Traveling Mike

Summary: Christmas Season has Started

Summary: We had a wedding One of the people from the Facebook group got married yesterday. I have heard about weddings on the ships, but I always assumed they were like Las Vegas where they were drive through weddings. One of the couples on our Facebook group (471 people) only had about 8 friends and family on the cruise. They decided to invite everyone they had been chatting with for months. About 40 people showed up and made a nice wedding. They had it in the Blue restaurant and it was setup for a wedding. The ship captain was there to perform the ceremony. He was there early, and we got to chat with the ship captain, the groom and best man while waiting for the ceremony to begin. It ended up with everything you expect from a wedding except for the reception. They had the wedding, did the cake then did pictures. Most of us ended up going to the Martini Bar to have our own reception.

Summary: Food Expectations can be out of line with your life This is a blog about my cruise experience. Today the quality of food came up with 3 different people/groups in discussions I was in. The first was a man in his early 50's that came sat next to me at the Martini Bar. This was his first Celebrity cruise and he asked me what I thought about the food. Before I could answer he told me that he felt the food was subpar, and he thought Celebrity food was much better. The I had dinner with two couples that were in their 80 that have been cruising forever. They asked where I ate my Thanksgiving meal and when they found out I was at the specialty restaurant they both had the opinion that specialty restaurants were not worth the cover charge. The last one was a just now I had 3 girls in their teens that was asking me where to find good food in-between meals. Now I am going to share my opinion on food on cruise ships and this cruise ship. They way I look at food on a cruise ship is the food better than what I get at home. Sence I am the cook at home most of the time it is yes. The second level is the food better than what I get at Denny's or the local restaurant. It is like looking at Pizza; I like Little Cezar's but I also like Me N Eds Pizza, but I do not expect them to taste the same. Overall, the food on the Celebrity Beyond is very good. I do not cruise for the food, but it is much better than I would eat at home or get on most other cruise lines. Someone pointed out that you do not have to pay and upcharge and eat at Specialty Restaurants, but would you eat at a 4- or 5-star restaurant back at home for $40 or $50. Last night I had dinner at a restaurant that would cost me $150 or more back home and it only cost me $35. Back home I would not be eating at a 5-star restaurant because of the price but on the cruise ship I can because I only see the upcharge. I know the other meals are free, but I choose not to look at it that way. The hamburger place by the pool is very good. I would rather have an In-N-Out Burger, but they do not have it on the ship. The one on the ship is about the same as I can cook at home, and I am happy with that. The pizza place is both really bad and really good. I have been there in the middle of the day and the pizza had sat there for 20 minutes and it turned to soft flappy cruise. For a think cruise handmade pizza that is not good. I showed up at 12:30 am two nights ago and got one just out of the pizza oven and it was the best pizza I have had in a very long time. Today I went by there at the start of lunch, and they pre-made pizza's getting ready for the start of lunch rush. I knew better than to get it. Instead, I asked them to create me one with all the meats from the for different pizzas they were cooking. I sat and waited for them to make it and had a great pizza for lunch. I have had really good food at the main dining rooms. The main dining rooms are different from what I am used to. There are four of them and each one is the same and different at the same time. They all have a few items that are just for that restaurant but then 80%of the menu is the same in all of them. I have found from past experience to ask the waiter. The first night I thought I knew what I wanted but when I asked the waiter her steered me away from the items and we selected something else that was very good. Tonight, I did the same thing and the waiter told me I had great selections. The appetizer was not very good but that is because it was octopus and I found out I do not like octopus. The main dish was lamb shank, and it was very good. The problem I see with most people that are unhappy with cruise food is they have very high expectations and they do not help at meeting them. They want to sit down and get served 5-star food prepared the way they like it. In my opinion most people would be much happier if they lowered their expectations and worked with the cruise to find high quality food that they like.

Summary: First Impressions When I got to the Fort Lauderdale Port (Port Everglades) both the Celebrity Beyond and Celebrity Ascent (Maiden Voyage) were in port. I was shocked how the Beyond looked so much bigger than the Ascent. My curiosity made me look it up and the tonnage is almost the same and the maximum passengers is on 700 smaller. I took a look at my pictures and figure it is because the Beyond has the bar hanging off the side and the shape of the ship is different. Walking around the ship the first day many of the things and places looked familiar even though I have never been on the ship. I have only been on the Celebrity Millenium and Celebrity Reflection and both of them are older ships. The cruise line has done a good job of updating the ship but keeping a familiar feeling. Now for anyone that has never been on a Celebrity ship. Their ship does not have toys to play with. they do not have water slides, rock climbing walls and waive runners. They have things like the Martini Bar. Everyone hangs out and listens to the live music. The bartenders are the best on the ship and entertain you while you meet new people and relax and enjoy. I was surprised that the casino was not real big, but it looked just like the one on the Reflection. The one big difference that I noticed and really like is guest Relations is not a big desk with everyone behind it. It is a bunch of small desks with people stepping out to help you. it is more personal and less intimidating. The food has been everything from good to great. The buffet has been OK and I stay away from it except for breakfast. The main dining room was pretty good, but I have only been there one night. The hamburger place next to the pool has been very good but I have been a good boy and eat the hamburger patty with no bun. I limit myself to a few French fries. last night I had Dinner at Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud. It was every bit of a 5-star restaurant. I love everything they brought me. I was trying to decide between 2 deserts, and they brought me 3 deserts. I will be back there a couple more times and take some pictures. Now it is time for dinner... see you later tonight.

Summary: Sleep does wonders I am sorry for taking until the third day to update my trip. I have taken a 2 to 3 hour nap every day. I have also got 8 to 10 hours sleep every night. I have kept my alcohol to one drink a day and drank lots of water. I have not been doing lots of the events (trivia, game shows...) that I normally do. Now today I feel like a real person. I figure I was on autopilot and was going through the steps. Now do not get me wrong, I was not doing my job or coaching subpar, but my entire life revolved around work and water polo. I have gone 4 days without working and I have not done that in a lot of months. Now I would like to give you some advice from someone that knows nothing. Break your routine up with something different. If you are working make sure you take a weekend day and get away and do something you normally would not do. If you are retired make sure you break up your routine. Go visit your family that you have not seen in a while. Go someplace that you would never go by choice. Take your spouse on a real date (drive in theater and make out). The main idea is do something to break your routine up. now on to the ship experience

I will be creating a Cabin review video in a couple of days. I will post it on this blog but until then I would book this cabin in a heartbeat.

After taking a nap today and decompressing a little i am coming to realize you are correct. To many hours and no decompression time. I have done Thanksgiving on Norwegian and Royal, and their Thanksgiving is turkey and ham but no pumpkin pie. They were prepared like a chief trying to be fancy and not trying to be as good as moms Thanksgiving meal. I am hoping Celebrity does a better job.

Summary: Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda I am not going to talk much about the ship tonight because I have not had time to explore and experience. What I will talk about and show pictures is my cabin. I have got to spend time in my cabin and get a good nap this afternoon. I have an Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda. For a solo cabin it is very big. The only thing it does not have is a couch. I do have a balcony in the room that opens the room up. Celebrity is an upscale cruise line, and you can tell that by the cabin. I have 2 USB plugs next to my bed. At the desk is a box with 3 different power plugs and 2 USB plugs. The bed is nice and sleep well. I want to take the pillows home. They are big enough and are schrunchable. Later in the cruise I will be creating a Cabin Review Video and will share it with you. Note: The nap helped, and I am starting to realize my funk is caused by being overworked. I have done 6 months of 60-hour work weeks and the last 3 months with 25 to 30 hours of Water Polo coaching on top of that. I think I am just tired and need this cruise to decompress.

Summary: Not a bad day and great cruise port I checked before I went to sleep and the Lift from my hotel to the cruise port was only $8 and the shuttle was $15. I set my alarm for 10 am to give me an hour to clean up before checkout time. Now I did something every experienced cruiser knows not to do but I did it anyway. I packed my bag in packing cubes and did not leave cloths for my second day easy to get to. All of my shirts were in packing cubes at the bottom of the suitcase. I got to unpack everything to get one shirt that I could wear to the port. I scheduled my Lyft ride, and it showed up in 5 minutes (I picked the discount for waiting) and it was a very nice car and great driver. It took us about 10 minutes to get from the airport area to the Port Everglades port. At the port entrance we got in a line that was very slow. When we got the person at the gate we were asked for ID. The driver showed him his ID and I showed him my sea pass. that was not enough for him. I had to get in the car trunk and get my passport out of my backpack. Once at the Celebrity Cruise terminal 18 (the Ascent had 25) everything went really smooth. The people working the terminal were great and very polite and helpful. I got there at 11:30 am and almost was able to walk on. We just had a 5-to-10-minute wait in the main waiting room. Something I thought about... I think the workers are very polite because most of them are retired and do not have the stress of working life and enjoy what they are doing.

Summary: No sleep but great trip It took all night Monday night, but I got packed. it was the heaviest suitcase I have had so far on any of my trips. it is a small, checked bag and it was 42 lbs. I pretty much packed everything I own that can be worn in public that my 27-year-old would approve. The flight and transportation were the best of any trip so far. the only issue is my sons new Camero. It is a brand new 2024 Camero and he wants to drive it everywhere. The trunk is big but has a small opening. The bag just barely fit in. When I got to the airport there were no lines anywhere. Once on the airplane I was in Main Plus seats, and I had a 3rd grader in my middle seat. That gave me lots of room and gave me someone that I could talk to (I coach elementary and high school water polo). On the second part of my flight, I had the Main Plus seat and there were only 2 of us in the row of 3 seats. At the Fort Lauderdale airport I got my bag and as soon as I walked out the door to see where to find my hotel ride; to my surprise the van was right there with the hotel name on it. I got to the hotel about 10 pm and got to sleep for the first time in two days.

I leave tomorrow morning on a B2B Celebrity Caribbean Cruise. The booking is in a Solo Balcony cabin with premium everything and shore excursions in every port. It was an unbelievable deal that had premium everything and $1,500 OBC. I am a 63-year-old single man that has about 30 cruises under my belt. I cruised the first 10 with my first wife. I cruised the next 12 with my son as a Single Parent. The next 6 were as a Solo Cruiser and the last 6 have been a mixture of Solo and with my 26-year-old son. I have always loved cruising and loved planning them and going on them. I am past my planned retirement date and have a new plan on retiring November 2024. My work keeps making me offers where it is hard to retire. After I retire, I am planning on doing a lot of travel and cruising. For now, I work 60 hours a week and Coach Water Polo in my free time. Now you are wondering about my title... For the last few months, I knew it was coming and I leave tomorrow, and I really don't care. I am not excited and do not know what to expect. It is not that I do not want to go but I am not looking forward to the cruise like I have on all my others in the past. I go to the airport in 9 hours and have not packed yet. I did print my documents and cleaned out my backpack but have not packed anything back in it. I am setting her thinking I need to pack and get ready to leave but it is hard to get moving. I am writing this blog in hopes it will: Help me get excited. or Give me something to do. or Both If you would like to follow and see how it goes, I will keep you posted. Traveling Mike Celebrity Beyond November 22, 2023 - 9 Night Aruba, Curacao & Cayman Cruise December 1, 2023 - 10 Night Ultimate Southern Caribbean

What ship were you on? Carnival of the Seas?

I like doing the research and I know what I want so I have used Costco Travel the last 5 years. Costco Travel gives you a Costco Car when you finish your cruise. They also have some cruises with extra perks. All of the travel agents are paid by the hour, so they do not mind spending all day with you. If there is a issue it is easy to get to a manager to take care of you. What you do not get is someone that will recommend where to go and what to do. Some of the agents are very experienced and other do not know anything about cruising. They are also big enough to have direct computer connection to the cruise lines to make most of the bookings and changes themselves.

My favorite ship so far has been the Disney Magic. My favorite RCL ship has been the Sympathy of the Seas. I might be persuaded because I was on it when it was 1/2 full. Picking a favorite ship is hard. Picking a favorite cruise is easier.

I like smaller ships like Mariner for long cruises like Trans-Atlantic cruises. More intimate and I see the same people for my 14-day cruise. I like larger ships with lots of things to do on my 7-day cruises. More to do and see. I am not as concerned about meeting new friends. I try to stay away from 3- and 4-day cruises; they are just too short. Note: Be prepared that Galveston port is 1 hour drive from the airport. There is lots of transportation, but it is much different than Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

prices have gone up so much that Black Friday sales don't seem like sales. 30% off now is 30% higher than last year.

Tonight in the live YouTube they talked about when a ship was Dry Docked. @Matt told them they could Google and find it. I was working on the computer anyway and did the Googling. Now I just need all of your people that really know fix the ones I have wrong. Then Matt and post it and keep it updated. Or we can just keep it updated here as a RCL group.

Don't worry about it being discussed. I don't mind saying I do not want to spend my money in a city that does not want me. There is enough cities and countries that would love to have my money.

I do not wear suits. Back 17 years ago they made you wear suits or tuxes on formal night. In the last 10 years it has not been forced. There are some couples and family that get all dressed up. I put on dockers and a nice polo shirt and call it good. On normal nights I wear blue jeans and a polo shirt to dinner.

this review came from Adventure of the Seas - Deck 3, Cabin 3604 and 3612 Ocean View - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community I had 3610 on Explorer of the Seas (sister ship) and liked the location. The hallway is a dead end, so no through traffic. The line for the dining room in the evenings would go past my door, but it cleared quickly. No noise from above other than a trash can (or something similar) fell over one night in rough seas. The only persistent noise was a low pump noise at night. I just wore my ear plugs. It may have only been my cabin as well. I wouldn’t hesitate to book that cabin again. This review came from (1) Facebook A few weeks back I posted pictures of cabin 3612 on Explorer of the Seas. Here is my review of the ocean view stateroom. People say all the time that you HAVE to have a balcony room for an Alaskan cruise. I disagree. I love how roomy this stateroom was with the beds separated. I could see enough from the windows to know whether or not I wanted to run up to the deck. The window was big. We collected our towel animals and set them up in the window as seen here for size perspective.

I am not a B2B expert, but this is what I know from one B2B and one S2S cruise. On my first one it was a side-to-side cruise (kind of). I went on the Sympathy of the Seas out of Miami and then on the Celebrity Reflection out of Fort Lauderdale. I made sure both companies knew of the other cruise. On the Sympathy they arranged my covid test (during coved testing times) and then arranged my transportation by bus to Port Everglades. I had to pack everything and go off the ship like a regular disembark. When I got to Port Everglades, Celebrity put me in the suite line so I could board quickly. On the B2B cruise I had a inside cabin the first cruise and a solo balcony the second cruise. I once again made sure they knew I was a B2B cruiser. My cabin steward let me know to leave all my clothes on the hangers and toss everything else in my suitcase and leave it on my bed. After I left, he moved everything to my new cabin and even got everything I forgot in the bathroom. They had me wait with the other B2B people in a bar and gave us snacks. When everything was ready, they had us exit the ship, they gave is our new boarding passes and had us walk right back on the ship.

I think you will love Celebrity and Celebrity is great when it is a group of friends. I see Celebrity as relax and enjoy type of cruise. They do not have all the toys the Carnival or RCL ships have but that is because their clients are more into relax and enjoy your vacation than climb a rock and surf a waive. Good shows and good activities. Everything on the ship is upscale and you see the little things are thought of. Enjoy your vacation

Need to know the ship. With that said, any day on a cruise is better than a day at work. Edit: I feel dumb. Now I see the ship in the title. See my post below for a review of the cabin.

I do not think the other people understood your question. Book the one you have to pay now during black Friday sales. You will get your dinner day and time plus the sale price. Then when you get on the ship add the other two people to your reservation.

We had the same experience in Galveston last April.