A week onboard Celebrity Edge was a pleasant surprise. A girlfriend asked me to be her ‘plus one’ and with nothing but time on my hands I readily said yes.
We sailed from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, St Thomas and St Maarten. Incidentally – we were the first ship to arrive in both St. Thomas and St. Maarten since March of 2019. Folks were really happy to see us and things are slowly waking up
The ship, according to Captain Kate, sailed at 57% occupancy vs 38% occupancy last cruise. Increments. Just how it should be.
The staff could not be more pleasant and accommodating and all are in masks. As for passengers; we were not in masks however when in ports we were. It was requested and all complied, some with complaint but when reminded these are the laws of the ports we are visiting….and how grateful we were to be there – no one whined too much
You did not have to take a ships tour to go ashore although seeing as this was the first time a ship has been here in soooo long – probably a good idea. I thought the selection of tours and pricing was excellent so we took something in each port, and that proved to be a good decision
Now I used to work onboard cruise ships so this journey was also really emotional for me. I spent 18 years on ships running shore excursions (and part of a duo juggling magic act) so I have been really lucky to have been to a lot of ports. And walking onboard – the memories of my years at sea! Further, I met my oceanographer husband onboard Silver Cloud and then had the opportunity to travel the world with him as he Guest Lectured on worldwide itineraries on various cruise lines. Yes, I love me a cruise.
Thoroughly enjoyed the ship however I have always said that the ship is 80% of the cruise experience (20% is the port) and I loved every minute onboard. In particular thought the entertainment was very, very good with main theatre shows both varied, well done and extremely enjoyable.
The martini bar in the Grand Plaza area was a great gathering spot and the flair bartenders are not to be missed. You could also hang out with a cup of coffee and I discovered ‘Café Mocha’ here. LOVED the people watching as this is a busy corridor
A highlight has been silent disco. Yup. Silent disco. We ventured into The Night Club for the first round; you are given this (sanitized) headset (by a masked crew member) that has three channels identified by a different color – and you put them on. Choose a channel and start to dance.
And start to sing. SO MUCH fun!
A repeat was offered last night in the Grand Plaza and there had to be 200 people dancing about. Take off the ear phones and hear what is being sung. It WAS easy to recognize ‘Sweet Caroline’ and a few other favorites. What a blast.
Eden. Aft….to get there you walk through this room that I believe is meant to be a forest; it is dark and sparkly with mirrors with tall gold trees – leading to Tiffany’s.
Yes, the store, which is right at the entrance to Eden. Now my girlfriend that was onboard last week had told me not to miss this area and she was 100% right.
You have to make some effort to get back here but when you do there is a spot for breakfast and luncheon, a full on bar and dance floor, lots of music and live entertainment and even one more specialty restaurant. All this is aft under a huge dome – just a plain cool spot to hang out.
The main dining has 4 dining rooms – all aft. Each restaurant has Exclusive Entrees, then there are Classic Items and finally Signature Selections. A variety of specialty restaurants are available at additional costs (seafood, steak, French, etc) however I admit to having spent no money in this area. Drink package? Yes. And I recommend it
Internet was included and that is fantastic. You can upgrade….but not needed for me
The Sunset bar is a must; aft and aptly named, at that magical time of day at sea when day turns to dusk, this is truly a magical spot to be. LOVED sitting in a high back chair staring at our wake….and enjoying a Jameson.
One of the busiest areas of the ship was the Future Cruise Booking area! Amazing to see how many people were planning for the next journey – and anything booked onboard of course travelers continue to work with their travel agents – had fun chatting with people to hear about where they are going next.
This thing is a monster compared to anything I have ever sailed on and I really enjoyed looking for nooks and crannies to explore and have to myself. The gym was spacious and I had a few workouts (with killer views) and although I did not take any spa treatments – many, many did and had great things to say
A journey at sea is an amazing experience, more so after the last 18 months. The feeling of the ocean air; the wind on your skin and that oddly familiar routine of late afternoon nap, shower, cocktail, dinner, show….then late evening past times. Nothing beats starting your day with a lazy sit down breakfast, with a book, on sea day.
For me this cruise was a walk down memory lane of my cruise past and a glimpse of hope into our cruise travel future and I enjoyed every minute of it. Would I do it again? In a Celebrity Edge minute!
