Giving a “live” review a go. Celebrity Edge. Sydney to Tasmania. March 7-13

[buchhalm]

Off she goes

 

[Okahukura]

Once again have woken up way too early. But we had such a lovely day yesterday. Boarding was super efficient and easy. And we were able to enjoy our lunch at Lumunaire soon after 12. Following lunch we just hung out on the Retreat sun deck. The experience of just hanging out looking over the city and the harbour means we felt we had already achieved peak holiday. 
For dinner we went to the Rooftop Grill. Thought it would be a nice place to experience the sail away. And it certainly was, although it was a bit weird with people just wandering through getting from one side of the ship to another. This is a restaurant you have to pay extra for and while the food was very good. The filet Mignon was melt in the mouth delicious. I am not sure I would bother paying extra unless you had plenty of OB credits. 
Anyway it was a wonderful night. We made

some great memories and took some ok photos. May have over indulged on the beverages - oops.  The Beyond signature cocktail is both delicious and dangerous 😝 I did take photos of the wine list but none of our meals or the menu. Will try better today.

Also I am blaming the Aussies on the previous cruise (would never be Kiwis haha) for the shortage of champagne today. It was having to be restocked. 

 

 

[resordanis]

16 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I’m on this cruise also,we where on about 11:00 .

Lovely ship very modern and classy.

The food in the buffet is a touch above Royal Caribbean but that’s not hard to do.

Chilli, the food in the buffet will be good on Celebrity. Anything is better than the Windjammer.I will be interested in your comparison seeing you are now Elite with Celebrity!

[Chiliburn]

33 minutes ago, resordanis said:

Chilli, the food in the buffet will be good on Celebrity. Anything is better than the Windjammer.I will be interested in your comparison seeing you are now Elite with Celebrity!

Elite doesn’t really give many benefits,90 minutes of internet and a open bar from 5-7 and the drinks are pretty limited.

The food is definitely better that windjammers,the Breads a as good as you get.

They have a lovely baked ham they are carving up in the buffet,heaps of smoked salmon and even pickled herrings . I just had ham and egg bagel,very tasty.

As you said, asked the cabin attendant for a kettle and he had one in half hour. I have my trusty coffee plunger so all good in the coffee department.

 

Edited March 7 by Chiliburn

[Okahukura]

Happy International Women’s Day. We have now berthed in Eden. Looks very pretty but we aren’t planning to get off the ship. We had such a nice time on the  Retreat Pool deck yesterday we want to just continue doing that. 

[reeves35]

Those wine prices are scary!!!  Is that USD??

[Okahukura]

10 minutes ago, reeves35 said:

Those wine prices are scary!!!  Is that USD??

Kia Ora sure is!!!  Super scary when you look at the exchange rate. 

[reeves35]

3 minutes ago, Okahukura said:

Kia Ora sure is!!!  Super scary when you look at the exchange rate. 

They are ridiculous.  So Celebrity force you to spend USD89 per day for a drinks package and you'll need another for your spouse so USD1246 (~AUD1900) for a 7 day cruise or you can spend around AUD35 per glass.  Either way, that is bonkers!! 

 

I realise you can often get drinks packages for less than the headline price but, either way, these prices really affect your overall holiday cost.

 

Cunard is often accused of being expensive for drinks but their per drink prices are nothing like those you have shown for Celebrity.

 

[NSWP]

Those wine prices are way, way, way over the top.

 

Re Eden, worth a 20 minute walk up the hill from ship to town. They often run a bus.

Edited March 7 by NSWP

[icat2000]

That why I haven't sailed on RCL or Celebrity in Australian waters due to their high prices and US exchange rate. 

[cruiser3775]

Wow! I'm horrified by the wine prices. Not much choice either.  Maybe they are more expensive in the speciality restaurants?  Would be interested in seeing the standard dining room wine list.  If it's in the same price range, I think I'll forget about my Celebrity "wine cruise".

[Chiliburn]

I heard at the bar a couple times,someone order a cocktail or a fancy glass of wine.

The bar tender said your drink package doesn’t cover that it will be an extra $6 or $8 

 

The Tender area or gangway is really fancy. The side of the ship opens up to like a shop front with glass windows. Like the perfume area at Myer .I started to take a picture inside but security jumped on me.

 

 

[reeves35]

12 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I heard at the bar a couple times,someone order a cocktail or a fancy glass of wine.

The bar tender said your drink package doesn’t cover that it will be an extra $6 or $8 

 

 

So, in addition to a drinks package you pay another AUD9 - AUD12 for a drink and then there will probably be an 18% service charge (AUD1.50 - AUD2.20) added on top of that.....you'd want it to be a nice wine!!!

[cruiser3775]

Out of interest, I just checked the price of one of the white wines on the list above. The Torre Penalas Albarino from Spain is $18.95 a bottle on a US wine shop site. Celebrity wants $72 a bottle.

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, icat2000 said:

That why I haven't sailed on RCL or Celebrity in Australian waters due to their high prices and US exchange rate. 

Indeed. Add us to the current list.

We used to love doing short cruises in Royal's suites. The high prices aboard have steered us away, and they have started jacking-up the suite prices in line with the drink and/or restaurant inclusions. Never say never, but they have lost us for now.

[austromyrtus]

thanks for your review - i am interested to find out more about the eden restaurant if you get there. in particular the charge for the restaurant menu (as opposed to the tastimg menu which i think is usd102). thanks

[Chiliburn]

2 hours ago, reeves35 said:

So, in addition to a drinks package you pay another AUD9 - AUD12 for a drink and then there will probably be an 18% service charge (AUD1.50 - AUD2.20) added on top of that.....you'd want it to be a nice wine!!!

I have never bought a drink package as I try not to drink so much but I believe there two tiers. The basic just covers the average drink,beer ,house wine,mixed drinks,coffee,juice.

[reeves35]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Out of interest, I just checked the price of one of the white wines on the list above. The Torre Penalas Albarino from Spain is $18.95 a bottle on a US wine shop site. Celebrity wants $72 a bottle.

So assuming Celebrity get a bulk discount, it is likely their unit purchase cost is around USD9 or so!!!

 

Edited March 8 by reeves35

[Chiliburn]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Indeed. Add us to the current list.

We used to love doing short cruises in Royal's suites. The high prices aboard have steered us away, and they have started jacking-up the suite prices in line with the drink and/or restaurant inclusions. Never say never, but they have lost us for now.

It’s a nice ship Geoff but you wouldn’t like it because your medallion won’t work .

But they are really out to fleece the punter . you just need to say .Do I really need that suite or that special restaurant where you eat to much.

 

Edited March 8 by Chiliburn

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

It’s a nice ship Geoff but you wouldn’t like it because your medallion won’t work .

Exactly. A working medallion delivers you cocktails that only cost $AU15.

 

We have done a few on Celebrity and they are beautiful ships. When their pricing matches reality, I will be more than happy to ditch my medallion and return to Celebrity & Royal.

[Okahukura]

14 hours ago, austromyrtus said:

thanks for your review - i am interested to find out more about the eden restaurant if you get there. in particular the charge for the restaurant menu (as opposed to the tastimg menu which i think is usd102). thanks

Kia Ora we haven’t booked for Eden but I will see if I can find a menu

[Okahukura]

13 hours ago, arxcards said:

Exactly. A working medallion delivers you cocktails that only cost $AU15.

 

We have done a few on Celebrity and they are beautiful ships. When their pricing matches reality, I will be more than happy to ditch my medallion and return to Celebrity & Royal.

 

6 minutes ago, Okahukura said:

Kia Ora oops it looks like I have quoted on the wrong post but the price for Eden is $102 USD whether you do the tasting menu or not 

 

[Okahukura]

A very lazy day yesterday. It was quite cloudy so we didn’t have as much pool lounging time as we thought but we struggled on haha. 
There was a special on a mini facial and massage I went and had that. It was lovely and I didn’t get a hard sell on products which I appreciated. Only did it because I had OB credit. 
Totally agree with the discussions about the price of alcohol. Seems way OTT. We have the Premium drinks package so we are pretty well looked after. But we are still to find a bar or restaurant that serves champagne. The best they can offer is Chandon. 

[Okahukura]

A photo of the Retreat pool area. And of the confusing toilet lock. You press a button to open and close the door. But that does lock it. You have to choose this option as well. And if you don’t you may get a bit of exposure you weren’t anticipating. 

[austromyrtus]

5 hours ago, Okahukura said:

 

 

many thanks for the price re the eden restaurant menu kia ora. i hear the food is great but usd102 is quite expensive. we will be on the edge early april & already eden is quite heavily booked!