Beyond LIVE Med Review 10/20-10/30: Tales from our Suite Roman Holiday

[zitsky]

Where did you say this statue is?  Asking for a friend.

[luv2camp04]

Love the review of your Evening Food tour.  I've been looking at something like that for our cruise out of Rome next year.  Do you have the link to the tour you used?

 

Thanks!!

 

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Following along Charla and Jeremy. Keep the pics coming. You two look great.

[theopup]

Thanks for all the details, information and pictures of your Rome pre cruise holiday.

 

I have made note of some of the restaurants that you listed, and the golf cart tour sounds interesting.

[DaKahuna]

6 hours ago, zitsky said:

Where did you say this statue is?  Asking for a friend.

 Pretty sure she said the actual statue was in the Vatican and I believe we saw it on our tour in 2018. 

Edited October 20, 2023 by DaKahuna

[GenerationX]

Happy Embarkation Day! It’s map dress time in Roma! 
 

[chemmo]

14 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Happy Embarkation Day! It’s map dress time in Roma! 
 

So enjoying your adventures…So many people visit the great cities and sights of Europe and forget to leave time to ‘Stand and Stare’….They come away with a long list of ‘been, seen, done’ but totally fail to capture the feel or ambiance of the places they visit.
 

Coming from the UK we have been blessed with being able on relatively short flights to enjoy many week/two week holidays in the Mediterranean which is definitely far more relaxing. However, I think your focus on food and wine has helped you on a short visit to Italy to really soak it up….I think many reading your review will learn from your planning which has really been excellent.

 

Looking forward to your next instalment!

[GenerationX]

37 minutes ago, chemmo said:

So enjoying your adventures…So many people visit the great cities and sights of Europe and forget to leave time to ‘Stand and Stare’….They come away with a long list of ‘been, seen, done’ but totally fail to capture the feel or ambiance of the places they visit.
 

Coming from the UK we have been blessed with being able on relatively short flights to enjoy many week/two week holidays in the Mediterranean which is definitely far more relaxing. However, I think your focus on food and wine has helped you on a short visit to Italy to really soak it up….I think many reading your review will learn from your planning which has really been excellent.

 

Looking forward to your next instalment!

Thank you! You are so right. It was odd, this morning for the first time in all my cruises I was a little sad to be getting on the ship.  We could’ve easily spent a whole week just in Rome really enjoying the city.  I could’ve spent a full day in Vatican City alone.

 

We’ve decided that next Europe trip our goal will be to save away vacation time at work so that we have 5-6 days in Rome on land pre-cruise.

[zitsky]

3 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Thank you! You are so right. It was odd, this morning for the first time in all my cruises I was a little sad to be getting on the ship.  We could’ve easily spent a whole week just in Rome really enjoying the city.  I could’ve spent a full day in Vatican City alone.

 

We’ve decided that next Europe trip our goal will be to save away vacation time at work so that we have 5-6 days in Rome on land pre-cruise.

I used to think that Paris was my favorite city, but I really enjoyed Rome last time.

 

I like the dress!

Edited October 20, 2023 by zitsky

[chemmo]

8 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I used to think that Paris was my favorite city, but I really enjoyed Rome last time.

 

I like the dress!

I can simply sit in a cafe in both of these cities and simply watch the people (and the fashion) go by!

[hcat]

My husb has convinced me to stop and savor more..and snap fewer pics.( I am a snap snap snapper..he takes time to study and compose his photos)  It was good advice!

 

you should consider Florence..our favorite

 

BON VOYAGE and HAPPY B DAY CRUISE TO  JEREMY!

Edited October 20, 2023 by hcat

[zitsky]

26 minutes ago, hcat said:

My husb has convinced me to stop and savor more..and snap fewer pics.( I am a snap snap snapper..he takes time to study and compose his photos)  It was good advice!

 

you should consider Florence..our favorite

 

BON VOYAGE and HAPPY B DAY CRUISE TO  JEREMY!

One of our first and best trips was a stay at a villa not far from Florence in Sienna.  Waiters in tuxes serving dinner outside.  Not that expensive back in 1995 since we didn’t have a big travel budget.  I wish I had put that trip on Facebook because I can’t find the name of that place today!

[Stem to Stern]

We were absolutely enamored with our first visit to Venice last year.  Then we spent two nights post-cruise in Bologna which was another incredible city.  Italy has so much to experience.  We have only scratched the surface.  Tornero Italia!

[LouChamp]

8 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Thank you! You are so right. It was odd, this morning for the first time in all my cruises I was a little sad to be getting on the ship.  We could’ve easily spent a whole week just in Rome really enjoying the city.  I could’ve spent a full day in Vatican City alone.

 

We’ve decided that next Europe trip our goal will be to save away vacation time at work so that we have 5-6 days in Rome on land pre-cruise.

Aloha. Enjoy the cruise. Rome is certainly special even though my family is from Sicily although I favor Venice and my daughter favors Florence as she also studied there. Just a tip should you decide to visit Rome again. You can spend endless time at the Vatican Museums and I retained a College professor who gives tours in Rome and the Vatican. She has since retired but there are special licensed guides who can access the museum without waiting on line. She had a driver  for us who would wait as we toured the Pantheon, the Catacombs etc for two days and also took us to restaurants where tourists don’t go. We did the same in Florence, London, Athens, Paris, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Rio, and it was well worth it with no waits and easy in everywhere. Its a lot of research but well worth it.

Anyway enjoy and remember…food pictures please 😂

[Lastdance]

Don’t forget to add Dolomites to a future trip; the small town, Castelrotto,  of Italy is just magical due to all the beauty that surrounds you!

Edited October 20, 2023 by Lastdance

[chemmo]

5 hours ago, zitsky said:

One of our first and best trips was a stay at a villa not far from Florence in Sienna.  Waiters in tuxes serving dinner outside.  Not that expensive back in 1995 since we didn’t have a big travel budget.  I wish I had put that trip on Facebook because I can’t find the name of that place today!

Couldn’t be Villa Del Sol could it? 

[theopup]

Thanks for the top LouChamp

[zitsky]

46 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Couldn’t be Villa Del Sol could it? 

I don’t think so.  I’m desperately searching through old emails!

[chemmo]

51 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I don’t think so.  I’m desperately searching through old emails!

I feel your pain…So frustrating when you find somewhere special.

 

We once drove around the rural county of Cheshire, UK for hours to find a curious little castle we had once spotted and meant to revisit one day…We couldn’t initially spot it on the internet and resorted to driving around. It was quite magical when we rounded a bend and spotted it!
 

A road trip to Italy needed perhaps?

Edited October 20, 2023 by chemmo

[GenerationX]

Hello from onboard Beyond!

 

I know we still have to talk about Jeremy and I’sq Tuscany day, but wanted to share a bit about our embarkation experience and first hours onboard while it’s fresh in my mind.

 

We booked a private transfer to Civitaveccia with Transfer Service Rome. The driver arrived at our apartment about 15 minutes early and we were on our way to port in a spotless van by 10am.  Traffic wasn’t bad so it only took about 50 minutes to make it to the port from Trastevere.

 

When we arrived, the Retreat “priority embarkation” experience was literally nonexistent.  After a porter took our checked bags, everyone went through the same security line, did check in and were given a little ticket with an embarkation group number on it and were told to wait in a sitting area until their number was called.

 

No Retreat boarding lounge, etc

 

Fortunately it was early and not very busy when we arrived, so we waited less than 15 minutes to board.  When we sat down they were boarding group 55 and we had a ticket for group 60.

 

Not having the Retreat embarkation experience wasn’t a big deal to me having paid such a low price for our moveup, and how quickly things went, but if I’d paid over 15K for a sky suite at regular price, it’d probably have put a little salt in my mouth starting the cruise.

 

When we got onboard we went to our room and dropped off our bags then headed to my office at sea aka the martini bar. When we arrived I was greeted by some of the same bartenders who were working on my solo spring cruise. They were very exited to meet “Mr. Charla” 😂 and surprised us with special espresso martinis!  I was also happy to see them still giving out Evian for premium package bottled water (I had read some reviews it was getting hard to find onboard).

 

After a cocktail, we headed over to guest services to put some cash on our onboard account so it isn’t sitting in the safe and convert some more from USD to Euros for port spending.  This is one of those places where MSC still beats out Celebrity for me. In Yacht Club, the concierges have full banking capabilities.  They can do currency exchange and account cash transactions without having to go stand in the line at guest services.  Once again we were lucky having boarded early though and the wait in line was only about 10 minutes.

 

While we were doing our transaction I heard a man at the next desk ask about changing his stateroom and be told that the ship is completely sold out for this sailing and no cabin changes or upgrades are available.

 

After getting money in order,  it was off to grab our traditional first peaches and bourbon in the Retreat lounge and head to our first meal in Luminae.  We got there about 12:45 (lunch served till 1:30) and were seated quickly.

 

On our way in the hotel director for the ship was greeting guests as we came in to dine.  When we said hello he looked at me with a big smile and said “welcome onboard! first time sailing with us on Celebrity?” and Jeremy choked on his sip of peaches and bourbon.  As we were walking away “FINALLY! There’s somebody who works on this ship who doesn’t know you already!”.

 

For appetizers Jeremy had the ceviche which he cleaned the bowl of and I tried the short rib borscht.  I’m used to having borscht be served cold but this one was warm.  I liked it much better than the chicken consumme that often makes an appearance on the Luminae lunch menu though.

 

Jeremy said his Luminae burger was good as always.  My steak in my steak frites was a bit overdone.  As is my custom I asked for it with the truffle fries that come with the burger rather than the thick wedges.

 

We had my edge class traditional first night dinner reservation at Eden so decided to save our appetites and skip dessert.

 

Speaking of which, we are all dressed and ready for said dinner! I even found the perfect Eden themed dress on a clearance rack for $18 and paired it with my favorite necklace, made from the first cut of steel for Beyond’s hull.

 

Stay tuned for a catch up post about our last land day in Italy yesterday and a report on our stateroom and the “modified” sky suite experience thus far.

 

Pics from our first hours onboard as well as elite plus captains club event schedule below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[theopup]

Just a spelling edit from my last post that I just noticed!

 

“Thanks for the top LouChamp”

 

should say - Thanks for the tip! Lol

[micruiser2002]

43 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Jeremy said his Luminae burger was good as always. 

Reminder to self - ask for extra caramelized onions.  

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

 

 

When we arrived, the Retreat “priority embarkation” experience was literally nonexistent.  After a porter took our checked bags, everyone went through the same security line, did check in and were given a little ticket with an embarkation group number on it and were told to wait in a sitting area until their number was called.

 

No Retreat boarding lounge, etc

 

 

 

 

On our way in the hotel director for the ship was greeting guests as we came in to dine.  When we said hello he looked at me with a big smile and said “welcome onboard! first time sailing with us on Celebrity?” and Jeremy choked on his sip of peaches and bourbon.  As we were walking away “FINALLY! There’s somebody who works on this ship who doesn’t know you already!”.

 

 

First, our experience in Civitavecchia was similar, but it was our first sky suite, so we didn't know any better.  We did have a different check in like, but the Aqua line was actually a little shorter.  And by the time we got there, everyone was just boarding as they came.

 

Second, when DH and I were on the Summit in April, it was his first time and my third.  By afternoon of the first day he asked me if I knew everyone on the ship and was going to hug them all.

[mac_tlc]

Ohhhhhh… Bourbon and Peaches……….

 

 

mac_tlc

[zitsky]

16 minutes ago, abbydancer said:

First, our experience in Civitavecchia was similar, but it was our first sky suite, so we didn't know any better.  We did have a different check in like, but the Aqua line was actually a little shorter.  And by the time we got there, everyone was just boarding as they came.

 

Second, when DH and I were on the Summit in April, it was his first time and my third.  By afternoon of the first day he asked me if I knew everyone on the ship and was going to hug them all.

Charla, This is really strange because in mid May 2023 there was definitely a Retreat check in area and lounge in Civitavecchia.  We were in a Sky Suite on the Beyond.