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It’s dinner time on Day 2 — still no head butler sighting. mac_tlc

Drat, I’ll have to tell my 29 yr old son he isn’t going to Alaska in August. I’ll give him your number 😏😏😏. mac_tlc

Unless it is due to weather, it should remain adults only. It may be less utilized 5-7, but if that is someone’s preferred time, then they should have the same rules as someone using it 11-1. mac_tlc

Our thinking too. We have done it 4 times and love it, but love has a limit—- I guess it’s about $60 😂😂. Probably should have confirmed with concierge before he cancelled it but, that’s OK. Have another $108 OBC I need to dispose of. mac_tlc

Even after 51 cruises you learn something every day. I had made a reservation at Eden for Day 1 a few months back, during a crazy sale at the now unheard of price of $45pp. We had decided that we wanted to change it from day 1 so I had the Retreat concierge change it to Day 5. I noticed this morning two credits on my account for $53.98 ($45+20%) . I wandered back up to the concierge today to inquire why. Seems that moving a reservation is really a cancel and rebook. But a rebook at on board ship current prices. Yah, well that’s a no go. Not paying $85 pp. So we now have a night free to try Blu, where we have never been —- for $0. mac_tlc

Glad to report we have a Beyond the Podium speaker this cruise. He will speak at 10am in the theatre every sea day. The first talk today was very interesting, looking forward to the rest —- with a caramel macchiato and an almond croissant from Cafe alBacio. mac_tlc

Our current position: Cuba: E-class ships have a lot of great photo opportunities. Here are some from my walk this morning: And the chair hogs were up early today::

We have a tour booked with Dora in Cartagena. In Aruba, we arrive at 4pm on Saturday and leave around 6pm Sunday. Plan right now is to just wander. One of our favor places in Amsterdam in Pancakes Amsterdam so we will try to get to Dutch Pancakes on Sunday morning . Nothing planned yet in Curaçao. Meat pie and a Red Stripe is all that is needed in Falmouth Jamaica, and it’s inside the port gate. My DW utilizes a wheelchair in ports since she cannot walk very far, and standing for long periods is challenging. She can get on and off any bus. That complicates any port adventure. Dora in Cartagena said the wheelchair can be accommodated on the bus. We are not really beach people but considered a trip to Eagle Beach in Aruba. May still try that. mac_tlc

About last night…. After dinner we wandered through the shops, seems like the variety of logo items is improved over last year. Good place to burn any OBC left. The nightly donation to the slot gods was dutifully carried out. It appears to be possible to pull out some OBC but they limit how much and how often. I’ll know more in a few days. One of our favorite venues on the ship is : This cruise, and most, there is a nightly game show at 8:30. It’s very close to the theatre so you can typically do the show and then head to the Club or vice versa. Pub Trivia was at 9:15 and I continue to be amazed how much common knowledge I don’t have. @KKB, are you listening??😂😂. We wandered for a while after but headed back to the room for an early bedtime. Seems that first day is always tiring. mac_tlc

Good morning from Beyond! One of the best improvements in Beyond/Ascent from Edge/Apex is the sunset bar area. They have done a wonderful job, plenty of seating areas: And not a bad view in the morning! Let’s recap a not-too-late night yesterday. We made our usual visit to the Retreat lounge around 5:15. Wasn’t too crowded, we sat at our usual table and were asked what we wanted to drink before we even sat down. Woodford on the rocks for me, DW had a whiskey sour. She finished it, which is rare, so it must have been good! A few snacks were had. The potato chips were the now-standard Lays as opposed to the more handmade ones that had last year. Same as on Ascent. The mixed nuts were better, slightly seasoned and warm. Dinner was at Luminae. While e at lunch earlier we ran into Rozi who was our waiter last year on Beyond. We requested to be seated in his area. He is always smiling and with a quick wit. Always good to see familiar faces. Here is the menu: We both had the same thing: Crispy Kale Salad French Onion Soup Moscovy Duck Breast We both enjoyed the Duck. It wasn’t too”ducky”.😏😏 Before we ordered, Rozi refreshed our memory that the classics are always available and mentioned each app and entree. He also said that they can make a house salad any night with choice of dressing. I mention this because the classics are not listed anywhere and if the waiter didn’t mention it, and it was your first time at Luminae, you would have no way of knowing. Rest of the evening— coming up! Oh @Georgia_Peaches and @RichYak, I did enjoy a bourbon and peaches just for you! I asked Victor to make it a “little less peachy” than the one at lunch😜. mac_tlc

According to the card in our cabin our head butler is Elizer, but we have not met him/her yet. We did meet the stateroom attendant, I mean Retreat Host, this afternoon. mac_tlc

Sounds like your experience was excellent. Our “butler” experience on Ascent was nothing like that, although we do love that class of ship. Just got on Beyond today for 11 days. We shall see what that experience is like. mac_tlc

It’s good to see that my wife’s Amazon orders have arrived.

Some obligatory embarkation day paperwork: Elite Plus benefits: Retreat offerings and times: Day 1 Celebrity Today:

Lunch was at Luminae today. But first we had a stop at the Retreat concierge desk to change our Eden reservation and add Rooftop Garden Grill. We had Eden for night 1, but changed it to day 5. Added Rooftop Garden Grill for day 3 and we already had Fine Cut for day 8. This cruise was booked onboard the Edge in March 2022 —— back in the days of Suite OBC. Coupled with the onboard booking OBC, we had about $1100. Still have a bunch leftover which will fund the casino and other stuff. Ok, back to food. Luminae serves lunch on sea days and embarkation day. For this cruise that is Day 1, 2, 4, 9, and 11. Todays menu: DW had the burger, I had the Grilled NY Steak Frites. It was done perfectly, medium rare and arrived hot. There were a few more fries but I was starving so I ate them before I remembered to snap a photo. Oh, and I did have a Bourbon and Peaches. It is my favorite cocktail in Luminae and there will be more. Limit one for lunch—- probably more at dinner 😜. Note the lobster roll - a favorite of many. If the app is correct this menu will be repeated on Day 11. mac_tlc

And we are onboard… Here is this mornings timeline: Leave Orlando 6:58 Port drop 10:14 Car return 10:36 Back At Port 10:51 Through Retreat doors 10:54 Terminal Lounge 11:02 Onboard 11:05 Only two ships in port today so no traffic or crowds. Its a balmy and cloudy 64 degrees with a breeze. Mac_tlc

Ain’t she a beauty, Clark! She is ready to go! See you in about four hours! mac_tlc

It has been raining all weekend, as evidence by the delay of the Daytona 500 until Monday afternoon. Today is packing and car rental pick up day. We plan on utilizing our laundry perk as much as possible to minimize the packing. We should be able to get by with one large suitcase, cosmetic case, and one smaller carry on size, plus my backpack for the non-porter stuff. mac_tlc

Thanks so much. Wish you were along for the journey! mac_tlc

Hope we meet you at some point. We will probably be in the Retreat Lounge before sailaway. mac_tlc

We have had these Luminae menus a bunch of times in the past 2 1/2 years. My wife is less enamored with them than I am. She often finds herself searching for something she wants. There are a few favorite dishes that I'll mention as we go along. mac_tlc

OK, by popular demand (OK, it was just one affirmative vote) here we go again.... 11 nights on board the Beyond with Capt. Kate and Bug. We actually go to three ports we have never been to -- Aruba, Curacao and Cartegena. Always nice to try something new. Sorry to start this review two days before embarkation --- that created a few posts of discussion on my last review. We won't be going to the International Festival of the Arts in Epcot but will be going to the Flower and Garden Festival after the cruise before we head north. This time we did the drive from Central CT to our house in Orlando. One overnight near Charlotte NC and then onward to Orlando. BTW, you have never been to Florida until you have stopped at Buc-ee's in Daytona Beach on race weekend. Wow. Usually we would just drive our car down to PE on Monday morning, park in the garage, and then drive it back to Orlando for a few days. However, I lucked out on some great car rental rates so we will leave our car at the house and do two one-way rentals. Total price was less than the parking would have been. We are in a Sky Suite, in fact after this cruise we will have sailed all the E-class ships in the same numbered SS cabin. I like predictability (not a strong suit of X in the past 12 months or so). I'll report on menus, service, crowds, activities, shows, etc. Any specific questions, fire away and I'll try to find the answer. mac_tlc

As it is for us..... But before my status match expires I have to try it so I don't wonder what it is like. mac_tlc

Glad to see you are having a great time on SS. Enjoyed our conversation last month on Ascent. I appreciate everyone reporting their experiences, although, TBH, some of the analogies seem to be overly dramatic. We are in a Sky Suite on Beyond starting Monday for 11 days. Having been on Ascent last month we will have a basis for comparison, although our butler experience last month was non-existent so that’s a low bar. I haven’t decided if I will do a “LIVE” or not . mac_tlc

My cat was particularly troublesome last night and woke me up around 1am eastern time. Could get back to sleep so I figured I would check the deployments. I think our hardcore Royal days are in the rear view mirror but the grandkids like it🙄. Only way we were going to do the Symphony out of NJ was if I could snag the one coveted 4-bdr Villa Suite for the right of us. Well at 2:30am it was available for all but one NJ summer 2025 sailing, of course that was the date I would have picked although it’s not a critical date. My DD is a teacher so there are about 8 possibilities. Would have loved the 9 night one but it departs 7/4 and was super crazy expensive. I did book it for 7/13, which is close to my grandsons birthday. And it was probably 70% more than the Harmony in 2022. Man, that cat is getting expensive…….. mac_tlc