industrious95

It wouldn't hurt to try. Who knows why my approval took so long?

I own my own business and want access at the best possible speed. I enjoy my vacation much more knowing my business is running well in my absence. If I can afford a $5000 cruise than I can afford the upgrade to premium internet. That being said, the premium internet on the Beyond in the Caribbean was disappointing. There were many times I could not make wifi phone calls on my Apple 12 with any reliability. During one sea day, I literally walked around the entire pool deck, trying to make a phone call, but I could hear them and they couldn't hear me. I then walked down to the customer service area, which is next to the internet help area, figuring the router signals would be better. Same issue, I could hear who I was calling, but they couldn't hear me. Please note, my complaint was making wifi calls, not watching streaming video or browsing web sites. When we got into port, I just used the cell phone signal to, paid Verizon their $10/day fee, and was able to make calls with no problems I was able to get emails with no problems.

What I didn't say, and wasn't part of the discussion, was that when I applied for the BOA card, waited almost 3 weeks to get it approved. First time in like 30 years I didn't get instant approval when I applied for a credit card, plus I have a BOA auto loan which has never been paid late. My credit score is "excellent."

It's really a personal choice. I'm 65 and have lived my entire life without sitting in a sweaty hot room listening to soothing music. I guess I just don't "get it." Anyway, I'm not a spa person, so I don't think it the spa was worth it. The main benefit to Aqua Class, from what I could tell, was being able to go into the Blu Restaurant. Otherwise, Aqua Class is a collection of options you could buy individually, such as a drink package and the wifi. Aqua Class includes a few silly features, such as a pillow menu, "environmentally wonderful" soap in the shower and the use of a yoga mat in your cabin. Those aren't the things I generally shop for when booking my vacation.

I was on the premium internet plan ($10/day upgrade from basic plan included in our AC fare) First of all, you have to set your phone to accept wifi calling while still on your cellular service. Once you in airplane mode, you can't do that. I put my iPhone 12 into airplane mode as soon as the Beyond left Port Everglades. I received multiple robo-sales incoming calls while at sea, so I was still able to buy extended auto warranties and sign up for Medicare Advantage plans. However, when my office called, it turned out I could hear them but they were unable to hear me clearly. On one call, I walked the entire upper deck like the guy from the Verizon commercial saying "can you hear me now?" Eventually, I hung up and texted them and we texted back and forth to complete our blessedly short conversation. The next day, trying to talk to the office, I got a continuous "Unable to send text" message from my iphone. I fell back to email, which seemed to work, but a little slower to actually have a conversation.

They play in the rooftop garden. They offered it on two days during our cruise last week, from 12:30-4:30. The exhaust stacks and the outdoor movie screen provide some relief from the window, but Saturday, our last at sea day, the winds were gusting around 30 knots. If was difficult enough to sit on a chair, let alone chase a plastic ball across a court. By 3pm, the only place you could stay outdoors was near the pool, which has high glass barriers to make the wind bearable.

Note that the Premium package does not give you "any wine on the menu." It gives you 20% off. The classic package gives you $15% off. There is a wine package, but I never looked into it. i would guess that the wine prices are about 2 times what you'd pay in a stateside liquor store. Example, we buy Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuise locally, and it's around $28-$29 a bottle. It was $54 on Beyond this past week. Less 15% on our classic drink package. Plus the 20% gratuity they add in. Plus a spot on the charge slip for "Additional gratuity."

We got "basic" with our aqua class suite and upgraded to the "Premium" so I could be in touch with my office. I've used 300 baud dial up modems that were faster... Facetime didn't work properly. Voice calls over wifi didn't work Text messages frequently failed to send. I tried watching a few videos on Instagram and it would take 30 seconds for a 10 second video to begin playing. I went to the internet center and they suggested I reboot my phone, No help. When we were in port, I turned off airplane mode, paid Verizon their $10/day travel pass, and took care of business. I will say that I received and could send emails, however I don't know how quickly they went out or were received.

I'm pretty good with telling left from right. 😀 On the Beyond, when you get off the elevator's, there is signage which says "AFT" and "FWD".

On last week's cruise, it was "fill the laundry bag and pay $59 for everything."

I was on the basic drink package, I usually ask for a "Tito's Martini" because I don't want the cheap no-brand vodka, and I don't want to be charged extra for Grey Goose. There was a $5.00 up charge for my martini at the Martini bar. My wife got a Cosmo, and noticed they made it with Grey Goose and still charged me the $5.00 up charge. I found that both Eden and the bar next to the pizza station at the buffet made good martini's. They used smaller glasses than the martini bar and did not charge the up charge. (IOW, it was covered by my "classic beverage package" at no cost). Some of the bartenders didn't seem to even know what a martini was. I got one at the sunset bar and he mixed it with half Tito's and half vermouth. It was undrinkable.

We just put a deposit on a future cruise while on Beyond last weekend (3/5-3/12 2023). 1) $100 per person with no specific cruise or itinerary. Up to $500 OBC, depending upon length of cruise. I believe a 7 day cruise would be a $350 OBC. 2) We have 6 months to book the cruise. If we don't, they will refund us the $100 deposit. So nothing gained, nothing lost if we don't book a cruise.

A quick note about the internet service. I upgraded our "basic internet" to the "Premium internet." On multiple locations on the ship, I couldn't make wifi calls or send text messages. We tried face timing with our daughter and she couldn't see us. For the extra $10/day/passenger, it was a total waste for me. We both have iPhone 12's with all updated iOS versions. Our email worked, but I have no idea if the email I sent out at 12:00 was received stateside at 12:01, or hours later. Starlink on the Beyond in the Cribbean isn't what I would consider "ready for prime time."

My friend was talking to me withing earshot of our waiter, and he said he would prefer a steak. The waiter mentioned that he could get us a NY Strip Steak, which was not on the menu. That's also how we found out about the escargot. My friend was very pleased and said it tasted quite good. Just as another note, the bread is all freshly made every day. They have a dark, multigrain bread that we asked for refills on several nights. We asked for extra butter one night, and every night after that they brought it out without being asked. I am not a fan of veal, but I decided to try the veal tenderloin. It almost tasted like a filet mignon, it was quite tasty and verytender. They do tend to drown the meat in a brown mushroom sauce. I found the servers in Blu very accommodating. I asked for Ceaser salad several times, it was never on the menu and it was never a problem. For desert, I figured that since it was Strawberry season in Florida, I asked for a scoop of vanilla ice cream with fresh Strawberries. It was delicious and I think I had it 3 nights. The only request they couldn't fulfill was when I asked for a bottle of Montepulciano. The Sommelier said he would check and was gone almost 10 minutes until he came back and said they didn't have any on the ship. I've read some very negative reviews of the wine offerings and the food. Maybe my palate isn't as sophisticated as some of those critics, but I was very happy with the food and the wine.

Back from our March 5-12 cruise, here's a few notes: We were AquaClass in cabin 9276. The room was spotless and well serviced. Tons of storage space. No complaints at all. As far as the Infinity Balcony debate, it was definitely different than what we're used to. I could take it or leave it. It was wonderful sleeping with the window open at night, with the cool Caribbean breeze to cool the room and the sound of the waves. The last two days of the cruise were windy and we experienced the creaking sounds others have mentioned. It doesn't come from the window, it comes from the ceiling above. My guess is that the winds gets in there. We didn't have it too bad and it didn't affect my sleep. We ate all our dinners at Blu. The service was wonderful. The food was good. Escargot and shrimp cocktail as much as you wanted it. We had lobster tail one night and filet Mignon twice. Wine service was good. We asked for wines that weren't on the wine list, and the Sommelier (hope I spelled it right) went to other restaurants to get it. We would get to the restaurant at 8PM, and were always greeted with a smile an a friendly welcome. One day they told us we would have to wait ten minutes for a table so we went next door to the bar at Eden, and the Maitre'de from Blu came over after about 15 minutes to tell us our table was ready whenever we were ready. On the "basic drink package" we got 15% off. Our travel friends were on the "Premium drink package" and got 20% off. Never tried any of the specialty restaurants. There was enough variety and great service in Blue. Never went to any of the MDRs either. We used room service for continental breakfast, usually just coffee, tea or juice, and it was always on time as promised. No charge for continental menu in Blu. We ate lunch at the buffet most days, and a late breakfast a few times. For breakfast, Eggs Benedict was okay, the eggs poached perfectly every day, but their Hollandaise sauce not that great. Scrambled eggs were pretty bad. Oatmeal was fine. Always lots of fresh cut fruit. For lunch, the caeser salad station was always crisp and fresh. Everything else was run-of-the mill buffet, nothing to write home about. There is a burger grill buy the pool bar, and the burgers were nice and juicy and greasy (in a good way). Pizza station was often crowded, during lunch they couldn't make it fast enough. When it was hot and out of the oven, it was pretty good. Other times, it would sit and get dried out under the red warming lights. Biggest complaint was trying to find a lounge chair outdoors. By 8am on Sea days, almost every chair was "reserved," although they were often empty until 11 or 12. But it seemed if you walked around enough, you could always find one or two after walking around the entire 14 & 15 decks. Bar service was awful at the sunset deck and pool deck. Their were not enough bartenders and no smiles at all from the staff. Never waited longer than a couple minutes at the martini bar, even during peak times. As others have said "silent disco" was a trip! We totally loved it. We put down a $200 deposit for a future cruise. We were very happy with Celebrity and may try again. If anyone has any specific questions, I'll be happy to share our experience.