Semi-live from the Edge | February 3-13 | Southern Caribbean

[OrcaGirl]

I’ve posted some edited clips of the helicopter evacuation to my Instagram Stories (erin_braincandy).

 

I wasn’t expecting the force of the hovering helicopter to be as strong as it was, and I’m honestly quite surprised that the captain didn’t call for the pool deck area to be cleared of people once they realized it couldn’t land on the helipad, or at least to have staff collect all dishes and drinkware and instruct guests to secure their belongings. Hats, glasses, books, towels, purses… even the deck chairs were being moved by the helicopter. 
 

 

One person fell and required medical treatment during the first helicopter hover, and another got a nasty cut on her foot when a chair or something slid into her during the second.

 

I’ve got some conflicted personal feelings about recording the evacuation. On the one hand, I’m amazed and fascinated by the logistics of at-sea rescue and the skill on display by the pilot and crew; on the other hand, seeing people take selfies and do the ‘big object far away in the palm of my hand’ pose when someone is likely fighting for their life makes me feel icky. Sigh. Like I said, conflicting.

[Sibsie]

I was on the retreat deck and they cleared that whole area during the medivac. I feel the same about selfies etc,.

 

I understand the person concerned is stable. 

[BRC6C]

Thanks for posting about the medivac. As I posted earlier, my husband is on board with you. Right about now I'm wishing he had an internet package so I could check in, but I'm working on the assumption that Celebrity would have called me along with the helicopter!

[Texed]

1 hour ago, OrcaGirl said:

I wasn’t expecting the force of the hovering helicopter to be as strong as it was, and I’m honestly quite surprised that the captain didn’t call for the pool deck area to be cleared of people once they realized it couldn’t land on the helipad, 

 

They do know the helicopter can’t land on the helipad. It is winch only.  

[OrcaGirl]

12 hours ago, BRC6C said:

Thanks for posting about the medivac. As I posted earlier, my husband is on board with you. Right about now I'm wishing he had an internet package so I could check in, but I'm working on the assumption that Celebrity would have called me along with the helicopter!

As you say, I’m sure they’d have contacted you, but if you’d like me to relay a ‘thinking of you’ message to him, I’m sure we could make that happen.

[OrcaGirl]

Catching up on last night:

 

Dinner tonight was in Cyprus. The Aegean Seabreeze cocktail was refreshing and delicious. I don’t often drink ouzo but the licorice flavour worked surprisingly well with the grapefruit juice.

 

 

The husband had the saganaki as his appetizer and I ordered the Greek mezze board. We love a good gooey cheese, and this one delivered. I could have skipped the mezze, though, as the three dips were the same ones that came with the bread basket in lieu of butter. And it turns out I still don’t like olives. Or dolmades. Or anchovies. Good thing the taramsalata was delicious. And good thing we didn’t look up what it was before trying it.

 

 

 

 

For entrees, I had the lamb shank which was very tender and flavourful. The husband had the Cypriot short ribs; again, many angry faces were made so he loved it. He mentioned later that he’d even briefly considered asking for a second one, which is like the most ridiculously high praise from him.

 

 

 

For dessert we had the chocolate cherry triffle (good but almost too rich) and the Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts (light and perfect).

 

 

 

We weren’t in the mood for the Buble tribute show in the theatre (we get enough of him in Bubly commercials), so instead we headed back to Eden to explore and have a cocktail. Such a beautiful space.

 

 

After that we headed to the Club for the nightly game show and trivia session. The husband got picked to participate in the 60 Seconds or Less game; videos on IG Stories. His team dominated, and they each won a hat.

 

 

Trivia was so much harder than the first night and we sucked. And also possibly pissed off the trivia host when a bunch of us disputed one of the questions/answers. 🤣 Well, not the answer itself, but his assertion that ‘Perry’ is a popular type of beverage in Canada.

 

I was tempted to stay up for the $5 free slot play at 10:30 but with an early wake-up planned for St Maarten we decided to skip it and have an early night.

[vickykay]

Very much enjoying your posts and photos!  So glad you both decided to try the MDR rooms.   We enjoyed them all on the Apex.  

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from Sint Maarten!

 

 

Had a deep sleep but ****ed up dreams so I was all out of sorts this morning, and decided to skip my original plans to DIY a beach day at Great Bay Beach and just stay on board.

 

We grabbed breakfast as we docked next to the Silhouette.

 

 

 

 

Back to the room to get the husband geared up for scuba. I walked off the ship with him to make sure he got to the taxi stand okay. (He can be a bit directionally challenged.) For the first time, he was stopped by security while getting off the ship and they checked his dive bag. (No one has said boo about his dive knife yet.)

 

After seeing him off, I wandered around the port area for a few minutes. Very quiet, most shops weren’t open yet, although staff were arriving. Took a few photos for a large organized group in front of the St Maarten sign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then back on the ship, and found a spot to watch for the dive boat to head out. And spotted a beautiful rainbow while waiting.

 

 

 

I hung out by the pool with my mimosa. And then felt a little sprinkle of rain. Which turned into a deluge so I grabbed my phone and headed for cover. 

 

 

 

I spent a little time in the cabin watching people down on the dock get soaked (schadenfreude, I know, I know) and having their hats and umbrellas blown about by the wind. 
 

 

And then, per the schedule in the Celebrity App, I decided to head to TimePlay trivia in the Club. (Figuring it’d be an easy win with most people off the ship.) Only to be told that it was speed sudoku today (which on my phone was actually being held in the Grand Atrium) and TimePlay tomorrow. 

 

 

The host tried to get me to log off the wifi and login again. Refresh. Close the app and open it again. Still showing TimePlay for *right now*…

 

 

Finally, another staff member came over and tried to show me her app only to realize I was in fact correct and the app was indeed showing the wrong information. Small victories, but I’ll take it. But maybe just say “oh so sorry, the wrong information is in the app” rather than assume I don’t know how to hit the refresh button?

 

Oh well, back to the pool and back to the drinks.

 

 

Random observations:

 

The hand washing stations at the Oceanview Cafe are so well-designed, but without the NCL-style ‘washy washy’ crew member standing right there, sooooo many people don’t bother washing their hands.

 

 

A friendly reminder that second-or third-hand cruise information shared on board is very rarely correct. I’m trying *very hard* not to be that person who butts into other people’s conservations to correct misinformation, but… just take everything with a grain of salt.

 

Once again, I think learning to say hello, please, and thank you in Indonesian and Tagalog pays off in stronger pours at the bars. 😉

 

The husband (nicknamed Goose back home) is looking to put together a pool volleyball team for the final sea day(s). He wants to play, and he wants to WIN. (I just want to watch uniformed officers get wet, but I’m shallow like that.)

 

 

I promise a full post of our thoughts on the infinite verandah cabin is coming. I was going to write it yesterday, but then the evacuation sidetracked me.

 

The soot stains on the Sunset Bar cushions are really noticeable. 
 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by OrcaGirl

[BRC6C]

5 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

As you say, I’m sure they’d have contacted you, but if you’d like me to relay a ‘thinking of you’ message to him, I’m sure we could make that happen.

Thanks for the offer! He found WiFi today and has been in touch. 

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, OrcaGirl said:

The hand washing stations at the Oceanview Cafe are so well-designed, but without the NCL-style ‘washy washy’ crew member standing right there, sooooo many people don’t bother washing their hands.

It's not just NCL.  I was on Royal Caribbean Wonder last fall and they had the Washy Washy person stationed at the front of the buffet and the solarium bistro. Don't understand why Celebrity can't do the same (especially since RCI owns them)?  Without the public shaming, many people just don't bother.

[AbbyCruiser45]

39 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

It's not just NCL.  I was on Royal Caribbean Wonder last fall and they had the Washy Washy person stationed at the front of the buffet and the solarium bistro. Don't understand why Celebrity can't do the same (especially since RCI owns them)?  Without the public shaming, many people just don't bother.

Doesn't it vary by ship? I was on the Equinox this summer and there was an attendant giving out squirts of hand sanitizer at the entrance each time. 

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Doesn't it vary by ship? I was on the Equinox this summer and there was an attendant giving out squirts of hand sanitizer at the entrance each time. 

We had the same on the Reflection last August. There was also a crew member with hand sanitizer when we boarded after being on shore.  We followed this cruise with another on the HAL Oosterdam and never saw any crew members with hand sanitizers. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by terrydtx

[OrcaGirl]

Afternoon update.

 

Some sunbathing, some swimming, some drinking.

 

 

Watched the husband’s dive boat return via MarineTraffic, and then headed back to the cabin to dry off, catch up and change for lunch. 

 

The husband reported that he saw many live conch, a few small sharks, rays, and many fishies on his dive. Swells were high and one diver threw up. He said Dive St Maarten was very professional and their dive boat was in good condition. But that St Maarten isn’t a must-repeat dive destination for him. (This was his second or third time diving here.) Photos to come if we can transfer them off the GoPro via Bluetooth.

 

Only day 4 of buffet lunch and it’s already starting to feel repetitive.

 

 

The husband went for a post-dive nap and I went to the Magic Carpet for a beverage and a hot dog. (I finished off the last of the mustard; sorry not sorry to the people behind me.)

 

 

Then after Diving Beauty woke up, we headed to trivia for an attempt at redemption. Alas, ‘twas not meant to be as we came in second. No prize for second place etc.

 

Random observations:

 

They’ve got a little golf cart style shuttle that takes folks with mobility issues from the ships into the St Maarten port area proper.

 

Watched 3-4 different groups of passengers come up to both Celebrity ships with lots of luggage, so folks who missed the ship in Florida?

 

One thing we’ve missed from NCL is having multiple screens around the ship showing info about the ship’s location/route/speed/etc. And I don’t see anywhere in the app that has that either, unless I’m just missing it.

 

Awwww, I just watched a couple of crew from the Edge see their crew friends from the Solstice, and hug across the little gate between the ships. The cuteness. It’s too much.

 

I’ve only seen ONE person reading a hard copy of Spare. I thought it’d be everywhere.

 

I miss the NCL-style thermal spa.

[LooseMoose]

Greetings OG,

 

It is good to hear you are enjoying Captain's Tasos humour, now if you would like to take it one giant step further, then you simply must not miss the main event. Yes I am speaking about the Liars Club event. This is held in the main theatre, and usually around ten or so in the evening. So... I recommend that evening you run not walk to the main theatre, and chose seating front and centre for best view of the facial expressions. Now, if the Lairs Club includes a Cruise Director named Lewis, then all bets are off (wearing Depends not wasted advice).

Have I convinced you yet?,  please revisit those  plans that evening if they include holding up in the cabin and binge watching The Beachcombers, remember that Relic will always be there, as he is immortalised on film.

 Cheers    LM 

 

Looking forward to hearing your experience.

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from St Lucia!

 

Last night we dined in Eden. Spoiler: we LOVED it. A full write-up to come once I’m a) more awake, and b) back from our excursion.

[Cruise till you drop]

Thanks for posting. Brings back memories from our Edge cruise in March 2020 (we were the last cruise before everything got shut down).

 

We will be on the Edge at the end of March on the Panama Canal itinerary and very excited.  We again booked the Sunset Verandah room as we love that set up and location

 

We will also be doing almost your itinerary on the Equinox next January

[OrcaGirl]

Okay, where were we?

 

After a demoralizing second place at trivia, we crawled to the nearest bar to drown our sorrows and watch sailaway.

 

And then, since our Eden reservation wasn’t until 8:30pm, we took advantage of the empty solarium for some extra pool and hot tub time with killer views of the sunset.

 

After drying off and dressing up (relatively speaking) we headed to Eden for a pre-dinner cocktail and music. Loved the trio, but especially the cellist. I want to steal her pants, the husband wanted to steal her abs.

 

Dinner time! Much as been said about Eden, and much better pictures posted, so I’ll skip all that and just say: we LOVED it. The food, the service, the ambiance. The husband declared it his best-ever meal at sea, and possibly top 5 ever.

 

The amuse bouche was a scallop with mushroom foam, basil pesto and Parmesan crisp. That’s like four of my favourite things on a single plate. I ate both of them (the husband doesn’t like scallops or mushrooms.)

 

For starters, I had the mushroom risotto, the husband had the shrimp, and we also ordered the gnocchi to share. The gnocchi in particular was a revelation, so ridiculously soft and creamy and flavourful.

 

Our entrees were the filet mignon / short rib Wellington and the Nova Scotia lobster casserole. I love lobster, the husband doesn’t, and I learned long ago to not even bother offering him a taste because he won’t appreciate it. But last night I did and… he liked it. But it still didn’t compare to how much he loved that filet. Like damn. He ordered more of the bordelaise sauce and probably would have drank it out of a wine glass if that had been an option.

 

After two amazing courses, dessert was honestly a bit of a letdown, but only by comparison to what came before. We had the lemon meyer tart and the strawberry dessert. Fine, but not as mind-blowing.

 

We chatted with one of the chefs for a bit (oddly, about a Mexican-Korean taco place near our apartment in Vancouver that he remembered from his time on the Alaska itinerary years ago) and then said our goodbyes to Eden.

 

We skipped the white hot deck party in favour of (you guessed it) watching the season one finale of The White Lotus. 🪷 

[SB52]

On the Edge feb 13.  Is it diet coke or coke light being served?

 

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, SB52 said:

On the Edge feb 13.  Is it diet coke or coke light being served?

 

I’ll watch for that tomorrow. The woman next to me at the coffee bar this morning (who definitely tried to cut the line) ordered and received a Coke Zero. Is that the same thing as Coke Light?

[OrcaGirl]

With a later arrival time in St Lucia, we slept in a bit before dragging our butts to the buffet.

 

 

Possibly the best almond croissant I’ve ever had?

 

 

We stayed up on deck to watch the 180-degree pivot into port.

 

 

And since our excursion didn’t leave until the afternoon, we were able to make the morning General Knowledge trivia (failed miserably) and TimePlay trivia (crushed it).

 

 

 

After that we grabbed a quick snack and beverage, and then grabbed our gear and headed ashore to meet our tour.

 

 

Random observations:

 

The Silver Dawn was in port with us today.

 

 

I wonder how often they rotate or change up the trivia questions. But I now know (and will never forget) how many black keys are on a piano.

 

I wish they’d opened the Eden cafe for breakfast today, since we didn’t arrive in port until after its normal closing hours anyway.

 

Some new construction happening in the port area. And I don’t remember that St Lucia sign from our last visit.

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by OrcaGirl

[OrcaGirl]

St Lucia shore excursion: Cruise and Snorkel at Marine Park

 

Our excursion had a meeting time of 12:15pm on the pier, with a departure time of 12:30pm. (Some people didn’t quite grasp the distinction.)

 

 

The catamaran was in great condition, and not super packed which was nice. We grabbed spots up by the netting and settled in for the ride out to the snorkel spot.

 

 

 

 

St Lucia was gorgeous as always.

 

 

 

The snorkelling was fine. The husband saw an eel (cool) and a lionfish (boo!) My brand new mask didn’t seal correctly and once I got salt water in my eyes, I was done. There’s not much of a reef to speak of, and you have to get quite close to the rocks to see the good stuff.

 

 

 

 

The catamaran crew ‘warned’ guests that the dudes on kayaks are not part of the tour and to not accept their offers of ‘help’ but lots of people did anyway.

 

After snorkelling wrapped up, the rum punch started to flow, and was very good. (Definitely contributed to the drunken singing videos available on my IG Stories.) They also chopped up a fresh coconut and handed out bites, but no other snacks were on offer.

 

 

 

We then sailed back to the ship, with the highlights being both scary (a big poof of black smoke from the oil refinery) and beautiful (the ‘straightest’ rainbow I’ve ever seen).

 

 

 

And we passed by what is apparently a $100 million USD sailing yacht, the biggest aluminum sailing yacht in the world, owned by a Taiwanese billionaire.

 

 

And of course some lovely views of the Edge.

 

 

[OrcaGirl]

St Lucia Evening Wrap-up

 

It was already 4:30pm by the time we were back on board, and after a quick shower and short crash nap, we were starving. Off to the Cosmopolitan MDR!

 

 

 

We had the Caesar salad (him, again) and the cauliflower flan (me). I wouldn’t necessarily call that a flan, but it was delicious.

 

 

As entrees we had the spaghetti (him, good but ultimately, just spaghetti) and the black cod (me, so perfectly cooked and buttery, I love sablefish and this was excellent, wished for more of the beurre blanc sauce).

 

 

 

For dessert, I ordered the carrot cake and deigned to share ‘one bite’ with the husband, who had only ordered an espresso, and you know how that goes. It was definitely the best carrot cake I’ve had, light and airy, not heavy or dense at all.

 

 

Colours of Life was the theatre production show, and wow. Just spectacular. (My only complaint: you can’t use both Here I Go Again and Don’t Stop Believin’ without inviting comparisons to Rock of Ages.)

 

 

And then to bed. We were both feeling the effects of too much sun and too much rum, so we hit the hay without even starting season 2 of The White Lotus. 🤣

[poffles]

20 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Okay, where were we?

 

After a demoralizing second place at trivia, we crawled to the nearest bar to drown our sorrows and watch sailaway.

 

And then, since our Eden reservation wasn’t until 8:30pm, we took advantage of the empty solarium for some extra pool and hot tub time with killer views of the sunset.

 

After drying off and dressing up (relatively speaking) we headed to Eden for a pre-dinner cocktail and music. Loved the trio, but especially the cellist. I want to steal her pants, the husband wanted to steal her abs.

 

Dinner time! Much as been said about Eden, and much better pictures posted, so I’ll skip all that and just say: we LOVED it. The food, the service, the ambiance. The husband declared it his best-ever meal at sea, and possibly top 5 ever.

 

The amuse bouche was a scallop with mushroom foam, basil pesto and Parmesan crisp. That’s like four of my favourite things on a single plate. I ate both of them (the husband doesn’t like scallops or mushrooms.)

 

For starters, I had the mushroom risotto, the husband had the shrimp, and we also ordered the gnocchi to share. The gnocchi in particular was a revelation, so ridiculously soft and creamy and flavourful.

 

Our entrees were the filet mignon / short rib Wellington and the Nova Scotia lobster casserole. I love lobster, the husband doesn’t, and I learned long ago to not even bother offering him a taste because he won’t appreciate it. But last night I did and… he liked it. But it still didn’t compare to how much he loved that filet. Like damn. He ordered more of the bordelaise sauce and probably would have drank it out of a wine glass if that had been an option.

 

After two amazing courses, dessert was honestly a bit of a letdown, but only by comparison to what came before. We had the lemon meyer tart and the strawberry dessert. Fine, but not as mind-blowing.

 

We chatted with one of the chefs for a bit (oddly, about a Mexican-Korean taco place near our apartment in Vancouver that he remembered from his time on the Alaska itinerary years ago) and then said our goodbyes to Eden.

 

We skipped the white hot deck party in favour of (you guessed it) watching the season one finale of The White Lotus. 🪷 

 

So torn about Eden for my similar itinerary April 7th Edge cruise. It is so tempting to try it but my not being into fancy dining I hold back, and then I read reviews like yours and I get pulled in again.  The other thing that I am trying to reconcile is the 'check out' price of $130 for two, will I really think it was worth the sticker price.  I've sailed Edge before when in it's inaugural season when they did the strange 'dinner show' there and that was not even close to being something I would consider.  Such problems to have 🙂 

 

Loving your review and writing style, it matches my way of thinking.  Thanks for taking us along!

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from Barbados.

 

 

I’m having a ship day, as I think I got too much sun yesterday. (I had a scary experience with heatstroke and dehydration in Bonaire several cruises ago and although the Princess crew took great care of me, I’ve got no wish to see the inside of a ship medical centre again.)

 

The husband is off diving again. Hope he sees some cool stuff.

 

There are four ships in Barbados today: the Edge, Silver Dawn, Costa Fascinosa, and Le Dumont D’Urville. The latter is a super funky expedition-style cruise ship, just 184 passengers. We walked over to Canada Place in Vancouver last summer to check it out when it was there for its Alaska itineraries.

 

 

 

The continues to be glitchy, and I swear it can’t be just me. The game show and the pub quiz are NOT going to be at the same time in the same venue.

 

 

And since when was Cool Runnings (yes, the John Candy movie) a drama?

 

 

[momofmab]

1 hour ago, OrcaGirl said:

For dessert, I ordered the carrot cake and deigned to share ‘one bite’ with the husband, who had only ordered an espresso, and you know how that goes. It was definitely the best carrot cake I’ve had, light and airy, not heavy or dense at all.

 

Still dreaming about that carrot cake from my Beyond sailing last month!