Beyond LIVE Semi-Solo AQ Class 11/8/22

[swigso]

Hi

as always loving your travel review, can you please tell what the up charge is for the very top shelf spirits. A question, was that a Louis xx cognac Celebrity used to have it on the M class in Michaels and I think I remember it was over $100 a shot. But, if you managed to have the last shot you were given the gold bottle cap. maybe I have not remembered correctly 

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by swigso

[GenerationX]

12 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

I'm sailing Beyond in January and my plan is to eat at Le Grand Bistro for lunch on embarkation day.  Since they don't take pre-cruise reservations as you mentioned, may I ask what time you finally tried to get seated?  I'm curious if there's a line up at noon when they open. They haven't opened check-in yet for my cruise but I will be trying to get an 11:00am or 11:15 am boarding so I can be at Le Grand Bistro when they open.

 
We walked past the restaurant a few minutes after noon and I didn’t see a line but there were quite a few tables already taken.  It was about 1pm when we went back to try and get seated.  I think it’s a very smart idea to try and be at the restaurant right at noon or even a few minutes early to have your best shot at getting in.

 

[hcat]

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

[GenerationX]

8 hours ago, swigso said:

Hi

as always loving your travel review, can you please tell what the up charge is for the very top shelf spirits. A question, was that a Louis xx cognac Celebrity used to have it on the M class in Michaels and I think I remember it was over $100 a shot. But, if you managed to have the last shot you were given the gold bottle cap. maybe I have not remembered correctly 

 

Thank you! Tonight I will try to go by Craft Social and take a photo of the price list for the top shelf spirits and ask about the Louis.

[GenerationX]

It’s a beautiful morning at sea!  I started my day walking a couple of miles on the jogging track. Red decided to sleep in as she was up late celebrating hitting a $1400 jackpot in the casino last night.

 

About last night:

 

The comedian show was ok. I wasn’t laughing uncontrollably but I enjoyed myself and I’ve also seen much much worse.  The guy had some good jokes and for the most part stayed away from the sexist/offensive content.  I just tend to start losing interest when a comedian’s set starts to be more audience interview/interaction based.

 

There were drink servers in the theatre which wasn’t a thing on Edge.  But that may have been COVID related.  

 

After the show we headed to dinner in Eden.  

 

Red and I are both well seasoned Celebrity cruisers and we both agreed that it was probably all-around the best dining experience we’ve EVER had on any Celebrity ship.  

 

Let’s start with the service. It was 5 star all the way from the moment we walked down the stairs.  I have no idea how he knew who we were (I guess process of elimination based on 8pm reservations that had already checked in), but as we approached the host stand Petre greeted us by name and with a big smile and told us how pleased he was to have us on Beyond and dining with his team.  We were escorted to a table right by the window where we could also see and hear the beautiful live cellist playing above.  

 

Our waiter Sham was fantastic and pacing of the meal was perfect.  Apps came out within 10-15 minutes of ordering (they must’ve known we were hungry) then the other courses were well spaced to let us enjoy without feeling rushed but also not feeling like we had to wait for anything.

 

The sommelier Ernesto gave perfect wine pairings included in the premium package for our meal courses.

 

Speaking of the meal, lemme tell you about the FOOD!  Everything we had was amazing. We started with the Bazaar Bowl, shrimp and crab cake.  My pet peeve on crab cakes is when they’re 80% cake and 20% crab meat. The ratio on this one is completely flipped for ratio with plenty of juicy blue crab and the chipotle sauce and cured sweet pepper salad on the side made an unbelievable flavor profile.

 

For mains Red had the sea bass and I had the lobster.  I had heard that all seafood on ships comes on frozen, but Sham told us that the Canadian lobsters for this dish arrive to the ship live!  It definitely didn’t taste like previously frozen lobster and swirled in the corn basil purée it’s perfection.  Red left not a crumb from the sea bass or its ridiculous wasabi foam on her plate.

 

For dessert we split the chocolate pie and strawberry pastry.  I think we may have made poor Sham slightly uncomfortable with the faces and sighs of delight we were making while we ate.

 

To make sure I’m not just blowing sunshine, I’ve seriously tried to rack my brain and think of something that I could critique or could have been improved about that dinner, but I am coming up completely blank.

 

The experience was so top notch we reduced ourselves to begging Petre to find any time available for us to eat dinner there again before the end of the cruise.  I regret (well not that much) to report that we won’t be eating at Rooftop Grill on night 4 and will be returning to Eden instead.  We have more new dishes we want to try though so I promise there’ll still be new info to report.

 

More to come from a great day at sea soon!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KKB]

17 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

  I just tend to start losing interest when a comedian’s set starts to be more audience interview/interaction based.

 

Red and I are both well seasoned Celebrity cruisers and we both agreed that it was probably all-around the best dining experience we’ve EVER had on any Celebrity ship.  

1--It seems the BEST comedians RARELY do audience interaction...and the worst do (at least on a cruise ship). On NCL in August saw a guy's 3rd set & he was hell-bent the kids in the front row were going to give him. inspiration. Seriously? If you are a professional comedian, you should ALWAYS have a shtick in your back pocket.

 

2--OMG I LOVE EDEN SO MUCH!. Tried it both on Edge & Apex. Totally different menus & style. Absolutely fabulous! (cannot wait to hear about Le Voyage!)

Your crab cake was mouth-watering!

 

Looks like you are having a divine time & have escaped the weather!

Edited November 9, 2022 by KKB

[lola2013]

44 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

The experience was so top notch we reduced ourselves to begging Petre to find any time available for us to eat dinner there again before the end of the cruise.  I regret (well not that much) to report that we won’t be eating at Rooftop Grill on night 4 and will be returning to Eden instead.  We have more new dishes we want to try though so I promise there’ll still be new info to report.

If RGG on Beyond mirrors Edge, they should offer lunch on a sea day.  I've never been to Eden (sorry, too fancy for this McRib girl), but I am a huge fan of RGG.  Just mentioning it in case you need one of those fabulous warm chocolate chip cookies😋 on this trip...and who doesn't!

[CruisinBanka]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

It’s a beautiful morning at sea!  I started my day walking a couple of miles on the jogging track. Red decided to sleep in as she was up late celebrating hitting a $1400 jackpot in the casino last night.

 

About last night:

 

The comedian show was ok. I wasn’t laughing uncontrollably but I enjoyed myself and I’ve also seen much much worse.  The guy had some good jokes and for the most part stayed away from the sexist/offensive content.  I just tend to start losing interest when a comedian’s set starts to be more audience interview/interaction based.

 

There were drink servers in the theatre which wasn’t a thing on Edge.  But that may have been COVID related.  

 

After the show we headed to dinner in Eden.  

 

Red and I are both well seasoned Celebrity cruisers and we both agreed that it was probably all-around the best dining experience we’ve EVER had on any Celebrity ship.  

 

Let’s start with the service. It was 5 star all the way from the moment we walked down the stairs.  I have no idea how he knew who we were (I guess process of elimination based on 8pm reservations that had already checked in), but as we approached the host stand Petre greeted us by name and with a big smile and told us how pleased he was to have us on Beyond and dining with his team.  We were escorted to a table right by the window where we could also see and hear the beautiful live cellist playing above.  

 

Our waiter Sham was fantastic and pacing of the meal was perfect.  Apps came out within 10-15 minutes of ordering (they must’ve known we were hungry) then the other courses were well spaced to let us enjoy without feeling rushed but also not feeling like we had to wait for anything.

 

The sommelier Ernesto gave perfect wine pairings included in the premium package for our meal courses.

 

Speaking of the meal, lemme tell you about the FOOD!  Everything we had was amazing. We started with the Bazaar Bowl, shrimp and crab cake.  My pet peeve on crab cakes is when they’re 80% cake and 20% crab meat. The ratio on this one is completely flipped for ratio with plenty of juicy blue crab and the chipotle sauce and cured sweet pepper salad on the side made an unbelievable flavor profile.

 

For mains Red had the sea bass and I had the lobster.  I had heard that all seafood on ships comes on frozen, but Sham told us that the Canadian lobsters for this dish arrive to the ship live!  It definitely didn’t taste like previously frozen lobster and swirled in the corn basil purée it’s perfection.  Red left not a crumb from the sea bass or its ridiculous wasabi foam on her plate.

 

For dessert we split the chocolate pie and strawberry pastry.  I think we may have made poor Sham slightly uncomfortable with the faces and sighs of delight we were making while we ate.

 

To make sure I’m not just blowing sunshine, I’ve seriously tried to rack my brain and think of something that I could critique or could have been improved about that dinner, but I am coming up completely blank.

 

The experience was so top notch we reduced ourselves to begging Petre to find any time available for us to eat dinner there again before the end of the cruise.  I regret (well not that much) to report that we won’t be eating at Rooftop Grill on night 4 and will be returning to Eden instead.  We have more new dishes we want to try though so I promise there’ll still be new info to report.

 

More to come from a great day at sea soon!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything looks yummy! Great info on lobster being fresh not frozen. You sold me on booking Eden on my upcoming B3B!

[Susanb10567]

Loved Eden on the Edge …can’t wait to dine there on the Apex next month. Great that you were able to get another reservation for the cruise.

[chamima]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

It’s a beautiful morning at sea!  I started my day walking a couple of miles on the jogging track. Red decided to sleep in as she was up late celebrating hitting a $1400 jackpot in the casino last night

 

More to come from a great day at sea soon!
 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for this great descriptive review.

I hope you continue to enjoy!!!

 

SO .................. What do you think of your infinite veranda????

[dreamer321]

I have reservations for Eden for two nights. Really looking forward to it.

 

Once again, the App proves less than accurate.  The crab cakes aren't listed in the App for Beyond although it's listed in Apex's Eden menu and Edge's Eden menu.  

 

Also, I really looking forward to the "lion." They've had this typo in the app since Beyond first sailed.  

[GenerationX]

A very good afternoon to you from a gratuitously pampered Charla on the Beyond pool deck.

 

A report on my day so far:

 

This morning I had a very nice omelette at breakfast in Blu. I got there about 8:30 (half hour after opening) and the restaurant was already busy but I got a seat right away and service was very prompt.  By the time I left about 9:15, it looked like there was a line of people at the host stand waiting for a table.  I think I’ll plan to stick to earlier breakfasts at blu!

 

After breakfast I went for a tea forte green tea at Al Bacio and bumped into @Buckeye94 who is sailing solo and joined me for morning caffeine and cruise chat.  Even at prime coffee hours there were plenty of open seats and no delay in service.  Very different from the crowded and hectic Al Bacio from my sold out Summit Bermuda cruise in July.

 

After tea, I headed up to the pool deck and checked into Red and I’s cabana for the day.  Hyper planner that I am, I also booked this sea day 2-person cabana along with my specialty dinning shortly after booking the cruise several months ago. When I did, the cost for a 2 person cabana was $150.  A few months later I saw in the cruise planner that the price had jumped up to $250!  

 

They were out of the included bottle of Veuve rose, so gave us a bottle of yellow label instead. Unlike Edge, the cabanas on Beyond face in towards the pool instead of out to sea.  This comes with pro’s and con’s.

 

The pro is that it’s much easier to go in and out of the pool and participate in poolside activities.  This included cruise director Luigi’s completely lit line dance party.
 

The  con, at least with the course we’re charting this cruise, is that there is a LOT less shade.  Unlike Edge where my cabana was shaded for most of the day, this cabana was completely in direct sunlight until about 1pm.

 

It didn’t bother me too much as the whole point of this cruise for me was to get some sun and heat while Missouri descends into cold and darkness (and I mean the weather, not the election, ha!).  But poor Red who is quite fair skinned and burns easily decided to hold off till afternoon to join me so she didn’t bake to a crisp.  

 

Once Red came out, we ordered our included lunch from the Retreat deck lunch menu to be delivered to our cabana.  The burger and chicken sandwich were just as good as they were when I was actually in the Retreat on Edge.

 

Our cabana attendants kept us well supplied with cold towels and chilled Evian spritzers to keep us cool and topped off our Evian and champagne regularly.  As the bubbles flowed, we made friends with the Florida couple in the next cabana who were being equally well “hydrated” by the cabana server team and next thing you know, we’re all shaking our hips to Pitbull.

 

As I was lounging, I kept looking through the app schedule for today and the last sea day to see if any wine tasting events were being offered for our cruise (beyond the free captains club one).  These usually don’t show up in the app schedule until after I board, but they’re still not showing any. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a celebrity cruise that had no wine events whatsoever, but I wonder if the reason may be a serious sommelier shortage.  I’ve heard several people mention that they didn’t have sommelier service in MDRs last night.

 

I’m going to finish another chapter in my book then head down to my room to take a little nap before it’s time to get ready for the captain’s club gathering and Gatsby party.

 

Talk to you all later tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GenerationX]

On 11/6/2022 at 7:23 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Charla -  So happy your about to fire up a new chapter of Life at Sea with Charla.  

 

Looking forward to following along.    I'm sure you have some new great outfits to debut for all of us.

 

Thank you! Oh yes, not to overhype it, but wait till you see my Gatsby gown for evening chic night tonight. 😁

[Lena11033]

lol @ the election 

When I was on Beyond in the summer I had MDR most nights (2 nights I was in Eden), I would say I had the sommelier turn up 50% of the time (I switched MDRs to try them all and then stuck with the one I liked the most).

 

My original one on night one took my request and disappeared and never got the drink. Second night in the same MDR (think night 3 maybe) they were no where to be found , night 6 in the same restaurant again new sommelier and she did get the drink I wanted, same the next night. Last few days I went back to the same MDR and it was back to the original sommelier never got to my table at all so the waiter ended up bringing me wine.

[go.without.you]

Hi Charla! We met on Equinox a few cruises back. I'm glad to see you are having a great time!

 

I wore the globe dress on Edge in March and got so many compliments. One day several of the crew decided to show me where they were from and I was poked in several places, LOL! I was walking past a lady on the Retreat deck and she asked where I got it. I saw her 10 minutes later and she said, "It will be delivered to my house on Tuesday!". So yeah, your dream of seeing several people wearing the dress is slowly coming true.

 

I'm so looking forward to seeing your Gatsby dress, you have such great taste!

 

What is your opinion on the Infinite veranda after having balconies in the past?

[GenerationX]

READY FOR AN EVENING CHIC GATSBY PARTY!!!

 

[sbt518]

I love your gatsby dress! Where is it from?

 

Your review is great, thanks so much for doing it.  It's helping me make it until my next cruise in March 2023.

[Mrs_Tiki]

What a perfect outfit for a Gatsby party! Have so much fun!

[chamima]

25 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

READY FOR AN EVENING CHIC GATSBY PARTY!!!

 

 

 

WOW!!! Beautiful! 💜

[Smmessineo]

37 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

READY FOR AN EVENING CHIC GATSBY PARTY!!!

 

Beautiful !

Edited November 9, 2022 by Smmessineo

[Tee & Chilli]

Let the party begin!!

[danceswithphones]

Ran into Captain Kate and the current captain outside the theatre. Said hello and got a big smile. They were in a hurry so no photo. Made our evening. Captain Kate was all dolled up. So odd to see her out of uniform.

[CruisinMama2003]

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

READY FOR AN EVENING CHIC GATSBY PARTY!!!

 

Wow! Gorgeous! 

 

Have the best time tonite 🙂

[CTSandy]

Just back from Atlantis Bahamas and I find a GenerationX review - so happy to cruise vicariously!  Btw your Gatsby dress is stunning!  Looking forward to enjoying the rest of your comments.

[Stem to Stern]

Vavavoom Charla!