Live from The Beyond, March 5th to 12th

[Ripheus]

DW @Moochiand I will be embarking on honeymoon #2 one week from today. We'll be in a Aqua Sky Suite that we booked a little a month or so ago as a suite guarantee. (We were really aiming at getting a magic carpet sky suite but happened to get lucky, I think.) 

 

Throughout this week, I'll give the occasional update on our struggles to pack and all the work that we do to make cruising possible for us. We'll be staying in Fort Lauderdale the night before, so I'm sure there will be some shenanigans to post about too. 

 

To get things started, DW and I are enjoying a bottle or two at a local winery we recently joined. We had been doing dry February but we thought our livers wouldn't be happy if we went from zero to sixty in no time flat. So we're easing into drinking again over the last week until embarking. 

 

If you have any questions at any time, please do ask. If I can give an answer, I will. 

[alishac]

Looking forward to your review. We booked the Beyond in April about two weeks ago in a suite gauruntee and ended up in an S2. We are happy with it, but would have loved an Aqua Sky Suite! 

[gootzie]

Hubby and I will be riding along with you in a Sky Suite for our 29th anniversary and my mmmmppphhh birthday!  Looking forward to a great voyage and trying hard to concentrate on work this week 😉

[cruisin_123]

We will be boarding a week after you get off. I'm looking forward to your review as I'm in cruise-mode and love to look at pictures of the ship :).

[DaKahuna]

Beyond was looking realy sharp yesterday morning shortly after her arrival back in Fort Lauderdale. 

 

[Ripheus]

2 hours ago, gootzie said:

Hubby and I will be riding along with you in a Sky Suite for our 29th anniversary and my mmmmppphhh birthday!  Looking forward to a great voyage and trying hard to concentrate on work this week 😉

Congratulations and Happy Birthday! DW and I look forward to meeting you both!

[Ripheus]

2 hours ago, alishac said:

Looking forward to your review. We booked the Beyond in April about two weeks ago in a suite gauruntee and ended up in an S2. We are happy with it, but would have loved an Aqua Sky Suite! 

We had been thinking about just booking the S3, but someone snagged it before we made a final decision on this cruise. Our TA suggested we do a guarantee, which was a little less than even the S3. We rolled the dice. We were shocked that we were assigned an AS. The first room we were assigned was pretty much the most forward we could possibly be. A few days later we were moved to an AS a bit closer to the elevators. I'm not sure whey they moved us again after assigning the room, but we'll take it. The room we moved from became bookable a day or so later for almost twice what we paid. We feel incredibly lucky and a more than a bit grateful. 

[Ripheus]

The work week before a cruise, or any vacation for that matter, is strange. There's so much excitement and anticipation...but we also have to work. 😭

 

The weather here in Northern Virginia has not made our wait any easier either. It was nearly 80 on Thursday. It snowed Saturday. And today was chilly and rainy. I work as a landscaper, so the ever changing weather likely affects my work schedule more than most people's. With the rain today and another inclement day likely later this week, I fully expect that I'll be doing a bit of work during the cruise. I think it will be a good experiment to see if I can make it work. 

 

DW works in an office and will, fortunately, not need to bring any work with her. 

 

Now DW and I are back to acclimating our livers to cruise life....

[gootzie]

16 hours ago, Ripheus said:

Congratulations and Happy Birthday! DW and I look forward to meeting you both!

you will probably find me in the retreat in full relax mode 🙂

[cruisin_123]

17 hours ago, Ripheus said:

The work week before a cruise, or any vacation for that matter, is strange. There's so much excitement and anticipation...but we also have to work. 😭

 

The weather here in Northern Virginia has not made our wait any easier either. It was nearly 80 on Thursday. It snowed Saturday. And today was chilly and rainy. I work as a landscaper, so the ever changing weather likely affects my work schedule more than most people's. With the rain today and another inclement day likely later this week, I fully expect that I'll be doing a bit of work during the cruise. I think it will be a good experiment to see if I can make it work. 

 

DW works in an office and will, fortunately, not need to bring any work with her. 

 

Now DW and I are back to acclimating our livers to cruise life....

Your dog is eyeing that glass of wine.

[Moochi]

32 minutes ago, cruisin_123 said:

Your dog is eyeing that glass of wine.

I think he’s just upset that I was paying attention to the wine glass not him.
 

We have another puppy looks just like him, who is the actual “alcoholic”. He “loves” dark beer and liquor, but not wine. Alcohol is so bad for the the little body, but it never stopped him from sniffing around, and attempting to steal from our glasses.

[heatheranderson13]

we are with you as well on this cruise.

[sbt518]

2 hours ago, Moochi said:

I think he’s just upset that I was paying attention to the wine glass not him.
 

We have another puppy looks just like him, who is the actual “alcoholic”. He “loves” dark beer and liquor, but not wine. Alcohol is so bad for the the little body, but it never stopped him from sniffing around, and attempting to steal from our glasses.

Our cat does this too, but he hates bubbles on his whiskers so if I have any carbonation in my drink, he stays away.

[Ripheus]

15 minutes ago, sbt518 said:

Our cat does this too, but he hates bubbles on his whiskers so if I have any carbonation in my drink, he stays away.

Our dogs are smaller than 25lbs, so they're technically cats....

[Natitude61]

On 2/26/2023 at 5:08 PM, Ripheus said:

DW @Moochiand I will be embarking on honeymoon #2 one week from today. We'll be in a Aqua Sky Suite that we booked a little a month or so ago as a suite guarantee. (We were really aiming at getting a magic carpet sky suite but happened to get lucky, I think.) 

 

Throughout this week, I'll give the occasional update on our struggles to pack and all the work that we do to make cruising possible for us. We'll be staying in Fort Lauderdale the night before, so I'm sure there will be some shenanigans to post about too. 

 

To get things started, DW and I are enjoying a bottle or two at a local winery we recently joined. We had been doing dry February but we thought our livers wouldn't be happy if we went from zero to sixty in no time flat. So we're easing into drinking again over the last week until embarking. 

 

If you have any questions at any time, please do ask. If I can give an answer, I will. 

Is that Rappahannock Cellars?!

 

Enjoy your cruise…just booked Beyond for the distant future (2025), so will be following 

[Ripheus]

25 minutes ago, Natitude61 said:

Is that Rappahannock Cellars?!

 

Enjoy your cruise…just booked Beyond for the distant future (2025), so will be following 

 

It is! We just recently joined this winery after quitting another winery that was a bit far for us. We've enjoyed it so far, and really enjoy their 50% off case prices.

[Ripheus]

One day closer to sail away, and it's time to start packing. DW and I spent about an hour getting everything except toiletries, shoes, and unmentionables into just one suitcase. To celebrate our non-procrastination, we cracked upon the bottle of Celebrity Vintages we stowed away from our first honeymoon. 

[Moochi]

24 minutes ago, Ripheus said:

One day closer to sail away, and it's time to start packing. DW and I spent about an hour getting everything except toiletries, shoes, and unmentionables into just one suitcase. To celebrate our non-procrastination, we cracked upon the bottle of Celebrity Vintages we stowed away from our first honeymoon. 

 

Me being extra, I had to try the champagne from  different glasses we got as wedding gifts. One tastes a bit more sweet, crisp, fresh, and mineral; the other more buttery and nutty. The champagne tastes better from either glass than what I remember onboard. Maybe I don’t dislike the Celebrity Vintages champagne, it’s just the ordinary narrow flutes not bringing out all the flavors and aromas. I started thinking about bringing our own wine glasses, and then hubby showed me a link to a wine glass carrying case that costs $99.95. No I’m good with the flutes provided in our cabin and happy with whatever bubbly X has.

[Ripheus]

Well, today was a doozy. Work was busy from 630am all the way through about 430pm. And on top of me being away next week, we're now anticipating 1.5-2" of rain on Friday. Meetings and crew walkthroughs will have to wait until the 13th. On the plus side, what a beautiful day it was to spend (mostly) outside! 

 

This evening was another step in our pre-vacation ritual. We typically give a few friends of ours some batched cocktails. This time, DW made a wonderful Manhattan to share with one of my clients, and she also made a great Bloody Mary. Here are some pics of the Bloody Mary making process - which took about an hour and a half - and the finished product. 

 

Fortunately, it's only two more work days before we're away, and I can't wait. 

[Ripheus]

Oh, and I almost forgot, I taught DW how to play the game Gloom. It's a fun little card type game that is easy to pack and fun to play. 

[RitaM15]

Love the pup!

[DaKahuna]

23 hours ago, Moochi said:

Me being extra, I had to try the champagne from  different glasses we got as wedding gifts. One tastes a bit more sweet, crisp, fresh, and mineral; the other more buttery and nutty. The champagne tastes better from either glass than what I remember onboard. Maybe I don’t dislike the Celebrity Vintages champagne, it’s just the ordinary narrow flutes not bringing out all the flavors and aromas. I started thinking about bringing our own wine glasses, and then hubby showed me a link to a wine glass carrying case that costs $99.95. No I’m good with the flutes provided in our cabin and happy with whatever bubbly X has.

 

Go to Vintages and get a glass of champagne.  Take the glasses with you to your room and compare with the glasses in your room.  I understand they use Ridel glasses and am not sure those are the glasses in the staterooms.  You can also order other wines, which come in different style glasses, and compare / contrast those.  I have proven time and time again my taste buds are not refined enough. 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

32 minutes ago, Ripheus said:

 

This evening was another step in our pre-vacation ritual. We typically give a few friends of ours some batched cocktails. This time, DW made a wonderful Manhattan to share with one of my clients, and she also made a great Bloody Mary. Here are some pics of the Bloody Mary making process - which took about an hour and a half - and the finished product. 

 

 

 I'll take a glass of the Widow Jane, neat, please. 

 

[Ripheus]

2 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I'll take a glass of the Widow Jane, neat, please. 

 

 

All out at the moment. Actually just finished it tonight so I'd have an empty bottle for the batched Manhattan. For the money, it's a very good bourbon. 

[Moochi]

16 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Go to Vintages and get a glass of champagne.  Take the glasses with you to your room and compare with the glasses in your room.  I understand they use Ridel glasses and am not sure those are the glasses in the staterooms.  You can also order other wines, which come in different style glasses, and compare / contrast those.  I have proven time and time again my taste buds are not refined enough. 

 

 

Hello fellow Virginian! Don't forget to enter the Pappy lottery next week! 

 

I like your idea. I might go to different bars or specialty restaurants, and beg nicely to borrow the  nicer glasses for our cabin. The glasses provided in the cabin are basic flutes, no sure if they are Riedel. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them, but we can elevate the experience from using a different glass like you said.