Random Cruizer

My point is that I doubt I'm saving any money on even the Classic package, so I might as well have no package and just pay for every drink as I go. 🙂 I get the package for convenience, and they just made it a lot less convenient.

I was quite surprised last month. 2 cruises last summer with Classic package, and I never went over, not once. This summer, it happened all the time, and as I said--not a lot of money, but had to sign for it every time, which is the exact reason I get a Classic package, to NOT have to be constantly signing for stuff.

This was the case on the Celebrity Beyond in the Mediterranean last month--pretty annoying, a number of drinks I got last summer gratis now had $1 or $2 plus gratuity added to the price. I thought it was more obnoxious than anything else--not a lot of money, but annoying to have sign off on it every time.

I've been thinking about it, and I finally figured out why it seemed like the choices at dinner had gone done so much since my cruises last summer: the vast majority of the menu doesn't change. Each night, you have the exact same 4 MDR choices and the same "always on the menu" choices. That means that you have the same menu for your whole cruise except for 3 different starters, main entrees, and deserts each night. I know that seems like a lot (who could work their way through all those 4 MDR choices), but it still makes it seem like you are seeing the same thing every night with little variation. Last summer I sailed on both the Equinox (traditional dining) and Apex (4 MDRs), and I just felt like last summer I had a lot more and better choices than this summer on the Beyond (to add to the "scanty menu" your menu in whichever MDR you've chosen shows only their choices, you'd have to look at the app for the others, and tons and tons of my fellow passengers didn't know that was an option). The variety just wasn't there compared to last summer--the menus seemed short and not very exciting compared to what I remembered from last summer.

They didn't say, and I didn't ask. Sorry I don't have that info for you.

Quarantine in your room for 5 days after positive test, then you can go out with a mask. Happened to my aunt and uncle on Beyond last month.

I did not personally observe anyone being told to rein in their children. I was told that parents were spoken to at one of the restaurants, but that's all I was told. I don't have any further info--just what I personally observed in stairwells since I never use the elevators.

On the July 17 Beyond cruise, there were 650 children, according to Capt Kate and Alejandro (cruise director). Plenty of those were teens, but kids were everywhere--they were doing things like leaving dishes on the stairs and running around with no parental supervision. I believe Kate said that was the most they ever had on a cruise. And this was an Italy/Turkey/Greece itinerary--not exactly a rollicking good time for kids.

No guarantee on how long it lasts--my screenshot of my workout at the top as 9:32 am, not sure when sun clears the top and starts to shine down on the trail.

This has nothing to do with the trail after dark, but I thought I'd post this info in this thread thanks to the title: My experience a couple weeks ago was this: walked up the stairs about 9 am, not bad at all because it was completely in the shade and the donkey rides had barely begun. Walked down at about noon, and it was much, much worse. Full sun, almost no shade, saw a woman who looked fit enough in her late teens or early 20s being tended for heat stroke about 3/4 of the way up. Biggest donkey problem was station at the bottom--just so many donkeys heading both ways and almost no way to get through them at the bottom, seemed unsafe. I think they are actually mules--some wore muzzles (must have been biters), but never saw one kick. The problem at the bottom was just the sheer number of them. If I ever go back, I'd never climb that hill in the summer at noon or later--it really requires shade if it's hot.

My experience a couple weeks ago was this: walked up the stairs about 9 am, not bad at all because it was completely in the shade and the donkey rides had barely begun. Walked down at about noon, and it was much, much worse. Full sun, almost no shade, saw a woman who looked fit enough in her late teens or early 20s being tended for heat stroke about 3/4 of the way up. Biggest donkey problem was station at the bottom--just so many donkeys heading both ways and almost no way to get through them at the bottom, seemed unsafe. I think they are actually mules--some wore muzzles (must have been biters), but never saw one kick. The problem at the bottom was just the sheer number of them. If I ever go back, I'd never climb that hill in the summer at noon or later--it really requires shade if it's hot.

Great thread, I've enjoyed following your trip!

I sailed in one on Apex, second from the closest to the front of the ship. A bit more feeling of waves than my midship cruise a couple months earlier, but might have been my imagination--didn't bother me at all. Didn't feel dark or claustrophobic, I loved it! I will say that any clothing items I wanted to dry out there did not dry as fast as they did with a regular verandah. But go for it--it's a real verandah. It's narrow, quite narrow, but since I was solo, I didn't mind. Would do it again in a heartbeat just as Arubamoose says.

Thanks for this excellent and detailed post! I'll be there in about 3 weeks, and I was planning to walk the path up and down. After your report, I have no worries! I will be very careful walking down.

This makes a lot of sense, I think it's a good business decision for them. I did the Caribbean last summer, and I don't regret it--but I'm not a beach person, and I wouldn't go back--a one and done destination for me. I'm just glad that I'm on the Beyond in a couple of weeks in the Mediterranean --I've really wanted to try the Beyond, and so I'm grateful I picked this summer since it'll be in the Caribbean next year.

Wow, I'm on Beyond in a couple of weeks--so glad I'm doing it this summer! I have zero interest in CocoCay, and I've really been wanting to experience this ship!

Thanks for this info--Celebrity doesn't make it completely clear in the documents they send.

Hey all--the original posts was from months ago--perhaps I should have started a new thread with my own question. I didn't mean to get everyone discussing the original question again, sorry.

Thanks! I booked my single IV with all included, so I have classic drinks already. The difference in gratuities just looked so minuscule to me (like 17.50 to 18.00 and 21.00 or something), I wondered if suites actually had grats of 17.50 + 18 + 21 instead of just 21.

I've made up a move up bid to Aqua as well--I understand that I will keep the perks I have now (no premium drinks, etc.). I made the move-up bid to IV not suite. My question is this--I will be charged the higher gratuities--but are they only a dollar or so more per day, or are the gratuities actually double plus for Aqua and triple plus for suites?

You can mix and match, you don't have to do all one or all the other.

2 people having breakfast would be pretty cramped. I was fine because it was just me, and even with just me, I didn't eat breakfast out there like I did on the traditional verandah on Equinox.

Exactly--I had a traditional verandah on Equinox in June, then the Porthole Verandah on Apex in August--it was only about half as deep. I was cruising solo, though, so I didn't care much, but it might be an issue for a pair of people.

I had one on Apex in Norway last August. I'm a natural light lover, and I didn't feel like my room was dark. It's a wee verandah, narrow, but I was solo. Definitely a view through a round hole, though--not sure if you mean views from inside or going out on the verandah and looking out. I loved it, go for it. I did get super cheap on a move-up, though--not sure about paying full price. But the room wasn't dark.

Oh, sure--I agree completely! I just like to get facts straight! I'm all for everyone doing what they want! 🙂