EDGE delivers on what was advertised, but also took away many things we took for granted based on previous cruise experiences.
Magic Carpet is a gimmick, it spent almost the entire cruise “parked” on deck 14, was closed for private functions much of the time.
It appears that Celebrity is targeting a different demographic with this boat than their existing customer base. This was a common theme of our discussions with other passengers.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
One or our rooms was a suite, so we went through the suite embarkation process. It took a few minutes, but we were seated in a nice lounge wth refreshments, and just waited for a representative with a tablet to come to our table to sort out nuances like re-taking one of my daughters pictures. Very good process, not as quick as some others have mentioned, but very relaxed, low-stress experience.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
For the most part, the food was outstanding. We tried Luminae the 1st night, but since it is up on deck 12, towards the front of the ship, there was a lot more boat movement than in the main dining areas in the lower, aft of the ship. One of my daughters didn’t enjoy the combination of motion and eating, so we ate in the MDRs for most of the trip. Many of the upgraded dining option were booked solid prior to embarkation, but the hosts at the retreat were able to get us into Fine Cuts for Christmas dinner, which was extraordinary. I was a bit disappointed that they said it would cost $60/meal to have our daughters join us in Luminae, because, while our rooms were adjacent, the were not adjoining, because the structure of the Magic Carpet did not allow the adjacent balconies to be opened up.
Fine Cut Steakhouse
5 out of 5
Extraordinary experience, excellent food and service
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
The fitness center looked very nice and was very well utilized every time I stopped in. The pools are nice. The solarium was a bit warm and muggy, and although it is marked as a no-kids zone, it also serves as a major thoroughfare from the fwd to the aft part of the ship. The Cabanas are also not very private as they are completely open to the same fwd to aft thoroughfare. Beyond the fitness center and pools, the little wooden puzzles the put out on the tables were the only other activity I could find. As others have mentioned, no library, no card room, no slides, no golf, no basketball. Deal or No deal is an expensive, but poor substitute for bingo. I did not try the knitting or crafting, but saw a few of those things on the itinerary. If you are big into art, and taking selfies in interesting, but uncomfortable chairs and spaces, you woul probably rate thi higher. There is still a casino.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
I saw about half of the shows, and for the most part they were just a bit odd. I suspect that I may not be part of the target demographic for this ship
Children's Programs
Our kids are adults, while going ashore, I did see that they seem to have the kids area down on deck 2, rather than up high like I have seen on most ships
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The waitstaff and room stewards were all top notch. The retreat concierges were great, but busy a lot of the time. Our butler was not as present as our previous experience on Equinox, but was responsive, I suspect he was covering more suites. In contrast to the Luminae, the room stewards and butler very much gave my daughters the suite experience, even though the room were adjacent, not adjoining. They were actually surprised that the rooms on either side of the Magic Carpet “beams”, could not be adjoined.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Cleanliness was spot on. I give the ship design lower marks for thoroughfares that cut through areas that have some expectation of peace and quiet. On a more concerning design note, there are sewer vents in the fire hose closets in the hallway. Our daughters room’s HVAC would draw in the sewer gasses from these vents and pump them in to the room. At 1st they just tried to spray a bunch of room freshener (which I think the had been doing daily since the boat started sailing a few weeks ago). When we pressed the issue, they sent a crew up to seal off the vent, which they did. This helped for a few days, but we ended up having to occasionally open the fire hose compretment door to air it out to prevent the smell from slowly returning.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Room size was OK once we moved the big metal rocking chair to the balcony. There were too many decorative pillows in the room that interfered with using the couch. The TV could not swivel to face the couch. The bed was great. The tub is interesting, but large and shallow and water would pour into the floor from the edge of the tub when you tried to use the shower. There was no door or curtain. The balcony size was good, but the Macic Carpet “beam” blocked the view looking forward entirely, and since the Magic Carpet spent 95% of the cruise parked at deck 14, or balcony was shaded by the giant orange “shelf” for almost the entire cruise. The closets and dressers were great, but a little close to the bed to access easily. Twice daily servicing of the room was exceptional.
Ship tip
Expect to carry your phone with you on the ship. Make sure you bring actives an all sundries with you. We could not find a place to buy these types of items on the ship
No excursion, we did not find anything that interested us. We went ashore to go shopping but the area still seemed to be substantially damaged from storms in recent years. There were 7 cruise ships there, the town seemed a bit overwhelmed.
Atlantis aquaventure was logistically challenged, we arrived late enough that no Cabanas or decent seating were available. Similar to EDGE, Atlantis does not live up to the hype. In recognition of the problems, Celebrity refunded 20% of the excursion cost to everyone who bought it through the ship
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