Cruise

The New Celebrity Beyond, sailing in comfort and style!

Article and photography by Michael Morcos

If I could sum up the Celebrity Beyond in few words, they would be “a true winner”. This is something that came to me just minutes after boarding this beautiful and modern ship. The Beyond was a delight on its own, as there was not much of a lineup and we embarked quickly, and with great anticipation and a huge smile we quickly made our way on board.

Having seen this beautiful ship and its sister ships in pictures and videos, I had some idea of what to expect, but nothing could be any more exciting than the first glance of the real Beyond. It is a vessel of grandeur. Upon entering, the main floor and its three-story high Grand Plaza stood in front of us, a really remarkable sight, after all this wasn’t an office building or a mall but a steel and glass floating ship!

I can honestly say from my many years of sailing, this is not your grandfathers cruise ship! The industry has made many new and spectacular changes in the past two decades, and with every new generation of ships come plenty of new designs, technology, comforts, and modern fashionable luxuries. Celebrity has now raised the bar with its new era of ‘Edge” class ships to a degree that the competition in its class just might have some catching up to do. Looking at her sister ships, the Encore and Apex, the Beyond is very similar at first glance and maybe even would say it is the same, but the Beyond is slightly bigger with an additional floor on top.

Public spaces

So much wonderful public space and still so little time. There is something for just about everybody, including world class restaurants, lively bars, live performances, pools, gyms, opulent shops, casinos and an unbelievable amount of artwork adorning the ship, so much so that if all put together might rival some small museums.

Theatre

Of all the amazing public spaces on the Beyond, what stood out most to me was the main theater. I was taken away by the beautiful design and complex technical features that made the performances there truly magical and memorable. We would be treated to a couple of entertaining and well-polished shows that could rival any on Broadway or even Vegas! It was difficult to choose which show I liked best: Arte or the Stage Door, but were both great ways to end an evening. Add to this, even more wonderful live entrainment at The Club and you have your fill of shows!

Food & Views

Gastronomy and eating-well go hand-in-hand on cruises. The Beyond will match and just might even surpass the palates of every guest. There is a wide assortment of restaurant choices and eating delights, so much so that on a one-week cruise, it would be impossible to visit all the dining venues. From steakhouses to seafood restaurants, an animated table show, to high class intimate restaurants, the Beyond serves it all!

Our favorite was the Fine Cut Steakhouse where we (thankfully) shared a huge and delicious Tomahawk steak with a wonderful red Cabernet-Sauvignon. The most popular and most visited eatery was the buffet style Oceanview Café, where you will find a colossal size room with just about anything your tummy desires throughout the three daily sittings, and even a little extra in those late hours of the night.

While at sea and surrounded by water, there is no lack of bathing options on the Beyond. With a central main pool, a gigantic and perfectly placed on the top deck, and various smaller pools, including many hot tubs, the choices are plentiful. It is a great place to catch the sun and ocean breeze while resting on fashionable and confortable deck furniture. An alternative on those cool and rainy days is the handsome-looking domed indoor pool.

For me, ground zero was the Grand Plaza that centered on three floors of restaurants, bars, boutiques, and a colossal size chandelier. Lively at most times, this area gave me a compass on where everything else was on the ship.

Not to be missed is the Eden, a three-floor bar/restaurant at the bow of the ship that gave magnificent views of the sea and with so much space that there’s never any problem finding seating. The Magic Carpet that serves as both a restaurant and an embarkation point is another point of interest.

The usual, or should I say, the unusually large training facilities, included a well-equipped gym and many side rooms for fitness classes run by a trained and dedicated staff.

On the topic of unusual, there is an unusually small casino. Just might be the sign of the times where guests are now more interested in experiences rather than on gaming.

Staterooms

Pictures alone would not do justice to our accommodations. I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty and comforts of our stateroom, as they included many of the expected cruising standards but was also wonderfully decorated with a modern theme that stepping in brought an immediate sense of warmth and comfort.

Our room included an infinity balcony, and not being a big fan of these and being more used to full outdoor balconies, I did observe that the room took on a much greater sense of space. With the large two pane vertical windows, there certainly was more daylight entering the room, and while seated would have an unobstructed view to the outside. There was plenty of space for our belongings as well as an easy to use safe, a mini fridge, a charging station for all our devices and a great Wi-Fi signal no matter the position of the ship. The showers were perfect, well designed, clean, highly functional, with great hot water pressure and even environmentally friendly toiletries.

Environmentally friendly

Sure, enough the Beyond is more environmentally friendly than your average city’s public works. I was astonished to find out that nothing more than clean filtered water is released off the ship, which means everything that serves thousands of guests and crew per day is recycled, packed and stored before being transported ashore to planned disposal facilities. The logistics are staggering, several tons of proceeded waste without a single morsel being lost and the Beyond does it to perfection.

Also respectful to the environment, Celebrity has done away with single use plastic bottles and replaced them with aluminum drinking cans. On a less appealing subject, human waste is first filtered, and then compressed, dried to something the size of a hockey puck which can then be discarded or even used as agricultural fertilizer. What will they think of next?

The Beyond is beyond expectations (I finally got to play with words), it is part art and part science and, in the end, they work in perfect harmony. Onwards and Beyond!

www.celebritycruises.com