brookmill18

First time on Celebrity Beyond and only 2nd Celebrity Cruise--do they provide body lotion in the staterooms? Do they have the "multi-wash" shampoo/conditioner/body wash in the showers or do they give separate bottles? Thank you!

Thank you! Do you have any thoughts on that vs a taxi?

I've posted on the main page as well, but when searching found this thread so thought I might just see if @bup1224 or @Dutch_Travelgirl had any thoughts... We'd love to go to Playa PortoMari and were thinking through a boat vs a taxi to get there? We found Water Taxi Curaco that is saying $50 each way but it's unclear if they make other stops--plus not sure how choppy the ride can be--read about Klein Curaco being very rough going but we are usually not affected by motion sickness. But Ive only read about people getting there by taxi so not sure if a boat is even really feasible or "better" (thought maybe we could get to see more of the island?). It sounds like taxis are outside cruise terminal and would be great if we could get a group one since we are only a party of 2. Any thoughts would be appreciated--thank you!

I've read that the boat ride to Klein Curaco can be very rough. I do not usually get motion sick but at least from what I've read, that ride can be rough. We found Curaco Water Taxi that will take us to Playa PortoMari in a speed boat type thing--just wondering if anyone has heard about that ride? Thank you!

We're headed out on the same cruise as @TravelGirlinDallas in just a few weeks. We did a land based trip in Aruba a few years ago but never a cruise stop. We are in port from 8am-11pm so I was thinking of trying to see a bit of the island but DH isn't sure he wants to rent a car. Has anyone done a private or semi-private tour of the island they'd recommend? Thought we could do WestDeck for drinks or apps (is that walking distance from cruise port?) to see sunset. We have a snorkeling tour booked for Bonnaire and are going to do a beach day in Curaco so was thinking of trying to get to see the Northern part of Aruba with the California Lighthouse and maybe some of the island we didn't get to see when we did our resort stay on Palm Beach.

@ksc98 Did you happen to see if there were shared taxis going to other beaches as well? We'd like to do Playa PortoMari but I know that it is further away... Thank you!

Hello! We will be on the Beyond in late August and are interested in going to Playa PortoMari. I have found information on taxi prices but not much information about shared taxis. This is our first time in Curaco--do they have shared vans outside that will take groups or is it mostly single taxis? The ride is long and the fare a bit expensive so just thinking this through. Thanks!

@aussielozzie18 I’m starting a notes folder with the places you share for our one day trip to Australia!! You live in such a beautiful area!

We're on that cruise at the end of August--would love to hear what you think. First time on Beyond and second time on Celebrity. Have a great time!

So sorry to hear this--breaks are so painful. Hoping you can get some relief. Ive always enjoyed your posts--DH is from the East Bay and we haven't been back in awhile and miss visiting. Hope you can get some rest and pain relief.

We did not call ahead (went in March of 2022) and had no problem but I think I would try to do reservations next time. It is beautiful there (part of Four Seasons) and we spent a few hours. Had lunch then walked around and then sat at the bar area for awhile. I don't remember cab pricing but we figured the whole thing cost less than most excursions--even with the cost of the Vesper martinis--bc you HAVE to have one there!

I've finally caught up after being off CC for about a month--I don't post much but love reading--it is amazing how connected you can feel to people after just virtual visits for so many years! We're in the stage of having "kids" that are really adults but back and forth home for graduate work or summers home. They now also bring significant others and friends so I feel like I'm back to having a 13 and 16 year old and need to stock the fridge accordingly! DH said he thinks it would be cheaper if we moved to an all inclusive and just gave the kids the house! @A&L_Ont We have done a few of those ones from Cape Liberty (and DS is now old enough to use our favorite TA on his own!) and we found a fun thing to do on Nassau. If you're a James Bond fan, the Ocean Club hotel is where they shot many scenes from Daniel Craig's Casino Royale. We took a taxi to the hotel, had lunch and some drinks, walked around, and then walked along the beach back towards Atlantis until we'd sort of had enough and then took a cab back to the port. I wouldn't take young kids but it is a really nice day and something a bit different. DD is doing college in London and only got home about 4 weeks ago--she is having to adjust to the fact that her high school friends are moaning about the end of summer and going back soon while she's basically just started with warm weather!

We've never driven within or into a big city and DH is comfortable driving stick car (automatic are much more expensive) and with GPS and newer roads in Portugal and Spain, we really had no issues. We picked up car in Madrid (airport outside of city) and dropped it off in Toledo (outside of city) so there was no driving within cities. But we did all of Italy and Norway only on trains and could have done this trip only on trains (super reasonably priced) except for one stop near the Lavender area outside of Madrid.

@Jimbo We just returned from a trip to Spain. We originally were going to do the TA on Oasis and then spend 6 nights on land. We got an incredible deal on the TA but we ended up cancelling bc it was just too many days away from home. So instead of about 20 nights away we were away 12 and saw a lot more of Spain. We decided that for now, in this stage of life, we won't do cruises in Europe and will do only land based. One exception would be Croatia--we did that in the fall with Azamara and it was amazing and in 9 days we saw so much more than we would have in a land based trip. We drove a car for the first half of this trip when we were in smaller towns/cities and then dropped off car and did Barcelona and Madrid via train. We have found trains in Europe to be very easy. It seems like you do a lot of road trips at home, so not sure if you'd want to think about doing Europe that way as well--we've used trains only on our trips to Norway and Italy and now did half of Spain but realized we could have done all of our trip just with trains except for one rural location. We have used Rick Steves guides for day tour in Italy and use his guides for our own touring. Another tour group we have known people to use is Trafalgar. My only slight reservation with a Rick Steves full tour would be the accommodations--we stay in simple places on our own often but prefer to pick those out on our own. And definitely pack as light as possible and try to do laundry--there is a lot of lugging the bags around unless you are doing a very high end tour. Last year the train to Lake Como was a nightmare with larger bags and we'll only do the carry on size bags and back pack from now on.

We were supposed to be on this cruise but had to cancel it--so happy to be following along with you! Our first cruise was on Oasis and we were looking forward to it--I enjoy the older style Solariums with the upstairs setting. It must be beautiful up there now. Have the days been getting chilly? We needed to switch to a land only trip in Spain and Im watching the temps in Barcelona and Madrid--chillier than I had expected at this time of year. Enjoy your night!

With our daughter in London for the three years, we have also been looking at P&O but it seems to be very difficult to book from the US. I think I'll keep looking at their UK site to see itineraries and get a sense of fares and then try to see about booking through their US site. @grapau27 photos over the years have been wonderful and I like the idea of doing some European ports outside of the US summer season.

Im a VERY infrequent poster but kept up daily until the fall when we had a bunch of life changes. Thought I wouldn't try to jump back in and re-read, but I started reading a bit and realized how much fun this group is and over the course of a few weeks managed to (almost!) read back to mid September and get caught up! Jumping in here to answer @patattack--We did our first Celebrity last June on the Equinox (amazing experience) and our daughter was not able to join, so our son went alone--nothing at all was said at any point and it was super easy.

Unfortunately I don't remember but I remember it took longer than the refunds for pre-purchased items

OP here--Couldn't believe it when I read I had a reply to this post after all this time! We said nothing at check in and were never asked. My son told his room steward he'd be alone in the room. At dinner first night we told them we'd be one short. Same thing at the couple of speciality restaurants we had booked. No big deal at all--except that it was due to my son's break up so he had to often hear gf's name at meals when we were checking in! Other than that absolutely nothing. And we did not get double points but we were refunded port fees and pre-paid items like speciality restaurants.

@FromSea2ShiningSea How are you liking Jewel? My mother is thinking of switching a TA to Jewel next spring but is worried after reading several negative reviews of the ship--just curious from someone who is currently on it. If the ship itself was a big part of the trip, would you recommend Jewel? Thank you!

@ReneeFLL and @FromSea2ShiningSea --I've been off CC for awhile and am reading backwards on the thread so not sure if you've already spoken about Jewel, but wondering what you think of the ship. My mom may move her TA in April of 2024 from Anthem to Jewel (to help me out) but I wasn't sure what Jewel would be like for a TA if the ship is a big part of the trip. She has some mobility issues so while she will get off in the ports, she does really love just being on the ship and meeting people--she travels solo. Just curious what you think of the ship itself--I feel badly that she might switch for me so just wanted to see about Jewel, Thanks!

+1 Sending love and prayers

@grapau27 I need to put your area on our list of places to visit in the UK--it looks so beautiful! When DD visited Durham, she flew into Newcastle and took the train to Durham. She said it was one of the prettiest places she'd seen!

+1 Sending healing wishes

@sgmn Have a wonderful trip! Last year we were in Portugal and met a family from UK who had driven so they could bring their dog! Hope you have a wonderful trip. And though it makes it harder for you to travel, your children will be so appreciative of the way you continue to take care of them as adults. One of my strongest memories of the first few months of motherhood (now 22 years ago!) is standing at my front window on Thursday afternoons watching for my parents’ car to pull up, holding a crying baby with a crazy puppy at my feet and literally heaving a sigh of relief as they arrived. They came almost every weekend for the first 6 months and it made such a big difference! Enjoy your trip!