hcat

Anything along and beyond 41 is not in the best shape..includes much of Englewood, bad. Check local announcements.,,they are very helpful. There's an order to limit traffic to emergency and 1st responders power workers In areas of Venice there is limited food in markets, no traffic signals, limited gas..needs power and provisions! Progress each day! Folks will hopefully be able to enjoy the area by the Holidays! We are looking forward to our pre cruise visit..will deal with other issues after BEYOND!

Pretty much all you,ll see on X doors, plus we used to have signs for Cruise Critic/ meet and mingle. Exception was on Halloween wheroe many doors have something. More of a Royal C thing.... sorry to hear folks might be too drunk to locate their room number on the door!

Thanks for asking. We are in NY now..but apparently did way better than what we are seeing on TV. Have been in Fl part time since 1985. Charley was bad..this was much worse in scope and destructive area. Both storms did not follow the predicted tracks. Power was out for 3 days..back on now. We lost roof tiles, have a leak in the garage, large shrubs are down but water did not reach our front or rear doors. Fridge has to be emptied.,we did not leave much but will be stinky. We hear our Community is a mess, not everyone has power and many trees are down..We are near the Myakka River...water is receding from flooded roads. Clubhouse and gym will need to be inspected and repaired before re -opened for use. We will head down for the season in early Nov just in time for our BEYOND cruise. Really looking forward to that! Florida is not for everyone but we hope we can bounce back.... sorry you have to postpone your move!

We carry the paper schedule tear off with a yellow highlighter. We,NEVER carry a phone around a ship while on vacation! We will bring paper and pencil to write down our own list ...if X goes the Royalized way! We have been told that info on the app is often WRONG..as to times, dates and events...

Road is now open,.waters will crest and recede. Progress made daily but some areas will need much more time,,

We just got power back today in Venice...flood waters are receding. Many trees are down , roads impassable.. Glad we were not there during the storm..but we will have some damages to address. An extended visit to Fla could be very nice post cruise, but OP would need advice from a Fla TA or local travel guide. Many places will be ok, but other popular tourist places like Sanibel Island will take a very long time to come back. Much depends on how things go, and OPs interests.. Island of Venice and areas nearby are beautiful ..lovely beaches, shopping , dining etc...most intact or coming back strong. Tampa itself has much to offer...

Usually they have/ had Fields and Select or similar restaurant brand tea bags in little packets at the cafes and buffet..Bigelow is a nice tea but not special like the Tea Forte..We look forward to it on Celebrity at Baccio. .Wonder if Tea Forte is still in business..? Is it truly a supply chain issues or yet another down grade by X to cut costs.?

Too bad X could not have added Charleston or another port but the change was due to the rules that Bermuda has in place...extra fee, extra testing. Bermuda has that right but X has an obligation to do what it deems best for its customers. Hope friend's still enjoy the cruise.

If someone is standing there at the spa cafe with a full lunch plate and a drink in their hands, and all of the other tables are full with other diners, it might be polite to move into another seat or louger nearby...where a cup of coffee is easier to manage than balancing plate on your lap as one sits on the edge of the solarium pool area.. Another option for the plate balancer is to politely ask if they can join the other at the tbl while they eat their lunch, Also workable in the Buffet durung prime time! Also I think, If no other pool/ Retreat loungers are vacant. It is not fair to leave ones belongings for a long time, while they go off to the buffet, or another activity elsewhere, etc,

They used to have little cards on the tables in the spa cafe that said that but were ignored,, limited seating! Really selfish people ...ruin it for others, We have had the same issues in the buffet on all ships, and EDEN cafe on EDGE. Worst is in Cafe Baccio with card players taking up large tables ALL DAY! Card playing areas are available but they want the best spots, best views and access to food and drink and usually sit for hrs with one cup of coffee.. These Groups are loud and ruin the space for others who just want to sit for awhile with a nice cup of tea/ coffee and some cookies..Not much anyone can do ! Cruise clientele have changed!

Some areas ( theater) of the newer HAL ships look okay. We do not gamble so whatever was discussed above is a non issue for us, . One time we could not get a res at our usual pre cruise hotel.. We stayed at a place with a tiki hut that catered to HAL cruisers. Def they were the super senior crowd, slow moving, many needing asistance ...We are srs ourselves at this point, but still not in that group..Nice people I am sure, but not our cup of tea. Elevs were jammed, We plan to stick it out with X as we wind down our cruise bookings. Staying closer to east coast US....nice and newest X ships..except Tampa.

We sailed on Solstice when she was brand new and cuttung edge.,,hope sge will be upgraded...not that old for a ship. No interest for us to cruise on HAL!

Great photos..glad you enjoyed the tour

Great live from thread...nice blend of food, places, ship etc along with lovely photos and relatable commentary. Thanks!

We have friends heading out later today on EQ from Port Ev, Wising them a good sailaway and smooth seas ahead,.going East Carib ( not west) Anyone on board..let us know how things are going..EQ is one of our favorites!

Buffet, EDEN cafe, for Elite guests..the lite breakfast in Tuscan, and one of the big MDRS..( it was pretty good) . Cafe Baccio for pastries and coffee. Room service

but many dress up a bit on chic night..optional

This is quite obvious since X became Royalized and adopted that culture. Lower standards all around, The watchword always was that X would exceed expectations..Now we have reduced expectations! Still a nice product but no longer amazing! Just look at food photos and recent posts....2 asparagus on a plate...

I think we have gotten A2 pricing for an A1. AQ cabin locations can be tricky..research pays off!

H A P PY B I R T H D A Y! Great way to Celebrate on BEYOND! Are you going to do any spa visits???

Great review so far.... thank you ! We did Montserrat post cruise,,,great experience!

Very nice shot!

Were there alot of vendors hawking stuff as you entered the Miracle pathway? We hated that..one of them actually grabbed on to me to push his junk...big mistake on his part..middle age does not always mean weak!.. The tower and other bldgs were impressive but we found the whole okace a bit if a " tourist trap" We loved Florence..great art and architecture...beautiful vibe, good food and great buys on leather when we were there...would love to go back again some day. On another topic.. the food on board sounds "uneven"...not much to rave about!

8336 looks nice.. aft noise inevitable in ports but fun to watch them hook up lines... Hopefully they can correct soot.. it is very oily. We had a blow back of soot on another ship..aft bar. Major mess...

I'd look for a Sunset Veranda....they are great.