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Thank you so much for your help! I guess our cruise is still too far out because I can't book anything except some shore excursions, but I'll keep checking. I checked and the amount to upgrade to the better drink package isn't that much, so we'll probably do that just to avoid having to think about it. I get the drink package so I don't have to worry about signing slips or budgeting or even forcing myself to drink something I hate and I sure don't want to have to count how many waters or coffees or juices I have. Plus hubby really does love his top shelf whiskeys. I'm looking forward to this cruise and trying HAL out. Hubby's a creature of habit and he was wondering why I was booking something other than Royal. But he loves Celebrity and then after our Discovery Princess cruise, he was like "Okay, I get it. This just gives us more options."

Thank you so much for the review. We've never cruised on HAL, but I booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for Alaska for hubby's 60th next August. So your review made me feel better. I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind? 1) Anytime dining. Can you make reservations in advance? I prefer to go at the same time, if possible, so that we can get to know the MDR staff, but I don't like how early or how late the fixed times are. 2) Signature Beverage Package. Is it true that coffees, juices, and water count against the 15 drink limit? I'm used to Royal and Celebrity, and just got off a Princess cruise and 15 "drinks" is pretty easy to hit in a day for me, mostly because I start with a couple of double macchiatos and have at least 4, maybe 5 sparkling waters every day and then at least three bottled waters. And that's before a single drop of alcohol. Thanks!

I'm a newbie to the BCC, but hubby got an offer a month ago so we took advantage of a "free" veranda on Celebrity Beyond. Clearly they wanted to get people on this ship that week because we're lowly Pearls. We took the deal because it couldn't be beat. No perks came with our cruise, but adding premium drink package and tips (we don't bother with wi-fi) only added around $1300 to our less than $300 port fees and taxes. I looked into what I'd have to pay to book a cruise only and it was $3332, so over $1700 savings! I'll take it.

While we like meeting our cabin steward and getting to know a little bit about them, it's not a requirement as long as things get done. We've had more personable stewards who were chatty and we've had shy ones, but we've never had a bad experience. I will say that we just recently got off the Discovery Princess and our room steward there was quietly efficient and amazing. We asked for four extra pillows and they were there that evening. I also asked for an ice bucket and didn't see it until hubby asked about it on the 3rd day. I thought that the steward didn't realize I wanted it daily. But it was in the fridge so I'd always have ice! Brilliant. I had never thought of that before and it worked like a dream. The point is to communicate. We're all humans and none of us is perfect. The cabin stewards have a hard job and I'm always impressed at their positive attitude and work ethic.

Just to agree with you. We were on the Eclipse sailing from Hawaii to Vancouver this past May. I couldn't even get service for a glass of wine at Cellar Masters! The Sky Lounge was used, but rarely had things we wanted to do in the evening. The Edge was the reason that I started looking at Celebrity, but, yes, the prices were too high compared to the M and S classes at the time. So, I've been on the Summit, the Equinox, and the Eclipse and loved them all! I finally booked the Beyond which seems to have fixed a lot of the issues from the Edge for March 2024. Because I booked it early, I got a good deal, imho. Bargains aren't always bargains if you have to then buy a drink package, wi-fi, tips, etc. Total cost per person counts. So that was all the X cruises I had booked until a month ago when hubby gets a BCC offer. How? I have no clue. We have not spent much at all in the casino, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. So we're getting to preview the Beyond before Panama. I hope hubby likes the IV! Because he'll be in one again, for 11 nights! LOL.

I'm going to call since that's the same issue I have. Very frustrating.

I suspect it's for specialty dining since it mentions cover charge, but who really can tell? I always cancel our reservations if our plans change, but I'm sure most don't bother (not always easy to do, honestly). But that still doesn't make sense that they'd charge in the MDR for a "no-show" since they don't hold the table for longer than 15 minutes and it's not like that reservation lost them money because someone else couldn't book it. This must be for specialty dining. And for that I won't argue with the fee. They're always booked up before the cruise even starts and if folks don't show that's money lost for X.

Thank you for the follow-up. We're on the Beyond in December and I've been worried what my husband will think of the IV. It sounds like he'll really enjoy it. I'm a bit bummed by the lack of hanging space for dresses, but I'll manage since we're just on it for a week. Still it does make one wonder who missed this obvious flaw? Or are they assuming that the demographic for the E-class all wear short dresses?

Since RC and X share web sites and developers, RC's Black Friday sales appears to have hammered Celebrity's site, too. I haven't been able to get into RC's cruise planner for our Feb cruise at all today. The RC app worked, but didn't seem to have the BF pricing. So I thought I'd try Celebrity to book a post-cruise excursion and it came back with an error on my card, but there's a charge on my CC, so I logged out and left that in my cart. I'm not going to book it twice! If it's still not "mine" and the charge is still on my card tomorrow, I'll call. UGH. I know new releases are hard, but Royal's IT messes it up every time. And, honestly, I know it's not the staff's fault. They clearly do not have enough testers or Q&A staff. That's on management who never prioritize testers when they're so important.

We purchased one of the OTW cabanas for a cruise for 12 of us last year (yes, cabanas only "hold" 8, but the other four had beach club passes and they were welcome to use the cabana with us). It was an amazing experience despite the day being a bit too cool and rainy. The service was top notch and the food is amazing. It helps to split it among a large group. We really had a great day there and I'd do it again, but we did get the cabana for $999. YMMV if it's worth it to you.

We booked 7 rooms for February for a bachelorette cruise and since it was so recent, like just a couple of days ago, I hadn't yet been able to log in to see the price of the DBP. Can't get into the website at all. So I tried the app. The "on board" price shows $101!!! And their discount "pre-cruise" shows $69.99. One of the others of our group looked at it shortly after midnight and it showed $54.99. I'm hoping that was the Black Friday pricing and it'll be back. Just not sure I can justify $70. (This calculation was all so easy when the prices were in the forties.)

I haven't been able to get into the cruise planner at all this morning. And it doesn't matter what browser I use or whether I'm in a private window or what. Clearly their IT department was not ready for this. And, honestly, isn't it a bit early? I always thought they waited until at least Thanksgiving since they usually continue the "discounts" through Cyber Monday?

I hope the treatments are helping and that you'll be all healed up soon. My husband did actually contract COVID. He's finishing up his paxlovid and doing remarkably well (we've always been worried about him getting it because of his asthma). Somehow I did not get it. COVID is weird. It can be so contagious and yet there will always be someone who doesn't get it.

Thank you so much for the photos! We're going on the Beyond in mid-December and I'm so happy that it has the WCB. It's our favorite bar on the S-class ships. And, along with the much better wines, the reason we always upgrade to the Premium Bev Package.

We did the hop-on, hop-off bus post cruise this past May. Because our ship arrived so early and our AirBnb didn't have a place to store our luggage, we used the storage at the port and the lady there was wonderful and suggested the hop-on, hop-off bus. It was pouring down rain and we had to stand in a barely sheltered area in a line waiting for the next bus to show. When it did, it already had a fair number of passengers on and they weren't sure we'd get on. We did. But. It was an old school bus which had a clear vinyl covering to "protect" us from the rain. It did an awful job of that. The vinyl directed the water straight onto me! That was okay. I was wearing appropriate gear, but I had expected something more like the double-decker buses in Barcelona, London and other places. Their buses need to be updated, imho. We stayed on the bus until Granville Island. Had a good lunch and shopped, then caught the hop-on, hop-off back (barely, it was also full). This is where things go from meh to bad. This bus had a green liquid covering the floor on our side of the bus. It smelled like anti-freeze (and looked it), but no clue how it was. The driver got paper towels and cleaned it up (took two rolls, that's how large the spill was), but the smell was still really strong. Then our driver stopped in Gastown to allow passengers on and off. But he grabs his bag and leaves, saying he'll be back in 5 minutes. After 15, we asked the young woman at the stop what was going on. She had no idea. She called the dispatcher who said there was a bus behind us, but who knew how much longer it would be and how full it would be? Ultimately, we walked back to Canada Place. It wasn't a bad walk, but it was the principle of it. To be fair to the company, they had 3 drivers out with COVID, so were short drivers and buses, and the rain didn't help since people mostly stayed on the buses instead of getting off. We called and told them about our experience and they extended our tickets to the following day, so they treated us right. If I hadn't lost my favorite bracelet, I probably wouldn't knock it all. And that's not their fault. Bottom line, I'd say it's a good thing to do if the weather is good and they have a full complement of buses/drivers.

That's the one we did in 2018. Our mini-bus met us at the pier at 12:30 and we were back in time for a drink at the brewery and to wander the town a bit before our dinner reservations aboard ship (6:30). We could have spent more time wandering the town as the ship didn't leave until 8:30pm, but I was with my elderly parents and they were done. It was a great tour. I'm looking at booking the same for next August when hubby and I are going.

Thank you so much for the detailed information!

@GTJ you are a fount of knowledge! We're taking a northbound cruise Van->Whittier next August. I'd like to take a land tour afterwards. I was considering booking something with AlaskaRail which handles all the transfers and hotels and a couple of outings, plus we would take the train from Anchorage all the way to Fairbanks, stopping for a couple of nights in Denali. Do you have any experience with AlaskaRail? They seem comprehensive and cover all the bases without being "busload" of tourists.

This was incredibly helpful! Thank you so much!

When I took my parents back in 2018 on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas, we had the best weather. Hubbard was astounding and we were so close. Now I'm taking hubby next year and we're doing HAL so that he can see Glacier Bay and College Fjord. I honestly don't think you can go wrong. But sooner rather than later with how quickly the glaciers are receding!

I've booked a northbound cruise for August 2023 and was trying to plan a post-cruise tour. I was thinking of booking with Alaska Rail as they primarily use the train with Goldstar coaches for their travel. But I hadn't heard of any issues with Denali. Does this mean that tours into Denali aren't feasible? I took my stepdad back in 2018 on the Tundra Wilderness Tour while we were there, but hubby does not want to take a tour in a school bus. So Alaska Rail offers off-road with a Jeep 4x4 and that sounds like fun. But now I'm not sure that's possible? If we're coming from Whittier and want to end up in Fairbanks, is Denali a worthwhile stop?

You can order specific glasses of wine, but the selection was limited. If you only have the Plus package, you can simply pay the difference for any of the "Premium" selections. It was the Mexican Riviera and I prefer a Rose when it's warm. They didn't have a good selection to put it mildly. But I'm sure their selection of Reds is better. They had Port for dessert which was delicious. I was drinking Aperol Spritz by the pool and I'm pretty sure that it was always Prosecco, so those should be covered. My overall impression was positive. I think the liquor selection was better than Celebrity's (at least in May, but that was a first back to cruising ship so supply chain issues) and I'm sure if you really want a good red, they'll find one for you. The service was top-notch.

*high five*

Thank you so much for such a wonderfully detailed review and so many fabulous photos! I've wanted to try E class since the Edge was announced, but it was never feasible. So I finally booked the Panama Canal for my birthday in March 2024 and then hubby won a cruise! So we're going in a regular veranda in mid-December. I really cannot wait!

We booked that sailing two weeks ago and I noticed the same thing. I usually make all of our reservations as soon as they open, but this was very last minute so I couldn't. I like to book 6:30pm consistently so that we get the same servers every night. With the Beyond's four different MDRs, that won't be possible. And the only open reservations were very late. I'm hopeful that I can get that fixed once we get on board. At least I'm going to try. I did take those 8pm reservations so that I had reservations at least, but, yeah, I don't like to eat that late!