Live from the Beyond! May 18, ABC Sailing

[CTCruiser76]

Following, hope you have a great trip, we are on the same itinerary 6/15-6/23!!

 

We are staying in an IV Concierge room.... a little concerned about the popping and noise everyone is mentioning and the lack of a real balcony......but we can't wait, as we need a vacation! 

 

Edited May 13 by CTCruiser76

[Whizbank]

Beautiful kitties. What kind of cats do your parent's have?  I'm going on this same cruise with friends the end of June and I'm so excited to follow along. I'm totally counting the days until we leave. Thanks for doing a live!

[ravenrob]

Following….on the June 29th ABC voyage…keep the updates coming…

[shopaholic6]

Oh my goodness your cats are gorgeous 😻

[AbbyCruiser45]

12 hours ago, CTCruiser76 said:

We are staying in an IV Concierge room.... a little concerned about the popping and noise everyone is mentioning and the lack of a real balcony......but we can't wait, as we need a vacation! 

Between everyone traveling in my group with have 3 different rooms on different decks, one is an IV. I’ll update if any of us notice excessive creaking!

[AbbyCruiser45]

8 hours ago, Whizbank said:

Beautiful kitties. What kind of cats do your parent's have?  I'm going on this same cruise with friends the end of June and I'm so excited to follow along. I'm totally counting the days until we leave. Thanks for doing a live!

All shelter kitties around here! The two on the ottoman are siblings, around 12 years old now. We’ve always called them Tonkinese but who knows what they are! The bottom one is a large, 20 pound Siberian/Maine Coon mix (per DNA test). Don’t let his size fool you, he’s a big baby that’s afraid of everything! 

I love how many people on this thread are sailing this same itinerary over the summer! I’ll be sure to share any tips about the ports but they’re all fairly easy ones with plenty to do!

[Whizbank]

Your parents cats are beautiful too. My rescues, no DNA test, say hi!

[AbbyCruiser45]

All packed besides my daily toiletries! I like to bring my own coat hangers because I feel like the room never has enough for two people. I know I can ask the cabin attendant for some, but the first day is always so busy for them and I just like to get unpacking! I always have the room for it in my luggage. 

 

 

I love using packing cubes because everything stays organized. One thing I really like about the E-Class ships is the amount of storage in the room. We use so much of it just to keep the room tidy and organized. 

 

A travel tip is to bring some of this wrinkle release spray. It works really well! Some people on the internet say that water would work just fine but I like that it’s scented and works as a clothes freshener too. I also bring my own shampoo and conditioner. I don’t mind their body was but I feel like their products don’t agree with my hair! 
 

Edited May 14 by AbbyCruiser45

[PTC DAWG]

21 hours ago, hcat said:

Def looking forward to a report on the  Embassy Suites refurb/updates. Our last stay was disappointing. It was very dingy, dusty,  and dated. 

 

We switched to Wyndham in Dania after that...it was actually  much worse and very pricey .  Next two cruises we'll stay at Holiday Inn near the Convention Center..but hope to eventually return to ES.

 

love ABC ports!  enjoy!

I really like to stay at Riverside Hotel on Los Olas in FLL....

[Espn]

Following. We haven’t been on Celebrity before but are considering the same itinerary in October for our 40th anniversary, but I am a little concerned looking at the Beyond reviews on CC. I think they are mostly a lot of complaining but curious to read your impressions. Also curious about the Embassy Suites, we have stayed there a few times and have already booked a room just to make sure we have it before we even book the cruise.

[mahdnc]

My congratulations to the paradox.  (Get it?)

[vickykay]

Congrats to you both for completing your doctorates!  Have a wonderful cruise.  You deserve it.

[AbbyCruiser45]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

My congratulations to the paradox.  (Get it?)

I sat on it for a couple hours and finally got it! The PhD only means I’m an expert in one area….pretty slow in others 🤣

[AbbyCruiser45]

Vacation has (kind of) begun! I’m settling the cats into their new vacation home and checking into the flight! I only have two small updates. The first is that I can no longer modify my Move Up bid since we’re less than 72 hours from departure. It doesn’t say expired yet, but I don’t have much hope. Oh well, inside room it is! I’ll be sure to share some pictures when we board. 
 

Our terminal has also updated. For a while we were slated to leave from terminal 18 which was strange since there is no other Celebrity ship in port that day. Just yesterday though, I saw it get changed to 25 (the new terminal). Early morning for us tomorrow! Everyone in the family is on a morning flight and mine is in the afternoon thanks to a meeting. But we’re all driving together so I’ll be up early and in the airport for hours! Still looking forward to it so much. I’ll probably update again tomorrow evening after some time in Fort Lauderdale. 

[Ciaranaman]

Safe travels!  We're 2 days out from our next land (Amsterdam)/cruise (Baltics!) adventure and it can't come soon enough!  Our fur-kids won't know us when we come back home 🙀

~Bernadette

[eyecantwait]

On 5/13/2024 at 11:05 AM, bjahil47 said:

Following along!  We did Beyond Panama Canal and ABC in March, 2024.  
 

safe travels!  Those kitty’s are adorable.  

We're doing this one with our daughter and son in law in February 2025. Can't wait and looking forward to following along on this.

[AbbyCruiser45]

1 hour ago, Ciaranaman said:

Safe travels!  We're 2 days out from our next land (Amsterdam)/cruise (Baltics!) adventure and it can't come soon enough!  Our fur-kids won't know us when we come back home 🙀

~Bernadette

That’ll be a great one! I’ll actually be in Amsterdam next month (no cruise though) so if you have any recommendations feel free to share! Safe travels and enjoy! 

[mac_tlc]

26 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

That’ll be a great one! I’ll actually be in Amsterdam next month (no cruise though) so if you have any recommendations feel free to share! Safe travels and enjoy! 

I have only two words:

 

Pancakes Amsterdam 

[RumRunner01]

This sounds like a fab trip. I know you'll miss those beautiful kitties while away. I can't wait to hear about the Embassy Suites refurb, we usually stay there but haven't been in years but even back then it was showing wear so a refurb will be nice.

 

I also love my packing cubes - they are the best!

 

I'll be interested in your comments on the ABC's. DH and I are sailing Silhouette next April in a repositioning sailing from Fort Lauderdale to New Jersey by way of the ABC's. I've been to A and C but never B and DH has never been to any of them. Looking forward to that itinerary.

[mimi'sgirl]

Congratulations to both of you on your Doctorates! 🎉 Exciting times!

 

Looking forward to your review of the Avila Beach hotel. We are considering this resort on our next cruise too! 
 

Happy cruising! Wishing you a wonderful, relaxing trip! 

 

 

[martinitime1]

Following for the report. In Fort Lauderdale we stay at the Hyatt Centric, so many good restaurants around the area.

[AbbyCruiser45]

A small update and I’m probably preaching to the choir but always fly in the day before at least! Flight is delayed because the flight attendants are coming from another gate. Delayed an hour so far and still waiting for them. 
 

It’s been a long day so far. Up at 4:45 for the rest of the family’s early flight that I changed to make a meeting. The meeting was supposed to be mandatory but it turns out they recorded it for people that needed to miss….annoyed with that but such is life. The good news is that I was able to hang out in a delta lounge for most of this time. 
 

I’ll update tonight or tomorrow with how the Embassy Suites is doing and what the status of the renovation is! I’m looking forward to that happy hour so much!

[gatour]

The right hand cat on the ottoman definitely looks Tonkinese.  We had a rescue cat that looked similar looking and we called him a Tonkinese.  We got him as a kitten and lived for 18 years.  He was very friendly and would even answer to his name.

 

I am contemplating on doing a first ever Celebrity cruise on Beyond next year.  Western Caribbean with a stop at Coco Caye.  It will be a one year post liver transplant anniversary trip.  We are on a kind of on a budget, so I am leaning towards booking an inside cabin.  So any information you provide about the ship/entertainment/food experiences would be appreciated.

 

Enjoy your trip. 

[Spikedr]

On 5/13/2024 at 8:53 AM, AbbyCruiser45 said:

 My travel is starting early as I’ll actually drive up to my parents’ on Thursday to drop off these goobers (new in our life since last year). I adore their cat sitter, so we’re paying her to watch our babies also. For all my cat people out there, they will be separated from my parents’ cats! 

 

 

 

Those goobers are adorable

[Espn]

2 hours ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

A small update and I’m probably preaching to the choir but always fly in the day before at least! Flight is delayed because the flight attendants are coming from another gate. Delayed an hour so far and still waiting for them. 
 

It’s been a long day so far. Up at 4:45 for the rest of the family’s early flight that I changed to make a meeting. The meeting was supposed to be mandatory but it turns out they recorded it for people that needed to miss….annoyed with that but such is life. The good news is that I was able to hang out in a delta lounge for most of this time. 
 

I’ll update tonight or tomorrow with how the Embassy Suites is doing and what the status of the renovation is! I’m looking forward to that happy hour so much!

It is interesting that the hotel web site doesn’t mention anything about the renovation and even in response to trip advisor reviews that say it needs an update, no mention. A renovation has to cause some inconvenience and they should let people know. We last stayed there a few years ago and it was tired then so I hope they are making updates, interested to hear what you see. If I do actually book a cruise on Beyond I may have to find another hotel. Enjoy the happy hour!