Cap_D

Happy anniversary. Thanks for the thread. On the CocoCay day, what were the food offerings on the ship? Was the OVC up and running? Just curious, and realize you were not onboard. Also, are any of the pools on the island included or just beaches? I couldn't imagine staying on the ship, but am curious. Everyone, including management, speaks of CocoCay as a moneymaker. I don't question the statements, but where is the revenue coming from with a typical Celebrity passenger and ship? If the drink package works and there is edible included food and decent nonrevenue places to lounge then the revenue would only come from a small number of people that upgrade especially compared to a Royal ship where one has to pay to escape crowds or for decent food. I realize you did the beach club. Fully supportive of stops at CocoCay over any other Caribbean port to better ensure a good beach/pool day, etc. (No cabs and buses to get anywhere, pan handlers, strays, village of Effy and Diamonds International, etc ). Just wish the dates worked better for our calendar.

Agreed. Airline tags will be placed on luggage by the airline, including any status tags, when it arrives at the airport.

It may very well vary and be specified on the menu, but the standard salmon filet tasted and appeared to be farm raised salmon typical of what's found at restaurants, flash frozen at U.S. supermarkets, and Costco/BJs/Sam's Clubs. We had sit down dinners at Rooftop, Eden and Luminae (Retreat). Among those we ate branzino, cod, halibut, corvina (Eden), and likely others. I cannot comment on the MDRs, but the salmon available from room service was probably from the MDR stock, as was a filet I had in Luminae one night when ordering from the "classic" menu.

Based on personal experience two weeks ago, it is possible to sail (in our case 10 days), enjoy a variety of food, and not gain a pound on the trip. (I had a recent scary cardiac issue and recovery has pushed me to recently drop weight and watch my intake of salt and saturated fat). We stuck to the same portions and types of foods we now eat at home. The suggestions above are excellent. Ability to eat healthy and tasty, with convenience, is also one of the top reasons we enjoyed our recent cruise despite some light popping and creaking in the cabin and some other hiccups (and Celebrity's yoyo on various cutbacks, advertising issues, etc) A few tactics we had: There are a lot of sauces, possible butter use, and salting, so we always asked for entrees without the three. This made it into my profile so often waiters knew in advance. Most calorie savings were done by sticking to oatmeal and berries at breakfast. We then avoided most of the breads, especially when one sees them over and over at different venues. We also avoided all the cold cuts and cheeses. With regard to the salads and vegetables, we often asked for a double order at restaurants (and would add salmon or chicken). We would also avoid the soups. At least on Beyond, for a few dinners, the evening vegetables and salad bar at the buffet with a small taste of other items was sometimes preferable to us versus Luminae. We also would grab apples for snacks. For recent medical reasons we had to cut out most alcohol and sugared drinks. We didn't hesitate to ask for some drinks, like a sparkling water, to be tossed in the blender with a dash of flavored syrup for taste. If we were splurging it was calculated like a bite of pizza from a slice that was hot and fresh, a portion of a good looking steak (no sauce), the ice cream flavor that I like and not because it was available, etc. Eden and Rooftop were accommodating. Eden Cafe seemed healthier than the Spa cafe offerings that were premade. We avoided the Mast Grill, but were in line during a food gap and needed lunch. We got out when the grill cook dripped sweat all over place. We said something to him (he was a manager) and got salmon from room service. I also did a lot of exercise each day, though I did take some elevators and many were visibly doing a lot more than me.

You may have a great time, and it may fit your needs. I find it hard to justify some of the pricing when the ships are 10-20+ years old and untouched in meaningful ways, e.g., same decor, cabin, etc. as 20 years ago. Hotels would usually update, discount, or rebadge to signify they aren't at the level any longer. Celebrity seems to march forward, and 20 years from now we'll still be wondering if the next Beyond drydock will fix the noise issue, dated decor, and maybe the magic carpet (which I like, but could see being permanently abandoned (such is the way of cruise lines and hotels with revolving restaurants) if maintenance is needed). Recent threads on here have had reports of older ships breaking down like Summit, rusting on various ships, and ancient cabins (fixture, cabins, carpet, HVAC systems, etc.). For some video on cabins that may fall into the needs work category: And None are the ship you're looking at, but they cause me to think most of the older ships are left with whatever it had on opening day and a friendly crew. One would need to do the analysis, but most do not seem substantially discounted compared to E Class for comparable itinerary and dates. (I don't see discounts happening where the older ships are being sold at budget prices out of the gate. Perhaps only if it's a shoulder period, they don't sell, a block is released, etc.).

I generally agree. Cruising is a bubble, and my take is many customers tolerate issues and react to things differently than they would on land. In our case, our room had a tolerable amount of noise and nothing as bad as what others have reportedly experienced most of the time. It's relative, but we all slept through the noise except on the rough sea days that increased the noise and sloshing. With that said, we still complained, questioned senior officers and had other issues. We had a good trip but that was despite the room noise and other issues. We probably would not go back on Beyond. Apex and Edge were more solid builds. The older ships, and for now, the 10 - 20 year old cabins and reports of rotting older ships don't do anything for us. As someone that has and does travel extensively (non cruises) there is a unique psychological effect that seems to take hold of customers being on an advanced booked, prepaid cruise experience where there is no choice or options once onboard. Few want to admit or believe a bad time. Plus Celebrity creates its own alternative universe and may actively try to keep public info on the issue quiet. The effect of everything is that customers are muted, they want to have a good time (and may have mitigating factors at play, like an unlimited drink package, love of a certain food item, fast friends with crew, etc) and that the cruise lines take advantage. On top of that, for some reason many cruise passengers tolerate the rigid excuses given that impinge on what one usually expects for reasonable hospitality (like a Retreat lounge that won't serve snacks except at fixed times, and they are straight from the OVC, butlergate, food cutbacks, perks listed that are illusory or already included, concierge lunch that happens before assigned check in times, etc) and the accepted cruise industry practice of building hotel cabins and spaces with no intent or plan to keep them fresh or renovated. It's even accepted that the senior officers get to gawk at the passengers in the plaza and become the entertainment (like the q and a or pool volleyball), but not acknowledge actual issues.

I've brought it up. They claim the shipyard has a team investigating. When asked what the status is they said it was ongoing, and its a big ship. The company doesn't care.

Glad it was a good experience. We did the catamaran excursion too, three weeks ago. It was well done, and we found the crew careful with our 6 year old. Off topic of the excursion, we had a similar rocky start and some rain for the start of the cruise until the first port day, and while the shipboard noise didn't dissipate the rest of the trip was mostly smooth sailing.

Fwiw-Over three trips to FLL, we have consistently had to cancel Lyfts and go with Uber when ordering a premium SUV. For some reasons the Lyfts were never Suburbans or equivalent without curved cargo areas.

This dates the cruise as being for an older demographic.

I hope this works out. I know there is a lot of love for this ship and the design. But, it's 23 years old based on an older design. Does Celebrity charge less per day/room for an equivalent sized room as it would for the other classes or ships?

Would enjoy hearing more about specific differences and observations in the experience. Hope you and @PinkSandGirl have great cruises and vacations.

Two thumbs up for the luggage valet service for certain flights from FLL (or MIA). We took advantage of the service when disembarking the Beyond. It was awesome, and would not hesitate to use it again. For those that value the convenience of a cruise, this adds to that rating. The short version for anyone not familiar with it: You enroll, agree to the service fee and any baggage fee from the airline, return the form to your room attendant or concierge, and then if elgible, affix the provided tags to your luggage when setting out your luggage the evening before disembarking. You then see your luggage again at your final airport destination. The service will affix actual airline luggage check tags for you, including any priority labels. It was about 30 USD per person, charged to the account (not sure if OBC could be used). Well worth the cost, and made the return experience a breeze. Port Everglades and FLL is already easy. Only drawback is not supporting a porter through a tip, as they have always been terrific during our prior cruises.

Nothing comes close to the popping and creaking on the Beyond, regardless of Captain Kate or whomever is the captain the other half of the year. We are fans of Captain Kate, but after being on Beyond two weeks ago we found her to be more remote than other captains when it came to being physically around. If announced, she would be mobbed. Her ability to speak clearly and communicate is a huge plus while on the ship. (On the other ships, if the captains can't speak clearly and provide relevant information they should find somebody who can. It's almost never a problem on major arlines, and shouldn't be too much to expect a premium cruise. And Captain providing a garbled message and seeming like he would prefer to be doing anything else is a turn off.) It was nice to see her on the gangway saying goodbye but it would have been better if she had said hello when we arrived, and throughout the stay. Perhaps even better if she acknowledge the noise issues. Her Instagram post are fantastic, educational, and self-aware. The advertising campaign got off to an odd start when the email from the Captains Club had a woman eating french fries! Also, for what it's worth, there were two new ads that ran during WWE Monday Night Raw on USA Network yesterday. We have noticed the ads in past weeks too. We don't know if that's because we are the viewers and the ads are targeted, or if everybody's seeing them.

Agree with issues about the venue. It has the right idea, but the configuration and seating doesn't work well. The entrance way also becomes a bottleneck. The inconsistent use of the monitors is frustrating considering the tech and automation that is available.