Live from Beyond - Day 1 - April 1, 2024

[mtempelaar]

Good evening from Beyond!  Its day 1 of our 11 night Southern Caribbean cruise (Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curaco, Cartegena).   As this is our second time on this ship, this post particularly is about how we see things have changed since 2022.   We have a Sky Suite (9201), whereas in 2022 we had the same cabin but 9178.

 

Embarkation itself was smooth as silk and we were on the ship within minutes.  Much improved from 2022, which was a mess.   Note: this ship is packed.  We have seen one teenager, and vast majority are >60.  Bit older than last time we were on Beyond, though totally on brand.

 

Cabin:  excellent shape and so far none of the creaking and other sounds people have mentioned, though so far calm seas.   We have yet to meet the butler (team 🙄).   We asked the cabin steward about a lounger for the balcony, knowing 1) we were able to get one last time and 2) we know about the thread on the forum saying they removed.  “We removed them last week” was the response.  🙄.  More important - about 2 months ago I filed a special needs form, which was accepted and confirmed, for a sharps container for the cabin.   This is for safe disposal of needles.   There was none delivered to us.  We asked the cabin steward and he said he would make sure one was delivered.   Still no container.   Called retreat host, which was redirected to guest services.   Last, I noted a single very dirty glass in the bathroom when we got into the cabin.
 

Buffet is as good as ever, however we forgot to get drinks.  We watched everyone around us being asked if they wanted something to drink but not us.   This has never happened before to us on Celebrity so I was a bit baffled.   But the food itself was great, especially the Indian food.  As we aren’t fans of Luminae’s limited menu, dinner tonight was at Cyprus.   Excellent food.   The grilled octopus and lamb shank were delicious.  The Greek Mezze Platter was meh.  I really wish they still had saganaki on the menu.  As for the service, it was slow.  It took about 20 minutes for someone to take our order and another 5 for drink orders.   

 

Bars: Sunset Bar appears to have changed menus.  We were told by a crew member its frozen drinks only now.  We will confirm tomorrow as that bar had some unique drinks.  My husband no longer drinks so we have been on a hunt for mocktails, while still allowing me something tasty.   Its getting a bit difficult for him though.   He is at least able to get virgin mojitos at Eden and Pool Bar.   
 

Casino is totally packed, unlike last time.  I will wait a few hours before I go partake.   I suspect part of the crowd was there to take part in an Effy sponsored slot tournament.  
 

Entertainment - the only thing we did was the chandlier show.   I am sure if the microphones were working properly we might have enjoyed it but you could barely hear the singing.hopefully they figure out their technical things.
 

This post seems negative, but its really just recounting my mental notes.   All in all, the ship remains beautiful, food is excellent and crew is friendly.  Unfortunately some are clearly not up to normal standards, but all the cruiselines suffered staffing issues.   I guess it will take more time to improve. We still plan to enjoy every part of the cruise, even if there weee some bumps along the way.
 

 

[Cap_D]

2 hours ago, mtempelaar said:

There was none delivered to us.  We asked the cabin steward and he said he would make sure one was delivered.   Still no container.   Called retreat host, which was redirected to guest services.  

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.  

Edited April 2 by Cap_D

[Stem to Stern]

Belated Bon Voyage!  Thank you for your report.  Happy you are taking us along as we embark on our first-ever Edge-class sailing on Beyond later this year.  Good to know you have not yet experienced the infamous creaking, but I hope that all of your other little hiccups get worked out quickly.  Are there no business cards in your suite with phone extensions for appropriate Retreat team members?  Good news about the buffet.  Enjoy your cruise!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Happy to be following along. We have the Beyond booked for 10 nights in November.
 

Im disappointed to read frozen drinks only at the Sunset bar. So no fruity cocktails, no vodka tonic, no beer?  Just frozen?  I can’t see how this would go over well. Sorry to have fixated on the bar issue…not sure what that says about my priorities 😎. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!

[CardowMD]

I ordered the grilled octopus every night on Ascent, along with the lamb shank and other specialties as entree. That was my favorite dining venue on board. We always were able to get mixed drinks at Sunset bar, but sounds like things are different on Beyond. Enjoy your trip!

[RK-NC]

Thank you for sharing @mtempelaar Enjoy your cruise! We'll be following along as we sail April 12th and it will be good to have realistic expectations. We plan to try the MDRs also and hopefully Blu. Do we need to let Luminae know which nights we will be elsewhere? 

[Tyler414]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Happy to be following along. We have the Beyond booked for 10 nights in November.
 

Im disappointed to read frozen drinks only at the Sunset bar. So no fruity cocktails, no vodka tonic, no beer?  Just frozen?  I can’t see how this would go over well. Sorry to have fixated on the bar issue…not sure what that says about my priorities 😎. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!

I just got off Beyond on 3/11/24.  Unless they completely changed the drink menu in the last 20 days, this is absolutely not true.

Edited April 2 by Tyler414

[mtempelaar]

44 minutes ago, RK-NC said:

Thank you for sharing @mtempelaar Enjoy your cruise! We'll be following along as we sail April 12th and it will be good to have realistic expectations. We plan to try the MDRs also and hopefully Blu. Do we need to let Luminae know which nights we will be elsewhere? 

Bon voyage to you.  We will wave as we disembark lol

 

For Luminae, you do not need to let them know.  we weren’t impressed with Luminae on our last cruise but were impressed with MDR.  We don’t intend to try it this cruise.

 

in 2022 we were allowed to dine in Blu even though not Aquaclass, which we enjoyed for both breakfast and at least one dinner.  Given how packed the ship is, I would be shocked if they let us this time.   But its fine.  Buffet and MDR, plus a sprinkling of specialty dining is just fine.  The food so far is up to expectations!
 

 

[mtempelaar]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Happy to be following along. We have the Beyond booked for 10 nights in November.
 

Im disappointed to read frozen drinks only at the Sunset bar. So no fruity cocktails, no vodka tonic, no beer?  Just frozen?  I can’t see how this would go over well. Sorry to have fixated on the bar issue…not sure what that says about my priorities 😎. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!

We will try again today or tomorrow.  My husband went over for a virgin mojito and that is what they told him.  We’ll let you know!

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[chocolabmom]

We board Beyond when you return.  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the cruise.  Glad to hear you are enjoying the food, as I have been worried based on other observations posted here.  Also, hoping the drink issue at Sunset Bar is resolved as we are looking forward to relaxing there with cocktails.  😁

[spammie]

We board on April 12th.  We were in a Suite on Beyond last November.  The moved us on day 3 because of the loud banging and creaking on deck 10.  Looking forward to following along.  We also skipped Luminae except for breakfast.  We really enjoyed the Oceanview for dinner as we don't like sitting at dinner for 2 hours.  Have a wonderful cruise!

[39august]

On which deck is the Eden bar located please, and what is the usual time of day that it opens?  I am guessing that the menu showing only frozen drinks at Sunset Bar is, like other bars, listing the specialties at that bar. Not that only those drinks are served. Is that correct?

[Cap_D]

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.  

[39august]

Good info about Eden bar. Will be first time on E class in 3 weeks on Beyond. Also eager to see the new arrangement for Sunset bars on E class. 

[mtempelaar]

I suspect my husband was misinformed by a crew member when he placed his drink order at the Sunset Bar.  He told me that the gentleman he spoke with was difficult to understand.   The app menu shows the normal bar menu.  That being said, we went to the pool bar and ordered a mocktail that was on their menu and the bartender didn’t know what we were talking about.  I had to explain in plainer english.  

[PTC DAWG]

8 minutes ago, mtempelaar said:

I suspect my husband was misinformed by a crew member when he placed his drink order at the Sunset Bar.  He told me that the gentleman he spoke with was difficult to understand.   The app menu shows the normal bar menu.  That being said, we went to the pool bar and ordered a mocktail that was on their menu and the bartender didn’t know what we were talking about.  I had to explain in plainer english.  

He was given bad info re the Sunset Bar for sure…

[hcat]

How crowded are the pool areas?

Outdoor  was packed on Ascent with loud music and activity all day.

 

Solarium was good early am for an hour or two..When it filled up in the pool and loungers. there was a loud din,  so.we left..

 

We had a great cruise, but it was difficult to find peaceful areas.

[mtempelaar]

Day 2 on Beyond.  To answer hcat’s question - everything is packed, pools, casino, restaurants.  We haven’t checked out the Retreat Pool yet.  Probably tomorrow.  
 

For today we tried to stay out of the sun as my husband got a little too burned in Ft Lauderdale before we left. 
 

We got a late start today so breakfast was the buffet, which we also did for lunch.  Both meals were excellent and we really enjoyed the eggs benedict station and some other goodies.  Dinner tonight, formal night, was at Normandie.  We stood in line for 20 minutes past our reservation time before being seated.  They were almost out of tables and I suspect the only reason we got a table for 2, which was actually for 4, was because we were Sky Suite. They were sending others away or having people at shared tables.  Once in the service was excellent.  Much better than Cyprus last night.  
 

During the day we spent time in the Persian Garden, which we loved, and then this afternoon we took part in the Slots Tournament.  I came in second and won $200 in slots credit (woohoo!).  I will say though that we agreed we wouldn’t do it on future cruises. Many moons ago I won the tournament on Summit. First prize then was $800 and less people entered.  Top prize today was $300 with a lot more people competing. We were there for 90 minutes.  For the cost and time, we won’t repeat.  
 

We attended the Bulgari ribbon cutting and got a picture we Captain Kate.   She is just so gracious and sweet.  There is a contest which we entered but didn’t stick around for.  Guess the carats of a Bulgari viper necklace. My dear hubby googled and we think its the 8.21 carat necklace for anyone who wants to enter in the future 😉 Let me know if you win something with that info!

 

As I wandered from the theatre towards Eden outside, I made an oops and ended up in the Fine Cut kitchen. 💩 They were surprised to see me. 

for entertainment, we did get to see Stage Door.  In 2022, this show was cancelled on our sailing as one of the dancers had a horrible accident.     The gasp from first timers in the theatre due to the background screen was loud.  This theatre remains best at sea IMO. The show was good, though I am not impressed by some of the singing.   We are looking forward to Elements later this week, which we loved last time.  
 

All in all a great day but so crowded.  
 

i think I neglected to mention spa services we took advantage of so far.  My husband had a shave and facial, which he loved.  I had a facial that is normally priced at $229 but day one was $50 off.  The facial was decent but not as releaxing as I would like.  Lots of noise from outside my spa room and, as always, a bit pushy on the Elemis products.  
 

Tip to anyone going to the Caribbean right now, check your destinations for Dengue Fever.  Some places have been experiencing an outbreak.  Bring mosquito repellent if visiting Curacao, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Honduras and others.  
 

https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/news/newsdetail.aspx?id=24623

 

if anyone has any questions, hit me up!  I will post tomorrow night after Grand Cayman and Eden dinner!

 

 

[ohbuckeye]

Thanks for posting “live”! Any luck yet getting a lounger for your balcony?

[mtempelaar]

Just now, ohbuckeye said:

Thanks for posting “live”! Any luck yet getting a lounger for your balcony?

Not yet.  A butler finally came by and left his card. Hubby is planning to ask tomorrow 🤞. In 2022 we didn’t have a lounger at first but our butler got us one.  I am not to sure this time that we can accomplish the goal.  

[NC State]

Sounds great, our Beyond cruise isn't until Dec 2025 & Apr 2026 but so looking forward to it! 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thanks for the reports!

 

I'll be on the Beyond for an ABC cruise in July - merely Aqua Class, not a suite. 🙂

[hcat]

thanks for all the great info.

 

Surprised Normandie was so crowded.. it is a beautiful restaurant but high capacity!

 

I enjoy the spa but for our next cruise,  I will just do a facial..unless  massage prices come down.  The discounted pre booking slots were rare and at awkward times!

[mac_tlc]

Thanks for your “live” review! We did this itinerary in February and loved the 11 days. We have been on E-class a number of times and it was the first time it felt crowded. Loungers were tough to get unless you wanted to experience the sunrise 😏. 
 

Have a wonderful time!!

 

mac_tlc