Here we go again... LIVE from Beyond, February 19, 2024

[vickykay]

Another review by Mac tic.  Looking forward to following along.  Have a wonderful cruise.

[Jim_Iain]

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.  Looking forward to following along.  

 

[mac_tlc]

Ain’t she a beauty, Clark!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is ready to go! See you in about four hours!

 

mac_tlc

Edited February 19 by mac_tlc

[jimbri]

Have a great time!

[Stem to Stern]

Bon voyage!  I will be following along with you vicariously while I wait it out until my first Edge-class sailing on Beyond later this year.  

[parrothead33]

Have a wonderful cruise.

[Mrs_Tiki]

@mac_tlc, we hope you and DW have a great cruise!

[Norwaylady]

Bon Voyage!

 

Really looking forward to this🥰

 

[asnaleah]

Bon Voyage! Enjoy every minute and thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date.

[mac_tlc]

And we are onboard…

 

Here is this mornings timeline:

 

Leave Orlando 6:58

Port drop 10:14

Car return 10:36

Back At Port 10:51

 

Through Retreat doors 10:54

Terminal Lounge 11:02

Onboard 11:05

 

 

Only two ships in port today so no traffic or crowds.

 

Its a balmy and cloudy 64 degrees with a breeze.

 

Mac_tlc

Edited February 19 by mac_tlc

[Cap_D]

Looking forward to following along.  Thanks in advance.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

Omg I love embarkation day!  Go have a bourbon and peaches for me!

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Omg I love embarkation day!  Go have a bourbon and peaches for me!

And have a second one for me! Come on people, let's get mac drunk! 😂

[mac_tlc]

Lunch was at Luminae today. But first we had a stop at the Retreat concierge desk to change our Eden reservation and add Rooftop Garden Grill. We had Eden for night 1, but changed it to day 5.

 

Added Rooftop Garden Grill for day 3 and we already had Fine Cut for day 8. 
 

This cruise was booked onboard the Edge in March 2022 —— back in the days of Suite OBC. Coupled with the onboard booking OBC, we had about $1100. 
 

Still have a bunch leftover which will fund the casino and other stuff. 
 

Ok, back to food. Luminae serves lunch on sea days and embarkation day. For this cruise that is Day 1, 2, 4, 9, and 11. 
 

Todays menu:

 

 

DW had the burger, I had the Grilled NY Steak Frites. It was done perfectly, medium rare and arrived hot.

 

 

 

There were a few more fries but I was  starving so I ate them before I remembered to snap a photo. 
 

Oh, and I did have a Bourbon and Peaches. It is my favorite cocktail in Luminae and there will be more. Limit one for lunch—- probably more at dinner 😜. 
 

Note the lobster roll - a favorite of many. If the app is correct this menu will be repeated on Day 11. 
 

mac_tlc

Edited February 19 by mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

Some obligatory embarkation day paperwork:

 

Elite Plus benefits:

 

 

 

 

 

Retreat offerings and times:

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1 Celebrity Today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 19 by mac_tlc

[Texed]

Thanks for your posts and pictures.  🙂

[What A Market]

Have a great cruise!

I’ll be following while enjoying our cruise on the Reflection 

[mac_tlc]

It’s good to see that my wife’s Amazon orders have arrived.

 

 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

It’s good to see that my wife’s Amazon orders have arrived.

 

 

showed this  post to my husb..he said I thought it was her luggage..(smarty pants)

[mocruzer]

Look forward to your review @mac_tlc😊

[brockmom]

Getting so excited ! Boarding on the 22nd.

hope you enjoyed day 1

thank you for sharing your time with us !

🙂

 

 

[hcat]

What are your plans for the ports?

 

Post cruise, hope you cover the flower show. We .hoped to get up there but not sure..We usually combine Orlando with visit to nephew in Plant City..not sure this yr  We are just relaxing in Venice for now...

[mac_tlc]

Good morning from Beyond!

 

 

 

One of the best improvements in Beyond/Ascent from Edge/Apex is the sunset bar area. They have done a wonderful job, plenty of seating areas:

 

 

 

And not a bad view in the morning! 
 

 

Let’s recap a not-too-late night yesterday. 
 

We made our usual visit to the Retreat lounge around 5:15. Wasn’t too crowded, we sat at our usual table and were asked what we wanted to drink before we even sat down. Woodford on the rocks for me, DW had a whiskey sour. She finished it, which is rare, so it must have been good! A few snacks were had. 
 

The potato chips were the now-standard Lays as opposed to the more handmade ones that had last year. Same as on Ascent. The mixed nuts were better, slightly seasoned and warm. 
 

Dinner was at Luminae. While e at lunch earlier we ran into Rozi who was our waiter last year on Beyond. We requested to be seated in his area. He is always smiling and with a quick wit. Always good to see familiar faces. 
 

Here is the menu:

 

 

 

We both had the same thing:

Crispy Kale Salad

French Onion Soup

Moscovy Duck Breast

 

 

 

 

 

We both enjoyed the Duck. It wasn’t too”ducky”.😏😏

 

Before we ordered, Rozi refreshed our memory that the classics are always available and mentioned each app and entree. He also said that they can make a house salad any night with choice of dressing. I mention this because the classics are not listed anywhere and if the waiter didn’t mention it, and it was your first time at Luminae, you would have no way of knowing. 
 

Rest of the evening— coming up!

 

Oh @Georgia_Peaches and @RichYak, I did enjoy a bourbon and peaches just for you! I asked Victor to make it a “little less peachy” than the one at lunch😜.

 

mac_tlc

Edited February 20 by mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

About last night….

 

After dinner we wandered through the shops, seems like the variety of logo items is improved over last year. Good place to burn any OBC left.

 

The nightly donation to the slot gods was dutifully carried out. It appears to be possible to pull out some OBC but they limit how much and how often. I’ll know more in a few days. 
 

One of our favorite venues on the ship is :

 

 

 

This cruise, and most, there is a nightly game show at 8:30. It’s very close to the theatre so you can typically do the show and then head to the Club or vice versa. 
 

Pub Trivia was at 9:15 and I continue to be amazed how much common knowledge I don’t have. @KKB, are you listening??😂😂.

 

We wandered for a while after but headed back to the room for an early bedtime. Seems that first day is always tiring.

 

mac_tlc

Edited February 20 by mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

What are your plans for the ports?

 

Post cruise, hope you cover the flower show. We .hoped to get up there but not sure..We usually combine Orlando with visit to nephew in Plant City..not sure this yr  We are just relaxing in Venice for now...

We have a tour booked with Dora in Cartagena. 
 

In Aruba, we arrive at 4pm on Saturday and leave around 6pm Sunday. Plan right now is to just wander. One of our favor places in Amsterdam in Pancakes Amsterdam so we will try to get to Dutch Pancakes on Sunday morning . 
 

Nothing planned yet in Curaçao.

 

Meat pie and a Red Stripe is all that is needed in Falmouth Jamaica, and it’s inside the port gate. 
 

My DW utilizes a wheelchair in ports since she cannot walk very far, and standing for long periods is challenging. She can get on and off any bus. That complicates any port adventure. Dora in Cartagena said the wheelchair can be accommodated on the bus. We are not really beach people but considered a trip to Eagle Beach in Aruba. May still try that.

 

mac_tlc