Celebrity Beyond, June 23 - July 2 Mediterranean Sailing LIVE Thread

[sgmn]

9 hours ago, sergel02 said:

 

- The spa is really amazing for a cruise ship. 
 

- After the treatment I rushed on over to the Club Social. James/Jim Kennedy, a former director of the Kennedy Space center, was a presenter. We were fortunate to get someone so experienced and knowledgeable in space on our ship. 
 

- He mentioned how he usually only gets to speak on sea days, but Captain Kate was able to convince her bosses to allow him 4! He has some more and he talks about the ISS, Shuttle launches, SpaceX, etc. He also assumed I was a college student so I guess the spa treatment was working.

 

- Something that sets the premium lines out for me is they seem to have more Enrichment talks like this which I enjoy.

 

- Had dinner at Tuscan which was good. The pasta was some of the best I ever had. I have pics but they’re on my phone and I’m too lazy to switch devices at 1AM.

 

Tomorrow is La Spezia…which is like an hour drive from Santa Margherita haha. The ship is only going at 8 knots tonight.

 

 

Soooo lucky you had experts talk on board. Unless I missed it we didn't have any last week on Beyond. As someone who can only take so much sun I  love the talks when they have someone interesting.

The spa sounds great, We were on deck 12 just below the spa and I do regret not trying it. 

 

If you want a light breakfast the Solarium spa cafe is great and has freshly perked coffee

Edited June 27, 2022 by sgmn

[hcat]

Thanks  for the informatibe  review and photos. We did a similar itin yrs ago.  Loved  stopping at Nice..hope you you back there some day.

 

Glad  you enjoyed the spa..it was awesome on EDGE.   Much better than Canyon Ranch!  Our upcoming BEYOND cruise in Nov is a short one, but we will probably skip a port..will look for a facial with "port pricing".

 

BTW...If they still use the Elemis brand you can get that online..usually with a discount and free shipping. 

 

Enjoy!

 

[WorkerBee74]

6 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

I was on the previous cruise. We're also doing carry-on only, and I always "do" some light laundry in the sink. The Beyond sink is perfect for this, but, being in an IV, which is not a "regular" veranda, I'd trouble drying things on it. The good thing is the the hangers are real ones, so you can dry a shirt on one, and I'd suggest bringing a laundry line (?) also...

 

We have an Oceanview so we have a clothesline to bring - unfortunately no drying on the balcony for us haha!

[bandp407]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

The bag is per CC member.   So if both you and your spouse are Elie you get 1 bag each.     Prior to hitting Zenith we were never able to use all 4 bags.    All you have to do is ask for another bag.   Now we are Zenith and get Free Laundry they bring us a bag daily.

Thanks very much for clarifying Jim! 

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, WorkerBee74 said:

We have an Oceanview so we have a clothesline to bring - unfortunately no drying on the balcony for us haha!

 

I found that the air ventilation in the shower is very good, I left my swimming suit on a hanger there during the night, and it was dry in the morning....

[calicakes]

14 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

The bag is per CC member.   So if both you and your spouse are Elie you get 1 bag each.     Prior to hitting Zenith we were never able to use all 4 bags.    All you have to do is ask for another bag.   Now we are Zenith and get Free Laundry they bring us a bag daily.

Do you also get free laundry if you're in a suite?  We're not Elite, but will be in a Suite on Reflection in September. 

[sergel02]

Day 5 - La Spezia - Pisa - Florence

 

oh god it was so hot today I think my eyeballs were sweating 

 

- The ship docks in the industrial port of La Spezia but the city is nice enough to have a free shuttle to the cruise terminal. 

- The AIDA Cosmo was docked behind us. Interestingly enough everyone on that ship was wearing masks, though I think they got ride of the rules to mask. 

- We didn’t have a excursion booked and were going to wander around port but it was a lot of walking. We ended up booking a tour with a local company I’ll link a pic of below. €35 for a 4 hour trip to Pisa with 2 hours at the actual Tower site. There were tours to Florence as well, and Cinque Terre. Prices much lower than the Cruise. 
 

- Trip was around 1 hour each way. Poor guy in the back was puking sadly (though very quietly). It’s a slightly bumpy ride. Our tour guide lady was REALLY helpful and nice though. Not much commentary on the sites but super nice. 
 

- The bus drops you about 15 minutes from the entrance so it’s a bit of a walk in the heat. Place was SUPER crowded. 
 

- We saw the Leaning Tower but didn’t have time to go inside. We did go inside the Cathedral which was worth it. Tickets are usually €7 a site or €24 for all but we got in for free. Maybe it was a special. 

- Restroom tip: every place requires you to either buy something or pay €0.50. 

 

We also went to ale Petit Chef tonight which was amazing but I’ll have to talk about that later. 

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, calicakes said:

Do you also get free laundry if you're in a suite?  We're not Elite, but will be in a Suite on Reflection in September. 

Only if in a RS or PS or other Highest end Suites .      The website now says they limit it to 2x per cruise but my experience is as long as your reasonable the don't enforce the limit.   I was told they put the limit in because some were taking in laundry from all their friends and abusing the perk.

[brockmom]

10 hours ago, WorkerBee74 said:

 

We have an Oceanview so we have a clothesline to bring - unfortunately no drying on the balcony for us haha!

Whenever we have an ocean view - I use the clothes hangers ( laundry ones) and hang our damp bathing suits etc on them and hook them over the window.  Seems to me there was a lip or else I used a screw. Worked like a charm 😊 might want to give it a try !

[sergel02]

Day 5 - Ajaccio, Corsica but not really 

 

- We we’re supposed to dock in Ajaccio at 0800. At that time, Captain Kate made an announcement that went into the rooms even about weather conditions making it too windy to dock right now and she wouldn’t put the crew and guests at risk. She and the tugboat Captain waited for the storm and wind to pass. It was apparently something that uniquely happens in that area according to the tugboat. At 1030 it did and she came back on announcing that while the storm passed, another one was coming at noon, so she made the choice to head to Rome (slowly). 
 

- Misses that port, so we had and extra sea day. Not much happened today so I’ll talk about Le Petit Chef and Family and the show  Elements from yesterday.

 

Day 4 Part II: Electric Bugaloo

 

- This was my first time to Le Petit chef. One member of our family decided not to go because he didn’t think any of the food would be good and Celebrity was really nice to cancel that and not charge us. 
 

- The whole thing was amazing! The show was so unique and exceptional.

 

- The food was amazing too. Nothing was bad. We did get the Branzino instead of the short rib for our main. The show didn’t match but it still was fun to watch. 
 

- Something we loved was that the background stays on while you eat. Adds to the ambiance. The music was loud enough to block out sound from the plaza but not be over the top. 
 

- Will definitely do again next time we go on Celebrity. Price was $55 a person. On land, some of the cheapest options we found were at least $100 a person so it felt with it for sure. 
 

- Elements had a weird hiccup apparently during rehearsal. Something happens and they changed the typical 1930 and 2130 shows to just one show at 2100. 
 

- It was a fun watch and I loved the use of the 5 elements. It was a mix of acrobatics, dancing, singing, a cello player, and a couple unique bits with a variety of music. 
 

- I kept waiting for the giant tree to come out and them remembered that’s in Apex lol

- Again though, like with the previous show it got overly loud. Not sure still if it’s the mics or the singers themselves. I’m inclined to the latter since one singer was fine with dynamics. 
 

 

Overall day 5 was relaxing after the busy day 4. 
 

Rome tomorrow!

[sergel02]

I forgot pics. Some slight spoilers for the both Le Petit and Elements though. 

[Silkroad]

On 6/26/2022 at 6:37 PM, bandp407 said:

Hi Jim- i thought the laundry for Elite was 1 Bag per cabin. Is it really 1bag PP ? I looked at the Captains Club benefits and it states the 1 bag - doesn’t clarify if it is pp or per cabin. We recently became Elite & only used the service 1 time. They only leave 1 bag in the cabin.

As Jim said, the Elite benefit is one bag per person. Though they’ll give you a second bag, we’ve simply used the same bag twice (unless it’s paper lol). Since our cruise vacations include land segments, our strategy is to stagger our laundry. For example, we may stuff our laundry in the bag on day 3 (using my name) and send off the bag again on day 9 (using DH’s name).

[bandp407]

2 hours ago, Silkroad said:

As Jim said, the Elite benefit is one bag per person. Though they’ll give you a second bag, we’ve simply used the same bag twice (unless it’s paper lol). Since our cruise vacations include land segments, our strategy is to stagger our laundry. For example, we may stuff our laundry in the bag on day 3 (using my name) and send off the bag again on day 9 (using DH’s name).

Thank you Silkroad. Appreciate you sharing. Typically we take 7 night cruises, but in 2023 we will take the big step ( for us) and do a B2B 19 day Reflection sailing in the Med. Then it will certainly be useful, aside from our delicate items. 

[verizon]

Hi Sergel02, I will be on the same itinerary in September will arrive late in Barcelona, may I know what is the latest time to check in?

Thanks.

[kwokpot]

5 hours ago, Silkroad said:

As Jim said, the Elite benefit is one bag per person. Though they’ll give you a second bag, we’ve simply used the same bag twice (unless it’s paper lol). Since our cruise vacations include land segments, our strategy is to stagger our laundry. For example, we may stuff our laundry in the bag on day 3 (using my name) and send off the bag again on day 9 (using DH’s name).

Celebrity has transitioned to reusable cloth laundry bags. You use them to send out the clothes ard receive them back in the same cloth bags. You can ask your room attendant for as many laundry bags as you need. 

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, Silkroad said:

As Jim said, the Elite benefit is one bag per person. Though they’ll give you a second bag, we’ve simply used the same bag twice (unless it’s paper lol). Since our cruise vacations include land segments, our strategy is to stagger our laundry. For example, we may stuff our laundry in the bag on day 3 (using my name) and send off the bag again on day 9 (using DH’s name).

What I find interesting (unusual)   You get the same number of bags regardless of the number of the cruise.   Seems like if you were on a 14 day cruise you should get more than on a 5 night cruise.

 

Before hitting Zenith (Free Laundry Yea), I never even considered putting different names on the ticket.  Since I'm the one tasked with doing the laundry I always just put my last name and never had a problem being charged.   

[Barwick Cruiser]

35 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

What I find interesting (unusual)   You get the same number of bags regardless of the number of the cruise.   Seems like if you were on a 14 day cruise you should get more than on a 5 night cruise.

 

Before hitting Zenith (Free Laundry Yea), I never even considered putting different names on the ticket.  Since I'm the one tasked with doing the laundry I always just put my last name and never had a problem being charged.   

Could be that they knew there were two members in the cabin that have earned a bag each so it doesn’t matter what name is on it or maybe you got lucky? Before earning Elite status we’ve only noticed a discounted bag on longer itineraries but also got a free bag when doing a B2B. That was super appreciated!

[sergel02]

9 hours ago, verizon said:

Hi Sergel02, I will be on the same itinerary in September will arrive late in Barcelona, may I know what is the latest time to check in?

Thanks.

I’m not sure entirely. Though typically it’s 60 minutes before gangway is up. I think from celebrity’s site they have to submit manifestos an hour before of who is on the ship. 

[verizon]

2 hours ago, sergel02 said:

I’m not sure entirely. Though typically it’s 60 minutes before gangway is up. I think from celebrity’s site they have to submit manifestos an hour before of who is on the ship. 

Thanks I will find out later when I check in online to see if I need to change my train schedule from Madrid.

[sergel02]

I got my days mixed up. Previous day that got canceled in Corsica was day 6 not 5. 
 

Just an fyi, on public transportation through September 30 masks are required on public transit in Italy, including tour busses. 
 

Day 7 - Rome

 

 - We had an excursion booked through Celebrity: Rome City Sights I believe it was called. It was listed as 5 hours and operated by Aloschi Brothers. The tour bus was very nice. 
 

- Jackie was our guide and she’s great. She’s from the UK I believe but has lived in Italy for 32 years.  She was super knowledgeable about the history of Rome, about the sights we saw, and even about Italian culture. She talked about how Italians don’t always greet each other with a kiss on the cheek, that’s only sometimes with family. They don’t drink cappuccinos during nighttime, and many Italians live with their families until their in their 30s. The average rent for a 900 square foot/100 square meter apartment, 3 bedroom 2 bath is around 400,000 Euros. 
 

- The tour drove just past the Coliseum so definitely DO NOT book this one if your goal is to explore how Coliseum. It did stop at the Vatican and we had 50 minutes to explore. 
 

- WE SAW POPE FRANCIS! It was a random surprise. He was giving a speech. I believe 6/29 is a kind of Catholic holiday, as it was a day off In Rome. As someone raised Muslim I’m not too familiar with all the important days in Catholicism so maybe someone else knows. 
 

- Will say there are A LOT of goods sellers who are a bit pushy, and beggars but we were warned few of them are truly impoverished. Our guide told as about older women who present sickly and are asking for money by the Vatican. They aren’t actually older women and many of their actions are very exaggerated. I noticed 2-3 and they do dress and act very similarly, usually wearing a head scarf and shaking their cane like it’s having its own earthquake. I don’t know any one who uses a cane who uses it by shaking it around while walking 😆 

 

- For dinner we went to Raw on 5. Ordered 5 items including dessert and it was a lot of food that cost around $62. 
 

- I finished the night going to watch Hungarian violinist Bernadett Nyari perform. She was great and she had just flown in that day from Florida. Something happened and Celebrity asked her to do a last minute performance. She was supposed to be on vacation haha

[Fisho]

Great read  Sergel02

Thank you 

my husband and myself had flown from Australia to see our son in London and then we headed to Barcelona for this cruise 

as we landed we got the message that my husband had tested positive for corona .

 No symptoms

We were devasted were still in shock .

In Barcelona no plans no where to go .

we managed to rebook for the 2 nd of July .( and it cost and extra $4000 aud)

but guess what ,

I got Covid too 

So I will not test  negative by the the day before ,

we are still in shock 

and after having full Covid Insurance they have emailed me to say they will cover us only for $5000 and minus excess .

Luckily for us celebrity had give us full credit for future cruises ( thank god)

So have a drink for us 

and I’m very much enjoy your live report 

Ekaterini 

[calicakes]

1 hour ago, sergel02 said:

400,000 Euros

Thats over 400 thousand US dollars.  Is that a for sale price? 

[Fisho]

No sorry if I want clear 

$4000 Australian dollars extra  ( for a sky suite )

I had booked it about ten months ago and the prices have skyrocketed since then( apparently)

[calicakes]

9 minutes ago, Fisho said:

No sorry if I want clear 

$4000 Australian dollars extra  ( for a sky suite )

I had booked it about ten months ago and the prices have skyrocketed since then( apparently)

My post above was asking about the rental prices in Rome.  OP posted that a 3 bedroom, 900sq foot was going for 400k EUROS.  I'm assuming that is for purchase, not rent. 

[sergel02]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

My post above was asking about the rental prices in Rome.  OP posted that a 3 bedroom, 900sq foot was going for 400k EUROS.  I'm assuming that is for purchase, not rent. 

Yeah for sale. I know I’m the US when we say apartment we usually mean rent, whereas condos are for sale, but I believe in Italy (and many parts of the world) apartments can be purchased. I know in Japan and Korea people can purchase them, though every country seems to work differently. 
 

1 hour ago, Fisho said:

No sorry if I want clear 

$4000 Australian dollars extra  ( for a sky suite )

I had booked it about ten months ago and the prices have skyrocketed since then( apparently)

Really sorry to hear your COVID troubles. It’s a shame the insurance doesn’t reimburse everything. 
 

After hearing something on this sailing, I’m not shocked the suite prices have skyrocketed. I was hearing a guest talk to a staff about suites (I think they wanted to upgrade and were willing to pay). My sailing only has 1600 guests, yet all (194 in tots I think)  suites are all booked. 
 

I thank all you suite guests subsidizing my cruise haha. When I heard that I kind of understood why Celebrity puts so much emphasis on their Retreat.