Sep 20 - Back in Canada

 Sep 20 - Back in Canada!

All good things must come to an end!  We thoroughly enjoyed our first cruise (except for the WiFi!) and now we are at the Holiday Inn until our flight to San Francisco tomorrow.

I thought today I would jot down some thoughts about the beautiful ship that was our home for the past week.  The Celebrity Edge is one of the newer ships in the Celebrity fleet with a different design than any other ship we’ve been on. One day we attended a presentation in the theatre where Captain Costas gave a detailed overview of the workings of the vessel.  Its modern design is definitely more environmentally friendly than other ships.

It has a very modern feel to it, more like entering an upscale hotel when you step onboard.  The subdued colour palette is gray, pastels and and silver; our cabin was gray and white, and our dining room, The Normandie Restaurant  was light gray with pale pink, white, and sliver accents.  Gone is the massive dining room of old, instead opting for smaller ‘restaurants’.  We chose to dine at the same table for two very near a window each night with the same servers.  The table next to us was right beside the window and for 5 of the 7 nights we had the same couple from Manchester, UK beside us. 

There are many bars, entertainment venues, a large coffee lounge, a buffet, three main restaurants as well as specialty dining venues. The only time it felt really ‘busy’ was in the Oceanview Cafe - especially on Sea Days when all the passengers headed for meals at roughly the same time!  There was a wide selection of food set out in ‘stations’ - in the morning it had breakfast items, and at lunch there were bakery, grilled choices, pasta, salads, ethnic options, fruits, desserts etc.  It was nice to be able to enjoy the variety of items.

Dinner in the restaurants offered a changing daily menu, and also some items that were available every night - salmon, chicken and sirloin steak.  There were 5  changing options for dinner each night as well as appetizers, soup, salad.  The dessert menu had several recurring choices as well as a couple of new offerings each night - all delicious!  

As far as the environmentally conscious design - all the engineering components meet high standards of emission control.  For example when we were in port, we could see other ships putting out black smoke from their stacks, where the Edge did not.  The ship burns a low emission fuel and that is one of the reasons we were allowed into the Endicott Arm to see the Dawes Glacier.  

When we boarded I mentioned our ‘infinite Balcony’.  All of the balconies are part of the cabin - with a huge window the width of the room that can be open or closed; it is operated by a switch on the wall.  The cabin felt larger and the balcony area provided a nice sitting area whether the window was open or not. In addition there is a blackout shade that can be drawn at night (or anytime) 

When the window is open, the air conditioning automatically shuts off and without a balcony that you would step out onto, the smooth design is more wind resistant; these two features save fuel.

There are several pools, spa, sports venues, a gym, a walking/ jogging track which we did not use.  We didn’t make any ‘deposits’ in the casino either!  

The service onboard is excellent!  The aspect that impressed me most was how well taken care of those requiring assistance were. In the Oceanview Cafe on the first day someone noticed me walking with my cane, and asked if I would like an assistant to carry my plate.  From then on, all I had to do was ask, and someone was immediately available to help!  This had an added benefit for me - it meant I didn't have to handle the tongs and serving utensils!  (We were extremely careful about handwashing etc as we didn’t want to get sick at the beginning of this marathon trip!)

I was also impressed by the availability of wheelchair assistance in all the ports to navigate the ramps to get onshore and the walking distances to the shore excursion busses!   I had not been expecting this and it was a very welcome service for me!

Overall, we were very pleased with what Celebrity Edge had to offer!  The Crown Princess, an older ship, will be different for sure, but hopefully just as enjoyable!

See you in San Francisco to begin our second cruise!

The Happy Wanderers