Beyond Feb 12th-19th / Non Suite

[cw2go]

 

I am going to do my best to share my first hand observations and experiences from our recent Beyond sailing. 

 

Last cruise was pre-covid shut down May 2019

Married 55 and 58 years old 

25 plus cruises, mostly with Celebrity & RCCL  (1each Princess & Carnival)

First time Edge Class / Sailed in an Infinite Veranda mid ship deck #8223

Embark arrival time was 11am dropped our bags off in our stateroom at 11:30am - The smoothest process ever! 

Self Disembark 7:30am we were at FLL airport and through security at 8:15am - Wish I could always plan on this! 

 

I started reading CC much more often than I had previously to gather up to date info for this sailing. (probably too much 🙃)

 

I will say there were days I asked myself why I was even stepping foot on a ship again and then in the same day, I'd swing to the opposite with I can wait to hear the ding. I was all over the map with this one. To be honest, I almost pulled out.

 

So here are my points of view on some of the main hot topics. I will try to be precise and on point. 

 

Stateroom:

Our attendant did a great job!

We loved the room! The IV was exactly as we expected and the room darkening screen was wonderful. It was quiet, no banging noise even on the roughest day.

Not much I can add to this subject other than for us, we'd sail with a traditional balcony or IV in the future... not a deal breaker. 

 

Entertainment:

They had multiple pool activities with a great turn out. It was a fun festive vibe BUT it was so sporadic with timing. The ship would be all a buzz and then just completely tank. Long lulls! 

Martini Bar, same issue. The band and or DJ would play their typical set, on a few occasions the dance floor would be packed only for them to then go to a very low key beat, you'd literally watch the space empty. The entertainment needs to "Read The Room"

FTR this was with all the bands/DJ, not singling out any one in particular. 

The Bar tenders would do their show nightly, the crowds LOVED it, lasted for a total of 2 minutes max, I understand they can't go on and on but the vibe following their upbeat tempo fell flat behind them. 

The broadway shows talent was what you'd expect on a cruise ship. I did see Elements, concept was cool but the choreography imo was choppy and they were belting the songs to the point our I-Watches were alerting us of the decibel levels. I did not enjoy it at all but a couple I met while on board said they enjoyed it although she had to plug her ears. 😂

Pool Deck dance party was super fun but only lasted an hour. 

Silent Disco was a huge hit, many people raved about this event. Had it twice on our sailing. 

Never made it to see the comedian or game shows. 

Eden had wonderful Duos often. The cellist was amazing! My Dh enjoyed the acoustic guitar ensembles. 

Capt Kate had a vowel renewal on Valentines. She was attempting to have the largest ever at sea, don't think she made her goal. 

Seemed to us that Celebrity is trying to provide variety to meet multiple demographics so for what one will like, another won't and vise versa. 

 

 

Bar Service:

NOT A SINGLE COMPLAINT! 

I never ever ever had any issues getting a drink from any of the bars during the day or during any of the nightly activities. 

While sitting in the Martini Bar lounge area one night before dinner for approximately 20 minutes, I had 3 different waiters offer to get me beverages. I even looked at my DH and said they want us drunk with a chuckle. 😜

Drinks Of The Day were served, boarding day it was called "Something" Peach. (maybe passion?) Each day was a different color. 

Grand Cayman Day, I was very aware of the previous sailings hiccups so was super intrigued on how this would be handled. For this sailing, only the pool bar was open. There were wheelie carts and bar servers all over the pool deck. There was never much of a line, seems Celebrity has gotten a better handle of this situation. 

The servers and bartenders were always super friendly and seemed happy to get my DH any beer he chose even when they had to go to another bar for supply. 

We had the best bar service on this cruise than we have had on any other ever. 

 

Dining: 

NOT A SINGLE WOW! 

I had MTD and can confirm without any doubt what has been posted here is absolutely 100% true. On Beyond there is no reservation holding system and no traditional dining times. Regardless of what your TA or the Cel Call Centers or your Cruise Contract states,You Simply Show Up.

I never saw a line more than 3 deep and those moved quickly. I did see one couple on one occasion with a pager and that was at 8pm. IMO It was all quite efficient.

We dined in Normandie and Cypress, the meal was "Just Okay"

The service was weak at best. I was being patient and I knew they were hustling but after sitting for 25 minutes, waiting for a beer and water, I became a tad miffed. Once our waiter finally came to our table, I looked at him and said "Where is your help" I did not yell or speak down to him but I did have a tone. That's how my DH describes it. 😉 He then said she's over there and took off... This is where things quickly turned around. The Assistant Waiter came over and she 100% admitted she forgot about us and was sorry. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to hear her own it! She didn't blame anyone else or seek excuses. She just forgot she had our table. We were then served our dinner and the meal went on. Our waiter did apologize at the end of the meal and said they will try to do better next time. I felt his response was adequate.

 

Now for Specialties, I fear the repercussions of posting this but here goes...

Le Grand Bistro... Nice lunch. DH's burger was amazing. Creme Brulee' not sure what happened to the vanilla bean?  Tasted like egg custard, quite disappointing. 

Eden...  "Just Okay" it's a one and done. 

Le Voyage... A waste of calories and money. Wish we didn't go. Live and learn! 

Rooftop Garden Grille... Really good. Service was great and the vibe was relaxed and happy. Probably didn't hurt that the Super Bowl was on. Sorry Eagles Fans!  

Fine Cut Steakhouse... Our favorite meal! I raved about the Brownie dessert. I know, who goes on a cruise for a basic brownie sundae and the fact that it was my favorite dessert speaks volumes. 

 

What I leraned is that we prefer our food on the more simpler side. I am well aware that in this category I am the minority, many rave about Eden so I was surprised that I was so underwhelmed. In fairness my DH has seafood allergies so he is more limited than myself but I was not nearly as happy with the Infamous Crab Cake as I hoped to be. 

 

Lemon Tarts... WHY WHY WHY??? They are NOT the same!!! 

If this is not a snafu for this sailing only, we may have some serious contemplating to do regarding all of our future cruises.

All jokes aside...  As soon as I saw them I said they're all wrong. The meringue on top was an egg white foam. The crust crumbled to touch, literally fell apart in your fingers. The curd was grainy. Please tell me this is not a new recipe!

Did Celebrity pull back on the butter and eggs or was this a fluke? Hoping for the latter! 🤞

 

 

Buffet...UGH... as promised I did take a look and did report my opinions, As posted here many times its perfectly fine for breakfast and lunch... BUT... dinner was just awful! I'd have been embarrassed to be the ships chef serving those options. They had a stir fry station and pasta bar, the meatballs looked to be 3 days old. I am not kidding! My DH said he saw better in a ships mess hall. They advertised a Potato Bar, they were the size of eggs. Okay a slight exaggeration but for real, super small. No grill station. It was so dark and unwelcoming. I saw approximately 150-200 people. Some were crew. 

Disclaimer, I only explored the OVC during dinner twice. 

 

We treated this cruise as a floating resort, only got off in Cozumel. We met many wonderful people!

For those who joined me at sail-away, it was nice meeting you. Maybe one day our sailing paths will cross again. 💞

 

Bottom line... We had a great time! 

We escape Ohio every winter just to find some sun and fun. 

We cruise to Alaska to fill our inner adventurer spirit. 

We sail Europe to soak in some history. 

 

Even with the cut backs, Celebrity is still the best fit for us to accomplish what we desire. Food was a big let down but it's not the only reason we choose to go. At this time we plan to continue with all of our booked cruises. 

 

 

Hope this helps those of you who are leaving soon, 

Patty 

 

 

 

[davekathy]

Thanks for sharing and taking is along on your cruise. 🍷

[mac_tlc]

Thanks for the review! We were on Beyond two weeks before you. I find it interesting to read other peoples opinions. Our specialty restaurant experiences were almost exact opposite of yours 😂. Fine cut was a disappointment, not because of the main course, but the dessert. We had the wonderful sundae on the Edge last year and couldn’t wait to have it again. Big miss for us — no hot fudge, no whipped cream, minimal almonds. The waiter came by and saw that we were not eating it and asked why —- we told him, they made another one , same result. 
 

We loved Eden, albeit we do not have any seafood allergies. 
 

We were mesmerized at times by the screens in the main theater. Wow. 
 

Seems like our reasons for cruising are similar, and we still have Celebrity at the top of our list. 
 

Thanks again,

 

mac_tlc

[cw2go]

On 2/21/2023 at 2:20 PM, mac_tlc said:

Thanks for the review! We were on Beyond two weeks before you. I find it interesting to read other peoples opinions. Our specialty restaurant experiences were almost exact opposite of yours 😂. Fine cut was a disappointment, not because of the main course, but the dessert. We had the wonderful sundae on the Edge last year and couldn’t wait to have it again. Big miss for us — no hot fudge, no whipped cream, minimal almonds. The waiter came by and saw that we were not eating it and asked why —- we told him, they made another one , same result. 
 

We loved Eden, albeit we do not have any seafood allergies. 
 

We were mesmerized at times by the screens in the main theater. Wow. 
 

Seems like our reasons for cruising are similar, and we still have Celebrity at the top of our list. 
 

Thanks again,

 

mac_tlc

 

Thank you @mac_tlc I followed your posts closely the weeks up til my sailing and I 100% agree reading different perspectives give us all better expectations. Hopefully on your next cruise Fine Cut gets your Brownie Sundae right! 😁

 

Celebrity has made quite a few changes that I honestly believe they should re-evaluate, time will tell. Not deal breakers for me but I can see why they might be for others. 

 

I set sail this July and then again in August, looking forward to my upcoming adventures. 

 

Patty 

 

 

[rugby guy]

We had a similar experience with waiter(s) on the Edge last year 2 nights of very slow service. We ended up picking one MDR spoke to maitre de and made a resrvation at the same table for the same time each night. What a difference got to know the waiter, his assistant and the somalier and srvice was back to what I expect from celebrity. I think the 4 dinning room is good in principle but in practice you don't get the same staff each night and IMHO leads to less satisfactory service. A lack of staff may also have been a bit of a problem.