Just off Beyond

[lv2cruisgrl]

Just did the 9 nite on Beyond. We had sailed her last November. Service was good, except for the bars. That  wasn't good especially the Martini bar. Food in main dining way better than we expected. Food choices need to be better. Service was great. Eden was amazing, the steakhouse was just ok, they over cooked one steak and another was grizzly so sent it back. Otherwise was great  Shows were amazing we loved them all. The buffet was about the same as last year. So all in all I would rate it a 8.5 out of 10.  We travel with another couple and they agreed.

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[kwokpot]

41 minutes ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

steakhouse was just ok,

First thank you for your quick and concise review. We sailed Beyond last year October. Unfortunately I do find Fine Cut Steakhouse to only be an OK experience and TBH we have better meals in Carnival's steakhouse. 

[lv2cruisgrl]

10 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

First thank you for your quick and concise review. We sailed Beyond last year October. Unfortunately I do find Fine Cut Steakhouse to only be an OK experience and TBH we have better meals in Carnival's steakhouse. 

We ate on Apex in the steakhouse and it was amazing.  We had 6 of us and all of our steaks were perfect!  Sad that it didn't happen this time.

[kwokpot]

12 minutes ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

We ate on Apex in the steakhouse and it was amazing.  We had 6 of us and all of our steaks were perfect!  Sad that it didn't happen this time.

I'm glad you had a great meal at the steakhouse on the Apex. We were on the Apex in July and our steaks weren't as good as when we sailed Carnival in September. But my husband had a nice birthday cake from them. We prefer ribeye cuts and we didn't feel the Fine Cut ribeye had enough flavor.

Love the Beyond though. 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

Just did the 9 nite on Beyond. We had sailed her last November. Service was good, except for the bars. That  wasn't good especially the Martini bar. Food in main dining way better than we expected. Food choices need to be better. Service was great. Eden was amazing, the steakhouse was just ok, they over cooked one steak and another was grizzly so sent it back. Otherwise was great  Shows were amazing we loved them all. The buffet was about the same as last year. So all in all I would rate it a 8.5 out of 10.  We travel with another couple and they agreed.

did you try the World Class Bar?.. we had great service and from some tables you can overlook all the Martini Bar action..without all the noise!  Was our go to!

[lv2cruisgrl]

4 minutes ago, hcat said:

did you try the World Class Bar?.. we had great service and from some tables you can overlook all the Martini Bar action..without all the noise!  Was our go to!

Yes once!  They don't honor the free drinks we get as Elite Plus.  In addition our group wasn't crazy about their drink menu.

[Wolf 8]

Very good information, thank you.  We sail on 12/11/23 and it's a relief you didn't mention cabin popping and creaking or the musty odor that have recently been CC topics.  Safe travels home.

[keesar]

2 hours ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

Just did the 9 nite on Beyond. We had sailed her last November. Service was good, except for the bars. That  wasn't good especially the Martini bar. Food in main dining way better than we expected. Food choices need to be better. Service was great. Eden was amazing, the steakhouse was just ok, they over cooked one steak and another was grizzly so sent it back. Otherwise was great  Shows were amazing we loved them all. The buffet was about the same as last year. So all in all I would rate it a 8.5 out of 10.  We travel with another couple and they agreed.

We thought Eden was excellent.  Wish we could say that about the Fine Cut Steakhouse as the uncharge was not worth it.  Not the best cuts of steak and our experience was like yours.  We were disappointed.

 

The shows in the Main Theater were outstanding.  Cannot beat the special effects.  Glad you had a nice cruise.

[lv2cruisgrl]

27 minutes ago, Wolf 8 said:

Very good information, thank you.  We sail on 12/11/23 and it's a relief you didn't mention cabin popping and creaking or the musty odor that have recently been CC topics.  Safe travels home.

We had no musty smells but we were on deck 11.  We had some rough seas on the way and yes we had some creaking however it was on the balcony so we just closed the bifold doors and that helped.

[MandL]

So interesting how some can have such a different experience.  We just got off a B2B on the Beyond 10 day, then 14 across the pond prior to your cruise.  We ate in the Fine Cut Steak House 5 nights. It was outstanding each time. Our Filet Mignons was cooked to perfection.  The lobster ravioli was to die for.  Eden is where we had to send our steak back and canceled our second reservation for the terrible service.  I guess we all have our own opinions. It’s all subjective.  As for our stateroom…..no smell, and we came home healthy.  Happy cruisers.  Love the Beyond.  And, yes….the shows are outstanding.  If you get the chance, do the behind the scenes theater tour.

Edited November 22, 2023 by MandL

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

I'm glad you had a great meal at the steakhouse on the Apex. We were on the Apex in July and our steaks weren't as good as when we sailed Carnival in September. But my husband had a nice birthday cake from them. We prefer ribeye cuts and we didn't feel the Fine Cut ribeye had enough flavor.

Love the Beyond though. 

FC was our favorite, but we met the chef and our waiter was excellent.  They recommended the 9 oz  filet and both were absolutely cooked perfectly, even though I wanted to order the smaller filet. Meeting the chef, along with eating early may have been the reason why our meal was so delish.  In Eden, we had the opposite experience; our food had to be sent back and our money was returned.  So, there you go with hit and miss.  

[Lastdance]

3 hours ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

Just did the 9 nite on Beyond. We had sailed her last November. Service was good, except for the bars. That  wasn't good especially the Martini bar. Food in main dining way better than we expected. Food choices need to be better. Service was great. Eden was amazing, the steakhouse was just ok, they over cooked one steak and another was grizzly so sent it back. Otherwise was great  Shows were amazing we loved them all. The buffet was about the same as last year. So all in all I would rate it a 8.5 out of 10.  We travel with another couple and they agreed.

We are getting ready for our third Beyond cruise on 12/1.  We have cruised in an SV and SS; staying in a SS this time because the price was excellent when first released.  I have mixed expectations, but will roll with whatever happens.  We have never cruised in November or December, along with not having been to the Caribbean in decades.  European cruising has been our favorite, so that will be interesting in itself for us to compare.  I agree with food choices, as even in Luminae, choices were not to our liking, but our waiter worked with us.  The MDR’s were fine.  We always do breakfast in the OVC, but may do Luminae one morning; however, eating later is not what we enjoy.  The food in the buffet is always  better when it first opens. 

 

Thank you for your concise and balanced review, l2c!

[lv2cruisgrl]

20 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

We are getting ready for our third Beyond cruise on 12/1.  We have cruised in an SV and SS; staying in a SS this time because the price was excellent when first released.  I have mixed expectations, but will roll with whatever happens.  We have never cruised in November or December, along with not having been to the Caribbean in decades.  European cruising has been our favorite, so that will be interesting in itself for us to compare.  I agree with food choices, as even in Luminae, choices were not to our liking, but our waiter worked with us.  The MDR’s were fine.  We always do breakfast in the OVC, but may do Luminae one morning; however, eating later is not what we enjoy.  The food in the buffet is always  better when it first opens. 

 

Thank you for your concise and balanced review, l2c!

We did a SS on Beyond last year and loved it.  We found Luminae was better for us on Apex, however we ate most of our meals there on Beyond.  This cruise we did Concierge as we were traveling with friends, which was fine.  With all the critics lately on CC we went with little expectations and were surprised it was great.  Hope you enjoy it....

[KKB]

7 hours ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

Just did the 9 nite on Beyond. We had sailed her last November. Service was good, except for the bars. That  wasn't good especially the Martini bar. Food in main dining way better than we expected. Food choices need to be better. Service was great. Eden was amazing, the steakhouse was just ok, they over cooked one steak and another was grizzly so sent it back. Otherwise was great  Shows were amazing we loved them all. The buffet was about the same as last year. So all in all I would rate it a 8.5 out of 10.  We travel with another couple and they agreed.

We sail the Beyond next week for the 2nd time.

Curious about the bar service--slow or impersonal? If slow, was it due to crowds?

[lv2cruisgrl]

Just now, KKB said:

We sail the Beyond next week for the 2nd time.

Curious about the bar service--slow or impersonal? If slow, was it due to crowds?

They just didn't have enough staff taking drink orders. Same issue sometimes in Eden.  Usually we avoid the bars when very crowded. The issue was at all times of day.

[2chiefs]

4 hours ago, Lastdance said:

<<<SNIP>>>  We have never cruised in November or December, along with not having been to the Caribbean in decades.  <<<SNIP>>>

 

Thank you for your concise and balanced review, l2c!

We cruise in the Caribbean in December almost every year (the two weeks before Christmas). We love to go to nice warm weather for a couple weeks in the winter! (even though our winters here in GA are not bad). Lower prices and less kids are a plus for us!

Edited November 22, 2023 by 2chiefs

[lv2cruisgrl]

4 hours ago, Lastdance said:

FC was our favorite, but we met the chef and our waiter was excellent.  They recommended the 9 oz  filet and both were absolutely cooked perfectly, even though I wanted to order the smaller filet. Meeting the chef, along with eating early may have been the reason why our meal was so delish.  In Eden, we had the opposite experience; our food had to be sent back and our money was returned.  So, there you go with hit and miss.  

We always eat early, our meal in Eden was amazing.  FC not so much and we did talk with the Maître D and he took care of the steak issues.  It can be hit and miss for sure.

[doghog]

5 hours ago, MandL said:

So interesting how some can have such a different experience.  We just got off a B2B on the Beyond 10 day, then 14 across the pond prior to your cruise.  We ate in the Fine Cut Steak House 5 nights. It was outstanding each time. Our Filet Mignons was cooked to perfection.  The lobster ravioli was to die for.  Eden is where we had to send our steak back and canceled our second reservation for the terrible service.  I guess we all have our own opinions. It’s all subjective.  As for our stateroom…..no smell, and we came home healthy.  Happy cruisers.  Love the Beyond.  And, yes….the shows are outstanding.  If you get the chance, do the behind the scenes theater tour.

Exactly why we wouldn't or would book a cruise line, ship, itinerary, etc. based on others positive or negative opinions or experiences. I enjoy and respect reading others posts about their cruises. 

[kwokpot]

31 minutes ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

We always eat early, our meal in Eden was amazing.  FC not so much and we did talk with the Maître D and he took care of the steak issues.  It can be hit and miss for sure.

May I ask what cut of beef you had at FC? 

[lv2cruisgrl]

24 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

May I ask what cut of beef you had at FC? 

We all got filet mignon. Mine was perfectly cooked and very easy to cut and tasty.

[mljatsea]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

We sail the Beyond next week for the 2nd time.

Curious about the bar service--slow or impersonal? If slow, was it due to crowds?

Off b2b Med and TA. We like to sit at the bar and never space in the Martini Bar. Sat at a table on second level once and had mediocre drink and service. On the first cruise we went to World Class which made great drinks but the bartenders were indifferent despite extra tips. Then we discovered Craft Social and never went anywhere else. Cocktails just as good without the smoke and mirrors and fab bartenders.

[MandL]

On 11/22/2023 at 2:51 PM, mljatsea said:

Off b2b Med and TA. We like to sit at the bar and never space in the Martini Bar. Sat at a table on second level once and had mediocre drink and service. On the first cruise we went to World Class which made great drinks but the bartenders were indifferent despite extra tips. Then we discovered Craft Social and never went anywhere else. Cocktails just as good without the smoke and mirrors and fab bartenders.

Agree 100%  We too were on the same two cruises with the same bar experience. Our go to bar ended up being Craft Social. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by MandL