Beyond LIVE Semi-Solo AQ Class 11/8/22

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

5 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Same here! I usually fly AA because they have the best premium cabin price and most direct flight options from STL to the places I fly most.  I used to fly Delta a lot and was very happy with them, but then they started routing almost everything that leaves STL through Atlanta…and there are few airports (with the notable exception of CLT) that I dislike more than ATL. 
 

When the nicest thing I can say about an airport is that they have a decent P.F. Chang’s, that’s saying something.

 

Have to say I agree with you about the Atlanta airport.  Just about the worst airport in the universe.  When I lived in Minneapolis, I could fly nonstop pretty much anywhere in the world on Delta.  From Florida everything goes through Atlanta.  Ugh.  If I'm going west, I fly American through DFW.

[cinderellen]

So excited to follow along on another adventure!

 

[GenerationX]

Good morning friends!

 

What started out as a beautiful sunny Florida morning is quickly turning grey and windy. It’s starting to remind me of summer in the Midwest right before all weather heck breaks loose.  I suspect our captain will be loading up Beyond and getting her outta dodge as quick as possible this afternoon before the next big round of storms hits the Florida coast.  I hope things here don’t take too much of a beating.

 

In happier news, it’s almost time for Red and I to board the Beyond!  

 

We spent the night last night at one of my go to hotels for PE sailings: the Hyatt Place in Dania Beach.  The hotel is clean and reasonably priced and there’s lots of good food options in walking distance.  For those who are shuttle folks the hotel offers both an airport and cruise port shuttle. There’s also an espresso bar and no frills complementary breakfast which Red and I grabbed a quick bite of after I finished in the gym this morning (trying to get a little ahead of my cruise calorie consumption, probably a futile exercise, but I feel better knowing I made the effort).

 

I’m in my map dress and my new cruise tote is packed (Below Deck fans, don’t you just love it???)

 

Our $22 UberXL just arrived and we are off to the port!

 

Next time you hear from me we’ll be on Beyond!

 

 

 

 

 

[lola2013]

7 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Good morning friends!

 

What started out as a beautiful sunny Florida morning is quickly turning grey and windy. It’s starting to remind me of summer in the Midwest right before all weather heck breaks loose.  I suspect our captain will be loading up Beyond and getting her outta dodge as quick as possible this afternoon before the next big round of storms hits the Florida coast.  I hope things here don’t take too much of a beating.

 

In happier news, it’s almost time for Red and I to board the Beyond!  

 

We spent the night last night at one of my go to hotels for PE sailings: the Hyatt Place in Dania Beach.  The hotel is clean and reasonably priced and there’s lots of good food options in walking distance.  For those who are shuttle folks the hotel offers both an airport and cruise port shuttle. There’s also an espresso bar and no frills complementary breakfast which Red and I grabbed a quick bite of after I finished in the gym this morning (trying to get a little ahead of my cruise calorie consumption, probably a futile exercise, but I feel better knowing I made the effort).

 

I’m in my map dress and my new cruise tote is packed (Below Deck fans, don’t you just love it???)

 

Our $22 UberXL just arrived and we are off to the port!

 

Next time you hear from me we’ll be on Beyond!

 

 

 

 

 

Love "Below Deck"...love the bag!!!

Have a great trip.  I still see sunshine on the webcam...hopefully that holds for the next several hours.

Susan

[CruisinBanka]

27 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Good morning friends!

 

What started out as a beautiful sunny Florida morning is quickly turning grey and windy. It’s starting to remind me of summer in the Midwest right before all weather heck breaks loose.  I suspect our captain will be loading up Beyond and getting her outta dodge as quick as possible this afternoon before the next big round of storms hits the Florida coast.  I hope things here don’t take too much of a beating.

 

In happier news, it’s almost time for Red and I to board the Beyond!  

 

We spent the night last night at one of my go to hotels for PE sailings: the Hyatt Place in Dania Beach.  The hotel is clean and reasonably priced and there’s lots of good food options in walking distance.  For those who are shuttle folks the hotel offers both an airport and cruise port shuttle. There’s also an espresso bar and no frills complementary breakfast which Red and I grabbed a quick bite of after I finished in the gym this morning (trying to get a little ahead of my cruise calorie consumption, probably a futile exercise, but I feel better knowing I made the effort).

 

I’m in my map dress and my new cruise tote is packed (Below Deck fans, don’t you just love it???)

 

Our $22 UberXL just arrived and we are off to the port!

 

Next time you hear from me we’ll be on Beyond!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the Hotel tip! Excited for you to begin your cruise adventure! Nothing beats the anticipation excitement of boarding day with the whole cruise ahead of you to look forward to! Enjoy every minute!!!

[TripLLLe]

Cute bag!

[RedneckBob]

What going on with your sailing. Just posted that Port Everglades maybe shutting down through 11/10/22. We board on 11/13/22

[Buckeye94]

Captain Kate is here! I didn't recognize her with her hair down and no stripes! 😂 She's a guest on this sailing. 

[KKB]

2 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

What going on with your sailing. Just posted that Port Everglades maybe shutting down through 11/10/22. We board on 11/13/22

OOh, boy.

We fly out Friday for a Saturday embarkation on the Equinox.

Last night things looked pretty bad on Friday so we changed to this afternoon.

When I get up I see things have shifted & sped up a bit, so MAYBE flying in tonight ISN'T such a great plan...and Friday looks much brighter again. SO we took advantage of that free weather change & booked a reasonable hour to depart Friday (11AM) instead of the ungodly 6AM. (don't worry, there are several planes going to FLL after ours in Houston JUST in case...)

 

[GenerationX]

 

Good afternoon from the Magic Carpet!

 

I gotta find some wood to knock, but the radar for our sail away today is starting to look halfway decent!

 

While I finish my post-lunch T&T. A report on my first few hours on Beyond.

 

We had an 11am assigned arrival time and got to the port about 11:15.  Document checks and security went lightening fast as usual, then we had to sit and wait in the boarding area for about 20 minutes before our group was called to board.

 

It was at this point that I made a rookie mistake not worthy of all my cruise experience.  

 

I am not a buffet lunch on first day of cruise person.  I’ve never had it not be barely controlled chaos.

 

Red and I’s plan was to do a specialty lunch $30 cover at Le Grand Bistro.  For some odd reason, you can’t make specialty lunch reservations in advance on the cruise planner on any celebrity ship (HUGE miss in my opinion).  I KNEW this ship is sailing close to full.  I KNEW how booked the specialties have all been for dinner for months.  All this told me the smart thing to do would’ve been to make a B-line for the bistro for lunch immediately after getting our sea passes and dropping bags at our room.

 

Alas, as we entered the grand plaza to head to lunch, the siren song of ice rattling in martini shakers called to us and Red and I decided to go have a quick martini before lunch.

 

This turned out to be a lovely idea in that service at the bar was prompt and with a smile, and my passion fruit martini was delicious and hit just right.

 

It turned out to be a terrible idea in that by the time we pushed ourselves away from the bar and went up to LGB, they were completely full for the duration of lunch service.

 

Knowing we had only so much time to get food into our bodies before the martinis realized they had the place to themselves and starting behaving accordingly, we steeled our nerves for the buffet.

 

On the plus side, with the high ceilings and spacious layout of the buffet on E class, it didn’t feel as much like a claustrophobic cattle call.  However, it was definitely still bedlam. The poor servers and managers were trying their best to keep up but it was like they were trying to put out a brush fire with a bucket brigade.

 

Many stations had empty dishes and then when refills were eventually put out they were mobbed and emptied almost instantly.  

 

When we did get some food, it took a little while to find a table and we finally stalked down a dirty one to sit at because we didn’t want our plates getting cold.  We stood by it for a couple of minutes waiting for one of the clearing staff running around to come offer to wipe it down for us before we sat, but eventually gave up.  Given the chaos I didn’t really expect to be offered in seat drink service, and I wasn’t wrong.

 

Lesson learned. Don’t dawdle on sit down lunch options when not in concierge or a suite.  We went ahead and made a reservation for lunch at the Bistro on day 4, so I will still get to have it!

 

Negatives aside, most of the food we did manage to get at the buffet was very good. Red really enjoyed the pizza and I had a well-seasoned thin lunch steak and green beans with steak fries.

 

After lunch I checked in at my muster station and walked around the ship checking out a few of the sights.

 

From what I’ve seen so far, Beyond is a gorgeous ship.  I’m very amused though that: 1) on the pool deck, Celebrity is bringing back conversation pits (Red and I are taking bets on which overserved passenger will be the first to fall in; and 2) the ship comes with a built in field sobriety test on the pathway from Blu to Eden!

 

After I finish this beverage I think I’ll go see if my bag’s been delivered and if so do a little unpacking before our sail away meet up.

 

More to come later tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GenerationX]

3 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

What going on with your sailing. Just posted that Port Everglades maybe shutting down through 11/10/22. We board on 11/13/22

Based on the announcements the Captain has made so far it sounds like we still plan to sail shortly (that is if these last 15 people who still haven’t completed muster get on with it).  I expect we’ll have a rocky night getting south quickly before the weather hits though. I’m changing my shoe plans for tonight’s dinner in Eden to flats.  Not risking a sprained ankle first night of the cruise!

[Buckeye94]

Omigosh! That path to Blu! I was sober and it was a challenge! 

[RedneckBob]

14 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Based on the announcements the Captain has made so far it sounds like we still plan to sail shortly (that is if these last 15 people who still haven’t completed muster get on with it).  I expect we’ll have a rocky night getting south quickly before the weather hits though. I’m changing my shoe plans for tonight’s dinner in Eden to flats.  Not risking a sprained ankle first night of the cruise!

Thanks for the update and safe sailing. Good plan on changing shoes. Years ago I was cruising through 35 ft seas and 70 knot winds. My knees got a good workout 😀

[Robkat]

Following!

Looking forward to your impressions as we'll be on the Apex next year.  We've also been on the Edge, so interested to hear how you think they compare.

Smooth sailing!

[scrapcreator]

Bon Voyage! We really enjoyed the Sunset Bar on the Beyond.

[dreamer321]

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

... Red and I’s plan was to do a specialty lunch $30 cover at Le Grand Bistro.  For some odd reason, you can’t make specialty lunch reservations in advance on the cruise planner on any celebrity ship (HUGE miss in my opinion).  I KNEW this ship is sailing close to full.  I KNEW how booked the specialties have all been for dinner for months.  All this told me the smart thing to do would’ve been to make a B-line for the bistro for lunch immediately after getting our sea passes and dropping bags at our room.

 

Alas, as we entered the grand plaza to head to lunch, the siren song of ice rattling in martini shakers called to us and Red and I decided to go have a quick martini before lunch.

 

This turned out to be a lovely idea in that service at the bar was prompt and with a smile, and my passion fruit martini was delicious and hit just right.

 

It turned out to be a terrible idea in that by the time we pushed ourselves away from the bar and went up to LGB, they were completely full for the duration of lunch service. ...

I'm sailing Beyond in January and my plan is to eat at Le Grand Bistro for lunch on embarkation day.  Since they don't take pre-cruise reservations as you mentioned, may I ask what time you finally tried to get seated?  I'm curious if there's a line up at noon when they open. They haven't opened check-in yet for my cruise but I will be trying to get an 11:00am or 11:15 am boarding so I can be at Le Grand Bistro when they open.

[Jim_Iain]

Looks like Beyond Sailed.     I went to look and she is down around Miami already.

 

[Shimsdan]

Hi Charla!  So excited to see a new report from you.  I really haven't been on the boards since the June cruise, we were both on, and I can't believe how much I missed CC!  Let me also say how much I loved the AC Live episode with the Below Deck captains, I watch all of the Below Deck series and love all of the captains!  On your recommendation, I bought Captain Lee's book and I think you should demand a commission for that.  I especially loved when Captain Kate showed up to do one of the questions to the captains.  And recognizing that the captains were all in Eden, on a ship I haven't been on yet (although I was on Edge a few years ago) made me giddy for reasons only a true Celebrity lover can appreciate.  I'll be on Beyond in November, so your report will be invaluable to me.  Bon Voyage, smooth sailing and enjoy!!!

Laura

[chamima]

@GenerationX - I can't find the quote but you said you aren't planning on eating in Blu very much on this cruise. Since the Aqua cabins still have the dreaded Infinite balcony I'm curious why you upgraded to Aqua on this cruise?

[GenerationX]

Ladies and Gentlemen, Beyond is off on n her first Caribbean sailing! She must have some good stabilizers because I real thought I’d be feeling the motion a lot more. 
 

I’m dressed for dinner and having a cocktail at Craft Social while Red finishes booking an Ascent cruise at future cruise. Btw, the bartenders here make a mean rye Manhattan, included in premium package.

 

They also have what looks like a nice selection of up charge spirits for the connoisseurs following.

 

After Red finishes up we’ll head to the comedian show then dinner in Eden.

 

 

 

 

[Lena11033]

3 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this outfit - it's gorgeous

[travelwide]

Can you find out who will be the Captain on the 11/27 sailing. 

[dlh015]

15 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Beyond is off on n her first Caribbean sailing! She must have some good stabilizers because I real thought I’d be feeling the motion a lot more. 
 

I’m dressed for dinner and having a cocktail at Craft Social while Red finishes booking an Ascent cruise at future cruise. Btw, the bartenders here make a mean rye Manhattan, included in premium package.

 

They also have what looks like a nice selection of up charge spirits for the connoisseurs following.

 

After Red finishes up we’ll head to the comedian show then dinner in Eden.

 

 

 

 

You wear it well! 

[hcat]

Hi Charla..

Love all the pics.  

 

We are enjoying BEYOND.. and our 1st ever suite,  Dinner at Luminae was awesome.  I  having internet issues with my tablet so I  won't be posting much til after the cruise. I am sure you will do BEYOND proud!

 

The Sunset Bar was a madhouse at Sailaway   Most with beads were a facebook group...bar service was overwhelmed... We ended up at World Class Bar..what a great spot!

 

Could not get anything going for goodies at EDEN tom night..but we will see you and everyone there in our Flapper Finery...hope it will be  fun,

 

[GenerationX]

3 hours ago, chamima said:

@GenerationX - I can't find the quote but you said you aren't planning on eating in Blu very much on this cruise. Since the Aqua cabins still have the dreaded Infinite balcony I'm curious why you upgraded to Aqua on this cruise?

Happy to share!  I decided to bid for an upgrade for two main reasons. The first is cabin space.  From the YouTube videos I watched, the solo infinite verandas (which was my original cabin class) are substantially smaller and have much less storage space than the AQ rooms.  
 

The second reason was that while I don’t plan to use Blu much for dinner, I do plan to go quite a bit, if not every day, for the breakfast. When not in a suite I’ve never been very impressed with room service breakfast on Celebrity and MDR breakfasts have often felt hectic.