RMac713

I usually wore a jacket or light shawl to dinner so I did not find Luminae chilly, but one night I was up against the windows and it got warm quickly! On our last night they had the curtains closed because the sun was coming right in that side. I really enjoyed the retreat pool deck. We spent a lot of time there. And we will be in a MC sky suite Beyond in November--excited to try it!

Returned Sunday from a week on the Beyond. Have cruised Celebrity once before, last July on the Equinox. As retreat guests we much preferred the Beyond for pool time! We spent a couple of hours at the retreat pool every day except our St. Maarten day when we had an excursion (they canceled our St. Thomas excursion due a a threat of storms that didn't really materialize near the ship). One day it seemed as if it would rain and we moved to the solarium. We did not use the main pool as it seemed really crowded. The ship was packed and supposedly there were 400 kids on board. We stayed at the Renaissance the night before, which was nice, and ate at the Boatyard. Everything about the retreat was great. We had sky suite 10151. Our butler was Reggie and she was wonderful. Karen was our stateroom attendant. We never had any issues with anything about the room, and they put up a nice congratulations banner and some balloons as we were celebrating my upcoming retirement from teaching at the end of May. We made more use of the lounge than last year because it is much more convenient on the edge class ships! Luminae was amazing. The first night our waiter Gilbert explained that we could offer "classic items" any night: a steak, a petit filet, salmon, french onion soup, shrimp cocktail, escargot. That was good because the first night menu did not really appeal to any of us (it was me, my husband, and then my brother and sister in law next door). During the week I had the escargot, shrimp, salmon, and petit filet among other items that were on the nightly menu. On lobster night he automatically gave me another lobster! The baked alaska was also a highlight. We got used to room service breakfast as it was quicker than eating in the restaurant, and only ate lunch there twice. On our last sea day we ordered on the pool deck--BLT wraps, burgers, caesar salad, and shrimp cocktail were among the options. We also ate at Eden one night and I can add to the general love for the place. I had the crab cake, lobster casserole, and meyer lemon tart. We did trivia one day, and I'm good at it, but there are no prizes so I only did it the one time. For shows we attended Arte and Stage Door in the main theatre and Jazz Joint at the club. I didn't get to any Eden shows but the ones I saw were wonderful. My in-laws saw Elements too and said it was great. The thermal spa is very nice but I only got a day pass and didn't use it enough. I don't know if I would get more than a day pass. The spa itself looks gorgeous. The art around the ship, especially the photos in the halls, is such a great addition to a ship. Cruise director was Luigi, activities director was Kyle, Captain Dmitri. Only two weird incidents. One was on a sea day and my sister in law and I were in the retreat pool. A mom came in with a giant unicorn float. Her relative said it was too big for the pool. She asked those of us in the pool if we minded. I spoke up and said it was too big, so she left it on the side. Honestly, it would have taken up the whole thing. There were 2 or 3 kids in the group but it is not a kiddie pool. Another was during the retreat silent disco. Toward the end I sat with my husband, exhausted (he had danced maybe one song as he thinks it is silly). A drunk guy came over and told him he should get up and "dance with your girl". I said it was OK and my husband smiled through gritted teeth as the guy poked him Then he moved on to my in-laws who were also sitting. He got in my brother in laws face with the same line and then, seeing his face get red, asked if my BIL wanted to punch him! We got out of there as the guy was a drunk and if the boys had done something to him WE would have been in trouble. Other than that.....I LOVED Beyond and changed our November cruise on Equinox to Beyond. We lost Bonaire and gained Jamaica, but that's OK. We also booked a 7 night Apex in November of 24.

It is open a couple of nights at 9:30. May have to switch to that. But I'm crossing my fingers I can just bump it back 30-60 minutes. If not, we will just go with salty hair I guess LOL.

I booked Eden for our cruise next week. I probably booked it in October! However, the snorkeling excursion we chose goes from 12:15-4:30 and then our reservation is at 6 (for 4 of us). I know new reservations are impossible, but how hard it is to bump one back? I don't think we'll have time to shower, etc. without being exhausted and stressed.

On our Equinox cruise last summer we tipped extra to our wait staff in Luminae, our stateroom attendant, and our butler. They all deserved it. On our last Disney cruise we did tip extra but I was turned off by the wait staff harping on wanting us to rate everything 5 stars--and this was every dinner, not just the last one. I'd tip more to stop that nonsense.

That's what I was thinking of. Thanks!

I'm looking into some Enchanted Princess cruises for next spring. I have been on 6 DCL and one Celebrity with two more Celebrity booked. We are in sky suites on Celebrity. I'm trying to find out the differences between the suite class on Princess and the Reserve collection mini-suite. I know they both have a special dining area. We would be doing Princess Plus so we would get $150 OBC and drinks. What about special areas on the ship? I know the Sanctuary costs, but is the Reserve area just for suite guests or the mini-suites as well? I don't like the bustle of the main pool area. If I can still have a place to hang out with fewer crowds I could save a couple of thousand dollars with the mini-suite.

Thanks for the post! That looks great. We will be on Beyond the week before Easter and maybe the holiday vibes will be on then as well! Can't Wait!

We are flying to Hawaii this summer. My daughter lives there for a few years (Husband is a marine). We have DVC timeshare points so we are staying at Aulani on points. The flight is the money sucker, though. That would still be an issue with a cruise.

Are you looking at this year? We sail April 2-9 and while there are many balcony cabins open, there are very few retreat suites.

I looked on the Costco site just now--cruising in a little less than two months. No oceanview available, only guarantee inside and only 5 suites, but over 300 balcony rooms still open. So in no way full, but the retreat is pretty full.

Is there shade outside of the airport? My husband had a kidney transplant 16 months ago and my brother in law had a heart attack in the fall, don't want to wait in the sun, or pay more at this point. Can we wait inside of the airport and just not check in until 1145?

My brother/sister in-law are next door to us in sky suites on deck 10. Can we ask the room attendance to remove the barrier or open it up in any way? Thanks.

My adult children have also introduced me to more hard liquor than I ever drank in my own youth. I went into a liquor store in the 80s, and there was just plain vodka. Now there are dozens of them. It boggles my mind!

I'm triggered. Years ago our AP Lit teacher resigned suddenly and they asked me to cover....I had to read The Fountainhead in 3 days. Just discussing Ayn Rand gives me the jitters.

Thanks, I will! She is doing Cayman and ABC, and I am doing the same in November on Equinox because we loved her last summer. Also doing Beyond in April. Such a nice change now that the kids are grown--did Disney 6x.

Let's be honest that CC in general has a reputation for negativity. My sister has cruised Disney, NCL, Carnival and mostly Princess. Based on my Equinox trip lsat summer she has booked an Equinox trip next spring. I told her to avoid this board for a month or so and she said she hasn't been on here in 2 years because "everything is negative." So while January has been flaming hot here for the cuts on all of the lines, to an extent it is par for the course.

I know, but we will have to dawdle. Our flight just got changed to 245! Unless we take a cab somewhere for an hour or two--with luggage. I was just going to hang out in the Delta lounge. Don't want to have to sit outside the airport for 2 hours.

Dang. My flight out is at 210. The 1130 flight was another 200 per person for 4 of us. I guess we will take our time getting off of the ship!

We took our first X cruise last July on Equinox and loved Luminae. We have a Beyond cruise in April and another Equinox in November. Hoping things are still good, but I'm sure they will be. On embarkation day I had a "crab cake sandwich" that was killer!

pricing that out now. If it is worth it I might book a similar room on costco and then cancel.

Well, the answer was no. Price stays the same. And upgrade only if there is more revenue involved. I explained I couldn't have done this before the 2nd because of the pricing (I checked before I paid the final payment) and doesn't matter. Them's the breaks.

I'm on the phone right now She priced it all out and then was surprised I had made my final payment (which was due Jan. 2). The cost savings for the two cabins would be $4378! She is seeing if it can be done. She already made the change and I asked if he refund would be on our Credit Card and then she suddenly needed to check.

We have two sky suites in April on Beyond. They really dropped today! If I booked now I could get a Celebrity suite or aqua sky suite for less than our sky suites. Can I call and get a price adjustment, or upgrade? I do not have a TA.