LIVE Suite Review 1/30-2/6: A (Solo) Woman on the Edge

[GenerationX]

Hello Again CC!

 

So remember back in November when I did a live review from the Equinox and I was desperately trying to resist buying a vintage Louis Vuitton bag in the luxury shop in case I needed that money to book a last minute winter cruise?

 

Well, it turned out to be a wise decision!  It only took about 6 days of single digit temperatures and 2 instances of our garage door freezing shut for me to decide that hopping on a ship and sailing away to warmer weather could NOT wait till my next cruise booked in March.

 

As an added bonus, this time I’ll be trying Edge class for the first time!  After spending years reading the many mixed reviews and looking at sky suite prices that were about as budget friendly as a Birkin bag, I’ll finally get to experience the first of the line of ships designed with my generation in mind (allegedly).

 

I know I’m starting this live report a bit early (I don’t fly out for 3 days, 13 hours and 5 minutes, but hey who’s counting), but I must admit that I am particularly excited for this cruise!

 

When I started eyeing this sailing shortly after Christmas, the plan was for hubby and I to go together.  But then came late December, when omicron really reared its ugly head and with it the “horror stories” of onboard outbreaks and significant numbers of passengers quarantined.  My better half decided he wasn’t comfortable cruising this winter.  

 

I fully respect my husband’s risk tolerance and the decisions of all those who decide not to sail right now. But for me, I’m in my late 30’s, relatively healthy and at the peak period for the immunity from my COVID booster (according to the early studies anyway).  For me personally, the opportunity to try E-class for the first time on a low passenger count sailing at a price that was half what Celebrity was asking pre-shutdown was well worth taking a risk with a few extra precautions taken onboard.

 

In that spirit, one evening after working an 18 hour day then slipping on ice on our driveway, I let my husband know that I intended to sail on the Edge with or without him.  My dear husband, being used to my adamant temperament and well aware of my utter disdain for all temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, responded with: “very well my love, just let me know when I have to take you to the airport”.

 

Like others who are choosing to sail right now, I’m heading out knowing that this cruise may be somewhat different from my other 2 post-shutdown Celebrity sailings.

 

I’m a pretty outgoing person and one of my favorite parts of solo cruising is having the opportunity to meet and get to know so many new people.  But this cruise I’ll probably keep to myself more the first few days.  I want to minimize the risk of being contact traced early on and having to spend one of my first days onboard locked in my stateroom awaiting test results. 

 

That being said if you’re going to be onboard with me and are up for having a social distanced chat from across the barbthe fist few days, please don't be shy and do come say hello! I’d love to test my ability to make new friends at a 6 foot distance.

 

Also, while I’ll be sailing in a sky suite, I’ll only be having a couple of dinners in my usual favorite, Luminae.  I got generous OBC with this booking and Edge comes with a whole new world of restaurants to explore.  

 

Plus I looked over the Luminae dinner menus for our sailing and most nights they just didn’t look that exciting to me.
 

Pro tip:  if you’re a hyper planner like me and like to book your specialty dinning in advance, usually the dining room menus for your sailing will pop up in the Celebrity app a few weeks before your cruise.  I look through them and find the nights where I’m not crazy about the menu and book my specialty restaurants for those nights.

 

I also won’t be spending a ton of time in ports on this cruise. Our scheduled ports of call are Nassau, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Roatan.  I’ve never been overly thrilled with Nassau or Costa Maya, so will spend those days exploring an even more empty ship.  

 

I have half day excursions booked through Celebrity in Cozumel and Roatan, but if for some reason we don’t make those ports, I won’t be too disappointed. Edge is really the destination for me on this cruise (and I would probably rethink sailing right now if visiting the scheduled ports had been REALLY important to me).

 

I plan to try all of the specialty restaurants except La Petit Chef (according to the app, this sailing it’s a show I’ve seen before) and I also made a reservation one night to try the Cyprus main dining room.

 

As I decided on whether to book this cruise I spent a lot of time on CC and social media following the info being reported from onboard. (BTW, a big thank you to all those cruisers for taking the time to share!).

 

One common theme I saw in comments from current Edge cruisers was that while the ship has been fairly low occupancy, suites have been sold out, so Luminae and Retreat areas have been more crowded than the common areas so I’ll be sure to report on my experiences with that.

 

I’ll also definitely spend some time checking out the casino and onboard shopping scene.  I’ve also reserved a cabana with bottle service for the first sea day and will likely partake in any and all wine-related events that are offered. (My husband enjoys joking that my annual spending on wine, cigars, slot machines and wardrobe could economically stabilize a small third world country.  Really, the man is so dramatic.)

 

If there’s anything else in particular folks want to know about please feel free to ask.  Now I’m off to tackle a few more things on my pre-cruise checklist. Saturday morning it’s wheels up for Florida!

 

[DenvCruiser]

Bon Voyage

 

[r2h2]

Your writing style is very entertaining and informative and just down right cool!  Can't wait to read this from your perspective. Enjoy the cruise!  We were just on the Edge in Mid December but went to E. Caibbean.

[r2h2]

Caribbean. In a sky suite on the portside aft. Deck 7 which is closest to the ocean water. It was an outstanding experience. Enjoy!

[jj6961]

I loved your Equinox posts.  I’m sailing on Edge this Sunday as well look forward to meeting you.  It’s going to be a chilly start 
 

[mafig]

Cute title.  I'll be following along.😃

[George C]

Have a great cruise Edge is a fantastic ship and sailing in a suite is the only way to go . Retreat is great and so is Luminae.

[GenerationX]

On Sunday I received Celebrity’s now standard “Prepare to Sail Health Protocols” email for our cruise.  As many are already aware, one thing that was different in this email from the ones for my other post-shutdown cruises is this added notice regarding indoor masking requirements.

 

I can certainly understand why this requirement would be a cruising deterrent for some. For me personally though it’s not a big deal for a few reasons:

 

First, I’ve honestly gotten so used to wearing masks everywhere outside my house in normal life, it actually took me a couple of days on my previous cruises to get used to not having to have a mask on.  Don’t get me wrong, it was a fabulous break from my day to day reality, but I often felt a slight twinge when I’d walk out of my cabin like I was leaving the room in my underwear.

 

Second,  I don’t really spend a ton of time indoors on a winter cruise. I can stay inside in February at home for free. I cruise to spend some time in the fresh sea air, humidity, sun and warmth!

 

Third, as evidenced by the size difference between my Day 1-4 cruise wardrobe and my Day 5+ cruise wardrobe,  it is a pretty rare occurrence for me to be indoors on a Celebrity ship and not actively eating or drinking something.

 

Seriously though on the wardrobe, that’s one of my biggest cruise packing tips: For my fellow lady cruisers who share my enthusiasm for throwing carb and calorie counting into the wind at sail away, trust me, A-lines are a girl’s best friend!  Anyway, I digress.  

 

Finally, the long depressing months of the global cruising suspension are still quite fresh in my memory.  Twas not so long ago when my heart so longed be on a ship again that if Celebrity had required me to wear clown shoes and an ice dancing costume to sail, I would’ve been cheerfully squeaking down the pier with my bags while shedding sequins and faux feathers all over Port Everglades.  Put a little something over my mouth while I’m dancing and singing badly to ABBA to try and keep the CDC at bay? You got it, Celebrity. In fact, the pleasure is mine. Now, may I trouble you for some more Chandon and smoked salmon canapés, please?

 

All this is reminding me, I should probably go check Amazon and make sure that my Prime order of extra masks and sunglasses (I always buy a cute under $10 pair to wear while in port and leave the designer ones in my safe) is still on track to arrive tomorrow.

 

More to come!

 

 

[GenerationX]

43 minutes ago, jj6961 said:

I loved your Equinox posts.  I’m sailing on Edge this Sunday as well look forward to meeting you.  It’s going to be a chilly start 
 

Looking forward to meeting you!  Yes our sail away weather forecast is a bit of a bummer.  

It was 12 degrees this morning where I live though, so I’m hoping 60 degrees will still feel pretty nice.  And fingers crossed when we wake up Monday morning we’ll be in real Caribbean weather!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Enjoy your cruise, I'll be along if only vicariously as we dip to 0 degrees with - wind chills. Edge is a great ship.  Make sure you go to Eden.

[MarKay525]

So enjoyed your last review and will follow this one closely as we will be in a SS on Apex later (sadly, very much later) this year.

[GenerationX]

38 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Enjoy your cruise, I'll be along if only vicariously as we dip to 0 degrees with - wind chills. Edge is a great ship.  Make sure you go to Eden.

Thank you! I hope you stay warm and have some yummy soups and winter comfort foods planned.  I’m planning to go to Eden for my first night dinner. Please feel free to share any food or cocktail recommendations!

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, jj6961 said:

I loved your Equinox posts.  I’m sailing on Edge this Sunday as well look forward to meeting you.  It’s going to be a chilly start 
 

Missing connecting again😥.  We sail on the Reflection on 2/5 & 2/12. 

[quicklabs]

I'll be eagerly following your posts!  I love the way you write.  We will be on the Edge on 6 February.  Would you please tell me how you made that advance reservation for Cypress? We are actually going on 6, 13, and 20 February and want to mix up the dining a bit, since the menus in Luminae repeat every 7 days.   Happy sailing!!!

[maggieq]

So excited for your live review of the edge.  Our first cruise during Covid was on the edge in September and we had a fabulous time.   
 

thanks so much for taking the time out of your vacation to do this. 

[quicklabs]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

On Sunday I received Celebrity’s now standard “Prepare to Sail Health Protocols” email for our cruise.  As many are already aware, one thing that was different in this email from the ones for my other post-shutdown cruises is this added notice regarding indoor masking requirements.

 

I can certainly understand why this requirement would be a cruising deterrent for some. For me personally though it’s not a big deal for a few reasons:

 

First, I’ve honestly gotten so used to wearing masks everywhere outside my house in normal life, it actually took me a couple of days on my previous cruises to get used to not having to have a mask on.  Don’t get me wrong, it was a fabulous break from my day to day reality, but I often felt a slight twinge when I’d walk out of my cabin like I was leaving the room in my underwear.

 

Second,  I don’t really spend a ton of time indoors on a winter cruise. I can stay inside in February at home for free. I cruise to spend some time in the fresh sea air, humidity, sun and warmth!

 

Third, as evidenced by the size difference between my Day 1-4 cruise wardrobe and my Day 5+ cruise wardrobe,  it is a pretty rare occurrence for me to be indoors on a Celebrity ship and not actively eating or drinking something.

 

Seriously though on the wardrobe, that’s one of my biggest cruise packing tips: For my fellow lady cruisers who share my enthusiasm for throwing carb and calorie counting into the wind at sail away, trust me, A-lines are a girl’s best friend!  Anyway, I digress.  

 

Finally, the long depressing months of the global cruising suspension are still quite fresh in my memory.  Twas not so long ago when my heart so longed be on a ship again that if Celebrity had required me to wear clown shoes and an ice dancing costume to sail, I would’ve been cheerfully squeaking down the pier with my bags while shedding sequins and faux feathers all over Port Everglades.  Put a little something over my mouth while I’m dancing and singing badly to ABBA to try and keep the CDC at bay? You got it, Celebrity. In fact, the pleasure is mine. Now, may I trouble you for some more Chandon and smoked salmon canapés, please?

 

All this is reminding me, I should probably go check Amazon and make sure that my Prime order of extra masks and sunglasses (I always buy a cute under $10 pair to wear while in port and leave the designer ones in my safe) is still on track to arrive tomorrow.

 

More to come!

 

 

I laughed so hard!  Please be sure to post that picture of the clown shoes with that glitzy ice skating costume!  LOL.  I'm betting you could totally rock that!

[jj6961]

9 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Missing connecting again😥.  We sail on the Reflection on 2/5 & 2/12.

Oh no, again? 

glad your getting out of the cold for two weeks.  When I booked this there was no single supplement quite a deal. 

I won’t hijack this thread, the OP is a fab writer.  

[CHEZMARYLOU]

22 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Thank you! I hope you stay warm and have some yummy soups and winter comfort foods planned.  I’m planning to go to Eden for my first night dinner. Please feel free to share any food or cocktail recommendations!

Eden is a set menu with 2 choices per course. Really enjoyed the sea food course. Fillet was better than fine cut. Dessert was too sweet for me and it was presented as the lesser sweet choice. We enjoyed the surprise at the end. Not a cocktail drinker but they did have one pre dinner that we liked. 

Make sure to go to Raw On 5 and get the sea food tower.

 

 

 

[lkj1301]

Looking forward to following along.

Have a great cruise.

 

Lorie

[RealBatman]

Love your wit and writing style! 🙂  We had to cancel our 12 night cruise on Equinox Jan 30th due to... well... who cares?!  Booked a SS on Edge next January so anxious to see what you have to say! Have a great time!

[NCHPcruiser]

I’m so looking forward to sitting down at the end of each of the next few days in front of the fire with a glass of wine and reading your review!  And dreaming!  We have an Apex cruise planned for mid-March and your report will take me into February (perhaps you should do a B2B?).    Our last Celebrity cruise was on the Edge and we loved it!   

 

Have a wonderful trip and safe travels! 

 

Martha 

[hcat]

Will be  following..

We really enjoyed EDGE..first time in an IV/ AQ Class with BLU

Second..Sunset Veranda with 4 mdr plan..Loved it!

ENJOY!

 

[George C]

1 hour ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Eden is a set menu with 2 choices per course. Really enjoyed the sea food course. Fillet was better than fine cut. Dessert was too sweet for me and it was presented as the lesser sweet choice. We enjoyed the surprise at the end. Not a cocktail drinker but they did have one pre dinner that we liked. 

Make sure to go to Raw On 5 and get the sea food tower.

 

 

 

I really didn’t like the menu on Eden , also I didn’t like raw on 5 but my wife did, I thought Fine cut and Le petit chef were both excellent along with Luminae, we were in penthouse so all specialty were free. View from Eden looked spectacular similar to view on S class from Tuscan grill. 

[GenerationX]

1 hour ago, quicklabs said:

I'll be eagerly following your posts!  I love the way you write.  We will be on the Edge on 6 February.  Would you please tell me how you made that advance reservation for Cypress? We are actually going on 6, 13, and 20 February and want to mix up the dining a bit, since the menus in Luminae repeat every 7 days.   Happy sailing!!!

Thank you!  I was able to book Cyprus in the online cruise planner.  When you go into to the dinning section of the cruise planner for the sailing, you have to scroll down almost to the bottom of the page and below all the specialty restaurants there’s a section that says Complimentary Dinning and has the 4 MDRs listed.  Then you just click through and reserve the same way you would if you were booking a specialty restaurant except when you check out it will show $0.00 as the balance due.  Hope that helps!

 

Enjoy your cruise! I’m very jealous that you’re doing a b2b2b!

[msteries]

Really enjoying your spirit since I, too, cruise without my husband, who will take any excuse not to travel.  (this year it’s the aging dog).  I went solo on the Edge in its inaugural year and am so looking forward to the Apex 1/28 to 2/5.  I like meeting new people and generally found a bar with congenial people to return to the same time each evening.  Not sure that will be safe this year so I have been thinking about how to engage a bit differently.  Thinking of staying masked and slowly walking by others in the area, chatting a bit from a little more distance than usual if they seem to also wish to chat.  Up on deck in the retreat it is generally very windy, so I will feel free to order a drink (or two or three) and keep the mask off.  On the Edge be sure and find the wonderful little Eden outside deck seating area.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.  SW Ohio is in for two days of frigid weather with windchills way below zero, and some more snow..  Even if SFlorida is only 59 at sail-away, I will be happy!