Celebrity Beyond

[dkjretired]

Anyone have info on first steel cutting for Beyond.

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

I've been wondering the same thing. It is set to join the fleet in Spring of 2020. That's now just 2 years away. Seems like it should be soon.

[TMLAalum]

I would love for the Beyond to be deployed to the West Coast, Alaska and then to Hawaii and beyond (i.e. Australia & New Zealand.

[vtcruising]

I would love for the Beyond to be deployed to the West Coast, Alaska and then to Hawaii and beyond (i.e. Australia & New Zealand.

I think I would especially enjoy the Infinite Veranda in Alaska.

[C-Dragons]

I posted this on April 5th. Haven’t seen anything else.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2620702

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

Does it seem odd to anyone else that we haven't heard any word on Beyond's construction start? With a Spring 2020 sail start time frame shouldn't they be cutting steel by now? Is Celebrity unsure of the Edge class design?

[TeeRick]

I would love for the Beyond to be deployed to the West Coast, Alaska and then to Hawaii and beyond (i.e. Australia & New Zealand.

 

When parent Royal Caribbean introduced Quantum Class, it entirely devoted one new ship to China/Asia. Just wondering if that strategy will be followed by Celebrity Edge Class as new ships are built.

[Aeault]

I was told the information in the Beyond won’t be published before the Edge voyage because X wants to keep the focus there...

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

I was told the information in the Beyond won’t be published before the Edge voyage because X wants to keep the focus there...

so we won't see any construction pix until Edge sails with paying passengers?

[Aeault]

I can’t speak to that OxFanCruiser....I was only told there won’t be any information about the Beyond so as not to diminish the hype for the Edge.

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

I would love for the Beyond to be deployed to the West Coast, Alaska and then to Hawaii and beyond (i.e. Australia & New Zealand.

with a Spring 2020 start I'd love to see a West bound TA that brings it to Florida, then a Panama cruise to the west coast & Alaska.

[RL1180]

with a Spring 2020 start I'd love to see a West bound TA that brings it to Florida, then a Panama cruise to the west coast & Alaska.

 

Will be nice to be able to do a Panama cruise through the new locks on a Celebrity ship! It's a shame Celebrity hasn't found a solution to the lifeboat issue to allow them to take their Solstice class ships through the new locks.

[kearney]

What is the "lifeboat issue" and relation to the canal? I am not familiar with this. In the past I have heard that some cruise ships are actually too tall to go under some bridge at the end of the canal... not sure which end.

[cruisestitch]

The lifeboats apparently make the S Class ships too wide.

[maggie.1008]

Will the Edge be too high to fit under bridges in Vancouver BC and San Francisco ? I know the Solstice had to be changed to fit. Hoping for West Coast Departures.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

With relation to Beyond’s itineraries - I’d wager on a spring 2020 launch in the UK and then deployed to the Baltics or UK/Ireland/Canaries Cruises from Southampton, with a shift to Civitavecchia for the Mediterranean in fall 2020 followed by a transatlantic to FLL for a winter Caribbean season.

 

As Celebrity have only just upgraded to a second Solstice class in Alaska for summer 2019 (Eclipse replacing Infinity from YVR) and are not maintaining a year round west coast presence I do not foresee them deploying an EDGE class vessel in that region anytime soon. Maybe when EDGE 3 or 4 come online they may swap out Solstice for one of those on her Aus/NZ and Alaska runs, but I’m not holding my breath for that.

[RL1180]

What is the "lifeboat issue" and relation to the canal? I am not familiar with this. In the past I have heard that some cruise ships are actually too tall to go under some bridge at the end of the canal... not sure which end.

 

The lifeboats of the Solstice class hang over the side of the ships, so if there was any contact with the walls of the lock during transit (which is not uncommon) the fiberglass lifeboats would be ruined as they'd take the full brunt of the impact.

 

 

 

The lifeboats apparently make the S Class ships too wide.

Too wide for the old locks, but well within the new lock specifications. Reflection is 38m wide, the new locks can handle ships up to 51m wide.

[TeeRick]

I posted this response previously on the Panama Canal "fit" of S-Class but applies to Edge Class too.

 

I don't think that overhang of lifeboats on S-Class is a clearance issue for the new locks. The new locks have a width of 55m (180 ft) and a length of 427m (1400 ft). Solstice has a beam of 121 ft and Reflection has a beam of 123 ft. So there is close to 60 feet of clearance which certainly would accommodate life boat overhang. New locks are 1400 ft in length. Reflection is 1047 ft, Solstice is 1033 ft. So I think it comes down to the air draft required to go under the Bridge of the Americas. Perhaps Solstice could sneak under with her modified collapsible stacks. Also it is more costly to transit the new locks. Personally for purely historical and engineering reasons I would prefer going through the old locks. That is where the history is meaningful. So we did our transit on M-Class on Infinity- which barely fits with only 2 feet of clearance. That is the way to go IMO!

[RL1180]

I posted this response previously on the Panama Canal "fit" of S-Class but applies to Edge Class too.

 

I don't think that overhang of lifeboats on S-Class is a clearance issue for the new locks. The new locks have a width of 55m (180 ft) and a length of 427m (1400 ft). Solstice has a beam of 121 ft and Reflection has a beam of 123 ft. So there is close to 60 feet of clearance which certainly would accommodate life boat overhang. New locks are 1400 ft in length. Reflection is 1047 ft, Solstice is 1033 ft. So I think it comes down to the air draft required to go under the Bridge of the Americas. Perhaps Solstice could sneak under with her modified collapsible stacks. Also it is more costly to transit the new locks. Personally for purely historical and engineering reasons I would prefer going through the old locks. That is where the history is meaningful. So we did our transit on M-Class on Infinity- which barely fits with only 2 feet of clearance. That is the way to go IMO!

 

The problem isn't that the overhanging lifeboats make the ships too wide, it's that if the ship makes contact with the lock wall the relatively fragile lifeboats will be crushed. The new locks do not use the same setup of 6 line handling locomotives on tracks to keep the boats centered in the locks, they use two tugs (one for, one aft) which have much less lateral control over the ship while it's in the locks.

 

While it might be relatively rare for the ships to make contact, the cost to replace the lifeboats and the fact it would end the cruise means Celebrity won't take the risk without other measures in place. This comes right from the Captain on the Reflection a couple of years back, and from 2 officers on the Infinity during a canal cruise.

 

There was apparently some discussion of using some form of large bumpers along the sides of the ship to create a point of first contact further outboard of the lifeboats, however that comes while a whole slew of logistical issues.

[hcat]

We went through the original locks with the little trugs/land tugs.,,on Brilliance of the Seas. Under guidance from the pilot, it touched and the side of the ship was scraped...Our Captain was seriously miffed..,Next day crew was out there on scaffolds painting the scrapes.. Very tight

 

No experience yet with the "new canal"

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

I remember hearing at a cruise fair that there is some rule, (details very sketchy) that if a cruise line has ships small enough to go thru the old locks then they can't use a bigger ship in the new locks. .... or something like that.... again very sketchy of the exact details. But they did say that the industry is working hard to have the rules changed.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I remember hearing at a cruise fair that there is some rule, (details very sketchy) that if a cruise line has ships small enough to go thru the old locks then they can't use a bigger ship in the new locks. .... or something like that.... again very sketchy of the exact details. But they did say that the industry is working hard to have the rules changed.

 

The general rule is if a ship can fit in the old locks then it will be scheduleduse them ..... that said, on a specific day the canal authority could require a vessel scheduled for the old locks to use us e the new ones if there was vessel traffic/congestion that warranted it.

 

There is no restriction on lines sending only specific vessels through the canal. If the time/date they want is available for the appropriate sized locks and the vessel will meet all other guidelines for clearance, then they can send any ship in the fleet ... provided they pay their Bill $$$$$ lol

[TeeRick]

The problem isn't that the overhanging lifeboats make the ships too wide, it's that if the ship makes contact with the lock wall the relatively fragile lifeboats will be crushed. The new locks do not use the same setup of 6 line handling locomotives on tracks to keep the boats centered in the locks, they use two tugs (one for, one aft) which have much less lateral control over the ship while it's in the locks.

 

While it might be relatively rare for the ships to make contact, the cost to replace the lifeboats and the fact it would end the cruise means Celebrity won't take the risk without other measures in place. This comes right from the Captain on the Reflection a couple of years back, and from 2 officers on the Infinity during a canal cruise.

 

There was apparently some discussion of using some form of large bumpers along the sides of the ship to create a point of first contact further outboard of the lifeboats, however that comes while a whole slew of logistical issues.

 

OK if you have this directly from the ship's officers. But it is hard to understand the logic by Celebrity here. Other cruise ships with overhanging lifeboats have been transiting the new locks with no issues.

[RL1180]

OK if you have this directly from the ship's officers. But it is hard to understand the logic by Celebrity here. Other cruise ships with overhanging lifeboats have been transiting the new locks with no issues.

 

It may also be the location of the boats on the ship. You're right, both Princess and Carnival have ships transiting the new locks with overhanging life boats, however those ships seem to hang their boats between decks 7/8 vs deck 5/6 on the Celebrity ships. Perhaps the higher mounting gets the lifeboats above the highest level of the locks?

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

judging by the up close photos that Lloyd has posted. the lifeboats don't seem to be hanging over the sides. They appear to be over the lower / wide part of the hull.