first and last Beyond cruise

[39august]

Elite Plus, so have some experiences for comparisons. What we liked about Beyond: Eden, Oceanview Cafe, 4 MDR experience, and the Infinite Veranda cabin.. Of course, it's not a veranda at all, but a mini sun room. There is actually more storage space in the closet than pictures seem to show. The staff was incredible ship wide. That's it. The ship was loud over all and very dark in some areas such as  WCB. Craft Social is ridiculously small for such a large ship. A lot of areas encouraged use of stairs. Those at the Martini Bar seemed dangerous. And speaking of dangerous, who in the heck thought that dark maze approach to Eden was a good idea?! If no one has been badly injured there, I am surprised! Shows were strong on effects with the amazing lights and screens. however, only 2 production shows each of our two back to back cruises. Using acrobatics in all shows seemed redundant. Seemed as if every time I wanted to take a drink into the Club,to escape the noise of Craft Social,  it was not open. Just didn't like the layout of the ship and the noise. Have Eclipse, Reflection and Silhoutte booked for the future. 

[hcat]

We enjoyed the E Class ships.. all diff accomodations and dining...Still have one more  booked..APEX.  They offer many choices and are state of the art..

 

But we are actually looking forward to Silhouette again,  and will also likely book Eclipse..  Change of pace is good!

[Mr. Click]

So I am not the only one.....we had an OV cabin because that was the only option when we booked earlier this year and while the cabin was nice I really missed having a real veranda. Who ever had the idea to do IVs needs to rethink it... Eclipse is up next and we are looking forward to it.  

[RK-NC]

33 minutes ago, 39august said:

The staff was incredible ship wide.

 

We were on Beyond 10 nights in April and thought the crew amazing too...several who were "beyond amazing"!  Did your stateroom have creaking, popping and banging? Ours did and if that were not such a big problem with the ship, we would book Beyond or another e-class ship without hesitation. I guess the smaller Celebrity ships are quieter/calmer? I think that's what we liked about Beyond - the energizing atmosphere. Eden was a nice quiet spot when we needed that. Cafe Al Bacio was relaxing and quiet in the morning. 

[Stem to Stern]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

The ship was loud over all and very dark in some areas such as  WCB. Craft Social is ridiculously small for such a large ship. A lot of areas encouraged use of stairs. Those at the Martini Bar seemed dangerous. And speaking of dangerous, who in the heck thought that dark maze approach to Eden was a good idea?!

Despite my reservations we will be giving this one a try later this year.  First Edge-class for us, so it will be new and exciting nevertheless.  
 

I am not big on loud ships.  I learned this quickly the hard way sailing last month unintentionally with hundreds of Tampa Bay Bucs fans and bridal party revelers on board Silhouette.  Give me Cellar Masters on board a Millennium-class vessel any day.

 

Your comment about the death maze to Eden left me wondering if there is not another alternate route into this venue?  Possibly from another deck or from the exterior deck?  Will avoid serious injury at all costs.

[lv2cruisgrl]

We love the Edge class ships. The hall to Eden in my opinion is not an issue.  Each ship has this area decorated differently and we enjoy walking thru it. We love everything about these ships and will be on Beyond for a 3rd time in November.

So to those reading reviews here, do so with one eye closed.  What one person dislikes another may love!  Cruise  on everyone 

[PTC DAWG]

Edge class fan here, but you have choices for sure. 

[Jim_Iain]

15 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Despite my reservations we will be giving this one a try later this year.  First Edge-class for us, so it will be new and exciting nevertheless.  
 

I am not big on loud ships.  I learned this quickly the hard way sailing last month unintentionally with hundreds of Tampa Bay Bucs fans and bridal party revelers on board Silhouette.  Give me Cellar Masters on board a Millennium-class vessel any day.

 

Your comment about the death maze to Eden left me wondering if there is not another alternate route into this venue?  Possibly from another deck or from the exterior deck?  Will avoid serious injury at all costs.

I think you can get to it by approaching from the deck below and taking the spiral staircase up from the 2 MDR's  on Deck 4- you exit right at Blu and before Eden

[jelayne]

Another Edge class lover here.  We have a B2B on the Eclipse this fall and I'm not looking forward to the ship, itinerary yes, ship no.  The ships that didn't get revolutionized, to me, feel dated, worn and old.  

[Texed]

18 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Your comment about the death maze to Eden left me wondering if there is not another alternate route into this venue? 

 

I kinda like that walk through area myself.  😊

[PTC DAWG]

6 minutes ago, Texed said:

 

I kinda like that walk through area myself.  😊

Me too, I never understood it baffling people..each E class is different here..

[39august]

Sorry I didn't mention our cabin was very quiet, 11198. No creaking or popping. I know about the stairs to Eden. I did reference that use of stairs seemed to be encouraged on Beyond. At my age, stairs are kind of an issue for me. Again, amazing and lovely crew. E class just not for us. Stem to Stern, it does seem a death maze, dark and full of obstacles. 

[billc23]

I appreciate that you specified what you liked and did not enjoy on the ship because it helps others make a more informed decision.

 

To my way of thinking it boils down to what one enjoys and what one is annoyed by:

 

Production shows with amazing lights and screens or production shows that rely on the talent of the individual performers?

 

High energy or more sedate environment? 

 

However much I enjoyed my Edge class sailings, I was annoyed by the constant music/noise level on the ships that made it difficult to communicate with the bar tenders and nearly impossible to carry on a conversation in Fine Cut and Eden restaurant. To many the higher energy level is a plus but not for me.

 

 

[Lastdance]

I loved E class on Beyond in Europe; however, my Beyond cruise in the Caribbean was so underwhelming that I could not believe it was the same ship.  That’s on me, as I should have known better!  There are so many choices out there, so hopefully you will find those that are a much better fit for you.  At least you did experience some good things!

[Georgia_Peaches]

We had some reservations about E class and for the longest time we didn't take the plunge...some due to negative reviews but mostly due to IV situation.  Then I learned of the PV and the SV (and of course the suites) balcony so decided to take another look.  Ascent was our first E class and we booked it as a trial run for our upcoming Edge cruise.  In the meantime, we fell in love with E class and have Beyond booked for November.  While I definitely appreciate reviews and the opinions of my fellow cruisers, I feel as though I missed out on some things by taking so long to see for myself.  I can appreciate that E class isn't for everyone.  @39august, I agree with you about the noise in some areas as well as the stairs.  Both can be daunting if you're used to S or M class ships.  But, at least now you know! 😊 and one of the things I love about Celebrity is the variety they offer in ship size and style.  Thank you for your report...I'm so happy to know you didn't experience any noise issues.

[twincheryl]

18 minutes ago, billc23 said:

 

 

However much I enjoyed my Edge class sailings, I was annoyed by the constant music/noise level on the ships that made it difficult to communicate with the bar tenders and nearly impossible to carry on a conversation in Fine Cut and Eden restaurant. To many the higher energy level is a plus but not for me.

 

 

Agree… as long time Celebrity cruisers, we have tried Apex and are now on Edge with another Apex in October.  Having just debarked Summit the day before Edge we are able to do a good direct comparison.  Edge just seems really noisy as there is lots of hard flooring and sleek decorating (which we like) that doesn’t seem to absorb much noise from the venues located in the middle of the ship.  We walked past Blu after breakfast this morning and it seemed extraordinarily loud.

[Liao]

42 minutes ago, Texed said:

 

I kinda like that walk through area myself.  😊

I thought that area on Edge was pretty cool.

[RK-NC]

3 hours ago, 39august said:

Shows were strong on effects with the amazing lights and screens. however, only 2 production shows each of our two back to back cruises. Using acrobatics in all shows seemed redundant.

 

Which shows did you see? We had Stage Door, Elements and Arte on our 10N. Stage Door was the only one that was a bit underwhelming. We thought Elements and Arte were outstanding and loved the aerialists and acrobats. I said it several times in our live thread - we really felt like we had Vegas quality entertainment on Beyond. We have very limited cruise experience so far but we really did not expect to be so entertained. Going to the theatre was the highlight each day.

[gordylad]

Not an E class fan here having done the Edge suez canal cruise.....suez canal cruise was great but edge pretty meh....we did have a sv cabin as  we would not have booked a cabin with a pull down window.....4 mdr's were ok but prefer the one main mdr....entertainment very good...missed the ensemble.....buffet food excellent.....high end shopping so did not appeal to us.......main pool layout lacked sunbeds that had shade......the flow of the ship is just wrong....been back on the Silhouette which we enjoyed more and looking forward to Equinox later in the year

Edited May 13 by gordylad

[lv2cruisgrl]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

Another Edge class lover here.  We have a B2B on the Eclipse this fall and I'm not looking forward to the ship, itinerary yes, ship no.  The ships that didn't get revolutionized, to me, feel dated, worn and old.  

We agree and just won't sail on a dated, worn out ship!

[Lena11033]

2 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

I am not big on loud ships.  I learned this quickly the hard way sailing last month unintentionally with hundreds of Tampa Bay Bucs fans and bridal party revelers on board Silhouette.  Give me Cellar Masters on board a Millennium-class vessel any day.

 

 

I did summit last year where the Tampa Bay fans were on board, it was a horrible experience.

[rmalbers]

16 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

I did summit last year where the Tampa Bay fans were on board, it was a horrible experience.

X should really tell people when there is going to be a large group like that onboard.

[Lena11033]

45 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

X should really tell people when there is going to be a large group like that onboard.

 

Agreed I found out on here, by then too late. Then on board found a second large group, they however were more quieter - you wouldn't have known they were there

[Stem to Stern]

They really should.  But probably not a smart business decision to do so.  One of the weddings had about a hundred or so in attendance.  They all literally took over the martini bar every evening. Fortunately this was one of Celebrity’s website pricing boo-boos, so I am not going to hold a huge grudge.  I will just declare myself DoNE with 4-nighters.  There is a higher likelihood of these raucous groups on board for these short sailings.  Although Beyond will be an 8-nighter, if it is rowdy like that I may find myself spending plenty of time on my SV.  Maybe I am about ready for a return to Azamara or a new line like (gasp) Viking.  Maybe I will love E-class.  If so, I have a refundable deposit booking on Xcel I can carry on with.  If not, I shall cancel and carry on with my M- and S-class bookings.  One of which is a Mardi Gras cruise.  Will I never learn?🤣

[Lena11033]

lol I just did a Mardi Gras cruise and it was far better than the Tampa bay one. People were generally nicer and even when the martini bar was busy you could still have a conversation. 

But I won't be doing a short cruise again, needs to be at least a week.