Sadebud Posted July 22 #51 Share Posted July 22 Looking forward to another GenX/GenZ trip report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackE Posted July 22 #52 Share Posted July 22 Happy Birthday Charla! Have a wonderful trip and thanks for taking us along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut head Posted July 22 #53 Share Posted July 22 Just got caught up for another live review from 1 of the best in the business.😁 Happy birthday and a wonderful cruise. You 2 are very special people--enjoy the time together...and thank you for taking us along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 22 Author #54 Share Posted July 22 A very good afternoon from Beyond at sea! Another new record has been set. We are less than 24 hours into the cruise and I’ve already been dumped for Camp at Sea. At breakfast this morning (as Gen Z was scraping the last morsel of peach cobbler French toast off her plate), we agreed that she would go to camp for the morning session and I would pick her up at 11am and we’d do the family scavenger hunt activity together. When I got to camp to pick her up (prying myself away from a slot machine that had just turned hot by the way, I’m such a devoted mom) she informed me she’d like to do said scavenger hunt with 2 new girlfriends she met at camp instead of me. So here I sit in Craft Social with a delicious blush up cocktail with an hour to spend post writing. Let’s go back in time to our first hours onboard… We had a bit of a rainy sailaway from port Everglades, but I’m taking it as a good sign because some of my very best cruises have started with rainy sailaways. After over 11 years in the position, I’ve found that one of the coolest things about being a parent is getting to watch your child experience little things about the world that you’ve long taken for granted for the first time. It was so much fun seeing Gen Z’s first reactions to all things Beyond. It started with our arrival at terminal 25 and her awe at the suite boarding process and lounge. We overslept a bit so we didn’t leave the Conrad till a little before 11am. Fortunately the hotel is a short easy drive to port Everglades and we pulled up at terminal 25 within 15 minutes of leaving. The Retreat boarding process was equally smooth. Total time from climbing out of our Uber at the terminal to first steps onboard Beyond was less than 10 minutes. Once we got onboard we dropped off our bags in our sky suite and met our cabin attendant Edy. There was an envelope waiting in the room with Gen Z’s muster station band. Because the app knew I was sailing with a minor, the safety section included the kid-friendly version of the safety video and Gen Z was able to watch it on my phone before we left the hotel. I’m usually an aft stateroom kind of girl, but on E class if I’m sailing in Retreat, and especially sailing with Gen Z, I prefer to be forward. The forward elevators are so much more central to Luminae/retreat lounge/retreat pool deck and to camp at sea. When we got to our room we had separate invites for captains club events and Gen Z was thrilled to see that at the tender young age of 11, she’s already leveled up from Classic to Select captains club status. She said she’s determined to get to Elite before high school. I can practically hear Visa and Royal Caribbean Group rubbing their hands together. After checking in at our muster station, we headed to the retreat lounge for my traditional embarkation drink of peaches and bourbon and a Shirley temple for Mini Me. After a toast to our next mommy-daughter adventure, we headed to embarkation lunch at Luminae, which was open from noon till 2pm. The Retreat is sold out this cruise but neither the lounge or Luminae was very crowded and service at Luminae was quick and attentive. Ria the maitre d remembered me from Jeremy and I’s med cruise on the ship last October and got us a great seat right next to the window overlooking the bow. Gen Z ooh and ah-ed her way all the way through it all. I’m pretty convinced that when it comes to food consumption, Celebrity is going to end up in the red on my kid’s fare. For lunch she ate 2 orders of shrimp ceviche to start. We both got the steak frites entree with a side of truffle fries and she ate all of her steak and half of mine. Then I got the yummy chocolate mousse and Gen Z got the chocolate ice cream for dessert. When our server Victor came to the table we let him know about Mini Me’s nut allergy and he made a note on her account that follows us to every restaurant on the ship. In fact, when we had our dinner at Eden last night (full report to come) one of the first things our server said was “I understand Ms. [Gen Z] has a nut allergy and I have already alerted the chefs.” After lunch we went down to register Gen Z for camp at sea. I thought it was interesting that on E class Celebrity moved the kids club from the top, forward part of the ship with beautiful sea views to the very bottom midship with not a window to be found. Then I remembered a few cruises where we had rough seas or the captain was really putting pedal to metal and the sea sickness frequency in kids club was really up there. Fortunately, Gen Z has amazing sea legs, but I can totally see why the location change makes sense. The club also seems bigger with more gaming options for the older kids. I didn’t venture to the younger kids side, but I saw there was an area with lots of baby toys where parents with kids too young to leave at the club could come with them and have play time. Well, speaking of kids club, I think it’s just about time for me to go drag Mini Me out to spend some lunch quality time with the woman who gave her life. Sharing some pics and kids club activity info for the cruise below. Later this afternoon I’ll fill you guys in more about our night last night. Happy Monday from Beyond! 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted July 22 #55 Share Posted July 22 Charla These are the best photos and coverage of the kids/ tween/ teen area I have found.. thank for posting. Gen Z quite the ham. Hope she will enjoy it. Going to show pics to our 8 yr old .to see if he might try it. Do you know if they have " fidget" toys there and maybe a quiet space. He adheres to a structured program but sometimes likes down time. He'd love that little nook! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare abbydancer2003 Posted July 22 #56 Share Posted July 22 39 minutes ago, GenerationX said: Once we got onboard we dropped off our bags in our sky suite and met our cabin attendant Edy. There was an envelope waiting in the room with Gen Z’s muster station band. Because the app knew I was sailing with a minor, the safety section included the kid-friendly version of the safety video and Gen Z was able to watch it on my phone before we left the hotel. Edy was our steward on our first of the two we were on, and he was excellent. When we got to our new room, our new steward knew I wanted 4 towels at all times. Edy had told him. You're in good hands. We were in the bow area of Luminae, and Victor helped us sometimes. I thought Aricka was the Maitre'd? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachlover1989 Posted July 22 #57 Share Posted July 22 On 7/21/2024 at 11:56 AM, GenerationX said: @DaKahuna Ask and you shall receive! Live from the Retreat Lounge! Full embarkation report coming soon. Who is that young woman standing beside you GenX?? Seriously, GenZ is getting so tall so quickly! Enjoy your wonderful girls' cruise and a very happy birthday!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jim_Iain Posted July 23 #58 Share Posted July 23 Count me in to join in and following your next adventure. I'm in need of a cruise. This evening we finally entered Verdicts this afternoon on a complicated Murder Trial that began in Mid-May. I know you don't practice criminal law but I don't know how you lawyers do it. I'm totally emotionally and physically exhausted. I was chuckling when you were talking about your discussions with Jerome. Doesn't he realized... You are the Queen and need accommodation to fit your status. I'm sure he supports and loves you, even when you pull a fast one on him. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 23 Author #59 Share Posted July 23 A quick check in from evening chic night on Beyond… I’m going to need to speak with a manager about the rate at which my little 7lbs 3oz baby girl turned into this (gulp) young lady I’m sharing my cabin with. On our way to the theater for the show tonight, we stepped on the elevator to find ourselves in the presence of Beyond’s VVIP’s! After they were kind enough to take a photo with Mini Me and we were starting to walk away, this beautiful little Judas whispers to me “mama, do I get a reward from the gift shop for not telling Captain Leo that my MARRIED mom thinks he’s really cute?” 🤦🏾♀️ In other news, while Gen Z ditched me for an afternoon kids club session today, I returned to the casino and found an even hotter slot machine. These are all separate bonus wins that all hit within the same half hour…I see a new Gucci bag in my future! Catch up posts coming later tonight. 39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare chemmo Posted July 23 #60 Share Posted July 23 Lovely photos! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WNCtourist Posted July 23 #61 Share Posted July 23 Beautiful chic looks for both young ladies! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 23 Author #62 Share Posted July 23 Checking in from our early morning docking in Cozumel! Gen Z is still sleeping off our Lumina chic night dinner. Just based on the 3 meals we’ve had there so far, Luminae service and food this cruise has been some of the best I’ve had on Celebrity. But I’ll fill you in on that a bit later. First let’s go back in time and catch up on our first night onboard. For dinner, I wanted to continue my first night E class tradition of dinner in Eden. I was a little worried about how well it would go with Gen Z in tow as far as finding things she’d like. She’s a pretty adventurous eater especially for an 11 year old on the spectrum, but food appearance is huge to her. If it looks odd, she’s going to be reluctant to try it. And some of the presentations in Eden can be a bit avante garde. It turned out I was worrying needlessly. Our dinner completely sold the last member of the Gen household on E class cruising. We had an excellent server named Jesse (aka Jesse James) who made sure Gen Z’s allergies were accommodated. Side note for any nut allergy followers: be sure to be vocal about your allergy so that your restaurant service teams can help guide you on what’s safe to eat. Apparently there are quite a few dishes onboard that wouldn’t seem to have nuts in them just based on the menu description, but are usually cooked in peanut oil or made with almond flour. For our starters we had the mushroom risotto, crab cake and shrimp. The chef also made Gen Z a special kids amuse bouche of cured mango and sweet tomato. (I was a little mad when I saw that that I got stuck with the beet and carrot puree, not that it wasn’t good.) All of the plates went back to the kitchen completely empty with the exception of a few pieces of the chorizo in the shrimp dish (Gen Z thought it was a little too spicy.) For mains, we went with Jesse’s recommendations and had the lobster, filet and beef Wellington duo and the branzino. I think Gen Z’s reaction to her first bites speaks for itself. We finished of with butterscotch creme brûlée (Gen Z) and a duo of Aztec chocolate cake and lemon custard for me. Actually I only got like 3 bites of my custard because Gen Z stole the rest after she finished her creme brûlée. While I had my after dinner coffee Gen Z had hot chocolate and it was ridiculously good. Clearly not from some powder pack and hot water. I checked with Jesse and a chef in the kitchen literally melted down chocolate and added warm milk and made that hot chocolate from scratch for my kid. I am in so much trouble when I’m in charge of cooking for this child again next week. We had such a great experience that Gen Z asked if we could eat there again another night of the cruise. I had the sad duty to tell her Eden has been sold out for some time, but then Jesse overheard us and said he’d be able to get us in on night 6! So I’ll get to have my birthday dinner in my favorite restaurant onboard! After dinner, we headed back up into the bar in Eden for the evening show. I thought I remembered curfew on Reflection for kids being 11 or 11:30, but on Beyond apparently it’s midnight. So Gen Z was able to stay for the 10:45 show. We got our seats at about 10:15 and got some of the last good ones. By 10:30 it was standing room only. I definitely suggest getting there early if you’re hitting the smaller shows in the club and Eden. Once again, I’ve seen this Eden show several times and still enjoy it, but the real joy was seeing Gen Z’s reactions to the music, costumes and acrobats for the first time. She gave standing ovations as each act/number finished. After the show some of the cast hung around in the hallway and she got such a kick out of getting to meet them and tell them how much she enjoyed the show. Well, it’s time to drag said patron of the arts out of bed so we can get ready for breakfast and our day in Cozumel. We’re planning to head to Playa Mia for the day for some beach time and tacos (and margaritas for mama). I’ll talk to you guys when we get back this afternoon! 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KKB Posted July 23 #63 Share Posted July 23 @GenerationX Thoroughly enjoying your TR...cannot wait to get back on Eclass! I remember our children clearing their plates & half of ours...I believe a growth spurt is coming! No longer will you be at eye level, my dear... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyntil8ing Posted July 23 #64 Share Posted July 23 15 hours ago, GenerationX said: When we got to our room we had separate invites for captains club events and Gen Z was thrilled to see that at the tender young age of 11, she’s already leveled up from Classic to Select captains club status Interesting. Celebrity, in the past, always said that kids cannot join Captain's Club until they are 18. Things must have changed. Our kids shared our status, but never showed points until they turned 18. Now, they show their own earned points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisetonowhere10 Posted July 23 #65 Share Posted July 23 Omg the picture of her eating the first bite of food is ridiculously adorable. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted July 23 #66 Share Posted July 23 Wow! Gen Z is treated like Royalty in EDEN and by thd Cast of the show! Glad proud mama Charla will be the star of EDEN on her birthday! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPCRUISER22 Posted July 23 #67 Share Posted July 23 (edited) Wow! Great memories! Gen Z is a natural! Edited July 23 by TPCRUISER22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quik2flip Posted July 23 #68 Share Posted July 23 As a woman who is obsessed with Tory Burch (the Westchester Tory Burch loves me!) all I can say is…you go Gen Z!! I love your shoes! They are perfect for your lovely dress. Nice job Mom👌! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 23 Author #69 Share Posted July 23 Good afternoon from Cozumel! Gen Z and I are relaxing after a sunny, hot day at Playa Mia. We overslept a little this morning and got to Luminae for breakfast with only about 35 minutes to eat before we had to head to our excursion meeting time. Victor was happy to accommodate though and expedited our order of more peach cobbler French toast for Gen Z and a smoked salmon platter for me. He also read my mind and added in a warm, toasted bagel and extra cream cheese to my platter. With just our ship and the relatively small Grandeur of the Seas in port, the beach club wasn’t crowded at all and we had no problem getting beach chairs and an umbrella (included in the excursion cost) right in front of the ocean. When we got on the bus for the excursion, Gen Z saw that two of her friends (sisters) from Camp at Sea were with us and when we got to the beach we all got chairs next to each other and the girls went out to play on the floating obstacle course while the adults chatted and drank cervezas in the ocean. We took the kids over to the pool and water slide for a little while but didn’t stay in that area very long as there was no shade or loungers and the pool water was super cloudy. Our package also included a lunch buffet, but the options didn’t look super appetizing and I usually avoid buffets early in my vacation anyway to avoid a noro hit while still at sea. Plus I noticed that the staff was putting food out for the buffet when we arrived at the resort about 9:30 and I was worried about how long things sat out. A few years ago at playa mia I remember there being a menu where you could order food a la carte (albeit at extra charge) and there being a really good ceviche and tacos on it. But apparently that’s no mas. Gen Z and I decided to pass on the buffet and maybe get some tacos at a restaurant in the port area on our way back to the ship. We had quite a bit of OBC with our cruise that I used to book the beach passes, so I was satisfied with it for a free excursion. But I think when coming out of pocket for a beach club in Cozumel, I think I prefer Nachi Cocum. Much more intimate, better margarita quality and with very good a la carte food included. It turned out that by the time our bus headed back to port, we were both so hot and tired all we wanted was to be back on the ship pronto with a shower, some air conditioning and some sensory down time, so we skipped the taco stop and our butler Rudy came to the rescue with a prompt room service lunch delivery. I noticed that the Retreat room service menu now includes a selection of beers and wines that are officially complimentary. A post-shower glass of Cab in a 68 degree cabin really hit the spot. I also noticed that since I was last on the ship in October, the TV has been updated to make it easy to chromecast from my phone, so we’re decompressing with a little Disney Plus during sailaway. Tonight’s plan is dinner at Le Petit Chef and another show in Eden. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxkite Posted July 23 #70 Share Posted July 23 Happy birthday Charla! I'm sure the two of you will have a super cruise together! We too, love Beyond! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mac_tlc Posted July 23 #71 Share Posted July 23 (edited) Really enjoying your TR! I'm not a big seafood fan but I love the crab cake at Eden ! And Bourbon and Peaches ! And Nachi Cocum ! And ....... boy it seems like more than 4 months since I have been on a ship......... mac_tlc Edited July 23 by mac_tlc 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNSails Posted July 24 #72 Share Posted July 24 On 7/22/2024 at 4:55 PM, GenerationX said: Gen Z was thrilled to see that at the tender young age of 11, she’s already leveled up from Classic to Select captains club status That's amazing! How did you manage to get her her own CC number? Was looking for our kiddo and thought we had to wait until 18 and then all of her prior cruises would be added retroactively. Hopefully there's a way to avoid having to maintain that log! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GenerationX Posted July 24 Author #73 Share Posted July 24 2 hours ago, MNSails said: That's amazing! How did you manage to get her her own CC number? Was looking for our kiddo and thought we had to wait until 18 and then all of her prior cruises would be added retroactively. Hopefully there's a way to avoid having to maintain that log! I wish I had a clear answer to this because I’m in the same confusion. When Gen Z and I did her first cruise ever on Millennium a couple of years ago, I went to the captains club desk to see about setting up her number and status and was told that she wouldn’t technically have a captains club number and/or status until she was 18. But that when she got to that age all the cruising she’d done before then would somehow magically “go live” and determine her captains club status. I trust large corporations about as far as I can throw them, so I’ve been holding on to Gen Z’s seapass cards just in case I have to debate her properly earned Celebrity loyalty status…right around the same time I think I’ll be calling in law school favors to get FBI caliber background checks done on somebody’s son who wants to take my treasure out to a movie. 😂 3 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Norwaylady Posted July 24 #74 Share Posted July 24 Looks like you have a great time🥂💙⚓️ Seems like your SkySuite is delivering a much better product and experience then we had last November🙌🏻🥂 Very happy for you and mini-me🥰 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted July 24 #75 Share Posted July 24 Aloha. So happy you are having a nice time. Just wondering if at her age you are considering perhaps Disney World or cruising in different parts of the world? Please don't mind my intrusion but just providing my opinion based on how we transitioned from the Caribbean and cruising in the Caribbean to the world stage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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