September 24 Boarding the Edge

During yesterday evening there was a faint sound of music and talking seeping through the ceiling until midnight. We enjoyed breakfast in the hotel again this morning.

The sky is cloudy with some dark ones over the water, temperature is about 19°C, breezy. We checked out around 10:30 and we walked over the Special Olympics ceremony by the beach in shirt sleeves. We were alerted to the event by the sounds of a marching band going along the beach plaza to the event area. It was an adult marching band with uniforms of white shirts and black long pants. The shuttle arrived at 11:35 to take us and 12 other hotel guests for the short drive to the cruise terminal. The Italian government rules are that people should wear FFP2/KN95 face masks on public transport, taxis, trains and planes. We were the only people on the shuttle wearing face masks – we took a supply of N95 masks with us. Seated near us sat two couples from the interior of B.C. and a couple from Calgary, the others were American. The luggage was transferred to the ship to be delivered to our stateroom later which was waiting for us when we returned from lunch about 2.5 hours later.

We are using credit from previous cancelled cruises in 2020 and wanted them all used, so we have an infinity stateroom in Concierge category. It is not a traditional balcony stateroom, more like a sunroom by the window. The floor to ceiling window is split horizontally in two. The top half can be lowered to the halfway point to let the air into the room, but you must remember to close the folding door when in the balcony portion to prevent a wind tunnel effect if the hall door is opened. Paper blows off the desk with any other light items. The “Balcony” is large enough for two wicker style chairs and a small table. There is a flexible accordion folded heavy vinyl blind that rolls up or down covering the window.

The shuttle dropped us off about noon, and the baggage staff directed passengers to the check-in area. There was no line and a young woman scanned our passports and our boarding pass from the online check-in we did at home. We had uploaded current head shots of ourselves and other information, but no longer needed proof of vaccination status. After breakfast, this morning we had completed the health and safety protocol and most of the safety muster. Next, we were directed to go to the gangway. Other passengers were being checked in by other staff, but people were generally distanced by two meters as we wound our way along the hall to the gangway. Some of the gangway had open sides and a drizzle had started to blow in as we entered the ship – Celebrity Edge. There were staff members to greet us and direct us if it was needed. We climbed the stairs from Deck 5 to our stateroom on Deck 11. We found the stateroom and the key card for the room tucked inside a cubbyhole by the room number and dropped off our backpacks.

We headed to the Café al Bacio for a cappuccino and Americano. For the Concierge category passengers, there was a Welcome Aboard Luncheon in the Tuscan Dining Room. All of the Canadian couples that took the shuttle from the hotel also attended the lunch. The atmosphere was quiet compared to the Oceanview Café buffet restaurant on Deck 14, where most passengers go for lunch on embarkation day. Since we also have a specialty coffee and alcohol drinks package, so we ordered a glass of Prosecco with lunch. Then we wandered the public decks, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Deck 3 has Guest Relations, where later Larry inquired about booking seats on the shuttle to Rome airport next Sunday; Shore Excursion, where you can book tours from the ship, if you did not book them online; Normandie and Tuscan “main” dining rooms; some Oceanview staterooms; children’s ”Camp at Sea”; Martini bar and the Grand Plaza were live 3 or 4 piece bands play. Deck 4 has The Club bar & lounge’s lower level; Le Petit Chef/Le Grand Bistro restaurant; Casino; Casino bar; Café al Bacio; Celebrity iLounge for assistance & sales of Apple products; Photo Gallery; Future Cruises sales office; retail clothing, jewelry and liquor stores; Cosmopolitan and Cyprus “main” dining rooms; meeting rooms and the main floor of the live performance theatre. Deck 5 has the Captain’s Club and Concierge office; The Club bar & lounge’s second level; Eden bar & and café lower level; Art Gallery, where you can buy art to send home (takes several weeks to arrive); a Tiffany shop; a Bvlgari shop; Blu restaurant exclusively for passengers in the Aqua category staterooms; Fine Cut Steakhouse and Raw on 5 which are specialty restaurants with a fee to eat there; a Cartier shop and the second level of the live performance theatre. Deck 6 has Eden bar & café second level and balcony rooms. Deck 2 is the staff area, except for the part used for loading and unloading passengers when the people need to leave or return to the ship in the tender boats when the ship is anchored in the harbour, rather than docked. Decks 7 through 12 have balcony rooms, inside rooms (that do not have a window) different categories of suites. Deck 12 also has the Luminae dining room which is exclusively for suite passengers. There is no Deck 13. Deck 14 has The Spa complete with massages, barber shop, hair salon and many spa services; Spa Café & Juice bar; Solarium which is the inside pool and hot tub; outdoor pool; Pool bar; Il Secondo Bacio café & bar and the Oceanview Café buffet restaurant with fresh pizza and an ice cream bar. Deck 15 has the Fitness Center, The Retreat Lounge and its exclusive deck area; a jogging track; Roof Top Garden, where outdoor movies are featured; Roof Top Grill and Sunset bar. Deck 16 has the exclusive The Retreat Pool and jacuzzi, pool bar at the front of the ship and the Sunset bar at the back of the ship.

We then checked to see if our luggage had been left by our stateroom and it was, so we unpacked finding there were plenty of hangars and drawers for everything. The suitcases got stowed under the bed. As we unpacked we could see the drizzle change to driving rain and the fog roll in. The fog lasted 30 minutes. The dining arrangement is different on the Edge class ships so we went down to Deck 5 to the Concierge office for assistance in reserving dinner times. Ednalyn also mentioned that the Celebrity app had been updated to be compatible with Apple iOS 16, the old iPhone that we have is only iOS 14.8 but she was able to download a new compatible version to have it work . We may have to bite the bullet and get a new iPhone and join the 21^st century! Ednalyn phoned the reservations clerk and who made the reservations and gave us printouts when our old iPhone was taking forever to upload the new app – technology! However, the printouts only covered Sept 27 to Oct 1. The app did not have the right order for the second and third days and nothing for tonight. Ednalyn advised us to talk to the restaurant reservation desk after dinner for them to sort. We did and realized that Sept 26 we have a 9 hour tour and may not be back in time for a 6 p.m. time, so cancelled the booking. We can just arrive at whichever of the four restaurants we choose when we return from the excursion and freshen up and not worry about a certain time.

The ship departed on time at 5 p.m. into the choppy water and 35 to 50 km winds. We attended the Concierge Class Port Talk, scheduled for 5:30 to 6, and were the only ones there. The presenter was Ednalyn who told us about tomorrow’s port, Ajaccio, which we did not book a tour. Instead we are just going to walk around the town. After 20 minutes the couple from Calgary that we met on the shuttle turned up.

There are four “main” dining rooms and you can either reserve a table at any one of them anytime from 6 to 8:30 or just show up at dinner time. There are mainly tables for 4 or 2 with some larger capacity tables for people travelling in groups. We were the first to arrive. There were not any other people to form a line. That is quite different that the older Celebrity ships, where there is one huge main dining room and everyone with a 6 p.m. reservation arrives 10 minutes before the door opens and people are packed in like sardines. Servers show people to their assigned tables, which takes time, then there is a wait for the servers to take your order. We were shown to a table by the window with a good view of the water. You could feel the rock of the ship even low and toward the back of the ship. Later, when on Deck 11 midship, in our stateroom the rocking did not seem any stronger. We chose our dinner items from the Normandie menu that is the same each evening; but we could also choose things from the Classic menu, which is the same every night or from the Signature menu, which is common to all 4 dining rooms, but changes each night. The highlight of the meal was the appetizer - baked brie in phyllo. We ordered a glass of Prosecco, but it was a different brand from the Tuscan restaurant and not quite as good. We had a relaxed dinner and finished in 75minutes. Tonight’s process went smoothly.

It is only 180 nautical miles to Ajaccio, Corsica so the ship will be going slowly about 12 or 14 knots.

After dinner we climbed the stairs from Deck 3 to Deck 14 to see the pool area and the Oceanview Café. At 8 p.m., the café was not busy. We found the ice cream bar for future reference and chatted with the friendly server. Then climbed back down to our stateroom on Deck 11 to write the blog.

Total steps 11,343

Aside: ”Canada to drop vax requirement at border, app” headline in September 22, 2022 newspaper. Following are excerpts:

“Two senior Canadian government sources aware of the decision confirmed the cabinet order maintaining COVID-19 border measures will not be renewed when it expires on Sept. 30.

The change means international travellers will no longer have to prove they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Under the current rule, Canadians returning to the country who aren’t vaccinated must show a negative COVID-19 test result before arriving, and undergo further testing after arrival. They also must quarantine for 14 days.

Foreigners who aren’t vaccinated are simply banned from Canada unless they fall into specific categories, such as airline or boat crew members, those who need essential medical treatment, diplomats and temporary foreign workers.

The cabinet order spells out that vaccinated travellers will be selected for random COVID-19 testing, and requires travellers to submit their vaccine proof and test results electronically.

The only way to do that is through the ArriveCan app. All of that will end when the clock strikes midnight on Oct. 1.

Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault would not confirm the decision Thursday, but he said if the order is allowed to expire, that would also eliminate the only mandatory component for the ArriveCan app.

“So the mandatory piece is the vaccine piece, and because that’s how people prove it through the ArriveCan, that’s how the order is written, from what I remember,” he said on his way into the cabinet meeting.

ArriveCan has morphed into a digitized border arrival tool, and now people flying into certain airports can use it to fill out their customs and immigration form instead of the paper version.” For our return to Canada in June 2022, this part DID NOT work. “Boissonnault said that is in keeping with the digitization of border forms in a number of countries, including Europe, and long term will make for faster, smoother border experiences.

“If we’re going to want to go from 22 million visitors in 2019, to something closer to 30 million by 2030, we’re going to have to have a digital border,” he said.”

The editorial cartoon on September 24 depicting the end of the “Freedom Convoy” demands was spot on.