jelayne

Only the high end suites include free specialty dining and the bottles of liquor. The majority of suites ( Sky Suites and Celebrity Suites) do not get those included.

We did Antarctica on the Infinity and loved it. Since it isn’t a expedition sailing then I would not think the extra day of cruising is worth the price.

We are on the Beyond now and there are 3 DJs onboard. The Club and the Grand Plaza have DJs “11:15 - late”. I was passing the Grand Plaza 2 nights ago a little after midnight and it was full of people dancing and drinking. I haven’t been in the Club at all this cruise

Depending upon what ship I may have taken the offer. On a E class no way would I move. However on S or M class I would have taken the offer. IMHO the “Retreat experience” is much better on E class which were designed for the Retreat.

Currently on the Beyond and the theater shows are at 7 and 9. Which is frequently the case on most ships.

That balcony needs a lounger or at least chairs with foot stools.

The Retreat Lounge is generally busy between 5-7-7 30. it is not not a bar that you can sit at. You can walk up and order a drink and carry it to where you are sitting or the servers will take your order and bring your drink. I can’t really say how well stocked it is, but they have had the things we like. The Retreat Lounge is on Deck 15 forward, Luminae is on 16 forward so you could carry a drink there. We haven’t felt it necessary as the wine/drink service in Luminae has been fine As to carrying a drink elsewhere from the Retreat ,it would be a long way as most other restaurants and bars are on 3,4, and 5 mid ship or aft.

The procedure an vary depending on where you are cruising. In all cases you will received written instructions and there will be a meeting for B2B cruisers to go over the details. Each cruise is separate so you will receive a new sea pass for the 2nd leg. Your account for the 1st cruise is closed out, so if you have any OBC it does not carry over to the 2nd leg. since you aren’t changing cabin you don’t need to pack anything.

No smoking anywhere inside the ship or on balconies. There are a few designated outdoor smoking areas.

Quick recap of last evening. Show in the theater was Stage Door. We arrived about 6:40 and there were very few seats available. By 6:50 place was full and some chose to return at 9 others stood for the whole performance, it was amazing, this from a couple who rarely go to the shows and not production shows. Had a quick drink after the show and headed to Luminae which was as full as I have seen it all cruise, but no wait to be seated. After dinner (9:30) we headed to Eden to get seats for the 10:15 show. Every table, chair, bar stool full. The tables and chairs and the elevated walkway were almost full. We got there just as they were bring in some extra bar stools and chairs and putting them anywhere they would fit. Fortunately we go stools that gave us a good view with no obstructions. By show show time the place was jammed with people standing 2 or 3 deep. This show was another great one. After the show off for a nightcap; the Grand Plaza and World Class bars were both full plus. We headed to Craft Social which was full but we found 2 seats and watched the football game. I left at midnight and CS was full the Grand Plaza was still jammed with folks dancing and having a great time. So not all is doom and glum on this sailing. Side note: there was a medical emergency among the crowd in Eden during the show (turned out nothing serious). When the first 2 crew members rushed in Captain Kate jumped up from the audience and took charge of assisting the passenger. She is traveling as a passenger, no uniform, no scheduled appearance, most don’t know she is on the ship.

We arrive at 5 a.m. Monday morning.

Check the daily as it may vary. Currently on the Beyond and breakfast is in Cosmopolitan and lunch is at Cyprus.

I have not seen them on the website. On the app did you look under Dining, then Main Dining Rooms then Luminae? If not you may want to check to make sure your app is updated, or delete and reinstall the app.

In our experience, on the M class ships we have been able to order from Blu & MDR menus. On S Class ship we could order from the MDR but not Blu as the MDR & Luminae kitchens are together but a Blu has it own kitchen and not close to the MDR kitchen. E class ships Luminae’s kitchen is about a far away from the others as you can get so not realistic to send a wait staff down 12-13 decks and to the other end of the ship to get a meal. Luminae does have some of the more popular items from the MDR available like Cesar salad, French onion soup, shrimp cocktail, escargot, mashed potatoes. You can also order from the Children’s Menu.

I’m glad you are over quarantine and able to be out and about. I don’t doubt what you say is what you were told but I am also on the sailing and would like to clear up some erroneous information. We have been in the Retreat Lounge every day 2-3 different times a day. It has Not been closed at all during this cruise. In fact we are in the Lounge as I write this. I just paused answering and went up to the Retreat Sun Deck and walked both floors and there is no sign of damage anywhere. As you know, all outside deck areas were closed when the storm hit, so the Sun Deck was closed just as the Roof Top area, pool are, etc. If there was any damage it certainly wasn’t the collapsing of the roof. If that had been the case it would damaged the areas below and if a wind break was damaged it was repaired this morning. The Retreat Sun Deck is just as beautiful today as it was on boarding day. We had a wait for dinner on the first night, none more than 5 minutes since then. If some are experiencing long waits it may be worth considering charging the time they arrive by 15 minutes. Specialty restaurants were heavily booked before boarding and since they are short crew they aren’t booking all tables. It would be poor management to do so. They are booking to the staff they have available. We have done 2 specialty both we excellent both food and service.

We left the Azores last night about 6:30 pm

Even those with great balance are having difficulty walking. Anyone with balance issues or at all unsteady are at risk. I got off a elevator today and the ship rocked, I quickly found myself propelled across the elevator lobby. We have been bouncing off the walls every time we go down the hall. Late afternoon things seemed to calm down, DH and I were enjoying some champagne, cheese and fruit in our cabin until suddenly the ship rolled and my glass, the cheese, fruit and another glass went sliding off the table. DH caught his glass everything else hit the floor. The ship is dead, we are in Eden now and maybe 25 people at 9:30, rock & roll is increasing so we are heading to our cabin.

We have been on the Edge Apex, Reflection and now the Beyond. The other 3 were Less than 60% passenger capacity and 2 had more crew than passengers. I don’t think we are at max capacity as there were quite a few on the Roll Call who had successful Move Up.bids. The crew have said they are short handed and new crew was brought on but training takes time.

Was your ship sailing with at full capacity and a full crew. I’m 1 that paid a lot of money but we are not having a sub par experience. Waits to be seated are common on the first night on most every cruise we have been on. That was the only night we experienced a wait longer than 5 minutes. The Martini Bar in our experience has always been busy between 5-8 and getting a drink can take awhile. Internet was problematic for a couple of days but has since improved. The ship is short staffed and some things take a little longer but a smile and some kind words to the hard working crew go a long way. Our experience is great.

No belly flop or hairy chest competition at the pool, rather pool volleyball or on some ship bocce on the lawn. Only 1 announcement a day.

Did you call your cabin attendant, we have always had a card with there phone number to call them if we had any problems. We also look for them in the hallway to tell them we are leaving the cabin on a sea day so they know they can come in.

No cookbooks were given out when we or our friends were there the current sailing.

The reports of damage are not accurate. The Martini shaped Hot Tub did not shatter, 1 panel of the glass surround broke. The Elephant did not topple and is standing just as it was. The Retreat Sun Deck has been closed all day, as have all other outside decks. We have spoken to a few Retreat Staff who have heard nothing about any roof collapsing. With the winds we have had it wouldn’t surprise me if some of the wind screens around the outdoor bar were blown down.

Thanks! We are having fun. No damage to ship. Now however with rough seas and unexpected lurches of the ship there will be a reduction in the inventory of plates, cups and glasses. Just left lunch, a sudden lurch and bins with dishes in the clean up areas slid off the counter as well as plates and glasses sliding on the tables, most were able to catch their plates but a few hit the floor.

Captain Demetrius CD Luigi Kate & Bug on board but not working, probably on for the press and events surrounding the arrival. Haven't tried the spa. There will be crew leaving in both Cape Liberty and Port Everglades as many have been on since March.