RK-NC

A few extra thoughts: Soup - Celebrity makes some great soups! We had soup in several different venues and all were good. I'm an avid home cook and soup takes work and know-how. Dessert - always best in the dining room. By the end of the cruise, I decided the Oceanview desserts were just "eye candy" and not worth the calories to me. The cookies in Eden Cafe - yum! 🍪🍪 The pastries/desserts in Al Bacio were always tempting but nothing is really memorable for me. Cocktails - we tried several signature cocktails and found some favorites. I did not care for Pina in Eden at all. Fig is the only other one included in the premium beverage package. Beyond Signature at Sunset Bar and Orange Crush at The Club were favorites! Eden - we loved the relaxing vibe there! And we loved Eden Cafe (wish it were open on port days for lunch) Blu - is a pretty restaurant! We enjoyed breakfast there (this is the blueberry yogurt parfait) and wish we had gotten there for dinner. The negatives - our creaking, banging, snapping, and popping stateroom 😠, the public areas of the ship were too warm for us 🥵, stateroom controls on the app did not work for us, lack of a music channel on the TV (at least we couldn't find it) 🎶 The door into the bathroom - DH rigged this bungee cord to hold it open Happy cruising to all! 🚢

Thank you all - such a relief to know. I read another thread about disembarkation in New York and we think it will be best to self-assist (that is what Celebrity calls it). We did that in Port Everglades and were on our way out of Ft. Lauderdale at 7:30am (drove to the port) Had to get moving early and have a quick breakfast but it was worth it!

Rebel moved over to Beyond after your sailing I guess! LOVED them - they did 2 shows and we were blown away!

Catching up on your live report - we were on Beyond 4/12-22 and saw this same thing. We would always count seats if we went into a row to make sure we left an even number. We also saw some seat saving. The majority of people we met were kind and considerate. I don't think we met a single crew member that was unkind or unfriendly which made a huge impression on us.

Will we disembark in Southampton after the eastbound crossing? Go through immigration? Thank you! We just returned from a Southern Caribbean cruise from Port Everglades where they use facial recognition and disembarkation was very easy.

Thank you for this question! We just talked about it and day 8 in St. Kitts is our #1 favorite memory. (see post #51 for a recap) St. Kitts is a beautiful island and we really enjoyed Mr. Thenford Grey of Grey's Island Tours. We left our hearts in St. Kitts and hope to return one day. #2 favorite was day 6 Barbados (post #34) We originally planned to stay on the ship and so glad we didn't! The walk into town was so nice and the rest of the day was relaxing.

We kept our ears open for info on Capt Kate's schedule but never heard anything. Yesterday was day 96 of The Captain's Log on YouTube. I'm wondering if she wanted to make it a full 100 days? That would mean this week's cruise would be the last one before her vacation. Thanks for following along with me @Arzeena

Just off Beyond on Monday April 22 in a sky suite. We booked it for the room design and extra space. Ended up not eating very often at Luminae and spent a limited amount of time on the Retreat sundeck and lounge. It was definitely a perk to eat lunch at Luminae on embarkation day plus priority embark/disembark but other than that, we would have been just fine in IV.

OK, here we go with the rest of the day. I pulled myself together, got a second iced coffee to-go and we headed over to the theater for the Beyond the Podium presentation on strange sea creatures. We went to every BTP talk by Caleb Crawford - he was awesome!! Following that was Captain Kate's Ocean's Ahead presentation with Q&A at the end. I originally planned to submit a question about the creaking and banging situation but ultimately decided that was better addressed through the survey that everyone receives after the cruise. (Already did it 😉) So, remember that note to the Captain I typed up at 3am? I quickly wrote it out and took it to the table where they were handing out paper/pencil and collecting questions. I was the first one in the "collection can" and I think I scared the activities staff when they saw how long it was! We really enjoyed Captain Kate's presentation and left just hoping they didn't throw away the unanswered questions/notes. Next up, packing. Let's just skip over that 🙁 In between packing sessions, we went to the Extravaganza Buffet for lunch. Wiwid had urged us to get there early because he said by 2pm it would all be a mess! Shrimp were great (though not very photogenic) Desserts were beautiful but I won't share a spoiler photo 😉 At 3pm we went to Caleb's last presentation on coral reefs where he showed video of his snorkeling "finds" while on our cruise! 😎 "Dinner" was at the Retreat Lounge afternoon bites - so relaxing and plenty to call a meal - then off to the last production show Arte (incredible!!) We returned to our stateroom to find this on the bed. We first thought it was a note from Butler Thad or Sheldon, room attendant until I opened it and found it was from the Captain! She thanked us for taking the time to write the note earlier. Her last words were "As my Mum would say, "no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted."" And that is what I leave you with and what I will be thinking about for the rest of my life. It's cliche but this cruise was life changing for us.

OK, here we go! A little recap of our last day (day 10, sea day). We got up around 8am and did 8 laps on the track. Wonderful weather - I bet the pool deck was packed all day! First stop after that was OVC to pick up some yogurt which we carried over to The Spa Cafe. (There are smoothies at the cafe but no yogurt) I had a zucchini muffin with my yogurt and DH had an avocado toast which he really enjoyed! Next up, Cafe Al Bacio for coffee and pastries. DH took the photo of me above just before "the special story" began. We were sitting there enjoying the view and the coffee (I LOVED the iced Americano and the glass they served it in) I had a chocolate croissant which was flaking all over the floor and I remarked to DH that I felt bad about making a mess. A few minutes later, Francine from Guyana shows up with her broom and dustpan. I said to her "do these pastries drive you nuts?" She said "no, not at all" and proceeded to tell us about WAYS (World At Your Service) which is a Celebrity "philosophy/training series/marketing" (I found a cool video about it on the Celebrity Facebook page) I thanked her for cleaning up my mess and tears started streaming because I had been up at 3am typing a note to send to Captain Kate praising the crew of Beyond. I was just feeling very emotional. We chatted with Francine for a while and found out she is returning home to stay in May or June (I can't remember exactly now) because she had been away from her partner too long and they needed to nurture their relationship. I don't know if it's coming through, but the whole exchange was just so special to us. If you are on a future Beyond cruise, please look for Francine! Also, Constance (she was in the ladies room near the theater at show times helping "direct traffic" They are unsung heroes to me.

Crossing fingers and sending up a little prayer for you. Something we've been thinking about....wonder what kind of noise issues the crew quarters deal with?? I so hope it's not an issue for them - they are so hard working. They need every minute of sleep!

Yes, I thought so too! We got a photo with her - I look like a whale beside her 😳 Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

Good morning from the Old North State, home sweet home! I'm laughing because I called this a "quick live report" and it has turned into a slow report and probably more long winded than you bargained for! Hang in there, as soon as I get some coffee, I'm going to finish up. DH said, well, I guess I have to make the coffee today. No Al Bacio 🙁

We've made it to North Carolina - should be home sweet home around 5pm! We stopped for lunch in Florence, SC at 1720 Burger Bar and highly recommend it 🍔🍔 I never had a burger on the cruise so I was craving one. DH had the Luminae signature burger for lunch one day - he said it was good but needed more onion jam and sauce. Look who was hanging out in the back at the restrooms! 😎

OH WOW, this is interesting! We just left Beyond yesterday morning in 9168 sky suite. It was a snap, crackle, popping, creaking, bowling ball rolling and jumping under the bed experience. We had it 5 out of 10 nights when we were in moderate seas (2-3 meters). The smooth sailing days, there was no noise. We had a great cruise (I'm still working on a live thread) but we will not sail Beyond again nor Ascent or Xcel.

On the road again, just can't wait to get...on the road again! Well, we've had another change of plan. After that delicious dinner and gorgeous sunset in St. Simons last night, we just decided we wanted to get home so we got up, packed up and hit the road about 8am. First stop - Chic-fil-A - our go-to fast food when traveling. We have rarely had a bad CFA experience but today we had an AMAZING service experience with the kindest, sweetest lady named Olga at the Brunswick, GA (Golden Isles Parkway) store. Remember how I said "people connection" on post #71? I'm going to get better at it - it's something we've forgotten how to do, I think. (the pandemic didn't help ☹️)

Oh my goodness, Y'ALL St Simons, Georgia! (pronounced Gawgia 😉) Had an all crabmeat cake and DH had wild Georgia shrimp at Barbara Jean's Easy Southern Dining. The weather is perfect and it's a full moon tonight! The gnats were out so we had to keep moving while waiting for sunset. Somehow we managed to get 3.3 miles today even with 6 hours in the car. I'll get back to the cruise wrap-up but had to share! Ship is Glorious Ace, a vehicle carrier - it looked like it was going to run over the pier! It's heading down to Jacksonville according to vessel finder.

We saw a wide variety of dress on all nights - sports coats, suits, long dresses, sparkles along with smart casual (and some very casual). We dressed as we would for a nice dinner out at home. DH ultimately didn't take a sports coat though we considered it. He wore short sleeved button downs and pants. We found the public areas of the ship to be WARM. I would have liked it chilly because I was always having to remove my sweater or wrap. We kept our stateroom on 66!! We like it cold!

Several reasons but probably mainly the menu. Luminae menu is more limited and French (Daniel Boulud dishes) However, we spent weeks studying the different dining options and decided that we wanted to try as many as possible (no specialty though) We started with Luminae on the first 2 days then tried Cyprus, then Cosmopolitan. We had an immediate connection with Wiwid our waiter (and his team) and loved our meals that night so we just kept coming back! So we didn't get to try Tuscan, Normandie or Blu as planned but this is when I started realizing the "people connection" part of cruising. And that is what my special story will be about! Hope that helps!

I don't know - we meant to ask him about his contract on our last night at Cosmopolitan but didn't get a chance to talk with him long because they did a fun waiter parade through the dining room at 7pm then we rushed out to get to the theater for the 7:30pm show.

Good afternoon! We made it to (change of plan) St.Simons Island, GA - a quick and easy trip up I-95. Disembarkation was also quick and easy. We are so glad we packed light so that we could do self-assist. DH went to the garage for the car while I waited with the luggage. We were on the road at 7:30am! OVC opened at 6am for breakfast so we got a quick bite, came back to brush our teeth, grab the luggage and say goodbye to our stateroom. It was another quiet night with no snap, crackle, pop - it was smooth sailing for the last 3 nights of the cruise. We chatted with Butler Thad in the hallway after breakfast and he asked for a hug which was so sweet. We didn't have much contact with him other than hallway greetings. He brought coffee one morning when we requested it He brought us the delicious plate of truffles on day 4. I asked him how many rooms he had - 20. Prior to the butler debacle, he said it was 10. I hope we lightened his load by just being our usual do-it-yourselfers. DH named this guy Chief "Wanna-Sail" 😄 When we came out of the elevator on deck 9, we would say, "go left at Wanna-Sail" to get to the stateroom. Navigating a ship is sometimes fun but sometimes frustrating! I'll catch up on what we did on day 10 (sea day) next and then tell my special story. We're going out in a bit to explore St Simon - it's beautiful and the weather is perfection for the next 2 days!

Good evening! We're packed and ready to self assist off the ship at 7:15am. The production show tonight "Arte" was unbelievable. The entertainment has been out of this world - we never expected Vegas quality entertainment. We have a 12 hour drive and will be home either Wednesday or Thursday - first stop is Jekyll Island, GA I have ALOT more I want to add to this thread so hang in there with me! It's been an incredible cruise and something very, very special happened today that I want to share but I need time to process it.

We have arrived 20-30 minutes early to every entertainment or activity we've done. We believe our cruise was sold out. It's never felt overcrowded except today when we went to the OVC for the lunch Extravaganza Buffet. It was mobbed but we found seats and had an enjoyable lunch, chatting with a couple from Pennsylvania!

If's 3am on day 10...I can't sleep but there is NO cabin noise! We're having a smooth ride tonight. I'm just wound up thinking about how wonderful the crew of Beyond have been! Shout out to Constance in the theater ladies room, all the hard working baristas in Cafe Al Bacio, everyone we passed cleaning and maintaining this beautiful ship, Wiwid our waiter (and team) in Cosmopolitan. I could go on and on... We had a great afternoon and evening yesterday! Relaxed for a while in the swinging chairs in Eden then went to The Club for Musical Murder Mystery Trivia. This was a BLAST! Don't miss it if it is on your cruise. Our last dinner with Wiwid in Cosmopolitan - lobster and beef Wellington were delicious. We enjoyed chatting with the British couple beside us and got some great tips for our upcoming British Isles cruise. Off to the 730 show - Chris Lash "Love Songs" - relaxing and fun! Shout out to the Beyond house band! Our daughters were "band geeks" in high school and college - love the horn players! Chis Lash ended his show saying "be kind to each other" which reminded me of the chair hog situation. We haven't seen it on our cruise. This has been front and center everyday on "the newspaper" as we call it. Perhaps the reminders are helping.

@chrismch Please read through the entire thread for answers about Cyprus and Cosmopolitan, the 2 MDRs that we have visited. Tonight was lobster night and it was delicious!