Stem to Stern

Does one earn club points on one of these free verandahs?

We always have smooth arrivals at Port Everglades via Park N Go. We book in advance on their website and spend less money and avoid the stress. We let them do the driving while we celebrate arriving at the ship. Their shuttle drivers put your bags on and take them off the bus for you. No schlepping bags from the garage. They drop you at the terminal entrance minutes after arriving at their lot. After the cruise if their bus is not outside call their phone number and they arrive immediately. Give them a try next time.

Last night on my iPad I found the site to be in the state I described above. But now it appears to be back to the old way on all my devices and desktop. I wonder if It was some glitch that took me to a different version of the booking engine. If it was some prototype of the new booking engine I found, then I would suggest further fine tuning. It was weird. I wonder if I found myself where @combineis describing. So sorry to lead you all down a rabbit hole.

Maybe this is old news, but I was having a browse on the Azamara website this evening and discovered that the booking engine has changed. We no longer have a simple and easy check of what staterooms might be available on a particular sailing on Azamara’s site. The new version is a multi-step process requiring personal details before looking at available staterooms. I find it cumbersome. Fortunately there are other websites that make dummy bookings far less complicated. Thoughts?

I just checked. No sales to be found on my upcoming excursions.

Our boarding time slot is 2:00pm. So we arrive at 2:00 and expect to wait to board. I know you don’t have a crystal ball. Used to boarding at 11:00-11:30 on other lines, but going with the flow. Excited. 6 days and counting.😎

Okay. I will bite. What did the chef shrink may I ask?

Also some people are not allergic, but they do not like having nut pieces stuck in their teeth throughout the meal.

We flew into Venice pre-cruise. We stayed there five nights and still did not see and do everything we wanted to. It is a magical city. The morning of embarkation we took a private transfer from Venice to Porto Corsini where the ship docks near Ravenna. We booked this through TA recommended Airports Shuttle Express. The website is: www.airports-shuttle-express.com The driver collected us at 9:00am at the parking lot of Piazzale Roma in a full-size Mercedes sedan which was able to pass the many slow-moving vehicles on that two-lane road mentioned above. The trip was two hours for us. It was fun watching the GPS screen on the dashboard of the car as we made our way down the coast through this rural part of the region. Once on board we heard a couple of horror stories from fellow passengers about less than ideal circumstances on the Celebrity transfer buses. We were told when they arrived they were asked to stay on the bus until the line inside the terminal subsided. Our friends’ bus left Tronchetto at 10:30 and the ride was three hours, so they did not get on board until much later than we did. They arrived with quite a large group of passengers from several buses versus us arriving when the crowd wasn’t too stacked up. We paid dearly for the private transfer, but we arrived at the port promptly for our 11:00am boarding time. Payment was by credit card to the driver upon arrival at the port. For us it was worth it to spend more and spare ourselves the potential aggravation which we do not always manage gracefully.😬😉 After the cruise we spent two nights n Bologna and flew out of there. Coincidentally, we shared a six-passenger van to Bologna booked through the same company by another roll call member and that worked out to 75 euros per couple which we thought was a bargain. The driver dropped off each couple at their hotels in Bologna. This driver only accepted cash in euros not US dollars. We would not hesitate to use this company again.

@GenerationXI am very sorry for your loss. Please accept my deepest sympathies. On a higher note…your food porn is Triple XXX Rated. Can’t stop watching. Those desserts…😳🤤

Lame with a capital L.

Vavavoom Charla!

All the more reason to book it!!!

Book it! Although the price of this tour has apparently experienced a price increase this year, I would highly recommend it. We found it very interesting and informative. As you move from one department to another a different crew member will give their part of the presentation. Some crew members are easier to understand than others. We found the control room (look for the garlic) and laundry particularly fascinating. On the bridge we were sequestered to a small area on the far end, but it made for great selfies looking down the side of the ship. Enjoy your cruise.

What a lovely report you have unfolded for us here. Thank you so much for compiling all this excellent information. Your photos and writing style are just fantastic.

Great pictures and details, Kelly. Especially noted was the recommendation to get the S-class Martini Bar concept out of your head before boarding an E-class ship. Sorry to read about the lavatory situation in your suite. Did you report the matter to the Retreat Concierge or the Retreat Manager? If this has disrupted your vacation perhaps some sort of acknowledgement is in order? Thanks again for your wonderful reporting.

I agree. It was all a bit silly.

What time are you boarding the ship? We typically board around noon and head straight to Luminae for a burger or lobster roll. It is a great time to get acquainted with the team there.

The ceilings looks really high in the Oceanview compared to S- and M-class ships.

If it is a short cruise, park at the port. Garage is immediately across the street from the ship. Twice the price as the garage downtown, but worth the convenience.

I love Below Deck. Guilty as charged.

So that’s at least three eye witness accounts of Beyond creaking on this board. Oop! I just realized this is a Halloween cruise. Maybe it is all being piped in for ambiance?