Cruise #32:
7 NIGHT WESTERN CARIBBEAN.
Ship : Celebrity Edge
Cabin :
Sky Retreat Suite
Itinerary:
DAY 1,Sat, Jun 26
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Departs: 6:00PM
DAY 2,Sun, Jun 27
At Sea
DAY 3,Mon, Jun 28
At Sea
DAY 4,Tue, Jun 29
Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico
Docked: 8:00AM to 5:00PM
We were allowed to get off the ship as long as we
wore our mask indoors. It was recommended outdoors. We walked around
and did some shopping. Lou bought 2 belts and some cigars. Carol
bought a beach dress.
DAY 5,Wed, Jun 30
Cozumel, Mexico
Docked: 7:00AM to 6:00PM
We did not reserve an excursion here or in Costa
Maya. We've been here a few times. We had intended to get off the
ship and walk around, shop, and eat some authentic Mexican food.
Unfortunately the local authorities did not allow passengers off the
ship unless they were part of a ship organized covid-19 protocol
excursion. So we stayed onboard and enjoyed the ship.
DAY 6,Thu
At Sea
DAY 7,Fri, Jul 2
Nassau, Bahamas
Docked: 8:00AM to 5:00PM
Tour: Essential Nassau 8:30 am - noon.
This was a disappointing tour.
We toured a rum factory which does nothing for Carol and Lou doesn't
love rum. We drove around and saw some sites in the rain. We then
went to a chocolate store which was just ok. There was a wine tour
next door, but after the rum, none of us cared for the idea. We
ended up at a sidewalk cafe hoping for some authentic food in the
Bahamas. Instead we got conch that was so tough we could not chew
it. The chicken wings and fries did not count as authentic. Service
was minimal.
DAY 8,Sat, Jul 3
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Arrival: 7:00AM
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Carol on the sundeck on our way to the Rooftop Grill. |
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Lou and Carol on the sundeck on our way to the Rooftop Grill. Carol had filet mignon and Lou had ribs. Yum! And then we watched the sun set over the horizon. |
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Comments:
This was a
fabulous cruise. As the 1st cruise from North America in 15 months
there was a lot of media attention aboard the ship. On day 1 we saw
the CEO of Royal Caribbean interviewed by CNBC. We have seen him
before on other media outlets. On day 4 many of the major media
outlets were onboard during their morning show.
Here is just
one of many stories about the cruising restart.
The Celebrity Edge was deployed in 2018. It is a
beautiful ship with multiple fabulous venues and fun to look at
artwork. There is a piece of artwork of a ship made out of pearls.
The theatre is a 3 level venue for broadway style shows. We saw
"Uptown" which was totally awesome. I had to find the 3 performers
the next day and let them know how wonderful the show was. It was a
show depicting motown music with songs by Stevie Wonder, Manhattan
Transfers, and many more.
The crew was very welcoming and authentically excited to have
passengers on board. They were very helpful and provided great
service. The food as always was spectacular and yeah I may have had
a few cocktails :) The celebrity edge normally carries about 2900
passengers but with the restrictions the ship was only 40% occupied.
Everyone
aboard the ship including passengers and crew except for 24 kids
were all vaccinated. There were further restrictions in port so we
were not allowed to get off in Cozumel because we did not have a
ship-curated excursion so we stayed on board and enjoyed the pool.
captain Kate
McCue is the 1st female captain of a Mega cruise ship. She was a
great person to get to know. Obviously she knew her stuff but she
also had a great personality and was very very funny. She also
traveled with her hairless cat (Bug Naked) which everyone got to
meet. She met passengers on the 1st day while boarding and said
goodbye to everyone while we disembarked.
Apparently
captain Kate was not the only female officer as the 2nd and 3rd
officers were also female. We also got to meet Al and Brad who were
married on day 2 aboard the ship. They were all fabulous. Glad we
got to go on this cruise and share the joy of cruising again
The pool
deck was very well done. Fountains and statues decorate the deck.
Very comfortable chairs and lounge chairs fill the space. There was
an outdoor and indoor pool. I really liked that the deck was
designed so that supporting columns were minimized and therefore
less of them for me to crash into.
The staff at the Casino were very friendly and helpful.
Unfortunately I lost my shirt. Fortunately, Carol found it.
Luminae is a restaurant for suite passengers. We ate most of our
meals here. It was really sad to say goodbye as we were treated so
well by the staff.
Ivory the hostess recognized us everytime we showed up. We ate there
many times including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not sure how she
can remember everyone's name given there were 350 suite guests. I
think the ship is using facial recognition software. Ivory was very
welcoming and enjoyable to speak to everyday.
Madeline was our wine steward. She kept me very happy with multiple
glasses of Caymus cab. Very yummy.
Our waiter Adash was nothing short of spectacular. I think he works
24 by 7 as he was our waiter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A
highly friendly and professional waiter that would go out of his way
to fulfill our wishes. One night I didn't care for anything on the
menu. So I asked Adash for a ceasar salad and filet mignon steak
medium rare. What came out was perfect. The steak was so tender and
cooked perfectly that you could cut it with a butter knife. Adash
makes us want to book another cruise immediately. We miss his
friendship and sophistication.
The
Oceanview Café is what you would call a Buffet except there is no
longer self service Buffet due to covid restrictions. All of the
stations are served by staff behind the counter wearing mask and
gloves. I would say the Oceanview Café was adequate but nothing
special. Fine for a quick bite or a nice salad. Just avoid the pizza
as it droops when picked up. Princess makes much better pizza.
The Mast
Grill - Burgers - was disappointing. The burger was slightly better
then McDonalds. It was pre-prepared and thus fried. Compare this to
Princess where the burgers are grilled to order. Yes it takes longer
to get a burger on Princess, but it is right off the grill
delicious.
We ate at
Fine Cut Steakhouse on day 1. WOW!! What a fabulous ribeye.
Extremely tener and prepared perfectly. The mac and cheese were
quite yummy as well. This is a must do.
Raw on 5
(sushi) was surprisingly very good. It did smell a bit fishy when we
walked in, so we were concerned. However I think this is due to the
fresh crabs and oysters. Carol and I both had sushi and were amazed
how good it was. I recommend this place expecially if you love
seafood and sushi.
Rooftop
Garden Grill is the barbecue restaurant on top and back of ship.
This is a fabulous venue. We had dinner here twice. You can watch
and smell the food as it is prepared. You are seated on the top deck
all the way in the back so there are fabulous views of the ocean. On
our second dinner here we were 30 miles off the coast of Miami and
many folks were able to see the Miami skyline with the sunset as a
backdrop. We made new friends here. The first dinner I had a half
rack of ribs dry rubbed that just fell off the bone. The second
dinner I had beef brisket that just melted in my mouth. This venue
is a must do.
The Retreat
Lounge is another exclusive venue for suite passengers. We spent a
lot of time here. Open 24 hours a day and located at the front of
the ship. From here there are fantastic views of the ocean and
ports. The venue had comfortable furniture and where you could grab
a snack, coffee, wine, or cocktail at anytime. We really enjoyed
spedning time here just relaxing looking at the ocean and listening
to our books.
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Happy Birthday, Mr. Gregory! Here's to you!!!! |
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Our first dinner at Luminae. |
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The view from the ship of the fake Mayan ruins at the Costa Maya harbor. |
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Costa Maya - is there a ship stranded in those trees?? |
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The looonng pier at Costa Maya. |
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A view of our ship, The Celebrity Edge, from the shore. |
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The stage at the Theater on board The Edge. |
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VP of Celebrity on the left and the infamous Captain Kate on the right during a Q&A from the audience. Very moving and inspirational session. Captain Kate spoke rewarding crew members with special suites during the pandemic while they were stuck on the ship for 15 months. |
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The resort deck on The Edge. This is the location of the Good Morning America broadcast of the first sailing of a cruise ship from American shores post-Covid19 pandemic. |
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Lou sips a cappaccino on the resort deck. |
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Captain Kate with her hairless cat, Bug Naked! They are supposedly all over tik-tok but we're too old for that stuff! |
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The sunset over Miami. Taken from our second visit to the Rooftop Grill. Carol ate a ribeye and Lou got beef brisket. |
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The sunset over Miami, taken at the Rooftop Grill. |
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As we left Nassau (our last stop), The Eqinox and The Reflections set up so that The Edge sailed right between them. This is a picture of The Equinox on the port side, taken from one of our favorite spots on the ship, the Retreat Lounge. |
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Our view from the Retreat Lounge. |
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