mac_tlc

Unfortunately the “book at prevailing rates” for any alternative makes this a poor offer, except for Celebrity. mac_tlc

I thought of you when I saw this , so sorry. We had the Nov TA booked and the alternatives are multiple thousands more for less days. 😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞. mac_tlc

Every other cruise option they are offering is at prevailing rates, which is a lot higher than what we booked the 11/1/24 TA. I don’t think they care, the Caribbean cruise are no bargain either. They win either way. Terrible offering IMHO. mac_tlc

You probably wouldn’t think that if you had one of the TAs booked and saw their offer. mac_tlc

Don’t wait! The possible restrictions on ships being able to sail into some of these ports may be coming. mac_tlc

Thanks! I loved the reflection I the water on that one !!!! mac_tlc

Their offer is ridiculous. Instead of my SS on Beyond for the 11/1/24 sailing for 14 days, I can elevate my cruise experience by paying almost $4000 more on Ascent for one less day. The other TA options on Apex ( 2 less days) or Equinox (more money and not as desirable timeframe) are not comparable either. Oh, I forgot , l’ll get $200 OBC. 🙄🙄🙄. I can’t even book the 11/2 and 11/9 Beyond Caribbean sailings without paying more. For less days, and not a TA. mac_tlc

Been there half a dozen times or so, usually get off early do on the island from 9 - 2 or so. Easy early, harder later.

Sometimes the Celebrity website is a tad behind the TA site, I’m sure they will load everything soon. Per Person Per Day prices definitely higher on CoCo Cay cruises. Looks like the Reflection 3 day cruises stop at CoCo Cay, the 4 day don’t— but I didn’t check all of them . Originally the Reflection was to be the only ship out of Florida in the summer, doing 6/8 day itineraries. mac_tlc

The entire Beyond summer 2024 season is on the TA website. Alternating 6 and 8 day cruises. The 6 day ones stop at CoCoCay. The 8 day ones do the ABC islands. One 7 day itinerary mid May.

Only the Equinox is in the Caribbean in the summer of 2023. Reflection was already scheduled to be there for summer 2024, replacing Equinox. So, Beyond is the addition so they need to find about 3K people roughly every week ( looks like it’s doing 6day / 8day itineraries). Right now, the prices look typical, not very low. Maybe if initial bookings lag, they will come down. Now, if Beyond was sailing from PC…….. But for now I am awaiting my email cancelling my 11/1/2024 TA on Beyond 😞😞😞. mac_tlc

Thanks! There were about 12 sheep wandering about. There did appear to be some sort of building where they came from earlier in the day so maybe they have somewhere to go when it’s not so beautiful. They were able to wander anywhere they wanted . They did have bells on. mac_tlc

We are not in the ad, but we are, have been there, and enjoy it. You don’t have to spend a single penny more if you don’t want to. mac_tlc

Or maybe they did! This is a screen shot from the TA booking site that shows Beyond on an 8 night Southern Caribbean cruise on May 18, 2024.

When I took a look, the results seemed odd. Did they cancel Beyond’s 2024 Europe season? I don’t think so …. mac_tlc

We favor X over Royal and would love to be in the Oasis Lagoon Pool for free, enjoying a Snack Shack Chicken sandwich for free and swimming up to the pool bar for a drink included with our AI cruise fare! 😜😜😜 mac_tlc

We are already talking about coming back, maybe in 2025. I really recommend the aft cabin. After this trip, I couldn’t do it any other way. This itinerary has also been unique in that we had an overnight in Honninsvag — none on Royal in 2024. We also like that we didn’t really visit any big city, the most city like was Alesund. We have done Alaska and agree with you. When we first entered the first fjord, I said “wow, this reminds me of Alaska”. That thought lasted about an hour and has not returned! I know we have been extremely lucky with the weather, yesterday it was mid 70sF, 22C. Other than a couple hours in Honninsvag, no rain , no cold, few clouds — until we were leaving Olden. Just magical! mac_tlc

As we were leaving Olden and traversing the fjord to the ocean, Norway began to look like, well, Norway 😜.

A few more pictures from on top of Loen Skylift: We had lunch at the Hoven Restaurant at the top. It was very good —- but expensive. Did I mention the view? Then a couple from the trip down:

I think your new CruiseCritic name should be CrazyNorwayLady !!!! mac_tlc

Loen Skylift. Wow !! On a spectacular warm no clouds blue sky day? Almost indescribable. We met the shuttle bus to the Skylift right next to the ship, they run every 15 minutes. I have another 100 or more pictures but I’ll try to pick the best. It is difficult. From the bottom of the skylift: View down a fjord towards the glacier from the cable car: Looking back towards Olden, Jewel of the Seas on the left side: Spectacular Mountain View towards Olden, incredible blue sky: From the top overlooking Loen towards glacier:

Captain Michael just gave a great explanation of why our itinerary was modified. Due to the lack of rain in Central Europe, particularly Holland and Germany, the salinity of the water all the way to Amsterdam is forecast to be above a limit of 4000mg/liter. Once that level is reached, the locks between Amsterdam and the ocean are restricted in operation to 6am to 7pm. The more frequently the locks are operated, the more salt water is released into the river towards Amsterdam. The critical level will be reached tomorrow. On our normal schedule, we would reach the locks at 1:30am in order to be alongside and ready to depart at 7am. If we had to wait until the locks could open at 6am on the 29th, we would not be alongside until 10:30ish. That would most likely result in folks missing flights and impacting the next cruise. So the decision was made to skip Molde in order to be at the locks on the 28th before they close. We are scheduled to be alongside in Amsterdam at 4pm on the 28th. More rainfall produces more fresh water into the water system keeping the salinity below the threshold. Now back to our regularly a scheduled program…… mac_tlc

Here are the outlets on the desk: nothing by the beds. Due to the lack of USBs, we use this adapter in the European outlet: And just a lightning cable outlet plug : I have a six USB charging unit but I have not used it. mac_tlc

Welcome to Olden! Another stunningly beautiful day! Super clear skies, and highs in the upper 60s F. I don’t know how we have been so lucky with the weather. Today is shorts and T-shirts. Heading up the Loen Skylift this morning. Booked directly with Olden Adventures, includes bus to/from Loen. No set timetable, buses run every 15 minutes or so! mac_tlc

We spent a little while exploring the town after our train ride. It’s a small area, but we did have lunch at the restaurant. After lunch we puttered around the show and found the beer garden! On a day like we had it was great to just grab a table outside in the shade and enjoy a beer flight or two. Just look at that temperature!