Kenhel

Are large vans (that hold 8 to 9 passengers) readily available at the cruise port gate? Does a larger vehicle need to booked in advance? We are looking to get to Baby Beach from the cruise terminal.

Thanks for all the responses. I can see our best option will be to connect with the maître d on embarkation. If we need to limit to one restaurant we will only dine together as large group on a few nights as we prefer to rotate MDRs. Thanks again!

We are trying to book a large table in the MDRs on the Beyond in Feb 2024. We are 5 separate cruise bookings totalling 9 people. We called Celebrity and asked the dining department to set this up for us but they said they cannot accommodate us and we will need to speak with the maitre d once we are onboard. One of the couples already has reservations for a table for 2 at 6:30 or 7:00pm on most nights. Have others had success with the maitre d expanding an existing dining reservation to a larger table or 2-3 smaller tables side by side?

Thanks John for all that information. We love anything nautical or yachting so for a more leisurely day, it looks like we will skip the bus rides and the tour of Osborne house. I think enjoying Needles by boat and then meandering the streets of west Cowes is a better choice.

Looking for feedback on this day trip to IOW red ferry from Southampton to East Cowes, to visit Osborne House (walk from ferry dock) arrange transport (looking for reasonable suggestion) to west end of island to Needles, walk to beach, hop on boat tour arrange transport (looking for reasonable suggestion) back to ferry dock to return to Southampton Also looking for a casual lunch spot half way between the east and west sides of the island

Will be on a Princess 23 day westbound TA next year. Would appreciate feedback on typical dress codes, especially on the very long cruises compared with shorter cruises, on "chic" nights. Due to luggage weight restrictions are these typically less formal?

We are considering a ferry from Piraeus to Aegina on Blue Star. Any experience with this ferry service? Looks like the high speed ferry gets there in 40-60 minutes. How reliable is it? We are looking for a low stress day with reliable service to get back to cruise port with plenty of time to spare. Any recommendations for beaches and other sights to see on this island would also be appreciated. We do not mind lots of walking.

Thank you. We have booked at Hotel Smeraldo in Rome. Does the Trenitalia morning route from Rome to Civi Port pick up at the Trastevere station? This station appears to be a 30 minute walk from the hotel.

All of that information is extremely helpful. Thank you!

Thank you so much. I just did a mock booking on ItaliaRail for next week and it looks like there are frequent direct trips from termini or ostience stations to Civitavecchia.

I would appreciate advice regarding train transportation from Rome to the Civi cruise port. When searching for tickets, the train departure times are geared to cruisers who are travelling from the cruise port to Rome in the morning rather than other direction. Trains do not seem to depart Rome until afternoon. Our cruise embarkation is 6:00pm and our goal is to check in late morning/early afternoon. Looking for a train rather than a bus or private transfer. What I am missing? Is it best to arrive in Civi the day prior? Is there a specific train company or site to search for morning departures from Rome?

Considering B2B cruises on the Ascent in the Fall of 2024. Rome is the disembarkation stop on first leg. Does Celebrity offer excursions for disembarkation/embarkation stops? I am familiar with the ones in Florida where the excursion ends at the airport but in this case we would want to return to the ship for the next leg.

We did not take advantage of the concierge embarkation lunch. Sorry I do not wish to share the exact cabin we were in. We booked our next cruise on Beyond on deck 8 aft IV non concierge.

Just returned from our first Celebrity cruise on the Beyond Feb 19th sailing. Have previously cruised several times on Princess, NCL and many years ago 1 Costa and 1 Royal Caribbean cruise. Have cruised short 4-day cruises and to date our longest has been a 16-day Panama Canal. We usually book a balcony. First off, Beyond is a beautiful ship with unique and refreshing layout and design. It stands apart from other ships we have sailed on. It is designed in a way that promotes unique areas that keep noise separate from the serene quieter areas. Loved the aft seating by the Sunset Bar. Unfortunately, the location and design of the smoking area on the starboard side (deck 15?) resulted in the smoke smell to drift quite a distance and impacted the enjoyment of the plunge pools and surrounding non smoking seating areas. Did not see many people using the smoking area but still managed to disrupt the enjoyment of so many. IMHO, I look forward to a day where Celebrity is completely smoke free. Really loved the walking/jogging track layout and the incline. Used it daily. Cabin: Concierge Deck 11, Infinite Verandah Would not bother with concierge again as we did not see much benefit other than the cabin location. Did not need the concierge boarding, embarkation lunch or the afternoon canapes. We were unsure if we would like the infinite verandah but we did. We wish it was a bit bigger. Otherwise, we appreciated the additional privacy vs. a traditional balcony and the option to open and close it. Did experience the noise/banging others have noted. After a few calls back and forth with customer service, it was partially resolved but did not go away completely. They came into the cabin, took some panels off and made some “adjustments”. Itinerary: St. Maarten – Walked to Great Bay beach and booked chairs – very nice but lots of vendors pushing hats, coverups and aloe vera massages. Not our thing but the water was lovely. We were there pre hurricane Irma and COVID and noticed the lingering impact to the island and its people. It is beautiful and we hope with time it will fully recover. St. Thomas – Ship Tour - Fast Cat Snorkel tour (Buck Island) and Beach Break (Water Island) – excellent! Puerto Plata – Walked to old town to visit fort, cathedral and umbrella street – returned to ship for lunch and then went off again to spend a couple of hours in Taino Bay enjoying the lazy river and pool. Beautiful port area. Staff: Excellent! Friendly and professional. Food: Ate dinner in the MDR except for one night at the Rooftop Garden Grill (specialty dining) and last night at the buffet. Our favourite MDR was Cypress. Breakfast – Usually in the Cosmopolitan. Great service, attentive staff. No complaints. Lunch – Buffet – lots of choice and variety. El Bacio – some hiccups/confusion when ordering customized specialty coffee drinks but overall delicious! Overall food was very good to excellent. No complaints and much better quality and variety than Princess and NCL. We did notice fewer dinner buffet options then we have seen on other cruise lines but we have always felt there was too much waste so we understand the need to streamline offerings. We could not do the dinner buffet every night though. Entertainment: Musicians, Rock the Boat and Magic shows were excellent Overall: Well done Celebrity! We have booked with Celebrity for next year.

Thank you reedprincess. There is a stop in Montenegro 5 days prior to arriving in Barcelona. I have done a bit of research and it doesn't look like it is one of countries in the Schengen area. Other information indicates Canadians/Americans do not need a visa to enter Montenegro but not sure if that port will result in a border process in Barcelona.

We are booked on B2B cruises in 2024: a 14-day Rome to Barcelona followed by a 25-day Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale on Sun Princess (same cabin for both cruises). These cruises are also sold as different segments. Barcelona is an important stop for us so considering changing the segments so Barcelona is not the last day of the first leg of the B2B. We have never done a B2B so unsure of the process and do not want it to cut into our time in port. This itinerary is also available as: a 23-day Rome to Southampton followed by a 16 day Southampton to Fort Lauderdale with Southampton being a overnight stop. Is it possible to adjust the segments of a existing B2B princess cruise booking without cancelling and repricing?

We are currently booked on B2B cruises in August and September 2024: a 14-day Rome to Barcelona and a 25-day Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale on Sun Princess (same cabin for both cruises). We see on various booking sites that these cruises are also sold as different segments. Barcelona is an important stop for us but being the B2B turn around stop may cut into our time at the port. We see online these 2 cruises are also available to be booked as a 23 Day Rome to Southampton and a 16 day Southampton to Fort Lauderdale with Southampton being a overnight stop. Does anyone have experience revising where the B2B point occurs? Can the existing reservations be adjusted without cancelling and repricing? We booked at a lower price compared to current prices wish to avoid having to reprice.

Do you recall when it was open for drinks?

We would like to experience the Magic Carpet on our upcoming Celebrity Beyond cruise but are not interested in booking the "Dinner on the Edge". Do we need to make reservations to order off the al la carte menu and can this be booked prior to sailing or does it need to be done onboard? If reservations not needed, are there set days and times the Magic Carpet is open and al carte menu available? Thank you.

We are doing a B2B European and Transatlantic repositioning to Ft Lauderdale in September 2024. This will be our first time travelling to Europe and we would like to book the excursions in advance. We have a combination of TA and Princess OBC. When does the Princess OBC typically appear on the account? I believe the TA OBC will not appear on our ship account until we are onboard. Once the Princess OBC is used up, the remaining excursion costs will go on our credit card. Once onboard, is there an option to have customer service reverse the credit card charges and apply the TA OBC to the booked excursions. If there is some OBC left from the first cruise can it be transferred to the second cruise? Our B2B are 2 separate reservations (same state room for both cruises). Alternatively, if the TA OBC is not used can we have it refunded to our credit card?

We are doing a B2B European and Transatlantic repositioning to Ft Lauderdale in September 2024. This will be our first time travelling to Europe and we would like to book the excursions in advance. We have a combination of TA and Princess OBC. When does the Princess OBC typically appear on the account? I believe the TA OBC will not appear on our ship account until we are onboard. Once the Princess OBC is used up, the remaining excursion costs will go on our credit card. Once onboard, is there an option to have customer service reverse the credit card charges and apply the TA OBC to the booked excursions. If there is some OBC left from the first cruise can it be transferred to the second cruise? Our B2B are 2 separate reservations (same state room for both cruises). Alternatively, if the TA OBC is not used can we have it refunded to our credit card?

Thanks for the reply. We are trying to avoid land transportation/bus to the catamaran. It was not clear if we walk or take water shuttle to the catamaran. We selected it for the combo of Buck Island and Water Island. In past cruises that have stopped at Crown Bay, we have taken the water taxi to Water Island and loved it. I am not aware of a water taxi from Havensight to Water Island so this excursion would given us the opportunity to visit this island.

Can you go to customer service before the end of the cruise and ask for the remaining OBC to be refunded to your credit card?

We will be on February 19 sailing of Celebrity Beyond and have booked the Caribbean FastCat 2-Island Snorkel and Beach Getaway in St. Thomas through Celebrity. For anyone who has previously booked this excursion through Celebrity, we would appreciate your feedback. Specifically, is ground transportation needed to get to the pick up location for this excursion? Second question is about how many people on the catamaran?

We have booked a C1 category room on the 11th deck of Celebrity Beyond. Where could we confirm the bed configuration of this room? I prefer the bed closer to the verandah rather than the bathroom and not certain of the configuration of this room (11152). Thank you.