Feb 14

Feb 14 Day 3 - A Valentine's Day At Sea

Today is Valentine’s Day and Celebrity Beyond is sailing to Costa Maya, Mexico. Days at sea are typically our favorite as we can spend the day enjoying all that the ship has to offer. The only downside to a sea day is that everyone is onboard and venues can get pretty crowded, especially when we have more than 3,000 guests on board this week.

We are getting used to the idea of not having a traditional balcony. However, if you are a sun lover and want to work on your tan, you won’t get much sun love from an Infinite Balcony because, basically, it’s a window. Granted, a very nice, large window, but a window nonetheless.

So why did Celebrity decide on so many Infinite Balcony staterooms instead of traditional balconies? I recall a Captain one time telling us that one of the greatest sources of drag on a large cruise ship were the partitions that separate each of the balconies. When you think of it, it makes sense. Each one of those partitions can catch the wind and create drag, which can affect fuel economy. By replacing balconies and their partitions with a smooth surface like flat windows, you can reduce the drag and improve fuel economy. Of course, this is only my theory.

After my morning coffee and blogging at Café al Bació (above), we head back to The Club for this morning’s General Trivia with Bruno. Celebrity definitely has the most difficult trivia questions of any cruise line.

We wanted something very light for lunch today so we thought we would try Raw On 5 and maybe have some sushi. We are planning on a large dinner this evening at Rooftop Garden, so I needed something light. Also, a little known fact is that I am in the middle of an intermittent fasting regimen right now and I need to wait until 1:30pm to eat (I have to wait at least 16 hours after my last meal).

We were surprised to find that Raw On 5 was full and that reservations were being taken for lunch. The hostess did help us out and was able to get us a nice table for two, but honestly, you should plan on making reservations here. We shared an order of Edamame and I had a spicy tuna roll and both were delicious. I will go into more detail about Raw On 5 in my dining video at the conclusion of this sailing.

After lunch, we had some time before our next activity to do a little souvenir shopping at The Collection shop. We really want the ship model ($65) to use as a prop for our studio, but not sure how we will get it home since we only brought carry-on luggage. We may have to do some creative packing.

One of the highlights of this Valentine’s Day was a huge vow renewal ceremony that was held on the pool deck. The ceremony was conducted by Captain Kate McCue and hundreds were on hand to renew their wedding vows.

Before dinner this evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset cocktail at Sunset Bar (Deck 15 aft). If my memory is accurate, this area seems to be larger on Beyond than on Apex (someone help me out here).

For Valentine’s Day dinner tonight, I chose Rooftop Garden (Deck 15 aft, just forward of Sunset Bar) because it was one of our favorites on Celebrity Apex last year.

As with some other spaces on Beyond, it seems like Rooftop Garden Grill is smaller than on Apex, perhaps to make more space for a larger Sunset Bar? We arrived on time for our 7pm reservation and the restaurant was already pretty full. At first, we were seated at a table for two, which was nice, but was catching a lot of wind. We asked to be moved to another table and the hostess happily moved us to a four-top table in a more sheltered location.

Rooftop Garden Grill has an open kitchen where you can watch your meal being prepared. One of my favorite things here is the chicken wings, and I ordered them two ways. Half of the wings are tossed in a buffalo hot sauce and the other half in a sweet and spicy dry rub.

Of course, we will do a thorough review of Rooftop Garden Grill in our dining review video, so make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel (@cruisereport).

When we returned to our stateroom tonight we were pleasantly surprised to find a rose on Rickee’s pillow for Valentine’s Day.