Beyond 2/19-2/26 Brief Review

[keesar]

Just enjoyed a great cruise on the Beyond this week.  Here are some observations:

 

Embarkment

Very smooth. They only allowed those with the assigned time parameters to board.  We were able to drop off our carry ons  and place valuables in the safe upon boarding.

 

Passengers

3100 passengers with 235 Elite Plus and just under 500 Elites.  A somewhat younger group than our past cruises on Celebrity.  I found the passengers as being very friendly.  

 

Food

Food was excellent as was the variety.  I was somewhat anxious after reading some past comments.  We enjoyed the food at Ocean View with the number of dishes offered.  No lines for drink service there.  We sailed Blu and the food and staff was outstanding.  Fully staffed and  members worked as a team.   We ate twice at Eden and it had to be one of the best Specialty Restaurants we have dined at on Celebrity Ships.  Great food and outstanding service.   Fine Cut Steakhouse was excellent.  We also tried some of the Main Dining Rooms and were pleased.  Be aware that there was a quota for walk ins for dinner.  We arrived at 6:15 and were turned away in Normandie.  

 

Room

We were in Aqua Class 9253.  It was a quiet room.This room had an overhang from the suites above which provided shade.   Many whom we spoke with had noise issues in their rooms.  Maintenance came to their rooms and to try to care of the problem. I really liked the Infinite Veranda.  Gave us more room  and we did not have neighbors peeking in over the rails.  We had more storage space  in the room than on previous S-Class ships.  We received new towels twice a day with a total of 6 bath towels.  There needs to be an in-service program in how to operate the shower in Aqua.  Took us a while to figure it out.

 

Entertainment

The theater is just spectacular.  The shows were outstanding with a group of talented singers,  dancers and acrobats.  On this ship, the performers had to be both proficient in both we were told.  All shows were packed.  We had to get there early. Contrary to reports, staff does serve drinks in the new Theater.   

 

Staff

Staff included a number of new, inexperienced crew members.  Then you had staff that had opened other E-Class ships.  All were friendly and accommodating.

 

Activities

The dance classes were fun.  I really enjoyed Trivia as the prizes included a FREE Mast Grill Hamburger or All You Can Eat Pizza.  That served to reduce the amount of cheating.  The Activities Staff were alot of fun.  We did the art classes and the instructor was a skilled professional artist who was very patient with all. The best part was that it was FREE and included 3 glasses of wine.  As they had expected 36 guests and there were 10 of us,  we were encouraged to have seconds and thirds and...

 

Pubic Bathrooms

Entry into public bathrooms (as most  public doorways) is by placing your hand near a sensor.  Be aware that some of the public bathrooms are for a single passenger.  They do NOT lock automatically.  So make sure you manually lock the door as you may be seen doing your thing.if another passenger opens the door.  However, thankfully, most facilities accommodate several guests.

 

Disembarking

 We purchased transfers through Celebrity with our  OBC.   One word to describe it:  chaos.  There was no one at the appointed meeting place at the Theater.  No one to direct you to the location of the luggage.  We had to wait in a long line for busses to return from the airport.  Only one line for people going to Mia, FLL and an excursion.  The good news is that we had a later flight, the weather was beautiful and sure beat waiting in the airport terminal.  

 

Summary

There has been  a lot of negativity on this Board.  We are experienced Celebrity cruisers and despite some cutbacks (no Welcome Aboard drinks, no late afternoon appetizers in the room, reduction in number of menu items to choose from, etc., we felt that Celebrity still offers a great product.  We had a wonderful time.

 

 

 

 

 

[jelayne]

Thanks for sharing.  We were on the Beyond in October and it is now our favorite ship.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for the review. Good to read some positive comments.

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you and so glad you had a wonderful time.

 

Question, I am also in aqua class, March 19th sailing, I realize I will have dinner in Blu, question, there are two evenings where I do not care for the main entrees, am I able to ask for a main entree that is served in Normandy/another MDR?  I also do not notice they have French onion soup and Cesar salad, am I able to ask for these at Blu?

 

 

[keesar]

11 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Thank you and so glad you had a wonderful time.

 

Question, I am also in aqua class, March 19th sailing, I realize I will have dinner in Blu, question, there are two evenings where I do not care for the main entrees, am I able to ask for a main entree that is served in Normandy/another MDR?  I also do not notice they have French onion soup and Cesar salad, am I able to ask for these at Blu?

 

 

 

We were not allowed to order from another restaurant while dining in Blu. We asked and were turned down.  We went to Normandie and had dinner there.  

 

French onion soup is available daily in Blu.  I am not sure about the salad but I think it is an everyday item. The soup was excellent but filling and served HOT.

[Silkroad]

Thanks very much for your review. We board Beyond for the first time in a few weeks, and you’ve made us even more eager to pack😎😎

[seatrial]

Thank you so much for your review. It is nice to read some positive comments. I sail on Beyond in one week. What sort of live music did you have on your sailing in the Sunset Bar, Martini Bar, Eden, etc? So far our cruise only lists a DJ. I know the schedule is still a work in progress at this point.

 

Thanks

[Texed]

Keesar,

Thanks for posting your brief review.  Beyond is one of our favorite ships also.  😊

[keesar]

11 minutes ago, seatrial said:

Thank you so much for your review. It is nice to read some positive comments. I sail on Beyond in one week. What sort of live music did you have on your sailing in the Sunset Bar, Martini Bar, Eden, etc? So far our cruise only lists a DJ. I know the schedule is still a work in progress at this point.

 

Thanks

 

I felt the same way after reviewing the app.  But don't worry.  There was a jazz quartet, solo pianist, solo guitarist, two acoustical duos, and the house party band.  Quite a variety.

[Cruisegirl6]

1 hour ago, keesar said:

 

We were not allowed to order from another restaurant while dining in Blu. We asked and were turned down.  We went to Normandie and had dinner there.  

 

French onion soup is available daily in Blu.  I am not sure about the salad but I think it is an everyday item. The soup was excellent but filling and served HOT.

Honestly, I would rather dine at Normandy each evening.  Thanks for letting me know onion soup is available.

[yokoboy]

Hello,  

Thanks for your review.  We are on the beyond next week on the same itinerary as you.  I Can you tell me which nights were the productions shows in Theater and Eden(Arte, Elements, Door, Dreams, Decadence).  

Thank you.  

[keesar]

5 hours ago, yokoboy said:

Hello,  

Thanks for your review.  We are on the beyond next week on the same itinerary as you.  I Can you tell me which nights were the productions shows in Theater and Eden(Arte, Elements, Door, Dreams, Decadence).  

Thank you.  

 

Monday:     Arte in Theater and Paradise at Eden

Tuesday:    Jazz Joint with Eden Cast held at the Club (Latin Fiesta with DJ being held at Eden)

Wednesday:  Elements in Theater

Thursday:      Dreams at Eden

Friday:   Stage Door in Theater and Decadence at Eden

 

[yokoboy]

Thank you.  

[keesar]

Some additions to the review:

 

Cruise Director

The Cruise Director was Luigi.  He was a positive, upbeat and energetic individual. We enjoyed his presentation.  A great addition to the staff.

 

Internet

We had one Basic Package and one Premium Package.  Both were just fine in sending basic emails with no photos.  The Basic Package could not send photos or use apps like FaceTime.  The Premium package was sometimes able to send photos and sometimes not.  I received notices of " x number of unsent messages".  As for FaceTime on the Premium Package, I was able to see  and hear the individuals I called but the video portion of myself was not stable. On some occasions, FaceTime would not work. When I asked staff, they acknowledged the difficulties and suggested I would have better results at a port.  In St. Maarten, I used the free Internet offered at the Great Beach Excursion and I was successful.

 

Covid

I would estimate only about 1% of cruisers wore masks.  I wore a mask on the plane  and in the Theater.  Tested negative this afternoon.  Hope it continues.

[horseymike]

Thanks for your review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise 🚢 

[Ricciutti]

Thanks for your input. We are going on the Beyond next March.  

[boxkite]

Thanks for your positive review of Beyond!

[astro36r]

Thank You for sharing your review , we are booked on Beyond Nov 2024