Here we go again... LIVE from Beyond, February 19, 2024

[mac_tlc]

21 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

I’m curious does Bug make an appearance at Trivia? If she does are you able to get a picture with Bug? I’d love to meet both Captain Kate and Bug Naked!

She sure does:

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1 by mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, Beachlover1989 said:

Those who feel so entitled, like these people obviously do, probably wouldn't even be bothered by a picture 😆

I walked past them this afternoon on way to the Rooftop Grill at lunch today. Was very tempted to snap a picture but I did not. 
 

mac_tlc

[hcat]

not for me..

.I loved all of my cats,  but never put them in clothes/ costumes  or a stroller.  I am sure she is a  very loved and pampered pet but this is a bit over the top for me...

 

just my opinion,  others will no doubt differ! 

[mac_tlc]

Lunch at Rooftop Garden Grill was quite good. And it appeared to be full. 

 

 

 

 

I started with the pulled pork trio:

 

 

 

and the Watermelon and feta salad— with no olives:

 

 

 

Main was the crispy fish sandwich. —- which I forgot to get a picture of— it was very good. 
 

For dessert:

 

 

 

My wife — again— saw The Cookie!! Worth the price of admission to her. So, we got it to go sans gelato:

 

 

 

The E-class ships are sure photogenic::

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up: The Last Supper and evening onboard.

 

mac_tlc

Edited March 1 by mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

And so, as we have done most of the previous 10 evenings, we started at the attest Lounge for a drink and snack. Once again Emily took care of us.

 

Dinner at Luminae:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a double soup night with the smoked tomato soup and, of course, The French onion soup. Both were excellent. 
 

Final entree was the filet, with a couple shrimp on the side:

 

 

 

Ae took in the last production show, Elements. While probably the most visually stunning, I like Arte better. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the room to finish packing. 
 

So far, I think I have checked the drawers seven or eight times, only a couple more to go.

 

What’s the over/under on checking your embarkation clothes? Has to be at least 5 . I don’t want to be “ that guy” who didn’t leave out what needs to be left out..😏😏😏

 

And so, we bid farewell to the Celebrity Beyond after a memorable 11 days. We visited three places we have never been and travelled as far south as we have been —- so far— and set foot on a new continent.. pretty cool. 
 

My final reflections, observations, thoughts, and discussion of future plans will be done tomorrow afternoon—- after a few loads have made it through the washer/ dryer!!

 

Thanks so much for following along. I hope it was informative and maybe a little fun!

 

 

mac_tlc
 

 

Edited March 1 by mac_tlc

[Galaxy2004]

Really enjoyed following along. Be safe traveling home tomorrow.

[abbydancer2003]

Safe trip home.  Thanks for this, and for the memories (Elements was great and Anna Maria and Emily were terrific)

[bjahil47]

Really enjoyed your review!  We will be on Beyond in 11 days!  Safe travels home!

[mac_tlc]

So the laundry is almost done and the Beyond has departed on its next sailing. Here is my finale. I often think of something later and will add it if it pops up.

 

And so, some final thoughts, observations, and future thoughts.

 

The Ship : What can I say, we love E-class. Well maintained, looks great. There were some areas we didn’t go to, like Martini bar, World Class Bar, Eden. But, that’s us. We have never fancied sitting at a bar. If we are sitting somewhere, its Café alBacio and we were there often. Since we cancelled our dinner at Eden and given my wife’s mobility challenges, we never went to Eden. When in Retreat, we always get a cabin very close to the front elevators. We have now been in cabin 10123 on all E-class ships. The location makes it very manageable for us.

 

Service: Fabulous. Other than the one hiccup at Fine Cut, everything was as we expected. Smiling crew and some familiar faces which is always great.

 

Food: Unexpectedly, we ate at Luminae 9 of 11 nights. We did not expect to go that often. But the serving team – more familiar faces --- made it fun to go back each night. Rozi, our waiter, along with the team of Made, Nicole, Victor and McLarin did a spectacular job. We had great service, great food and great conversation. We had planned to go to Blu but, honestly, the nights we compared menus we both would rather go to Luminae. TBH, my wife’s mobility challenges mean there has to be a good reason to head to the back of the ship.

 

The only food hiccup was Fine Cut and I went into more detail on that in the body of the review. We loved Rooftop Garden Grill, both for dinner and lunch. This was the first time we have been there and we will definitely go back.

We only went to the Oceanview Café a couple times – and only when there was no other option. We used to love the buffet, not anymore. Too hard to find a seat and too many people going in every direction. The food and selection were good, its just not the atmosphere we like.

 

My continuing complaint about the 9:00am cutoff for a sit down breakfast continues in full force. We solved that problem by getting room service almost every morning. Even if we had to pay the service charge in a non-Retreat cabin, we would probably do it. Makes our mornings much more relaxing.

 

Entertainment: This is where Beyond shines. Wonderful production shows, 7 (I think) headliners, the entire Eden production cast and shows, numerous trivia and game shows every day, plus all the other nightly events.  We enjoy dinner, a show, a game show, maybe some casino time, every night. For us, the E-class ships provide plenty of what we like to do.

 

The Retreat: It’s hard to separate the experience from the cost but I will try. We spent a lot of time talking about this..what do we like, not like, what parts don’t we utilize, etc. One of the things we like the most is the larger cabin. This is rarely mentioned when discussing the Retreat but for us it’s a big deal. Retreat Sundeck? We probably only spent 10 minutes up there. Retreat Lounge? We like it, the size of the room, the vast array of windows on both side (on Beyond and Ascent). As I stated, we don’t want to sit at a bar so the lack of bar seating is not an issue for us. It’s a comfortable place to go and its quiet. Emily and Anna Maria were great servers and we never waited for a refreshment.

 

The butler situation is in flux and all I can say is that if it gets back (or close) to what it was before the failed experiment, its another plus. We adapted to the current setup. Yes, we did get our cheese and cracker every day at 3, yes the stateroom attendant handled the laundry and the room was spotless.  We miss the daily interaction and conversation – and the suggestions of what can be done for us. As I have said before, the current setup pushes the responsibility to the guest. It was better the other way.

 

Future plans: I could talk for ever on this one but I’ll get to the point. We love the E-class Retreat and would be perfectly happy there. However, the costs have made it almost prohibitive.  To do the Retreat we either need a sweetheart deal, like we found on Beyond in 2023, Ascent in 2024 and Xcel in 2026, or we need to go to S class, although those deals are not that prevalent either. I do have my eye on a couple of S-class sailings in Spring 2026 that are below $400 per person per day.  Here is some hard price data that I have compiled for Spring 2026.

 

Silhouette  -- 3/29/26 -- $393

Silhouette – 4/4/26 - $386

Apex – 4/4/26 - $632

Apex – 4/11/26 - $602

Ascent – 3/27/26 - $544

Ascent – 4/4/26 - $553

Silversea Silver Ray – 3/10/26 - $505

Seven Seas Grandeur – 3/14/26 - $667

Viking – 3/29/26 – $387 (Deluxe veranda)

Viking – 3/29/26 - $481 (Penthouse Veranda)

Icon of the Seas – 3/21/26 - $1,193 (Grand Suite)

Icon of the Seas – 3/21/26 - $853 (Sky Junior Suite)

 

I threw in the Icon just so all the others look reasonable!

 

All of the above are “comparable” to me because I am considering all of them.

 

We did purchase two “Book Later” certificates ( well, they screwed up and only did one, but I hope to call C&A and get that remedied). Which ones will we do? Don’t know. There are also a couple of Spring transatlantics we are considering. Stay tuned – our future is always in my signature.

 

 

mac_tlc

Edited March 1 by mac_tlc

[scrapcreator]

I've thoroughly enjoyed your live. Thank you.

[Galaxy2004]

Also thoroughly enjoyed following along. The comparisons you compiled for spring 2026 are very interesting! We've never done retreat but can certainly see in your comparison how hard it is for some to not look at the more luxury brands with retreat prices that high.

[JackE]

What a wonderful journey you have taken us on! Thank you for your commitment to include everything that you and your wife experienced. We also enjoy the E Class ships; we were on the Ascent during the second sailing and have booked the Xcel. 

 

Safe travels home. Can't wait for your next trip!

[mac_tlc]

In case anyone is wondering, I wanted to add MSC Yacht Club and Oceania to the Spring 2026 comparison but they have not released itineraries out that far.

 

The other option we are considering is the New Sun Princess or Star Princess. 

 

mac_tlc

Edited March 1 by mac_tlc

[cw2go]

Thank you @mac_tlc for another fantastic trip report, always enjoy following along! 

 

Patty 

[mac_tlc]

44 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Thank you @mac_tlc for another fantastic trip report, always enjoy following along! 

 

Patty 

Thank you, Patty !

[eyecantwait]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your trip and so many great photos with us. Our Beyond trip next February will be our first on an E class ship so this was a great introduction.

[RichYak]

Thanks for taking us along!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Thanks for your great report.  I will be on the Beyond in December, my first time on an E class ship.  And I agree that suite prices have gone nuts.

[Norwaylady]

Thank you @mac_tlc! 
great review as always🙌🏻 

 

I just returned down from Svalbard, home for 22h before I rushed off to Trondheim😝 

The price for 2026 options are very interesting🤩 

[cruisefam38]

On 2/29/2024 at 8:59 PM, mac_tlc said:

I hope it was informative and maybe a little fun!

This thread has been timely, we board the Beyond in about three weeks.  Thank you for sharing your experiences and perspective.

[RK-NC]

Ditto thank you to @mac_tlc, this has definitely been informative and fun😃!  And to @cruisefam38 hello from 45 minutes east on I40 in Graham!!  Looks like we'll be on your itinerary on Beyond, but on April 12 (3 weeks after you).  And it looks like BOTH our cruises are 100% sold out.  Hope you guys have a great trip, and we hope everyone else on this Live thread have great future cruises!!

[KKB]

20 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

 

 

Future plans: I could talk for ever on this one but I’ll get to the point. We love the E-class Retreat and would be perfectly happy there. However, the costs have made it almost prohibitive.  To do the Retreat we either need a sweetheart deal, like we found on Beyond in 2023, Ascent in 2024 and Xcel in 2026, or we need to go to S class, although those deals are not that prevalent either. I do have my eye on a couple of S-class sailings in Spring 2026 that are below $400 per person per day.  Here is some hard price data that I have compiled for Spring 2026.

 

Silhouette  -- 3/29/26 -- $393

Silhouette – 4/4/26 - $386

Apex – 4/4/26 - $632

Apex – 4/11/26 - $602

Ascent – 3/27/26 - $544

Ascent – 4/4/26 - $553

Silversea Silver Ray – 3/10/26 - $505

Seven Seas Grandeur – 3/14/26 - $667

Viking – 3/29/26 – $387 (Deluxe veranda)

Viking – 3/29/26 - $481 (Penthouse Veranda)

Icon of the Seas – 3/21/26 - $1,193 (Grand Suite)

Icon of the Seas – 3/21/26 - $853 (Sky Junior Suite)

 

I threw in the Icon just so all the others look reasonable!

 

All of the above are “comparable” to me because I am considering all of them.

 

We did purchase two “Book Later” certificates ( well, they screwed up and only did one, but I hope to call C&A and get that remedied). Which ones will we do? Don’t know. There are also a couple of Spring transatlantics we are considering. Stay tuned – our future is always in my signature.

 

 

mac_tlc

Those prices r telling--I would consider Silversea & VIking luxury lines--so not nexpecting prices to be comparable!!

Now, obviously have not tried those lines myself & not sure they r a good fit for us yet.

(which Viking cruise is that for?)

 

Great deal on Ascent in Dec (not Retreat)--$3K total for IV w/ drinks, tips, wifi & $250 OBC.

March 2026 Sun Princess as well...snagged a Cabana Mini Suite for $4K with Princess Plus.

(both 7 nts)

 

Sadly those are our only bookings after our 28 day TA/UK sailing on the Regal Princess in April.

Helped DS buy a house last month & decided to pull back on travel a bit the rest of this year.

 

Just returned from a solo New Caldonia/NZ cruise on Carnival yesterday. Great cruise but glad ro be home. slammed my finger in cabin door as leaving...typing a bit of a challenge w/ a splint!

Too pooped to unpack...

Edited March 2 by KKB

[KKB]

On 2/24/2024 at 9:51 AM, mac_tlc said:

This post is mainly for @Jim_Iain, who has taught me to appreciate doors !!!

 

I call it “The Doors of Cartagena” :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously--these are gorgeous! You should get some printed & framed.

I think you should consider a new side hustle selling them!

I am DEFINITELY going to do door pics in UK!

[KKB]

On 2/25/2024 at 8:55 AM, mac_tlc said:

I have seen the occasional savings of tables in the Oceanview, more for people playing cards or dominoes as opposed to eating. 
 

mac_tlc

I noticed this A LOT on Carnival particularly.

Hey, I get it--but during peak meal times that is 100% unacceptable.

And the the "Reserved" towel...give me a freaking break.

[mac_tlc]

3 hours ago, KKB said:

 

 

Sadly those are our only bookings after our 28 day TA/UK sailing on the Regal Princess in April.

Helped DS buy a house last month & decided to pull back on travel a bit the rest of this year.

 

What date is your Sun Princess sailing?

 

I understand the house thing. Both our kids bought houses in 2020 —- no travel money spent that year, so……..

 

The Viking sailing was actually a 16 night full transit of the Panama Canal from San Juan to LA. It was the only Viking sailing in North America released so far for March 2026.

Silversea was a 10 day Caribbean. If you really want to see a good price, their transatlantic right after the Caribbean one was less than $350 pppd. And it’s on their newest ship, the Silver Ray which debuts in 2025. 
 

mac_tlc