Review: Celebrity Beyond Feb 5-12, 2023

[mizLORInj]

Hi all.  I tried to cover as much as possible to share our experience.  😀  So here goes:

 

We are not new to cruising.   I had a wonderful cruise last year on Reflection so I was eager to try out Celeb's newest ship.  Booked in late December and had to take what we could get, so we ended up with IV balcony on deck 8 port aft.  

 

Arrived Saturday in FLL to rain and wind and stayed at Holiday Inn 17th.   We went to total Wine and got a bottle of bubbly and also red to bring onboard.   Took Uber to pier from hotel Sunday morning.

 

Went through to security, showed boarding pass and passport, and onto the ship we went.  Have documents ready!  Some did not and were asked to move to the side.  Must have been around noon.   Beautiful ship.  Dropped our carryon at the cabin and got our key card thingies.   

Cabin was nice; very bright since it had that very large window.  Huge bathroom with plenty of shelves.   I noticed it was a connecting door cabin, but we did not hear anything from next door all cruise long.  Nice decor.   The verandah, I mean window--well, we purposely booked this type of cabin to try it our for ourselves after reading of the lovers and haters.   It was ok.   Very private.  We watched youtube videos so we knew what to expect.   We prefer to be able to access an outdoor balcony at all times during a cruise, and because the window would occasionally be locked due to impending or current weather situations, we would not book this cabin type again.  It got very warm in the cabin too on hot sunny days if the room-darkening shade was not closed.  Even with the shaded folding doors closed the heat came in.    These motorized windows and shades must have cost a lot, plus there are sensors that make the window stop moving if an obstruction is near.   

 

During our cabin crawl, one fellow CC traveler said this type of cabin with its huge window would be great for an Alaska or other cold-weather cruise, and we agreed.   (Their Royal Suite was awesome, although I don't understand putting expensive suites near the front of the ship where you feel the most motion.   We also viewed a Sunset Verandah with a fabulous balcony.)  More outlets are needed in the cabin; most ppl do not care for that box on the table to put all your plugs into.   Plenty of closet and drawer storage space for 2.   Liked the lower lighting in the bathroom for nighttime.   Toiletries were pump bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.   There was also lotion which was great.   We were on deck 8 port side aft, and we were above a public space that got noisy with conversation--even very late at night and with our window closed.   Looked for pen and paper in the cabin but there was none.  

 

Tried to reach the concierge to RSVP to the very nice variety of Captain's Club events, but could not get through.  Gave up after the second day.  We did make it to some of the events which we enjoyed.  Elite laundry had to be hunted down after 48 hours since we had to eat in the buffet 2 nights due to a pants shortage--yes, we were turned away at the dining room.  I'm sure self-appointed attire police were happy to witness this!  🙂   We, along with others, felt the Elite breakfast should allow you to get cappuccino, etc. TO GO.   We had to sit at a table and drink it.   Why?   Let us take it to go.  Remember we did not have the drink pkg or we could've gone to Cafe Al Baccio.   Others also popped in to try to get various coffees to go and were all told no.  Would be nice to have them to go if you don't want to sit down and eat there.   

 

We did appreciate the Captain's Club Happy Hour (for elite and above levels) 5-7pm at most (not all) bars.   Not sure why the dining rooms are excluded, so you go get your HH drink at a participating bar and bring it to the dining room.   Wines, water, soda, a few mixed cocktails, and some spirits are offered.   

 

This cruise had 3,100 passengers.

 

We wandered the ship to check out all the beautiful public spaces.   it is really gorgeous and modern.   So many nice places and gorgeous decor.   Eden is awesome; reminds me a bit of 270 on Anthem of the Seas.   Pool deck nice and large, Solarium too.   Sunset bar area is great.   Theater was so cool with its screens behind the stage.   Magic Carpet was cool; I don't think it ever moved from deck 16 though.   

 

I noticed at the martini bar that drinks went from $12/$15 last year on Reflection to $15/$18 now on Beyond.   The martini bar menu has fewer options than last year's Reflection cruise.   I like that they use Fever Tree tonic.   Each bar and dining room has some of its own unique drinks.   Sunset bar area did not disappoint.  

 

We did sign up for GO GREEN about a week in advance, (1x/day cabin service), but somehow our cabin steward was not aware of this.   I did it again on the app. after he told me this.  So in the evenings he would refresh towels only which worked out fine.

 

Sailaway.   It had rained so our window in cabin was locked.   Did not like that!   

 

For dinner, we did have open seating even though our online account showed early dining.  Fortunately I was aware of this fact from people on this board.   I did not make any restaurant ressies in advance. There was a card in our room that said for the first night we should show up at 8:30 for dinner, but other nights at any time.  Too late for dinner for me.   We had eaten a large lunch at the buffet so we did not bother with dinner.   Dinners in the restaurants 4x were just ok.  The first time we ate in Normandie, we agreed to sit with others and the table of six of us had a great time and ended up dining together a few more times.   I am not raving about the food, although some of our tablemates enjoyed it a lot.   The last night we had a few things that were just not good.   And since Celebrity likes to say it is a luxury line -- I don't feel cheese ravioli with spinach on it is a good dinner entree.   The one-lobster tail limit is just plain annoying.    Once de-shelled the lobster is 2 fingers-size.   I like lobster and usually eat two of them.   Would a true luxury line charge for a second tail?  No.   Maybe after the second, I can maybe, possibly, understand.   I can order 4 entrees but only one lobster tail.   What are they thinking.   We did get to eat in all 4 of the main dining rooms and I can't say I liked one more than the other.   I can say I sat in something red (tomato?) in Tuscan and my white pants may now be ruined.   😡

 

Did not to go upcharge restaurants this cruise.  

 

Buffet.   I like it at breakfast and lunch.   At dinner I don't know what happens.  Fortunately we had read about the cutbacks.  More people eat there than you think.   And some crew too--so, many are affected by their cutting the dinner buffet to maybe 1/8 of what lunchtime is.   I liked the ice cream.   There is soft-serve in a machine behind the servers and the flavors vary.   Cookies are also at this station.  Pizza is hidden way way in the back and was pretty good.  Also, remember there's a bar way back by the pizza that is usually not busy.  

 

Trivia games are fun.   Note that many are just called Music Trivia and you won't know what genre it is until you show up.  Didn't really care for that, but participated in a few and won one which got us.  . . nothing.   How cheap can you be to give NO prizes anymore.  Opportunity for free X advertising being passed up.   How much can these trinkets possibly cost them.   Thought this was super cheap of Celebrity.  There is also general trivia and Deal or No Deal a few times.  

 

Entertainment was ok.   The one show was singing and dancing to show tunes, but many I was not familiar with.  The Jazz show in The Club was very good.   The acrobats/aerialists are amazing.   Who knew you could bend that way.   

 

Too many cutbacks at the same time were absolutely noticeable.   I heard many comments about the lower-quality and quantity food offerings, and would have to agree.  We did not go hungry though.   

 

Met Captain Kate one of the first nights in the elevator and she is personable and very pretty.   Her Q&A session is very informative and we enjoyed it.   Be sure to put your question in beforehand though.  This is different than other ship's Q&As.  You don't raise your hand during the session.

 

Debarkation was simple although there was a very long line for express walk-off.   There is facial recognition in the terminal and off we went.   Beyond that (haha! get it!?) is where things are different than last year at ship's half-capacity.   Uber/Lyft is to the left upon exiting (many people already summoning their rides) and taxi to the right.   Walked to the taxi area and there was a long line of maybe 50 people and NO taxi to be seen.   Took a little bus for $10pp with about 6 others, so it all worked out.   We were at the airport by 8:15.

 

The ship is beautiful since it's so new, so what's not to love.  Would go on it again, but we won't get the IV balcony again unless on a cold-climate cruise.   There were annoyances for sure, and the feeling that Celebrity, a so-called luxury line, has definitely cheapened the experience.  So I will cruise them again sometime, but I also consider other cruise lines.   I realize all have had cutbacks.   

 

Happy cruising to all!   

 

 

 

[shipshape sam]

6 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Hi all.  I tried to cover as much as possible to share our experience.  😀  So here goes:

 

We are not new to cruising.   I had a wonderful cruise last year on Reflection so I was eager to try out Celeb's newest ship.  Booked in late December and had to take what we could get, so we ended up with IV balcony on deck 8 port aft.  

 

Arrived Saturday in FLL to rain and wind and stayed at Holiday Inn 17th.   We went to total Wine and got a bottle of bubbly and also red to bring onboard.   Took Uber to pier from hotel Sunday morning.

 

Went through to security, showed boarding pass and passport, and onto the ship we went.  Have documents ready!  Some did not and were asked to move to the side.  Must have been around noon.   Beautiful ship.  Dropped our carryon at the cabin and got our key card thingies.   

Cabin was nice; very bright since it had that very large window.  Huge bathroom with plenty of shelves.   I noticed it was a connecting door cabin, but we did not hear anything from next door all cruise long.  Nice decor.   The verandah, I mean window--well, we purposely booked this type of cabin to try it our for ourselves after reading of the lovers and haters.   It was ok.   Very private.  We watched youtube videos so we knew what to expect.   We prefer to be able to access an outdoor balcony at all times during a cruise, and because the window would occasionally be locked due to impending or current weather situations, we would not book this cabin type again.  It got very warm in the cabin too on hot sunny days if the room-darkening shade was not closed.  Even with the shaded folding doors closed the heat came in.    These motorized windows and shades must have cost a lot, plus there are sensors that make the window stop moving if an obstruction is near.   

 

During our cabin crawl, one fellow CC traveler said this type of cabin with its huge window would be great for an Alaska or other cold-weather cruise, and we agreed.   (Their Royal Suite was awesome, although I don't understand putting expensive suites near the front of the ship where you feel the most motion.   We also viewed a Sunset Verandah with a fabulous balcony.)  More outlets are needed in the cabin; most ppl do not care for that box on the table to put all your plugs into.   Plenty of closet and drawer storage space for 2.   Liked the lower lighting in the bathroom for nighttime.   Toiletries were pump bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.   There was also lotion which was great.   We were on deck 8 port side aft, and we were above a public space that got noisy with conversation--even very late at night and with our window closed.   Looked for pen and paper in the cabin but there was none.  

 

Tried to reach the concierge to RSVP to the very nice variety of Captain's Club events, but could not get through.  Gave up after the second day.  We did make it to some of the events which we enjoyed.  Elite laundry had to be hunted down after 48 hours since we had to eat in the buffet 2 nights due to a pants shortage--yes, we were turned away at the dining room.  I'm sure self-appointed attire police were happy to witness this!  🙂   We, along with others, felt the Elite breakfast should allow you to get cappuccino, etc. TO GO.   We had to sit at a table and drink it.   Why?   Let us take it to go.  Remember we did not have the drink pkg or we could've gone to Cafe Al Baccio.   Others also popped in to try to get various coffees to go and were all told no.  Would be nice to have them to go if you don't want to sit down and eat there.   

 

We did appreciate the Captain's Club Happy Hour (for elite and above levels) 5-7pm at most (not all) bars.   Not sure why the dining rooms are excluded, so you go get your HH drink at a participating bar and bring it to the dining room.   Wines, water, soda, a few mixed cocktails, and some spirits are offered.   

 

This cruise had 3,100 passengers.

 

We wandered the ship to check out all the beautiful public spaces.   it is really gorgeous and modern.   So many nice places and gorgeous decor.   Eden is awesome; reminds me a bit of 270 on Anthem of the Seas.   Pool deck nice and large, Solarium too.   Sunset bar area is great.   Theater was so cool with its screens behind the stage.   Magic Carpet was cool; I don't think it ever moved from deck 16 though.   

 

I noticed at the martini bar that drinks went from $12/$15 last year on Reflection to $15/$18 now on Beyond.   The martini bar menu has fewer options than last year's Reflection cruise.   I like that they use Fever Tree tonic.   Each bar and dining room has some of its own unique drinks.   Sunset bar area did not disappoint.  

 

We did sign up for GO GREEN about a week in advance, (1x/day cabin service), but somehow our cabin steward was not aware of this.   I did it again on the app. after he told me this.  So in the evenings he would refresh towels only which worked out fine.

 

Sailaway.   It had rained so our window in cabin was locked.   Did not like that!   

 

For dinner, we did have open seating even though our online account showed early dining.  Fortunately I was aware of this fact from people on this board.   I did not make any restaurant ressies in advance. There was a card in our room that said for the first night we should show up at 8:30 for dinner, but other nights at any time.  Too late for dinner for me.   We had eaten a large lunch at the buffet so we did not bother with dinner.   Dinners in the restaurants 4x were just ok.  The first time we ate in Normandie, we agreed to sit with others and the table of six of us had a great time and ended up dining together a few more times.   I am not raving about the food, although some of our tablemates enjoyed it a lot.   The last night we had a few things that were just not good.   And since Celebrity likes to say it is a luxury line -- I don't feel cheese ravioli with spinach on it is a good dinner entree.   The one-lobster tail limit is just plain annoying.    Once de-shelled the lobster is 2 fingers-size.   I like lobster and usually eat two of them.   Would a true luxury line charge for a second tail?  No.   Maybe after the second, I can maybe, possibly, understand.   I can order 4 entrees but only one lobster tail.   What are they thinking.   We did get to eat in all 4 of the main dining rooms and I can't say I liked one more than the other.   I can say I sat in something red (tomato?) in Tuscan and my white pants may now be ruined.   😡

 

Did not to go upcharge restaurants this cruise.  

 

Buffet.   I like it at breakfast and lunch.   At dinner I don't know what happens.  Fortunately we had read about the cutbacks.  More people eat there than you think.   And some crew too--so, many are affected by their cutting the dinner buffet to maybe 1/8 of what lunchtime is.   I liked the ice cream.   There is soft-serve in a machine behind the servers and the flavors vary.   Cookies are also at this station.  Pizza is hidden way way in the back and was pretty good.  Also, remember there's a bar way back by the pizza that is usually not busy.  

 

Trivia games are fun.   Note that many are just called Music Trivia and you won't know what genre it is until you show up.  Didn't really care for that, but participated in a few and won one which got us.  . . nothing.   How cheap can you be to give NO prizes anymore.  Opportunity for free X advertising being passed up.   How much can these trinkets possibly cost them.   Thought this was super cheap of Celebrity.  There is also general trivia and Deal or No Deal a few times.  

 

Entertainment was ok.   The one show was singing and dancing to show tunes, but many I was not familiar with.  The Jazz show in The Club was very good.   The acrobats/aerialists are amazing.   Who knew you could bend that way.   

 

Too many cutbacks at the same time were absolutely noticeable.   I heard many comments about the lower-quality and quantity food offerings, and would have to agree.  We did not go hungry though.   

 

Met Captain Kate one of the first nights in the elevator and she is personable and very pretty.   Her Q&A session is very informative and we enjoyed it.   Be sure to put your question in beforehand though.  This is different than other ship's Q&As.  You don't raise your hand during the session.

 

Debarkation was simple although there was a very long line for express walk-off.   There is facial recognition in the terminal and off we went.   Beyond that (haha! get it!?) is where things are different than last year at ship's half-capacity.   Uber/Lyft is to the left upon exiting (many people already summoning their rides) and taxi to the right.   Walked to the taxi area and there was a long line of maybe 50 people and NO taxi to be seen.   Took a little bus for $10pp with about 6 others, so it all worked out.   We were at the airport by 8:15.

 

The ship is beautiful since it's so new, so what's not to love.  Would go on it again, but we won't get the IV balcony again unless on a cold-climate cruise.   There were annoyances for sure, and the feeling that Celebrity, a so-called luxury line, has definitely cheapened the experience.  So I will cruise them again sometime, but I also consider other cruise lines.   I realize all have had cutbacks.   

 

Happy cruising to all!   

 

 

 

We were on the January 15th sailing and only had 2100 passengers.  Wondering if with 3100 did you get any sense of hard to get seats at bars, etc?   Sounds like too that you were requested to double up with others for seating.  We always had a table for 2, but there was another table  within 2 feet of us, so be kinda was sitting with others and in our case did strike up conversations each night.  Service for us was a 10 all over ship.

 

Also, we too felt IV was only ok.  For me, If I get up during night in a typical veranda, I quietly open door and look at water.  Can't with IV.  you have to leave shade up and/or wake up other person.  Bigger room otherwise. Will check to see about other Edge class ships and IV's.

 

Problem with IV, is Celebrity is committed to it I think.  On Beyond, we guessed that only about 10%  or less of balconies were the standard balcony type from looking at ship while in port.  We had no weather issue, but would not have liked not being able to go out when raining.  I can see why though as  the balcony is your room if you try to lower the window.

Edited February 15, 2023 by shipshape sam

[kwokpot]

23 minutes ago, shipshape sam said:

 We had no weather issue, but would not have liked not being able to go out when raining.  I can see why though as  the balcony is your room if you try to lower the window.

Just to be clear in an IV room you NEVER go out to your balcony because it's not a balcony but just a portion of your inside room. So even if have the window down and the frosted bifold doors closed you're not outside, you never left your room. All you did was open a window and closed a room divider. It's impossible to be outside in an IV cabin. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

6 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Elite laundry had to be hunted down after 48 hours since we had to eat in the buffet 2 nights due to a pants shortage--yes, we were turned away at the dining room. 

Unfortunately the Complimentary laundry for Elite and elite+ is returned on day 3. So if you hand in the laundry before 9am on a Monday they promise it will be back in Wednesday. If you had it in on Monday after 9am it probably won't be returned until Thursday. It's annoying. 

[kidz_rn]

13 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Just to be clear in an IV room you NEVER go out to your balcony because it's not a balcony but just a portion of your inside room. So even if have the window down and the frosted bifold doors closed you're not outside, you never left your room. All you did was open a window and closed a room divider. It's impossible to be outside in an IV cabin. 

 

Just to be even clearer, we can play semantic games with the definitions of "go out" and "never left your room" but my take is that with the window down and the frosted bifold doors closed, you ARE outside as in hearing the water rush by, inhaling the salty air, and feeling the humid sea breeze. It's no different than leaning over the railing in a TB (traditional balcony). And with the window closed, you're in a climate-controlled sun room, with a floor-to-ceiling window to privately relax, read a book, gaze at the water, or whatever.  To each their own / to-MAY-to, to-MAH-to

[TheHawk1]

 

18 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

 

Elite laundry had to be hunted down after 48 hours since we had to eat in the buffet 2 nights due to a pants shortage--yes, we were turned away at the dining room.  I'm sure self-appointed attire police were happy to witness this!  🙂  

 

 

18 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

 

So I will cruise them again sometime, but I also consider other cruise lines.

 

If you're looking for another cruise line that would never rudely turn away a guest for committing the  fashion crime of wearing shorts to the MDR, you might want to to try Royal Caribbean (who just happens to own Celebrity).  Just sayin'

[randomcruise]

12 hours ago, shipshape sam said:

We were on the January 15th sailing and only had 2100 passengers.  Wondering if with 3100 did you get any sense of hard to get seats at bars, etc?  

My wife and I were also on the Feb. 5-12 Beyond sailing as part of a group of 17 people. While we weren't always together as a group, of 17 we often were together in smaller numbers (4-13) and never experienced any issues with seating in any venues except for the late shows in the theater, which seemed to fill up very early compared to a cruise we did last year on the Apex that had a lot fewer passengers.  

[Jeremiah1212]

Lately the key to a smooth walk off is don't get in line. Wait until the ship clears, give it 10 minutes, and you will walk right off. We were on the same cruise and immediately walked off around 7:45 with no line.

 

The taxi line was long but the sheriff out front told everyone they hadn't come yet. Right at 8am about 10 cabs showed up and continued to show up in waves every few minutes. The line was long but we waited 10-15 minutes at most. There were easily 50-75 people in front of us. We arrived to FLL also by 8:15 where apparently everyone flying has TSA pre-check paired with the slowest moving CLEAR line I have ever experienced. 

 

I've seen many people say the Magic Carpet does not move, but it was on deck 5 most nights of this cruise. They typically asked everyone to clear off around 4:15pm so they could relocate.

[mizLORInj]

3 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

 

 

If you're looking for another cruise line that would never rudely turn away a guest for committing the  fashion crime of wearing shorts to the MDR, you might want to to try Royal Caribbean (who just happens to own Celebrity).  Just sayin'

 

Hmm, Royal lets you wear shorts in the MDR?   I just don't remember who allows what these days.   They weren't rude though.   Forgot this time about pants in MDR.  Wasn't a big deal to us.  Will make sure we have more than 1 next time though!  

 

We cruise Royal, Norwegian, Princess, Virgin, etc. (see below).  We like all of them.   😃

 

 

 

[mizLORInj]

2 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Lately the key to a smooth walk off is don't get in line. Wait until the ship clears, give it 10 minutes, and you will walk right off. We were on the same cruise and immediately walked off around 7:45 with no line.

 

The taxi line was long but the sheriff out front told everyone they hadn't come yet. Right at 8am about 10 cabs showed up and continued to show up in waves every few minutes. The line was long but we waited 10-15 minutes at most. There were easily 50-75 people in front of us. We arrived to FLL also by 8:15 where apparently everyone flying has TSA pre-check paired with the slowest moving CLEAR line I have ever experienced. 

. . .

 

True, about waiting till the "rush" is over.   

 

For the taxis, I just figured there were five other ships in port and we came in last, so everyone was busy. 

 

We were through TSA pre-check easily with no line, so I might have been off on the timing.  😆   Or we were in a different terminal.  All worked out fine.   Got to read while waiting for the plane. 

[mizLORInj]

The only place we had an issue for getting a seat was the theater if we didn't get there maybe 20 minutes before showtime.    But then we waited a bit and some seats in the balcony opened up, so it was fine.  

 

MDR one night for 2 or 4 there was a 40 minute wait.  When the other 2 we dined with coincidentally showed up, they were able to seat six immediately.   

 

Oh, one other thing.   For CC Elite events, it seems that many show up 15-20 minutes ahead of start time.  We learned to do this too so we could get a seat! 

 

[jelayne]

14 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Unfortunately the Complimentary laundry for Elite and elite+ is returned on day 3. So if you hand in the laundry before 9am on a Monday they promise it will be back in Wednesday. If you had it in on Monday after 9am it probably won't be returned until Thursday. It's annoying. 

You can pay and get faster turn around time. 

[kwokpot]

21 minutes ago, jelayne said:

You can pay and get faster turn around time. 

One shouldn't have to do that. I have top status on Carnival and their free laundry is either same day of next day. On our recent Carnival Celebration cruise, their flagship, we handed in laundry on the 2nd to last day around 11am and got it back at 6pm. 

[gkbiiii]

18 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

One shouldn't have to do that. I have top status on Carnival and their free laundry is either same day of next day. On our recent Carnival Celebration cruise, their flagship, we handed in laundry on the 2nd to last day around 11am and got it back at 6pm. 

The new "Modern Luxury"...

[Missus_Aitch]

Thanks for the detailed review.  Very helpful!

 

How long does dinner take in the four main dining rooms?  If we have 6:00 dinner, can we make it to 7:30 shows?

[kidz_rn]

RE: 3100 guests:  The chair hogs were out in full force poolside, early on the morning of Day 7 -- a warm and sunny sea day. All pool deck lounges were reserved  by 8 am. Even the ones on the decks above 14 were gone by mid-morning. Meanwhile, the pricey poolside private cabanas were empty as usual -- as they were the entire cruise. 

[kidz_rn]

4 minutes ago, Missus_Aitch said:

Thanks for the detailed review.  Very helpful!

 

How long does dinner take in the four main dining rooms?  If we have 6:00 dinner, can we make it to 7:30 shows?

 

Maybe, but the theater could be 90% filled by the time you walk to the other end of the ship, especially for the production shows. If you're seated at 6:00 and skip coffee & dessert, you'll make it for sure. You can always get coffee & dessert after the show at Al Bacio or OVC 

[randomcruise]

10 hours ago, Missus_Aitch said:

Thanks for the detailed review.  Very helpful!

 

How long does dinner take in the four main dining rooms?  If we have 6:00 dinner, can we make it to 7:30 shows?

I was also on the Feb. 5th Beyond sailing with a group of 17.  We had a 5:45 dinner seating every night in the MDR's with the hope of going to the 7:30 show, but we never came close to finishing dinner before 7:45.  While we usually had less than 17 for dinner and always split into two tables, I suspect our group size impacted the time it took to complete the dinner each night and we always stayed for coffee/dessert.    I suggest you attempt to get an earlier seating than 6:00 (which you should easily be able to do based on what I saw in the MDR's) if you want a more relaxed dinning experience and/or do not want to skip coffee/dessert and/or do not want to run to the theater to get a seat before the show.  As kidz_rn pointed out, the theater filled really early on the Feb, 5th cruise which was a full ship of passengers. 

[challahmom]

Thank you all for your insightful reviews!  Did any of you stay in a “quiet” infinity balcony stateroom?  We’d appreciate if you’d share cabin numbers.  

We are loyal Celebrity cruisers.  We hope to book the Beyond, but are leery due to the issue of excessive noise in some cabins.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you.

[mizLORInj]

13 hours ago, kidz_rn said:

RE: 3100 guests:  The chair hogs were out in full force poolside, early on the morning of Day 7 -- a warm and sunny sea day. All pool deck lounges were reserved  by 8 am. Even the ones on the decks above 14 were gone by mid-morning. Meanwhile, the pricey poolside private cabanas were empty as usual -- as they were the entire cruise. 

 

YES!   I noticed this as I'd walk on the pool deck and the solarium area.  Lots of towels and possessions on chairs but fewer than half with humans occupying!   Cabana space could be better utilized.  Maybe Celeb will figure this out.   

[mizLORInj]

13 hours ago, Missus_Aitch said:

. . .

 

How long does dinner take in the four main dining rooms?  If we have 6:00 dinner, can we make it to 7:30 shows?

 

If just a few of you, should be doable. . . the 2 of us were done in less than an hour two of the nights.  But we didn't get dessert.         

Maybe show up earlier than 6?  

[rudedoggy87]

We were on this cruise as well! We were booked in an Aqua Class room, but we MoveUpped to an Aqua Sky Suite, so we spent most of our time in the Retreat.  This was our first Retreat experience, and it did not disappoint.  It reminded us of the nicer aspects of cruising on Regent Seven Seas that we liked so much, but appreciate that the Beyond ship is far more interesting and entertaining.  We loved the Aqua Sky Suite with its bed facing the sea, and the mirror in the bathroom that hides away to reveal a window into the suite/sea is terrific.  We probably would not go out of our way to book an Aqua Suite again, but we did book another Sky Suite with bed facing the sea for 2024 on Ascent in the Med.

 

We dined in Luminae and Blu most nights, with a night at Eden and a night at Le Voyage.  We only had one dinner that was a miss, and that was in Luminae.  The rest of the food was great, and there are no cutbacks to be seen in the Retreat areas. It was the best cruise we've been on.  I should say - I had so much crab and lobster on this cruise - contrary to lots of complaints from other posters! Specialty dining, Blu, and Luminae there is no shortage of fabulous seafood. Le Voyage was outstanding and up there with some Michelin starred restaurants we've eaten at around the world.  They also gave us bottomless Veuve Cliquot (at no extra charge - we assumed we'd have to pay the difference from our premium package!), so that helps 🙂

 

The Retreat lounge was great for a pre-dinner drink, and staff was eager to please. We never had to want or wait for anything.  Fresh squeezed OJ in the mornings was a real treat and we enjoyed it so much with a fresh croissant!  We never had lunch in Luminae, but we did have lunch a couple times at the Retreat Pool Deck.  The menu is pretty limited and nothing exciting. I don't know who wants a chicken sandwich on a croissant every day. 

 

We were disappointed that the Sunset Bar was so close to such a large smoking area - so much so that we stayed away after a drink.  It is such a beautiful space.

 

Tried to have a drink on the Magic Carpet one night when it was on 16 and one night when it was on deck 5, but it was so windy. No one was there except for one staff member.  The entire cruise last week was fairly windy with a decent swell.

 

The Edge class ships have spoiled us, and we won't consider booking a non-Edge Celebrity ship at this point. And we've been on plenty of the other Celeb ships - just not for me now!

Edited February 16, 2023 by rudedoggy87

[randomcruise]

20 minutes ago, rudedoggy87 said:

I should say - I had so much crab and lobster on this cruise - contrary to lots of complaints from other posters!

Not really contrary to the complaints about the lack of sufficient crab and lobster offerings in the MDR's since you didn't dine in any of the MDR's.    Glad to hear that the Retreat venues and specialty restaurants provided you a such a great experience.

[Texed]

Lori,

We were on Beyond in September/October.  We enjoyed it also.  So, thanks for posting.  😊