The Thrifty Cruisers Edge Panama Canal Feb 13-23 so not live:)

[cgolf1]

[cgolf1]

[cgolf1]

[cgolf1]

Supper 

I did the New England style clam chowder and traditional Coq Au Vin and my wife had the Hot melted cheese Saganaki and the Homade Kordella Pasta. This was one main that my wife didn't finish. The pasta flavor was very one note, likely needing something to balance it out. The one not was good, but she only ate about half.

 

Tommy Green Jr was in the theatre tonight and we decided to take a pass on his second show. We did go to the Celebrity Rox in the club done by the theatre cast. Overall this was good, some of the issues we noticed in the shows did show up here on some songs. For a show like this it is a bummer they didn't change up the songs to suit the singers voices, but yes I am being a bit picky again.

Edited March 2, 2023 by cgolf1

[cgolf1]

I do want to add that we saw Ralph Harris again for a 10:30 show on Bonaire day. It was an awesome show and he was hilarious. Highly recommend his shows.

[cgolf1]

Day 9 Colombia

 

This was a surprise port for us. While we never left the port area, the wildlife display they have is worth getting off the ship for. The parrots especially are really cool The do a little show and when it finished the walk back a group of flamingos to the area they stay. Well they almost ran me over. The picture was a little late because my wife had to prod me to take the picture. I was too shocked initially to get a picture. 

 

The gift shop also had good prices as well on some stuff. I got a nice hat for under 10 bucks.

 

[cgolf1]

Now there have been more and more people that have been coughing and as best we can we try to avoid sitting near these people knowing that we soon had to go back to work soon.

 

Well my wife went to sit in the solarium and someone had a really nasty cough and the person sitting next to them commented about their cough to them. The person said that their spouse had tested positive, and they tested negative at the same time. They followed up if they had tested again and they said no because they only brought two tests and that their significant other was up sitting out on an open deck. The person told them they should get tested and everyone in the area that overheard this vacated the area very quickly. 

 

Overall I wasn't surprised and it is too bad that this happened. hopefully the husband and wife are doing fine now and hopefully nobody got sick from it. This will tie into tomorrows post though. I don't know what the right answer is to this but you don't want to see a lot of people get sick on a cruise.

[cgolf1]

Supper 

I did the Steak Tartare and traditional Moroccan Spiced Ahi Tuna Steak and my wife had the Hot melted cheese Saganaki and the roasted chicken breast. Definitely a good meal tonight.

 

After the dinner we went to the show. The main act was replaced due to a family emergency by someone that mimics singers voices. She started out singing a song and it was amazing and then for us it went sideways and she started talking during the song, and then jumping around to different voices. If she would have done 1 song in one voice and then the next in another we would have stuck around. Perhaps she did that eventually, but it was such an odd start that we along with a few others didn't stay.

 

We ended up swimming in the outdoor pool which was really warm and playing cards in Eden. It is so awesome to be able to use Eden this trip.

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by cgolf1

[cgolf1]

Day 10 At Sea

 

Today was a big day as we did our rescheduled behind the scenes tour. First we did the beyond the podium on americats that was really good.

 

A little before noon, the captain came over the loudspeakers to announce that Covid was around the ship and KN95 masks were available at guest relations. This didn't surprise us at all. At times we did where a mask, depending on the situation and the proximity of people that were coughing. 

 

The behind the scenes tour was amazing, especially the engineering section. They didn't show us the bridge wing, or the ER, expected with the Covid numbers. I would highly recommend this and the food storage and the crew spaces were really interesting.

[cgolf1]

Supper

 

I had the creamy smoked tomato bisque, this was insanely good with the smoky aroma, and the slow roasted leg of lamb, also excellent, and the broiled lobster tail. The lobster tail was as predicted but good as a second to the lamb. My wife had the double baked blue cheese soufflé, really liked it, and the grilled chicken breast. Unfortunately this was very dry and overcooked, but 1 not so great dish is ok.

 

[cgolf1]

After supper Uptown put on another excellent performance. We swam a bit and then we went to Eden to play cards and Johnny was playing again, so we were excited about that. He didn't disappoint and my notes say he was awesome again:)

[cgolf1]

Day 11 at sea

 

Happy sad day in that you have to start to pack and start to think about home, well for a small amount of time that is.

 

We did go to the life on a cruise presentation with Giuseppe and it was really good. We also wen to see 10 simple ways to find happiness with Giuseppe. I do want to say that before the happiness presentation he rocketed to the top of my favorite cruise directors, very short list because I generally only remember the bad ones. He is very funny and always seemed very happy. With the 10 simple ways presentation, we learned a lot about him and he is a very well rounded and just seems to be a genuinely good guy. The 10 simple ways presentation made me think a little because I definitely have a few rough spots I have needed to iron out for like forever now.

[cgolf1]

Supper

I had the escargot/bread dip again and the Cypriot short ribs. Both were excellent and we are so glad that we settled on Cyprus with our serving team and hostess:) My wife had the Hot melted cheese Saganaki, she just really enjoyed this, and the vegtable wellington, which she also enjoyed.

 

[cgolf1]

The theatre show was feel the funk and now we really felt like we were on the Edge of old. All 4 of the singers sang incredibly. The harmonies were spot on, and nobody tried to sing over anyone, it was amazing!!!! Great show and great job by the cast.

 

We swam earlier in the day so we went back to Eden to listen to Johnny again and play some cads, two nights in a row. It was a perfect way to end the last night with awesome music the full night!

[cgolf1]

So this cruise, I think the review says most of it.

 

Yes there are some changes, but Celebrity is still our goto line as it fits the way we cruise and like to spend time on a ship. The food and service are top notch and in my opinion it isn't close. Also how they handle gluten free, especially in the buffet, is a huge win for me.

 

We still really like the edge, but we did move our 2025 cruise to try an S class ship instead of the Beyond. In 2024 we are on the expedition to cross the Galapagos off our bucket list.

 

That said our birthday cruise if it happens is either on the Reflection or the Adventure of the Seas which is a Royal ship that we just loved the design of, especially the 2 deck mini golf course. Time will tell if that happens.

 

One note for all. For the excursions, we showed up in the theatre for the Bonaire excursion at the proper time and they gave my wife the stickers. 10 minutes in they said they had already called our number plus a new one. Thankfully they had waited for us, but they didn't tell my wife they had already called our number when she go the stickers. Moral of the story is get there early because the next days excursion was called before the meeting time, but we got there plenty early this time.

[cgolf1]

Since we had a late flight we did the airboat ride. This was done at the home of the gator boys, a show that we used to watch. The airboat ride was a lot of fun, but very loud, and we saw at least 5 gators. We had done a different one in the past and only saw 1 gator.

 

The show though was a bit disappointing. One of the gator boys did the show I will be kind didn't impress us. I would be curious if anyone else had a similar opinion.

 

Overall though it was a fun way to pass the time before our flight. 

 

Thanks for following along:)

 

[Texed]

 Thanks for the nice review and pictures.  😊

[sdnich]

Thank you so much for the review and the pictures we will be on the edge in a couple weeks. I know that you ate in Cyprus most nights. We made reservations the first two nights but now I’m reading that you can just show up. I am also gluten-free so I like the idea of having wait staff that knows your food preference. I like the idea of eating in a different restaurant each night, but don’t want to struggle with the ordering as gluten-free food. 

[cgolf1]

20 minutes ago, sdnich said:

Thank you so much for the review and the pictures we will be on the edge in a couple weeks. I know that you ate in Cyprus most nights. We made reservations the first two nights but now I’m reading that you can just show up. I am also gluten-free so I like the idea of having wait staff that knows your food preference. I like the idea of eating in a different restaurant each night, but don’t want to struggle with the ordering as gluten-free food. 

 

So other than the first night just ask for the next nights menu when you are being seated. Then do the preorder and have them link it to your room number. The theory is that regardless of the dining room you are in the next night they should be able to get your preorder based on your room number. I never ended up testing that though.

 

It is important though to ask for the next nights menu when arriving. The servers are busy and relying on them to get the menu caused a delay to leave the dining room. Having the menu right away I did my preorder when my wife ordered her dish for that night.

 

Ordering the night of can be done, but one or more nights on the section of the menu that changes every night none of those were gluten free, and needed to be modified. Not sure if they can handle the on a real time order.

 

The E class gluten free food is wonderful, but the 4 dining rooms do make it more of a challenge than the more traditional ships. This is one case preordering in the app would be useful. 

[travelwench]

This was the most thorough and wonderful review, and I especially loved seeing the planners. We'll be on this cruise on March 27, and your review has made me feel much more prepared since this is our first Celebrity cruise. Thank you so much for taking all this time!

[Silkroad]

Thanks for sharing your your Panama Canal adventure with us! I really enjoyed your photos of the canal, the ports, and your cabin. Your lovely photos of Mr. Edge took me straight back to early 2019 when we Edgies were so excited to board her for the first time. Halcyon days. She’s still one of my favorite ships. 

Edited March 5, 2023 by Silkroad

[Reel Love]

Thank you so much cgolf1 for taking the time to bring us along to share your cruise!  Really enjoyed following along and appreciate the photos  😊

[Stem to Stern]

Thanks for your report.  All the pics and descriptions were great.  There were a lot of nice Podium talks on your cruise.

It seems like you really know how to relax and unwind on board.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Stem to Stern