DragonOfTheSeas

Does anyone know if this is with the Hilton Am Ex card, too?

I got my Enchantment of the Seas Block last weekend. It was from a cruise in March 2022.

We got our Enchantment of the Seas block from last March. I was very surprised and pleased to get it. 😊

We went on a Baltic cruise this summer [included all of the ports mentioned]. We had 4.5 days in Stockholm and did not see all we wanted. We originally booked only had 3.5 days there pre-cruise, but when St Petersburg was dropped from our trip our cruise overnighted in Stockholm for one day before embarkation. We were bummed by that . . . but, there was so much to do there we ended up happy with that. If you have 2 days I would suggest spending one day in Gamla Stan [old town] and 1 day on Djurgarden--the park with many museums. [We especially liked the Vasa Museum and the Viking Museum]. I am not sure how you would decide what to see in one very short port day. You would lose ~2 hours of your port time getting into and out of the city from a port stop in Nynäshamn. I agree the sail out in the Stockholm archipelago is an "excursion" worth seeing. I agree Tallin was a high point. Helsinki was not my favorite. [JMHO] On Bornholm you need to book an excursion. There is not much in the city of Ronne to do. I like Visby. It has an interesting original city wall [and is very walkable--mostly uphill]. After touring Tallin and Visby your 12-year-old will be too tired to swim. LOL 😄 Have a great cruise.

Prime Rib was night #1 and #9. There were also a couple of changes. For example, the Wedge salad was not available on the day in the app and on the menu. There was a substitute. There were a couple of other changes. But, not the entrees. I am sure there will always be a few changes.

I hope I understood what you are getting at. It seems you feel there is more variety on the Beyond. . . . and that may be true. I have not sat down and counted each dining room vs the Oasis class. However, I do know that some meals from the beginning of the cruise on Beyond are repeating. For example, the Prime Rib on night one and tonight. I guess the issue of searching out each of the 4 dining rooms and comparing the menus is a little more onus. I agree the food is better on the Beyond. There is no question. It is interesting to note that the Royal Caribbean Quantum class had dynamic dining at the beginning. It was a four dining rooms choice/rotation. It was generally criticized and eventually abandoned. Many liked it; many didn't. I see the Beyond dining model as an evolution of this. I feel it is here to stay on the Beyond. Passengers will need to get used to it. If not the need to book the S-class. JMHO

Our Lady Valentine gave a matinee performance today in the grand plaza near the martini bar. It was well attended. I moved around a bit to get a better vantage point and a martini. The place was rocking when they did their final song, Sweet Caroline. 🎵

Internet: I got basic internet as part of the All-inclusive package with our cruise. The internet has been adequate my purposes. I have posted text and pictures on email, FB, and Cruise Critic. I was unable to access a video our DD sent of our DGD. However, I could see videos on FB that other people posted. A fellow cruiser described the basic internet package as "basically useless." Ha Ha 🤣 To upgrade to premium internet was $189 for the cruise. [or an additional $21.day] For me the basic has worked out. It can get a little glitchy on sea days when everyone is on at the same time. If you plan to work from the sea or stream videos you will need premium. YMMV

Entertainment: Entertainment on this cruise is excellent. There is live music in venues around the ship and shows/events in multiple places each night. We have attended mostly the music headliners. I have heard rave reviews regarding the evening production shows. They are artistic, musical, and somewhat similar to Cirque de soleil. The performers come down the aisles and through the audience. The use of lights and the screens adds to the shows. If anyone has pictures of these shows, please add one. I understand last night's show was especially good. I had planned to go. We went to dinner at 7pm and we were not finished until 9:20pm. So, we missed both the 7 and 9 show. Service was very slow. Royal Caribbean has excellent entertainment on the Oasis class also. Their productions are Broadway shows, ice shows and aqua shows. I think Royal Caribbean as a parent company does an excellent job with entertainment. You can't go wrong on either Celebrity or the Oasis class on Royal Caribbean.

Glad I could help. 😁

On embarkation this locket from the EFFY jewelry store was left in the cabin. The cabin attendant did not include the instruction sheet with it. I went to EFFY the next morning to ask about it. I had read on another thread that people collected mini charms. There is no charge for the charms. They are at the jewelry store promotion. Here is the finished product. It is about the size of a half dollar.

Ha Ha Ha-- that is so funny! 🤣 😂 I took this picture out of the window in our cabin. That is a reflection of the light on the ceiling of our cabin.

Next, I would like to comment on the food/restaurants/cafes. The food on this ship in the complimentary restaurants is excellent. It is prepared well, served hot and although many dishes repeat every day, there is enough variety. I am not sure about variety if on a B2B. We have repeated meals on a couple of evenings already. We have eaten in all four of the dining rooms [breakfast and dinner], Eden [for breakfast], the Oceanview Café [buffet breakfast and lunch] and the mast grill [lunch]. Service is not always the best. One night we waited so long for the waiter to take our dinner entree dishes away and distribute dessert menus that we just left and went to Café Al Bacio for dessert. I feel this is due to many new staff on this voyage. It may work out in time. This is a problem everywhere now. I love the Cafe al Bacio coffee. It is my guilty pleasure and the pastries/cakes there are great. Dinner seating is one of the most controversial aspects of this cruise. The cruise booking process allowed passengers to sign up for traditional early and late seating or select [open seating]. When they boarded the ship, they realized that the ship only has open seating. It caused some angst for a few days. Celebrity could have saved themselves the criticism by emailing passengers and telling them about the dining situation. There should be a way to remove the tradional seating options for Edge calss bookings. For food Celebrity is by far better.

We have been on the ship now 8 days so I feel I can make a few comments about the ship and comparisons between this ship and ships I have sailed on Royal Caribbean. This will be the first of 2-3 comparisons. The first thing you notice on the Celebrity Beyond is the stunning décor. The grand plaza, Eden, the rooftop garden, and the pool deck are beautifully decorated and thoughtfully designed. There are lots of little out of the way seating areas if you want to find a quiet spot. There seem to be plenty of elevators, and they are fast. I have already mentioned I like the red and green lights to tell you which elevator is arriving and which direction it is going. One thing that has gotten some negative feedback has been the infinite verandas [IV]. These cabins have a folding door that opens to allow access to a space with 2 chairs and a panoramic window rather than a traditional balcony. The top of the window slides down. These were touted as a way to make the cabin bigger and are not much different than a balcony. From the comments on FB and comments I have heard, I do not think they are getting much love. 😊 Sitting beside an open window is not the same as being outside. I am told there is not enough room to easily walk between the folding door and the side of the bed when the door is closed. Also, when the weather is rainy/iffy the Captain has a control to close all of the windows. I understand the need for this. You would not want someone to leave a window down when it rains. We have had rain frequently on this cruise and fog/mist on several days. Passengers said they would have used a traditional balcony on many of these days. However, their IV windows had been frequently locked. You just must keep trying. If the window is open the air conditioning stops and the cabin gets hot. Never fear, there are regular verandas available, too. I feel the only fair comparison to Royal Caribbean would be with the Oasis class. [we have not sailed on the Quantum class] The Beyond is classier. It is designed for an adult and well-heeled clientele. RC seeks that same demographic, but also appeals to families. [I was told there are currently 5 children on the ship.] I feel the Rooftop Garden area has a much better design than the Central Park on the Oasis class. The Rooftop Garden is bigger and gives views of the ocean. However, I would rather have an Oceanview balcony on RC than an Infinite Veranda on Celebrity. Also, the hallways are very narrow. You must turn sideways to pass the attendant’s cart. . . and I miss some of the bells and whistles on RC. I guess I am just too blue collar. I like the vibe on RC better, too. I have heard several guests say as beautiful as the ship is they would not book this class again. They prefer the S class. I agree. We sailed the Equinox last and I would book that class again. JMHO

After I thought about it I realized that I took a picture of an advertisement for flamingo beach. Here it is.

The Eagle Aruba Resort and Casino [Eagle Beach] and the Radisson Blu Aruba [Palm Beach]. Both are listed as starting at $25. That was the price for the day we were in Aruba when I looked. Both mention a complimentary shuttle. I am sure different days are priced differently. We are going to be in Aruba again in May and plan to book a day pass. I sat with someone last night that had a day pass at Flamingo Beach. [on Renaissance Island] That is not part of resort pass. But it sounded very cool. I looked it up this morning and it is $125 pp. Here is a link. I am not sure I am up for spending $250 [for 2] for a beach day--even with Flamingos. How to Visit Flamingo Beach Aruba: Day Passes, Cost, & Tips for Your Trip (gringajourneys.com)

It is a beautiful sunny day. Lots of people are on the outside deck. We went out there right after breakfast. But we had to come in and cool off a little. It’s 84° and a stiff wind at 30 kn. There are a few white caps today. Just enough to be picturesque. I don’t notice any motion. But some others must have because in his morning briefing the captain mentioned the stabilizers. He said they come out 18 feet in either direction (underwater) and anytime the ship is in motion they are out. We are headed back to Fort Lauderdale. The captain is cruising. he said in his briefing that he was going 21 kn. We are headed for the passage between Jamaica and Haiti.

Thank you I knew there had to be an exclamation.

I knew there was an explanation. Thank you! I thought they were very good. Did you like them?

The show tonight was" Lady Valentine," an all male group. I missed the first minute or two so if they explained why a male group is called Lady Valentine, I missed it. They were a good group with lots of energy and rock! The Beyond's use of the screen and lights sets the stage. It must be hard to do this in theatre in the round. I am really impressed with the theatre on the Beyond and on the entertainment in general.

I am not sure why we were almost an hour late leaving tonight. However, it gave me the opportunity to take a couple of pictures of Aruba at night. The pool deck is also bathed in color at night.

On another visit we took an island tour. There were taxi tour operators in the port today offering these for 25 pp. Here are a couple of the highlights. [taken in the past] The Ayo Rock formations. There are Indian cave drawings nearby. The California Lighthouse:

That is as high as the match goes. . . . it goes in the other direction, too. Elite plus on Celebrity is only Diamond on Royal Caribbean. I think it has always been this way--or for a very long time anyway.

We have been to Aruba a few times in the past. This time I just walked around the downtown shopping area and bought a few things. I took a couple of funny pictures. The main Street I have always liked this shopping center with all of its pink gingerbread. My crazy picture I was just sitting on this bench and someone told me to moooove over and they would take my picture. HaHa It was an ad for a steak house restaurant. Lucy's is a hot spot for beverages on the harbor.

I am going to email them to myself. It will be a little cumbersome. But it will work. 😊 We shared the port in Oranjestad, Aruba with 2 other ships. The Carnival Horizon. . . . . . and the Freewinds. I had never heard of it before so I looked it up. It is a Church of Scientology ship that is based in Curacao. It is used for religious retreats and spiritual rejuvenation. When 3 ships share the port one ship has to be the farthest away. Unfortunately, that was us. It was a long walk down the pier to the main street in Oranjestad. DH couldn't walk that far and he stayed on the ship. We had planned to reserve a day pass at a hotel using Resort Pass. We have used them before on other islands. [our most recent was Margaritaville in Nassau, Bahamas] We had picked out a hotel on Eagle Beach. It was only $25 pp. Since the weather has been so iffy we decided not to reserve it. [we always wait until a couple of days in advance to check the weather] . . . and it turned out to be a nice day. You can thank me later. 🙄 If we had booked it would have rained buckets. LOL