TeeRick

Please no!

Yes it is definitely a combination of the cut of beef and marbled fat content. My dw is somewhat adamant about getting lean burgers (93% or 96% lean) and they taste like nothing on the grill. I try to sneak in an 85% burger when she is not looking. That at least tastes better grilled. My Italian mom used to make the best meatballs using 70% lean beef. I cannot even find that now in the markets, and dw would have a fit if I did! The supermarkets near me now are selling a number of expensive pre-made burgers. Several companies focus on selling these more premium burgers. Wahlburgers for example. True aficionados buy rib-eye or something similar and grind it themselves!

Yes you have a point - cruise pizza is nothing like what I can order at home. We tend to get a piece of pizza on Celebrity in the OVC as a snack, not a dinner. But a nice burger (like in Lawn Club Grill) is not a snack. It is a very good dinner (or lunch). A nicely done, flavorful thick burger would still be a treat on a Celebrity cruise for many of us. This is not the Mast Grill burger. Even at home, I could make a good one myself but I tend to go out and order one at any number of great places as a meal. I personally would pay extra for a quality burger choice on a Celebrity ship.

OK understood. But when I go to a port on a Celebrity ship and want a more private beach day, I go and get a day pass at any number of nice beach clubs or resorts at pretty much any island in the Caribbean. Still not sure why Celebrity needs its own island and why the fact that they don't means that RCG is not investing in Celebrity.

Other than beach clubs/islands, which is a different culture investment, what true infrastructure examples can you give RCCL vs. Celebrity?

Investments, particularly capital investments, need to be evaluated over a multi-year period. The RCG corporation's Celebrity investments have been very significant, even though the pandemic intervened. Edge. Apex. Beyond. Ascent. Edge5. $Billions$. Revolution. $Millions$ on multiple ships pre-pandemic. Infrastructure. New terminals like in Port Everglades Term 25. You want a private island to judge investments? The Celebrity brand does not focus on amusement parks and entertaining families with small children. It leaves that to RCCL. Most Celebrity cruisers would hate an amusement park atmosphere. A private island with just a beach perhaps- but why bother with that? Sorry. I think RCG has invested plenty in Celebrity. Even if a lot of folks here do not agree with the investments in E-Class design.

We were on Equinox in January. Dined in both Murano and Tuscan. Both were very good experiences. But I do agree that the calamari in Tuscan was terrible. It should have been called inedible rubber on the menu. But everything else was delicious.

I wonder if this is the case on Beyond only? We have not seen this comment from Edge or Apex.

Your post and positive comments will send the usual negative food naysayers here on CC (we all know who they are) into a hissy fit. You might get called a cheerleader or something similar. Nice to hear you enjoyed Blu! We also enjoyed Equinox earlier this year.

Cooking steaks are very different from cooking burgers safely. Surface bacteria are destroyed on steaks, and there is little risk of internal bacteria. But when you ground raw beef the surface bacteria and their toxins are mixed inside before cooking. So rare burgers are a risk. Even if delicious for some.

Sometimes a simple phone call (to Celebrity or a TA) is the last booking option but the best one as well.

Yes we did this on Equinox in the CS this past January. Another good option.

But it can be done.

The Celebrity Suite has an enclosed bedroom. You can move the beds apart but one will be up against the windowed wall.

Do you drink at other times (outside 5-7) on the ship? If so, without any beverage package you would just pay for your drinks, right? If you want a drink or glass of wine in the MDR, and if you don't want to carry drinks in or go get them after you are seated, you could just pay for the drinks at dinner too. It is just a suggestion.

I have used Celebrity Air or Flights By Celebrity on several occasions. Especially for expensive international flights and Business class. Celebrity Air let's you hold your flight payment until the cruise final payment. So it is like getting a refundable fare rate in case something happens. That is their main advantage or maybe their only advantage. Since you can book far in advance without paying, sometimes you get a cost savings. Not always. But in reality they act as a go between (or agent) between you and the airline. Celebrity offers this to us as an added option but they do not control airline flights, schedules, restrictions. All completely up to your airline choice. For the most part we arrange our own flights with the airlines and purchase the less expensive non-refundable fares directly with them. And pay far in advance.

Yes the slots are always open on the embarkation day. They hold quite a few open.

They hold back 40-50% of the dining slots and times which they open on the day of boarding. Has nothing to do with suites or tips. Just go to any Specialty as soon as you board and make a reservation.

There are restricted areas on RCCL ships too. Coastal Kitchen (suite restaurant) is like Luminae. The suite lounge on RCCL is like the Retreat on Celebrity. The Aqua passengers on Celebrity have their own restaurant (Blu) but there is no equivalent on RCCL for this.

Agree with you and I tried to answer the OP's question directly with a simple "No" in my post #16. But the thread goes on to be a debate about kids and behavior and whatever. Sort of like asking if Celebrity has any smoke-free ships. Answer is no- but I think we would get pages of posts on smoking. Threads diverge here. Part of the fun I guess.

Why?????? you ask. Because a lot of cruisers like them. Actually, Icon of the Seas has a mixture. Some infinite balconies but a lot of other choices too. A much larger ship. I know some on these Celebrity boards (including me) would have preferred more of a balcony mixture and more choices on E-Class. But as I expressed before, IMO, time to just move on from this.

Why does an Infinite Veranda thread bring out such strong(er) opinions from normally pleasant posters here? As others have said, we Celebrity cruisers just all need to live with E-Class ships or be happy with M&S ships, or really just move on. Many many people like E-class apparently as judged by the full ships. I usually do not even look at IV threads anymore as for me there will never be an answer, an argument, or a winner. They just go on and on. And come back over and over. I'm not even sure why I am commenting here in this thread. Please feel free to tell me to move on too!

Bo Knows Vegan.☺️

Just ask your cabin attendant when you meet them. They will accommodate your spare bedding needs.

Nice summary!