Edge (7/17) Trip Report

[AbbyCruiser45]

I just got off a week on the Celebrity Edge and I thought that I would write up a report (while passing time in the airport) since it was only the 4th Edge sailing and also my first time sailing with Celebrity. I also am a huge planner and used similar reports to help me get ready for the trip, so I wanted to return the favor. I’ve only been on two cruises previously, one with Disney (Wonder) and the other on Norwegian (Sun). I’ll start by saying that this sailing was incredible and much better than the two other lines that I’ve been on. 

 

Cabin
We stayed in an infinite verandah (7179). I know there is much debate on the IV and I think I fall into the neutral to liking it side. We did not open it much, but I loved the unobstructed floor to ceiling views. We had the couch on the side of the verandah, and I do think this makes a huge difference. Nearly every day, I lounged on the couch and read with a perfect view of the ocean. One thing that I found to be a good compromise is sliding the verandah down a tiny bit to let the sound of the waves in, but not let the cool air out. 

 

My only complaint on the room is that it was not cool enough. The wall unit said it was 66 degrees in the room but it did not feel this way. I had a difficult time falling asleep some nights because it felt warm and almost humid (even though the IV had not been opened).

 

Otherwise, I don’t have much else to say on the room. The room itself was perfect in every way with enough storage for two people. The detachable shower head was nice to thoroughly clean off my bathing suit after each port. 

 

 

 Food 
Since this was our first time on board, we did not go to any specialty restaurants. The main dining room food was excellent. The baked brie in Normandie was fantastic. In Tuscan, the carbonara was also incredible. There were no dishes that I can criticize. We got two appetizers each night and none disappointed. 

 

 

We went to the buffet for breakfast and lunch each day. The buffet food was overall really good and a far step above the other cruise lines that I have been on. The only thing to criticize in the buffet is that the breakfast was the same every day (outside the breads). On Disney, for example, there was one new station each day. This was not a huge issue because there was so much variety, so I had something new nearly every day. I want to mention the daily breakfast bread. Be on the lookout for these, because they are excellent. One morning I had a Kringle and another morning a delightful chocolate babka. 

 

 

 

The lunch was very good as well with a lot of different options. One day they even had a selection of steaks and I got a perfectly medium rare tenderloin off the buffet which I did not think would happen! There was also a daily 4pm snack which was not well attended, but had scones and clotted cream, tea sandwiches, and fresh doughnuts. Everything was great in this selection as well.

 

 

As for the other options on the ship, we went to Café al Bacio each day and Eden Café twice. Do not miss the pork belly sliders in Eden Café! They were incredible, so tender! The Eden café also had a great morning fruit bowl, which I often got to snack on while reading. 

 

 

Drinks 
We had the premium drink package and I definitely think it is worth the upgrade. If you’re a wine drinker, the selection on premium is far better than the classic package. We sampled so many different types of drinks. Tas in Eden is arguably the best bartender on board, so be sure to visit him. The Tia Cappuccino from Café al Bacio quickly became my favorite mid-afternoon pick me up. 

 

Public Spaces
Eden was by far my favorite place on the ship. The only entertainment was live music, no dancers. I read on the ramp in front of the dramatic aft windows every morning and had drinks there every afternoon/evening. A lot of people say that this is wasted space, but I have to disagree. The space was incredible and the perfect meeting spot for my group of 5. We also frequented Café al Bacio and played cards there almost every afternoon. There was always a spot available, usually with a good view.

The Magic Carpet when it was on deck 5 was my favorite outdoor spot. It never served as a restaurant on our sailing, just a bar. I loved being that close to the water, watching the sunset. 

 

 

My only major complaint for the ship is the lack of shaded spots on the deck. We did not spend a lot of time outside because we did not want to be in the sun. I think this is being remedied on the Beyond based on the concept art that I’ve seen. Additionally, the lack of forward access to the ship was disappointing, but not a deal breaker.  

 

Service
The crew on this ship are awesome. We had several notable interactions and our stateroom host took care of our room perfectly. The rest of my group in another cabin did have issues with their host, however. There was a minor issue initially where we were charged for using the mini bar even though we had the drinks and more package. Additionally, we had to ask for our minibar to be refilled after 4 days, which was a (super) minor annoyance. This may have been because the only thing empty was the red wine, which I usually enjoyed in the evenings while getting ready for dinner. We also had an issue where the bifold door between the room and IV could not close all the way. This was resolved quickly and we even got a letter the next day with an apology and a gesture of appreciation from Celebrity. I promptly went to guest relations to make sure they knew I was not upset! 

 

Entertainment
I’m sorry to report that we did not go to any shows, that is just not how I cruise, so I have nothing to report on those. We enjoyed all the live music on board, it was way better than piped in music or DJs. We did go to the silent disco. I thought I would hate it, but it was some of the most fun we had! The trivia games were a lot of fun and I even won a water bottle at one! The scavenger hunt was a blast, but super completive. We ended up winning, but ran around the entire ship and only won by about 2 seconds! 
The casino was also a blast. I did not play any tables, but my boyfriend did. He enjoyed the tables a lot and played many days. 

 

Ports
We went to Nassau, St Thomas, and St Maarten. My favorite by far was St Maarten. In Nassau we went to the Hilton British Colonial ($85/person with a $40/person food credit). The resort was nice. We enjoyed the clear water and use of the pool. Towels were included. It was also only a 10-minute walk from port which was a huge plus. The only downside is that we went to the restaurant an hour before we needed to leave to get back on the ship and left without food. We are not sure why 5 entrées would take over an hour to make (mine was a burger). Overall, I had a good time but I am not sure I’ll go back next year. In Nassau, as others have reported, most everything was closed. 

 

In St. Thomas we went on the Secret Sands Beach and Skyline Drive excursion through Celebrity. It was a good excursion in my view, but for the others in my group that have gone on other Celebrity “beach break” type excursions, it left a lot to be desired. We were at the beach for about 2.5 hours with access to chairs. The water had a lot of seaweed, but that happens this time of year and is out of everyone’s control. 

 

St Maarten was incredible. The island was beautiful with the clearest water I’ve ever seen. We went to Sonesta Maho Beach using Resort for a Day ($89/person, all-inclusive). This was definitely worth it. We had access to the whole resort with loungers and umbrellas looking out to the beautiful beach. It was also a ton of fun to watch the airplanes arrive into the airport. 

 

 

 

Covid
This section will be brief because largely this was not an issue! The only noticeable difference was the crew serving in the buffet. I am completely okay with this being a permanent change. The only issue is that sometimes the serving size was quite large and I like to sample a lot of different foods, so I felt bad for the waste. Another minor difference was just a reminder to wear masks in port. Other than those two small things, there was no difference from my January 2020 sailing on NCL.

 

Internet
I had the basic surf package. I did not have an issue with it because I really did not need the internet. I was able to send and receive a few emails, post to social media a few times, use the Celebrity app, and Google a few random things. Two members of my group upgraded to the stream package. They both own their own internet-based business. Although on vacation, sometimes they needed to be in contact with customers. They both said the internet speeds were largely problematic. 

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As you can probably tell at this point, I was beyond happy with my first time on Celebrity. The service was great and the days flew. I already have another Caribbean sailing booked for next July and that could not come soon enough! 

 

I think this should cover it all! If I missed anything that you want to hear about, feel free to let me know! 
 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by AbbyCruiser45
Formatting

[Jim_Iain]

What a great review.   Thank you for taking the time to post.

 

One little recommendation on room cooling/heating.    If not properly cooling or heating call the front desk and they can have it fixed.   I've had it happen a couple times but in reverse.   The AC was stuck on and the room was like a freezer.   Ended up being a blown fuse.

 

Another time the Living room was perfect but the bedroom was like an oven..     The were able to adjust a couple valves outside in the hallway and was perfect for the remainder of the cruise..

[PTC DAWG]

Nice review, thanks…

[Denny01]

Always enjoy reviews, but this one is a home run Well organized; to the point of what others would like to know;…….and positive on a ship I think is fantastic! 

 

I know we all get into back and forth’s on the IV SR’s but I think the OP hit it, for me. Like it. Like others. I find it fun to experience something different. I’ll get my enjoyment with a full balcony on one cruise and the enjoyment of the IV design with another. I don’t need the same thing over and over.   That’s me.

 

den

[Oville]

Excellent review, thank you.

[cricketts]

Thank you for the review!  We're on this same itinerary on August 28th.

Glad you've become a Celebrity fan!!

 

[jcpc]

Thank you for your great review.  I agree about the lack of shaded spots outside on Edge.

[George C]

30 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

What a great review.   Thank you for taking the time to post.

 

One little recommendation on room cooling/heating.    If not properly cooling or heating call the front desk and they can have it fixed.   I've had it happen a couple times but in reverse.   The AC was stuck on and the room was like a freezer.   Ended up being a blown fuse.

 

Another time the Living room was perfect but the bedroom was like an oven..     The were able to adjust a couple valves outside in the hallway and was perfect for the remainder of the cruise..

We had minor issues with a/c in penthouse two weeks ago, it was fixed immediately. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

35 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

What a great review.   Thank you for taking the time to post.

 

One little recommendation on room cooling/heating.    If not properly cooling or heating call the front desk and they can have it fixed.   I've had it happen a couple times but in reverse.   The AC was stuck on and the room was like a freezer.   Ended up being a blown fuse.

 

You’re welcome! 
 

Thank you for the tip. It wasn’t a consistent issue, which is why I didn’t call. I think the room must cool based on motion sensors, so by the time we woke, the room would be nice and cool. However when coming back from dinner, even with the shade drawn, it was slightly uncomfortable. Not too big a deal, however! 

[Silkroad]

Great review and excellent photos! We must have missed those sliders on our Edge cruise. We won’t make that mistake again. Thank you😊

[Lopsyl88]

Great Review!!!!  Question - was the Sonesta Maho Beach excursion done through the ship or on your own? 

[txtechmk]

Thanks for writing this wonderful report.  And I love it when the poster posts photos!  Sounds like a wonderful time overall.

[BSR]

Enjoyed reading your review.

[AbbyCruiser45]

2 minutes ago, Lopsyl88 said:

Great Review!!!!  Question - was the Sonesta Maho Beach excursion done through the ship or on your own? 

That was on our own! We used Resort for a Day to book in advance of our sailing. The cab was $9/person each way for 5 and the cabs were readily available and super friendly. 

[hcat]

Great Review..loved the photos!

New ideas for future trips.

Good memories of our  2 cruises on EDGE..before the world changed.

 

Hope you got a credit for the slow food service at the Hilton.   You could still contact them.  We also found the pool water  was ice cold..(.diff season ?)

 

Looking forward to future reviews OP posts.

[AbbyCruiser45]

21 minutes ago, hcat said:

Looking forward to future reviews OP posts.

Unfortunately for both you and me, that’ll be a year from now 😂 I’ll be on the Equinox though, so I’m looking forward to a different ship! 

[Smmessineo]

Great review! I am taking notes for my September cruise!

[Zigster]

Great review and love the photos!  I've read good things about Eden Cafe and now those pork belly sliders have sealed the deal!
Happy to hear that you enjoyed your first Celebrity sailing and have plans for another!
Again, thank you for your excellent review of Edge.  Now looking forward to our upcoming sailing even more so!

[marti2282]

Thanks for the review!

 

is there a charge for the food Eden Cafe?

[helen haywood]

No charge for Eden Cafe for breakfast or dinner…which is all it served.  Eden the dinner restaurant is a fee specialty option.

[marti2282]

21 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

No charge for Eden Cafe for breakfast or dinner…which is all it served.  Eden the dinner restaurant is a fee specialty option.

Thanks!

[Yvonne]

Really enjoyed your review.  We will be on our first Celebrity cruise in January, on the Silhouette with a sunset veranda.  I’m so excited! 

[micheleata]

Great review!   

 

We also didn't mind the Infinite Veranda and loved the food in Eden Cafe.   The outside eating area is wonderful.

 

Equinox is our favorite ship!   You will love it.

[kwokpot]

3 hours ago, Zigster said:

I've read good things about Eden Cafe and now those pork belly sliders have sealed the deal!

You must also try the chocolate chip cookies and brownies they have there for lunch which aren't available anywhere else. Previously they also had small bags of Lays potato chips which also wasn't available anywhere else. 

[ejnsb]

Great review.  We sail the Edge Nov. 28.  We are in 7177.  I suppose that means our bed is near the verandah.   I think I prefer your setup.  Hopefully that time of year room temperatures wonbe an issue.