Wednesday, August 13th 2025
Well done, and the people you assigned to help us were great. Thanks and we'll use the guy who helped us again for sure
–Maurice S.
Monday, July 21st 2025
Bron Fore went above and beyond, before and during the cruise, to make this cruise work for our family. He did an amazing job, and everyone loved the entire trip!
–Judy H.
Tuesday, July 8th 2025
Nobody knows cruises - or travel - like Carol Bracken. There is not a question I can ask - and I ask a lot - that she can't answer. We are so lucky to have found her by happenstance a number of years ago and I am thankful to now also call her a friend.
–JEFFREY D.
Monday, June 30th 2025
Carol is wonderful! We have been using Cruise Planners for years! She is very thorough about everything. She always goes all out to make sure our travel experiences are wonderful! She is great—thorough & prompt!
–Cecilia B.
Monday, June 30th 2025
–Larissa T.
Monday, April 14th 2025
Working with Cruise Planners has been the best decision we ever made. Every question or concern is answered promptly. We know that any changes will be handled without any worry on our part. We’ve been on 3 cruises so far working with Cruise Planners and each one has been spectacular. We already have 2 more planned into next year and are looking into dates for a third. We will definitely call on Cruise Planners to handle all the details. 
Working with Cruise Planners has been the best decision we ever made. Every question or concern is answered promptly. We know that any changes will be handled without any worry on our part. We’ve been on 3 cruises so far working with Cruise Planners… 
–KATHLEEN S.
Tuesday, April 8th 2025
We love Carol. She is always willing to answer any and all of my questions!
–Susie Y.
Wednesday, April 2nd 2025
Always the best!!
–Cecilia B.
Saturday, March 15th 2025
I had the privileged to work with Carol and Kent this weekend at the FMCA rv convention! They are amazing, extremely client centric and offer amazing cruise vacations. Canada/New England September 2025! And on our new ship Star Princess during her inaugural Alaska Season. Glacier Bay and the beauty that only Alaska offers! Call them now!! Pricing is at the lowest ever! SEAS THE DAY!486152 I had the privileged to work with Carol and Kent this weekend at the FMCA rv convention! They are amazing, extremely client centric and offer amazing cruise vacations. Canada/New England September 2025! And on our new ship Star Princess during her… –Amy A.
Saturday, March 15th 2025
I had the privilege of working Carol and Kent this weekend! Professional, very knowledgeable and customer centric! You a trust that you travel arrangements are customized! 347257
–Amy A.
Monday, March 3rd 2025
Carol is the BEST!
–RICHARD H.
Wednesday, January 8th 2025
Loved the ship. The Port, (Progresso)not so much. There was trash everywhere. The beach was horrible! Dirty sea water, Lousy deck chairs, and the food provided wasn't good. Our tour guide mediocre.
–RICHARD H.
Tuesday, December 31st 2024
Carol always does an amazing job of catering to our family's needs for cruising- especially with pricing and what we want out of our vacation.
–Celine M.
Friday, November 22nd 2024
Loved the chocolate covered Strawberries! The bottle of red was great with Italian night dining. Thanks for help with our last minute panic about bag tags. We figured it out and all was great. Love the new terminal.
–Howard F.
Monday, November 4th 2024
Carol is the absolute BEST!
–RICHARD H.
Wednesday, August 14th 2024
As always Carol Bracken chose a perfect location for us, this time to celebrate our daughter’s graduation from law school. We needed relaxation and Secrets was perfect for that! Thank you Carol!!!
–JEFFREY D.
Sunday, July 28th 2024
No one works harder than Carol Bracken to find the best cruises and land vacations. While she is tireless she is also one of the loveliest people to work with always learning more about our hopes for future travel and finding both the right fit and ways to make our vacations special. No one works harder than Carol Bracken to find the best cruises and land vacations. While she is tireless she is also one of the loveliest people to work with always learning more about our hopes for future travel and finding both the right fit and ways…
Wednesday, July 17th 2024
Carol put together a one of a kind adventure to the remote Alaska National Parks. Accommodations were excellent, and the tours unforgettable. We had a great time, and are thinking of visiting Alaska again to see the northern lights. My wife is mobility challenged, and Carol was able to book us mobility friendly transportation & activities. Job well done. Carol put together a one of a kind adventure to the remote Alaska National Parks. Accommodations were excellent, and the tours unforgettable. We had a great time, and are thinking of visiting Alaska again to see the northern lights. My wife is mobility…
Monday, July 15th 2024
Cruise planners are Carol are amazing, been working with them for different cruises and land vacations for years. Their ability to know and customize our vacations to meet our goals within our budget are amazing. For the cruises we have never had a bad ship or room. They are connected with some amazing tour experts, especially for our time in Africa which helped us have a great experience. Cruise planners are Carol are amazing, been working with them for different cruises and land vacations for years. Their ability to know and customize our vacations to meet our goals within our budget are amazing. For the cruises we have never had a bad…
Monday, July 15th 2024
Carol took an amazingly difficult itinerary and budget - we were going to Ghana for a wedding but wanted to make some different stops on the way and back- easy. She was able to get us five star accommodations and tours and meet our budget. She was always available to answer questions and offer alternatives. I would highly recommend Carol for all trips wether it's a cruise or a vacation on land. Carol took an amazingly difficult itinerary and budget - we were going to Ghana for a wedding but wanted to make some different stops on the way and back- easy. She was able to get us five star accommodations and tours and meet our budget. She was always…
Sunday, February 25th 2024
Smooth booking with every detail spelled out clearly and accurately. My guest and I had already selected a cruise so the entire transaction was complete in just a few minutes. Thank You Carol and Cruise Planners.
Tuesday, January 30th 2024
Thank you so much for the wine and the beautiful flowers in our cabin on our Disney Cruise! You are too good to us! We sing Carol's praises to everyone!
Tuesday, January 30th 2024
Bron Fore with Cruise Planners is so fun to work with. His enthusiasm for cruising (and my cruise experience) kept me excited for our Royal Caribbean cruise. He's friendly, jovial, personable, and knowledgeable about all the options and choices you have for a wonderful cruise. I will always book with Bron because he's more excited about my trip than I am! Bron Fore with Cruise Planners is so fun to work with. His enthusiasm for cruising (and my cruise experience) kept me excited for our Royal Caribbean cruise. He's friendly, jovial, personable, and knowledgeable about all the options and choices you have…
Friday, July 28th 2023
Bron took take off everything. Made the trip a piece of cake.
Tuesday, July 18th 2023
Bron planned an amazing cruise for my best friend and our daughters. It was her first time out of the country. We had a wonderful time!
Monday, December 5th 2022
Bron is the best! He always gets us a great deal and is ready to help in any way.
Sunday, November 27th 2022
Had a great trip with good communication along the way from Cruise Planners. Recommended
Tuesday, November 15th 2022
We just returned from our trip to Italy and the transatlantic cruise home on the Odyssey. We wanted to thank you for all your help in booking the cruise - especially with all the Covid changes. We had a wonderful time on the Odyssey. Thank you for the champagne on arrival and for my birthday cake. It was all very special. We look forward to working with you again some time. We just returned from our trip to Italy and the transatlantic cruise home on the Odyssey. We wanted to thank you for all your help in booking the cruise - especially with all the Covid changes. We had a wonderful time on the Odyssey. Thank you for the…
Saturday, August 20th 2022
Our trip was great and we owe it all to you!!! The seating on the plane was the best! We couldn't have gone on this trip if it wasn't for you.
–Cecilia B.
Sunday, February 6th 2022
We just got back from the cruise and had a wonderful time. We just wanted to say thanks for all of the help booking, the onboard credit, and for getting us a great room on the 12th floor. It was the perfect spot. Hope you are doing well and going on a cruise soon :) Thanks! We just got back from the cruise and had a wonderful time. We just wanted to say thanks for all of the help booking, the onboard credit, and for getting us a great room on the 12th floor. It was the perfect spot. Hope you are doing well and going on a…
Monday, November 22nd 2021
Carol finds us the best places to stay and cruise. She is GREAT!
Thursday, May 6th 2021
We are 110% going back. We are thinking November or next spring! The resort was BEAUTIFUL- the staff was SO amazing and went above and beyond to make it enjoyable. The food was INCREDIBLE- definitely 5 star. The access to the beach was just perfect. There were events nightly that were actually so great!!! Thank you for everything!! We are 110% going back. We are thinking November or next spring! The resort was BEAUTIFUL- the staff was SO amazing and went above and beyond to make it enjoyable. The food was INCREDIBLE- definitely 5 star. The access to the beach was just perfect.…
Monday, January 13th 2020
We love cruising. Well at least we thought we loved cruising. Truth be told, we love Disney cruising – having gone on 25 Disney cruises, on all four ships, on itineraries ranging from a three-night Bahamas sailing to a 12-night Greek Isles cruise and everything in between.
So suffice it to say we have always been reluctant to sail anything other than DCL and after a very negative experience on Allure of the Seas, became even more fearful to stray away from the mouse. So when our travel agent thought we would enjoy the new Celebrity Edge, we weren’t sure what to do. But with a lot of hesitation, we booked the Edge for the New Year’s sailing – partially because the DCL cruise the same week was more than double the cost and we thought we had to find another option if we wanted to continue cruising often – and at these busiest times of the year.
Well we hit a home run. No. A grand slam in the bottom of the 9th, losing by 3 runs in the 7th game of the World Series. We truly couldn’t have been happier than we were with the experience sailing Celebrity’s newest ship the week of Dec. 29 – Jan. 5, celebrating New Year’s Eve!
This is part one of a detailed review I’ll provide in several parts here. I hope you’ll also decide to subscribe to my page as well. Like any review, this one reflects my family’s personal experiences – and while I know not everyone agrees about every detail, I am sharing our personal experience so that other families like us -looking for an alternative to Disney – or like us, another cruise line to love – that this may help.
My detailed review will be delivered in three or more parts and go into more detail on various aspects of the ship and our experience, paying particular attention to comparing to our “normal” cruising experience on Disney ships. In this first section, here are some highlights of our thoughts
As noted above, we absolutely loved the Edge. The ship was spotless, the service impeccable, the food top notch, the entertainment and activities solid and the unique spaces on the ship so well done that we still didn’t get to explore in detail everything we really wanted to see and do after seven nights on the ship.
The demographics of the ship were definitely skewed a bit older than Disney. But with our kids being 16 and 21 it still felt like we fit in. There were younger children on the sailing and I hope that there was enough for them to do and that they all had as great a time as us. We missed meeting people who were in a similar life stage – like we often do on DCL or even during onground beach vacations – but that may have been more because we were having so much fun as a family, we didn’t split up that often as a couple which is generally when we meet folks.
The ship felt like “home” as soon as we boarded – as it is configured similarly to the larger ships in Disney’s fleet. What we didn’t like about the Allure – the fact that it was enormous, with too many people, and not great views of the sea from many places and it smelled of smoke in many places especially later in the week when it seemed to be spreading – none of that was true of the Edge.
In particular, it was difficult to NOT see the ocean from most places on the Edge. And there were so many places where the sweeping ocean views were mesmerizing. You knew you were on a ship.
While we knew we were on a ship, we also felt a lot like we were at a luxury resort. This was particularly true in a number of spaces. The pool deck was stunning and never crazy crowded; the MDRs were high quality both in terms of ambiance and in quality of food. Special places like the Spa Café, Eden and the walking/running track had the feel of a great beach resort. The stateroom was so well appointed that it also had the feel of a luxury hotel.
The service was amazing around the ship and we didn’t have a negative interaction with a single member of the crew. We loved how visible the ship’s officers were – that is something we have never seen on a Disney cruise. Captain Kate danced past us during Silent Disco and we had a chance to meet her at the New Year’s Eve Deck party. While the service was amazing, it wasn’t cloying or condescending like it can sometimes feel on Disney. Understated luxury are words that kept coming to mind. We love cruising. Well at least we thought we loved cruising. Truth be told, we love Disney cruising – having gone on 25 Disney cruises, on all four ships, on itineraries ranging from a three-night Bahamas sailing to a 12-night Greek Isles cruise and…
