Live from the Beyond! May 18, ABC Sailing

[Bosjoe]

5 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Thank you. It was also a difference in who was handling it. Kaleb talked to the steward as I was already in my pajamas which I don’t feel comfortable talking to someone I don’t know in. As a follow up to make sure I wasn’t uncomfortable on my vacation again (having someone enter our room when I’m in my pajamas), I called guest services. I also didn’t complain to guest services, that would involve me saying I was frustrated, upset, etc. I just said I go to bed around 9 and need earlier turn down. I appreciate you being understanding of that!

Honestly I wouldn't have contacted guest services until a coupe of days if it was an issue, after talking to the cabin steward. You don't have to hint, just say I go to bed at 9 and would like the room updated before that. Understand the workers can have 20+ rooms to makeup, and will get to them. They have so many more room after covid restart.

[CarolCoupon]

Thanks for your review of Eden, AbbyCruiser. DH usually stays away from crabcakes because of too much filler. He said Eden's was terrific last night.

We've been enjoying the veranda. I'm not one for much sun either, so liking the shaded loungers. Have a fun day, see you tomorrow at DePalm!

 

[Paperboy55]

I am new to Celebrity and was wondering about the cost of dining in the Eden restaurant. It looks and sounds delicious but the sample menu on the website didn't have prices. Thanks 

 

[kabmab]

We were on Ascent for the TA and had an IV for the first time.   It was great in cooler weather to have the window down, and we liked it pretty well.   Hearing the motion of the ocean is so relaxing!  We're on Beyond ABC August 24 and are back to a SV which popped up and was a good price.  

 

On the Apex in January our stateroom attendant was not good.  Only saw him four times and there were many deficiencies.   I waited until the second to last day before filling out a comment card at guest services.  I should have not waited that long.  Luckily on our Ascent TA, we had the best stateroom attendant we've ever had.  Hope yours improves.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, CarolCoupon said:

Thanks for your review of Eden, AbbyCruiser. DH usually stays away from crabcakes because of too much filler. He said Eden's was terrific last night.

We've been enjoying the veranda. I'm not one for much sun either, so liking the shaded loungers. Have a fun day, see you tomorrow at DePalm!

 

Did you have to request your loungers or were they already on your balcony?

[asctony]

1 hour ago, Paperboy55 said:

I am new to Celebrity and was wondering about the cost of dining in the Eden restaurant. It looks and sounds delicious but the sample menu on the website didn't have prices. Thanks 

 

For our cruise in July. From X App.

 

[dreamer321]

Eden is now up to $85 per person for the regular menu.  If you book pre-cruise you might find a 5 – 8% discount.  

[CarolCoupon]

16 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Did you have to request your loungers or were they already on your balcony?

They were there. We may earn them for the long walks to the lounge ; )

[asctony]

22 minutes ago, dreamer321 said:

Eden is now up to $85 per person for the regular menu.  If you book pre-cruise you might find a 5 – 8% discount.  

So, $85 plus 20% tip?

$85 + $17 = $102 per person?

[dreamer321]

4 minutes ago, asctony said:

So, $85 plus 20% tip?

$85 + $17 = $102 per person?

Yes, unless you book pre-cruise with a small discount.  You can go into "Plan my Cruise" on Celebrity's website to make a reservation and it will show you the current discount as well as what reservation times are still available.  Additional reservation time slots should open once you embark the ship.  I ate there three times when I sailed on Beyond and really enjoyed the food and experience, more so than my dinner in Le Voyage.

[ksmcali]

17 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

We’ve had a fantastic sea day! Started the morning with some reading on the Magic Carpet. This was a great spot in the early morning, since not too many people were around yet.

We did a few activities today including the escape room table top game, a bocce tournament in Eden, and trivia at the Club! The escape game was so fun. The puzzles were a good challenge and our group won some sweet Celebrity t-shirts! The Oceanview Cafe was busy for lunch but manageable. The theme was American food and they had great burgers that were actually medium rare. Tomorrow is supposed to be a French theme so I’m looking forward to getting something more unique.

Dinner tonight was at Tuscan. Somehow, I forgot to take any pictures! Everything we had was excellent though. I had the Pumpkin Salad which had roasted pumpkin and a big chunk of burrata on a bed of arugula. I also had the shrimp soup which was rich but good. The server warned me that it tasted like seafood (which I would expect) so I assume people complain about it. For the entree, I had the steak Diane and a half portion of the carbonara. The steak was cooked perfectly and was really tender. The pasta was excellent as always. I love the handmade pasta, it really makes a difference. Finally for dessert, I had the cannoli which is the signature for Tuscan. It was perfect and not too sweet.
 

Our server was also super fast. We were done under an hour and a half which is pretty fast for a group of six. Our sommelier was Zintele and let me just say she is now my favorite staff on any Celebrity ship. She was so funny and also great with the wines. If you’re dining in Tuscan, be sure to request her section! 
 

We ended the night as we always do with a twirl around the upper decks. It was so peaceful and nice.

As a little sour note, we don’t love our stateroom attendant. We’ve interacted with her twice out of necessity and she has never actually introduced herself or asked our names. We also got back to our room tonight around 8:50 and it was not turned down. I know that’s early but I am early to wake and early to sleep, which has never been an issue on Celebrity before. We found her working on a room and let her know I was turning in and we did not want any service. We hinted that we go to bed early (Kaleb was being kind, he’s playing poker now and I’m the lame one) hoping that she would pick up that we would like to have the turn down earlier. Regardless, I called Guest Services to communicate that also and they did not have much to say. It was just a first for me to enter the room in the evening and not have it turned down. It’s a small thing but it was off putting since it was such a departure from what were used to! Oh well, hopefully it’ll be different tomorrow. For now, I’m looking forward to another perfect sea day! 

 

Thanks for the feedback on the Escape Room Tabletop game!  My family and I would very much like to try this, and yours is the first and only comments I've seen about it, other than another report from this week that said that they were turned away because it filled up before they got there.  

[hcat]

Hope your room is made up earlier going forward.

 

..It should be done by mid afternoon do you can get ready for dinner in a clean space with fresh  towels.. Anything later would not be accepatable!  keep us posted

 

hope u r having fun!

[chrismch]

7 hours ago, ksmcali said:

 

Thanks for the feedback on the Escape Room Tabletop game!  My family and I would very much like to try this, and yours is the first and only comments I've seen about it, other than another report from this week that said that they were turned away because it filled up before they got there.  

Where is this done? Is it run by crew staff or just by whoever drops by? How many can play?

[AbbyCruiser45]

8 hours ago, chrismch said:

Where is this done? Is it run by crew staff or just by whoever drops by? How many can play?

It was in the Club! I do recommend getting there at least 15-20 minutes early because it filled up and people were turned away. It is run by crew. About 10-12 people will play as a group and there were probably about 10 tables. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

18 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

Yes, unless you book pre-cruise with a small discount.  You can go into "Plan my Cruise" on Celebrity's website to make a reservation and it will show you the current discount as well as what reservation times are still available.  Additional reservation time slots should open once you embark the ship.  I ate there three times when I sailed on Beyond and really enjoyed the food and experience, more so than my dinner in Le Voyage.

All of this, plus if you book it on the first night in your Cruise Planner before the trip, you get about a $10-20 discount. Those spots go fast though, so book early. You can always cancel for free if you change your mind. 

[Arzeena]

18 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

Eden is now up to $85 per person for the regular menu.  If you book pre-cruise you might find a 5 – 8% discount.  

That is what we also found (on the Beyond) too. $85 onboard, $71 on sale in cruise planner, going up to $77. Tasting $115 on cruise planner, do not remember how much tasting was on board. We went both times around 7.30 pm and were seated at window tables. Both times they left a small box of chocolates with a "thank you for dining at the Eden" card at the cabin door. I liked that touch.

My app also said $60 on board....no way now. They need to update that.

[AbbyCruiser45]

Good morning from Aruba!! The ship was really moving and rocking this morning. 

Yesterday was a great sea day. We read in Eden in the morning and then had lunch at the buffet. It was French themed and I had a beef borginioun and ratatouille. There was also a seafood dish with mussels and clams that was really popular. 
 

After lunch, we grabbed second lunch in Eden to sample the pork belly sliders. They were really great but not as good as I remember from my last E-class cruise. We snacked on those before playing the Time Play live trivia. That game is so fun. You play it on your phone and speed and accuracy earn you points. I scored high at second place! A lot is useless knowledge 🤣

We then wandered the ship and found this great spot on deck 5. We pulled some chairs into the shade and watched the water go by. 

We had pre-dinner drinks at the Martini bar where I FINALLY got my French Caribbean and wow was it good. Someone asked earlier about the live music. For 45 minutes starting at 5, the house band plays in the martini bar. There are also live acoustic shows afterwards at Sunset Bar and Eden but we haven’t made it to those. 

Dinner was in Cyprus and it was pretty good! I had the Wedge Salad and the Mezze Board to start with the Greek Short Ribs and a half order of a pasta (no picture). The dessert was a phyllo milk pie with frozen yogurt and it was delicious. 

For now, I’m relaxing in the room for a moment before meeting for the excursion. De Palm island today! I can’t wait to spend the day there. I’ll let you all know how it is! 

[CarolCoupon]

Watch for discounts on reservations and excursions during flash sales. We rebooked with the help of phone rep last Labor Day so we didn't lose our time slots and saved quite a bit.

 

[hcat]

night time photos are stunning bit nothing can beat the  lovely photos of the sea! 

How is the room attendant doing!

[JDPCruisers]

2 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Good morning from Aruba!! The ship was really moving and rocking this morning. 

Yesterday was a great sea day. We read in Eden in the morning and then had lunch at the buffet. It was French themed and I had a beef borginioun and ratatouille. There was also a seafood dish with mussels and clams that was really popular. 
 

After lunch, we grabbed second lunch in Eden to sample the pork belly sliders. They were really great but not as good as I remember from my last E-class cruise. We snacked on those before playing the Time Play live trivia. That game is so fun. You play it on your phone and speed and accuracy earn you points. I scored high at second place! A lot is useless knowledge 🤣

We then wandered the ship and found this great spot on deck 5. We pulled some chairs into the shade and watched the water go by. 

We had pre-dinner drinks at the Martini bar where I FINALLY got my French Caribbean and wow was it good. Someone asked earlier about the live music. For 45 minutes starting at 5, the house band plays in the martini bar. There are also live acoustic shows afterwards at Sunset Bar and Eden but we haven’t made it to those. 

Dinner was in Cyprus and it was pretty good! I had the Wedge Salad and the Mezze Board to start with the Greek Short Ribs and a half order of a pasta (no picture). The dessert was a phyllo milk pie with frozen yogurt and it was delicious. 

For now, I’m relaxing in the room for a moment before meeting for the excursion. De Palm island today! I can’t wait to spend the day there. I’ll let you all know how it is! 

Recently on Beyond for this itinerary and enjoyed the music at Sunset and Eden Bar. Also, particularly enjoyed the productions in Eden Bar as you are up close and personal but get there early has seats go quick.   

[AbbyCruiser45]

4 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

Recently on Beyond for this itinerary and enjoyed the music at Sunset and Eden Bar. Also, particularly enjoyed the productions in Eden Bar as you are up close and personal but get there early has seats go quick.   

We’ll head up there today for some music as long as some rain stays away! 

[AbbyCruiser45]

We had a great day in Aruba! After a lot of debate in the planning stages of the cruise, we ended up doing the De Palm Island excursion. We were in between trying to snag day passes to Renaissance Island and going to the RIU day pass near Eagle Beach. Renaissance Island would have been near impossible to get for 6 people and we had a lot of OBC, so we went with De Palm.
 

We took a 15 minute coach ride to a short ferry where we finally got on the island. The island was not crowded at all. There was another Carnival ship in port but I don’t think it got in until the afternoon. If there were multiple ships in port, I might skip this. Every blue chair you see in the pictures was open for us to sit in. There were several cabanas that could be rented for an up charge. Included in the day was snorkeling, lunch, alcohol, and banana boat rides (if you’re so inclined). Something absolutely hilarious is that Carnival cruise guests are not allowed on the banana boat. We asked why and it is a policy of the cruise line. Does carnival not trust their guests with a thrill ride and unlimited alcohol? 

There were water slides and a kids splash pad included also but the slides were out of order. The weather was a little rough yesterday with lots of wind which made for a lot of waves. Regardless though, the water was perfect. I was astounded by the snorkeling. The dock to snorkel is right next to the swimming area so I didn’t expect much. But when I got in, there were hundreds of fish and coral/rocks. What was funny was that parrot fish apparently eat coral (and poop it out which produces the beautiful white sand, according to our bus driver) and if you listened closely you could actually hear them crunching under water! 

(Private cabana)

 

Lunch was nothing to write home about but it hit the spot. There was a snack bar with burger and fries, which we got. There was also a buffet with hot items such as Caribbean rice and bbq chicken. 
 

We stayed on the island from 10:45 to 3:15, but apparently some people took earlier buses back to port.

(Snorkeling area) 

(Beach area) 

 

Overall, it was a solid excursion. I’m not sure I would book it again if there are more ships in port. I also met Carol on the ferry over! It was nice to meet you! I’d love to hear what you thought of the day. 

I’ll leave this update here for now because I need to grab coffee before our day in Curaçao! I’ll write about dinner later on the beach today. 

[CarolCoupon]

It was nice to meet you Abby! We booked the excursion as separate activities,  the helmet dive for my hubby and snorkel/beach day for me. He said the helmet dive was fantastic.  He had done it before, and appreciated being under water with his glasses on and really seeing the fish. He spent about 45 minutes underwater. 

I booked seating on the beach by the flamingos on Friday. There were several other birds and a couple of blue lizards around. 

It was a bit of a rough start under the assigned palapa, we had to ask for help with the bees. We were OK after 3 nests were removed. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

Hello from the beach in Curaçao! 
 

Before dinner last night, we hung out at the sunset bar. It was overcast and breezy which was perfect for sitting outside. Around 5:30, there was a live cellist playing pop songs which was really nice. It was the perfect spot to sit back, enjoy the music and a drink. 

We had dinner in Normandie. The baked Brie lives in my dreams and it was so, so good. Quite large and very rich. I had that and the yellow corn soup from Cosmopolitan. I only remembered last night that you can order from any of the 4 restaurants since they share a kitchen! For my entree, I had the truffle polenta short ribs and they were excellent. There was no pasta on the menu, so I got a half order of the spaghetti from Cosmopolitan and it was fine. I make a great spaghetti and if it tastes like something I can make, I’m not that impressed 😂 the carbonara from Tuscan on the other hand is an incredible pasta and I should have ordered that again last night. 

For now, we’re lounging on the beach, swimming, and reading. This is a great spot and I’ll write up a review about it later. 

[JDPCruisers]

40 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Hello from the beach in Curaçao! 
 

Before dinner last night, we hung out at the sunset bar. It was overcast and breezy which was perfect for sitting outside. Around 5:30, there was a live cellist playing pop songs which was really nice. It was the perfect spot to sit back, enjoy the music and a drink. 

We had dinner in Normandie. The baked Brie lives in my dreams and it was so, so good. Quite large and very rich. I had that and the yellow corn soup from Cosmopolitan. I only remembered last night that you can order from any of the 4 restaurants since they share a kitchen! For my entree, I had the truffle polenta short ribs and they were excellent. There was no pasta on the menu, so I got a half order of the spaghetti from Cosmopolitan and it was fine. I make a great spaghetti and if it tastes like something I can make, I’m not that impressed 😂 the carbonara from Tuscan on the other hand is an incredible pasta and I should have ordered that again last night. 

For now, we’re lounging on the beach, swimming, and reading. This is a great spot and I’ll write up a review about it later. 

Having enjoyed your pics and review of your cruise to-date. Has us reliving our Beyond ABC cruise from a few weeks ago! Will continue to follow along.