New to Celebrity - Just booked Beyond!

[YankeesFan4Life]

Been loyal to Royal for the last bunch of years, have had some amazing trips on ships big and small.  However, we were sick of the same itinerary of Port Canaveral, Coco Cay (which I LOVE) and Nassau (Which I HATE!)

 

We booked Beyond to the ABC Islands, places we've never been. 

 

Just curious about the main differences between RCL and Celebrity - we booked a Prime Concierge Infinite Veranda on Deck 12.  

 

Are the MDR's good?  We've seen the MDR's on RCL too commercial, menu changes, and skimping on a lot.  Main question is - worth it to upgrade to a dining package?  Things I DEFINITELY need to try?  I heard Daniel Baloud's restaurant is not to be missed!  

 

Dress code - I'm assuming a little more strict on Celebrity vs RCL?  I usually wear a pair of nice shorts and a collared shirt - I assume that's a No-Go, but are jackets required for Men?  

 

I'm a bit of a wine and liquor snob (work in the industry) - booked the "all inclusive" wifi and drink package - assuming its worth it to upgrade both?

 

Lastly, I am Emerald in RCL - and also have the RCL Visa - do I get any perks or benefit with these?

 

Thanks so much for your input and I am looking forward to our new adventure on a new line (for us)

[mahasamatman]

1 hour ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

Dress code - I'm assuming a little more strict on Celebrity vs RCL?

 

No different. They claim no shorts in the MDR, but don't enforce it.

[jelayne]

The Beyond has 4 MDRs and we find the food very good.The dining rooms are all anytime dining.  You do not need a jacket for dinner but no shorts in the MDRs in the evening.  Dockers, dress slacks, jeans ( no rips or tears) are fine.  
 

If you are a wine and liquor snob you should upgrade the beverage package to the Premium package and then be prepared to pay a upcharge for the better wines and liquors.  
 

The specialty restaurants are pricey, a multi night package saves a little money but you can not book reservations until you are on the ship.   
 

I suggest you download the Celebrity app.  You can see the MDR menus ( they may not be in the order that they will be for your sailing) to get a good idea of the offerings.

The specialty restaurant menus are there also.

 

 For our upcoming sailing there is an extensive wine list which is in the app under “Dining”, Main Dining Rooms, Cosmopolitan dining room.  The list included by the glass and bottle options.  
 

Hope this helps.  Beyond is our favorite ship.

[jelayne]

2 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

No different. They claim no shorts in the MDR, but don't enforce it.

I have seen many occasions of men being turned away. 
In one recent case the man became irate, not with the staff, but with his wife.  She had told him he didn’t need to take long pants because she heard the dress code wasn’t enforced.  He apparently had not even brought a pair of jeans. 

[hcat]

21 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

No different. They claim no shorts in the MDR, but don't enforce it.

they do!  

[Georgia_Peaches]

I think you’ll really enjoy the break from RCL with E class. Still a lively atmosphere but not over the top like some RCL ships. 
 

RCL and Celebrity have reciprocity in their loyalty program. Your Emerald status will transfer over to whatever is most equivalent with Celebrity’s Captain’s Club levels.  I believe there is an on line form but it’s been a while since I did this so that may have changed. 

[RichYak]

5 hours ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

 

Just curious about the main differences between RCL and Celebrity - we booked a Prime Concierge Infinite Veranda on Deck 12.  

Make sure you understand what an Infinite Veranda cabin is to avoid any potentially negative surprises. 

[YankeesFan4Life]

7 hours ago, RichYak said:

Make sure you understand what an Infinite Veranda cabin is to avoid any potentially negative surprises. 

Yeah, I get it.  It's not the "traditional" balcony, but I don't see this ship has "traditional" balcony rooms....weird but I'll deal with it.  I was about to book on 11, but then I read somewhere that the upper decks block the sun from coming in so went up to 12

[Alakegirl]

10 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

 

No different. They claim no shorts in the MDR, but don't enforce it.

We have seen the “no shorts” rule enforced, often!

[RichYak]

3 hours ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

Yeah, I get it.  It's not the "traditional" balcony, but I don't see this ship has "traditional" balcony rooms....weird but I'll deal with it.  I was about to book on 11, but then I read somewhere that the upper decks block the sun from coming in so went up to 12

All Retreat cabins have balconies as do aft Sunset cabins. Also, there are a few cabins that have an exterior space built into the hull. There are no balconies anywhere else on the E-class ships like Beyond. To me, that's the most glaring difference that I wanted to make sure you were aware of between the two lines.

 

As to the wine question in your OP, if you drink a few glasses per day, upgrading to premium for the extra $7 discount per glass of better wines would likely be worth it.