Live Review, Celebrity Beyond, December 11-18

[deliver42]

Before Christmas

[Stealthdog]

One unique part of Celebrity's entertainment on the Edge Class seems to be a separate production team for evening entertainment in Eden.  So, there are two musical production teams on the Beyond - one for the theater and one for Eden, with two completely different styles.  We went to both last night:

 

Arte in the Theater

Wonder at Eden, Decadence in Eden

 

I'll post some pictures and thoughts of both later today.  I liked the Eden performance and environment more than the Theater, but we are very happy that Celebrity has upped its production game.  On previous Celebrity sailings, I was exposed to a steady diet of Jersey Boys and actually stopped going to the shows after I fell asleep during one of the Jersey Boys shows and broke a wine glass in the theater.  

 

Other things I'll post about today are the Rooftop Garden, the thermal suites, the gym, and the Loyalty Event on Day 2.

 

We arrive in St Maarten tomorrow and St Thomas after that.  We already changed our clocks ahead one hour, so the Beyond ship time is Local Time, and does not stay on EST.

Edited December 13, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Day 3 Daily

[Stealthdog]

I have a few minutes while I wait for someone to finish in the bathroom 🙂  so I'll give a quick update on the creaking and noises that have been reported in previous sailings.

 

We haven't been exposed to those kinds of noises in our stateroom on Deck 10 so far.  But, I had to speak to guest services on another issue yesterday, and while in line a guest told me they were hearing things in their stateroom on deck 12 and others have been hearing it on other decks (specifically Deck 8).  He and his wife had been hearing random banging sounds on both Day 1 and Day 2 in their stateroom.  Guest services told him they were recording his complaint and would send maintenance to his stateroom to investigate.  Maybe the Beyond is haunted by ghosts? 

[dianedebuda]

1 hour ago, Stealthdog said:

  Maybe the Beyond is haunted by ghosts? 

Well it is Beyond ... as in One Step Beyond. 😆

[Stealthdog]

15 hours ago, SF said:

When does Captain Kate return to Beyond?

 

I asked guest services and they said she will be back on board for the Dec 22 sailing.

[YensidCA]

@Stealthdog how are the seas, I see they are a bit rough at 9' / 13 seconds?

 

[SF]

2 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

 

I asked guest services and they said she will be back on board for the Dec 22 sailing.

The next sailing is December 18th for eight nights. Is she joining midway through?

[Stealthdog]

21 minutes ago, SF said:

The next sailing is December 18th for eight nights. Is she joining midway through?

 

Good question.  They specifically said she would not be onboard on Dec 18th, but would be on Dec 22nd.  Is the 22nd a port day?  Ill pay attention to any announcements from the current captain.

[Mcgeneseo]

Just now, Stealthdog said:

 

Good question.  They specifically said she would not be onboard on Dec 18th, but would be on Dec 22nd.  Is the 22nd a port day?  Ill pay attention to any announcements from the current captain.

She's in St Martin so may join at that stop.

[Stealthdog]

3 hours ago, YensidCA said:

@Stealthdog how are the seas, I see they are a bit rough at 9' / 13 seconds?

 

 

It has been really bumpy sailing since we left port in Fort Lauderdale.  During the daily announcements the Captain has provided some tips to combat sea sickness because of the large amount motion and has made jokes about it at each event he has attended.  If people get sea sickness easily, they may be feeling it.  We normally cruise in the Caribbean each December, and this is the rockiest we have seen it.

[Stealthdog]

Some highlights if the Day 2 loyalty event held in Eden.  The entertainment highlight was the house band Cappuccinos and one of the aerial acrobats.   The venue in Eden is a great location for the event and the acrobat was really good.  They did not announce the number of passengers on board, but they did say there was over 1000 Captains Club members.  I did a mock booking the week before sailing and it looked like the ship was about 75% full based on cabins available.  

 

Celebrity provides champagne, mimosas, and bloody marys at the event, as well as a nice variety of hors d'oeuvres - cheeses, salmon, and a few other items.  It is a good opportunity to see and meet the Captain and Cruise Director in person.  

 

Note - the event is not listed in the daily activities - you will get a card in your stateroom with the day/time of it.

[Stealthdog]

I seem to be really good at finding these little ducks on cruise ships.  I'm getting quite a nice collection of them. 🤣

 

This is not the hiding spot - just placed it on some fake coral decor in the stateroom.

[Stealthdog]

The 1st production of the sailing was Arte in the theater.  Two showings - 730pm and 930pm.  We went to the late show.  Its a really interesting concept and easy to follow along.  The production team wears costumes from famous art pieces or paintings.  Before the show starts the theater is surrounded by a bunch of "live" paintings, Harry Potter style, that keeps you entertained until the show starts.  The song choices were a good mix of music, tilting towards songs from the 2000s-2020s.  

 

I did start getting lost a little with a Lada Gaga song and the singers/dancers were in really boring, plain outfits.  When you think of Gaga, you think of gaudy, over the top outfits - they easily could have paired her song with some weird art.  After that I was getting a little critical, but they pulled me back in at the end with Stary Nights and DaVinci themed sets.  

 

I am very happy that Celebrity has brought me back into wanting to go to their production shows.  Its the best production I have seen on a Celebrity ship, and you could tell the line is putting some good money into their productions (there was a car and some fun 3D effects on the walls).  The vocalists (in general) were weaker than other productions I have seen recently on other ships.  But the show was entertaining with a lot of fun songs, dancing, and action.  Overall, well done for Celebrity and I would go again.  

 

Both the Captain and Cruise Director Alexa (not to be confused with Luigi) seem to attend almost all the events and do a good job entertaining.  

[SF]

Checked itinerary for our upcoming cruise this weekend and it looks like St Maarten is a port day for us on December 22nd so Captain Kate may join the ship then as you were told.

[Stealthdog]

The other show on Day 2 (Decadence) in Eden was a completely different feel.  Its held in Eden, so it is a much more intimate, loungey cabaret feel of a show.  Often the performers are within arm's length of the audience, and they actively engage audience members throughout the act.  There is a wide variety of individual and group acts - singers, dancers, hola hoops, acrobats, aerial acrobats, and musicians.  Its a very well done production and really entertaining.  In particular, the two male acrobats did some really impressive acts.  Of the two, if you can't go to both and had to choose between the Theater Show or the Eden Show, I'd go to the Eden show.  But, others would probably have different opinions.  Because the timings are different you can go to both, but if you go to the late show in the theater you probably won't get good seats in Eden.  We found a secret little nook right behind that bar on the 2nd level that lets you see the whole show.  

[Stealthdog]

We went to the Thermal Suite on Day 2 and will probably go there once or twice before the end of the sailing.  Thermal Suite access is complimentary to Aqua Class guest (both balcony and suite class for Aqua).  You can also purchase a pass for the whole sailing.  When I looked at the passes, it was about $125/person for whole cruise.  The Thermal Suites on the Beyond are identical to other Celebrity ships we have been on, so there really aren't any improvements or differences.  

 

There are 5 suite rooms - two steam, one dry, and two aroma rooms.  The whole Thermal suite area (minus the changing rooms) are co-ed.  Robes and towels are provided in the changing rooms, and towels are available throughout the suites area.  The two steam rooms are the hottest.  The dry sauna has windows that allow you to see outside the ship, but the temperatures inside don't particularly seem very hot.  A few other guests said the same thing - sometimes you can mention it to staff and they can adjust the temperature settings.  The length of the thermal suites along the exterior of the ship with floor to ceiling windows for the relaxation loungers and nicely done.

 

Often, you will find water coolers in the thermal suites with fruit infused waters.  The only water access I saw in the Thermal Suites on Beyond were a water fountain.  I may have missed the infused waters and look again next time I go.  

 

If we were not in Aqua Class, we still would have purchased a cruise-long pass because we plan to use it several times.  If you don't use it at least a few times, the pass is probably not worth it.  The staff will give you a tour of the thermal suites on request if you want to check it out.

 

I'm going to hold off on comments of the gym until the end of the cruise - want to check out different times on port/sea days first.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

On Day 3 we decided to go to the Magic show in the theater - Jessica Jane.  We went to the late show again (9:30PM) and skipped the show on Day 3 in Eden.  Going to both shows 9:30PM (theater) and 10:45PM (eden) was a big time commitment on Day 2 and we wanted some casino time instead.

 

If we could rewind, we would skip the Magic show and go to Eden instead.  Jessica was very personable and fun with the audience.  Her magic acts took a long time to complete and many in the audience did seem a little bored - looking around I saw a handful of people were asleep.  There were also some long monologues and videos during the act that were just too long.  Jessica even had a running joke about a guest in the first row who feel asleep at some point during her show.  She did some standard card tricks and a couple of other fun tricks. 

 

This is show that I would recommend people just skip, especially if there are other activities you are interested in.  If you have nothing else going on, go check it out.  

[Stealthdog]

Day 4 Daily.

 

I'm also going to withhold food topics until the end of the sailing.  I'm collecting some samples of menus, taking pictures along the way, and we are going to Eden on Day 7.  

[Lillibet16]

Just wanted to thank you for this great review and all the wonderful photos! Going on the Beyond in January and your posts are getting me super excited about our upcoming trip! 

[YensidCA]

@Stealthdog I was wondering if you could find out (don't go out of your way) about the fitness classes that are included with AquaClass. I am most interested in F45 (it is normally at 9:30am), is this included? Aside from signing up are there things needed?

 

Cheers.

Edited December 14, 2022 by YensidCA

[Cruise a holic]

On 12/13/2022 at 7:53 AM, Stealthdog said:

One unique part of Celebrity's entertainment on the Edge Class seems to be a separate production team for evening entertainment in Eden.  So, there are two musical production teams on the Beyond - one for the theater and one for Eden, with two completely different styles.  We went to both last night:

 

Arte in the Theater

Wonder at Eden, Decadence in Eden

 

I'll post some pictures and thoughts of both later today.  I liked the Eden performance and environment more than the Theater, but we are very happy that Celebrity has upped its production game.  On previous Celebrity sailings, I was exposed to a steady diet of Jersey Boys and actually stopped going to the shows after I fell asleep during one of the Jersey Boys shows and broke a wine glass in the theater.  

 

Other things I'll post about today are the Rooftop Garden, the thermal suites, the gym, and the Loyalty Event on Day 2.

 

We arrive in St Maarten tomorrow and St Thomas after that.  We already changed our clocks ahead one hour, so the Beyond ship time is Local Time, and does not stay on EST.

When we sailed on the edge years ago, a issue with eden was that the lounge didn't have nearly enough seating for the guests.  Does the beyond offer enough seating for guests?  We will be on the apex in a couple of weeks and we hope so.  "assuming" that the Beyond and Apex the same seating.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[TravelingCircusof5]

The Escape room sounds fun. How does one sign up? Is it booked in advance?

[kwokpot]

3 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

The dry sauna has windows that allow you to see outside the ship, but the temperatures inside don't particularly seem very hot.  A few other guests said the same thing - sometimes you can mention it to staff and they can adjust the temperature settings. 

The dry saunas on E-class ships are different from the rest of the fleet. While the M & S Class ships have the traditional Finnish style saunas, which have one main heater that generates hot, dry heat, the saunas on the E-Class are infrared saunas, which is a totally different technology. It's the same technology as the infrared style space heaters you use at home.  Just like those home heaters in an infrared sauna you have to sit RIGHT IN Front of the hearing element to feel the heat radiate into your body. The infrared saunas have multiple infrared heating elements that you sit directly in front of to feel the heat radiate all over your back. If you sit in a spot next to a heating element you won't feel the heat as intensely. Those saunas are made to operate that way.  More ships are using them I think because of less maintenance issues with them vs traditional Finnish sauna heaters. I know at my home gym the sauna heater is always breaking down or has issues.  

Edited December 14, 2022 by kwokpot

[CruisinBanka]

Thanks for taking the time to do this excellent review! Hanging on every word as we are doing a B3B on Beyond in February. We loved the Edge and looking forward to similar experience.