WrittenOnYourHeart

56 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Ha ha.  Only felt it because I was on the second floor of my building.  Other teachers had no idea…pretty cool though.

I'm on the 4th, so yeah. I was mid-sentence and just kind of stopped for the duration. LOL.

4 minutes ago, hcat said:

yes..much weaker event ,  but we were  in a bit of what the...? shock at the time!  Next up. The Eclipse is coming!

Yup. We were all a bit nuts at school. Thankfully the eclipse will be starting during bussing and peaking once we're home.

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

But nothing being  shown looks like Taiwan.

It was like half the force of the quake in Taiwan. I wouldn't expect them to look similar.

I've often found that ship WiFi struggles until I put the phone on airplane mode.

If you're struggling with it, there will be people around on the first day to help people switch to the ship's WiFi (even those who don't have a package use it for accessing the app). Stop stressing so much. 🙂

3 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Also felt it here is CT. Windows shook a bit, felt like a low flying plane was nearby. 

Felt it in Brooklyn! I was in the middle of the floor doing a lesson with my kiddos and just stopped, then my para and I looked at each other and were like "WHAT was that??"

Thought of this thread when I saw this…

Thanks for the reports!

I'll be on the Beyond for an ABC cruise in July - merely Aqua Class, not a suite. 🙂

2 hours ago, billc23 said:

Two nice options. We used to vacation in Aruba for 2 weeks every winter and have done the Jeep and ATV tours many times. The Jeep may be a little safer depending on your skill level going over sand dunes on an ATV. The weather is deceptive. It is not very hot (82-85 degrees F) with low humidity and a constant breeze - but being 14 degrees latitude off the equator there is an elevated sunburn risk. The Jeep has a top so that affords some protection that the ATV does not. Overall I recommend the Jeep unless you have experience riding an ATV - would you rent a motorcycle or a car kind of decision??

Thank you! Both excursions specify that you are not driving - which is fine with me. I sold my car in 2006 when I moved to NYC and have not driven since.

I asked on the Aruba board for the specific sites and the ones from the Jeep got the most positive feedback, so I decided to go with that.

I'm definitely stocking up on the reef-safe sunscreen for this cruise more than any others for sure!!

26 minutes ago, Hatteras51 said:

These tours go to opposite sides of the island.  Personally,  I prefer the nature made sites on Excursion B over the man made attractions on Excursion A. Excursion B takes you to the "wild side" of the island,  which is desert, large boulders, and crashing seas. Excursion A will go over to the "wild side" for a little bit,  but also go to the lighthouse and Alto Vista,  which are also really nice.  Either tour will be good.

Thanks! This helps me understand it better. Wild side it shall be!

1 hour ago, Hatteras51 said:

This is a tough decision.  There are some really good sites on both of these tours. Do you know if you will have much time at the beaches? If you do, I would choose Excursion A because it goes to Arashi Beach. That's a much better beach than Mangel Halto. If the beach doesn't matter to you,  I would pick the one that fits better in your schedule for the day. 

Thanks. I don't know what the timing is on them.

5 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Typically the cruise lines see a B2B with their passengers as two separately booked cruises that happen to follow each other. To them they are two separate folios. If you select a stateroom and it is available on both cruises, then you naturally would not move.  But if you are doing a GTY they also are typically assigned separately for each cruise so the odds of remaining in the same stateroom IMO would be pretty slim.  Perhaps others will report different experiences.

This is my guess. You're asking whoever is assigning cabins to first know that you are on back to back and then go into each cruise to go through and see if there are any rooms available on each. That is potentially a lot of time. (Same if you book a specific room on one leg and want to do gty the second.)

IMHO if you want to definitely stay in the same cabin on each leg, just suck up the extra and book the specific room.

Just be aware that the person you sign up with may push hard for you to purchase the whole pack. I did Aqua for the first time on Summit this past summer and was super excited to try some classes - and I well might have purchased more after trying them, but the guy doing the fitness class sign up literally walked away from me and the spa worker who was touring me around when I said I wanted to just do the 3 to start with. The spa worker looked shocked and was about to go after him, but I told her not to bother. I'd just do my own thing in the gym. I didn't want to have to deal with his attitude all the time.

And yes, I did mention his behavior in my follow-up email.

No reservations for Blu - you go when you want (when they're open of course) and will either be seated or there may be a wait depending on how busy. There will likely be a letter suggesting a time in your stateroom, but you don't have to stick to that.

I think you can arrange with the maitre'd to go to the MDR if you really want...I personally had no desire to do that since Blu was the primary reason I booked Aqua.

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

let us know what you pick and how it was in person!

Will do! I'm definitely planning to do a live from report!

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

Tennis sound is not as jarring to most.

Agree!! I love watching tennis, but the sound and rhythm (minus the grunts) would work well on a noise app for putting me to sleep.

Pickleball not so much. I made the mistake of walking through the sportsplex on Anthem while the entire floor was divided into courts and the noise was absurd. I didn't see how people could spectate it without going nuts!

Nothing specific to Beyond, but I've often had more noise from a non-connecting cabin than a connecting one. IDK if people think they can be more noisy since the door isn't there or what (and loud snoring is loud snoring regardless), but I've never had an issue.

The Jeep is also open-air and off-road.

8 minutes ago, hcat said:

off road sounds like more fun..esp on ARUBA!

 

What are the places you would see on the local experience tour, ?

..Could be .more touristy than active!

The Jeep is:

Ayo Rock Formation

Blackstone Beach and Twin Bridges

Frenchmans Pass and Balashi Gold Mill ruins

Mangel Halto Beach

The Off Road is:

California Lighthouse

remains of Baby Natural Bridge

Alto Vista Church

remains of a gold mine

Arashi Beach

I've posted the specifics for sites on the Ports board, but am curious if anyone has done either of these small group excursions in Aruba with Celebrity and their thoughts on the experience with the ship tour.

Option A: Small Group Local Experience Jeep Tour

or

Option B Small Group Half Day Off Road Adventure

They both look cool - within $10 so price is not a deciding factor. I know most people are "allergic" to ship excursions, but as a solo traveler, I feel more comfortable with them. I have snorkel/beach things planned for Bonaire and Curacao, so I'm looking for something a bit different for Aruba.

Thanks!

I'll be on the Beyond in July and am debating 2 SMALL GROUP excursions (yes, it's through the cruiseline...as a solo traveler, I'm more comfortable with those, but these are smaller groups). Both are off-road, but they go to some same and some different sites.

Excursion A

California Lighthouse

remains of Baby Natural Bridge

Alto Vista Church

remains of a gold mine

Arashi Beach

Excursion B

Ayo Rock Formation

Blackstone Beach and Twin Bridges

Frenchmans Pass and Balashi Gold Mill ruins

Mangel Halto Beach

Price is similar (within $10), so not a factor.

Thanks!

1 hour ago, tbmrt said:

Haven't cruised Celebrity in many years.  I seem to remember that you could not go into the corridor your cabin was in to leave your luggage until they announced cabins were ready.  So go directly to leave your carry on luggage in cabin even though it may not be ready?

It's changed. I was able to do it on the Edge in 2020 before everything shut down. You can drop off your carry-on and get your seapass, but you are asked to then leave until they open completely.

They had it on the Summit in July. On the sports court. Annoying as heck to hear the ping ping ping as I walked by every time. Such a noisy "sport".

Oh...regarding formal night, there won't be.

Celebrity has Evening Chic. Not sure what night it will be, but it's not "formal night".

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

I found that Q-Class (like Anthem) was similar to E-Class on Celebrity.

Interesting. I didn't see the similarity there. I adore E-Class, but I hated Anthem of the Seas.

1 hour ago, nlsgmk said:

Sailing on a four night Reflection cruise in May 2024.  Have several questions:

 

1. Which night is the formal night? Is there anywhere the four night main dining menus are posted?

2. Suggestions for Marriott properties near Everglades cruise port for pre-cruise stay?

3.  Suggestions for restaurants in the. cruise port area (casual, waterfront)?

4.  Can someone describe the embarkation process (particularly time required to stand in lines - bad knees)?

5.  Where is best key lime pie in Key West?

6.  Suggestions for Key West tours - any boating, dolphin watch?

 

Thanks for your time to address questions!

5. I much prefer the Key Lime Pie Company for Key Lime Pie.