Live Review, Celebrity Beyond, December 11-18

[Stealthdog]

Getting on the ship seemed a little delayed compared to other recent boardings.  This Celebrity Beyond sailing used Pier 25.  We saw the Celebrity Apex at Pier 25 on our first leg, so Celebrity Edge Class likely uses Pier 25 for all or most embarkations.  Upon arriving, there were signs established asking people to form lines based on posted boarding times.  A worker checked our boarding information (we used app, some had printouts) to make sure we were getting on the right ship, but I think he was also looking at boarding time.

 

We went through the screening really quickly and were seated in a waiting area first come, first serve.  I think we ended up getting on the ship around 1115.  Once you are in the terminal, you can access the Ships Guest Wifi.  This is important because you can do part 1 and part 2 of the safety brief, make reservations at the restaurants with good seating times, and start to add activities to your daily planner on the app.  So, even if you have a little bit of a wait, you can get things done so you don't have to do them on board.  We also made our reservations for the Waterfall excursion for Puerto Plata while we were waiting.

 

You will enter the ship on Deck 5.  A few of the restaurants were open for lunch, including the Mast Grill and Oceanview Cafe.  We don't normally eat at the buffets, but the food options at the Oceanview was impressive, and it wasn't crowded yet because of an early boarding time.

[TravelingCircusof5]

19 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

We were excited about the change from Puerto Plata to Turks and Caicos because we have been to Puerto Plata a few times (both land resort and cruise stop) and have never been to Turks and Caicos.  But, we are doing the excursion at Puerto Plata (some waterfall activity) that I was most looking forward to between the two cruises, so I'm ok with it back on. 

I would have been excited about Turks and Caicos too. Glad you have a great (and flexible) attitude. Have a great time!

[SF]

We board Beyond next Sunday so we're looking forward to following along this week with you as you sail. Interested in knowing if we need any reservations for the evening entertainment. Have a great cruise.

[kwokpot]

34 minutes ago, SF said:

We board Beyond next Sunday so we're looking forward to following along this week with you as you sail. Interested in knowing if we need any reservations for the evening entertainment. Have a great cruise.

There's no Celebrity ship that has reservations for any entertainment, it's first come, first served. 

[deliver42]

We just got off the beyond today, 12/11 and this ship blows every other ship out of the water in my opinion with over 25 cruises across all lines except HAL and Disney. The shows are absolutely spectacular. The food is what  you expect from X. The ship is drop dead beautiful, and the crew outstanding.

[dreamer321]

5 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

Day 1 Daily ...

Thank you for posting the daily planner.  I'm doing the same itinerary on Jan. 22, 2023 and love to obsessively pre-plan everything.  I wonder if port congestion in Puerto Plata will affect my cruise, I hadn't heard of any issues with the two previous Puerto Plata visits Beyond did earlier. 

[YensidCA]

8 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

I wonder if port congestion in Puerto Plata will affect my cruise, I hadn't heard of any issues with the two previous Puerto Plata visits Beyond did earlier. 

 

I just looked at what is scheduled for Puerto Plata for this Friday and then Feb 10, the 3 same ships are in port:
Carnival Horizon - 4,716 passengers
MSC Seascape - 5,877 passengers
Celebrity Beyond - 3,373 passengers

 

In total a maximum of just under 12,000. (if ships were full to capacity)

[Cruzin Canucks]

16 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

Had a little free time before the Spa Raffle, so I thought I'd get the door decorations done early this time.  Changed it up a little from the previous cruise.  Hope the staff enjoys it!

Happy to see someone is in the Christmas spirit.  Rather disappointed the ship isn't decorated for Christmas.   

[hawkesbaynz]

We were at Puerta Plata a fortnight ago on the Oceania Sirena. Only 600 onboard.. We were the only ship in the port where the shopping/restaurant/pool resort complex was. A large NCL ship was further down the coast (?at private beach). We did the canyonning with hopping off waterfalls into pools and sliding down rocks which was fantastic fun. Pleasant beach stop too with food laid on that mildly effected my b...ls.

 

Interested in your comparison with the OOS. We were supposed to sail on the Beyond in September but cancelled due to illness. The OOS maybe a good option for a TA or trip outside school holidays. Decent of you to arrange your holidays with us CC members in mind😁!

[SF]

Surprised the ship isn't decorated for Christmas. Just got off Wonder of the Seas and the ship looked so festive.

[YensidCA]

27 minutes ago, SF said:

Surprised the ship isn't decorated for Christmas. Just got off Wonder of the Seas and the ship looked so festive.

Interesting as I saw a Tiktok post yesterday from Captain Kate back on the ship (she needed cat food) showing the Christmas trees on the Ship. 

Link to her video.

[deliver42]

Captain Kate won't be back until just before Christmas as per Luigi, the CD on the Beyond on the 12/4/22 to 12/11/22 cruise.

[cltnccruisers]

18 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

Had a little free time before the Spa Raffle, so I thought I'd get the door decorations done early this time.  Changed it up a little from the previous cruise.  Hope the staff enjoys it!

This is great.  We have friends on Beyond now.  Tom & Cat.  Cat's 50th b-day today.  Looking forward to following along.

[deliver42]

The ship is decorated for Christmas. Trees and garland.

[Stealthdog]

On 12/11/2022 at 12:34 AM, FireEMT978 said:

Curious, as to what your "Observation" is, as to the average age? I'm going to be 52 on NYE! On, the NYE sailing. I'm really stressing, needing some "Fun" times. Not ready for retirement! NEED adrenaline!

 

 

So far after 2 days, it seems like a slight majority of the passengers are 65+ years old.  But, I am seeing a lot more 30 and 40 year olds than I have seen on other Celebrity sailings.  I have seen 1 infant and 0 children so far.  There are a handful of late teen, early 20 year olds that look to be with families.

 

I'll give a better estimate at the end of the sailing, as well as thoughts on overall evening activities.

[Stealthdog]

6 hours ago, Cruzin Canucks said:

Happy to see someone is in the Christmas spirit.  Rather disappointed the ship isn't decorated for Christmas.   

 

There are holiday decorations spread across the ship, mostly smaller trees and garland.  They don't have the huge trees that you may see on some other ships.  I have not seen any Hanukkah decorations yet.  Here are some pics of the Christmas decorations.

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Some sail away shots of Fort Lauderdale - the Beyond got very close to the coastline.  We have a port side, aft balcony, so perfect location for views of the Fort Lauderdale port and coastline.  I don't have an opinion yet on the infinity balconies with the automated windows (I'll wait until the end of the cruise).  But, from the 10th deck, there are great views from the cabin.

[Stealthdog]

Day 1 we went to the Celebrity Showtime:  Jeff Stevenson.  He is a comedian from the UK.  We went to the 9:30PM showing (he gave an early show at 7:30PM) because in our experience, the later showings tend to have few people in the theater.  We arrived about 15 minutes early and had no problems getting great seats.  Jeff is a really funny comedian, and he didn't shy away from making fun of politicians and ethnic groups (British, German, etc).  The crowd was really engaged and everyone had a great time.

 

IMHO he is worth going to, and we will go back to a 2nd show Jeff is doing later in the cruise (he said his 2nd show will be more adult focused).  Don't arrive late after the show starts or leave early unless you want to become part of the show. 😂

[Stealthdog]

Day 2 Daily

[Stealthdog]

Day 2 had an Escape Room in The Club called "Lost Treasures:  Escape Room Experience."  It was a decent escape room activity for a cruise ship.  We have done a number of escape rooms in Washington DC and Orlando FL.  Because of space limitations, you won't move from room to room as you unlock clues to move on.  Instead, you will solve clues that will allow you to open items up to get more clues.  Teams are limited to 10 players with a 45 minute time limit to complete the last puzzle.  Periodically, the activities team will provide additional clues to help the teams along with solving the various puzzles.

 

And I am proud to announce that the Winner (team to first complete) of the December 11-18 Celebrity Beyond Lost Treasures Escape Room was...................Team Cruise Critic!!!!!!  The big prize, of course, was decks of Celebrity Cruise playing cards and a nice sticker.

[Tinkbelle87]

Can you let us know who the cruise director is for your sailing? I see on the daily it is someone named Alexa but someone else mentioned it was Luigi.

[Stealthdog]

2 minutes ago, Tinkbelle87 said:

Can you let us know who the cruise director is for your sailing? I see on the daily it is someone named Alexa but someone else mentioned it was Luigi.

 

Its Alexa.  Luigi was the previous cruise director.  I'll see if Celebrity offers any bio pages for their senior officers.

Edited December 12, 2022 by Stealthdog

[cltnccruisers]

1 hour ago, Stealthdog said:

 

There are holiday decorations spread across the ship, mostly smaller trees and garland.  They don't have the huge trees that you may see on some other ships.  I have not seen any Hanukkah decorations yet.  Here are some pics of the Christmas decorations.

 

Looks very tasteful.  DW just commented that's good that it doesn't look like it's in a Hallmark movie.

[deliver42]

Alexa was the Entertainment Director on our cruise next to Luigi, who left for vacation after our cruise.

[SF]

When does Captain Kate return to Beyond?