four different times and really liked her. But we started our Celebrity journey of more than 20 cruises on Infinity. We have sailed on her six times since 2004. She is an older ship but still in great shape. And she is a great introduction to X. Try the S-class ships as well.We especially love the Reflection and Silhouette with their Lawn Club Grille. I agree that one of the best parts (for us) of X ships is sailing in Aqua class so we can have dinner AND breakfast in Blu. Dinner is so much quieter than the MDR and the service vastly improved. We love the food as well. But our favorite thing about Blu is breakfast. On shore days, they are open early and the same crew who served us dinner were there for breakfast. This means on a 10+day cruise you really get to know them. And it seems that Blu gets some of the best. Our service there is always first rate. 

 

Jim

i totally agree with this statement, as we always sail AQ and enjoy Blu and our balcony. will be a while before we switch from S class ships to the newer ones.......not quite sold on the infinite veranda idea yet.

 

But i am happy for those that do, as i appreciate all the info/comments, good and bad.

thanks to all for contributing

 

[JBare]

3 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

I do not think this light is representative of 5.30a... maybe 5.30p, clearly not the earlier time.

 

 

Hi Bo, I’m not sure the relevance of your point unless you are suggesting quite rightly that if its dark outside then its dark inside.

On our cruise it was indeed extremely dark at 5.30am and maybe even DrKoob would not rise at that time. However the point is that his wife likes to lie in late so what the light is like at 5.30am is irrelevant. But as you are so sure of what is clear and what is not I’ve submitted two more photos, one taken at 6.30AM and the other with my wife in it was taken at 5.30PM.

We enjoyed our time in an IV cabin but it does have some faults and I think any comments for or against them should be factual. Those that say you can’t sit on the open “balcony” and block the light in the room are correct and no impression should be given otherwise.

 

 

[Bo1953]

15 minutes ago, JBare said:

 

Hi Bo, I’m not sure the relevance of your point unless you are suggesting quite rightly that if its dark outside then its dark inside.

On our cruise it was indeed extremely dark at 5.30am and maybe even DrKoob would not rise at that time. However the point is that his wife likes to lie in late so what the light is like at 5.30am is irrelevant. But as you are so sure of what is clear and what is not I’ve submitted two more photos, one taken at 6.30AM and the other with my wife in it was taken at 5.30PM.

We enjoyed our time in an IV cabin but it does have some faults and I think any comments for or against them should be factual. Those that say you can’t sit on the open “balcony” and block the light in the room are correct and no impression should be given otherwise.

I Am very sure that he said he gets up and likes to out to read at 5.30a... thus my comment.

 

Your photos are accurate, if you write it was the time you took them, I then have no basis in fact to dispute this. Thank you.

 

bon voyage

[Quo Vadis?]

Century:  My favourite Celebrity ship and still would be if it was not sold off.

 

We were on Edge in an AQ "opening picture window stateroom" that some say is a balcony cabin.

We enjoyed life on the Edge, liked our Blu food and service but if one wants a balcony to enjoy when their partner is still catching some Z's, this is not the ship for you.

If you like a lot of glass, and an occasional open window, Edge is fine but this is not a veranda cabin.  It's a room with a window that opens.  No lounging in a chair outside while your partner enjoys the A/C inside.

We liked Edge enough to book two more cruises in an "opening window ocean view cabin."

I am not an Edge hater, I like the ship and the newness of this concept.  I like battleship grey as the major colour scheme.  It reminds me of the naval painting facility in Bayonne .

We booked 4 Apex cruises because we actually enjoy the newness of the concept.  But if you equate the IV interpretation with a balcony/veranda on the X traditional ships, you never did enjoy the balcony life... But Celebrity Speak is alive and well..

Enjoy the cabin and ship you love the most, but please someone come up with a definition of balcony/veranda that does not cause some of us to roll their eyes when plugged into an IV.

 

[Texed]

5 hours ago, Argo. said:

We enjoyed life on the Edge, liked our Blu food and service but if one wants a balcony to enjoy when their partner is still catching some Z's, this is not the ship for you.

 

Or, maybe just not the category for you.  We had another room category with a regular veranda.  We were very pleased.  😎

[Silkroad]

Argo, I agree that the term “Infinite Veranda” is a fine example of imaginative marketing, but I doubt they’ll change the name at this point😊

 

I think it really is impossible to know the pros/cons of the IV without trying one. DH and I were intrigued by the concept, but knew we’d be making trade offs between more space, and a conventional balcony experience. We sailed in an IV on the first TA last April (about which I wrote a review, with photos). Despite being fully aware that we would not have a typical balcony experience, we were still frustrated two things. The chairs on the IV were too large for the space, and was no curtain/shade between the bifold doors and the room. 

 

Based on passenger feedback, Celebrity had begun frosting the bifold doors before our cruise, (though they hadn’t gotten to our deck). I think the frosting is an improvement. Thanks to Bo, I know they’ve carried out their commitment to replace the chairs with smaller ones to better fit the space.  The chairs were the single most annoying thing to me about an otherwise lovely cabin. Now that Celebrity has replaced them, I’d happily book an IV again (though we’d try the bed by the balcony next time). For us, an IV would be perfect for a cold, wet, or extremely hot itinerary. 

[Germancruiser]

I just booked my first infinite cabin on board the Apex in June this year. I am still not sure if i will like it- but one as to see for oneself to judge. It looks more like a and outside cabin with a BIG window.

I saw a video, were one could close the verandah windows  with black blinds- to shut out every bit of light- for those who like to have it real dark at night.  I thought these much better then curtains.

I also hope they changed the furniture on the balcony.

Otherwise the room look great- very very well thought out- acording to what i saw in the video.

Here is the Link to this great video:

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Germancruiser

[Oville]

12 minutes ago, Germancruiser said:

I just booked my first infinite cabin on board the Apex in June this year. I am still not sure if i will like it- but one as to see for oneself to judge. It looks more like a and outside cabin with a BIG window.

I saw a video, were one could close the verandah with black blinds- to shut out every bit of light- for those who like to have it real dark at night. Did they install these later?

I also hope they changed the furniture on the balcony.

Otherwise the room look great- very very well thought out- acording to what i saw in the video.

 

The room darkening blind has been there from the get go.  The chairs have been changed out to a smaller size and the tinted glass has been added.  Obviously these cabins are not for everyone but we were presently surprised when we sailed in one in April.  Next week we’ll be in a suite on Edge but back to an IV in April and looking forward to the changes.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Oville

[ipeeinthepool]

30 minutes ago, Germancruiser said:

I just booked my first infinite cabin on board the Apex in June this year. I am still not sure if i will like it- but one as to see for oneself to judge. It looks more like a and outside cabin with a BIG window.

I saw a video, were one could close the verandah windows  with black blinds- to shut out every bit of light- for those who like to have it real dark at night.  I thought these much better then curtains.

I also hope they changed the furniture on the balcony.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Apex, but I don't expect any significant changes to the balcony furniture.  This doll house furniture is simply too small to be functional and comfortable, unfortunately  the "balcony space" is simply too small to accommodate larger furniture.  This is one of the inherent flaws in the current IV balcony, the balcony space allocation is too small to allow larger chairs and a functional table.

[Germancruiser]

Yes, I think so, too- I am very curious if i will like this kind of balcony cabin!

[VitaminSea53]

I have read first hand reports that the new Verandah chairs are comfortable indeed.....for reading a book or sitting for an hour or two ...probably not for laying back and taking a nap in the sun.  

[terrydtx]

While some of us love the IV and some do not, apparently Celebrity loves them because after the Apex is launched this year they have three more Edge class ships on order for 2021, 2022 and 2024.  Celebrity is betting their future on this innovation in cruise ships.  I hope this doesn't mean the M Class ships are being retired in the near future. 

[drakes2]

On 1/7/2020 at 2:13 PM, DrKoob said:

 

You are correct that I have never sailed on Edge (and do not intend to) but my objection to that type of balcony (which is really just a large outside stateroom that has an openable window) is that I am an early riser (like 5:30 am) and my bride is not. So on an S or M class ship, I can grab a book and step out on the verandah, close the drapes and she can sleep on. Not in and IV. Not sure how they can fix this. We have had numerous friends who have sailed Edge and their complaints have been that the IV windows have been closed by X at strange and inopportune times. Hopefully that has ended. 

 

Jim

I have never sailed on the Edge so no first hand knowledge of the IV's, however, booked on an Apex Mediterranean cruise this May. We actually downgraded from an IV to a regular ocean view balcony and saved $300. Not a huge savings but we like the location and the fact that it's still a balcony cabin with a sliding door to a separate sitting area. 

[bigdawgs]

               We sailed on the Edge in Sep. it was an 11 night Greek Island Cruise.

We have sailed on the Solstice, Equinox, Silhouette, Infinity and Millennium, each time in a balcony cabin and were looking forward to the Edge in an Infinite Veranda cabin. While the amenities in the cabin were superior to the other ships, I missed the outdoor feel of a traditional balcony cabin. Obviously others feel the same way or Celebrity wouldn’t be spending so many $$$$ on TV ads, particularly here in Florida. Our next Celebrity Cruise will be aboard the Reflection in a 1A on the hump, where the balconies are big enough to accommodate 2 loungers, a table and 2 chairs. You can keep your IV, but it’s not in our future. Perhaps Celebrity should rethink their future ship designs,

 

Just my opinion.

Larry

 

[drakes2]

9 minutes ago, bigdawgs said:

               We sailed on the Edge in Sep. it was an 11 night Greek Island Cruise.

We have sailed on the Solstice, Equinox, Silhouette, Infinity and Millennium, each time in a balcony cabin and were looking forward to the Edge in an Infinite Veranda cabin. While the amenities in the cabin were superior to the other ships, I missed the outdoor feel of a traditional balcony cabin. Obviously others feel the same way or Celebrity wouldn’t be spending so many $$$$ on TV ads, particularly here in Florida. Our next Celebrity Cruise will be aboard the Reflection in a 1A on the hump, where the balconies are big enough to accommodate 2 loungers, a table and 2 chairs. You can keep your IV, but it’s not in our future. Perhaps Celebrity should rethink their future ship designs,

 

Just my opinion.

Larry

 

Have not sailed on the Edge but I tend to agree with you. Love those 1A's. Great location on the hump with extended balconies.

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

I have never sailed on the Edge so no first hand knowledge of the IV's, however, booked on an Apex Mediterranean cruise this May. We actually downgraded from an IV to a regular ocean view balcony and saved $300. Not a huge savings but we like the location and the fact that it's still a balcony cabin with a sliding door to a separate sitting area. 

I would have made the same choice. I toured on of those on our Edge cabin crawl, and thought it charming. Though I would book an IV again, I definitely wanted a more conventional veranda for our Greek Isles cruise on Edge in May. I had originally booked an SV, but recently succumbed to the siren call of a very rare (for us) Sky Suite instead😂 We’re booked in a lovely SV on Apex later this year, and it will be interesting to compare those three cabin classes against one another, and against the cabins we’ve had on the other X ships. 

 

I hope you enjoy Edge. She’s a beautiful ship, and we had a wonderful time on her. I also hope you have the opportunity to go on a cabin crawl. I’m pretty good at envisioning actual spaces and spatial relationships from photos and videos, but standing within each cabin/suite made a great difference in my opinion of each of them. 

[terrydtx]

I guess whether you love or not the IV cabins comes down to personal choices. A traditional open veranda is like being in a convertible car with the top down while the IV is like riding in a sedan with the windows down. Some people like convertibles and many do not which is why not many auto manufactures make them anymore. For Celebrity the future is at least 3 more Edge Class ships with mostly IV cabins.

 

I am sure we will try the IV cabin sometime in the future, the Edge class ships have too many upgrades and amenities to not sail one at least one time. Since all CC and AQ class cabins are IV we would have no choice but to have one.

Edited January 10, 2020 by terrydtx

[Silkroad]

36 minutes ago, bigdawgs said:

               We sailed on the Edge in Sep. it was an 11 night Greek Island Cruise.

We have sailed on the Solstice, Equinox, Silhouette, Infinity and Millennium, each time in a balcony cabin and were looking forward to the Edge in an Infinite Veranda cabin. While the amenities in the cabin were superior to the other ships, I missed the outdoor feel of a traditional balcony cabin. Obviously others feel the same way or Celebrity wouldn’t be spending so many $$$$ on TV ads, particularly here in Florida. Our next Celebrity Cruise will be aboard the Reflection in a 1A on the hump, where the balconies are big enough to accommodate 2 loungers, a table and 2 chairs. You can keep your IV, but it’s not in our future. Perhaps Celebrity should rethink their future ship designs,

 

Just my opinion.

Larry

 

Our sailing history is similar to yours. The IV was our first time without a traditional balcony, and I missed the traditional balcony “feel” much more than DH did. We’ve had a hump Veranda on Reflection, and we have three more bookings in hump verandas. However, we believe we’d be happy with an IV for some itineraries. For example, when I was considering a b2b on Apex, I had decided to book an IV on deck 8 (so we wouldn’t have the annoying overhang we had on deck 12) for the TA, and an SV for the second leg in the Med. The savings on the TA would have paid for our Beverage package upgrades, with money left over.

 

Celebrity may rethink their future ship designs, but they have a contract for several more Edge class ships, so I don’t expect anything different in the near future. The structural design of the Edge class may preclude the addition of more traditional Veranda cabins. I expect that Celebrity will discount the IVs and/or add perks to get people to try them. IMO each of the three ship classes have pros and cons, and we expect to continue sailing on all three. 

 

 

[VitaminSea53]

1 hour ago, Silkroad said:

I would have made the same choice. I toured on of those on our Edge cabin crawl, and thought it charming. Though I would book an IV again, I definitely wanted a more conventional veranda for our Greek Isles cruise on Edge in May. I had originally booked an SV, but recently succumbed to the siren call of a very rare (for us) Sky Suite instead😂 We’re booked in a lovely SV on Apex later this year, and it will be interesting to compare those three cabin classes against one another, and against the cabins we’ve had on the other X ships. 

 

I hope you enjoy Edge. She’s a beautiful ship, and we had a wonderful time on her. I also hope you have the opportunity to go on a cabin crawl. I’m pretty good at envisioning actual spaces and spatial relationships from photos and videos, but standing within each cabin/suite made a great difference in my opinion of each of them. 

I am curious why you would not chose an IV for the Greek Islands in May. It seems like a perfect cruise for an IV.... mild weather so you might even choose to sleep with the window open and hear the sounds of the ocean.  I can understand why you would avoid an IV for hot humid weather that you would not want infiltrating your cabin but maybe I am misguided. I would appreciate feedback from someone who has actually experienced the IV. 

[Silkroad]

3 hours ago, VitaminSea53 said:

I am curious why you would not chose an IV for the Greek Islands in May. It seems like a perfect cruise for an IV.... mild weather so you might even choose to sleep with the window open and hear the sounds of the ocean.  I can understand why you would avoid an IV for hot humid weather that you would not want infiltrating your cabin but maybe I am misguided. I would appreciate feedback from someone who has actually experienced the IV. 

I’m sure an IV would be perfect for someone who likes to sleep with the window or door open to hear the sea. For myself, I love being outside viewing the sea, sky, and coastline before & during sunrise. Being able to do so on our balcony, without waking my DH, is one of my joys in very beautiful, warm places. Together, we enjoy the sunsets on our balcony. These are some of the places I was very grateful to have a traditional veranda: the Aegean, the Stockholm archipelago, approaching Malta at sunrise, the Bay of Kotor, and the New England & Canadian coastlines. Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion. My DH doesn’t miss the sunrise in an IV because he’s sleeping lol. Further, he would trade a traditional veranda for the extra space in an IV in a heartbeat, especially if the IV cost less. So, we intend to book whichever cabin makes the most sense to us for the itinerary, the season, and the cost.