Beyond LIVE Solo Retreat Review (4/9/23): A One-Woman Suite Show

[Stem to Stern]

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

I put the second mini bottle of Tito’s into my breakfast screwdriver

Hmmm.  Is that anything like having double sausage on my Egg McMuffin.  

Breakfast of Champions!  

If nothing else it should definitely temper AA's egg fail.  However, I must say the fresh fruit looks delightful.  I'm left wondering what adult beverage the girl in the movie you were watching was enjoying?  On another note, if your FLL plans are not yet solidified and you have never been there before, then you should really try to pass by Casablanca Cafe.  It is a lovely, historic venue.  The outside spaces are a bit cozy, but the views of the Atlantic are incredible.  The people watching is kinda fun, too.

https://casablancacafeonline.com

[KLM3164]

Bon voyage! So glad I found your Live as we just booked a cruise on Ascent for early next year. We are experienced cruisers on a couple other lines but this will be our first X cruise. I look forward to reading about your adventures and any tips/tricks you care to share. 🌴🍹 🚢 

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

I'm left wondering what adult beverage the girl in the movie you were watching was enjoying?  

That’s Marian in Raiders of the Lost Ark in a drinking contest at a bar she owns…drinking a colorless liquor that obviously she has built up quite a tolerance for!

[Buckeye94]

21 hours ago, mgreenpa said:

@Buckeye94 We did Prima in December (we’re Elite CC on Celebrity but thought the same of worth the try on NCL Prima).
 

We very much regret it and will never sail NCL again. happy to answer any questions if you would like to reach out… just don’t want to co-opt Charla’s thread. 

Would appreciate hearing your experience. I tried to message you in CC but it was disabled on your profile. Did you post a review? 

[Essiesmom]

16 minutes ago, Buckeye94 said:

Would appreciate hearing your experience. I tried to message you in CC but it was disabled on your profile. Did you post a review? 

Messaging is disabled for all but the mods.  Has always been so.  EM

[Essiesmom]

I started traveling solo when in my 20s.  I had a cousin who asked how I could do it, and I said “it’s 100% better than not going at all”.  EM

[lola2013]

5 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I started traveling solo when in my 20s.  I had a cousin who asked how I could do it, and I said “it’s 100% better than not going at all”.  EM

I took a solo cruise a zillion years ago and loved it.  The last five cruises that I have taken were booked as solo, but quickly grew to include friends and relatives (I must be a lot of fun 🤪).  I’m trying again in December when I sail on Apex 🤞🏻.

Enjoy your adventure.

Susan

[Salt Lifer]

We sail on Beyond next week, so am looking forward to reading your review.  And count me in as another who is interested if the luggage valet is offered.

[GenerationX]

I’m in Fort Lauderdale!

 

MIA baggage claim was already crazy at 9am when we landed. It took a while for luggage for our flight to hit the belt but when it finally did my bags were some of the first off.

 

I had a less than 10 minute wait for a $55 Uber (after 20% tip) from MIA over to Fort Lauderdale to one of my go to pre-cruise hotels, the Hyatt Centric Las Olas .

 

I think this is the first time in all my stays at this hotel that I wasn’t able to get a super early check in, but it’s understandable with the holiday weekend and spring break travel still going on. Plus there are a very limited number of the pool walkout cabana rooms that I book.

 

The nice thing was that they gave me a key card so that I could come and go from the pool as I pleased while I waited and I was also able to just give my last name at the pool bar and the restaurant and have any food or beverage I purchased charged to the room once I checked in (so that I can still get my Hyatt bonus points).

 

After giving the front desk my cell number to text once my room was ready, I went up to the pool and had a margarita from the outdoor bar, returned a couple of work calls, and then headed down to the lobby bar for a little lunch to soak up my morning cocktail intake (after my less than filling breakfast which consisted of the fruit on the side of my weak omelette).

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I know hotel bar food is usually pretty underwhelming, but the grilled mahi mahi tacos and housemade French fries at this Hyatt are so good.

 

As I was signing my lunch check around 1pm, I got the text that my room was ready and headed up to do some reading on my patio then take a much needed nap.

 

I’ve just settled in at my table for dinner at 15th street Fisheries.  This restaurant has a more casual dining lower level restaurant and bar with live music and waterside patio dining and a quieter, more formal upstairs dining room with a little more upscale menu.

 

Gen Z and I dined here pre cruise last year in the casual dining room and the food was so good, I put a meal in the upstairs dining room on my FLL to dine list.

 

There are so many great restaurant options on Las Olas near my hotel and I originally planned to take advantage of them. Then I remembered that this will be my last cruise out of Fort Lauderdale for a good long while, so I figured I should seize the day.

 

I completely forgot that stone crabs are in season down here right now. There goes my budget for this solo meal.

 

After dinner I think I may go for a little walk down the pier to do some yacht day dreaming. Then when I get back to the hotel cash in my free vodka cocktail voucher that come with my room for a nightcap before heading up to chromecast some Netflix in bed, fill out my health questionnaire in the Celebrity app and rest up for embarkation day.

 

Cheers from the intercostal! 
 

 

 

[dlh015]

I am soooo confused sometimes...lately it seems like you are on a cruise like...always!!

 

And I'm just lovin' it!! You rock!! (and I'm only a little teensy, weensy jealous...lol...)

 

Bon voyage!!...again!!

[KKB]

Ohhh…DH almost got those tacos at the restaurant!

But the pork belly lettuce wraps & pork belly gnocchi did not disappoint.

And the music is on point.

But fading fast…thinking a good night sleep is in order.

[GenerationX]

12 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

I am soooo confused sometimes...lately it seems like you are on a cruise like...always!!

 

And I'm just lovin' it!! You rock!! (and I'm only a little teensy, weensy jealous...lol...)

 

Bon voyage!!...again!!

 

I know, it’s bad. When I jumped on the crazy good price for this cruise it wasn’t till after the charge hit my credit card that I realized I’d be cruising 3 months in a row. 🤦🏾‍♀️
 

Oh well, YOLO and regrets are best saved for my death bed.  After this though I’ll be keeping my cute little aft on land till July, I promise!

[GenerationX]

3 minutes ago, KKB said:

Ohhh…DH almost got those tacos at the restaurant!

But the pork belly lettuce wraps & pork belly gnocchi did not disappoint.

And the music is on point.

But fading fast…thinking a good night sleep is in order.

So not to be a bad influence BUT they also make a mean espresso at that bar if you guys feel like rallying for another hour or 2.  Ubers willing I can be back at the hotel in about a half hour. I will cheerfully ditch lurking on other people’s yachts to hang out with you! 

[GenerationX]

8 hours ago, helen haywood said:

That’s Marian in Raiders of the Lost Ark in a drinking contest at a bar she owns…drinking a colorless liquor that obviously she has built up quite a tolerance for!

Marian is one of my all time favorite women of the big screen.  I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve modeled my life attitude after hers in many ways:

 

-Love and travel hard

-Never turn down a potentially lucrative adventure

-Take no [bleep] from nobody, especially ex-boyfriends and bigots

-When you find yourself in a sticky spot and have to hustle to survive, a rock solid alcohol tolerance is worth its weight in gold

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by GenerationX

[KKB]

41 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

So not to be a bad influence BUT they also make a mean espresso at that bar if you guys feel like rallying for another hour or 2.  Ubers willing I can be back at the hotel in about a half hour. I will cheerfully ditch lurking on other people’s yachts to hang out with you! 

Still here…just ordered another drink…

At the bar. Blondie & guy in baseball hat…

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

Marian is one of my all time favorite women of the big screen.  I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve modeled my life attitude after hers in many ways:

 

-Love and travel hard

-Never turn down a potentially lucrative adventure

-Take no [bleep] from nobody, especially ex-boyfriends and bigots

-When you find yourself in a sticky spot and have to hustle to survive, a rock solid alcohol tolerance is worth its weight in gold

 

Shhhh.  My name is Marian.

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Marian is one of my all time favorite women of the big screen.  I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve modeled my life attitude after hers in many ways:

wait -  wasn’t her name Marion?  

[helen haywood]

I was named after my grandfather, whose name was Marion.  The feminine version of Marion is Marian.  I don’t really want to tell a movie producer (hey, it’s fictional) they made a mistake.  😉

[DaKahuna]

18 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

I was named after my grandfather, whose name was Marion.  The feminine version of Marion is Marian.  I don’t really want to tell a movie producer (hey, it’s fictional) they made a mistake.  😉

I am from the south and ‘ion’ and ‘ian’ are pronounced and sound different to me. 
 

 

[mac_tlc]

Good to see that she made it back and is getting ready for us!

 

 

[Juni2106]

Gosh this is making me excited

 

I’ve followed Charla’s adventures since we booked our first cruise almost 12 months ago and now suddenly it is upon us with just over a week to go.

 

This feels so appropriate to us, we’re in an edge class suite and we’ve already booked our stone crab experience in Miami for next Saturday.

 

I hope you have a fab time and keep your beautiful pics coming please.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Juni2106

[Mcgeneseo]

13 hours ago, GenerationX said:

I’m in Fort Lauderdale!

 

MIA baggage claim was already crazy at 9am when we landed. It took a while for luggage for our flight to hit the belt but when it finally did my bags were some of the first off.

 

I had a less than 10 minute wait for a $55 Uber (after 20% tip) from MIA over to Fort Lauderdale to one of my go to pre-cruise hotels, the Hyatt Centric Las Olas .

 

I think this is the first time in all my stays at this hotel that I wasn’t able to get a super early check in, but it’s understandable with the holiday weekend and spring break travel still going on. Plus there are a very limited number of the pool walkout cabana rooms that I book.

 

The nice thing was that they gave me a key card so that I could come and go from the pool as I pleased while I waited and I was also able to just give my last name at the pool bar and the restaurant and have any food or beverage I purchased charged to the room once I checked in (so that I can still get my Hyatt bonus points).

 

After giving the front desk my cell number to text once my room was ready, I went up to the pool and had a margarita from the outdoor bar, returned a couple of work calls, and then headed down to the lobby bar for a little lunch to soak up my morning cocktail intake (after my less than filling breakfast which consisted of the fruit on the side of my weak omelette).

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I know hotel bar food is usually pretty underwhelming, but the grilled mahi mahi tacos and housemade French fries at this Hyatt are so good.

 

As I was signing my lunch check around 1pm, I got the text that my room was ready and headed up to do some reading on my patio then take a much needed nap.

 

I’ve just settled in at my table for dinner at 15th street Fisheries.  This restaurant has a more casual dining lower level restaurant and bar with live music and waterside patio dining and a quieter, more formal upstairs dining room with a little more upscale menu.

 

Gen Z and I dined here pre cruise last year in the casual dining room and the food was so good, I put a meal in the upstairs dining room on my FLL to dine list.

 

There are so many great restaurant options on Las Olas near my hotel and I originally planned to take advantage of them. Then I remembered that this will be my last cruise out of Fort Lauderdale for a good long while, so I figured I should seize the day.

 

I completely forgot that stone crabs are in season down here right now. There goes my budget for this solo meal.

 

After dinner I think I may go for a little walk down the pier to do some yacht day dreaming. Then when I get back to the hotel cash in my free vodka cocktail voucher that come with my room for a nightcap before heading up to chromecast some Netflix in bed, fill out my health questionnaire in the Celebrity app and rest up for embarkation day.

 

Cheers from the intercostal! 
 

 

 

Ahhh, stone crabs at 15th Street Fisheries! Such memories! I went to law school in Ft Lauderdale and at the time, the law school was located near that area. I spent many hours enjoying 15th Street. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to ship stone crabs to me in western NY and make my mortgage payment....enjoy and have a claw or two for me.

[GenerationX]

Today’s the day!!!!

 

One of the (many) things I love about cruising is that you can sail on a ship you’ve been on before, sailing to ports you’ve visited many times, but each cruise can still be a very different vibe/experience based upon who your fellow cruisers are.  

 

Last night, I think I got a glimpse of just how much energetic fun the next week is going to be, as @KKB and I shut down the lobby bar at the Hyatt Centric after dinner.

 

Kris please give my sincerest apologies to your poor tolerant husband who gave up on trying to keep up with us and headed to bed when we ordered the second round of cosmos.

 

Speaking of dinner, in addition to the delicious stone crab, I also had the conch chowder which had a nice sweet spicy kick and a massive Caribbean lobster tail that was served with so so mashed potatoes and really delicious maple bacon Brussel sprouts.

 

I was too full of shellfish after that to even attempt dessert which was a shame because the bread pudding sounded like heaven on a plate.

 

I’m currently having a little breakfast and coffee at the hotel restaurant to tame the remnants of last night’s vodka then will head back to the room to handle one last work project.

 

I’m already pretty much packed so after that all I have to do is put on my luggage tags and head to port for my 11am check in time.

 

I can’t wait to meet some of you at our 2pm Retreat Lounge meet up!

 

Next post will be from the Beyond.  Strap yourselves in, guys. I think this week is going to be really something!

 

 

 

 

[mgreenpa]

21 hours ago, Buckeye94 said:

Would appreciate hearing your experience. I tried to message you in CC but it was disabled on your profile. Did you post a review? 

sorry about that! I thought that DM an option on here. I did leave a review. Link is here: 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=696634

[KKB]

4 minutes ago, mgreenpa said:

sorry about that! I thought that DM an option on here. I did leave a review. Link is here: 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=696634

Thank u for this.

We originally had Prima booked next week but when the deal on Retreat popped up(thx @mac_tlc!)we jumped—even tho we had to take a loss on that Prima booking.

Between your review, Retreat & the several CC folks sailing, I KNOW we made the right decision!

@GenerationX, DH is a good sport…plus wanted to be sure he got up to watch the Masters!