On the beyond

[Cookie002]

Hi everyone

 

just wanted to drop a note as I am currently on the beyond and I have a few things to say.

 

This ship is gorgeous. The staff are amazing and the food is unreal. I have sailed on Oceania, and the food at Eden and Raw on Five blows them out of the water. I can’t wait until we try the steak place.

 

We are staying at the retreat level, and while food is fine, it did not knock my socks off at lumier. The service there, however, does. And in the lounge there is almost always delicious things to snack on.

 

But the best service I have experienced in a restaurant was at Eden. Make sure you ask to sit in Kaden’s?   Section. (Got to check her name might) She was fantastic, so enthusiastic, so knowledgeable, so fun. She made it so hard to decide what to have! Honestly an amazing experience from beginning to end. 
 

Our retreat host Sini is the bomb as well, along with Ruskin our room attendant. We have been spoiled. We are in the aft sunset sky suite, and the room is spacious, well designed and so comfortable. Also our balcony with two large padded lounge  chairs, two chairs and a table are everything we could possibly want.

 

The ship only has about 900 people on board, which makes it fantastic for everything except the nighttime clubs- they just don’t get the same vibe with so little people.

 

The retreat pool area is amazing, such comfortable furniture and just a multiple of sitting areas, but I could say the same about the solarium. (Also, all over the ship there are lovely places to sit, all unique and cozy. )

 

Sailed Disney, princess, royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Oceania. Comparing the Level of service, food, friendliness, gorgeousness of the ship and its multiple pool areas, well Celebrity is the best I have been on. Just Wow

 

Dont hesitate to book this ship! I don’t want to get off in Barcelona!

 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Cookie002

[Reesetiff]

Thank you so much for posting. Have great time I’m in a sunset sky suit July 11 and can’t wait

[hcat]

Thanks for posting and the lovely photos.  We are booked in Retreat in Nov.

Have you tried the spa,,?

Is there a Solarium,,?

[Cookie002]

We did try the spa! We had a massage and then bought the day pass for 50% off (if you get a treatment it’s half price)

 

There was no one at the thermal suites, it felt like you had the place to yourself, but we were in port that day, so probably the reason. The thermal area is gorgeous and very zen. 
 

we have been through the solarium area, and honestly it looks and feels like the spa area. Huge space, lots of comfortable loungers, soft zen music in the background. Gorgeous space. Holy cow, this ship is so gorgeous. Also, I feel like there is a particular scent that lightly permeates both the spa and the solarium, and I love the smell. The solarium is an adult only space. They have a lovely little cafe with small bites, we tried it yesterday and delicious.

[ladylemondrop]

And just like that I need to go on this ship….😍

Looks amazing thank you for sharing your lovely photos! Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

[sgmn]

Thank you for your update. We're boarding on the 13th June, though not in a suite. Looking forward to it very much, your positive review is great to hear 

[DarrenM]

Ahhhhhhhhhh

 

So long to wait till our Beyond cruise and all messages like this do is make me wish my life away. LOL

 

Cant wait.

[hobgoblin]

Thanks for posting 

Im going on Beyond mid June to France  and Italy ,did you do same itinerary?

Any comments on shuttles at ports?

Are there extra charges for tips on the speciality dining if you are on package for all inclusive and tips?

[Jopix]

My daughter is onboard at the moment on her honeymoon.  Her husband hasn't cruised before and they are absolutely loving it!

[Lastdance]

Thanks for your comparison and photos.  I also have a Sunset Suite for a '23 TA, along with two other cruises on her that year.  Honestly, I cannot wait to enjoy.  Thank you for posting; I hope the food in Luminae improves!

Edited May 30, 2022 by Lastdance

[moneeman]

Question for anyone.  I have been tracking comments about passenger load since the inaugural cruise (admittedly only 2 or 3 cruises so far), and they have been in the 900 - 1,200 range.  I figured (and still do) that these numbers were held down to help staff get acclimated.  We are on the July 2 sailing.  Any thoughts on how full the ship may be by then?  Or are the small numbers due to COVID rather than staff training?  

[Cookie002]

On 5/30/2022 at 8:50 PM, moneeman said:

Question for anyone.  I have been tracking comments about passenger load since the inaugural cruise (admittedly only 2 or 3 cruises so far), and they have been in the 900 - 1,200 range.  I figured (and still do) that these numbers were held down to help staff get acclimated.  We are on the July 2 sailing.  Any thoughts on how full the ship may be by then?  Or are the small numbers due to COVID rather than staff training?  

I don’t think celebrity is holding down the numbers by 3/4 for training! I don’t know when the crowds will be back, but the tour guides are telling me they expect an explosive summer due to the number of hotel reservations in the big cities. Apparently Florence two star hotels are going for five star prices.

[Cookie002]

On 5/30/2022 at 6:26 PM, Lastdance said:

Thanks for your comparison and photos.  I also have a Sunset Suite for a '23 TA, along with two other cruises on her that year.  Honestly, I cannot wait to enjoy.  Thank you for posting; I hope the food in Luminae improves!

We are not ignoring lumier, and others on the ship that we have met have loved it.

 

I think the issue is, I was expecting Lumier to be bettter than most other restaurants on board. The thing is, my experience, all the restaurants are serving fabulous food with excellent service. I would not book suite level for this restaurant alone, as all of the dining on board it’s excellent quality.

 

That said, I would book retreat level for the service of your retreat host (wish we could bring sini home with us) the spaciousness and design of the room, the lounge and lounge concierge, - I want to say the pool area as well but honestly there is such fabulous pool areas all over this ship it’s hard to say…and the easy access to tendering.

 

we like to try different things, and I wanted to compare the main dining room on X to my experience on Oceania in the main dining room. We went to Cyprus last night. Wow again, food was excellent. Better than Oceania on mho.

 

Not sure where we are eating tonight, might try rooftop, or perhaps the French dining room.

[Cookie002]

On 5/30/2022 at 1:04 PM, hobgoblin said:

Thanks for posting 

Im going on Beyond mid June to France  and Italy ,did you do same itinerary?

Any comments on shuttles at ports?

Are there extra charges for tips on the speciality dining if you are on package for all inclusive and tips?

We started on Rome, went down to Sicily headed up to Italian riviera , then French Riviera then end in Barcelona.

 

The only shuttle we have used so far was in  le Spezia and it was super efficient and no wait as well. Also lovely is the welcome back with cold wet towels and water. 
 

Darn! I did not look closely at the bill to see if the tip was automatically generated. We dine at fine cut the last night so I will try and report back

[Cookie002]

I also wanted to say we went to the casino last night. What a hoot. Joy and I have not been to a casino for 30+ years (a work trip with our hubbies in Las Vegas) and the dealers were so kind and patient At the blackjack table. We were the only two sitting there, and he gave us a little lesson. We left the table up about 15 bucks after trying hard to donate 100 to celebrity….

It was so much fun. If you have never tried playing cards at a casino, and want to try,  go into the one onboard at an off time and enjoy yourselves.

Again lovely experience with lovely staff.

 

If you are wondering with all these glowing reviews if I can post anything negative, I can. The opening act of the comedian on board neither of us liked, and felt vaguely offended.

[mfs2k]

Sounds like a fabulous cruise except for the comedy. 
My wife and I will be in the Retreat on Beyond for 9 nights in Oct/Nov and can’t wait. We reserved Eden twice, Fine Cut once and Le Voyage once. The other 5 nights we’ll bounce between Luminae and the main dining rooms. 
I agree with you regarding rationale for booking a suite. Larger cabin, Retreat deck, host, Retreat lounge and priority access all more important to us than Luminae. 
Thanks for your feedback and suggestions. 

[champagnecruiser]

Cookie002

Could you please tell me who is the Cruise Director currently on Beyond?

Thank you

[momofmab]

Hello!

 

First time on Celebrity - will be sailing on Beyond in January.  I was wondering if there is a plug in the bathroom that one can use to blow-dry, or are we still relegated to the vanity area in the cabin as is the case on most cruise ships?

 

Also, I read somewhere about issues with plugging in blow dryers that have the large cube plugs - not sure if you're a blow-drying person and could comment on that 🙃

 

Thanks!

[Cookie002]

52 minutes ago, momofmab said:

Hello!

 

First time on Celebrity - will be sailing on Beyond in January.  I was wondering if there is a plug in the bathroom that one can use to blow-dry, or are we still relegated to the vanity area in the cabin as is the case on most cruise ships?

 

Also, I read somewhere about issues with plugging in blow dryers that have the large cube plugs - not sure if you're a blow-drying person and could comment on that 🙃

 

Thanks!

This is the plug in the bathroom we have. I use a Dyson, and I use it at the vanity outside the bathroom. Not sure if this helpful or not.

 

The vanity area is quite nice on X, and my bff and I appreciate we have two places to get ready- in the bathroom and in the vanity.

 

BTW I heard that sometimes the dyson does not work on cruise ships, but I have had no issue with mine for the last week.

[Cookie002]

1 hour ago, champagnecruiser said:

Cookie002

Could you please tell me who is the Cruise Director currently on Beyond?

Thank you

Ok I will check. Going up to the lounge soon so I can get answers to everyone’s questions 

[Cookie002]

Tendering in Santa Margarita 

 

wanted to let you all know tendering was super efficient in Santa Margarita. They were using three tenders for maximum efficiency (and honestly, with the number of pax on board this cruise, they could have done two, but they chose not to).

One tender was always at the magic carpet, one tender on route, and one tender always at the dock of saint margarita. You never wait.

 

Also, those who want to do portofino on their own, the dock and ticket buying kiosk for the ferry is right beside where you get off your tender. Super easy to do, and they basically run every hour. 14 euros per person for round trip.

 

And if you want to be very naughty, the Louis Vuitton store is also right where you get off the tender. Prices are cheaper for both Americans and Canadians, but if you want to get the tax back, bring your passport.

 

Ciao

[lola2013]

1 hour ago, champagnecruiser said:

Cookie002

Could you please tell me who is the Cruise Director currently on Beyond?

Thank you

Luigi DelMar has been posting regularly on Instagram from Beyond.  He was the CD when we sailed on Edge in September...absolutely wonderful!

Edited June 1, 2022 by lola2013

[PTC DAWG]

I feel sorry for comedians these days..has to be tough. Thin skin abounds. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[Cookie002]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

I feel sorry for comedians these days..has to be tough. Thin skin abounds. 

This is true. But we have fairly thick skins. Also, in his defence playing in a theatre that can hold thousands and only having 400 pax in the theatre, I felt for him.

 

But his jokes were painful, and a lot of his material you see in memes online. I don’t know how to explain it, but we just left feeling, yuck. Not about a specific thing, just all of it.

 

pretty sure the audience felt the same way based on their response. Again, hard to do a show with so few people in a vast audience, just saying, we did not enjoy.

[Cookie002]

1 hour ago, lola2013 said:

Luigi DelMar has been posting regularly on Instagram from Beyond.  He was the CD when we sailed on Edge in September...absolutely wonderful!

I was sure it was Luigi, but wanted to double check to make sure.