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Back home from Beyond and it was great.

shipshape sam

By shipshape sam,
in Celebrity Cruises

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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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Back home from Celebrity Beyond and it was the best onboard experience in over 35 cruises(all lines).  We were in an infinite veranda and did not eat in any speciality restaurant.  The 4 themed main dining rooms worked well and we enjoyed them.  Let me know if I can potentially answer a question you might have.   We did the shows in Eden and in the main theater.  We tried most bars and Al Bacio, both locations which was great.  

 

Disappointed in beer selection, but can understand there are so many varieties and limited space.  Loved the space around the ship and Captain Kate  was a delight.  Met Bugs also. Also, something I thought was a WOW was on debarkation that Captain Kate and Cruise Mgr, Alexia were off the ship and on one of the down ramps giving us one last goodbye and I think that effort spoke volumes of how they manage and view the passengers.

 

Lots of funny stories and fun times.  

 

Can't wait to go on another Edge class ship!

 

 

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Texed Holiday Sharing Rare

Texed

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4 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

How as the muster drill, did you watch the video in your stateroom then go to get yourself checked in and scanned, like to know how that worked.

I am not Sam, but you can watch the safety briefing on the TV or the app.  😊

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Canuker

Canuker

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13 hours ago, shipshape sam said:

... on debarkation Captain Kate and Cruise Mgr, Alexia were off the ship and on one of the down ramps giving us one last goodbye....

Like a commercial aircraft flight:

It has a number of purposes:

1. Branding. The last thing you see are the crew's (hopefully) smiling faces, in their full uniforms.

2. Feedback. It's a passenger's last (perhaps only?) opportunity to very briefly communicate what they thought of the flight - both verbally and by their body language - before leaving the plane.

3. Reinforcement. If the flight (or in this case a cruise) has gone well, it's an unspoken "We did well, didn't we?". It's not uncommon when a any kind of vendor has been told they have done well, to expect a questionnaire asking how they did.

4. Someone higher up has told them to stand there. Maybe there was cruise company brass aboard.

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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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1 hour ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Would you happen to know which movies were on board the ship

 

Did they still have the Cesar salad and onion soup in the MDR

 

Were you able to watch the muster station in your cabin

We did not watch any shows on our cabin TV.  It was amazing that we did not watch programs TV in room, but then again we only used cabin for cleaning up and changing clothes and sleeping.  We did watch a little in the sports bar with both football and tennis being shown.  Only sat on balcony once.  I will say the infinite balcony was good and bad for me.  I thought the concept great and the extra space was nice.  For me, I did not like the screen curtain coming down or going up.  My reason is that when I get up during night, I like to quietly push back curtains and look out  window.  Can't do that with the  screen curtain.  Whenever you use it, it makes a noise that most likely would wake anyone asleep up.

 

Yes there is Cesar salad and onion soup in all four MDR's.  There is also Escargot in all four.  The concept is that with each themed restaurant, they have a few appetizers and a few entrees that are exclusive to them.  Then the rest of the offerings are the same with some like the Cesar salad and soup and escargots available every day and then on bottom right of menus the rotating offerings for that evening, but are available in all restaurants for that evening.

 

My favorite offering was the Lamb Shank only available in Cyprus.  We ate there 2 times and had it each time.  Normandy, Tuscan and Cosmopolitan were all good too.  We ate at Normandy and Tuscan also 2 times each.

 

We had made reservations for 6 each night in each restaurant on the app ahead and we wanted to change around and never had a problem switching restaurants or with times.  
 

I will say  too that we only had 2104 passengers onboard and think capacity is  around 3200.

 

On muster we did all requirements ahead of time  on mobile app and then went to actual muster station, theater for us, and got checked in.  At time for Beyond to sail, they announced that 24 people had still not  completed the muster requirements.  Not sure if they actually got all of them to respond and complete.  

 

 

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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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46 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Like a commercial aircraft flight:

It has a number of purposes:

1. Branding. The last thing you see are the crew's (hopefully) smiling faces, in their full uniforms.

2. Feedback. It's a passenger's last (perhaps only?) opportunity to very briefly communicate what they thought of the flight - both verbally and by their body language - before leaving the plane.

3. Reinforcement. If the flight (or in this case a cruise) has gone well, it's an unspoken "We did well, didn't we?". It's not uncommon when a any kind of vendor has been told they have done well, to expect a questionnaire asking how they did.

4. Someone higher up has told them to stand there. Maybe there was cruise company brass aboard.

Never seen it before but you could be right.

 

I will say that Captain Kate was very accessible during our sailing and I believe that is how she manages/works.  Whether she is being told to do these things, someone might have to confirm that the same is happening on other Celebrity ships.  

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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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2 hours ago, bookitdanno said:

Thanks for posting this positive review.

So tired of all the negativity.

Looking forward to our April cruise on Beyond.

Again, it was great and I have had a lot of great cruises.  We chose on this cruise, our first booked within 60 days of sailing, to not do speciality restaurants or get off the ship.  Do not regret either decision.  We did though get off in George Town, Grand Cayman and do a 3 hour shopping excursion. 😀

 

I have been told that there are only minor changes between the 3 Edge class ships.  The Oceanview Cafe was stunning at night with the lighting, especially if you went there late.  We did twice around 11:30 pm for pizza after the Eden shows.  Walking in from the pool area you see how long and tall the area is.  I was wowed with the spacious area and open feeling.  Food was good too.

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kwokpot

kwokpot

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7 minutes ago, shipshape sam said:

I have been told that there are only minor changes between the 3 Edge class ships.

That is true for Apex from Edge, but the Beyond has some major changes.

* Martini Bar is centered in the Grand Plaza vs off to one end .

*Addition of World Class Bar

*Main pool deck has additional sunken seating - Main pool is configured differently

*Main pool deck cabanas are orientated towards the pool deck instead of portside 

*Sunset Bar has been completely reimagined with lots more seating spaces 

*Rooftop garden has been greatly expanded and there's the addition of hottubs on the starboard side of the garden 

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Cruisegirl6

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13 minutes ago, shipshape sam said:

We did not watch any shows on our cabin TV.  It was amazing that we did not any TV in room, but then again we only used cabin for cleaning up and changing clothes and sleeping.  WE did watch a little in the sports bar with both football and tennis being shown.  Only sat on balcony once.  I will say the infinite balcony was good and bad for me.  I thought the concept great and the extra space was nice.  For me, I did not like the screen curtain coming down or going up.  My reason is that when I get up during night, I like to quietly push back curtains and look out  window.  Can't do that with the  screen curtain.  Whenever you use it, it makes a noise that most likely would wake anyone asleep up.

 

Yes there is Cesar salad and onion soup in all four MDR's.  There is also Escargot in all four.  The concept is that with each themed restaurant, they have a few appetizers and a few entrees that are exclusive to them.  Then the rest of the offerings are the same with some like the Cesar salad and soup and escargots available every day and then on bottom right of menus the rotating offerings for that evening, but are available in all restaurants for that evening.

 

My favorite offering was the Lamb Shank only available in Cyprus.  We ate there 2 times and had it each time.  Normandy, Tuscan and Cosmopolitan were all good too.  We ate at Normandy and Tuscan also 2 times each.

 

We had made reservations for 6 each night in each restaurant on the app ahead and we wanted to change around and never had a problem switching restaurants or with times.  
 

I will say  too that we only had 2104 passengers onboard and think capacity is  around 3200.

 

On muster we did all requirements ahead of time  on mobile app and then went to actual muster station, theater for us, and got checked in.  At time for Beyond to sail, they announced that 24 people had still not  completed the muster requirements.  Not sure if they actually got all of them to respond and complete.  

 

 

I am sorry I meant movies outdoors

 

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Cruisegirl6

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I am the same as you, only in the room to sleep, change, shower and sleep and if I use my balcony once that is huge lol.  I have to agree with you, the infinite balcony sure gives you more interior room, I like that.  Maybe I don't use my balcony because most of the time we cruise during warmer weather and its hot in the sun, maybe this time being inside the room we use it?  I can understand your problem with the curtain.

 

We are in aqua class which gives us access to Blu, I did reserve a few nights in the MDR mainly Cyprus and yes, we are dining there for the lamb shank.

The new menus came out and do not say Cesar, onion soup, escargot, the reason why I asked if these items are still available and thank you for the confirmation.

 

Glad you had a good cruise and thank you for the answers.

 

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7 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

That is true for Apex from Edge, but the Beyond has some major changes.

* Martini Bar is centered in the Grand Plaza vs off to one end .

*Addition of World Class Bar

*Main pool deck has additional sunken seating - Main pool is configured differently

*Main pool deck cabanas are orientated towards the pool deck instead of portside 

*Sunset Bar has been completely reimagined with lots more seating spaces 

*Rooftop garden has been greatly expanded and there's the addition of hottubs on the starboard side of the garden 

Thanks for your update.  The Martini Bar was a hit and seemed to always be busy/full.  We enjoyed a few and looks great being in the center of the Grand Plaza.  On rooftop garden are you referring to the Plunge pools, there are two of them on the Starboard side as I recall.  Also I think they were not heated, but did look neat. 

 

We are not pool people or more accurate sun people.  The Magic Carpet was not in use on our sailing and did not walk on that side heading aft or forward.  Did see the cabanas from the other side, but looked like only a few were being used.  Kinda of crowded around them too.

 

We really enjoyed Beyond and it will be interesting to see what changes are on Celebrity Acent.  

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1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

That is true for Apex from Edge, but the Beyond has some major changes.

* Martini Bar is centered in the Grand Plaza vs off to one end .

*Addition of World Class Bar

*Main pool deck has additional sunken seating - Main pool is configured differently

*Main pool deck cabanas are orientated towards the pool deck instead of portside 

*Sunset Bar has been completely reimagined with lots more seating spaces 

*Rooftop garden has been greatly expanded and there's the addition of hottubs on the starboard side of the garden 

Just read that Beyond has one more deck too!  That is a big difference.  Guess the person telling me, who had indicated he had sailed on both Edge and Apex, missed some changes.  🙂

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kwokpot

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9 minutes ago, shipshape sam said:

Just read that Beyond has one more deck too!  That is a big difference.  Guess the person telling me, who had indicated he had sailed on both Edge and Apex, missed some changes.  🙂

Yes, the extra deck is for Retreat guests. They added the extra deck to allow Luminae to be forward and stacked with a new deck above holding the Retreat sundeck and Lounge. 

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kwokpot

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11 minutes ago, shipshape sam said:

Just read that Beyond has one more deck too!  That is a big difference.  Guess the person telling me, who had indicated he had sailed on both Edge and Apex, missed some changes.  🙂

Lastly the other major change on the Beyond in in Blu restaurant for Aquaclass. It had a lifeboat that was blocking the views from the restaurant removed, thus providing actual views of the water from inside Blu. It was a major complaint on the previous two ships since the lifeboat rendered no views from Blu restaurant. 

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George C

George C

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Captain Kate also waved goodbye to us, another passengers we meet asked if she would take a picture with them and that wasn’t a problem, this was on edge . I had some issues with Beyond but entertainment was totally great.

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