WAAAYTOOO

I haven’t been on a vacation yet where I didn’t get sick about 2 days before! Just don’t cough on anyone and whatever you do, DONT go to the infirmary unless you want to be treated like a leper.  

I guess we were lucky then. End of September both my wife and I each booked our annual prime certificate cruise for March 1st on Independence and reserved a third room as our 3 sons were coming with us along with one girlfriend. The third room had a final payment date of December 1. Checking the website, i noticed that the price dropped, not a lot but it dropped, so I called CR and was able to get the reprice with no hassle whatever and they even reduced the price for the yet unpaid third cabin. Fast forward to November 11th and I noticed a more substantial price difference so I called CR again. Same thing, no problem whatsoever in getting the reprice however the price for the unpaid cabin's price drop was no where near the price drop for the annual certificate cruises. 

So I've been looking at sailing on one of the Edge class ships for a long time. Decided to splurge a bit this time and go for an "Edge Stateroom with Infinite Verandah". I've seen hundreds of videos of the Edge and her sisters so I'm definitely excited to try new things. 
This one is a bit of a short cruise, but for 3 people in what is essentially a balcony, the price wasn't too bad considering it was on one of the "revolutionary" Edge class ships.
Itinerary: 4 Night Tasmania Cruise
WHEN: January 25th to January 29th, 2026
CABIN: Edge Stateroom with Infinite Verandah
SHIP: In case it wasn't obvious from the title - Celebrity Edge 😂 (Unless, there's been a new Royal ship announced named Edge of the Seas????)
WHO: Me, my mum and a family friend. 

Additional details: Unfortunately because this was such a last minute booking, the only time available for dinner was 8pm. I've put myself on the waiting list for 5:30pm, so hopefully a free table opens up, if push comes to shove I guess we can go to Oceanview Cafe. I'm not really a fan of having late dinners. I always like having dinner then attending the shows/other activities they have to offer. I will definitely be trying out the Magic Carpet - isn't that one of the selling points of the Edge class ships?
PORTS: 
DAY 1: Sydney, Australia
DAY2: AT SEA
DAY 3: Hobart, Australia
DAY 4: AT SEA
DAY 5: Disembarkation 😞
I'm pretty excited to try out the Edge class of ships, and will be exploring every nook and cranny I can to experience sailing on her. Hopefully 4 days is enough. I've been to Hobart a few times, so I might just get off the ship for a bit, meet a friend for lunch and then hop back on. Haven't really decided yet.
For people who have sailed on the Edge or any of her sisters (they're mostly identical anyway right? 😂)- what are some things I should try/avoid?

On December 1st, Sheryl and I left our hotel in Brickel for the short journey to Terminal AA and "Independence". We started at 1030, with plenty of time to make our designated boarding time of 12:00 noon. We finally boarded at about 1:15pm
The reason for our delayed arrival was the traffic chaos in Port Miami. Although we were to use the bridge, we did discover the tunnel was blocked, and to add to the fun, Traffic was being rerouted through the freight yard and several choke points therein. As my father would have said, "a shambles".
When we disembarked a week later and drove out of the port, we saw exactly the same situation. Wall-to-wall, bumper-to-bumper traffic. 
Two of our currently booked departures will be going from Miami next year, and we will be leaving the hotel a lot earlier.
 

I liked the days when you could rent a tux from them and it would be on the ship, they would bring it to your room, pressed with 2 separate jacket selections.  The dressing up doesn't bother me, the lugging of the extra clothes is a hard stop.
We usually still dress a little for dinner, what we would call "church clothes", but I'm glad the cruise lines aren't militant about it anymore.  One time, on another line, I just forgot to put on my dress shoes, but I was otherwise dressed for dinner and they sent me back to my room to change.
The way someone else dresses causes other passengers no harm (excepting the extreme), so letting everyone do their own thing is the best.

January 10, 2026 - Icon
February 6, 2026 - Utopia
February 9, 2026 - Utopia
February 21, 2026 - Explorer

What's old is new again???
Where's Gene Simmons when you need him....................
 
 

time for lunch on this rainy day…

cheese on the dogs was the move… 
J felt inspired and also got a dog 

The borsin is the garlic cheese right?
I understand that Blu is lighter fare but man do they overdo it with salads🤣
 

in the attempt to cleanse our palates from the loin pouch man…. allow me to backtrack to dinner last night. 
i wore my second version of the bezos dress (affectionately referred to as the fruit salad dress due to the colors in the pattern 🤣) and we wandered down to eden prior to going to blu for dinner. 

the dry rosè they have is really excellent; my first pour is always too little and my second too much. i’m looking for a pour and a half 🤣 first world problems, to be sure. 
second pour 😳
the menu was interesting this evening… 


i already know most of you will hate it 😂 but the borsin cheese appetizer was so good that we got a second round to split. 15/10 would recommend. it reminded me of spanikopita and tiropita from my yia yia — delicious!!

J got the mesclun salad…

and i ordered the delicious pear waldorf…

 
J ordered the pork chop for dinner which she said was really quite good 

and i fell on the safety of my old standby, the specialty pasta from the tuscan MDR, without chicken. 

 
all in all, a delightful dinner!!

I need one more cruise. Okay, Okay maybe two more. Retiring is like a full time job.

Wow !  Izumi twice in 1 day ?  I don't think I've ever known anyone that brave.  Good luck !!
🥰

We already bought our tickets for the Rose Bowl, so DH is definitely putting the kabosh on any new cruises anytime soon 🤪
Before/during the game, we had chips and salsa/guac, charcuterie, and a variety of our favorite drinks. Admittedly, I don't eat at all during games (very nervous stomach), so I barely remember what was there lol.
Wrapping up, we had a late pick up out of port, so we dragged everything out on Sunday morning. Breakfast in CK around 7:50 and then we hung out in the suite lounge until 9:15. Francisco then escorted us all the way to luggage pick up. We still waited around 25-30 minutes for our ride. It was a really smooth day of travel. 45 minutes to the airport, right through check-in/security, and then about a 90 minute wait until boarding. Easy flight to Indy and home around 6:05. 
A few final thoughts - 
On sailing out of Galveston - 10/10 would do it again. It's definitely not a great sail away (i.e., Miami), but it was very easy to get in and out, transportation was easy, and we have a direct flight between Indy and Houston. 
On Harmony - she's looking rough. It's very clear that anything that needs updated/fixed is waiting until dry dock. Other than two of the slides, I believe everything else was operational (that we experienced), but much of the ship is looking worn down. Still, the crew was fantastic and that always makes such a difference in the experience. I know Broadway shows are not everyone's cup of tea, but I really feel like they need to up the entertainment game. Columbus is great, but it's a 45-minute show, and everything else in the Theater is meh (sorry, Voices is awful). Frankly, I think their entertainment game is night and day different (not in a good way) since they decided to cut cost and eliminate Nick Weir's position. 
On our room (A2 ATS) - was generally great. As with everything else, some noticeable wear and tear, but better than the overall ship. We still love the ATS for the views (and watching the IU game on the big screen didn't hurt :)). The one issue that I don't remember from our previous time in the room, is the balcony floods something awful during any type of rain. The drains are badly misplaced and our room steward (Erwin - shout out. He was fantastic) said they've already had engineers on board to look at the issue and will likely be changing them in dry dock.
On Francisco/star class - I would not have a concern with having Francisco as a genie again, but I can imagine scenarios with new folks to SC or families that perhaps have higher expectations being a little disappointed. He is very good, and everything that we asked for, we received. But had DH and I not had previous SC experience, I wonder how things would've gone (i.e., would we have known to ask for certain things or how certain things operate). In terms of SC itself, it was the experience that I expected and I was not let down. Honestly, for me, it's all of the little conveniences (ease of embarkation/debarkation, moving meals, snack/drink deliveries), and even in Sky class, those aren't as convenient. I also love the flexibility of having so many restaurant options readily available. On our 2023 SC cruise on Harmony, it did seem like many of the crew were not experienced with the "purple bands", but that was not an issue this time. And, genuinely, I don't like to flaunt "oh I'm SC", it's just sooo nice when it's easily recognized and things get taken care of. 
Thanks to all who followed along! DH and I will be back on Wonder in February with my mother-in-law and DD. And yes, it's another SC and another A2 ATS. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/holiday season and a great start to 2026!

Time change tonight.  Back to Hong Kong time.











 

My first victim before they peeled the rest for me.

The staff are very helpful even offering to make up this sesame based oil sauce for me.  

She also brought some black pepper oil but warned it's very spicy.  A little goes a long way.

Taking some broth, mixing in some cooked food, adding some garnishes, a little sauce and wow was it good.  The magic is in the sauces.  It didn't take long to arrive at the perfect mix for me with incredible flavors. 

They tell you how long to cook eat item.  The sliced beef and lamb cook fairly quickly.  The meat balls 7 to 8 minutes,  Salmon at least 4 minutes, etc.

While you are cooking your own dinner, you are also fine tuning the flavors to your own unique tastes.  I like it hot so that black pepper oil was amazing.  
After some more beef, an entire platter's worth, I was getting full.
But not so full that I couldn't sample some desserts. Some Matcha Pudding, Dragon Fruit Mousse and Mango Pudding.

I wasn't going to do Hotpot assuming it would be weird as a solo but I am so glad I did. As a newbie to this style of eating I let the crew guide me and accepted their suggestions.  They were more than happy to introduce me to ways of this classic Chinese dinner.
Dragon approved.

Both the seafood platter and the meat platter are included.  If you want more of one item they are happy to bring it.

They offered to have a chef peel the shrimp. Yes please.

You pick two broths from the menu.  They make up the hotpot and I wait while it comes to a boil.

Open flame on a cruise ship!


Time to start cooking!

A buffet section with common items, a variety of sauces and a dessert section.

The menu:

Tonight I am trying Hotpot, another unique specialty restaurant only found on Spectrum.




It's located in the aft of the Windjammer with views to the sea.

State of the WJ at 5:30pm.

Here are the door magnets for Do Not Disturb and Make Up Room.

Day five MDR menu:

Sailing away into the sunset.




No time to wait, I have a dinner reservation, right now.

Easy listening music in the Leaf and Bean.

Wonderful aft views today.

Life in the shipping lanes.


Passport pickup at 2:30pm.

I had a lunch reservation in Jamie's but then I thought what am I doing?  I had better eat in Sichuan Red while I can.
The lunch menu is the same as the dinner menu.

With a dining package it comes down to this section, lunch or dinner.


Pickled radish and Duck Soup.  Very tasty.

Hoisin Duck Salad. Fantastic flavors.  

Tender Beef with Tofu.  Amazing spices.

Poached Wonton in Chili Oil.  Very good.

Crispy Sesame Balls.

For a lunch it's a lot of food.  I skipped a starter by choice.
A cart came by bring food to another table.


Moving my lunch to Sichuan Red was a great move.

Some more random photos around the ship on a beautiful sea day.






Following seas with a wind from nearly due aft so all the steam from the exhaust shribbers is heading forward leaving a clear aft view.

The Virtual Experience is back in the Skypad.




 

North Star Extended Version.
At a cost of $27.99 when booked ahead or $40 on board.
This was cancelled on day two because of winds so I was excited when I saw North Star operating today.