Cap_D

How was the food quality in the MDR on Edge class? We ate in OVC and Luminae, but have always been curious if we could manage 5 -10 days with no Luminae or Retreat Deck and some combination of everything else considering the prices vs value.

Capacity is smaller. The design of the ship has Eden, Plaza, The Club and other venues used for programing including during the production shows. The practical issue is the production show and theater labeling often win out (and by odds) when consideration is given by a guest of what entertainment to attend, per comments made by cruise staff on Edge class ships. My thinking is this especially the case if one factors in the availability of uniform cushioned seating, etc. (If one has previously been to The Club, then one would know the seating and site lines are not optimal for many relative to the Theater. Though there are some great seating options in The Club and the shows are often presented as 270 degrees).

With regard to reserved seating area, we knew about it, but the butler we had never promoted it. It's the balcony, which has better pitch to the stage then the first floor. Last week 30 minutes was any reserved seat, and then it filled in until showtime. We felt there was enough reserved seating. For Arte we sat center 3rd row balcony for the 930 show (30 minutes early) and our neighbors arrived at about 15 minutes early. For the first production show at 7:30 we arrived 10 minutes early, and sat on the right side. It was fine. The key is to go to Deck 5 and snake into the balcony right side entrance. Don't get caught on Deck 4 with the line. But do arrive as early as you can. There was a waiter taking drink orders.

Was on Beyond last week, all of the above was true to our experience. And, we did like it. But, a few observations: A+ on meeting dietary needs due to recent near fatal heart issues at 48. That's the waiter being attentive and generally some safer menu items being available including several on menu fish dishes (non tilapia) and grilled salmon. Very appreciative. So, we would gladly do it all again. It was easy. No foraging for a full meal that I could eat or rest of family would want. Push to customize or get brown sauce left off. I'd be surprised though if filets others in our family had would have been any better in Fine Cut. My feeling is it's not worth the noise of the plaza, lack of char capability, and likely subpar sides. Luminae does have odd cuts of beef, as is well documented on this board. Bread service around ship and OVC looks like same offerings we see in Luminae. The lavash and breadsticks are ubiquitous. Several mains seem the same, too. Eden was, as it probably should be, superior (we ate there 3x with OBC). We also had dinner at rooftop (for change of venue), and OVC 1x for veggies, salads and speed. All were good, and not necessarily better than Luminae. Dietary needs were known before I sat down, and food was about the same. (Sorry to spoil it, but a lot of the items are available all over the ship at times). We have never eaten in an MDR, so can't compare how less banquety the food is, and there is some of that in Luminae (e.g., ask for a side a veggies, and see what you get). We think Luminae on Apex in Spring 2023 was a bit superior in the service, hot food and quality department (pastas were hotter, child filet was available without it seeming like a challenge, for example). (Admittedly this an odd comparison and bfast: Granola now is now longer nature valley in taste, but rather Kellogg). Lots of commotion in the dining room because of the placement of the wine fridges (often show fingerprints). We had to work to not have a view of it multiple seatings. There are also a lot of 6 tops for some reason. There is a window 4 top with a partition on left side of dining room. It's very private, yet with a booth for 2 of 4 seats. In our view, lunch is usually better executed than dinner. The support staff are great, but the maitre'd team is not all that warm and fuzzy with exception of Orhan (sp). Head waiter is not friendly and unclear if she adds anything as compared to prior cruises (e.g. , Apex Spring 2023). Hours for breakfast are limited to 9 am even on late port arrival days. Reality is it does take a while for food, but not sure why sometimes given the output. Host stand has no seating for anyone waiting, and awkward sculpture that is in the way. Counter can cause issues for younger guests and their heads, and older guests and their midsections of trying to get out of way of guests being seated. Poor design. More bathrooms than Apex and Edge, which only has one. Value - maybe, but also had good experiences at other venues and at some point question double paying for about the same thing or just time shifting the menu item. (Again, many items are same and will be at other venues, just different times).

Having left Beyond on Monday (sorry to confirm some of your experiences): Cruise Director is Shawna Hachey (Canadian). Butler* Debacle - The Butler situation would be beyond frustrating, and is absurd given the invite to wait in your room for the appearance and no appearance. You should demand a meeting with Nina the Hotel Director (but don't expect empathy, she seemed remote from customer service despite being around the ship, not the Retreat) and explain how it's the opposite of hospitality at this point. No one has 90 minutes to wait to make requests that shouldn't need to be made to a specific person, etc. if they can't deliver. The concierge that set up the 90 minute wait should be waiting tables on the Retreat Deck, which seems to be purgatory. Caveat: That said, we found most of the Retreat Concierges responsive and friendly, but only after an issue that pushed them to be. Yet, they still couldn't find me a bowl of oatmeal at 9:33 am and I had to obtain and return from OVC with it to combine with lounge offerings swiftly removed at 10 am to the disappointment of our child who arrived at 10:01ish. Create a Record - Fill out the QR code and send send same message to executive office via email. The lunacy should be documented. The system is broken. (But, query what is the system intended to do except run passengers in circles for items that should be available, e.g., a comfortable chair, snacks, on time room service, etc. ? Nothing that would be an issue at a land hotel). Retreat Sundeck on Beyond - Our experience was similar. We waited 20 minutes for a so called waiter to take our order after asking to give one at the bar and the bartenders acting as if it is not their job. (They did roam and take drink orders, although the pool crowd can monopolize). And, while known, the sundeck menu and food is pretty dreadful. A pre cooked burger, premade wilted salad, premade wrap, mushy shrimp, and not much more. The waiters are also the c-team. Not sure where the waiters for food come from, but would not want them at another venue and they have no clue what the menu is or anything despite serving on the Retreat Sundeck each day. Will say first sea day with good weather, March 24 the concierges helped with finding seats and directing traffic, servers, which helped. After that no one seemed in charge or taking leadership on the sundeck. A pair of housekeeping supervisor and trainee were ubiquitous though to the point of distracting. Pool attendants were helpful in proactive finding a puzzle piece our child had misplaced. So, good people, but not great management and too many strict lanes so staff are limited in what they can do. *Last week we did have service from a responsive Butler who was around, but it was not proactive or intuitive. Also, not sure why very specific snacks require a butler vs just being able to place a standing order, but they do. That's on Celebrity. The snacks (crackers and cheese) were better quality than on Apex a year earlier.

FWIW, having roamed Beyond last week after venues closed, they appear to break down the espresso machines at night, as well as everything else that can be broken down like the soft serve machines. We were told / confirmed that the drip coffee is pre ground Lavazza and brewed in the back of OVC. The staff we spoke to said they personally were aware that if the coffee brews too long it will get bitter. All, bean coffee ground on demand is the aforementioned blue bag super crema Lavazza. We realize it could be handled with more TLC, but we were pleased with the coffee on Beyond. We take our coffee strong, black, and without sweetener. So, Lavazza fits our preferences. The decaf was strong too. And, we were very glad the coffee wasn't some weak stuff like U.S. McDonalds or Starbucks drip after the morning rush. For 3,200 people it could be a lot worse or watered down, and it's not. And, thankfully Bacio is usually clean, brisk in transaction time, and short waits, in contrast to most Starbucks visits. There's no Eden equivalent for coffee, but that raises the bigger issue in my view ... It's easier to get sloshed than a perfect cup of craft coffee. Even in the Retreat Lounge it took 20 minutes for a cup of coffee and less than 2-3 for a cocktail.

Just off Beyond - Texting was far more efficient and compatible when not wanting to focus on the app and phone for responses or messages, especially if the sender has a unique designation on your phone. We found the chat function to be useless due to the notifications seemingly requiring the app to be on and visible. The app also drained power quickly. We do not recall this on cruises in 2023 and 2022. And, anyone used to having eyes on a smart watch vs phone will find texting preferable too.

Eden Bar is on Deck 5. It was open well before Noon and is one of the last to close on the ship. Sunset Bar on the last sailing through Easter Day had a full bar with printed menu highlighting specialty drinks, beer and wine, and non-alcoholic offerings. The full bar appeared to be standard setup for the ship (and whatever mixers are unique for their drinks like raspberry lavender mix). A guy next to me was ordering rum and cokes as easy as someone else was ordering speciality mixed drinks. None were required to be blended. Menu is on the app.

Have a great cruise. FYI. We just got off Beyond in a SS. The phone button for Retreat Host is supposed to go to the Butler as confirmed by the Retreat Manager. She and attendant explained the phones were to be reprogrammed after the return of the Butlers. She had just come from Ascent to implement the return of the Butlers on Beyond. It is disappointing to hear you have a phone that was not proactively reprogrammed (although still mislabeled). Our primary concern was to avoid having to find the butler number and also to get the intended service, at a minimum. It was confusing as to what was supposed to occur. There was a separate guest relations button. It was confusing as I e of the Retreat Concierges explained the purpose of Retreat was to avoid Guest Relations, which we knew and ageee, but found no button on the phone for the Retreat Concierges. (One button or more for the right people/departments would help). We brought this to multiple people's attention and at some point Nina the Hotel Director should be more attentive to detail. She had materials throughout the trip with wrong stuff days/dates, the old hotel directors name, etc., so not surprising. We had a room assigned to one of two head butlers because the expected new butler did not make the ship. The Butlers were not returned with the same pre cutbacks staffing ratio. That all being said, we got what we asked from our Butler, did see the Butler in the halls, and only had to interact with him for requests vs a team or central hub, except the room attendant who was attentive too. He did not always deliver everything but that was not needed, e.g., afternoon standing snack order. Sunset Bar had nonfrozen drinks last week through Easter. There was a blender and I asked for the non-alcoholic French Lavender drink to be blended, which after being told it may not blend well my request was obliged. It was great for my purposes. We also ask for the blended alcohol "The Retreat" on Retreat Deck, which does not hold together well at all. Executive Chef Vijay was omnipresent. Would give feedback right to him if you see him. (Indian, glasses, sometimes a chef hat, but not always). Creaking on deck 10 in room and halls was occuring, in calmer and rough seas, in frequency and duration we didn't recall from Apex and Edge. Bad enough to notice and also to add to the memory of the trip. Of course, door and panel seals seem to be part of the issue and solution for cabins.

The Celebrity Suite has some flaws, in my view, but does give you some of the most room square footage with distinct areas. So, in case this helps: My wife and I stayed in one with our then 5 year old. The sliding bedroom door to the Celebrity Suite is not opaque and it can slide a bit on its own. So it can let light and sound in. The sofa will also be on the same wall as the bed, too. The remotes for the two TV sets will work on both, leading to the wrong TV being controlled if not careful. We have thought if in one one again we would need to bring a sheet and hooks to make it a true separate room for sleeping while the living area is in use. One implicit benefit is the Celebrity Suites are all near the forward elevators, which is optimal for access to Retreat venues, the Theater, and kids camp. We were just on Beyond in a forward Sky Suite and the forward elevator access was ideal for most days. That said, our family ate a few times at the OVC (mostly, ironically, for vegetables and large format salads) for lunch 3x (with outside seating) and dinner 1x. The Retreat Sundeck menu is far to limited, and all items were premade. So we didn't utilize all of our sunk cost for the Retreat.

Great thread. Thanks. This may be duplicative, but what brand are the "cat pellets"? I recently had some heart trouble (at a youngish age, very low blood flow), and usually had a good real bagel for breakfast when at home. On vacations I'd splurge a bit with meats and extra carbs, but never egg based pastries. Now, to reduce sodium, glucose and carb spikes and leaves calories open for later, have switched to oatmeal w/nuts and berries for last three months, each day, including while on Beyond. Generally it's working and have less of a dip after breakfast. About the beef wellington and supervisor, we observed something similar on Beyond this week. As we all know, the supervisors kind of lurk, and then intervene. It makes me wonder why they don't catch issues before food is plated and delivered.

My experience has been that on the Beyond Retreat Deck it has been 10 minutes to place a food order with the bartender and still waiting to do so. Also, there are six 4 top tables taken for over 400 Retreat passengers. Would it be better if I were in an upper suite? Would the butler be even accessible from the sundeck? Would they bring the par cooked burger to the suite?

FWIW, I think it's important to substantiate that the vast number of guests sailing in retreat do not get most of what is promoted in writing or in practice what is actually provided, although the a la carte pricing of promotions like included pant pressing for upper suites does not justify the cost differential. Yet, for 15k or more per room above a CS pant pressing should be included.

Not disagreeing, except it's not what was and is presently advertised.

Looking forward to hearing more about this. Will they fire the butlers again?! Btw, staff must be forbidden from saying fired. Keep getting party line that butlers were offered housekeeping and other roles. (Is that how much qualification a butler needed). As for the new cutbacks, 25k or higher they should be picking one up at the airport and facilitating everything and everything and rice guests a mobile connection to the butler. We missed breakfast today at Luminae while they were still serving food (just not seating, and many still waiting for meals) and only wanted a bowl of oatmeal and berries. Obtained oatmeal from OVC and berries from lounge after asking nicely in lounge while staff stops around, had response been the same in an upper suite or paying today's prevailing rates, 25k plus should have the retreat staff go down a flight of stairs to obtain a bowl of oatmeal or allow room service. Any Marriott would have done that for any guest of any status.

On Beyond right now and have had two separate rooms service cards over the course of the cruise. No one has been able to explain what the advertised "Luminae room service breakfast menu" actually is or has offered it. The above are not labeled as Luminae and food comes from main room service. Butler has been responsive, but we have had to be proactive with requests for daily snacks and other basic requests.

It might be a sore subject for company and shipboard management. Someone shared that they think the company deletes social media comments about thee issue. Also, it was shared that a Beyond striped officer recently shared the line that we've seen reported here before that there is a shipyard team investigating the issue to come up with a solution, and, when asked about the time it seems to be taking (about 2 years), they added that the time involved is due to the ship having a number of rooms. The same person also said that the seas in the Caribbean can be generally rougher than the Med or the transatlantic when the ship has been in those locales, FWIW. (Some commentary on here by cruisers conflict with this assessment). Having now heard some of the creaking and and clicking first hand, it would seem that various fittings in the outer layer of the wall panel seams is one of the culprits, the corners especially. Also, the seams between exterior cabin windows and the wall panels seem to be a source. Some versions of the noise is similar to the noise that elevator car panels make (usually the older ones). The noise is also noticeable in some public areas like certain elevator lobbies, but is not coming from elevator cars or the shafts. Among various instances of none of this being all that explainable is how frequent the Captain uses a talking point about being involved in seeing the ship being built, sea trials, etc. No one from the customer satisfaction or risk department must have QC's the ship or reviewed the results of the trials.

On Beyond now, will share room after cruise, but can confirm some popping, creaking, and air whistle with balcony door closed. Not as annoying or loud as what has kept people up all night, but enough to notice in the room and in other places like elevator lobbies on various decks. This is during the storms of Day 1 and 2, and now the sunny Day 3. Did not notice on Apex or Edge during somewhat comparable conditions, deck position (within +/- 1 deck), time of year, and age of ships. Also noticed the so called mold unfresh smell while walking Deck 3 cabin hallway, and a few other places. The same smell was observed on Apex and Edge in places during prior cruises.

Celebrity is becoming known for its ineptness being the entertainment. Hope the rest of your room was cleaned. When material is leftover from a prior cruise one wonders if it's gross incompetence and the sheet was distributed to all guest rooms fresh, if the room has simply not been cleaned, or both.

Warning: ask when and where card pick up is if prepurchasing cards. The Planner and App use language of "sale," but also mean pick up... At the Casino and not the Club before the show. If you don't pick the card up the Casino will attempt to keep your money until the end of the cruise.

The app is also flawed because the people operating it don't have any clue about customer experience. On Beyond after boarding time events were loaded and published for the middle the night, inconsistent description as compared to cruise planner, wrong menus while dining, and more. Onboard crew make excuses, but don't know what's on the app or may not have any actual role on publishing info.

Adding to the fun - on Beyond the Retreat Welcome Letter misspells the last name of Captain Kate as "Mc Cue " with the space. The letter presumably gets used 190x every cruise over three months or until the next cruise if they catch the typo.

FWIW, on Beyond our room phone button for "Retreat Host" direct dials the room attendant and not anyone associated with the butler function or Retreat. We were told this is an artifact of the no dedicated Butler period. It's organized chaos. And, access to the Butler is still dependent on chance encounters or proactive use of the ship phone. Convenient to keep down use of half butler staffing (and an AWOL team member), but sloppy.

On a very rainy Beyond now about to set sail from Fort Lauderdale: We will be having a hybrid butler experience. Head Butler "Roger" reported that Celebrity hired back only half the number of dedicated butlers as pre-layoffs. Yet, our intended assigned/dedicated butler is missing despite over 1,000 crew. So, that means our butler is the Head Butler and he has an unknown number of additional suites to service and his supervising duties. Roger was cagey about the number of suites he is covering. Also, he was very non suggestive about offering anything like afternoon snacks, water, or satisfying our pre cruise made requests. He also had no knowledge of a "Luminae Room Service Breakfast Menu," which was not surprising despite it being an advertised feature. We'll see how it goes. Aside: just observed two striped crew removing a cushioned chair from the Retreat Lounge and carry it off. Presumably they just raided the lounge for extra room furniture.

Not haunted. But, do find it interesting that Captain Kate is the brand's biggest ambassador, tied so closely to Beyond, and hasn't been rotated off to another ship. And, due to the deployment schedule the ship is full time Caribbean for the foreseeable future, including stops to CocoCay. Someone suggested the deployment for Beyond is to keep the ship at lower speeds and in less turbulent waters. Has anyone asked her for confirmation, and not been escorted out of the theater, or blocked from her social media pages?