Quick Live Report from Beyond April 12-22

[chrismch]

Remember how I said "people connection" on post #71? I'm going to get better at it - it's something we've forgotten how to do, I think. (the pandemic didn't help ☹️)

So true. Too many have have become too me-centric and forgotten the concept of being kind to others.

 

[RK-NC]

We've made it to North Carolina - should be home sweet home around 5pm! We stopped for lunch in Florence, SC at 1720 Burger Bar and highly recommend it 🍔🍔 I never had a burger on the cruise so I was craving one. DH had the Luminae signature burger for lunch one day - he said it was good but needed more onion jam and sauce. Look who was hanging out in the back at the restrooms! 😎

[hcat]

glad u got the burger you craved

 

We used to stay over in Florence on our 2 day drive from NY  to Fl a few times a year.. With our last pet sadly  gone,  we no longer drive.. We fly now..probably best for us because the ride was becoming tedious, lots more traffic and dangerous w big trucks . Flying is no picnic but we grin and bear it.

 

Hope you enjoyed the cruise!

[RK-NC]

Good morning from the Old North State, home sweet home! I'm laughing because I called this a "quick live report" and it has turned into a slow report and probably more long winded than you bargained for! Hang in there, as soon as I get some coffee, I'm going to finish up. DH said, well, I guess I have to make the coffee today. No Al Bacio 🙁 

 

Edited April 24 by RK-NC

[RK-NC]

OK, here we go! A little recap of our last day (day 10, sea day). We got up around 8am and did 8 laps on the track. Wonderful weather - I bet the pool deck was packed all day! First stop after that was OVC to pick up some yogurt which we carried over to The Spa Cafe. (There are smoothies at the cafe but no yogurt) I had a zucchini muffin with my yogurt and DH had an avocado toast which he really enjoyed! 

 

Next up, Cafe Al Bacio for coffee and pastries. DH took the photo of me above just before "the special story" began. We were sitting there enjoying the view and the coffee (I LOVED the iced Americano and the glass they served it in) I had a chocolate croissant which was flaking all over the floor and I remarked to DH that I felt bad about making a mess.

 

A few minutes later, Francine from Guyana shows up with her broom and dustpan. I said to her "do these pastries drive you nuts?" She said "no, not at all" and proceeded to tell us about WAYS (World At Your Service) which is a Celebrity "philosophy/training series/marketing" (I found a cool video about it on the Celebrity Facebook page) I thanked her for cleaning up my mess and tears started streaming because I had been up at 3am typing a note to send to Captain Kate praising the crew of Beyond. I was just feeling very emotional. We chatted with Francine for a while and found out she is returning home to stay in May or June (I can't remember exactly now)  because she had been away from her partner too long and they needed to nurture their relationship. I don't know if it's coming through, but the whole exchange was just so special to us. 

 

If you are on a future Beyond cruise, please look for Francine! Also, Constance (she was in the ladies room near the theater at show times helping "direct traffic" They are unsung heroes to me. 

[chrismch]

I have made it a habit to always thank whoever is cleaning the public restrooms for keeping them fresh and clean when I use them on ships.  I do appreciate that! 

[RK-NC]

OK, here we go with the rest of the day. I pulled myself together, got a second iced coffee to-go and we headed over to the theater for the Beyond the Podium presentation on strange sea creatures. We went to every BTP talk by Caleb Crawford - he was awesome!! 

 

Following that was Captain Kate's Ocean's Ahead presentation with Q&A at the end. I originally planned to submit a question about the creaking and banging situation but ultimately decided that was better addressed through the survey that everyone receives after the cruise. (Already did it 😉)

 

So, remember that note to the Captain I typed up at 3am? I quickly wrote it out and took it to the table where they were handing out paper/pencil and collecting questions. I was the first one in the "collection can" and I think I scared the activities staff when they saw how long it was! We really enjoyed Captain Kate's presentation and left just hoping they didn't throw away the unanswered questions/notes.

 

Next up, packing. Let's just skip over that 🙁 In between packing sessions, we went to the Extravaganza Buffet for lunch. Wiwid had urged us to get there early because he said by 2pm it would all be a mess! Shrimp were great (though not very photogenic) Desserts were beautiful but I won't share a spoiler photo 😉 

 

At 3pm we went to Caleb's last presentation on coral reefs where he showed video of his snorkeling "finds" while on our cruise! 😎 

 

"Dinner" was at the Retreat Lounge afternoon bites - so relaxing and plenty to call a meal - then off to the last production show Arte (incredible!!) 

 

We returned to our stateroom to find this on the bed. We first thought it was a note from Butler Thad or Sheldon, room attendant until I opened it and found it was from the Captain! She thanked us for taking the time to write the note earlier. Her last words were "As my Mum would say, "no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted."" And that is what I leave you with and what I will be thinking about for the rest of my life. It's cliche but this cruise was life changing for us. 

[RK-NC]

On 4/15/2024 at 9:24 AM, Arzeena said:

Would you happen to know if Captain Kate will be on next month?

We kept our ears open for info on Capt Kate's schedule but never heard anything. Yesterday was day 96 of The Captain's Log on YouTube. I'm wondering if she wanted to make it a full 100 days? That would mean this week's cruise would be the last one before her vacation. Thanks for following along with me @Arzeena

[mac_tlc]

So glad you had a wonderful time. We do enjoy the Beyond and Ascent !! 

 

Thanks for taking us along~

 

 

mac_tlc

[karensmom]

9 hours ago, RK-NC said:

We kept our ears open for info on Capt Kate's schedule but never heard anything. Yesterday was day 96 of The Captain's Log on YouTube. I'm wondering if she wanted to make it a full 100 days? That would mean this week's cruise would be the last one before her vacation. Thanks for following along with me @Arzeena

On her Instagram a few weeks ago, she said that Celebrity had asked her to stay on for a couple of weeks.  I don't think she wanted to stay for a full 100 days, she was asked by the company to stay on.  She likely only has a week or two left until her three month vacation begins.

Edited April 25 by karensmom
Accidentally submitted before I finished the reply.

[RK-NC]

On 4/22/2024 at 8:01 PM, chrismch said:

Looking back, what would you say are a couple of your favorite memories of the cruise?

Thank you for this question! We just talked about it and day 8 in St. Kitts is our #1 favorite memory. (see post #51 for a recap) St. Kitts is a beautiful island and we really enjoyed Mr. Thenford Grey of Grey's Island Tours. We left our hearts in St. Kitts and hope to return one day. 

 

#2 favorite was day 6 Barbados (post #34) We originally planned to stay on the ship and so glad we didn't! The walk into town was so nice and the rest of the day was relaxing.

[Arzeena]

Thank you for taking us along.

[RK-NC]

A few extra thoughts:

Soup - Celebrity makes some great soups! We had soup in several different venues and all were good. I'm an avid home cook and soup takes work and know-how. 

 

Dessert - always best in the dining room. By the end of the cruise, I decided the Oceanview desserts were just "eye candy" and not worth the calories to me. The cookies in Eden Cafe - yum! 🍪🍪 The pastries/desserts in Al Bacio were always tempting but nothing is really memorable for me. 

 

Cocktails - we tried several signature cocktails and found some favorites. I did not care for Pina in Eden at all. Fig is the only other one included in the premium beverage package. Beyond Signature at Sunset Bar and Orange Crush at The Club were favorites!

 

 

 

Eden - we loved the relaxing vibe there! And we loved Eden Cafe (wish it were open on port days for lunch) 

 

Blu - is a pretty restaurant! We enjoyed breakfast there (this is the blueberry yogurt parfait) and wish we had gotten there for dinner.

 

The negatives - our creaking, banging, snapping, and popping stateroom 😠, the public areas of the ship were too warm for  us 🥵, stateroom controls on the app did not work for us, lack of a music channel on the TV (at least we couldn't find it) 🎶 The door into the bathroom - DH rigged this bungee cord to hold it open

 

Happy cruising to all! 🚢

[chrismch]

I was surprised to see the regular price for signature cocktails is $17. I'll usually order only the drink the day.

I loved St. Kitts and your tour guide as well.

Usually the only way we hear music on the tv is the background music for the navigation page.

[RK-NC]

On 4/24/2024 at 1:09 PM, RK-NC said:

I'm wondering if she wanted to make it a full 100 days?

Well, yesterday was day 100! But she is staying on for a couple more cruises so apologies, didn't mean to spread incorrect info. Sounds like Captain Giuseppe is also onboard - that would be great to be on a "pair of captains" cruise!

[RK-NC]

15 hours ago, chrismch said:

was surprised to see the regular price for signature cocktails is $17.

Some are higher but we always stuck with the ones $17 or under as they were included in the premium drink package. We are not cocktail drinkers at home so the prices were a bit shocking!