Detailed review with photos of Celebrity Beyond 23rd June - 2nd July Western Mediterranean

[sgmn]

Really enjoying your trip report, especially some of the ports I haven't been to yet.

My DH loves granola, Greek yoghurt and fruit for breakfast and was disappointed he couldn't find it in OV on Beyond, though they did make him some nice yoghurt and fruit in the spa cafe

[Dk-cruiser]

Hi.. Just a side question.

Does anyone know when Captain Kate is leaving beyond? We are on the 24 september cruise, and hoping for her to be there. 

[parrothead33]

1 hour ago, sgadk87 said:

Hi.. Just a side question.

Does anyone know when Captain Kate is leaving beyond? We are on the 24 september cruise, and hoping for her to be there. 

I believe she leaves after the 10 day President’s Cruise that sails on Sept. 5th.

[hcat]

last series of photos was fabulous..looks like you are enjoying the trip: ship, ports and each other's company.  Lots of nice fashion too! Hot but bright weather,,photos so vibrant.

 

Cosmo restaurant looks just like  the one on EDGE. It is one of the larger venues compared to Tuscan and where they offered  a very nice daily lunch.  Did you get to see the beautiful pottery/ lalique in the displays, ? We enjoyed this venue a few times,.had our first dinner there..a bit crowded at a long table ( all supposedly for 2)  We would avoid that seating arrangement in future,  We returned to Cosmo for our last dinner on EDGE at a quiet corner table..great food and service..felt so opulent,

 

As to the " bus ticket incident",  makes me angry..sounds like a tourist scam...like charging to use the bathrooms in France!   Ship should warn guests in the daily bulletins about these rip offs.. so  guests can be prepared with tickets and local coins.  Perhaps you  could post a warning about your exoerience on the port boards,?  

[hcat]

48 minutes ago, parrothead33 said:

I believe she leaves after the 10 day President’s Cruise that sails on Sept. 5th.

Who will be the captain in Nov?

[cruzeluver]

Thank you so very much for taking all of us on your cruise with you!

 

We are booked on the same itinerary for 2023 on Reflection and have already gleaned so much good information! We plan to head over to Portofino for at least a couple of hours but I think we'll more than likely take the bus one way and the ferry the other.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

 

Ryan

[Lunastella]

22 hours ago, WorkerBee74 said:

Thank you SO much for the extensive Cinque Terre coverage!  That's gonna be me on Oct 15th... we're doing a DIY train tour too.  Good to know about the bus... I'll be on the hunt for bus tickets in the terminal - that's awful that happened to you 😞

 

We're planning to start with Vernazza and work our way back... I'd rather see Corniglia than Monterosso - it won't be beach weather when we're there anyway!

Hi WorkerBee

Glad I can be of help! I think you can buy the tickets in those tabac/newspaper type shops and grocery shops, but they might have them in the terminal building. I would recommend Corniglia for sure, and if its October, it dont be so hot...so you can take the steps 😄

[Lunastella]

20 hours ago, theopup said:

What a great review, I am thoroughly enjoying it. Especially the pictures

Thanks Thropup, I really appreciate the positive encouragement. The photos look better on my phone than when I upload them to CC though, so sorry the quality is not as sharp here for some reason. 

[Lunastella]

19 hours ago, GeorgesGal said:

Following along and loving it!  Will check in tomorrow for the next installment of this great review!

Donna

Thanks Georges Gal. It was a long day so I decided to break it in two...and keep the suspense! 

[Lunastella]

17 hours ago, ShelleyQT said:

Oh, yikes!  When I was reading yesterday about your (free?) bus rides in Villefranche and Eze, I wanted to tell you that those rides are not actually supposed to be free.  In case several other readers also told you about this, I didn't want to pile on, so I thought I'd read the rest of the thread and then tell you if no one else did.  Unfortunately, no one did and I forgot about it by the time I got to the end.  Sorry!

 

Two years ago, we took the bus from Nice to Eze.  During the ride, our bus was pulled over by an inspector.  He didn't ask us about our tickets (which we had anyway), but he did check with a large family with several children, who did NOT have tickets for any of their members.  He got off the bus with them and the bus went on its way.  They looked really poor and unlikely to be able to pay.  It was really sad and I hoped that he would let them off with a warning.

The inspector had a card machine with him so there was no way to not pay...he said that if we dont pay not it would be something like €300 each back in our own country (which I didn't quite believe), but we just paid there on the spot. It was our mistake after all. I Google everything, I dont know why I didn't google this...I blame the heat....

[Lunastella]

7 hours ago, sgmn said:

Really enjoying your trip report, especially some of the ports I haven't been to yet.

My DH loves granola, Greek yoghurt and fruit for breakfast and was disappointed he couldn't find it in OV on Beyond, though they did make him some nice yoghurt and fruit in the spa cafe

If he asks the server at the cereal station in OV they will make him up a bowl....at least they did for me...but it wasn;t busy at the time.

[Lunastella]

5 hours ago, parrothead33 said:

I believe she leaves after the 10 day President’s Cruise that sails on Sept. 5th.

That's what I heard too. 

[Lunastella]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

last series of photos was fabulous..looks like you are enjoying the trip: ship, ports and each other's company.  Lots of nice fashion too! Hot but bright weather,,photos so vibrant.

 

Cosmo restaurant looks just like  the one on EDGE. It is one of the larger venues compared to Tuscan and where they offered  a very nice daily lunch.  Did you get to see the beautiful pottery/ lalique in the displays, ? We enjoyed this venue a few times,.had our first dinner there..a bit crowded at a long table ( all supposedly for 2)  We would avoid that seating arrangement in future,  We returned to Cosmo for our last dinner on EDGE at a quiet corner table..great food and service..felt so opulent,

 

As to the " bus ticket incident",  makes me angry..sounds like a tourist scam...like charging to use the bathrooms in France!   Ship should warn guests in the daily bulletins about these rip offs.. so  guests can be prepared with tickets and local coins.  Perhaps you  could post a warning about your exoerience on the port boards,?  

Thanks Hcat,

The sun, the sea, the sky in this part of the world makes it very hard to take a bad photo (I have zero photo skills, but DS has a degree in photography so she has given me some tips over the years, plus she actual took some of the photos (credit to DS!). 

 

Cosmo did seem abit larger than Tuscan. But you are right about the tables, we always felt very far way from each other.  Its weird why they are so big...social distancing perhaps! 

 

Good point, maybe I will write about the bus tickets on the port board. Thanks.

[Lunastella]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Who will be the captain in Nov?

I have no idea. 

[Lunastella]

1 hour ago, cruzeluver said:

Thank you so very much for taking all of us on your cruise with you!

 

We are booked on the same itinerary for 2023 on Reflection and have already gleaned so much good information! We plan to head over to Portofino for at least a couple of hours but I think we'll more than likely take the bus one way and the ferry the other.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

 

Ryan

Thanks Ryan. More to come, so hopefuly so more nuggets of info on the way! 

[Lunastella]

Day 5 - Part 2 -  Back to the ship

 

Short recap, its day 5 and we are in Corniglia in the Cinque Terre. It was at this point we decided to head back to the ship and skip the other two villages. It was only 2.30 but we still had multiple forms of transport to take to get back to the ship…first, the bus down to the train station, then, the train to La Spezia, then, the bus to the port entrance, and then, the shuttle bus to the ship….we got back just before 4pm, so it was a good idea we skipped the last two!

 

Love the look of the port building in La Spezia

 

 

It was so hot, so hot…the bus to the port almost killed us. An iced-americano from Café al Bacio was much needed. Feeling suitably cooled down and at the same time perked up from the caffeine I went to my daily afternoon slot in the Solarium. No ticket required. I spend a couple of hours watching containers being loaded onto the ship opposite, very meditative.

 

Takes so much precision to move these things, fun to watch if that’s your kinda thing   

 

 

I had a great spot in the solarium - if I stretched enough I could see (maybe Captain Kate)  push off from the dock and leave the harbour. Time for a poolside prosecco methinks.

 

Off we go!

 

 

We were planning to go to the Elements show in the theatre at 7.30, but the cruise director made an announcement that due to technical difficulties with rehearsals there would only be one show tonight at 9pm, which would be smack bang in the middle of our dinner in Le Voyage, so unfortunately we missed it. So instead of rushing back to get ready,  I had  more time to enjoy the view.

 

View

 

 

I headed back to the cabin at 7 to get ready for dinner. Finally, we got back to the obligatory pre-dinner outfit shots - we finally figured out how to get out on deck again! Best bet is to exit near Eden, which involves walking through here:

 

An art installation

 

 

The area outside Eden is lovely, very colourful.

 

 

 

DS looking fine tonight

 

 

Me a bit tired to be honest

 

 

Next up, a quick game of cards (using HAL cards, don’t tell anyone!) and a pre-dinner Campari on ice, in Eden.

 

While listening to some music…

 

 

DS and DM ready for play…who’s competitive….

 

 

 

My campari...oh and DS

 

Time for our third speciality restaurant – in Le Voyage.

 

Voyage

 

 

Menu

 

 

First impressions of Le Voyage – where are the  windows??? how am I supposed to know I am on a ship??? Once I relaxed and got over the lack of windows, I appreciated the calm understated luxury of Le Voyage.

 

 

Very different from the other restaurants onboard

 

 

There are 2 dinner options - a 5 course tasting menu (which includes a supplement on top of the 5-day package) or a la carte. We went with a la carte. First though, they offered us a glass of champagne…yes thank you very much, nice touch.

 

 

Real champagne!

 

 

Then we had an amuse bouche (it involved scrambled egg and caviar, not a fan of either, so it wasn’t for me) and bread (fresh from the oven!), that was definitely for me.

 

Amuse bouche (boo)

 

 

Bread (yay)

 

 

 

I had the crab salad to start (amazing and so pretty) but DM didn’t like her onion tart (as it had melted cheese), so I swapped with her, good daughter than I am.

 

Crab salad (yay)

 

DS also let me try her prawns (definitely the best dish of the night, great flavours of Thailand). Next up, five-spice duck for me (I really didn’t like it, but it was just a bad choice on my part, I didn’t like the flavour, nothing wrong with the dish itself). So glad I ordered a side of mixed vegetables though, they were the best side dish yet!

 

Duck (boo)

 

 

Veg (yay)

 

 

For dessert, DS and I shared a deconstructed black forest gateaux and a millefeuille – both excellent – this was followed by madeleines fresh for the oven and some chocolates…we were so full we couldn’t finish these.

 

Desserts (double yay)

 

 

 

 

Overall, I would return to Le Voyage (which is just as well as we have it booked for the last day), but I would choose a different main course. Oh, I had a glass of Sancerre with dinner (just had to pay the difference in price from the classic package).

 

After dinner we went back to the cabin to change into more comfortable shoes before doing 3 laps around the jogging track to digest. Much needed.

 

Round and round we go

 

 

 

We passed a Latin dancing class in the Rooftop Garden but didn’t join in, it was a long day, bed time.

 

 

Dance class in action

 

[peanut head]

Enjoying your review and photos. Thank you. 
 

What was the cost pp for Le Voyage?

[CyberTag]

15 hours ago, hcat said:

last series of photos was fabulous..looks like you are enjoying the trip: ship, ports and each other's company.  Lots of nice fashion too! Hot but bright weather,,photos so vibrant.

 

Cosmo restaurant looks just like  the one on EDGE. It is one of the larger venues compared to Tuscan and where they offered  a very nice daily lunch.  Did you get to see the beautiful pottery/ lalique in the displays, ? We enjoyed this venue a few times,.had our first dinner there..a bit crowded at a long table ( all supposedly for 2)  We would avoid that seating arrangement in future,  We returned to Cosmo for our last dinner on EDGE at a quiet corner table..great food and service..felt so opulent,

 

As to the " bus ticket incident",  makes me angry..sounds like a tourist scam...like charging to use the bathrooms in France!   Ship should warn guests in the daily bulletins about these rip offs.. so  guests can be prepared with tickets and local coins.  Perhaps you  could post a warning about your exoerience on the port boards,?  

It’s very common to be charged to use the restrooms all over Europe.  

[SunandShade]

22 minutes ago, CyberTag said:

It’s very common to be charged to use the restrooms all over Europe.  

 

Good to know! Thanks.

[upwarduk]

3 hours ago, SunandShade said:

 

Good to know! Thanks.

Ladies charged,  men get in free ( well in UK anyway).

[hcat]

8 hours ago, CyberTag said:

It’s very common to be charged to use the restrooms all over Europe.  

Yes, but not everyone is aware.... most don't mind paying  if  they know what it will cost ahead of time. ... and it is more than a hole on the ground..

 

A few Carib ports charge for restroom at the port..but fee is usually mentioned in the Celeb Today...

[Lunastella]

23 hours ago, peanut head said:

Enjoying your review and photos. Thank you. 
 

What was the cost pp for Le Voyage?

Hi Peanut

We had a 5-day dining package which was about €169 each I think, so I am not sure what Voyage costs on its own. 

 

[Lunastella]

6 hours ago, hcat said:

Yes, but not everyone is aware.... most don't mind paying  if  they know what it will cost ahead of time. ... and it is more than a hole on the ground..

 

A few Carib ports charge for restroom at the port..but fee is usually mentioned in the Celeb Today...

My brother does a cappucino index (to measure cost of living) whenever he travels, maybe I could start a toliet index!

[Lunastella]

Day 6 – Ajaccio, Corsica (or maybe not)

 

We woke up to lots of movement and noise, a storm had come! It was rainy and cloudy….hey I didn’t order this on my holiday! Ah well.

 

DS accompanied me to the gym, and I did a warm-up on the treadmill followed by a 40min lower body conditioning set…it almost killed me. While we were up there, Captain Kate announced that we couldn’t yet dock in Ajaccio due to strong winds and she would provide us with an update in an hour. Everything is hanging in the balance! Pause for dramatic effect…

 

As we went to Cosmo yesterday, it was Oceanview time today. It was the busiest I had seen it, I guess because no one has anywhere to go this morning. I asked for some Greek yoghurt (just on the off-chance) and indeed they had it behind the counter - ask and you shall receive! I had it with some oats and strawberries, followed by a hard-boiled egg and bread, and what looks like chocolate brioche. And coffee, always coffee.

 

Breakfast  

 

 

The weather was deteriorating, so Captain Kate made an announcement that today would be a seaday after all.  This was not a problem for us as we had already planned to treat today as an unofficial sea day. This is such a port intensive cruise and we wanted at least 2 days onboard to just chill out, so we were happy enough with the outcome. Plus, we have been to Corsica before, and have seen everything we want to see.

 

So what did we do all day….well not a lot, so this will be a short report!

 

I will therefore take this opportunity to show you some general photos of the ship.

 

They left a part of the hull unadorned, so you can see the workings behind…pretty cool

 

 

 

 

Nice seating areas

 

 

The ‘chandelier’ in the grand plaza- not a fan, give me a real one (anyone??)

 

Martini bar

 

Café al Bacio- We were here a lot

 

 

A shop

 

 

Art?

 

 

 

I basically spent the day in the solarium. I read (& finished) my book, slept, listened to music, wrote, swam, and repeat.

 

We went to Eden for lunch (people have finally discovered this place, its busy today!). I had the  gorgonzola salad (again), although the gorgonzola was MIA. This was accompanied with some nice bread and a glass of Riesling. Today, we took it outside on deck. It’s a nice quiet outdoor place on deck.

 

Lunch

 

 

 

Lunch view

 

 

We had booked the Rooftop Grill for dinner tomorrow night, but after looking at the menu on the App, it just doesn’t compare to the other speciality restaurants, so we wanted to change it. I had no success changing the reservation on the App, so after lunch we went to see a real human person in Guest Relations (first time there, no queues like on previous cruises). We tried to book Eden but it was completely booked up for the remainder of the cruise, so we switched it to Fine Cut instead. We also managed to procure some Celebrity playing cards so no more hiding our HAL ones!

 

Feeling lethargic and with a minimal step count today, I decided to rouse myself from the solarium and went for 5km run in the gym (on the treadmill), then back to the lounger for some more lounging until about 7.

 

DS did this

 

 

I did this

 

 

On this

 

 

However, I possibly had a post run prosecco….no photographic evidence of that though…

 

 

Dinner tonight was to be in Cyprus and that ticks off all 4 of the main dining rooms for us. No pre-dinner drinks tonight…what is wrong with us, its either go, go, go or nothing. But we did get some obligatory pre-dinner photo shots in.

 

From the back, just to mix it up

 

 

Cyprus was busy and service was slow (the first time all cruise really), perhaps because we were earlier for dinner than usual.

 

Cyprus

 

 

Nice decor

 

 

Menu (some of)

 

 

Everyone is smiley tonight

 

 

 

Being in a Greek ‘themed’ restaurant DS and I went with the Greek dishes - we shared a mezze board and hot cheese saganki, then I had lobster tail (here I departed from the Greek theme). The lobster tail was served with broccoli (yay) and rice (less yay, so I ordered a side of fries.

 

None of the speciality desserts appealed so I had the always on apple pie (very good). Had one glass of Riesling and a glass of chardonnay over dinner.

 

Starters

 

 

Main

 

 

Dessert

 

 

It was about 9pm at this point and I was ready for bed, but DS and DM had other plans – first off was a pub quiz in The Club.  We got 12/18, not so good!  

 

Pub quiz…an easy one

 

 

Next up we went to see/hear CeCe Teneal who was doing a tribute to Aretha Franklin in the theatre. She was great, amazing voice, very enjoyable, glad they made me go. But,  bed now???

 

 

CeCe in the theatre

 

 

 

 

No apparently not, Now we were going to see ‘Paradise’ in Eden at 10.45 (!) , so late, I got a limoncello to sustain me. The performance involved singing, dancing, acrobatics, and even painting (bit random). I am glad they persuaded me to stay up, as it was something different that I haven’t seen on a ship before.

 

Paradise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK bed now, please!!

[Aldo7777]

On 7/9/2022 at 4:23 AM, jelayne said:

Yeah that makes a lot of sense, yell at someone on the ship who has absolutely no control over what is ordered, what the suppliers have or how stock is allocated.

I find it disheartening that some ( mostly new X cruisers) seem to feel it is ok to berate the staff for things they have no control, over.  We have seen it multiple times on our cruises since the restart.  

Chandelier on holidays, not pish on

my chips but if that precious……..