Beyond LIVE Med Review 10/20-10/30: Tales from our Suite Roman Holiday

[PSU]

The walking food and wine tour in Rome is fabulous. You will love it.

[Silkroad]

Wishing you and Jeremy a splendid cruise! 

[DingoMom]

I am so excited to read you are going on the Beyond and you are taking all of us with you!! I have been off of Cruise Critic for nearly a week, because I was Not happy. We were supposed to leave for Barcelona this Monday for a 2-week Transatlantic that I put a lot of love, time, money, and effort into. We had a sweet Sunset Sky Suite booked for 18 months. On Oct 4, I had a nasty fall and broke my leg in three places. The surgeon fixed me up 9 days ago, but no amount of sniffling, bargaining, or promises persuaded him that I could go on the cruise. I have spent this week canceling all of our trip plans - not a fun task. Yesterday, I thought, “I sure wish Charla has an upcoming cruise.” Lo and behold, I get back on the boards today and HERE YOU ARE! I am now super-motivated to heal and be ready for our Beyond cruise in January. Thank you so much for posting and taking me along…you will be my coffee companion (oooh, and wine!) for two weeks!!

 

Have a FABULOUS cruise, and thank you for making me smile with joy and anticipation!

 

Dawn

[theopup]

“Our interests trend towards food, wine and historical sites so our adventures will feature those heavily”

 

You caught my attention!!

[JazzyV]

Yay, another Charla cruise and review! And Happy Birthday to Jeremy.

[vickykay]

So looking forward to following along with you once again.  Would love to see photos of your walking shoes.  Also review of Iberian airlines as were flying to Barcelona next fall for a cruise on the Accent.  Thanks.

[vickykay]

Oh we also did a food tour in Rome a few years ago.  Fantastic!

[LouChamp]

Aloha. So happy for Jeremy and you for bonuses, Birthday and he quit smoking! Always love your reviews and of course the food pictures.  We have been blessed to cruise for decades and have sailed many times since the 1990s with Celebrity mostly in suites and several times in the Mediterranean. The atmosphere of the Mediterranean is perfect for Celebrity, HAL and Cunard as well as the smaller luxury lines which we are now gravitating towards as the kids have flown the coop lol. We are also taking longer months plus cruises but enough of us…you guys have a fantastic time. All the best!

[JackE]

Charla, we were just in Rome in August and I highly recommend a skip the line private tour of the Vatican booked with The Roman Guy. Manuella was a fantastic guide throughout this 3 or so hour tour, she was knowledgeable and knew how to get the most out of the visit. If you have the time, it is well worth it! 

[Texed]

We will be boarding Beyond on October 30th for the TA.  So, we are definitely interested in your posts.  😊

[cw2go]

Recently retuned, sailed Gk Isles on Beyond, it was a great cruise.

Had lunch @ Osteria Nannarella in Trastervere last month, delish! 😋

 

Enjoy your adventure,

Patty 

[RICCruisers]

Hi Charla, We are currently on Beyond sailing toward Kusadasi and staying onboard for the next cruise. Weather has been perfect so far and hoping some of the long range forecasts are not correct for the October 20th cruise. I’ve always enjoyed your trip reports and look forward to reading one from a cruise we are also sailing on. We’ll wish Jeremy a happy birthday if we happen to see you folks onboard. 
 

Ed and Betty

[scrapcreator]

Yay, another GenX review! Thanks for taking us along. Congratulations to Jeremy.

 

We had a wonderful Twilight Trastevere walking food tour in June 2022. One morning we got up very early and walked from our hotel (Hotel Ponte Sisto) to the Trevi Fountain without the tourist crowds. 

 

Have a gelato or an Aperol Spritz for me.

[Lastdance]

On 10/14/2023 at 1:43 PM, Silkroad said:

Wishing you and Jeremy a splendid cruise! 

I saw that group photo...you were both in it!  The cat is out of the bag😜

[Texed]

On 10/14/2023 at 5:10 PM, DingoMom said:

 I had a nasty fall and broke my leg in three places. The surgeon fixed me up 9 days ago, but no amount of sniffling, bargaining, or promises persuaded him that I could go on the cruise. Dawn

 

I am so sorry that happened to you.  I know you are very disappointed. 

[LisaLeone]

Charla, I've been stalking the boards waiting for your next review! So excited to follow along. 

When we visited Venice and Greece some years ago, I found that most Italians spoke English. Many in Greece did not. As someone who only speaks one language, I admire your dedication learning another language. I wish I had done the same prior to visiting the beautiful Greek Isles. I would have loved to have shown the Greek people that respect. The Italians were wonderfully gracious to my smattering of phrases.

Have the most fabulous time!

[Silkroad]

On 10/14/2023 at 6:10 PM, DingoMom said:

On Oct 4, I had a nasty fall and broke my leg in three places. The surgeon fixed me up 9 days ago, but no amount of sniffling, bargaining, or promises persuaded him that I could go on the cruise. I have spent this week canceling all of our trip plans - not a fun task.

I’m so sorry to see this! I was extremely disappointed when I had to cancel a cruise in a corner aft Sky Suite on Reflection two years ago. Mine was a much less serious fracture (metatarsal fracture which required a boot) but I was advised not to fly so soon after the injury. I hope you have a swift recovery🌸 I agree that having one of Charla’s live reviews helps one’s outlook during recovery. Ditto for the coffee and the wine (and lots of cheese lol). 

Edited October 16, 2023 by Silkroad

[GenerationX]

Current Situation:  Just a couple of 40 somethings drinking bubbly, binge watching Italian food travel shows on the DVR and packing enough luggage to stay in Europe for a solid month.

 

First thing tomorrow morning we leave for the airport!

 

[Reel Love]

8 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Current Situation:  Just a couple of 40 somethings drinking bubbly, binge watching Italian food travel shows on the DVR and packing enough luggage to stay in Europe for a solid month.

 

First thing tomorrow morning we leave for the airport!

 

Excellent!  As always, very much looking forward to following your live review.  Have a fabulous time and Happy 40th to Jeremy!!!  

[hcat]

Safe Travels

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Happy birthday to Jeremy! Very happy you're sharing your cruise with us again, thank you!

Edited October 16, 2023 by Cruising Is Bliss

[wineoclock]

Happy birthday to your husband.

 

We are also on your cruise in a magic carpet suite. (Was a suite guarantee- so happy with the price)

 

Hopefully our paths cross at some point. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by wineoclock

[Scottishclover]

Hi Charla, 

Just wanted to say I’ve really enjoyed your reports in the past and am very excited to read your thoughts on this cruise as we did this exact same one in July. We stayed in an Airbnb in Rome for a week beforehand and you have made a great choice to stay in Travestere. We stayed very nearby in Testaccio, which I would recommend you try in the evening as it is a bit of a foodie’s heaven. It’s just a short walk over there. Lots of locals eat in that area so you know it’s good. We also had fun at the food market in Testaccio tasting lots of different dishes. We tried lots of gelato all over Rome and our favourite was actually our “local”Panna & Co on Via Marmorata in Testaccio. Give it a try - you won’t regret it.

 

I can’t wait to see what you get up to in the ports. Have a great trip 😀

[GenerationX]

On 10/14/2023 at 5:10 PM, DingoMom said:

I am so excited to read you are going on the Beyond and you are taking all of us with you!! I have been off of Cruise Critic for nearly a week, because I was Not happy. We were supposed to leave for Barcelona this Monday for a 2-week Transatlantic that I put a lot of love, time, money, and effort into. We had a sweet Sunset Sky Suite booked for 18 months. On Oct 4, I had a nasty fall and broke my leg in three places. The surgeon fixed me up 9 days ago, but no amount of sniffling, bargaining, or promises persuaded him that I could go on the cruise. I have spent this week canceling all of our trip plans - not a fun task. Yesterday, I thought, “I sure wish Charla has an upcoming cruise.” Lo and behold, I get back on the boards today and HERE YOU ARE! I am now super-motivated to heal and be ready for our Beyond cruise in January. Thank you so much for posting and taking me along…you will be my coffee companion (oooh, and wine!) for two weeks!!

 

Have a FABULOUS cruise, and thank you for making me smile with joy and anticipation!

 

Dawn

Oh Dawn I’m so sorry to hear about your accident!  I don’t think my writing can ever compare to being on a transatlantic cruise, but I’m glad I can do a little something to take the edge off!

 

I hope you continue to heal well and quickly!  I’ll be thinking of you enjoying tropical shores on Beyond in January when I’m up to my ankles in snow!

[GenerationX]

Buongiorno! Today is the day!!!

 

Jeremy and I are in the car on the way north to STL.  This morning before we left home, he got to open his smaller surprise birthday gift from me.  (Guapo is our nickname for his alter ego that comes out when he gets on the tequila.) He immediately put it into his suitcase.

 

I can’t wait to see his reaction when he finds out about my other surprise gift when we get to the airport:  I upgraded our flights out to Rome to Flagship Business Class!

 

For the trip to Rome we fly STL-ORD-FCO with a 3.5 hour layover in O’Hare (an hour of which I presume we’ll spend doing the delightful O’Hare domestic to international terminal excursion).

 

Flight options back from Rome were much less abundant at the very end of the tourist season.  The only option that got us back to STL before November 1st has us flying Iberia code share from FCO to MAD then back on AA from MAD to PHL and PHL to STL.

 

Normally I feel ok trusting the bag tracking function in the AA app.  But for this big of a trip and the number of plane changes we’re doing, I decided to invest in AirTags on our checked luggage just in case.

 

As of now, both our flights are showing on time departure. Please send good vibes our way for safe, smooth travels!