sergel02

We just got it last night actually! All you can stuff into the laundry bag for $50, as long as it’s itemized so they know what’s in there. Doesn’t including dry cleaning or pressing though. They didn’t give us much time though to get it read. got it the night of the 25th and we have to have it ready before noon on the 26th.

Day 2 - Marseille, France I won’t lie there won’t be much to talk about. We had plans every other day so Marseille was the sacrifice we made. We mostly napped all day, still tired from before. - The ship docks in the industrial part of the city so you have to take a shuttle in. - It was noticeably hot and humid. - There were 2 other cruise ships, Costa and MSC, and a few ferries. - We saw the stage show, Last Stage I believe it was called. It was an homage to many musicals. - It was a good show overall, especially the latter half. They had me when they sang ‘Seasons of Love’ from Rent. That song will never get hold. Also loved the Moulin Rouge segment. Unaware me thought the movie came out decades ago when it was only 2001 haha. - Sad there was no Wicked though. - One gripe: the mixing was a bit weird. The singers sounded really quiet in lower segments and super loud in higher one. Maybe it was nerves since it got better, except one of the male singers sounded like he struggled supporting and kind of screamed is higher notes, which made it kind of hard to hear part of the show. - Captain Kate introduced herself and people were able to take pics with her at one of the shops.

I do recall a calculator like that but the it was a larger amount due to cruises ships offering more than just transportation, as it’s a hotel stay and food and entertainment as well. I definitely agree with you OP about trying to make cruising greener though and there is some misinformation (along with accurate info that’s not discussed) out there. I sometimes will buy carbon offsets or donate to specific charities that help with eco initiatives like creating renewable energy. Carbon offsets have their own issues so it takes a lot of research into charities and practices though. I do try to do better on ships though. I leave specific feedback if there is something good or bad I see, and little minor things I do like rescuing towels, using elevators, eating less meat, etc. It’s pretty small but little changes do eventually go into big ones.

We almost missed this cruise we’re on from Barcelona. We fly standby usually so we don’t have a paid ticket and just get in a flight that’s available. During summer with these cancellations there isn’t much space though. We planned to go a few days early anyway to visit and enjoy the city. First part was making it to Newark and that went surprisingly well (side note but we have the worst luck at that place). The next step was going to Barcelona. The flight that day looked so bad (and was) that we just stayed a night in Newark but didn’t do anything. Next day, first on the list, didn’t make it. There was only 1 flight a day. If we missed the one the next day we’d be cutting it too close for our cruise, so we looked into going to London which we were trying to avoid due to issues Heathrow was having. Waited all night and had delays and it looked like we might miss our cruise. We got lucky and got on a flight that left at 1:30 AM. However the flight before that to London ended up getting downgraded to a smaller plane due to technical issues so many people had to be compensated or moved to a different flight. Not even sure how we got on tbh. Some people had missed connections already due to the delay so they got vouchers. Was the most stressful time trying to get to a cruise though. Do not recommend. I agree with @Denny01 though that’s it’s good to get to port city beforehand and explore if possible. I get vacation/holiday time is hard to get and costs is a factor, but I definitely think it makes for a better trip to explore the port city beforehand leisurely. Plus it helps the local tourist scene and you get to explore places you may not always go otherwise.

I’m using the premium internet package though my parents have the basic so I can compare as the sailing goes on. It works really well and fast but it was pricey.

Lol where did each cruise leave from? Wonder if that makes a difference. Anyway, some small updates on Day 1 still: - Dinner at Cyprus tonight. Got the cheese saganaki, koredelia pasta, and galaktoboureko for dessert with yogurt ice cream. I couldn’t properly pronounce anything I ordered but it was really good! This one meal was probably better than anything we had in our last cruise and we still have 8 days. - Our waitress said last she heard there were around 1600 guests on board, though that’s not confirmed yet she said (I assume they hear during reports or something the next day). I’d believe it; the ship felt spacious and never overcrowded. - The staff looked super bored in the best possible way. It reminded me of our trip on the Koningsdam last year with around 1800 passengers. Not sure how long they can sustain that though. The price of this cruise was prohibitively expensive though; we only went since we used id90 or Vacations to go (I forget which). - Staterooms: the Infinite veranda takes some getting used to but the space is nice. We have adjoining cabins and the door is in the front by the bathroom which makes it awkward to keep open. We prob it with the trash bins though and it works. - Bathrooms are probably some of the most spacious at sea for us. Only odd thing is you see yourself in the mirror when you’re on the toilet. Oh well, time to practice your speeches I guess. - The laundry: it’s a bit different than previous cruises we took. We had a few days in Barcelona so we already needed a load done, and HAL and Royal offered a full bag for $25 and $49 respectively. Here on the Beyond we only have the option for individual items and they said later on they’ll have some special. Not sure if that’s a change or it’s always been only that option. Anyway, will be in Marseille tomorrow. Time for bed!

Oh no that’s not what I meant lol. We were just confused why they never checked our negative tests results. We are boosted so we had to do a test 2 days before (people vaccinated but not boosted have to do it one day before). Did it in our hotel room in Barcelona, paid the money to buy the tests back home and bring them over, etc. It’s just it was never checked. We aren’t sure if the rules changed (haven’t heard anything), or if maybe the company sends results to Celebrity since the test asks for your cruise line, the city you’re in, name, etc. I doubt that though. I think maybe our guy just forgot.

Hi all! I’m currently on the Celebrity Beyond for a Mediterranean sailing leaving from Barcelona. I’ve done a live update thread before about how the cruise goes so I figured I’ll make one for this too and others can contribute too. Day 1: Barcelona Barcelona was fantastic with great food and easily walkable. I was a little sad to leave to go on the ship. We’re just in our stateroom waiting for dinner and relaxing right now though. First time on an Edge class ship so it’ll be fun to explore. Couple interesting points so far: - Embarkation was super quick and easy. Staff in the Barcelona port was helpful. We took a taxi here and it was easy, around €20 for a 20 minute ride. - One odd thing though is that they never checked our COVID tests. We did them but the guy never asked and we thought maybe they will later but never did. Not sure if he just forgot, the requirements change, or eMed/bio max just sends positive results to Celebrity so they already knew we were negative. - Buffet was good overall for first day. They still serve you which is nice. - Drink packages were a bit different from the last time we went on Celebrity in 2019 and Royal back in March 2022. We used to be able to purchase a water package and get bottled water delivered to our room, usually a case. Now that’s not an option and you have to buy the basic drink package somewhere around $160 per person and get water bottles from the bar and store them in your fridge. Not sure if it’s a Celebrity change or supply chain issues. It’s one thing we were a bit disappointed about since we didn’t purchase a drink package and usually just want water or juice. Will update as time goes by!