Great ship/Wonderful cruise
Celebrity Edge Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 20
11 Night Southern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 06, 2023
Ship: Celebrity Edge
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6211
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
This was a great cruise and I highly recommend. The ship is the nicest and cleanest we have been on. We liked the Infinity Veranda as opposed to a balcony.Embarkation
You waited in large group areas, and they called your group when they were ready for the next group. We arrived earlier than our designated time because we were with my parents. Their time was 30 minutes earlier. It was no problem at all. We waited about 15 minutes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We only ate in the main dining room, ocean view cafe and Mast Grill. My parents did the the Le Petite Chef restaurant and loved the experience. I heard that of all the specialty restaurants that the Eden restaurant is the best. The coffee onboard is great, even at the buffet. I liked that there were 4 main dining rooms to choose from each night. We had anytime dining and never made reservations. Sometimes there was a bit of wait but never more than 5 minutes. It was mostly because people were checking in. Our favorite of the main dining room was the Normandie. Each restaurant has their own 3 exclusive entrees and appetizers that are the same nightly. Then they have the Classics (broiled Salmon, Chicken, Steak *very thin) and 3 specialty items each night. Those are same across all 4 restaurants. The reason I liked the Normandie is because they had a baked brie appetizer and beef wellington. The beef was a thick slice of tenderloin that you can order medium rare. It was excellent. Cyprus is the only dining room that serves breakfast. I wish we would tried that. We always just ate at the buffet. I have to say that the food in general was the same as Royal Caribbeans food. The only exception was the 4 main dining room specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
We aren't the type that lay out in the sun all day so we relied on the ship's activities. Of the long list of activities each day I would say at least half of them involve 5 minutes spa makeovers, jewelry raffles and such. For me, that is not an activity. The rest consisted of dance classes (salsa, rumba, and swing). Were a big dancers (not great though) and we loved the classes. They offered them only on sea days. They should have had one more because we had 4 sea days. They were usually at 11:15 am and were 45 minutes. The other activities that were common: dot painting, "behind the podium" talks, Deal or No Deal (one guy won a cruise) numerous trivia games and music in the afternoons. Lots of acoustic music.
Entertainment
The production shows were great but there were too many of them. It seemed like they were every other night. They all featured extremely talented acrobats, singing and dancing. It almost felt like they were working them too hard, as if they were saving money by relying on them so much. The rest were mostly one woman shows: Comedian Kristen Key was good. She had 2 shows during the cruise. There was a Tina Turner tribute (good, but I got tired of it fast). A woman that sang a lot of opera which I don’t enjoy. A lady hypnotist. She was featured one night and we went to both shows because we liked it so much. Then, they featured her 3-4 more times which were day time activities. She started to lose credibility when it became an infomercial for her program. She had a family member going around collecting email addresses. That was a turn off. One night they featured a male duo that sang and play the cello. They were great. They also performed the next day with a completely different show. Another night had a male band called Ukebox. They were 4 very entertaining guys that sing and played the ukulele. I enjoyed them. The rest were production shows. This was an 11 night cruise. The "house bands" were all women. Would have liked to see more variety in that area. I would have like to see a piano bar type set up too.
Service and Staff
Every single person with interacted with was friendly, smiling, courteous and constantly asked if you were having a good time, etc. They were genuine and went above and beyond to make sure you were having a nice vacation. The Martini bar featured 2 "shows" each night where they juggled bottles and shakers.
Ship Quality
All areas were immaculate.
Cabin / Stateroom
I would not recommend this cabin. This was a horrible view. I imagined it would be partially obstructed but not like this. They shouldn't even sell this room. The design of the infinity veranda was phenomenal. We did have a problem with our first room. We didn't unpack yet because I was waiting for a room change and got it! Remember it never hurts to ask, just get in line right away. Thank you Celebrity for helping us out. There was PLENTY of storage. Lots of hangers and closet space. Best ever. It had a minimalist design and look which I love. The shower was so roomy and so clean.
Ship tip
Book your excursions way in advance because they do sell out. People tended to dress up each night so bring some pretty clothes. Day 9 was one of our "chic nights" when they served lobster. The first tail was on them, but you had to pay for extra which we did not need.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
George Town, Grand Cayman Did not visit port
We didn't book an excursion. We took a taxi to the Westin hotel at 7 mile beach. I had booked at parasailing trip and they picked up from there. Google Parasailing Professionals for more information. They are the best in every way. HIGHLY recommend doing this. It is VERY expensive in Grand Cayman to plan on spending a lot of money on drinks and food. It is worth it though. We had the best drinks of the whole trip at the Westin hotel. Great chicken tenders too.
We did an excursion called "taste of Cartagnea" All I can really say that I loved was the zoo at the port. Best port experience ever. Free bird sanctuary. We even saw an ant eater! Get off the ship just for that if anything. The tour we did was awful in my opinion. He didn't warn us as to what would happen when we got off the tour bus. CONSTANT pushing all the goods. Hats, clothes, magnets, leather belts, water, beer; you name it. It was like being attacked almost.
We did 2 shore excursions here. We got in a 4pm and did an sunset catamaran cruise that started at 5 pm. It was perfectly fine but unfortunately it was cloudy we didn't see a sunset. Afterward we ate dinner (on our own) at Ankr Grill right by the drop off point from the pier. Not touristy like you would imagine. After dinner we went to the "Sopranos" Piano bar via taxi. About 10 minutes away. If you want nightlife go here. They are other restaurants and bars all over. The second one was a "Beach hop" where we went Arashaki Beach and Eagle Beach. There is no shade at Arashaki so if you fair skinned go get an umbrella and chairs right away. The do sell out quickly. The set was $50 cash only. We managed to find a sliver of shade at Eagle beach and just sat on our beach towels. The waves were rough there. My parents got pummeled on one and by standers came to their rescue.
Aruba was my favorite port right behind Grand Cayman. When you get off the ship, there are "school busses" that take you right downtown. The only bad part is we were there on a Sunday so all the shops were closed. If you want a t-shirt get it on Saturday. This was an overnight stop for us.
My parents did a great shore excursion but ours was not good. If you ask me based on my shore excursion if I liked Curacao the answer would be no. There tour was "panoramic Curacao ". It was their favorite port so be careful which tour you pick.
We went on our own. There were 5 ships there. Don't let that scare you into not getting off the ship. After Cartagena this was easy. We went to Pirate Brewing company for conch fritters and beer. Very good.
Disembarkation
Perfect