Stem to Stern

1 hour ago, peanut head said:

Thank you for taking us along!  Have a wonderful time!

Thanks for following!!

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Wife and I are boarding on the 21st for this cruise..y’all enjoy 

Thank you!!

Have a fun going Beyond!

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise, enjoy!

 

Love the stepping on board picture! I may do this myself next cruise!

Thank you so much!!

This is steam rather than smoke according to what we learned from an engineer on board during our Inside Access visit to the control room.

We really did have a beautiful day for embarking….

Sunset Verandah ~
 

We have two loungers, two chairs, and the camping table.  I brought one chair indoors.  The black specks on the decking are not soot.  The floor is designed this way.

I should have asked Tri to take away the stained white lounger because the space is really too tight for all of that furniture.  But I did not want to be a pain.

A previous passenger forgot to take their hooks and they have become weathered after enduring the salty Caribbean air for who knows how long.

66 is as low as it will go.

Plenty cool unless you accidentally leave the curtains open.😂

Obligatory dust collector pic.  Extra storage concealed above and below this open shelf.
 

Two of the four accent pillows on the sofa had pulls, so I asked Tri if I could hide them under the bed.  He tucked them away for me.

The Sunset Verandah seems like a longer walk to elevator compared to Solstice-class vessels.  We can’t find too much fault with it.  Pillows are hot.  Towel bar and sink are a bit odd.  Bath towels are folded under sink.  

Booking ~
I entertained several agency offers for this booking.  
Group pricing is the way to go for me when it is an option.
I chose the cheapest one.

Never used this agency before, but luckily it worked out.  Only dealt with the agent via email. She was responsive.  Payments were made through their website.

Total Price: $3,057.00

Refundable Deposit $500 on 7/27/2023

Balance $2,557 due 6/2/2024

Balance paid 5/10/2024

All included with Classic alcohol package and basic WiFi for each passenger.

$191.06 per person per night before add-ons, upgrades, excursions, parking, cat sitting, and incidentals.😃

Itinerary

Embarkation Day ~
 

On Saturday we hit the road shortly after 8:30 and pulled into Park N Go at 10:30.

First glimpse of Celebrity Beyond from the Park N Go shuttle bus.

We went through Terminal 25 security and check-in pretty painlessly even with the mob of people filing into the building.

10:49 ~ All of the circular benches were full, so we were sat in the airport style seating (which is more comfortable) all the way to the back to the left of the restrooms.

11:16 ~ Stepped on board.

Getting a bit of a late start, but I am happy to answer any questions.

Will play catch up during the next two sea days back to Port Everglades.

On board Celebrity Beyond for an 8-night sailing.

Visiting Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire.

DH’s and my third visit to these lovely islands.

We always end up here in Sept or Oct when it is hot, hot, hot.

We are not in The Retreat or in an Infinite Verandah.

We have a Sunset Verandah which we find more than adequate.

This is our first experience on an Edge-class vessel.

More to come….

Hi Jim,

Looking forward to reading along as you venture out of your comfort zone.

Your comparison with X’s Millennium class will be interesting.

This will be about as close of a comparison you can get on X.

Tim and I sailed on our first R-class vessel with Azamara in 2022.

The R-class design is traditional, cozy, and intimate like a boutique hotel.

A nice environment to get your bearings on a new line.

Little chance of sensory overload unlike larger vessels.

We have another much-anticipated Azamara sailing to Iceland next year.

We are currently on our first Edge-class cruise and our verdict is still out.

Oceania has been on my radar for a long time.

Could likely wallpaper an entire room with all the mail they used to send me.😂

Safe travels to you and Iain.😃

On 8/16/2024 at 1:19 PM, zitsky said:

The only negative in 4 cruises is that we had a manager in Luminae who ignored a same sex couple (us) for 2 weeks while he fawned over everyone else.  That was annoying.  I also saw the staff run around the ship to please someone who was sitting with us.

Just now revisiting this thread and reading your comment.  It is unfortunate that you and your partner were ignored.  On our last Retreat sailing we never ever met The Retreat Manager which seems odd considering there are only what 50-some suites on an M-class vessel.  Bizarre.

6 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

I think you’ve sealed the deal to give Azamara a try 😉. Looking at the deck plans, I believe deck 7 (V2) cabins will probably suit us having cabins above and beneath us.
 

You’ll love the Iceland and Faroe Islands itinerary; we did it a few years ago on X 👍. Thanks again for all your help and advice.

My pleasure.  

Our V3 on Deck 6 was very quiet.  
Nice that you will have the laundry on Deck 7.  

Main dining was sometimes a bit hit or miss.  

X main dining is a notch above, but it was not a huge concern for us considering we showed up to dinner on Azamara half-full from the yummy, warm nibbly snacks in the Living Room.😂

Enjoy!!

You @villauk should join us on the Iceland and Faroe Islands cruise on July 12, 2025 (one sea day) because it sounds like we would have a jolly good time all being quiet and boring together since we are American.😂

The Caribbean cruise had a wonderful mix of nationalities including US and 🇨🇦 Canada.  When I get home next week I can look in my paperwork and tell you the exact breakdown because one of the many cool things Azamara does is publish in the daily planner the nationality breakdown down to the exact number of guests on board from each country.  We met a truly lovely couple from Amsterdam one half of which was Dutch and the other of Columbian descent.

Reflecting on this a bit more deeply now, the crew was also comprised of a nice mix.  Eric, the cruise director was Canadian.  Captain G and Nico (shore excursions) were Italian.  The lovely Vasi on the keys was American, but of Greek descent.  She kept The Den alive with her nightly musicality.  It was almost like an 11-night never-ending cocktail party.  You ran into fellow guests and crew over and over again around the intimate ship making it easy to make new friends quickly.

I just received an email from Azamara offering us 8% on board credit if we make an early payoff of our cruise next month.  They have offered this on several occasions in recent months.  This time our sailing falls within the date parameters of the offer.  I think we will take advantage of this.  The OBC will be spent on shore excursions as they are a bit pricy in the lands we will be visiting.

So, I think you probably get where I am going here.  There were so many nice, unique details to the line that it was impossible to let a few waves ruin a very pleasant holiday.

5 hours ago, villauk said:

 

We’re thinking of booking Azamara, so may I ask what was your first impressions regarding the ship’s stability. I ask because I’ve been watching some YouTube videos and someone mentioned lots of movement and feeling unstable. Just trying to get a feel as to the different things to expect. Are there any points you think it’s worth knowing before we book?

Azamara Onward in 6083 in Eastern Caribbean in December 2022 ~

We did experience some weather to the point that two tender ports were changed to dockside calls:

- St John, USVI was changed to Havensight, St Thomas,

- Virgin Gorda, BVI was changed to Road Town, Tortola.

I am grateful the Captain was able to facilitate these substitutions rather than keep us at sea for additional days as I frequently read about happening on Oceania sailings.

DH slept like a baby as he always does.

At night I was kept awake by the pitching and rolling of the ship to the point that I felt like the ship was going to capsize.

For our 2025 Iceland sailing on Azamara Quest, I am planning out my plan of attack for defeating sleeplessness including:

- popping a double dose of Benadryl each night,

- securing any loose, noise-making items such as hangars,

- using my noise machine.

The head of the bed was aft in this stateroom.

The movement did not ruin our cruise by any means.  

The pros of Azamara far outweighed the cons.

We are currently on board Celebrity Beyond for the first time.

The two experiences are not comparable.

Celebrity may tout Beyond as a “city at sea” but we are finding the city’s traffic and congestion a bit much at times.

We are finding that we prefer quiet and boring over loud and busy.

Let me know if I can answer any other specific questions.

Beyond 9/7 SV ~ 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and the white camping table.😂

2 Loungers ~ one is gray and clean while one is white and soot-stained.

2 chairs have different color cushions.🙄

Mismatched must be the new look.

I brought one chair indoors to use in the space between the bed and the sliders.  DH turned it into a clothes rack.😂

6 hours ago, lola2013 said:

My friends Paul and Tim are sailing with you.  I watched sail away and hope you all have a great cruise!  I was lucky enough to sail with Captain Kate and Bug a few years ago on Edge.

Bon Voyage 😎

Susan 

Susan,

Thanks for all the insta-love and sharing our anticipation of our first Edge-class sailing.

We also sailed with Captain Kate previously to the ABCs in 2018 on Celebrity Equinox.

I’m not sure I knew Lady Bug Naked even existed back then.

Now the little puss is a social media sensation.  

Tim and I are excited to be sailing with them again (even if we are residing in the Gen Pop this time.)😂

We had a fun first day on board (once the captain remembered which purse she left the keys to the ship in.)😂

We enjoyed a wonderful reunion with @Ellesor826 and her DH today as well as meeting a gaggle of new friends at the various “hydration stations.”

@SGCruiser ~ Thanks for taking the time to report on your/our cruise.  I could not think of a better way to celebrate a birthday than to go Beyond!😎

We are celebrating our anniversary, but celebration or not we consider every day at sea a privilege and a blessing.🙏

3 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Not that there's anything wrong with it.....!  😉

Absolutely agree with you 100%.

But my mindset would likely prevent me from booking the sailing immediately after.

Hence the slightly hesitant and cautious hand-raise.😆

Park West ~

The feedback you are hearing about high-pressure sales tactics is troubling and certainly not casting a very favorable look on Celebrity.

(Add this to the long growing list of items.)

This makes me think of the list of items NOT to be found on board that Viking touts in their promotional materials.

No children and no art auctions are at the top of their long list.

Is there a truly premium cruise line that hocks “art” on board to invited potential victims?

Does mass-market Royal Caribbean invite guests onto their ships for this purpose?

Do you sea where I am going here?

I just want to claim post # 10,000 on this thread.

#cruisecriticgoals

#meaninglessmilestone

#offtopicpost

😂😂😂

1 hour ago, Ellis1138 said:

 

Thank you for the tip! I watched and I'm almost not believing the sale. I grabbed the Premium Access because the wifi with 1 device was way more now. Now I just have to figure out what the priority luggage on debarkation is.

 

 

⬆️⬆️⬆️ This.  
No brainer decision as Premium Access is least expensive of the internet options.  

Booked this earlier today for $17.99 pppd for our Summit hot deal cruise-only booking.

My cruise buddy tipped me off about the attractive price.  
On board WiFi is a must for DH and myself.

The other premium accessibilities will be icing on the cake.  
We will definitely give the free room service a whirl.

2 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Do you know how many would avoid the cruise following a nudist cruise if they posted the list??  😁.  There are sites you can google to find group cruises and these do show up.

Speaking of evil….

The above post is #9666.

😬😬😬

2 hours ago, 39august said:

I was very happy with our switch to Grand Turk for a Jan. cruise. Would be sorry for it to be switched back, tho' I like Labadee. But been there lots and never been to Grand Turk before. 

We stopped there once in November 2017 as a substitute port after Hurricane Irma blew through the original ports.  
We enjoyed a short bus tour around the island.  

The water was gorgeous and the land was sparsely developed.

Donkeys roamed everywhere.

I think carts were available to rent if you prefer DIY.

Down the beach from Margaritaville was a local shack or two, but we headed back to the ship for lunch.