Detailed review with photos of Celebrity Beyond 23rd June - 2nd July Western Mediterranean

[mauimary]

Lunastella… Is there any outside seating off of the Oceanview Cafe so that one could eat outdoors if it’s not too hot?  

[Scottishclover]

Loving your review of the ship, but loving the fashion show even more . You all look so stylish. I would love to do a Med cruise on the Beyond or Edge next year but the heat would worry me. As a fair skinned Scot I just can’t cope with it. Was it unbearably hot when you got off in the ports?

[black forest]

Thanks for this great review so far. Looking forward to the next days….

[sgmn]

6 hours ago, mauimary said:

Lunastella… Is there any outside seating off of the Oceanview Cafe so that one could eat outdoors if it’s not too hot?  

Not Lunastella, but yes there's a nice outdoor area at the back overlooking the wake. Towards the back is also the freshly made pizza area.  You can walk up to the sunset bar from the outside area with nice seating 

[hawkesbaynz]

@Redking I became an awful coffee snob after living in NZ. Instant has not passed my lips in 16 years! Al Bacio serves decent coffee. Is there a mini Al Bacio in the buffet as there is on the Silhouette? 
 

As a Brit and lover of Fush n chips I found the best Battered fish in NZ. The chips were a disappointment. With NZ fish, English chips and Irish tea I would be in heaven! 
 

Enjoying the review Lunastella. Keep it coming. We will be sailing this itinerary in September. Good tip for Marseille. Am think of a self guided tour. Unfortunately it is a Sunday and our preferred Wine Tour is not available. 

[Lunastella]

19 hours ago, Redking said:

@Lunastellaloving your review. Thank you. Over a year until we have the pleasure of the Edge class in New Zealand waters, so living vicariously will keep us going until then. 

 

I see you are also a coffee connoisseur. I find it really disappointing that with all their wonderful venues it's so hard to get a decent coffee on Celebrity. A Barista at Al Baccio once told me it's because they cater to the majority and set the grind too course. It was quiet (is that ever a thing at AB) so she changed the grind for me and it was better. Unfortunately not something they can do every time. Guess we'll need to start a coffee revolution and change the taste of the majority🤣

 

Happy cruising, for next time.

Hi Redking

Cruising in New Zeland is on my bucket list for sure, someday! Completely agree with you regards the coffee. I think I became and even greater coffee snob during lockdown when the highlight of my day was a walk and takeaway coffee.  Thanks for this tip about Cafe al Bacio, I must ask next time!

[Lunastella]

9 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

Loving your review of the ship, but loving the fashion show even more . You all look so stylish. I would love to do a Med cruise on the Beyond or Edge next year but the heat would worry me. As a fair skinned Scot I just can’t cope with it. Was it unbearably hot when you got off in the ports?

 

Hi Scottishclover

 

I'm from Ireland, and very fair skinned, and I survive, I just use alot of suncream. It was about 27 degrees when we were in Barcelona and the South of France but it got up to 32 degrees when we got down to Naples. If you go in May or Sept, I'd say the weather would be perfect.

[Lunastella]

7 hours ago, black forest said:

Thanks for this great review so far. Looking forward to the next days….

Thanks Black forest. Cant believe I am only on Day 2, I better get a move on!

[Lunastella]

 

6 hours ago, sgmn said:

Not Lunastella, but yes there's a nice outdoor area at the back overlooking the wake. Towards the back is also the freshly made pizza area.  You can walk up to the sunset bar from the outside area with nice seating 

 

Yep, as Shmn says, there is outdoor seating in Oceanview, but we didn't use it on this trip.

[Lunastella]

2 hours ago, hawkesbaynz said:

@Redking I became an awful coffee snob after living in NZ. Instant has not passed my lips in 16 years! Al Bacio serves decent coffee. Is there a mini Al Bacio in the buffet as there is on the Silhouette? 
 

As a Brit and lover of Fush n chips I found the best Battered fish in NZ. The chips were a disappointment. With NZ fish, English chips and Irish tea I would be in heaven! 
 

Enjoying the review Lunastella. Keep it coming. We will be sailing this itinerary in September. Good tip for Marseille. Am think of a self guided tour. Unfortunately it is a Sunday and our preferred Wine Tour is not available. 

Hi Hawkesbaynz

 

Yes there is a mini al bacio in the Oceanview cafe, so you can get better coffee there. 

 

Dont get me started on the Irish tea! DM brought her own teabags!!!!

 

Enoy the trip in Sept, you will have a fab time!!!

[Beamafar]

2 minutes ago, Lunastella said:

Hi Hawkesbaynz

 

Dont get me started on the Irish tea! DM brought her own teabags!!!!

 

Don’t all us Irish do that??  🤣🤣

 

Back in the day, my mother used to pack rashers and sausages, too, when going self-catering.   🙄

[Lunastella]

Day 2 - Afternoon/evening onboard

 

How is it 3pm already! Time to chill-out (it’s in the diary afterall). Quick trip to the cabin for bikini, laptop, kindle, music, ipods, iphone….anything else….water, sun cream, sunglasses,…. God a relaxing afternoon by the pool takes some organising.

 

I went to the solarium while DS and DM went to deck 15. I figured I needed  less sun cream in the solarium…can I burn through glass??? Must google it. Once there, I started writing *this review* I was way behind, possible do not trust anything you read up to this point...

 

Let me see, do I have anything else to report from this afternoon… I had some brief reprieves in the pool to cool down…..the solarium was pretty empty…. I looked at some shipping containers……Captain Kate did a ‘horn off’ with a MSC ship when we were leaving port. I think we won?? How does one know exactly?

 

Ah looks like I had a lemondrop at some stage

 

 

I headed back to the cabin at 6.30 to get ready – it was ‘chic’ night and we had a packed agenda ahead of us – production show at 7.30, hopefully meet Capital Kate at the opening of Cartier at 8.30, dinner 8.45 in Normandie, pride party at 10.15. Who said holidays are relaxing!

 

Some quiet time on the balcony first

 

 

Can you believe we actually managed to achieve everything on our agenda! The Spanish champagne (bought in Barcelona) helped us on our way through showering, dressing and obligatory pre-dinner outfit shots on a very windy deck 5. I have to say, our cabin attendant, Munir, is so lovely, very chatty and eager to help. He heard us talking about wine and offered to give us some wine which a previous guest had given to him, so sweet, but we declined as we had our Barcelona haul.

 

DS rocking the curly hair

 

 

Me just rocking (windy out there)

 

 

The show at 7.30 was called ‘Stage Door’ – think West End classics, all singing, all dancing, I really enjoyed it. We sat upstairs and it was easy to find free seats.

 

Show photos

 

 

 

 

We were also introduced to the senior management team by Captain Kate.

 

Captain Kate and her team

 

 

Next up, the opening of the Cartier shop – did we have any intention of buying a Cartier watch? Nope. Did we want to meet the Captain, hell yeah! The first female US captain of a major cruise ship, of course we did. Last year, I set up the Irish Society for Women in Economics to promote the voice and profile of female economists as my industry is pretty male dominated, just like shipping, so I really appreciate the work that Captain Kate does for her industry.

 

The champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries were flowing, nice touch, but I still didn’t buy a watch. However, we did get to meet Captain Kate albeit briefly!

 

Highlight of the trip perhaps!

 

 

We rushed for our dinner in Normandie, the App says it closes at 9am (it was 8.50), but I guess that means last seating at 9 as there were lots of other people heading in at the same time.

 

Normandie

 

 

Also a nice room

 

 

 

 

Dinner was abit of a whirlwind as we were still in a tizzy about meeting the captain, plus the champagne. The food was pretty good, not ‘Eden’ good, but still very acceptable. I had Coquilles Saint Jacques, followed by beef tenderloin en croute (with extra veg on the side, gotta have broccoli every day), and some After-eight ice-cream to finish (I too full and it was too late for a real dessert (ice cream doesn’t count right?)

 

Menu - I got (half) a german menu for some reason...

 

 

 

Coquilles Saint Jacque

 

 

Beef tenderloin

 

 

Ice-cream (best ice-cream onboard)

 

 

The dinner view

 

 

 

More interesting art outside

 

It was just after 10pm by the time we left (we were almost the last people in the dining room). But that means we were just in time for the Pride Party which was taking place in the Rooftop Garden. Initially, there were not too many people on the dance floor, but we gave it our best shot, and slowly more and more people joined the party. We danced away until midnight, there were a lot of flags, a lot of glow sticks, and a lot of fun. As this was an outdoor event I felt pretty safe dancing surrounded by other people. Bed time now….what a day

 

Fun on the Rooftop

 

 

 

[Lunastella]

5 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Don’t all us Irish do that??  🤣🤣

 

Back in the day, my mother used to pack rashers and sausages, too, when going self-catering.   🙄

 

Ha, try getting that through security now!!!

[lilghallinsf]

What a wonderful review!!!  

 

Your writing style is awesome. I would have assumed you were a teacher based on your writing style. But I see you do research papers, etc. 

 

Truly enjoying your review. We would love to do the Beyond, as we have sailed on Celebrity most of our cruising lives. But they prices are far Beyond what we want to invest at the time 

[bartnath]

9 hours ago, Lunastella said:

Captain Kate did a ‘horn off’ with a MSC ship when we were leaving port. I think we won?? How does one know exactly?

Last ship sounding their horn wins per Captain Kate (whom I also had the pleasure of meeting on a prior cruise)

[Lunastella]

21 hours ago, lilghallinsf said:

What a wonderful review!!!  

 

Your writing style is awesome. I would have assumed you were a teacher based on your writing style. But I see you do research papers, etc. 

 

Truly enjoying your review. We would love to do the Beyond, as we have sailed on Celebrity most of our cruising lives. But they prices are far Beyond what we want to invest at the time 

Hi Lilghallinsf,

I'm an academic so I do lecture plus do reserach, you so were right! Thanks for your positive comments about the review. I'm sure prices on Beyond will fall once a new ship come out!

[Lunastella]

13 hours ago, bartnath said:

Last ship sounding their horn wins per Captain Kate (whom I also had the pleasure of meeting on a prior cruise)

Ah I see, thanks!

[Lunastella]

Day 3 - Villefranche, France (South of…but more east)

 

I was awoken at 5am to a very strange sound. Was there a banshee on the water?? Was the ship sinking?? Nope, DS didn’t fully close the fridge and it went into overdrive, although it took us a good 10 mins to figure that out. Fridge fixed but I was already awake and couldn’t go back to sleep. Ah well, perhaps not such a good sleep after all.

 

I got up just before 7am and headed ALL the way across and up to the gym for a short warm-up on the treadmill and a 45min training session via Alice’s app (full body today, what fun!). We were already in port so I could access the App via my 4G (the ship’s basic wifi just isn’t strong enough for Alice). The gym is still pretty quiet this morning.

 

Gym selfie (the only one I promise…probably)

 

 

Today we are in Villefranche (close to Nice, the town that is not the biscuits for those on this side of the Atlantic). Tenders to port were already open by the time I left the gym at 8, via the Spa Café for a takeaway coffee (this was a really good find, the coffee from the machine is actually pretty passable. I never have coffee right after a workout….how has it taken me this long to discover this! DS and DM were already up and chilling on the balcony admiring the views. Villefranche is such a pretty port.  

 

Keen to try all breakfast options onboard, we headed back to the Spa Café at 9 – there is only a limited selection but it was perfect for us after our feast last night – a small fruit plate, half a bagel with peanut butter, banana and blueberries, and a courgette muffin (tastes better than it sounds trust me), and coffee, always more coffee.

 

A lovely spread

 

 

In a lovely space

 

We had intended to meet my DH’s aunt and uncle who were holidaying in Villfranche at the same time (what a coincidence!), but their flight home from Nice was cancelled so they had to take the early train to Paris instead…..at least that was their excuse….. So instead we decided to visit the Jarden Exotique in Eze. We have been to most of the villages in this area before but never been to Eze. Eze it was. Google told me it was a 23min walk, then a 15 min bus ride. Easy…or so we thought.

 

Tender to port  selfie

 

And solo

 

And view

 

 

 

When we reached the port building, I asked about buying bus tickets at the info desk and I was told in no uncertain terms that we could NOT walk to the Eze bus stop – apparently that 23min walk is actually a 45min hike up a mountain with no path…Google doesn’t tell you that! So rather than taking two connecting buses, I checked Uber - €17 for the three of us all the way to Eze sounds like a bargain (the two buses alone would have cost €9). After a 4 min wait, inexcusable, the taxi arrived and we were whisked anyway up, up, and up and across the hills to Eze. The views were stunning along the way. Bono (of U2 fame) has a house somewhere in Eze but I can’t see him here today.

 

The driver left us at the entrance to the old town, then we climbed up through the old village to the gardens (which had to be at the very very top, of course it did!). The entrance fee to the gardens is only €6pp and you can buy the tickets from a machine at the base of the old village which saves you having to queue at the garden entrance.

 

We need to get up there!

 

 

Walking through the old town of Eze (pretty, pretty, pretty)

 

 

 

 

 

But if you have any mobility issues it might be best to give the gardens a miss as there are lots of steps, but as a result, the views from up here are amazing!

 

 

Can just about make out Beyond in the distance

 

 

 

The Jardin Exotique are not your typically French gardens, they mainly contain cacti and succulents. But they are definitely worth a trip, if only for the views!!

 

I have thousands of photos, I wont torture you with them all.

 

Selected few

 

 

 

 

 

Help there is something growing out of my head!

 

 

 

 

 

There are also well-placed sculptures around the gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

DM is very very patient with us when we take photos...

 

please get out of the shot....

 

and keep going...

 

go I'll just change angle...

 

Public health announcement -  there is not a lot of shade up here, so come prepared. I topped up on the suncream along the way and there are fountains with drinking water available in the gardens…although no toilets surprisingly… There are public toilets close to the gardens but they were closed today for some reason. Starting to regret all that coffee….after admiring the gardens, taking so many photos that DM almost gave up on us… I quickly hiked back down to the newer part of the old town to use the public toilets down there (€0.50). DS and DM took a leisurely stroll down. Had I not had to scramble back down through the old town I would have spent more time exploring the little art galleries and shops…um…maybe it’s just as well….my bank account can thank me later.

 

Feeling suitably relieved, I decided to drink some more! We stopped off at a local bar for a cool drink and we make some plans.

 

It was probably a bit early….but the small…tiny really…beer was very refreshing, plus they gave us snacks!

 

Beer and tapenade

 

 

So what’s in the plan??? Where is the schedule??? You may have noticed, but we don’t deal well with spontaneity. Option 1 – a tour of a perfume factory followed by lunch in Eze; Option 2 - back to the ship in time for lunch in Eden café, and then head out later to the beach in Villefranche-sue-mer. We opted for the former or is it the latter, I always get it mixed up. Basically, we decided to head back to the ship. Eze was getting really busy as all the tour buses started to descend. We were glad to get there so early while it was still quiet.

 

After an interminable 4min wait for an Uber….(so efficient) and a slightly dearer trip (€21- supply and demand you know), we were back at the port in about 20 minutes. It looks like lots of others are heading back in and lots of others are heading back out too.

 

Villeranche itself is a lovely town

 

 

Tender waiting for us

 

 

I see a ship

 

 

Did someone mention lunch? 

Our server in Eden on Day 1 told us that the café opens for lunch everyday until 1.30 and I am so glad she did as we never would have figured that out ourselves (well I guess we could have looked at the app, or looked at the daily planner, ok ok we should have figured it out). So Eden it was!

 

While there we took advantage of its emptiness (does no-one else know about this place???) to take some photos of this great space. We discovered so many cool areas to chillout, read a book, watch the sea….definitely coming back here. It reminds me of the Crow’s nest on HAL ships which we love.

 

Eden photo series 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And one more for luck 

 

 

 

In terms of food, there is not a big offering, but they have salads and sandwiches (pre-made or bespoke). DS and I got a lovely gorgonzola salad with loads of leaves!!! Finally! Plus some crusty bread and butter, and a glass of rose, all served in about 1.5mins. DM got a carvery sandwich, possible with roast pork. Amazing service and a beautiful location. We shared some chocolate cake and a mini brownie, they were less good, too dry, but we ate them regardless, of course we did!

 

Lunch

 

 

OK it’s about pool time! Hang on, hang on, you say, what about the beach in Villefranche??? As suspected, all plans to head back out and go to the beach were shelved….I knew this would happen, once back onboard it takes a lot of effort to get off again, plus we are lazy, plus there is no sand in the solarium, plus they have padded loungers in the solarium! No padded loungers on the beach. But boy was it hot in here today, and in the end I gave up and had to find a shaded spot on the pool deck… DS texting me for some pool time, better go….

 

That was refreshing, now more lounging.

 

We headed back to the cabin at about 6.30 to get ready for our dinner in Fine Cut (our second speciality restaurant which focuses on….you guessed it).  

 

We tried to get out on deck to take the obligatory pre-dinner photo shots, but for some reason we couldn’t find a way out! I could have sworn we got out on deck 5 last night….maybe the cocktail (purple rain which we picked up somewhere also the way) was stronger than I thought. Ah well, to the Martini bar instead.

 

Pre-dinner drinks

 

 

 

 

 

At this point I was starving, I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch at 1 and dinner was at 8….7hrs of no food, what happened, I thought I was on a cruise!!!! But my strategy worked, I really was hungry for tonight’s dinner.

 

 

Fine Cut

 

 

 

Our initial table

 

 

Menu

 

 

 

 

We were seated at a pretty dark table initially so I asked if we could move to a window seat….not a problem at all madam…just a few minutes wait madam while clear a table…so friendly, so helpful.  And boy was it was worth the wait for this fantastic view of Villefranche in evening light.

 

Villefranche view 

 

 

DM looking happy

 

 

 

During dinner we set sail and watched as the pilot boat rode alongside us before making a U-turn.

 

Big jump now!

 

 

The food was very good, not quite as good as Eden, but better than Normandie, but still very good. I had tomato and burrata salad to start, followed by a 6oz fillet mignon and we shared sides of asparagus, parmesan fries, and mushrooms. The steak was so tender.

 

Salad

 

 

Steak

 

 

All the sides!

 

 

 

Dessert was the largest ice-cream sundae in history, bigger than DM’s head. I did not finish it.

 

To future self – sharing is caring

 

 

We had a lovely malbec with dinner followed by some dessert wine, but at that stage I was so full I couldn’t even finish it.

 

Dessert wine

 

 

Feeling suitably stuffed, there was no way we could make it to the silent disco (as planned). Instead, I went for a walk on the jogging/walking track.  A couple of other people were up there but I pretty much had it to myself and I enjoyed the night air and the beautiful ship. I would sleep well!

[WorkerBee74]

54 minutes ago, Lunastella said:

 

Bono (of U2 fame) has a house somewhere in Eze but I can’t see him here today.

 

 

Haha!  I was going to ask if you saw him - his place is of course down on the water 😉

 

What an arse that he didn't invite you over for tea! 😄

 

We're sailing the ship named after the BEST member of U2 😁 in October (at least in my world it's named after him haha) so I am absolutely LOVING your review and pics right now... thanks so much!

Edited July 11, 2022 by WorkerBee74

[Scottishclover]

You were right not to walk up to Eze. We were there in April  and had planned to walk up Nietzsche’s path from Eze sur Mer to Eze. We love to hike but even we bailed and walked down instead. It was pretty steep and you really need trainers  - it would be a step to far in Birkenstocks!  Your photos brought back lovely memories. Really enjoying the report. 

[Beamafar]

1 hour ago, Lunastella said:

Today we are in Villefranche (close to Nice, the town that is not the biscuits for those on this side of the Atlantic).

 

My least favourite in the tin of USA (just to confuse our American friends - for a change😁). 

[GeorgesGal]

Loved your photos of Eze, in my mind a mini Mont Saint Michele!  My sister and I did walk up the hill to the bus stop to Eze BUT we did it from Monaco and were half way up at the start.  Paved sidewalks there and only about three blocks - uphill - from our starting point.  Getting to the top of Eze was quite the chore for a couple of old birds but we did make it to see the gardens!

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!

Donna

[kathy49]

Really great day by day report...will be following. Thank you. You ladies know how to travel.

[sunpsyche]

Really enjoying your review and photos. What an entertaining style you have!

[RTR 21-0]

Thanks for and loving your review.  Y’all look like a fun bunch to cruise with!  We have a deck 11 sunset veranda booked on Beyond next May in the Mediterranean and it cannot get here quick enough.  Will be a first on Celebrity and Europe.