Live on the Edge - 11/21/21

[Kreative03]

Hi all - back for one last cruise of 2021 to round out the year. Happy to post a few observations and answer any/all Q&A along with taking photo requests.

 

Day 1 hasn’t been great. Issues with requests, inattentive service at best in most areas, and some downright bizarre staffing choices. I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt, but am comparing this cruise to high bar experiences on Apex (inaugural) and Summit (near end of St. Maarten season). There are only about 725 pax onboard which is similar to how we experienced Apex, but I feel like the crew ratio is off.

 

We are traveling in a suite - this time acquired via moveup. (I am hearing the upgrade fairy also visited folks onboard as well….looks like I could have saved $$) so I have access and will have views on the Retreat services/spaces.

 

Nassau tomorrow!

[Oville]

1 minute ago, Kreative03 said:

Hi all - back for one last cruise of 2021 to round out the year. Happy to post a few observations and answer any/all Q&A along with taking photo requests.

 

Day 1 hasn’t been great. Issues with requests, inattentive service at best in most areas, and some downright bizarre staffing choices. I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt, but am comparing this cruise to high bar experiences on Apex (inaugural) and Summit (near end of St. Maarten season). There are only about 725 pax onboard which is similar to how we experienced Apex, but I feel like the crew ratio is off.

 

We are traveling in a suite - this time acquired via moveup. (I am hearing the upgrade fairy also visited folks onboard as well….looks like I could have saved $$) so I have access and will have views on the Retreat services/spaces.

 

Nassau tomorrow!

You didn’t mention what issues you have had so hard to comment.  Do you get all the suite benefits such as Premium Bev Package with Move Up?  I thought I read no but not sure.

[Kreative03]

@Ovillewe had already purchased up to the ‘new’ premium package so we didn’t lose anything we already had by upgrading.

 

I’m avoiding calling out specific issues because I’m hopeful it will get vastly better.

[RichYak]

33 minutes ago, Kreative03 said:

I’m avoiding calling out specific issues because I’m hopeful it will get vastly better.

With all due respect, a review that leaves out the negative issues is not particularly helpful. At that point, it's just spin. I'm hopeful for you that the remainder of your cruise is enjoyable, but for better or worse, whatever happened happened. There's no point in pretending it didn't.

[helen haywood]

I agree.  If the OP had chosen not to mention the issues that had made Day 1 “not great” until seeing if things improved that would be different.  I’m sure people would appreciate a heads up to what possibly could go wrong on embarkation day and also hopefully read about the improvement/resolution.

[mac_tlc]

We were on the 10/31 sailing and spoke to a few crew members that were due to leave for vacation in the next couple weeks. Most of those on board when we were there had been on since the restart.  Maybe the new crew members are still getting their sea legs. 

 

I believe Houssain in the Retreat Lounge has departed, but Joao and Amber are still there until 12/19. They were great. 

 

If you happen to go to Luminae and have Jose as the waiter, tell him "Mama and Papa" say hello !!!!

 

mac_tlc

Edited November 22, 2021 by mac_tlc

[GREG781]

Thanks for the update. If you happen to hear about the expected passenger level next week, please post. We are on the Sunday sailing. Thanks and have a great trip.

[NCHPcruiser]

I think it is entirely up to Kreative as to whether to mention specifics about what wasn’t up to expectation.   It lets the reader know that things aren’t perfect at the moment and they are under no obligation to expound further.  Who knows if someone from Celebrity reads these reviews.  If they do, personally I wouldn’t want to get someone in trouble for what could be a one time occurrence.    Should problems persist, well then that’s another story.  
 

Thanks for the review Kreative!

[mjmagee]

Following with interest as on this coming Sunday's sailing.  First cruise in several years!

 

[Northern Aurora]

5 hours ago, NCHPcruiser said:

I think it is entirely up to Kreative as to whether to mention specifics about what wasn’t up to expectation.   It lets the reader know that things aren’t perfect at the moment and they are under no obligation to expound further.  Who knows if someone from Celebrity reads these reviews.  If they do, personally I wouldn’t want to get someone in trouble for what could be a one time occurrence.    Should problems persist, well then that’s another story.  
 

Thanks for the review Kreative!

 

 

While I have no idea if a Celebrity staff person still reads the Cruise Critic Celebrity board we were on the Summit in 2017 and I actually met the Celebrity staff person who, at that time, was assigned the task of reading the posts.  

 

And I am also looking forward to reading more of @Kreative03's experiences.

[Catlover54]

I just got off the Edge 11/21 (was in a Sky Suite, my first X cruise) and wrote a long CC review and sent it off, but it will take a while to post there.

Kreative03 or Mjmagee, is you have specific logistical questions, I might be able to help.  It is very long, but Mjmagee, if it would help more than annoy you to read several pages of truncated CC posts, I could cut and paste them on as a series of paragraphs on a separate thread.

 

Boarding went smoothly for me in the Retreat Line, having used the app upload features and followed all directions as best possible in advance.

[mjmagee]

Thank you Catlover. I will watch for your review.

[Kreative03]

12 hours ago, RichYak said:

With all due respect, a review that leaves out the negative issues is not particularly helpful. At that point, it's just spin. I'm hopeful for you that the remainder of your cruise is enjoyable, but for better or worse, whatever happened happened. There's no point in pretending it didn't.

Fair point. But I tire of reading reviews of day 1 experiences that have colored the entirety of someone’s voyage. I’m not the most seasoned cruiser, but I’ve been on my fair share of boats in a variety of environments. I promise to be more detailed at a later date.

[Kreative03]

11 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

We were on the 10/31 sailing and spoke to a few crew members that were due to leave for vacation in the next couple weeks. Most of those on board when we were there had been on since the restart.  Maybe the new crew members are still getting their sea legs. 

 

I believe Houssain in the Retreat Lounge has departed, but Joao and Amber are still there until 12/19. They were great. 

 

If you happen to go to Luminae and have Jose as the waiter, tell him "Mama and Papa" say hello !!!!

 

mac_tlc

I indeed saw about 50-75 departing crew when I arrived at around 10:50am. There are folks on varying contract lengths it seems. 

[jelayne]

We disembarked on 10/30 and many crew we talked with were leaving between the first weeks of November and December.  Some were due to leave but agreed to extensions until late January. 

[Suzyq99]

We disembarked on 11/21 after 2 wonderful weeks.  The entertainment and food was excellent.