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

[mauimary]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

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

That’s my thought

[mauimary]

3 hours ago, sergel02 said:

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

 

Thank you for your informative post.  It is fun to follow as we board in three weeks. We have been to Rome and there is so much to watch out for.    Bummer you only had a drive by the Coliseum.  
You were incredibly fortunate to be able to see Pope Francis. I think it was just coincidence.  Being Catholic we are not aware that yesterday was any Catholic Holiday. 
We’re you able to briefly take in the Sistine Chapel in your brief time?

3 hours ago, sergel02 said:

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by mauimary

[Loucat]

3 hours ago, mauimary said:

 

Thank you for your informative post.  It is fun to follow as we board in three weeks. We have been to Rome and there is so much to watch out for.    Bummer you only had a drive by the Coliseum.  
You were incredibly fortunate to be able to see Pope Francis. I think it was just coincidence.  Being Catholic we are not aware that yesterday was any Catholic Holiday. 
We’re you able to briefly take in the Sistine Chapel in your brief time?

 

June 29th is the Feast of St. Peter and Paul. It is celebrated in Italy but not well known in the US.

[sergel02]

4 hours ago, mauimary said:

 

Thank you for your informative post.  It is fun to follow as we board in three weeks. We have been to Rome and there is so much to watch out for.    Bummer you only had a drive by the Coliseum.  
You were incredibly fortunate to be able to see Pope Francis. I think it was just coincidence.  Being Catholic we are not aware that yesterday was any Catholic Holiday. 
We’re you able to briefly take in the Sistine Chapel in your brief time?

Sadly since our tour was only 5 hours and we only had 45 minutes in the Vatican we weren’t able to. It takes around 30 minutes to get through security we were told.

1 hour ago, Loucat said:

 

June 29th is the Feast of St. Peter and Paul. It is celebrated in Italy but not well known in the US.

That’s what it was! I remember seeing that on the paper Celebrity gave out.

[sergel02]

Day 8 - Naples

 

- Sadly none of us felt well so we skipped our excursion to Sorrento. There were taxi drivers at the pier offering tours to there or Pompeii but they were a bit forceful so it ended up making us trust them a bit less sadly. 
 

- The heat and humidity was rough but luckily there was a nice breeze. 
 

- We did go get some pizza. It was nearby, and it was called La Lazara Trattoria La Lazzara Trattoria e Pizzeria
+39 081 551 7854
https://goo.gl/maps/1VPRrbA9fPfVsqMS7

 

- Pizza was great, pasta was a bit too Al dente for us though, bathrooms were private but not the cleanest but okay. They had outdoor seating.
 

- While leaving some birds decided to hitch a ride on the lifeboats lol. 
 

- The show that night was called Arte I believe. It was probably my favorite one of the night. 
 

- Day 9 was a sea day and it was busy for me so lots to talk about but we are flying out early tomorrow so it may be a couple days. 

[sergel02]

Day 9 - Sea Day

 

The last day is always the saddest. Also maybe someone else can answer this, but as we were reviewing our bill we noticed we never got port fees for Corsica back. I remember in Royal when we missed Nassau due to weather we got them back. 
 

- Two major highlights for us were Captain Kate’s Q&A talk and the excursion of the back stage tour Of the ship. 
 

- During Captain Kate’s talk she mentioned about how she got interested in sailing, where she went to school, where she’s worked (a banana boat being one of them), and about her husband. It was a funny and entertaining talk, and I’m glad I got to see her in person. Definitely among the most famous ship captains out there. She also talked about the hardest ports to dock into. 
 

- She spent the last 5 minutes or so being a bit more technical and talking about the ships environmental standards and practices. She says it’s one of the questions they get asked the most. 
 

- Some points she mentioned:

 

 • The Beyond is equipped with shoreside power, so it can plug into shoreside ports that have the capability and turn off its engine which generally is going to be more dirty than shore power. 

 • The ship’s silicon paint and its air lubrication system and hull design all help it glide through the water smoother, using less energy. 

 • The ship either burns cleaner Marine Gas oil which is super expensive or Heavy Fuel Oil. The heavy fuel oil requires the use of the scrubber system, which washes the exhaust which is then stored in tanks to discharge in ports. 

 • The white plume you see is the scrubber system working and is a mist from scrubbing the fumes rather than just raw fumes. This is something the engineers said during the backstage tour. 

 • The ship recycles a lot and limits single use plastics. During the backstage tour an officer mentioned they can sell the recycled material on land. 
 

• They’re flagged in Malta which has stricter environmental standards. No clue how true that is though. 
 

• They have their own desalination plant, so they can use water for sinks, toilets, galleys, etc, without taking water from ports. 
 

• Once used, the gray water from everything but toilets goes though a treatment system before it can be dumped overboard once they’re at sea, which depending on the country can be 6-12 miles at least. 
 

• The toilet water is separated between the solids and liquids. Solids get burned up, and liquids get purified until they’re safe enough to even drink. 
 

• During the backstage tour, there was an intern on the bridge who’s explained things about how the bridge works. Her focus is actually to work on a National Geographic Vessel as her focus is on Marine Biology. She had concerns over working on a cruise ship but she did say from what she say Celebrity does more than other lines, and an environmental activist i let on a different ship said similar things. 

 

- I have video clips of her talks though I am not sure if I can post here. 
 

- The backstage tour was fun. It was $129 a person booked while on the cruise. Not sure if it was cheaper if your pre booked. 
 

- The your included the kitchen and galley, the engine monitoring room (not the actual engines), the laundry, some crew area, and the bridge. 
 

- It’s hard to explain every little detail covered but if you never done one I highly recommend it just to see. They talk about how strict they are with food temperature and reducing food waste (since that costs money) and how everything is made to order. Where your laundry goes, how crews get the uniforms done. 
 

- The bridge was fun to see. It is so expansive. While at sea they may have just 3 people there but when docking in port they can have 7+.
 

- One notable nice difference was the variety of people on the bridge. There were many men and women, and from many different countries, ages, and ethnicities. I’ve done bridge tours before and it was often older men from a smaller handful of countries so it’s showing how more people are getting interested in sailing, and that’s something the intern mentioned about her class too. 
 

- Fun fact about the intern is that was my first time meeting on a ship, but she mentioned a large chuck of her class got internships on various Celebrity ships so if you go on one this summer you may meet one.

Edited July 3, 2022 by sergel02

[sergel02]

Been home for a bit so I can from some final thoughts about the Beyond overall.

 

Overall Impression

It was my first time on an edge class ship, and the last Celebrity ship I was on was the Millennium. I really loved the Beyond though. It was probably one of my favorite cruise ships I've been on. Some ship-specific highlights and musings:

 

• The Rooftop Garden. My mom and I love greenery on cruise ships to the point that it's harder to pick ships that lack it. I'm happy more and more ships are adding it.
   
• The Sunset Bar. Not so much the actual bar because we don't drink, but more the tiered seating. Reminded me of Santorini a bit. Again a feature I hope more ships implement. 
   
• The Oceanview Cafe overall design. It was easy to move around and I didn't realize how big of a difference the large windows would make for making the ship feel more airy.
   
• The Infinite Verandas. Loved the extra space it added. I'm already seeing other ships like Viking Octanis and MSC Europa add it too.
   
• Really liked the spacious bathrooms too.
   
• Lots of places to sit and look outside.
   
• I liked the iLounge and classes it offered.
   
• Food was good overall.
   
• Staff were nice and helpful.
   
• Le Petit Chef. One of the best meals I have had and I loved the show. Will sail again on Celebrity for sure just because of that.
   
• Enjoyed the shows overall.
   
• The Destination Gateway was great and I think more ships need something like it. Even if you have to take a tender, it's nice not getting off or coming onto the ship in a dungeon like other ships.
   
• Enjoyed the spa a lot. It looked like ones I've seen in luxury hotels with the design and private rooms. Also staff didn't try too hard to sell us stuff.
• The resort deck was nice and large with places to sit. It was a bit too hot for us to really use it but I liked it.
   
• I liked the smaller plunge pools by the Garden.
   
• THE ARTWORK! This was the first time artwork really impressed me on a ship. They even give an artbook.
   
• The overall design of the ship I think suited someone like me who's entering their 30s.
   
• On that note, I loved a lot of the music. Some songs I discovered are Jubël - Teenage Minds, Nathan Lanier - Torn, and Priya Ragu - Kamali.
   
• I like some of their sustainability practices and efforts.
   
• Captain Kate of course.

 

Some more neutral or negative aspects for me
 

• I missed having a dedicated Observation Lounge. The NCL Bliss has a large one, and HAL's newer and upgraded ships have a fantastic one that is also an educational and enrichment center with maps and screens. I know ships would rather use that space for staterooms or suite lounges but I really love having an observation lunge, especially one that wraps around.
   
• The Theater was nice, but I'm constantly reminded of HAL's newer ships in this aspect too and how they wrap around more. It led to some shows and videos being more immersive.
   
• A few too many shops IMO. Some of that real estate and staff could have been better used.
   
• I did kind of missed 1 large dining room. I don't mind the split dining rooms, but I kind of wish they had a bit stronger theming or design to make each one stand out more, kind of like how Disney does but not that far.
   
• The Blinds to close window in the staterooms are really loud, that it does wake people. You can also hear your neighbor sometimes.
   
• I wondered why you couldn't press the button to have the window go down on it's own rather than having to manually hold it every time.
   
• EDEN: This I'm the most conflicted on. I loved the nature theming, and I loved the seating before you enter with the nice chairs and the nature sounds playing. The actual EDEN area always smelled of fish which made it hard to sit and enjoy it. We never ate there partly because we forgot there was a place to eat. I like the windows and the design looks great from outside the ship, but it was a lot of space and I wonder how else it could have been used.
   
• The Magic Carpet was neat but nothing amazing. It was nice to use for tendering though.

 

In any case, I really did enjoy the ship overall. This was the first time I've been on a ship and would want to go on that same ship again.