Why You Might Not Love the Celebrity Edge
So in our last article we talked about 5 of the things that we really loved about our recent week on the Celebrity Edge. And all of that was the pure unvarnished truth. Put me back on that ship and I’d be there in a heartbeat. Personal preference aside, as a travel agent I also try to look at every adventure through the lens of what my would be travelers might love, and might not. Celebrity’s older ships are all great, and there may be some reasons that you want to stick with them instead of joining me on the Edge.
Specialty Dining. In the last article I talked about the large number of specialty dining choices. All cruise ships have specialty dining at this point, but on most it’s usually 3 options max. On Edge there are at least double that. While these are great options and some of them were phenomenal experiences, I have lots of clients who when cruising prefer to dine at the included restaurants. So if you suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out) the Edge might not be for you as you’ll always be wondering what’s going on in those other places.
Bye-bye main dining. If you enjoy the traditional main dining room experience (usually two levels, 500–600 cruisers all enjoying a great sit down meal together) then you may not be a fan of Celebrity’s new approach. They have done away with that main dining room entirely, and created four separate restaurants that are included for your choice each evening. While it does what was intended and creates a more intimate feel, if you like the grandeur and scale of the traditional main dining this may disappoint you.
The cabin. The cabin is lovely. It’s way more than “fine” and the updates to the design, such as a shower I can shower in, are much appreciated. But one person’s perfect is another person’s “meh”, so:
- Infinite Veranda. I talked about this in the other article and I think there is a lot to love about this new concept. But I did miss the feeling like you were actually “going outside” when you went out onto your verandah. The suites and some of the other categories do still have a traditional balcony, so make sure you talk with your travel agent about your preferences.
- Bring Your Hooks. Over the years, I’ve learned lots of tips about how to maximize space in a cruise cabin. Let’s face it, none of them are BIG (unless you’re in a baller suite), and while I don’t always need my magnetic hooks and shoe organizer, I’ve got to say the closet space in the verandah was a tough pill to swallow. I kept looking for more, and my colleague/roommate for the week got a good laugh out of it. The cabin steward however didn’t seem surprised at my surprise, which at least tells me I wasn’t alone. We managed, but largely because we packed light and both did laundry. On a longer cruise, or without laundry, or sharing a cabin with my husband (eesh just the amount of space those shoes take up) I’m not sure I would have made it.
Wifi. So this one might just be me. Or at least people like me who still have to be able to work while on a cruise, but the wifi was tough. My colleague and I both had the basic package. I upgraded to Premium almost immediately and was able to muddle through, especially at night when others were sleeping. She tried her best to be the control group for me but on day 5 gave up the ghost and upgraded to Premium too.
Wine. As I said when i talked about my foray into the Martini Bar, I am mostly a wine drinker. Ask my non-drinking husband, and he would say I am actually mostly a wine snob. Potato, Potahto. One of the reasons I ventured into the world of martinis was that the wine list was lackluster at best. It was the best in the dining rooms and specialty restaurants, but if you wanted a glass of wine at any of the bars or lounges it was hit or miss. They usually had the basic house wines covered under the classic beverage package, but if you were looking for more you might get your feelings hurt. The caveat to this is if you wanted an expensive bottle of wine In a dining room they probably had it, but I was one lonely wine-drinker and that seemed excessive. Until I know this has changed, I would still go on the Edge (after all it’s still fabulous), but I’d probably use my two bottle allowance to bring on a couple of good bottles to walk around the ship with.
So if you take this article and the one recapping my favorites parts of the Edge, you’ll get a pretty good sense of what to expect. For me, the most important thing is the one I haven’t mentioned yet, and which I believe can truly make or break a cruise experience. THE STAFF WERE AMAZING. PHENOMENAL. WONDERFUL. This isn’t me blowing smoke, since that’s not who I am. Every single team member on that ship was welcoming, friendly, helpful, yadda yadda yadda. So I’ll end this with a shoutout to our cabin steward Thais — Mwah!
