The ship is very unorganized. The food was the same every day. Front desk clerk named Barbara Uchiyama was always scowling and treating guests without the least education and attention. The tours were disorganized. The guides hired by MSC knew almost nothing about the tours, reaching the height of not wanting to take us to the Mount of Olives in Israel because he preferred to take it to a store that certainly earns commission. The drinks level was 0.50 cents more to force you to pay for a higher plan. Suite members, who have a golden package, have no privileges on board or on board as mentioned at the time of purchase. The only space reserved for member Aurea spent half of the trip closed for maintenance. The cleanliness of the ship's toilets was deplorable Excursion outings were tumultuous and always with guides who did not speak the languages ​​sold Read Less

Chose this cruise as it was a bargain. 2 x nights in Venice, 5 x day med cruise, 1 x night in Genoa. We had obstructed outside cabin. Opera is a very clean and tidy ship with an excellent crew. We purchased a drink package that was 29 euros plus service charge per night. I think we broke even and possibly drunk more than we would have done if we had just paid for drinks as we went. The entertainment on the boat was not the best but nether the less acceptable. The ship was full mainly of Italians and Germans us brits were in the minority. We ate in the main dining room for every meal and thought that the food was good but not gourmet. This was our first MSC Cruise and overall thought that it was value for money but not up to P & O standard and worth doing again. We were supposed to stop at Kotor but due to bad weather did not visit. Thanks to the captain and staff we made an unscheduled visit to Messina and did an organised trip up Etna. Read Less

This ship seemed to have a primarily European clientele. However, being American was not a detriment. Every staff person that we approached for whatever reason, spoke English. All messages were announced in English (as well as many other languages). The staff on board were exceptionally courteous. The ship was impeccably clean and any minor issues that we needed assistance with were handled instantly. The food was great for the most part. Breakfast eggs were a bit bland and some people complained about the lack of deep fried foods offered, but overall, the food was of great quality and good variety. Only one specialty restaurant which was primarily sushi. The shows at night were amateurish for the most part with a few good points. Not much in the way of on board activities. November was chilly so not much deck time. Excursions were well organized, but not available to book on the smart tv. You needed to book before sailing or wait on the excursion desk line. Ports were great. Genoa a bit boring. People embarking at different ports so not everyone gets on all at once, which was nice. Tenerife and Funchal were my favorites. Long wavy ride from Malaga back to Rome. Read Less

We selected this cruise for the itinerary, The Holy Land. The first sailing day we had stormy weather. Lots of queasy passengers, very hard to walk around and several activities cancelled or rescheduled. This is one of the challenges of sailing and -- it happens. The crew did a great job of communicating and making us as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. Because of the weather, our Sicily stop was changed to Crete. Personally, we didn't mind because we had never visited Crete. Our Ashdod port was changed to Haifa so we had an overnight stay in Haifa. We agreed, better to be safe. Unfortunately, it was a religious holiday and everyplace we visited on the Jerusalem and Bethlehem shore excursion was very, very crowded. Compounded by the longer transit time (1.5 hours) from Haifa versus Ashdod, it was not the experience we had anticipated. Nonetheless, we were able to quickly see religious sites that had enormous emotional and sentimental value to us. The Jewel is a little older, but well maintained. I have sailed on the Jewel before so I knew what to expect in terms of ship size and layout. It does not have zip lines, surfing, multi-deck slides, carousels, and neighborhoods. The Jewel is a good, mid-sized ship with some of the older ship style charm. We were in cabin 9256, which has a standard size cabin, but a larger balcony. The extended balcony has a nice AFT and Port view. There are passenger cabins above and below. It is very private and quiet. It would be nice to have a staircase towards the aft. Our aft cabin was quite a walk; on the bright side, we got exercise just going/coming to/from the cabin. The food ranged from okay to good; the dining room staff was very pleasant. We had Anytime Dining and our average wait for a table for two was approximately five minutes. The seatig wait time was consistent with a land based restaurant. The entertainment in the centrum area was quite good. It was usually a crowded area. We are in our late 60s and sailing in November allowed us to avoid too many children and teenagers. The children that were sailing were very well behaved. Our fellow passengers were primarily multi-generational families and couples. The shore excursions were as described, so no surprises there. We pre-ordered the excursions we wanted and used the ship excursions for most of our ports. The two exceptions were that we booked the Hop On Hop Off bus in Rhodes (small port city) and Athens (we had been there before and just wanted to get an overview). Yes, there were less expensive excursions available from private vendors...but the notion of being left at a port frightens me. We quickly learned, strenuous meant strenuous and made one or two adjustments to our selections after our first full day excursion. When we changed excursions, I wished the Shore Excursions Desk onboard would honor the 10-20% discounts we received for pre-ordering. Also, Easy Ephesus could spend a few minutes at the ruins for pictures and a lot less time hearing a carpet sales pitch. We had a great time. My overall suggestion for this itinerary would be to take the earlier sailing (there were only two offered in 2019), the weather would probably be better and you may avoid religious holidays. Read Less

After 16 cruises with Royal Caribbean in three and a half years (Diamond Members), I can say without a doubt that this is probably our last RCL cruise. Unfortunately, I can also honestly say they probably don't care and won't notice. Our first cruise on the Jewel was marginal at best for the ship but great for the ports so when we saw this cruise to the Holy Land, we booked it. While on the Harmony a month before we left for Europe, we found a great deal in the "Next Cruise" office for a back to back on Jewel so we grabbed it. BIG MISTAKE!! The cruise director and her activities director are screeching, pompous people that care nothing about the guests but only their own "spot light". Since most activities are packed around a small Centrum so you can't walk through the ship without hearing those phonies screaming. The customer service desk was given a nick name of Dr. NO by another guest and I could see why. Our second balcony was tiny, the drapes were ripped, the little two seat love seat they wedge in there was torn and dirty, the closet door was broken and nailed twice and nailed a third time after we spoke with our Loyalty manager who was great. We asked for extra sheets and covered up the dirty love seat. It was an adjoining bedroom and they hammered a love seat in it so they could rent is as a cabin. The bartenders were great, the food staff was great, our cabin attendants were great but you could really tell the house keeping and hotel manager never walked through the cabins. Upper level management at RCL think only of $$$. The loyalty only flows from the guests to the company and not the other way. As I mentioned, we will probably not sail RCL again and they really don't care. Read Less

From the moment we arrived we were made to feel special. The embarkation process was simple and easy. Our room was ready as requested and our cabin steward was personable, attentive and learned our habits and likes. Our room was always returned to impeccable. The MaîtreD, Alberto, was beyond amazing and welcoming to everyone in the dining room. He was attentive and ensured the dining staff was as well. He made us feel special. Jude, the Casino Bar bartender, was amazing. He looked at my card once, memorized my name, billing code and drink preference and remembered for the entire 12 days. He was amazing. The staff on board were so pleasant and kind and paid a lot of attention to the passengers. There was a significant contingency present at the disembarking wishing us well. I have cruised with a lot of lines but Princess is my first choice. I must return to enjoy it more but leave with great memories. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it was a small ship (660 passengers), was visiting places we wanted to see, and was when we were in Europe visiting other countries. Firstly our cabin was obviously designed for twin beds but the turned it into a double. What this meant was that when your pillow was in the wrong position it hit the light switch and turned all the cabin lights on. This happened several times over the 12 days. Also we were on the 4th floor above the gangway on the 3rd floor, every time we docked we were awoken by banging, crashing, and even one morning by an angle grinder as they prepared for disembarkation in port. One excursion we got absolutely soaked getting from the ship to the bus and had to sit for seven hours in wet squelchy clothes- not good. As it was a small ship you had only one choice of entertainment each night and it was hit and miss as to quality. The acoustics in the dining room were so noisy that my poor father, who wears hearing aids, couldn’t have them turned on so missed out on conversations in the end we had buffet dinners. Also when did you go to a fine dining restaurant and have Purcel squirted into your hands as you entered??? No free bottled water??? Even on the trains in Europe you get a free bottle of water, also free in every hotel - no Princess wanted USD $7 for a bottle of water !!! We have decided that as a family we are never going on a cruise again Read Less

As I've travelled on Carnival, Princess, Holland America and others, this is a comparison to these lines. This was a nightmare. Twelve days and nights of misery. The cabin was supposed to be a room for 3 adults but immediately found there were 2 twin beds and a love seat. Customer service said there was a drop-down bunk bed only, for which a disabled 70 year old had to climb into. No way to suddenly cancel at this point since already in Rome. If there'd been a full size couch, my roommate could have slept there. As it was he sat up the whole trip. The "Entertainment" was not entertaining and 3rd class, a juggler who couldn't juggle among other poor acts. The movies they played were not newly released plus they showed same movie 3 times rather than getting a variety. To rent a movie for the room, it was the same reruns they were showing at movie theater and cost $11.99! The gym was decent. The library was miniscule but at least I found enough to get me through the 3 days at sea. Their excursions could have been good but buses to the sites were barely staggered, so everyone arrived about the same time and caused people to be fighting for a turn at the minimal restrooms. Some tour busses did not bother to give but 1 bathroom break in 6 hrs causing a friend to accidently pee on herself. Then she was unable to get out to view the Western Wall and other sites because she smelled and was embarrassed. I'd also never seen the amount of people who got lost on their tours because guides did not give good information, or even hold up their "lollipops" so people could find them. One group lost 10 people. Food preparation and service in Tides was so slow it took 1 - 1 1/2 hrs to get a meal and quite often they brought the wrong order. Holland America has free lobster but Tides charge $29.99. Windjammer was not open decent hours like other cruise ships, the food pretty mediocre but at least one didn't wait forever to get the food. There was a good variety. Room service was not free here like other ships. They would bring you some grits and coffee and minimal objects for free though. Music was played at full blast all hours. Actually made the walls of my cabin vibrate. The beds in cabin had hard mattresses about 4 inches thick so you feel the metal underneath and the pillows were heavy, hard and lumpy. Ship was decorated in wall art that must have cost a few dollars each, just ugly and stupid. Only good thing on the ship was the infirmary, which treated me for an eye injury sustained in the tiny, tiny bathroom. They called twice to check up on me too. Read Less

Pre-cruise: My wife and I had reserved a room at the Hotel San Giorgio in Civitavecchia, Italy. In addition, we had also purchased the hotel's Gold Package. The package included among other things, a shuttle service from Funcimo Airport, Rome and to the hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel shuttle from the airport was obviously overbooked, and we had to wait an extra four hours at the airport, beyond the previously agreed pickup time, for a new shuttle to arrive from the hotel. In the future, we would rather book hotel accommodation in Rome, and take a shuttle from the hotel to the cruise port in Civitavecchia, the day of departure. Embarkation: Went smoothly. The Ship: We found Jewel of the Seas too bee mostly well maintained. Stateroom info: We had booked a Veranda Stateroom aft. on deck eight. It was very comfortable, and with a large balcony. We were very satisfied with our always smiling stateroom attendant, A.S. Pradipta. Dining: We had the second seating on deck four in the MDR. Unfortunately, we were disappointed that the dinner menu had changed since our last cruise with Jewel of the Seas in April last year. The menu map had no longer a separate section for the previous, every day classic dining choices. We also thought that the selection of dishes were no longer as extensive and varied as before. We also missed that cold soups now were very rarely offered. But we were mostly pleased with the quality of the food we selected. We were very satisfied with the excellent and professional service we received on our table no. 216 from Waiter, Francis and Assistant Waiter, Sarah - both from the Philippines! They took really very good care of the two of us! We had all our breakfasts in the Windjammer, and lunches too, if we got back on time, after being ashore. Regarding breakfast, we were disappointed that they did not have ordinary ham among the cold cuts, but only a cheap variant. We also experienced several times they ran out of fruit yoghurt. Fortunately, we had never any problems finding an unoccupied table, even during “peak hours”. And we think the staff did a good job of clearing the tables. We were not satisfied with the Café Latte-Tudes on deck five. What a negative contrast to Celebrity’s excellent Café al Bacio! Café Latte-Tudes for instance use paper cups, not proper cups. There is insufficient seating, and we also missed a nice waiter service. Bars: The service in the bars were varying. We got the best service from the Pool Bar. Entertainment: We thought both the singer, Gary Williams, and the Tenors Unlimited, made good performances in the Theater. The Crown & Anchor Society: As Diamond Plus members we used the nice Concierge Lounge on deck 13 for the nightly Diamond Event. The lounge was never to crowed, and the bar service was very good. Shore excursions: We had only pre-booked one excursion with the ship, from Naples - “Sorrento on your own”. Unfortunately, we were a little disappointed with this excursion. Part of the bus ride went through tunnels, and we also thought the guide was talking too low. Itinerary – The six ports of call were all good. And we were particularly pleased when we arrived in Santorini, that it turned out that Jewel of the Seas was the only cruise ship that had anchored in Santorini that day. There was, therefore among other things, just a relatively short wait for the cable car back and forth to the city of Fira. Internet: It was sometimes slow. Disembarkation in Civitavecchia - smooth. Easy to find baggage. We bought a bus transfer to Funcimo Airport at Guest Services. For one hour's bus ride from the port, the transfer price was far too high-priced!! Overall – A very pleasant cruise! Read Less

We choose this cruise for the Europe destinations. Rome was great to see when we first got there, a little crowded, but were told it's worse in the summer months. The cruise terminal is a long ride, but we had a private transfer which made it nice. The embarkation seemed like we were in a third world country. Pop up tents and metal guard rails in a parking lot, but it went pretty smooth compared to the looks. We always select a jr suite for the spacious room and this one didn't disappoint. The first night however we found that our stateroom, (1078) was directly below the wind jammer which they start preparing at 3:30am, (every morning like clock work) and the carts running back and forth wake me up. So much for paying more for a suite. The cruise ship is a smaller one, so not as many options for sea days and after shore excursions. It was nice, but you can tell it's older and there was a sewer smell on the 10th floor for the entire cruise. Our cabin was great and outside of the noise that started at 3:30am every morning we had no issues. All the staff were great, (as always) and we never needed for anything. The food was as expected in the wind jammer, just luke warm, but this has been our experiences for all cruises. We ate at Tides dinning room one night and it was great. Chops Grill, was not any good on day 2, Rib eye steak was rubbery, but medium well and lobster was mushy. You can tell this food was pre cooked, then heated up and not what we expected for additional paid dinning. Giovannis was great on day 6 where I had the filet and my Wife had a seafood dish. We did not do much of the entertainment or shows outside of the movies in the cinema and on the pool deck. This cruise had very few kids/families so there weren't a lot of kids running around the pool deck, mostly adults, which was great. All staff were courteous and nice and always looking to help out. Ports and shore excursions. We did all our own shore excursions with our travel agent. Mykonos, Athens and Santorini Greece were all fabulous and as expected with the views and scenes just like the post cards. Our excursion in Athens was canceled upon our arrival, so we did the hop on hop off and spent almost the entire day at the Acropolis which is awesome. Malta was not so good. We paid for the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk tour, which come to find out is a fishing village and it's like a flea market that sells fish and souvenirs. They dropped us off for 1.5 hours and said to be back at the bus, then it started to rain. When we got to the Blue Grotto, it was closed, so all we could do was eat and get back on the bus. The stops in Sicilly, Naples and Rome were great and other than my Wife shopping and spending lot's of money, they were as advertised as well. Read Less

This was our 25 th cruise and It might have been our best. We used to love Celebrity but kind of soured on it after being on the Solstice when it first came out and not having a very good experience. We started experimenting with other lines. The Edge was very impressive. Beautiful ship. Unique spaces. Staff was excellent. Service was top notch. Food was wonderful Loved the way they broke up the MDR into more intimate and themed venues. Even the buffet was excellent. In fact on an 11 night cruise we ate three times for dinner in the buffet because the food and presentation were so well done. We have never eaten dinner in the buffet before on any ship. We were on a Mediterranean itinerary which just made it even better. You can’t be unhappy when you are visiting Italy and Greece. We did do specialty dining in Eden and Le Petite Chef which were both wonderful and very innovative. Really enjoyed the wine tasting event in Eden on one of the Sea days. Had a great time at the silent disco. The bartenders at the martini bar were very entertaining as well. The ONLY thing that we didn’t like were the pillows on the bed. They were flat and hard and very uncomfortable. Hopefully they will change them out. We can’t wait for more of the Edge class ships to come out. We will definitely be booking again Read Less

first time on the celebrity cruise so i can't compare to their other classes of ships but i thought it was good. we were on the cruise that was in Rome, Sicily, day at sea, santorini, athens, mykonos, naufplion, katakolon, day at sea, malta, naples, back to rome. embarkation: very smooth process- maybe 10 minutes; we did the cruise's transfer from the airport to the port and once we were off the bus, it prob took about 10 minutes or so to get into our room; very fast lanes. the only thing is it took until DINNER TIME to get our luggage. might as well carry your own luggage with you the first day so you don't have to wait for them to bring it up. disembarkation was also fast--got up ate breakfast, left, and they had our luggage out waiting for us and we hopped on the bus. SPA: **DO NOT BUY A SPA PASS IT'S NOT WORTH IT** . 1) the lotion and shampoo and stuff in there were also the same as the ones in the cabin. definitely not worth it if you're thinking you'll get better products in the spa..... 2) there are rain showers in the spa and it was supposed to have the aromatherapy oils in there..... but we were only able to smell the oils in there the first two days. for the remaining days of the cruise, could not smell any of the oils despite telling front desk about it. they claimed it was an engineering problem. the salt room is kind of a gimmick i think. only a portion of the wall had the himalayan salt bricks ... and they had some chunks of salt lying on this heated machine thing... i highly doubt any of that really does anything.. the sauna and steam room were ok. the hammam room was kind of useless just kinda like another steam room b/c it's a co-ed spa, so it's not like you can strip naked and get scrubbed down. so just treat it like a 2nd steam room. floating cocoon chairs were alright. major disappointment was the rainshowers in the spa though since there were only 2 days of the essential oils in there. you might as well shower in your own room then. also bring your own hairdryer if you plan on showering in the spa since they don't have one. 3) also we were jipped for 4 days at the spa.... on some days, after a long day, we would go to the spa around 10:15 or 10:20pm since it closed at 11pm ( we were aware we had to be done by 11pm since that's when the spa closed, so it should have been plenty of time). HOWEVER when we checked in the spa at 10:15pm, the front desk lady on duty that night told us it closed at 10:30pm and started shutting off the steam in the steam room when we were still sitting in there at 10:28pm !!! she kept telling us the closing time was 10:30pm and essentially for about 4 days, we only got about 10 min of spa time or less. we told the manager about it, who never followed up though. * if you're in aqua class it's part of the deal w/ your room, but it's not worth the extra money only to get snubbed and a curt attitude from the nighttime front desk employee. ROOM: really liked the room- it was spacious (infinite veranda). PLENTY of storage space and closet space and hangers; there is a USB outlet by one end of the bed and another little box that fits european and american plugs plus 2 more USB ports on the desk. table can retract as well so if you need more space you can push the white table in. the veranda.... like other reviewers stated it is kind of annoying with the blind; one shortcut to making it a onetouch thing is to just press the down button for the WINDOW, and the blinds will automatically go up without you having to hold down the 'up' button for the blinds. towards the end of the cruise, the windows needed some WD40 as they were extremely squeaky. *wish they had more movies on demand as well, but oh well. there were only about 10 titles.... Anna, tomorrow man, ugly dolls, etc. Bed was nice and comfy. ** toiletries in the bathroom were terrible-- BRING YOUR OWN--the shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel do NOT suds up at all so you're questioning how much you're using. also, the lotion is grainy. there's like literal grains of sand or something in it. so bring your own toiletries if you want ENTERTAINMENT; should have done some more comedy acts or whatever. the singing of the main celebrity crew was not very good- their harmonizing was never in key and were always flat. just sounded out of tune. the magician was the best. another singer ashlie amber... was just not good. felt like i could find better youtubers singing. FOOD: very good food- steak was always good. soups were nasty though--either super salty or just blegh in flavor. ice cream was DELICIOUS. desserts were good. main dining was good we did not do the specialty dining. lamb dishes are always delicious... we ate at cyprus most nights. curry was always excellent. buffet was good... SERVICE: don't bother w/ the shore excursion people. they just tell you to look at the app for shore excursions. sometimes when you just need a recommendation, you might as well go to the port shopping expert. he gave us more details than the excursion desk employee did. but the main dining room service was good. as mentioned before, spa service was NOT good --some of the other spa employees were good, just not the front desk person who kept kicking us out early EXCURSIONS: overpriced, not that great; we did one in taormina/sicily---saw mount etna and the craters, ate cannolis ... but the ship had better tasting cannolis--- and wandered taormina. taormina was very touristy and overpriced, but it was a cute little town to take pictures i guess..... other one was acropolis in athens--- they make you wear whispers on your ear the little radio thing so you can hear your tour guide. they don't fit well on the ear... in Olympia, we did our own excursion--we just hopped on a bus at the port for 10 euros per person roundtrip--- i think train was also the same price, and there was an excursion there thru the cruise as well but it was all sold out-- i think it was more than $200 per person for 4 hours. *note: oct 28th is a national holiday in greece so the admission to the museums are FREE. we were in katakolon (olympia) that day, so we saw the olympic ruins for free basically that day. not a bad deal. **APP: so the ship has an app as well where you can look at activities--they always tell you to refresh the darn page.well even refreshing doesn't really mean anything; because there were clearly activities that were listed on the daily newsletter AND the app , but when we go to the 'activity' at the listed time, it wasn't happening at all. even the employee didn't know about it. so.... take it w/ a grain of salt. the nightly newsletter was also not very consistent w/ telling u which activities have a fee and which don't. for ex. on the app, it states the workout of the day has a fee. but on the newsletter it doesn't have the asterisk stating there is a fee. the spa cafe and juice bar listed on the newsletter also does not have an asterisk to tell you there is an additional fee, but there actually IS one for the juices. **pools: whirlpool in the solarium was the only one that functioned correctly UNTIL THE LAST DAY IT WAS MESSED UP--- the jets would only go to the feet. one of the whirlpools on the top deck was broken for half the trip and then the other one always took like 2 minutes to start up after you pressed the button for the jets.... **miscellaneous: '1) Eden was STINKY. it literally smelled funny the entire time--not sure what they put in there. the show in there was also strange like people have commented..only went for 15 minutes and left. 2) to get the view of the front of the ship you either have to be in the suite class level to get to the front resort deck to see it, OR get a pass to the spa (again SPA IS NOT WORTH IT-i can't speak for the actual massages/other services, but the sea thermal suite pass is not worth it). 3) **speakers-- if there is ANY ANNOUNCEMENT you HAVE to be either out in the public area or open your door to your stateroom to hear it. there are no speakers in the room so you just hear a muffled waaaa waaa waa sound; just make sure you open your stateroom door to listen to the announcements. 4) photographers were amateurs overall, the experience wasn't too bad. biggest minuses were the issues w/ spa (attitude, rainshower issue). food was great and the room was nice (minus the toiletries). the ship was still new, so at least that was a plus. 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The cruise itinerary and ports were fine. Celebrity excursions were too crowded, too long for what was seen, buses were often hot, and guides would not control guests who took 20 minutes when only 10 was allotted for stop. The new balcony cabin layouts are excellent. We really liked our cabin and the included balcony. However, we missed the sky lounge. The ship was confusing in that it had a lot of wasted space and smaller public areas than the Solstice ships. We didn't care for the Martini Bar - Dance area, way too small. There are a lack of decent bars on the Edge, the Solstice Class ships had a much better layout with better bars and bartenders. We usually find one or two really good bartenders on a ship, but on the Edge the bartenders are always trying to change the way a drink is made. In the Eden Bar they pride themselves on Artisan Drinks (really they aren't as good as normally made drinks). We had trouble finding anyone that could make a decent Old Fashion. One time my wife and I went to a bar and ordered a Decoy wine and an Old Fashion made with Bullitt Bourbon. First they said they were out of Decoy, then they said they were out of Bullitt then they made my Old Fashion with some strange bitters. I asked why they didn't use the Angostura Bitters and they said they were out of that too. Bad bar management. The Magic Carpet was probably a good idea on paper, but in reality it is no big deal.. The theater, while new and having all the latest bells and whistles, was not anywhere near as comfortable as the redone Summitt or any of the Solstice Class ships. Finally, we get to Eden, the pride of the ship. As mentioned before the bar and the bartenders are different and not that good. The room tends to get hot from the sun, I would hate to be in it on a summer day in the Mediterranean. But the interactive entertainment was the most off-putting. I guess if you like weird and actors getting in your face blowing a flute then you would like it, but nobody we talked with cared for this entertainment. We have sailed 16 cruises, 10 with Celebrity, so we think we know a bit about comparing ships and we won't sail on the Edge again. The majority of the cruisers we talked with agreed, the new cabins are nice but the rest of the ship is just a bit over the Edge and not worth a second try. Read Less

The itinerary looked good, we were taking friends on their first cruise on our favorite cruise line, and everything augured well. Although we have taken about 40 cruises most of which have been on Celebrity, we wanted to experience the Edge, particularly since we are also booked on it for next year with our grandchildren. As usual the service we received was excellent and friendly. Embarkation, disembarkation and tendering were the best we have ever had. The rooms and the beds were comfortable, our cabin steward was outstanding, as was the service in the Blu restaurant, as well as the food. Bar service was excellent and, in the Plaza, was very entertaining All shore excursions were well organized, with competent guides The whole ship, including public rooms and elevators were clean and shiny and overall it was a friendly well run ship. The Senior Officers Party was very well served with excellent canapés. And bar service Some of the negatives were The flow of the ship, people were getting lost, going down blank corridors or corridors which only led to restaurants and barred one’s access to where on was going, or not thinking that main elevators, for example, might be hidden in the casino The shopping provided was almost incomprehensible since it provided few of the amenities one usually needed, unless it was jewelry, art or cameras and, for the first time, did not include a liquor store This was the noisiest cruise ship we have ever sailed on with no where one could have a peaceful drink and a conversation. The around ship entertainers seemed to think that we were there just to hear them, a far cry from the gentle string duets, soft piano or harps which usually provide a sophisticated background. To make it worse, someone had thought our experiences might be enhanced by bright flashing lights in the Eden room which must have been quite alarming to anyone with a neurological condition and cause people to avoid the room altogether. The experience was not enhanced by having entertainers gratuitously doing gyrations in the middle of our conversations. The stage presentations, especially with the stage projecting into the audience seemed to be a wonderful idea. Not so. Even the best entertainers were drowned out by the band and the balance was so horrendous that people constantly got up and left. The Celebrity productions had very competent singers and dancers but often, to be heard, were shouting to music whilst gymnasts, who although very competent, seemed to be involved in gyrations which had nothing to do with what was happening on stage, if one could even work that out since there were no tunes one might leave the theatre whistling or any semence of a cohesive theme. Celebrity, bring back the Shows which people liked, pay the Royalties and become competitive again The Captain’s Club was a dismal affair hosted in semi darkness in a room with no windows, uncomfortable furniture and provided few of any chance of mingling with other people. By far the worst Captain’s Club experience and, if it continues might well kill any advantage it previously had, Specialty drinks prices have become exorbitant whilst the wine in the standard package showed a poor selection and quality: what a shame Overall we found the ship disappointing, it had a poor flow, a lot of uncomfortable, dare I say unusable furniture, an unacceptable noise level, a disturbing sound balance in the theatre, a lot of wasted space, appalling shopping and an appalling Captain’s Club experience. Overall, this did not seem to be a ship with design or amenities driven by passenger needs but rather someone’s ideas of what constitutes modern and what some team, who did not have to cruise, thought that people wanted. Next time, ask the passengers and the consumers what they see as contributing to the best cruise experience! Will w cruise again? Yes, but, if possible we shall avoid this class of ship until changes are made and cannot recommend it. What a shame, Celebrity has some of the best crew and service in the world. Read Less

Cruised the Greek Islands for the first time. Loved being on the Jewel as we had sailed the Panama Canal on her in Feb. Pleased to see some of the same crew and felt like family! Food was great, as usual. Wait staff friendly and attentive. Decided to stay on board in Naples as we had been off the ship everyday to that point! Loved seeing the ports but needed down time! Suggest you not try to do EVERYTHING at each port so you don;t wear yourself out. Did not do many of the shows as preferred to relax with a drink and music in the evening, but the juggler was amazing! If you fly in a day early, suggest you stay in the port city rather than Rome. Much quainter and pretty. If your first time to Rome, then, yes, see a few sites in Rome, but our night in Civitacecchia was amazing! Cabin gal was amazing and we loved Solarium be so available. Our favorite bar tender was there as well so an extra perk. We only did two shore excursions thru the ship and the last port, Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii tour was fantastic, but LONG. Be prepared to walk. The Ship may be older and ready for upfit but was very clean and was constantly being maintained and looked after. Our favorite ports were Crete and Rhodes. The Taste of Crete tour was very good. We did NOT like MyTime Dinning so changed for the third night to a shared table. They were very accomodating to do this. Read Less

This was the first cruise I had ever been on as I had always been resistant to cruising. We picked the ship and itinerary carefully and I liked the idea of travelling on a fairly new ship. As hoped the Nieuw Statendam was a stunning looking ship and the public areas all looked luxurious. The cabin was a little smaller than I expected, but was well layed out and very modern. The shower again felt quite small but was very clean and modern. We enjoyed all the dining options on board especially Tamarind which we visited several times. At first booking via the restaurant desk seemed confusing but once we had downloaded the Navigator app it was much simpler to book via the app. We dined in the main restaurant only once which was very nice, but much preferred the more intimate speciality dining options. We booked a retreat cabana for the whole trip which we loved!! We usually had breakfast there and often lunch as well. Marlon and Domingo the 2 guys looking after us up there were great bringing us drinks, champagne and strawberries every afternoon. The Retreat is next to the exc lounge which is another area we loved on the ship. We thought the evening entertainment especially BB Kings was amazing we also enjoyed the performers at the Rolling stone rock room. On a long cruise the performances may become a little repetitive as we noticed that the set list was repeated approx. every 3 days. Staff everywhere on board were amazing but especially at the Retreat, Exc and Tamarind Read Less

This new adventure started last October 8th in Civitavecchia (Rome) and ended eight days later in Athens (Greece). Indeed it was too short a time to be able to experience fully all the many amazing things you find and see in each visited port but also there is not enough time to properly get to know and fully enjoy this fantastic vessel, the Regent Seven Seas Voyager! We left our home country Canada on Oct.6th from Ottawa via Toronto to Rome. A very long leg for sure but we did so one day early to compensate. Our choice of hotel in Civitavecchia was a complete flop! The San Giorgio regardless its impressive entrance, the two level room had the bedroom upstairs and the bathroom downstairs!!! With a miserable and dangerous staircase – very disappointing as it all looked so wonderful on the website. We ended up sleeping on the lower level in a very unusual sofa bed in very poor shape. The staff at the reception were not very helpful and the included breakfast was more than complete but poorly staffed, as a matter of fact only one person going from one end to other and not even saying good morning. Local room tax was only 1 euro each, a ridiculous amount but appreciated when compared to our last European stay in Amsterdam where they charged 20 euros per person per day. The best aspect of the hotel was the shuttle @ 10 euros each, right up to the ship; first time this happened to us because with previous cruise lines the shuttle would leave you on a corner where you had to switch over to another bus to get to the ship. * Embarkation Flawless and the welcoming glass of champagne was a very nice touch something that some cruise lines used to do but not anymore, what a pity! Surprisingly all suites were not ready till 2 pm, except (of course), the top two ones (ready at noon); luggage at suite by 4 pm. Regardless, our first impression of the Voyager was excellent and it’s impossible to deny that she is indeed a luxury ship. Was a sunny and warm day, weather that followed us during the whole cruise! We want you to know that we are frequent cruisers with Oceania (mainly on Riviera and Marina), so our minds were naturally making comparisons. Who’s the winner? You have to wait. Because we were on board quite early, having to wait for our suite till 2 pm, gave us the chance to get a fast look around the ship and afterwards we went up to Deck 11 to have an al fresco lunch at La Veranda buffet (comparisons started!!), Huge amount of choices (self-serve….hmmmm), great quality and flavour and to top it up, fantastic attention from all the staff something that never ever wavered during the whole cruise. To the contrary! * Lunch time meals We tried several times to have another al fresco lunch at La Veranda but the area is quite narrow not been able to hold many tables and when those were taken, the people were there to stay, so we started to frequent the Polo Grill located at the aft end of the pool area (very tranquil by the way) and we enjoyed it tremendously having delicious salads, burgers and hotdogs or from the on deck grill your choice of fish, beef, pork or chicken. You help yourself for the salads, then you order the main meal that comes with good fries and is brought to your table. The serving of wine was constant (no need to ask) and the sun was ever present! I don’t think I have to tell you how fantastic we were feeling during all this, right? * Coffee Connection (D 5) It runs from 6:30am till 6pm and is a very peaceful place where whether it’s morning or afternoon, you won’t have people moving back and forth around you. Breakfast buffet options include cereal, rolls, breads, pastries, etc. and the ship’s best espresso. Midday snacks include cold meats, cheeses, small desserts, etc. and in the afternoon sandwiches, cakes and fruit are available. Besides the excellent espresso you get the usual barista concoctions plus spiked versions such as Irish coffee and Russian hot chocolate with vodka. It is a place you can indeed have a very enjoyable and tranquil time. * Dinning We tried all three specialty dinning venues which, except for the Italian restaurant, require advanced table reservations. If you wish to sit at a table for two you will have to plan well ahead and do so as soon as the website is opened for that cruise’s specialty dining reservations. * Sette Mari (Italian D 11, part of La Veranda); Maître d’ Simone, waiters Janine and John and the rest of the staff were excellent as the food itself, temperature, flavour and timing and of course! The wines that were selected by them (and varied during the cruise) were great and plentiful. With dessert, the Maître d’ brought to us two very welcome glasses of Limoncello. Great experience! * Prime 7 (Steak house D 5 Aft); Maitre d’ was seasoned but strange (although from Belgium he was unfamiliar with Jacques Pepin) but the rest of the staff, as usual, magnificent. The décor was on the dark side with a lot of varnished wood paneling, leather covered columns, etc. Now let’s talk about the main reason why we went there, the food! Shall we? No complaints from the start to the end; excellent lump crab cakes, filet mignon cooked to perfection, great side dishes ending with a shared Chicago cheesecake. The selection of wines were perfect for each dish and with a never ending pouring! One more time, it was an excellent experience. * Chartreuse (French D 5 Aft); It’s getting a bit boring repeating always the same thing “super” “excellent” “sensational” but what else can I say when what we were experiencing was just all that? Chartreuse was another hit, the décor was super elegant being the beige and gold quite predominant. Food was perfect (I won’t get into details) as much as desserts. The chosen wines were extremely good (the best of all other restaurants) specially the red Chateauneff-du-Pape. Left feeling great! * Compass Rose (Main Dining Room D 4) – One more time, nothing but nothing at all to complain about. Staff, menu, table setting with colorful plates by Versace, ambience, food and…wine! We had dinner there twice and both times were very gratifying in all aspects. * Lounges We’ve been in two of them and each has its own characteristic and personality, * Horizon Lounge (D 5 Midship) A very good spot to meet fellow passengers, a lot of dancing, singing and of course drinking! The Far East ethnic band was a bit off tune but could play any request. On a longer cruise we would have spent more time there. * Observation Lounge (11) A completely different experience, being at the front of the ship the views (if you go during the day) were great plus the whole atmosphere exudes tranquility and that makes you relax! Highly recommended for after dinner drinks or just listening to whoever is playing the piano or singing. The bar is very modern and a bit too white-light bright. Enough about food and drink, so let’s now talk about ports visited and tours. Many of the visited ports were already known to us so there was no need to overdo the tours. We find touring is a lot of unnecessary pressure most of the time, from the other guests as much as from often weird tour guides. Let’s start with the port after leaving Civitavecchia. Boscaada, an Island, where we had a planned tour but we cancelled it dreaming about enjoying the last day on the ship meanwhile many were off touring the island. Unfortunately that last night before leaving Istanbul a ship announcement told us that technical problems required us to sail at a slower speed and so that for us to arrive in Athens on time, the Boscaada stop had to be cancelled; that meant to us the ship would be brimming with people that sea day! And it really was. Later on we got a note in our suite telling us that to compensate for having to skip Boscaada they were giving each of us a US$ 500.- next cruise credit. That worked out fine for us because we had already booked a 10 day Regent cruise on their newest ship, the Splendor. * Disembarkation went off very smoothly and was well planned. But before I get into that, I would like to give you our comparison between Regent SS Voyager (700 passengers) and Oceania’s two largest ships (1200 passengers each), the Riviera and the Marina. Oceania by far has a better al fresco lunch or dinner at La Terrace, very ample and comfortable that holds a large number of very well-spaced tables with adjustable umbrellas. La Veranda buffet on Voyager is a winner on all counts, for selection, quality, presentation, etc. though we disliked having to serve ourselves with utensils touched by many, something that doesn’t happen on any of the Oceania ships; it’s up to the staff behind the counter to provide the desired serving. * The Riviera and Marina have more restaurants to choose for dinner, 6 including 4 specialty (reservations needed), La Terrace and Grand Dining Room, against a total of 4 on Voyager, that besides the three specialty ones (two with reservations needed) and the main dining room, the Compass Rose. * About food. As I am not a foodie person there is not much I can say about it but it is impossible not to mention the staff of the SS Voyager because without any hesitation I considered them the best of the whole Cruise Industry and we all know very well that the Staff of a ship are able to make or destroy your cruise. The Oceania Staff are not consistent and from time to time that means you might not enjoy yourself to the fullest. * The Penthouses on both lines are of a good size but Voyager is bigger with a wonderfully sized dining table and a more ample bathroom especially the shower stall compared to Oceania. On Voyager it is also worth mentioning that you can separate the bed from the living/dining area with a heavy drape so the Butler can come in, do his job meanwhile you are still are resting privately in the bedroom area. The perks, again are by far superior on SS Voyager for example providing the choice of 2 large bottles of liquor in the suite was an incredible surprise. * Tours - In general we are more often than not trying to avoid them because it doesn’t matter which line you are on, by taking a tour or excursion you are opening yourself to all kinds of chaos and a lot of time and social pressures. There are two things we really liked on the SS Voyager, the quality of the passengers and not having to show your Suite card every time you ordered a glass of wine or spirits. The most important aspects were already compared so it’s better to leave it at that and stop here. You might be asking yourself, “So how about giving us your choice?” Very simple, both of them because both have a lot to offer and it is up to us to adjust ourselves when we are on board and to try to make the best of it! We really hope that our comparisons and conclusions will be helpful in some way for many if not all of the readers. Are you still there? Ha, ha, ha; on looking over this review it seems that it turned out to be a very long one …… but there was so much to say about our experiences. Keep in mind that thru other’s experiences one is able to learn what to do or not to do, etc. That is our goal every time we write a review. Did we accomplish that for you? We certainly hope so! Happy cruising and enjoy life as much as you can! Read Less

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We chose this cruise mainly due to the itinerary. The itinerary was great. The food was very good in the buffet and in the dining room. The boat itself is old and needs updating. ie; The frame on the mirror was falling off when my husband tried to open it the first time. The table on the balcony was old, had stains and was unsteady. The housekeeping was BAD! The first day we found a broken toenail on the carpet. The base of the table in our stateroom was never dusted and the dust was quite thick, same goes for the TV set. The toilet was never really cleaned properly as you could see the obvious. The housekeeper didn't converse much except toward the last couple of days near 'tipping time' All other services were good and entertainment was okay. The shore excursions were good except for the one on the Amalfi coast. The tour guide there 'M'; did not give us much information or instruction when getting off of the bus for Sorrento. She just dumped us at a site and said to meet her back in 30 minutes. There was a store there where they sold Limoncello products and we learned later that was the factory, so did not buy anything. When I asked her at the end of the tour why we didn't go to the factory she said that was the shop in Sorrento. She did not make many stops to take pictures along he way, so we feel we will need to do this again. Read Less

I’m a frequent cruiser (widow-60s), most often with RCL in the Caribbean. This was a bucket-list & 1st European cruise to celebrate my retirement. I was joined by one of my kids. We spent 4 days in Rome first, which was useful to adjust to the time difference. Ship: Service was fine, and ship was maintained well. Food: We really loved the Chef's Table, and our dinners at Giovanni's and Chops. We also had a Chops lunch on embarkation (note: The Key lunch was in the dining room not in Chops itself -- very few people were in the restaurant itself for lunh, and it was a nice way to kick off the cruise). Kid took advantage of coffee-card and enjoyed specialty coffees all week. The Mystery Theatre dinner show was lame, but we really enjoyed meeting our tablemates and the dinner. We ate breakfasts in the Windjammer, which were good. We tried both the Windjammer & MyTime dining (always seated quickly) for other dinners. RCL food has definitely gone downhill, but we enjoyed some very good and some not-so-good meals at both venues. There are two soda machines at the back of the Windjammer for use with the soda-card cups. One didn't work for a few days, but it did not appear that many people used them anyway. Entertainment: We skipped the shows (really -- a Celine Dion impersonator and a couple that makes shadow figures?). Maybe the shows were great, but after days of tours we were simply too tired to go. Lots of trivia and Karaoke, and some good music in the lounges and in atrium. The 2 Billiard tables were always in use. My Kid noted the basketball tournaments were canceled, but few people had showed up anyway. Ship condition: We thought the ship was in very good condition for its age. It had been a few years since I cruised on a small RCL ship, and it felt very cozy. I won $150 on two spins in the small casino (and stopped while I was ahead LOL), so I think the casino was fun. As someone else noted, the ship doesn't get washed down often and we observed dirty/salt-encrusted windows. Not surprising though, in view of the scarcity of water in many of the ports. Excursions: We took all RCL excursions, and only had 1 bad & 1 mediocre tour guide. Our guide for the bus tour of Naples only pointed out sites on the right side of the bus so people on the left side missed 90% of the things he pointed out. In Santorini, our guide for the Oia/Fia tou walked quickly before everyone was even off the bus and often talked to people who were immediately next to her. At one point she described the Santorini volcanos and said that the govenment could stop the above-ground volcano but not the one that was under the ocean. Okaaaaay. I didn't know that Greece is able to stop a volcano!!! By the end of the cruise, I had ended up skipping the excursions in Rhodes & Athens to stay on-board to rest due to strenuous walking tours the previous day (I did not ask for refunds). Santorini was a particular fitness-challenge whether passengers climbed down the 600+ steps to the port or waited in the sun for 1-1/2 hour for the cable car. Quite a few passengers stayed onboad the next day to recover. Overall, very satisfied - the fault was not RCL's, but my own for under-estimating how strenuous the trip would be. Passengers: A mix. Many retirees due to length & month of cruise, but there were also families incl. some young children. Primarily seemed to be Canadians & Americans, but we met a few other nationalities as well. Everyone was very friendly. Biggest take-away from this cruise is NOT about RCL, but the itinerary. I was totally clueless about the reality of the physical challenges of touring countries with so much history (and without America's ADA laws, which we take for granted). Descriptions of excursions disclosed fitness levels but I felt they underestimated how much walking would actually be necessary. I had bought a Fitbit, and routinely found I had walked 8,000-10,000 steps and climbed the equivalent of 10+ staircases on tours -- all in hot sun/80's temps over very uneven and hilly terrain. Tour guides seemed to race ahead. Archeological sites, picturesque villages built on the side of volcanos and historical buildings don't have elevators, benches to rest, etc. I found a folding cane to be useful as a walking stick. Despite the challenges, I'm thrilled that I went on this adventure and believe RCL made it a wonderful experience. Read Less

Review: Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas 9 day Greek islands Sailed: Oct 2019 Here’s my thoughts. Just got off the boat ! Note: I’ve cruised many times on most lines. Both as a couple and as a family. This was a mid aged couples honeymoon trip for us THE GOOD - itinerary ! Couldn’t beat the stops for the 9 night Greek islands. Trip was worth it for the ports and the ports are the #1 thing I booked based off of. ***So overall this boat is worth it because of its itinerary and I don’t know many other boats that had as good of an itinerary!! *** - schooner bar area is really nice. Classy. Where lots of people gather to mingle. Also where chopps is. Safari club. This was the nicest area of the ship IMO - chopps grill : was the nicest one I’ve been to on any RC ships. Intimate enough and very nicely decorated and the service was top-notch. Worth checking out even for one night. Recommend an earlier dinner time so that you can see the sunset because the view and windows are beautiful in chops Grill see if you can get a seat near them. - windjammer - some seating areas are really nicely decorated. - staff: no complaints Re any staff. Our waiter. Assistsnt waiter and steward were all amazing. Mohammed Arteum and Sugi - hot tubs: Although generally pretty full; was still able to get in one and they had several hot tubs which is better than most ships I’ve been on! - “the key”. Before boarding the ship I heard a lot of controversial information on if the key was worth it and my opinion is if you were going to fork out the money for the internet package anyhow then for the few extra dollars per day it’s worth it to get the key! Priority getting off the boat for Santorini was definitely worth it. Santorini was the only port where you really needed it and where they offered The key service. The key embarkation lunch by chops Grill (but not actually hosted in chops Grill) as well as the disembarkation breakfast was really nice. this was the first time I didn’t feel rushed off the boat. - steady boat: I felt the jewel was the most steady of a boat that I have been on not very much movement at all ! He stayed on deck 7 middle/ forward to ship. Inside state room. - weather: whoever said that October is the cold / low season for Greece is totally wrong! This was *the best* time of year to go!!! it was actually very comfortable in the mid to high 20s for touring and beaching. I would not want to do Greece in high season July or August with the hot weather and the double size crowds!! it was busy enough in October!!! - main dining room menu: no complaints here there was always lots of variety as well as some popular nightly favourites !! the spaghetti Bolognese. steak. Beef Short rib. cream of mushroom soup and the apple pie with ice cream where some of our favourites on-board. Once again the waiters were fantastic and always had what they knew we wanted in terms of drinks ready to go THE NOT SO GREAT - the entertainment was overall lame for my personal taste. Probably the most boring ship I’ve been on in terms of entertainment. (but that could be because it’s a European cruise with an older crowd?). Didn’t have the quality broadway style shows I personally prefer. I walked out of 3 shows after a few numbers Read Less

I have been on 21 cruises, 11 with Celebrity and 10 with RCCL, so I know how Celebrity standards should be and what they weren't on this cruise. The Constellation was built in 2002 and it shows. She is going into refurb in March 2020, but only for cosmetic updates and not mechanical fixes. In the meantime, Celebrity is doing NOTHING to keep the ship in good condition. There is visible rust everywhere, the furnishings around the ship are very worn, the balcony furniture looks like it came from a garage sale. For room service one morning, I was served moldy berries. Gross! The room service food was hit or miss, but mostly missed the mark for quality, accuracy of the order, and hot food. The cabins on deck 11 are Aqua Class, and they are not part of the original design. The rooftop terrace with the outdoor movie theater is directly above these rooms and they have movies blaring 12 hours a day, every day, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and you can hear the noise from the balcony but not from inside the room. This was a really bad idea to shove Aqua Class rooms in this location. Blu restaurant is insufficiently staffed. It was difficult to have a meal in less than 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If you tried to get a table between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m., there was 1 to 1 1/2 hours to wait. This was unacceptable and frustrating. Since Celebrity added the cabins on Deck 11, there is now too many people in Aqua Class to fit into Blu. The Oceanview Cafe (buffet) food has improved a bit, but the dining room is so very hot, so I ate outside whenever possible. The ports on this itinerary were great! The shore excursions are ridiculously priced through Celebrity if you book closer to the cruise date, but I booked my excursions as soon as they were released, so the pricing was fair. Some excursions tripled in price by the time of the sailing. The quality of the excursions was very good and enjoyable. The downside is the motor coach experience because there's so many people. If you don't have a Celebrity tour, they charge $5 to $15 for port shuttles into town. This is another nickle and dime tactic that I don't appreciate. Transportation from the ship should be free. The theater shows were not very good and it seems Celebrity is cutting back on quality here. Karen is the shore excursions director and oftentimes she was giving us the wrong information about the ports, but you didn't realize it until you got to the port. Her presentations of the ports were unorganized and scattered. Graeme, the Captain's Club host, was a delightful fellow and very helpful. He has a great personality and lots of smiles. This will be my last sailing in the Millennium class of ships. I'll stick to Solstice class ships. Read Less

wanted to try new ship as well as Aqua class instead of concierge. 1. Boarding and Departure - Excellent. 2.Aqua Class cabin - lovely. (could suggest adding a small bathroom/ hand mirror for the ladies - we like to check our back view before leaving the cabin) 3. Sorrento trip - not good. Bus driver had NO KEY to bus bathroom. Horrendous long journey..was supposed to have 3 hours in Sorrento, but cut back to ONE HOUR. No time to go to restaurant that we had previously chosen. 4. BLU - ok. overrated. Sommelier and staff very attentive (after first 2 nights, when Manager notice us dining at another restaurant Then we had fab service the rest of the Blu visits.. Was a good idea to have Blu breakfast on departure day. No crowdss/no suitcases getting in the way. 5. EDEN..not our style. We always have a premium liquor package, but for the folks who do not, then be prepared to pay $15 or $20 (US) for an artisanal cocktail ..Yikes!! 6. Staff .. polite and mostly efficient. Always tip extra for good service, despite the fact that we have prepaid gratuities. Cabin steward excellent. 7/ Still happy with Celebrity. Next cruise already booked. thank you Virginia (Canada) Read Less

I had multiple frustrations long before boarding. Most of which were related to the fact that my mother and I were in different staterooms and it was very difficult to coordinate reservations for excursions or dinner. I was able to for main dining after I figured out how to associate a reservation (tho website still less than intuitive as you have to check the selection you JUST entered for it to associate). However specialty restaurants reserving with two separate rooms was awful. Called concierge. Sort of helped. But when room two called back they showed no availability. Even though we each were singles and would only need one table of two they couldnt do that without days delay and could reacting concierges. Day of embarkation there were multiple stories of same at captains club. It seems to be an incompetent process. I reserved finding ahead of boarding and was assured cancellation would go to my card. So when we cancelled one restaurant that I had out on my CCard for two separate staterooms they credited the respective staterooms rather than my card. I had to fight to get the credit removed from second room back to mine. And notably NOT to my card but as a room credit despite what I was told when booking weeks prior. WiFi - this was a selected perk so we didn’t pay for it (seems expensive). Quality was pretty good however it dropped a LOT (several times a day) and had to continually sign in. Also we had a single device so had to switch between iPad and iPhone but that was a personal frugal option. Drinks. - pool bar frozen dacqaris really bad. They didn’t have Lime (and bartender didn’t even know what I meant by traditional lime) and then added (dark!) rum after so it was not mixed in. The REAL benefit of a drink package is you can just trash the bad drinks and get a different at no charge. Regular margarita was typical and good. I didn’t have many mixed drinks but not one I had wowed in the least. My mother is elite captain level and supposed to get three free wines. They told her free was “not at dinner”. What?? That is just pathetic. Way to value your customers. They really seem to nickel and dime on everything here from alcohol to coffee to dining. Really takes away from overall experience Fitness: The jogging track was lovely as it traversed two levels so had “hills” and went by garden view and sunset bar as well as around pool (a floor above). A very nice walk and longer than most ships at nearly a 1/4 mile per lap. I had heard there was one or two Pelatons on the edge but found no reviews of them so here it is: Peloton. 6 bikes. 2 never seemed to be available for use - always covered. Technically, you must be in suite or have own pelaton account (used peloton before). Free but must reserve a time to use It (or take chance it will be free which it mostly was). However they told one woman it would be $50 for cruise to use them - I think bc she was neither I suite nor had ever used it before. They remove the seats unless someone is scheduled to use it though you might get lucky if you show up after someone finished, but you can just ask trainer to get them. There are never any seats on until 7 am when trainers begin day and you have to ask. They will provide clip on shoes in your size if you want. I LOVE Pelaton and loved that I could use it daily. For me, it was one of the best part of the Edge. I was not in a specialty room but told them (truthfully) I had my own Pelaton account. Something a trainer said led me to believe they may begin charge for using it (if they don't already - no clear policy it seems) They are very tight with making seats available for peloton use. Don’t know why. Sailing day - arrived on ship early and toured gym. Looked good and only 1 or 2 using it. First day we didn’t port until noon. Got there at 7:30 am and hopped on a peloton (before i knew you had to reserve) got kicked off after 30 minutes for someone who had it reserved. Still a good workout. The real shortcomings of the gym: lack of cool down stretching space. Quite crowded (yoga room in use or probably could do there). The free weights area is quite small too and crammed on sea day. There were enough cardio equipment that something was open whole time I was there - stair master, treadmill, techno bike etc. Day two first sea day. Had reserved peloton for 8 am but forgot the time change and got there late. No problem they accommodated me as others were finishing their ride. There was a good amount of buffering at sea and I cut my 45 Min ride to 30 due bc of buffering. The Pool: love the pool for many reasons the main one being it is actually long enough to swim laps in. It is between 20-25 meters (Based on personal stroke count) so a very respectable swim workout can be had. Even at 10:30 am first sea day there were very few in the pool and I was able to swim 1/2 hour without dodging others much at all. However many days into cruise it was clear anyone who had goggles (and some who didn’t) decided to swim laps even if this meant dog paddle, as they realized others were swimming laps. It got congested much of the time after morning. The pool length gets huge points in my book. You could have the pool to yourself in the evening as no one ever there after 6 it seemed. The pool setup with a sundeck and chairs is lovely and pool has submerged rim all around is very nice. Best pool I have experienced on a cruise ship. Pool itself was busy after excursions but still usually could get a couple seats, always both sun and shade available. Did not pay money for fitness classes but there was a good variety of yoga boxing HIIT and Techno Hume RYDE classes. I did yoga in my room a few times which was nice with infinite balcony feeling part of the room. $149 gets you unlimited classes which include yoga, hiit, boxing and more Entertainment. Mediocre. All of the dance and song performances (which seem to be most nights) are a different version of same. 4-5 women are dressed in boy shorts and halter tops (sometimes sequences sometimes In different colors) and the 4-5 men are in tanks and tights or pants. They pair up. One male and one female lead sing. Songs are mostly known songs and they set some plot to it (which is not evident without narrator or reading write up) They finally got a comedian to come after cruise director got feedback of too much of same thing. Musicians were quality violinist and piano from what I heard. I only made it through one full performance. But shows are not my thing. Food. Overall pretty good. Spa cafe is nice, light and healthy - however it is the same bfast and same lunch every single day. Main dining rooms have quality food and service with a different ambiance in each. La Petite Chef was great and worth it. Best food of all and really fun. Ocean view cafe had great variety and all seemed good. I will say desserts are better looking than tasting - in all venues. Eden. First impression on day 1 visit. Feels 70s and dated with plants growing out of walls. Some decor just seems weird. It is not a place I would seek out for any reason particularly to read or relax. Had dinner there night 3. The presentation was wonderful, the service (too) attentive and the food was very good. Not great. The steak dish was decent but far from a great steak. I don’t think it is worth the supplemental expense and wouldn’t do it again. The Eden performance - I misunderstood and thought there was something to happen during dining. Nope (tho we had an early seating). A few crew walked around with weird costumes which is what they wear for 10:15 performance which only happens every other night. Never went but ship mates went and said it was only a singer. I just don’t get (nor did I like) Eden. Finally, this was my first celebrity cruise and I truly enjoyed many things. I really appreciate they now offer single rooms with balcony without doubling the price for solo. But I doubt I will cruise Celebrity again unless there is a fabulous itinerary. It is fine. But if I traveled with my young adult kids I would want a ship that had more fun - race cars on NCL, rock climbing/surfing etc on Royal Caribbean - I like those things too. Yes celebrity is a 'bit classier' but also not as many options for fun. And mixed drinks were not good and packages are ridiculously expensive. If I go by myself I will go Crystal from now on. That is class, never crowded and ALL inclusive with awesome itineraries. Ports: The Nafplio Greece port was the best of all. Beautiful quaint town with great shops and not busy with tourists. Pick an itinerary with that port! Did Corinth canal which was good. Skip OIA in Santorini. It is a MADHOUSE. Horrible. Mykonos was crazy busy too but great streets and shops to wander through. Malta was a let down. Beautiful from ship, great historical buildings but kind of too short stop to do real substance and it just felt like a big city (w traffic) - though historically stunning. Read Less

The food was fantastic, we ate at some specialty dining and the main dining venues. No complaints here. The food and service were excellent and the venues were always beautiful. I particularly enjoyed Raw on 5. The sushi was excellent and the quality of the seafood was exceptional. The entertainment was also fantastic; Kaleidoscope, Dos Duo, and Ashley Amber being standouts. But, some of the singers in the Grand staircase bar or pool deck could be off key or sound awkward. The spa and fitness centres were excellent facilities but unfortunately have 2 flaws. The gym has so many windows it doesn’t take long to get warm and when your working out more AC would be appreciated. The biggest flaw however, is the spa being below the gym area (maybe they can flip them for the Apex!) I had a wonderful massage but it was marred by the stomping of a gym class above. I suggested to my masseuse they provide some noise cancelling headphones with soft music as a quick fix. We will see what happens! As for excursions they were usually fun and exciting but could sometimes be hindered by being too large. A group can only move as fast as it’s slowest member so if granny with her cane is in the group you’ll spend lots of time waiting at the front. A suggestion for Celebrity would be to give people the option to break groups up by ability. This would give highly active people less time waiting for the group. In turn it would also make less mobile people’s experience more enjoyable by not feeling rushed or guilty by holding up their group. Disembarking and reembarking on the cruise was always orderly and as easy as possible. The ports were all beautiful with something unique to experience at each one. In some cases (such as Catania, and Katakolo) it’s worth looking at an excursion either with Celebrity or privately as the port town itself is either a bit run down (Catania) or just has nothing to see (Katakolo) but they have amazing things to see close by. Edge was my first cruise experience. Other than the minor issues mentioned above I loved the voyage and am already looking ahead to another trip aboard. I hope the suggestions get read! Read Less