Live (sort of) from the Beyond. Our last minute trip

[mac_tlc]

We had Made as our assistant waiter in February. He was very nice. My wife and I had plain ice cream almost every night for dessert and he got a kick out of it, Our waiter was Rozi, and we hope he is still on board when we are back on Beyond at Thanksgiving. If I recall, he was leaving in July for vacation. His wife works at Eden. @abbydancer2003, any chance you can ask Made if he knows of Rozi's schedule?   

 

mac_tlc

[DaKahuna]

@abbydancer2003  I missed which Marriott you stayed at in FLL? 

We normally stay at the Renaissance so we can dine at The Boatyard. 

[abbydancer2003]

@mac_tlc  I haven't seen Rozi yet, but I'm in a different section of the dining room.  We had his wife as our server in Eden in February, I remember she was a lot of fun, and reminded me of the charactor played by Awkwafina in Crazy Rich Asians.  I'll ask about Rozi.

 

@DaKahuna  17th street Renaissance.  And big improvement since February, as both elevators are working.  Still no lounge reopening.  For our night at the end, we're at the airport Marriott.

[DaKahuna]

12 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

 

@DaKahuna  17th street Renaissance.  And big improvement since February, as both elevators are working.  Still no lounge reopening.  For our night at the end, we're at the airport Marriott.

 

 Thanks.  As you and i have discussed before, that Renaissance is our go to.  I have had issues trying to check in early but we developed a work around by dropping our bags off with the bell service upon arrival, letting the front desk know we are there, giving them my cell phone number, and then walking over to the Boatyard for drinks and a long leisurely lunch.   Usually we have such a large lunch that something light in the hotel bar is all we need for the evening meal. 

 They have made one change that I did not like.  We use to get a complimentary cooked to order breakfast instead of just the buffet. Our last time, it was buffet only.  Oh well, it was still good and filling.  They sausage gravy is generall good, not great but good. 

 

 

[depplep]

@abbydancer2003 are there a lot of kids on this sailing? Also, have you noticed the deck chairs all reserved at an early hour?

[abbydancer2003]

@DaKahuna  They do offer a 16.00 credit towards the cooked to order.  I didn't check prices on Sunday, but if you have to pay for coffee/juice separately, I'd think you'd quite easily go over 16.00.

 

@depplep  There are kids, but not a huge number.  Definitely more than usual, and more than we saw last Xmas (off the ship on the 21st). I wouldn't say a ton though.  And I haven't been on deck early yet.

 

I'm not sure this would be a representative cruise, since it's the Presidents cruise, as we are constantly reminded of.

Edited Wednesday at 04:46 AM by abbydancer2003

[depplep]

Thanks for the response. I wondered about that demographic as well since it's the Presidents cruise.

[neetyl]

I missed the boat (pun intended) what is a Presidents Cruise?

[39august]

Will be interesting to note if pool lounger reserving is curtailed at all due to "President's Cruise". 

[DaKahuna]

9 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

@DaKahuna  They do offer a 16.00 credit towards the cooked to order.  I didn't check prices on Sunday, but if you have to pay for coffee/juice separately, I'd think you'd quite easily go over 16.00.

 

 

 Thanks Abby.  Since juice and coffee are included with the buffet I have assumed that it would not be an extra charge but I have never tested this assumption. 

 

 We do not have anything schedule out of FLL but next time we are there, I think I'll see.  I do not expect that they will ever reopen the Concierge Lounge and that's a shame.  

 

[abbydancer2003]

14 hours ago, neetyl said:

I missed the boat (pun intended) what is a Presidents Cruise?

The President, Laura three names, and a lot of big wigs sail on it.  There are special events throughout and some things that are not so good (it will be in tomorrows update).  There is some swag.  We booked without knowing that, but lots of people book for it.  Next year Norway.  We go this year, so not even slightly tempted.

 

@DaKahuna. They're renovating the top to floors right now.  Iasked if they were taking out the lounge - guy didn't know.  I tend to think they will.  We'll be back for one night in January between our Sun Princess and Ascent cruises, so we'll find out.  (Night before first cruise we're at the W since it's near where friends are staying.

[abbydancer2003]

June 24, Day 2 Coco Cay

 

Today is port stop 1, “Perfect Day in Coco Cay”.  Whatever.  Not being beach people, this was not a factor in booking this cruise, but I’ll admit I was curious.  

 

We woke up at 8 to see we’d arrived.  Here’s Coco Cay from our room

 

We had Rudy bring us coffee, he’s of the drop it off and wish us a good day set (Some butlers pour and set up the tray, others drop and go).  

 

After coffee and preparing laundry, it was time for breakfast.  We got a somewhat better table, on the other side of the corridor.  We both had French toast, his with the peach cobbler, mine plain.  

 

After breakfast, we gathered our stuff (towels, sunscreen) and headed out.  We were there with the Wonder of the Seas, so probably between 8-9 thousand people there, roughly.  

 

We waled around the island for a bit.  WE crossed a bridge, and here’s a picture of the two ships that are there today.  Wonder is an Oasis ship.

 

 

 

We continued walking and settled on some no charge beach chairs. I believe it was Chill Island, assuming it is the free one.  We found some chairs towards the back of the area, and parked ourselves for about 20 minutes.  It was starting to rain, and we’d now seen “Perfect Day at Coco Cay”, so we headed back to the ship.

 

My physical therapist has given me some exercises to do in the pool, so this seemed like a good time to go to the retreat pool.  There were a few other people there, but I got them done quickly. 

 

After some time in the room (I mostly do email and this), we headed to the buffet for lunch.  Glen thought Luminae would be open, but I thought it wouldn’t since this was a port day.  

 

Today was the Spanish buffet, so I had salad and some sliced beef, since the Spanish stuff wasn't appealing.

 

While we were eating, Alan, our sommelier, stopped by.  He said that while in Coco Cay, Luminae is open for lunch.  Oh well.  (I guess it’s because Coco Cay does have limited dining options).

 

After lunch, I worked on the blog until tea time in the lounge.  I did see Briton, the suite manager (our concierge on Silhouette 2022), and had a nice talk with him, and I also say Pratip, our butler from the Summit in 2023, and our last dedicated butler before they took them away. 

 

I also asked the concierges about Go Green (confirmed we have it) and if there was any way to use one of our 4 dining package dinners on this cruise.  There’s really not, but Briton figured out a way to fudge it.  (Hopefully it will work).

 

I watched the sail away from the lounge.

I went back to the room to change for the evening, and then back up to the lounge for a drink.  At a little after 7 we went to the theater to see the show.  It was Stage Door, which is a show about musicals. It started with an introduction with the cruise director (Shauna) the captain (Leo) and his staff, and finally the President (Laura),  That took about 20 minutes.  So show started about 7:50.

 

 They started segments with interviews with performers.  

 

In one case, it was Marisha Wallace from Dream Girls, and at the middle of the song, she came out from backstage and sang with the performers.  Apparently she’s the special guest performer tomorrow on the sea day.  Part of the Presidents cruise stuff.

 

 

 

 

Because of this, it was about 8:50 when the show ended.  We had 10 minutes to get to dinner, and the front elevators were packed.  So we thought we’d try the back.  Also packed, so we went up 3 flights.   On 7 there was one emptying, so we took it to 14, walked across to the front stairs and took the stairs to 16.  Made it at about 5 minutes to 9.

 

Dinner was nice.  We both started with the Kale salad with watermelon and feta, although I substituted romaine, since I don’t like Kale.  Jesus also gave us the short rib appetizer to try.

 

For mains, we had the New York strip steak. It was good.  Jesus also brought a sample of the veal Cannelloni.  I’ve had it before and it’s pretty good.

 

I finished with the Citrus, Orange Blossom sponge.  

 

After dinner, we called it a night.  That’s the thing with eating late.  A little walk and then back to the room.

 

Before I go, a bit of housekeeping.

 

First, for today, we got some swag for the beach day today.  I guess because it’s the Presidents cruise.

 

 

 

 

Inside

 

 

Also, I promised the information about activities.  Here’s the perk page and the CC activities pages.  They’re in the President’s cruise booklet, I’m sure next week they’ll be back to the card.

 

 

 

 

Let me know if I’m missing something.

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

7 minutes ago, abbydancer2003 said:

I did see Briton, the suite manager (our concierge on Silhouette 2022),

 

 Please give Briton "Toshiko & John" regards.  He was our concierge on our B2B on our Reflection B2B in November 2021 and for our Panama Canal East to West Transit on Millennium last year (April - May).  He was headed to the Assent when he left Millennium after our cruise. 

He's a wonderful guy and took very good care of us.  If anyone can work something out, I am sure he can. 

 

 

[Harrisonkid]

It's been a long while since we cruised out of Fla in the Summer...can you give me an idea of the heat ? In South Carolina and the 'feels' is 105 🙄

[depplep]

I can report that it feels 105 here as well with humidity in the 90's in the mornings.

[darsura]

9 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

The President, Laura three names, and a lot of big wigs sail on it.  There are special events throughout and some things that are not so good (it will be in tomorrows update).  There is some swag.  We booked without knowing that, but lots of people book for it.  Next year Norway.  We go this year, so not even slightly tempted.

 

@DaKahuna. They're renovating the top to floors right now.  Iasked if they were taking out the lounge - guy didn't know.  I tend to think they will.  We'll be back for one night in January between our Sun Princess and Ascent cruises, so we'll find out.  (Night before first cruise we're at the W since it's near where friends are staying.

Do you know which Norway cruise next year is the the President’s cruise?  Thanks.  

[StartrainDD]

On 6/24/2024 at 6:03 PM, abbydancer2003 said:

Glen realized he left all his pants on the bed.  So I guess in Grand Cayman we’ll look for somewhere he can get one pair, and then on turn around day, we’ll go shopping in Ft. Lauderdale (Does anyone know if there’s something like Kohls, Target or a well stocked mall nearby?)

 

Hi Glen & Abby!  Just got caught up on your reports.  I found no response to this need, so here is my suggestion:

 

Southland Shopping Center Clothing Store in Ft Lauderdale, FL | bealls

 

Can't be more than a $15 Uber from the port (not including possible hi-demand fees).  Bealls is a Florida chain kind of like Kohl's focused on clothing.

 

What is Glen doing for slacks on the current cruise?  Yikes!

 

See you soon!

[asctony]

  On 6/24/2024 at 6:03 PM, abbydancer2003 said:

Glen realized he left all his pants on the bed.  So I guess in Grand Cayman we’ll look for somewhere he can get one pair, and then on turn around day, we’ll go shopping in Ft. Lauderdale (Does anyone know if there’s something like Kohls, Target or a well stocked mall nearby?)

 

Go to Ross Dress For Less on

1375 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

A lot of crew members go there all the time. Ask crew members about Ross. Clothing, shoes, etc., prices are very reasonable.

Next to that is Dollar Tree if you need other things. 

 

[abbydancer2003]

9 hours ago, darsura said:

Do you know which Norway cruise next year is the the President’s cruise?  Thanks.  

 May 17th.  8 nights.  Wee're going there this summer, so won't go back next year, and I'm not convinced that I care about the President's cruise.  Maybe Alaska next time they do it.

 

And thanks to all who suggested stores.  Tomorrow, probably, you'll find out we did get a pair in Grand Cayman, so he'll be able to wash the pants he's been wearing since we left San Francisco.

 

Current plan for Fort Lauderdale is to just flip around and stay on the ship.

 

[abbydancer2003]

June 25,, day 3 Sea day 1

 

Our first of two sea days, so we decided to go for breakfast.  I still wish that sea day breakfasts went until 9:30, but they don’t, so up at 8, coffee at 8;15.  

 

Breakfast today was was eggs for both of us.  

 

After breakfast, back to the room, but Edy was doing his thing, so we went to Al Baccio.  We were talking to a nice family next to us, and I noticed over at the bar a supervisor, who looked like Daniel (our good friend who we met on the Summit back in 2021).  We’re friends on Facebook, etc and have kept in touch with over the years.  Beth and I saw him on this ship in February, but at my last contact with him, he indicated he was starting his vacation before the previous cruise. 

 

I kept thinking it looks like Daniel (apologies to Elton John), but I wasn’t sure.  So I decided to go to the restroom and check on my way.  And sure enough, they’d decided to keep him through this cruise.  So that was great!  He came over to where we were sitting and we had a nice conversation with him.  I was very happy to have them meet.

 

 

 

After that we went back to the room so I could go do my pool exercises (this happens right before lunch every day).  After my 5 or so minutes in the pool, I went to one of the hot tubs for about 10 minutes.  Nobody else is using them, so that was nice.

 

The clocks went back an hour last night, and somehow my math got off, as we went to lunch at 1:15, or so I thought.  Imagine my surprise when they were still admitting people at 2:00.  Yup, turns out I went at 12:15.

 

After lunch both Glen and I went up to the Retreat Sundeck to do some reading.  We also went to afternoon tea in the lounge.  

 

After changing for Evening Chic, we went to the lounge again, for the Officers Soiree.  This time the captain and some of the officers were outside the lounge greeting the guests.  That was nice, actually and an improvement from last few times when a couple of people showed up late, and stood by the entrance inside talking to each other.  No sign of Celebrity President Laura “let’s be Royal Caribbean” though.

 

We sat with another couple and enjoyed conversation and several appetizers.  When they left, we joined another couple who had been on our megatrip with us.  We stayed there until it was time to go to the show.

 

Tonight’s show is Captain Kirk’s Rock Show.  Apparently, he’s Captain of the Reflection and also a rocker in his deepest dreams (I guess he’s not running the Reflection tonight).  So they let him do a Rock Show.  We arrived at the theater for our reserved seating and Rudy wasn’t there, so Pratip, our butler from the Summit escorted us.  That was nice.

 

Once again a long intro by Shauna and President Laura “RC Rules”.  It was a lot of fun, and he did a lot of hard rock (not entirely).  Among the highlights were were Sweet Home Alabama and Sweet Child of Mine.  He also played the drums when making Shauna do “Best Days of my Life”.  I hope she doesn’t quit her day job, as she’s decent as a cruise director, not so much as a singer.  She said she was mortified.  I felt her pain.  The only issue was because of the long introduction, it was 8:50 when he got to his encore song.  So we left during that and got to the elevator while I could.

 

 

We arrived at dinner a little before 9.  One of the front desk staff escorted us, and tried to seat us at the benches that backs up to the crew area.  I pointed out that Jesus is our waiter, and he’s in the front, but they guy said that he was serving the Presidents party and that section was blocked off.   (Maybe she’s afraid to hear with suite patrons think of her changes).  I asked if we could have a window table, and he was able to accommodate that.

 

Our server was Tyrone, and the service was good.  Soon after we sat down, I noticed the Presidential party leaving, oh well.  I decided to start with the beef tartare, which I haven’t had in a while, and then I tried the lamb loin.  That was quite good, and not that different in taste from a rack.  I did the marscapone cheesecake for dessert, since I didn’t feel like removing the actual carrots from the carrot celebration.

 

When Janice, the headwaiter came by, I told her that I didn’t mind the change in service team for the night, but I wasn’t happy that it wasn’t sprung on us as we walked to the table. She agreed7, and apologized.  It would have made a big difference in how I felt.  (Jesus did stop by after the foo foo people left).  

 

That pretty much ended our sea day.  Going back to the room for the night, we had this.

 

 

Apparently you get swag for port days.  We’ll see later about Bimini.

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

And thanks to all who suggested stores.  Tomorrow, probably, you'll find out we did get a pair in Grand Cayman, so he'll be able to wash the pants he's been wearing since we left San Francisco.

 

 I wish him all the success.  Good thing he has not needed long pants during the day time. 

 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

16 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

June 25,, day 3 Sea day 1

 

Our first of two sea days, so we decided to go for breakfast.  I still wish that sea day breakfasts went until 9:30, but they don’t, so up at 8, coffee at 8;15.  

 

Breakfast today was was eggs for both of us.  

 

After breakfast, back to the room, but Edy was doing his thing, so we went to Al Baccio.  We were talking to a nice family next to us, and I noticed over at the bar a supervisor, who looked like Daniel (our good friend who we met on the Summit back in 2021).  We’re friends on Facebook, etc and have kept in touch with over the years.  Beth and I saw him on this ship in February, but at my last contact with him, he indicated he was starting his vacation before the previous cruise. 

 

I kept thinking it looks like Daniel (apologies to Elton John), but I wasn’t sure.  So I decided to go to the restroom and check on my way.  And sure enough, they’d decided to keep him through this cruise.  So that was great!  He came over to where we were sitting and we had a nice conversation with him.  I was very happy to have them meet.

 

 

 

After that we went back to the room so I could go do my pool exercises (this happens right before lunch every day).  After my 5 or so minutes in the pool, I went to one of the hot tubs for about 10 minutes.  Nobody else is using them, so that was nice.

 

The clocks went back an hour last night, and somehow my math got off, as we went to lunch at 1:15, or so I thought.  Imagine my surprise when they were still admitting people at 2:00.  Yup, turns out I went at 12:15.

 

After lunch both Glen and I went up to the Retreat Sundeck to do some reading.  We also went to afternoon tea in the lounge.  

 

After changing for Evening Chic, we went to the lounge again, for the Officers Soiree.  This time the captain and some of the officers were outside the lounge greeting the guests.  That was nice, actually and an improvement from last few times when a couple of people showed up late, and stood by the entrance inside talking to each other.  No sign of Celebrity President Laura “let’s be Royal Caribbean” though.

 

We sat with another couple and enjoyed conversation and several appetizers.  When they left, we joined another couple who had been on our megatrip with us.  We stayed there until it was time to go to the show.

 

Tonight’s show is Captain Kirk’s Rock Show.  Apparently, he’s Captain of the Reflection and also a rocker in his deepest dreams (I guess he’s not running the Reflection tonight).  So they let him do a Rock Show.  We arrived at the theater for our reserved seating and Rudy wasn’t there, so Pratip, our butler from the Summit escorted us.  That was nice.

 

Once again a long intro by Shauna and President Laura “RC Rules”.  It was a lot of fun, and he did a lot of hard rock (not entirely).  Among the highlights were were Sweet Home Alabama and Sweet Child of Mine.  He also played the drums when making Shauna do “Best Days of my Life”.  I hope she doesn’t quit her day job, as she’s decent as a cruise director, not so much as a singer.  She said she was mortified.  I felt her pain.  The only issue was because of the long introduction, it was 8:50 when he got to his encore song.  So we left during that and got to the elevator while I could.

 

 

We arrived at dinner a little before 9.  One of the front desk staff escorted us, and tried to seat us at the benches that backs up to the crew area.  I pointed out that Jesus is our waiter, and he’s in the front, but they guy said that he was serving the Presidents party and that section was blocked off.   (Maybe she’s afraid to hear with suite patrons think of her changes).  I asked if we could have a window table, and he was able to accommodate that.

 

Our server was Tyrone, and the service was good.  Soon after we sat down, I noticed the Presidential party leaving, oh well.  I decided to start with the beef tartare, which I haven’t had in a while, and then I tried the lamb loin.  That was quite good, and not that different in taste from a rack.  I did the marscapone cheesecake for dessert, since I didn’t feel like removing the actual carrots from the carrot celebration.

 

When Janice, the headwaiter came by, I told her that I didn’t mind the change in service team for the night, but I wasn’t happy that it wasn’t sprung on us as we walked to the table. She agreed7, and apologized.  It would have made a big difference in how I felt.  (Jesus did stop by after the foo foo people left).  

 

That pretty much ended our sea day.  Going back to the room for the night, we had this.

 

 

Apparently you get swag for port days.  We’ll see later about Bimini.

 

 

 

 

What the heck is that?

 

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

What the heck is that?

 

The swag thing?  A pouch to keep things dry I think.

[abbydancer2003]

June 26, Grand Cayman

 

Our plan for the day was to get off the ship and go shopping to see if we can solve the pant problem here.  We woke up in time for breakfast.  I asked for some watermelon and one banana pancake.  I got three pancakes.  They were small at least and good.

 

After breakfast, we went back to the room, gathered our stuff and went to the lounge.  We were redirected to Fine Cut where Azeno and Janelle were running the tender operations.  I guess I didn’t read the instructions we were given last night.

 

We were soon on the tender.  They used the local big boats, which is kind of too bad, because I am curious about using the Celebrity tenders and the Magic Carpet.  Maybe in Norway this summer.

 

One on shore, we tried to figure out where we could go.  Apparently Glen had done some googling and found a mall that had a store that might have pants.  So he asked a local how to  get to Camana Bay shopping center.  The lady was very helpful, and told us to walk about 2 blocks to the library and get a number 2 bus.

 

We walked to the library and while we were debating where exactly to catch the bus, one pulled up.  We got on, paid the 2.50 each for fare, and off we went.  The bus stopped along the main road (along the water) to pick up some people going to the beach.  After a drive, he stopped, told us to exit, cross the street and follow a foot path to the mall.  It went up and over a hill or or a building, but we did eventually reach the mall.  THere’s a small store called Tabs, but it is a clothing store.  They did have a limited selection of long pants, so Glen got a pair.  We decided that for the cruises, 1 pair is enough, since he’s wearing shorts during the days, and just needs them for dinner.

 

We started the walk back, because the store said that the buses didn’t run there, only along the Main Street.  Midway back, Glen realized that he left his hat at the store.  He went back, and I took this picture.

 

 

The sign you probably can’t read was a sign for the mall.

 

Once back to the Main Street, we walked along until a bus came by.  It was a different number, but he said he could take us to the port.  So we got in.  It left the Main Street before the port entrance, so I was a bit concerned, but eventually they stopped, and told us to walk one block and we’d be at the Main Street.  We were, and about 4 blocks from the terminal.

 

Next it was back to the ship.  There were only a few going back now, so no wait to go on.  The Carnival Paradise was also here, and their tender seemed very full.  It was before noon, though so I’m not sure why.

 

Once back on the ship, I decided to do my pool exercises.  There were a few people there, but only me in the hot tub.  I decided to try a shower there but it only, apparently came in one temperature, “cold”,  So I went back to the room and showered.  There was a minor crisis at my mom’s house, so I spent a few minutes dealing with that.  Got resolved.

 

After that, we went to lunch.  Today was the British buffet (I do like that there are different cuisines every day), so I had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.  I also had a bit of both chicken and beef pie.  I finished with a very small cone of strawberry soft serve.

 

After lunch we went back to the room to do the usual, blog and exercise, but left a little before 5 to go to Music and Mixology.  It was pretty much the same as always, but fun.

 

 

The band was pretty good so we danced a little.

 

Following that was a CruiseCritic party.  One of their marketing people was on board, and he arranged it.  It was very nice, and he got a lot of good feedback, but they had a band, and passed appetizers.  I think the Club wasn’t the right venue, and passed appietizers didn’t really lead to mingling.  We did get a Cruise Critic messenger bag, though.  

 

By then it was almost time for the show, so we went over to the theater.  Glen likes the front row of deck 5, so we sat there.  

 

The show was Elements, and quite good.  Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

After the show we waited for the elevators to clear a bit, and walked up a deck to 6.  No room in elevators, so we went to 7 and found one.  We stopped at the room to drop the swag, and headed to Luminae.  

 

That was normal tonight, and we were with Jesus.  I did tease him a bit about the VIPS,.  Apparently they were in Eden tonight, (Good that we’re there tomorrow night).  Jesus recommended the octopus and short ribs.  I don’t like Octopus, but Glen does so he had it.  It came while he was in the restroom so I took a picture.

 

 

Agus, our usual assistant waiter, decided that they should give Glen a new one since he was in the restroom and took it away and replaced it.  The replacement wasn’t quite as pretty.

 

I started with the burrata cheese and we both had the short ribs.  We also both had the Coconut Cremeux for dessert.  I’m not quite sure what it is, but it was good.

 

That was it for us for the night.  Tomorrow is sea day 2.  We did decide not to set an alarm for breakfast.

 

 

 

[Straughn]

Am I correct that you are doing a B2B? The current cruise is 6- nights and then the 8-night ABC cruise? I hope that you do a “live” for that one too. My September cruise is the ABC itinerary. 
 

I am loving your comments about the President’s cruise and your take on LHB. You and I are on exactly the same page regarding these two topics!