Feeling the heat on the Beyond: Review of 10 day Italy, Greece and Croatia Cruise 7th- 17th July

[Scottishclover]

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

Thoroughly enjoying your review….Beautiful sites but you are making beautiful future family memories too…

Thank you. I’m not sure how much longer the girls will come on holiday with us, so trying to do as much as we can with them as possible.

[Les43]

I think you were wise to walk everywhere in Rome (despite the heat). We heard of people on our cruise who had been pickpocketed on the Metro. It’s notorious apparently. 
 

Your photos (and gelato) are bringing back lovely memories! 

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

Thank you. I’m not sure how much longer the girls will come on holiday with us, so trying to do as much as we can with them as possible.

We said this as out son hit 18 (many years ago) but somehow he arranged to always managed to cruise with us as well as go on holiday with his friends….Then came the serious GF, now he wouldn’t want to cruise with us but yes he did along with his GF, now fiancée…

 

Another family cruise booked for next year…Not complaining, just commenting that cruises seem to be the holidays that really do attract the full family regardless of age.
 

Edited July 30, 2023 by chemmo

[Scottishclover]

ROASTING IN ROME

Our final day in Rome was ann absolute roaster and was our Colosseum day. I knew I was going to struggle to get tickets through the official site, so I had booked a tour with Walks of   Italy back in April called Gladiators Gate: special Access arena and colosseum tour at £54 each. 2 weeks before our trip they emailed to say they had moved us to another, more expensive tour and wouldn’t charge the difference. Of course this tour, while a smaller group,  didn’t go down onto the arena. I was pretty annoyed.

 

Anyway,  we decided to make the best of it and in the end our guide, Ectore, was so good that I was just grateful to be on his tour. The tour was very well paced with toilet stops and time to refill water bottles and his knowledge about the colosseum and the Roman Empire was excellent. Knowing we were from Scotland, when he talked about the expansion of the Roman Empire he even joked with us that the Romans wouldn’t go near the crazy Celts (in reference to Hadrian’s Wall).

Some different views from inside the Colosseum.

View of Constantine’s Arch from the Colosseum. 
 

After about an hour and a half in the Colosseum we went over to the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum. I actually would have liked more time and information in the Forum but it was getting near midday and it was a furnace. When you’re down there is hardly any shade.

View of the Forum from the Palatine Hill.

 

After the tour,  we headed back to the apartment for a long lunch to escape the heat. Then we went for ice cream at our local, Panna & Co where I broke my own rule of repeating a flavour. It was Sicilian lemon and I couldn’t help myself. We had a nice wander in the Non-Catholic Cemetery and then went back to Travestere for some Happy Hour drinks. Our time in Rome was nearly at an end but we were getting pretty excited about the next part of our journey on The Beyond.

 

Rome: Top Three Tips

1. Don’t try to do too much in the one day. In the summer heat one big site is enough followed by some pottering.

2. Bring a reusable water bottle and fill up at the water fountains or ‘nasoni’ which you can find everywhere. Rome’s water is very clean.

3. Do venture out the main tourist areas. We loved the local feel in Testaccio and it  is well worth a visit.

 

Next up… finally the cruise! Apologies, I know it’s taken a while to get onto it, you’ve been very patient😀

[Nancycat]

My daughters and their husbands travel with us to Europe as often as I invite them.

we did a large family trip to Ireland 6 years ago,

4 years ago we did a Greek cruise as what we refer to as the recovery cruise.

my youngest DD was given a kidney from her sister 

[PurpleTraveller]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review. Rome is one of my favourite cities and I have been there a number of times and never tire of hearing and seeing other people's visits there. Ten years ago we met up with our adult son in Rome for a few days when he was travelling around Europe and went to many of the same places that you did. Your review has brought back some wonderful memories.

 

I was also very interested in your time in Lucca as after three previous port stops in Livorno we are planning to go to Lucca in June next year during our port stop on our Celebrity Constellation cruise.

 

Thank you again!

 

PS. I love Scotland and are planning to revisit in 2025.

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[Ski Mom]

On 7/29/2023 at 4:56 PM, Missusdubbya said:

Wonderful review so far, thank you!

Loving your review! 

[Scottishclover]

14 hours ago, Nancycat said:

My daughters and their husbands travel with us to Europe as often as I invite them.

we did a large family trip to Ireland 6 years ago,

4 years ago we did a Greek cruise as what we refer to as the recovery cruise.

my youngest DD was given a kidney from her sister 

I think a cruise is the way to go for big family trips. You can all go off and do your own things during the day and then socialise in the evening.

 

A recovery cruise - what a lovely idea. Best of health to your daughters.

[Scottishclover]

10 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

Thank you so much for your wonderful review. Rome is one of my favourite cities and I have been there a number of times and never tire of hearing and seeing other people's visits there. Ten years ago we met up with our adult son in Rome for a few days when he was travelling around Europe and went to many of the same places that you did. Your review has brought back some wonderful memories.

 

I was also very interested in your time in Lucca as after three previous port stops in Livorno we are planning to go to Lucca in June next year during our port stop on our Celebrity Constellation cruise.

 

Thank you again!

 

PS. I love Scotland and are planning to revisit in 2025.

 

I would definitely go to Lucca. It was so charming and even though we were there during the Summer Music Festival, it wasn’t overly busy. You could spend a very pleasant day there. If you like to DIY the trains go every half hour from Pisa Centrale.

 

You wouldn’t love Scotland at the moment - the weather during the school holidays has been just miserable. We were lucky to be on our trip and missed 3 weeks of constant showers. Yesterday at noon it was wet, windy and 13 degrees😩

[Scottishclover]

9 hours ago, Ski Mom said:

Loving your review! 

Thank you for taking the time to read. Our thoughts on the Beyond and cruise ports coming up next.

[Scottishclover]

EMBARKATION 

It was finally cruise day👏. The big question on these boards is always what’s the best way to get to Civitavecchia. Well, you know we are cheapskates, so you can probably guess how we did it …… but you would be WRONG!

 

We had booked a private transfer to get us from the port to airport after the cruise  but we thought we would save some money by catching the train to the port. However about a fortnight before leaving the UK, I had read about a strike on the 7th July, panicked and booked a shared transfer. 
 

It was the best decision I made. Turns out the strike was just local transport and wouldn’t have affected us anyway but our shared transfer ( which turned out to be private in the end) was just so hassle free, I would do it again, without a doubt, over the train and bus. And bear in mind this is the opinion of someone who is totally fine with lugging luggage and using public transport.
 

We used RFT Rome Fiumicino Transport and the service was good. They got in touch the evening before to confirm the time, sent a photo and name of driver and vehicle registration. Our driver was prompt and it was an air conditioned Mercedes minivan. Very comfortable for the hour journey to the terminal building.

 

Our check- in time was 11 o’clock and it took no more than 10 mins to get on the ship. We were impressed! No waiting whatsoever.

 

There was nobody there as we were boarding. Was this going to be a quiet cruise?

 

Now there is no denying it - the Beyond is a beautiful ship. Watch a video on YouTube, lots of TAs do tours of the ship. Having been on Apex last year, we loved the familiarity of the ship. We noticed some wee differences straight away.

 

These swing chairs are a new addition just outside Cafe Al Bacio.

 

We were pleased our favourite place on board hadn’t changed too much from the Apex, other than some different seating. 
 

I think Celebrity has done well with the tweaks. The biggest improvement is definitely the Sunset Bar. The space here is just lovely and we used it quite a bit throughout the cruise compared to last year. The weather difference may have played a part here though. Try the signature Marrakesh Mule cocktail, it’s delicious.

I love the way the bar is over different levels and has lots of different seating options.

 

Another addition to the Beyond is the Mast Bar, kind of tucked away on deck 15.  DD1 is training for a half marathon so did a lot of running on the track on the cruise and the bartenders here kept her well hydrated with water. We found them so friendly, possibly because it’s a bit quieter than other bars and they have more time to chat. 

The mast bar has some comfy seating and a TV behind the bar for watching sports. They make a good Spritz too but I’d love to know why Campari spritz is in the classic drinks package but aperol spritz is extra🤷‍♀️

 

Now I need to talk about numbers. Last year on the Apex there were only 1200 passengers on board. This year there were 3450. So quite a difference. In all honesty, no matter where we were, we could always get a seat, never had a wait  for dinner and always got served pretty promptly.However you could tell the crew were working extra hard. Last year, in bars and restaurants the crew were much more relaxed. In the evenings there was a buzz about the whole place, which was missing a bit from last year’s cruise. On the Beyond, there were times when things felt very busy,  on the resort deck especially. It was difficult getting a lounger on sea days or any kind of swim in the pool. Also, some mornings in Oceanview cafe it seemed busy  ( just head towards the far back of the ship for plenty of seating) but there were always quiet spots to be had around the ship.

 

The crowds were most noticeable on our 2 sea days. The resort deck was heaving. As we are not sun worshipers, it didn’t impact us too much. Our sea days looked like this:

Me- dance classes/Zumba, trivia, Cafe al Bacio

DH - walking, trivia, table tennis, Cafe al Bacio 

DD1 - yoga class, long runs, cafe al Bacio 

DD2-  walking, table tennis, cafe al Bacio

 

DH and I also went to the 2 talks by cruise director Alejandro, which were entertaining. The first one about the pandemic was especially interesting. I do think there was a lot more activities/music last year aboard the Apex on sea days. For  example, a lot of the guest entertainers did matinée shows. Maybe there is no demand for it on warm weather cruises when everyone is on deck sun bathing? 
 

Before I get to the ports ( and lots of photos of amazing scenery), let’s talk about demographics. This was a young cruise. I think the people on this ship were  the exact target market Celebrity is hoping for with Edge Class. I saw very few elderly people. There were lots of older teens/ young adults on board but not too many children. At 50 I’d say we were definitely over the average age.

 

In terms of nationalities, mostly Americans but quite a lot of large family groups from Latin America. Also curiously, loads of Scottish people. How do you notice Scottish people on a cruise ship? They’re the ones with ginger hair, sunburnt skin and sat at the bar getting value for money out of their drink package😂

 

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Scottishclover
Double post of photos

[Scottishclover]

PORTS

So we are very much DIYers in ports, primarily to save money. I find ship tours vastly overpriced and even the price people pay for private tours boggles my mind at times. Sometimes you look at the base price of a cruise, think it’s ok, but by the time you add up all the tours and activities on port days, it can cost an arm and a leg. Our aim on port days was to have a good variety of activities and keep the cost down as much as possible. We had $800 OBC so I did plump for ship excursions at 2 of the ports on this cruise. I would say book your ship excursions as early as possible. They rose significantly in price,  the closer we got to the cruise.

 

KATAKOLON

What did we do?

Ship Excursion:Best of Olympia. Trip to Olympia Archaeological Site and Magna Grecia Olive Farm

What did Others do?

Not sure - there’s not a whole lot of options here. I think a lot of people just walked around in the town ( which isn’t so big).

Need to Know

The ship docks about 10 mins from the main tourist area, I did spot a ho-ho bus, don’t expect much from Greek plumbing😜

 

I actually quite enjoyed our tour. Our guide was from the Ministry of Culture and he knew his stuff. However, I think there was probably information overload for some people, especially the rude people on the bus who thought it was fine to talk loudly over the guide😡 You did need to have a wee bit of knowledge of the Ancient Greeks to get the most out of it.

It was really hot at Olympia and there was little shade. Something to consider.

 

The Phillippeion.

 

Temple of Zeus - the main draw at the site.

 

The Olympic Stadium. DD1 was a pretty good sprinter at school, winning medals at Scottish Schools Championships but alas it was too hot to break any records here.

 

You really need a guide at Olympia to make it worthwhile, otherwise there’s not a great deal of information about the ruins. It’s hard to comprehend the age and beauty of everything.There was some excavation going on, so archaeologists are still discovering many treasures. A lot of what had been discovered is now preserved in the museum. We had a short tour inside before going to the olive farm.

 

Sculpture of Nike, goddess of victory by Paionios. This was made around 400BC. Incredible!

 

Apollon of Olympia. Probably the highlight of the museum - a large group of sculptures found at the Temple of Zeus.

 

It took about 10 minutes to get to Magna Grecia Farm. After a welcome drink of white wine produced on the farm, we got a talk from the owner about the olive oil production. Then there was a tasting session with different grades and flavours of oil. This was followed by lunch, which was quite substantial. More wine ( and they weren’t stingy), meze and Greek salad, what looked like chicken souvlaki and rice ( didn’t partake as we don’t eat meat) and then baklavas.  In truth the meze would have been enough - looking around the table there was a lot of food waste, which I never like to see. Then the inevitable Greek dancing and time to shop…. not my thing. I would have preferred a proper tour of the farm.

DD2 really enjoyed her time at Magna Grecia Farm

 

Katakolon Verdict

This was our first time ever in Greece and we enjoyed the day. The 2 different parts of the tour were in complete contrast so it was a good choice. Driving through the town, I think a tour is the way to go here. 
 

CORFU

What did we do?

We explored Corfu Town on our own and visited  the Old Fortress.

What did others do?

I’m pretty sure lots went on boat trips and had a beach day.

Need to Know

Theres a long pier here. Shuttles ( at a cost) into town. We walked- it’s 30 minutes tops. The Greek for Corfu Town is Kerkyra.
 

I loved Corfu Town. It had lots of charm and was so pretty. I would advise hitting it early though. The difference between crowds at 9 am and 11am was astonishing. There’s some good value shopping here, if that’s your thing.

Views from the Old Fortress

 

The New Fortress, which is still quite old!

 

We found Corfu to be very green.

 

The old town is filled with narrow streets like these, everywhere you turn. It’s easy to get lost. The streets were very clean. 
 

The Pier. DD1 spent a good hour or so in afternoon running up and down it to change up her training.

 

We came back to the Beyond early afternoon and sat outdoors to have lunch at OV. The views from the ship were lovely. One really cool thing about Corfu is that the airport is very close by and the planes taking off went right over the ship. 

 

Corfu Verdict

Corfu really surprised me. The island was really green. It’s definitely somewhere I’d like to return to, maybe to do some hiking when the weather is a bit cooler. 
 

Next up….. thoughts on Dubrovnik and Kotor.

[Louis Galway]

Loving your review---thank you

[Cruise till you drop]

Tell us more about the ship and the cabins as well.  We just booked the Beyond for Jan 2025

 

We’ve been on the Edge twice and believe it’s similar but interested in your perspective 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[mauimary]

Loving your review.  We were just on the Beyond in April/May and it was early enough to have nice weather without being too hot.  Very much enjoying looking back on fond memories we had from your review.  Liked your comments on the age demographics so it was good we were earlier as we would definitely be seniors now!!  
Eagerly awaiting for more 😎

[Scottishclover]

2 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Tell us more about the ship and the cabins as well.  We just booked the Beyond for Jan 2025

 

We’ve been on the Edge twice and believe it’s similar but interested in your perspective 

If you have been on the Edge, you will feel right at home on the Beyond. I can only compare to the Apex but differences were minimal. It is basically a carbon copy. Some I noticed: 

The resort deck has more sunken seating near the bar and I’m not sure but it seemed like the pool was a bit smaller to compensate for this. The Apex pool seemed longer. I could be wrong about that. 
 

There are 2 extra plunge pools and lovely, shady seating at the aft near the expanded Sunset Bar. The Rooftop Grill looked a bit different and I think the Rooftop Garden’s seating was set up a wee bit differently. 
 

My daughter says the track takes a bit of a different route than on Apex and that one lap is not as long. Again this would need verified. Maybe the heat was affecting her judgement😂

 

I’ve already mentioned the Mast Bar and Sunset Bar improvements above. 

 

Some of the shopping is possibly different. I don’t pay much attention to that side of things. I’m not sure that there was a chocolate outlet on the Apex but who is paying that kind of money for a bar of chocolate? I felt sorry for the assistant there- she must have been bored out of her mind. 
 

Le Voyage is a new addition. Sorry can’t comment as we chose to go to Eden instead ( opinion to come later). Also, there is The World Class Bar and a little kind of bridge over the atrium on deck 5. The Martini Bar is more central in the Grand Plaza and there is more seating in that area. Overall, I think there is more seating. 

 

My favourite area is Eden. Exactly the same as on Apex. The weird, sparkly corridor to get there looks different but just as challenging to navigate. 
 

Of course the 3  production shows are different but the shows in Eden are similar to Apex. The show by the Eden cast in The Club was called ‘The Jazz Joint’ Last year it was ‘Caravan’. 
 

If you liked Edge, I’m sure you will love The Beyond. 

You asked about the cabin and I will add some info to my report later on the week. They are essentially just the same as on Edge.

 

 

 

 

[Scottishclover]

3 hours ago, Louis Galway said:

Loving your review---thank you

Thank you so much 😊 I’m sure it is a bit wordy for some but I learned so much from these reviews/ trip reports before going on our first Celebrity Cruise. 

[Scottishclover]

35 minutes ago, mauimary said:

Loving your review.  We were just on the Beyond in April/May and it was early enough to have nice weather without being too hot.  Very much enjoying looking back on fond memories we had from your review.  Liked your comments on the age demographics so it was good we were earlier as we would definitely be seniors now!!  
Eagerly awaiting for more 😎

Thank you so much. I’m sure I read your review in preparation.
 

Re the demographics, you need to remember our cruise was during school holidays. Celebrity is a good fit for our family. When we moved on from Disney Cruises, I think the girls were a bit worried that there wouldn’t be a lot of teens on board. They enjoyed the ‘vibe’

( their word, not mine😂) so much last year on Apex, they were really keen to cruise again with Celebrity. You just have to listen to the music played around the ship to get an idea of the market Celebrity is aiming for. Our daughters informed me that the music played in Oceanview cafe was really current. Also, DH noted that 80s Flashback at The Club was much quieter this year than on Apex as most people on the ship weren’t around in that decade. For  someone just turned 50, that was a bit of a reality check 🤦‍♀️

[Ski Mom]

On 7/31/2023 at 8:31 AM, Scottishclover said:

PORTS

So we are very much DIYers in ports, primarily to save money. I find ship tours vastly overpriced and even the price people pay for private tours boggles my mind at times. Sometimes you look at the base price of a cruise, think it’s ok, but by the time you add up all the tours and activities on port days, it can cost an arm and a leg. Our aim on port days was to have a good variety of activities and keep the cost down as much as possible. We had $800 OBC so I did plump for ship excursions at 2 of the ports on this cruise. I would say book your ship excursions as early as possible. They rose significantly in price,  the closer we got to the cruise.

 

KATAKOLON

What did we do?

Ship Excursion:Best of Olympia. Trip to Olympia Archaeological Site and Magna Grecia Olive Farm

What did Others do?

Not sure - there’s not a whole lot of options here. I think a lot of people just walked around in the town ( which isn’t so big).

Need to Know

The ship docks about 10 mins from the main tourist area, I did spot a ho-ho bus, don’t expect much from Greek plumbing😜

 

I actually quite enjoyed our tour. Our guide was from the Ministry of Culture and he knew his stuff. However, I think there was probably information overload for some people, especially the rude people on the bus who thought it was fine to talk loudly over the guide😡 You did need to have a wee bit of knowledge of the Ancient Greeks to get the most out of it.

It was really hot at Olympia and there was little shade. Something to consider.

 

The Phillippeion.

 

Temple of Zeus - the main draw at the site.

 

The Olympic Stadium. DD1 was a pretty good sprinter at school, winning medals at Scottish Schools Championships but alas it was too hot to break any records here.

 

You really need a guide at Olympia to make it worthwhile, otherwise there’s not a great deal of information about the ruins. It’s hard to comprehend the age and beauty of everything.There was some excavation going on, so archaeologists are still discovering many treasures. A lot of what had been discovered is now preserved in the museum. We had a short tour inside before going to the olive farm.

 

Sculpture of Nike, goddess of victory by Paionios. This was made around 400BC. Incredible!

 

Apollon of Olympia. Probably the highlight of the museum - a large group of sculptures found at the Temple of Zeus.

 

It took about 10 minutes to get to Magna Grecia Farm. After a welcome drink of white wine produced on the farm, we got a talk from the owner about the olive oil production. Then there was a tasting session with different grades and flavours of oil. This was followed by lunch, which was quite substantial. More wine ( and they weren’t stingy), meze and Greek salad, what looked like chicken souvlaki and rice ( didn’t partake as we don’t eat meat) and then baklavas.  In truth the meze would have been enough - looking around the table there was a lot of food waste, which I never like to see. Then the inevitable Greek dancing and time to shop…. not my thing. I would have preferred a proper tour of the farm.

DD2 really enjoyed her time at Magna Grecia Farm

 

Katakolon Verdict

This was our first time ever in Greece and we enjoyed the day. The 2 different parts of the tour were in complete contrast so it was a good choice. Driving through the town, I think a tour is the way to go here. 
 

CORFU

What did we do?

We explored Corfu Town on our own and visited  the Old Fortress.

What did others do?

I’m pretty sure lots went on boat trips and had a beach day.

Need to Know

Theres a long pier here. Shuttles ( at a cost) into town. We walked- it’s 30 minutes tops. The Greek for Corfu Town is Kerkyra.
 

I loved Corfu Town. It had lots of charm and was so pretty. I would advise hitting it early though. The difference between crowds at 9 am and 11am was astonishing. There’s some good value shopping here, if that’s your thing.

Views from the Old Fortress

 

The New Fortress, which is still quite old!

 

We found Corfu to be very green.

 

The old town is filled with narrow streets like these, everywhere you turn. It’s easy to get lost. The streets were very clean. 
 

The Pier. DD1 spent a good hour or so in afternoon running up and down it to change up her training.

 

We came back to the Beyond early afternoon and sat outdoors to have lunch at OV. The views from the ship were lovely. One really cool thing about Corfu is that the airport is very close by and the planes taking off went right over the ship. 

 

Corfu Verdict

Corfu really surprised me. The island was really green. It’s definitely somewhere I’d like to return to, maybe to do some hiking when the weather is a bit cooler. 
 

Next up….. thoughts on Dubrovnik and Kotor.

I am really Enjoying following along with you on your journey! Thanks so much for sharing!

[jwlane]

21 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

 Again this would need verified.

She's right.  It loops back before the Rooftop Garden/Garden Grill, whereas on Apex it loops around them.

[Scottishclover]

DUBROVNIK

What did we do?

Caught the Celebrity Shuttle into the Old Town for a wander, came back to port and went to The Red History Museum nearby.

What did Others do?

Cable car, town walls, kayak trip

Need to know

The port is quite a walk from the old town. Celebrity offered a shuttle at $12 person ( we succumbed and used OBC) but there was taxis for a fixed rate or the local bus from outside of the port. There is a big supermarket right at the port to stock up on essentials. Prices in Dubrovnik old town are extortionate.

 

This will be an unpopular opinion,I’m sure, but Dubrovnik was probably my least favourite port of the trip. While the old town within the walls is drop-dead gorgeous, there isn’t a lot to it. Yes we could have walked the walls for half an hour but for €35 a person.  I think not. Cable car? Again totally overpriced. Coffee/coke… not at those ridiculous prices. €5,90!!!! I could get a cappuccino in Italy for half the price. I just felt like tourists were getting completely ripped off and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

The shuttle dropped us just outside Pile Gate. We walked through into the old town and spent some time exploring. There were maps on walls showing the devastation to buildings in the town during the Balkans War in the early 90s. 
 

We got an early shuttle and the streets of the old town were very quiet.

 

Rector’s Palace

There were a lot of shops and cafes up all the narrow alleyways.

 

We came across a market selling berries. Fleecing the tourists again with really high prices😩 Coming from Scotland, I know the going rate for local berries and it is not €5!!!

 

This sign made me laugh.

 

The Walls

This little bay was just outside the walls.

 

Mid morning we felt as if we had seen enough of the old town. Now we love to hike and half had the idea that we could climb Mount Srd. I knew there was a museum up there about the war that would be interesting. The issue was we were not dressed for a hike in 35 degrees. So we decided to go back to the ship, have lunch and go for the hike in the afternoon. 

On the shuttle ride back I spotted a little museum about 200m from the ship. It was called the Red History Museum and was €9 entry ( more in our price range😂) . We spent some time there learning about socialism in the former Yugoslavia. It was very similar to an interactive museum about the DDR we had been to in Berlin. It was informative and was a nice escape from the midday heat.

From there we went to a large supermarket called  Konsum right next to the ship. We enjoy having a wee poke about foreign supermarkets. In comparison to the UK, prices of things were quite a bit more expensive. We were pretty shocked. What kind of wages are the locals on?

 

Our afternoon did not go as planned. It turns out we would have had to buy another shuttle ticket to go back into town for our hike. Come on, Celebrity that’s just being cheap. DH was not having any of it so we just stayed on what was a lovely quiet ship. We even managed to swim laps in the pool.

Even the whirlpools were empty.

 

Dubrovnik Verdict

Looking back, one activity we probably should have done was a kayak tour. They were reasonable at €35 for a 3 hour tour. Had we been organised we could have hiked early on, then explored the old town. I’m sure we would have enjoyed our day there much better, doing these activities. As it is, all I will ever remember about Dubrovnik is how overpriced it was. 

 

 

[wineoclock]

Thank you - trying to persuade dh to go on Beyond in October. He spoilsport wants to go to my parents house in Cyprus. I get it - only have to pay for flights. But it’s our chance to try Beyond. Even more wanting to try it after your review!

[ElmaLee]

Really enjoying your reviews.  Thanks for doing them.

[mauimary]

It was/is a fabulous cruise. Everything about it. The crew, the Captain, itinerary and the ship. Just wish it was staying in Europe next summer.  
 

Wow it was hot hot hot for your family in Europe. We too just walked around Dubrovnik but we did splurge for a light lunch in a tucked away restaurant with a view of the water.   We liked exploring the nooks and crannies.  Will agree it was spendy there and there were just the two of us. 
Looking forward to hearing more. 

[Provence55always]

We were in Dubrovnik about 15 years ago and it was dirt cheap. Gorgeous seafood dinners with wine less than 20 Euro for two. But now everyone I know who goes there talks about how expensive it have become. Like you said it is drop-dead gorgeous, I remember the Croatia people were very kind. Your photos brought back many happy memories.