hcat

We were left waiting at a distant Beach Club on St Maarten for over an hour....abt 10 of us, It was a ship's excursion but some flim flam was going on between 2 drivers. We had the club call the Port Agent.. and they did what was needed to send out another van.. we were told the ship would have waited but we made it back in time.. That's why we prefer ships excursions unless we can walk back on our own..that's a lesson learned when NO taxis were available from our location.. long walk but we did it! And we take our passports with us..just in case!

We sailed on BEYOND..only 5 days..in Nov..rt Port Ev to W Carib..only git off in Cozumel. The ship was amazing overall and we had a great cruise. .. sorry I.never got around to posting a review. We had accumulated lots of credits and OBC so we sailed in a suite...first time ever. It was a nice size cabin ..odd bathroom layout with a large tub, and of course we had all the suite perks and amenities which were very nice and we felt very pampered all around. Some of the pvt areas were mostly empty, waste of space...but the pvt pool area was cowded unless it was a port day. Our least fav thing associated was Luminae... We did not like the menus, layout, etc. We ordered many of the fav "all the time" dishes. The shrimp cocktail had small mushy shrimp and tasteles sauce. Our fav meal was when we went to BLU..which was amazing. Menu, food and service were A +. We had the usual pre dinner spreads, a bread tray on the table ( in Luminae they doled out the bread piecemeal) we just booked ASCENT..but are taking an AQ Class IV room..had that before and liked it. We'll be happy to be back in BLU and access to the Thermal suite

Luminae may not be worth paying a daily upgrade; It was a disappointment on our recent BEYOND cruise, no bread baskets on the table, mushy shrimp cocktail..,We mostly ate from the always available menu. Food prep and service were very good.....just not our type of food.. BLU was much better and we enjoyed Raw on Five.

Loved the combined review..hope to post my review in a few days.

Great job of presenting the photos with names of the dishes. Tasting is the Ultimate test. We just had our fIrst experience in Luminae on BEYOND. Sorry to say, it was sub-par and disappointing...otherwise we truly loved BEYOND and the Retreat . In Luminae, a beautiful venue, the shrimp cocktail shrimp were small & mushy, the sauce was like ketchup.. We only ate there 3 out of 5 nights. Overall the menu was uninspiring... For 2 nights, I had the aways available salmon, onion soup or salad. ( all excellent) . The chic night menu was okay I had the scallops and two of the tiny lobster tails which were succulent and sweet. The vegetables sparse on the plate were mostly burned and not edible. Desserts look great but we don't eat them very often.? We decided not to return to Luminae. We also ate on Raw in Five which was outstanding..lots of non sushi chouces.. The last night we went to BLU (our old favorite) Had nice fresh shrimp cocktail, filet mignon to perfection.. very impressed! There was a full bread tray on the table..not doled out liked in Luminae..and the nice butter and veggie spreads...we prefer that over the amuse bouche... Tastes differ but we know many others who wish the BLU menu was served in Luminae. We will probably book Retreat/ Beyond again but would try to avoid Luminae as much as possible...unless we hear the menu and food improve. We had hoped to be impressed, but unfortunately were not!

On BEYOND we were in Luminae, but on EDGE all four had the same menu but a few items special to each..we were told that now you could get any of the choices anywhere..unconfirmed. The two smaller ones Tuscan and Cyprus were our favorites...based on size and decor and their special dishes (Tuscan had Fellini decor with great ital music...Elite bkfst was held there on EDGE.) Normandie was our next fav based in decor, collections and service. Cosmopoliton on EDGE was the breakfast and lunch restaurant.,it was fine. We had our first night dinner there..it was very crowded but 1st night always rough, we were seated at a libg table of twos..on top of each other..we did not enjoy that. For our BEYOND cruise last week, they no longer had any fixed early or late seating..even if you made res. So it is suggested you pre-reserve although walk-ins have also worked from what we heard. Enjoy!

On BEYOND 5 night cruise last week, I ate the classic Salmon twice ( it was excellent) and enjoyed the onion soup. . Only had 1 meal from the reg menu.. combined the scallops with the tiny but very tasty lobster tails . The shrimp cocktail there was awful and the sauce tasted like plain ketchup.. . On the last night we went to BLU.. as nothing was appealing in Luminae.. We lucked out with a very fresh shrimp cocktail ,and a super filet mignon Def . Agree that elim of the Classic choices would really make Luminae difficult for many.

We had an IV on EDGE not our fav layout ( preferred the SV) and of course our BEYOND Suite ..lots of space! I think we could manage ok with the IV.keeping bi folds open.. We miss the Thermal suites and BLU...it was amazing on BEYOND. Much better than Luminae and more suited to our tastes.. Had our last night dinner there..filet mignon . It was perfect, we had a bread tray and fancy butters/ veg spreads on our table,,. . We are Having the great debate..suite with perks at higher cost or AQ with Blu and smaller room...fewer perks but acces to Thermal suite and BLU guaranteed!

We are back in Venice Fl, fairly smooth disemark and travel time 3 grs,.easy in a Sunday. My devices are all working fine now so I was able to catch up on this amazing review. As usual..great photos and commentary from a upbeat and balanced point of view. (i will post my review next week.. our suite experience on BEYOND) It was a great pleasure meeting you and having a few brief chats. You are an amazing all around person...great mom and wife, and a rising star in a very demanding profession. Excellent photographer and engaging writing/ blogging skills! Sorry for the "worship" but you deserve it! I love the map dress and patriotic fabulous flag dress..I still have my fringy flag bag from the 60's...folks would bid on it now! Sorry about your friend passing.,hope it was peaceful. My dtr is a young breast cancer survivor...with an amazing husband, and 2 children (post cancer). Our mantra live each day to the fullest. Keep sailing on!

Charla,, I will try to post on the roll call. Time for tonight's Gatsby party in EDEN is same as the Cap Club get together. Some of our folks may not get in our experience other difficulites. If anyone has issues.we will see them at altetnate location...World Class Bar.. Has a nce curtain for photo ops! We Still plan to stop by EdEN with our Gatsby outsfits..look for my headpiece. Nice a.m. for us at the Solarium.. Hcat

Hi Charla.. Love all the pics. We are enjoying BEYOND.. and our 1st ever suite, Dinner at Luminae was awesome. I having internet issues with my tablet so I won't be posting much til after the cruise. I am sure you will do BEYOND proud! The Sunset Bar was a madhouse at Sailaway Most with beads were a facebook group...bar service was overwhelmed... We ended up at World Class Bar..what a great spot! Could not get anything going for goodies at EDEN tom night..but we will see you and everyone there in our Flapper Finery...hope it will be fun,

Gen X hope you have/ had a smooth flight. S The drive from Venice to Embassy Suite was awful....good weather but lots of truck and construction traffic.. west coast still working on clean up from the last storm. We would not drive it again. Has become unpleasant.. Dinner at La Bomba was excellent..so was the sangria. It started to drizzle as we walked back to the hotel and then a downpour hit..soaked to the skin. Sending out for dessert and hot coffee! Sorry to miss the cocktail hour... Hope tom goes okay..if the weather is windy and or wet we will regretfully skip the sail away! ( Charla..we will find you..maybe at Bistro Cafe to make final plans for The Gatsby event! ) Safe trvls to all.. Will charge our devices overnight.

Following..looks like you are off to a great start with the review.. What was the itin?

Finally found another way to log in to CC on my phone..hope it keeps working..My tee shirt usually reads ", operator error" but this one was not on me! Old dogs can sometines learn new tricks! Sorry you are delayed..that's why we usually arrive a day or two ahead, if flying. ( Hope that other couple makes it in time.) An early bird cocktail or 2 may help u pass the time.! We are already in Fl at our snowbird nest and working hard at hurricane clean up. Hope to setout to FLL around 10.. it's a 3 hr drive but you never know so an early start helps. If we can't get early check in we will find ways amuse ourselves...17th street area has lots to offer. Safe travels..

We pre-book through our Manage Res Best times and early book disvount

Suggest you check the port boards for more info, esp for a 3 day stay.

I dubbed this hallway the Creepy Forest on EDGE during the initial cruises. On EDGE, this hallway is a hazard to anyone with vision issues. Anyone else may be in danger of being run into by Scooter drivers zipping through....seems to be a fun place for them to speed! We'll be on BEYOND next week but will def avoid this area.....it looks worse than the EDGE hallway.....too bad b/c its the main way to reach EDEN!

See you on Tuesday! Looking forward to the Cruise and your live review! Hope our Gatsby Party is one of the highlights!

Great review! We will be checking in next week!

We spent our day travelling to a Fla..no non stops from where we live. Our place is in fairly good shape from Ian and we can take our time having the landscape issues addressed. Our overall Community is coming back slowly...bits at a time. I was able to catch up on all the posts and great photos... really grossed out abt sewage / other smell issues. Thank you for a wonderful review.. we are due to board on Tuesday for 5 days in a Sky Suite.. My review will be much shorter ( I am low tech...so is my tablet) ..but Gen X will be on board and her reviews are outstanding.! Happy travels!

Thanks..we have access to the Retreat for 1st time..want to meet Concierge as soon as possible b/c we want to order a few trays of snacks and maybe champagne for our Roll Call chic Gatsby get together the 2nd night ( in Eden) ...we can put it in our tab and group will chip in..

The freeloading guests ( knowingly or not) should have had their meals and drinks charged to the account of the inviting suite person..who probably was aware, Could have been handled discreetly away from the table...their showy invite, their treat!

Hope whoever is on board leaves her in great shape..we board on Nov 8th Maybe it's for travel agents or those active on U Tube or FB,.,promotes the ship. Or just a great party for friends and family...the fundraiser is a nice idea!

What about lite bites up at the Retreat area for first day lunch?

I have 2 diff pics of BEYOND Luminae..focus on tables for 2..one area is very nice...good spacing..other us a jammed in area..not good for us ...comments?