coffeebean

On 1/26/2023 at 10:34 AM, Cruisegirl6 said:

Hello,

 

I would like to hear people's opinions regarding Blu (we are booked on the Beyond), any advice, suggestions, reference regarding the items offered on the new menu at Blu.

Likes/Dislikes of Blu

Anybody have the new seven night menus of Blu on the Beyond they can share with us?

I have another board going and getting mixed replies, does Blu still offer Onion soup and Cesar salad and can we choose an item that is served on the MDR menu?

 

Thank you all, excited to getting back to cruising again.

I have the celebrity app on my iPhone and I can see all the current menus on the Beyond for our up coming cruise. There are all sorts of info in the app including the entertainment. 

5 hours ago, Michele035 said:

Hi everyone my husband and I are off on our first Celebrity cruise in March on the Beyond!  We are super excited. I am Diamond Plus on RCCL and cruised also NCL, Princess as well as Holland America.  We are very excited since this is our first cruise in 3 years and decided to go for the gold (you only live once !) and booked the Retreat for 7 days out of Port Canaveral.  I have 2 questions I hope you seasoned vets can helpme with. 

First: Our TA told us that in Luminae we could order from ANY of the menus on the ship.  I was excited about that because on NCL in the Haven it was the same menu and after a few days there weren't any options left. For the $ we spend I can't see going to a specialty restaurant everynight or even a few nights.  I am seeing now here that it looks like for 2023 you cannot?  Can anyone clarify?  My TA is swearing we can.

Second:  Dress code.  I am seeing mixed on that too.  Is there one "chic" night on the 7 days?  Do I understand that nice jeans/khakis for men with a polo or button down would suffice? Do they have to wear jackets or is that an option?  

 

thank you all so much!

We are on the Beyond in a few weeks and looking forward to cruising on this ship. Just one correction on your post.......all sailings in the US are out of Port Everglades which is in Ft. Lauderdale. Have a great time

On 12/15/2022 at 10:34 AM, Laszlo said:

Here's a couple tours....  The Escape has a snow room. Its about 22F with a small snow machine inside it

 

 

I watched both videos. The first time I was in a thermal spa was on the NCL Epic when the Epic was new. I don't recall a snow room on Epic but everything else looks the same from what I can recall of the Epic thermal spa. It was fabulous.

13 hours ago, 20165 said:

So far. This thing is awesome. Again. Not super hot but it really does make the room feel bigger. The tech on this ship is also awesome. Control everything from your phone. Wonderful. 
 

Thank you for posting a picture. It is a lovely view. To me, it is an ocean view cabin with a very large window that opens. I would not call this a veranda. To me, veranda is just a classier name for a balcony. This is not a balcony in any sense of the word. I think Celebrity has made the name of this type of accommodation confusing.

On 12/17/2022 at 1:06 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

Why would the AC cutoff when the bi-fold doors are closed if the window is also closed?

With the window closed, the A/C still works. That is what I'm learning from reading this thread. It is when the window is open that the A/C cuts off. I do not like this design at all.

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

For all intents and purposes the bifold doors are like bifold closet doors, or more precisely like room divider screens. They are cosmetic in nature and its sole purpose is to create a fake balcony area INSIDE your room by using room dividers. The whole concept of the IV cabin is taking an inside space and using a different flooring material, furniture, and room dividing screens, create a pretend version of a balcony. But you are Always Inside your cabin; you are never, ever, ever outside. 

So......may I assume the A/C still cuts off when those bi-fold doors are closed? If that is the case, the infinite veranda is not for hubby and me. 

OP here. Thanks for all the replies.

The folding doors that close off the infinite veranda from the rest of the cabin are still a bit confusing to me. Are those doors like closing the sliding doors to a traditional balcony? And......if they are, with those folding doors closed, does the A/C still go off?

In a traditional balcony cabin, when the sliding door is closed, the A/C still works in the cabin. With the sliding door open, the A/C cuts off. I've been in many traditional balcony cabins on several different cruise lines and the A/C does not work with the sliding door open to the balcony.

I have read about how people do not like the infinite balconies. Has Celebrity made any changes to these balconies?. One criticism of these types of balconies that I have read about is that when you open the window, the A/C in the cabin cuts off. Has there been anything done so the A/C continues to work if the balcony window is opened?

If you have stayed recently in an infinite balcony cabin, how did you like the balcony set up?

On 12/7/2022 at 2:50 PM, TravelGirlinDallas said:

This is disappointing. I've cruised both Carnival and Royal, and the continued twice-a-day service was for us one of the big advantages of Royal over Carnival once Carnival discontinued the second service. 

 

Do I need new towels twice a day at home? No. But at home I'm not going to the beach all day and then showering afterward, then needing another shower the next morning when the towel hasn't had time to dry. That was an issue for us on Carnival. Also, when our son slept on the sofa bed on Carnival, the steward left it as a bed the entire time, so we didn't have use of the couch at all. I really appreciated having the couch available during the day and the bed made up at night on our Ovation cruise. 

 

It's just one of the special things that (used to) set cruising apart from all other types of vacation. It was something I appreciated and will miss when it's gone. 

.Exactly and certainly agree with this. I have always said that about cruising.

6 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Of course not, he just likes the level to be at a certain height for aesthetic purposes I guess, that's why I lol'd.

Oh, I misunderstood. He actually likes the level of the water higher.

11 hours ago, orville99 said:

That's what they all said about Charlie (Cat 3), Francis and Jean (both cat 2) right before all three crossed over our house just south of Orlando in 2004. BTW, Faye never became a hurricane in 2008, but crisscrossed the state several times and dumped several feet of rain before it finally left. 

Charlie was still Cat 3 when it arrived in central Florida? That is surprising as these storms usually peter out to tropical storms by the time they get inland.

11 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Thanks. Probably mentioned it in this thread, but not overly concerned as we've been in this same house since we had it built in 2003. Not expecting damage. Only issue we have is an ongoing water intrusion issue along one wall due to poor construction that no one has ever been able to fully solve. We know how to handle it but it's a huge pain in the ass and stress we shouldn't have to deal with.

 

Once it gets bad, my main concern becomes hoping the power stays on so I can watch TV and run my dryer as I'm soaking up water with towels, lol. Last one that unexpectedly went straight up the center of the state right over us (I can't remember names, maybe 5 years ago or so?) never took out our power which was fortunate as I was literally awake all night replacing towels and running the dryer non-stop.

It was Irma. Too bad about the water intrusion issues in your home.

On 9/26/2022 at 9:44 AM, OCSC Mike said:

 

My wife's parents live there on one of the golf courses across from a lake/pond. My FIL complains when they don't "hit the button" and drain it to his liking, lol.

Has his home ever flooded? I would bet not.

13 hours ago, tinkertwo said:

See, this is what I often experience.  People say they don't care if I wear a mask or not yet need to comment on the fact I choose to wear a mask.  I never mentioned the publicly stated reason for wearing a mask.  I mentioned I was going to wear a mask and don't care what others think even though some feel the need to mention my choices.  

 

ETA-this is not directed at you specifically.  It is directed at those who feel they need to mention my choices.

If I see anyone wearing a mask at this point in time, I assume they are immunocompromised. That is prudent for them to mask. One other reason for masking would be the person is just getting over Covid and at that point in their recovery that the CDC recommends wearing a mask when in public for those five days after being quarantined.

On 11/15/2021 at 2:35 PM, Old Fart Cruisers said:

I had all of the buttons light up when I got close to the panel a few times.  I know I didn't touch it or lean against it.  Some of the elevators were definitely more sensitive than others.  I like the idea of not having to actually contact the buttons, but the sensitivity issues have to be worked out.

No harm in touching the elevator buttons with your nuckle. I’ve always done that, even before Covid. 

18 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait4NextYear said:

What anyone does with there life and body is not my business. Free country baby.

I much prefer not to see anyone wearing a mask. If it isn't an N95 mask, I realize the person has no clue what they are doing. On the other hand, anyone who IS wearing an N95 mask, I realize they must need protection from the virus. I figure they are immunocompromised and are savey with their choice of mask.

47 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Once again I find myself using discretion in my response.   I'll only say that people are still getting sick with masks on!  That is all

That is because they are not wearing the proper masks for protection. Anyone who really wants protection, should wear an N95 mask. Anything other than that, is window dressing and does absolutely nothing for protection.

Earlier in the pandemic, all other masks (NOT N95) were for source control. Meaning, EVERYONE had to wear a mask to control the virus. You know the saying........."your mask protects me and my mask protects you". We are beyond that now. The only people who need to wear masks are the people who want and need protection. The source control aspect never did work anyway because too many people refused to mask and that was BEFORE the vaccines were available to us.

3 hours ago, Grandma Petania said:

I will follow masking guidelines as long as it seems wise.  However, when I sailed a year ago, I definitely had more difficulty understanding some of the servers.  Besides their voices being muffled, I hadn't previously realized how much I had relied on seeing their faces to understand what they were saying.  I never considered myself a lip reader, but I now know what a difference that makes - on a cruise or out in the world the past three years.

You just verified what I have read about this subject. People do not realize that they are reading lips; even those who have perfect hearing do it. We all do it.

3 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

Are you saying the crew should not wear masks so you can "hear" them?

I get it. Everyone reads lips to process language. It doesn't matter if your hearing is normal or impaired, everyone looks at the lips of the person we are speaking with. It is much easier to have a discussion with a person when you can see their lips.

8 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

I was on Wonder last week and saw 50% or more of MDR staff and stateroom attendants still wearing them. For others like bartenders and retail shops staff, not so much. As others have said, they should be able to mask and protect themselves if they choose to.

Aren't all crew vaccinated and boosted? That is enough protection for them. Unless they are wearing N95 masks, they shouldn't bother wearing a mask. That goes for anyone else who chooses to mask also.

On 9/24/2022 at 9:15 AM, OCSC Mike said:

'

If you're open to not being on a beach (which is obviously a draw to many), hurricanes really don't affect interior central Florida that much. You might lose some shingles or have superficial wind damage like gutters, trees can go down (we only have palms which won't go anywhere even in a hurricane), could lose power but usually not for that long (and that's what generators are for if you're so inclined), but the chances of any severe damage like losing a roof are extremely low.

 

If we didn't have the water issue I mentioned above, I wouldn't be very concerned at all right now... and this is coming from someone with anxiety issues.

 

Not trying to convince you, just making conversation. Florida is ummm... an interesting place, lol (I grew up in the Philly burbs and moved here after college in 2000).

On 9/24/2022 at 11:22 AM, SilkySal said:

We're in Eustis (central, not far from The Villages) and plan to board Mariner on October 3rd (Monday). A couple of summers ago, a nasty hurricane (can't remember name) knocked out our power for several days. A few homes were damaged by winds and lots of debris and limbs laying around. Our main concern is with the rocket launch on October 3rd, so we will head over to the Radisson next Sunday to avoid traffic jams.

 

Hope everyone stays safe!

 

I live in The Villages and we have a water management system here that keeps all the flood waters away from the homes. They "move" water all around the retention ponds to avoid homes and flood the golf courses with all the excess water. Amazing stuff.

On 9/24/2022 at 9:03 AM, smokeybandit said:

My wife and I sometimes ponder a move to Florida after retirement to make cruising easier. But man I'd be way overstressed in hurricane season.

No stress in Central Florida. The storms are usually low cat hurricanes or tropical storms or depressions by the time they reach us here.

8 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Yeah, fairly big track shift yesterday from morning to night.

 

Still lots of uncertainty but those of us in central FL and especially the west coast certainly hope it continues to move westward.

 

(I realize this is selfish as it means it will hit others but it is what it is.)

Central Florida is where evacuees go TO. Keep that in mind.

What were they thinking? Was this an over-site?

41 minutes ago, ALKID said:

Yes and those individual packets of moistened towelettes just in case one needs to immediately wash their hands rather than contaminate the toilet booth.

It's just like using the facilities in a public restroom. There is no sink in the stalls where the toilet is (unless it is an accessible toilet). Walk to the sink and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer right after using the toilet. Easy peasy.