Beyond - Nicest in the Celebrity Fleet (at this time)

Item: Celebrity Beyond
Rating: 4.7
Author: cruisellama

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

cruisellama

Contributor Level: Captain

85 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 30

Helpful Votes: 553

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5

7 Night Puerto Plata St.Thomas & St. Maarten (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 05, 2023

Ship: Celebrity Beyond

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 10215

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The best in the Celebrity fleet at this time. Outshines Edge and Apex. Service was superb. I don’t think the food is at the same level as experienced prior to Covid (menus are weaker). But I believe that’s probably across lines and ships. I would sail Beyond again and look forward to Ascent. Footnote: If you want a real balcony room on an Edge class ship, you have to book a suite. All other outside rooms use what’s called an infinite veranda which encloses and integrates the balcony area into the room. Instead of an open space, the window can be opened to the outside. As someone who’s used to balconies, I would not book an infinite veranda. On Edge class we’ll bite the bullet and book a Sky Suite.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Port Everglades Celebrity terminal is updated and easy to negotiate on embarkation day. The suite lounge is comfortable, but even at 10:30 (the early boarding time) we couldn’t find any seating. Service was great, but had to stand for about 15 minutes and embarkation commenced. We were onboard before 11am.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Service and design of eating/drinking spaces is an easy 5. Beverages - 5, but food is about a 4. Not the staff's fault, but the weaker corporate driven menus. Celebrity isn't immune from the reduction in menu complexity and resulting low wow factor.

Luminae

4 out of 5

Menu was weak. Not a whole lot of elegance or creativity.

Blu

4 out of 5

Lighter healthier fare than Luminae or MDR. Attractive options.

Le Voyage by Daniel Bould

4 out of 5

Ambiance and service is 5-stars. Small intimate space with very good service. Food is not a home run - good, but no WOW. About the same as a Luminae menu. Terribly overpriced. We wanted to experience to see if the hype is justified - NOT. Once is enough until they allow the on-board chefs to prepare original dishes. Would like to see the line get away from a celebrity/corporate chef creation for a fleet standardized menu. Let the local chefs shine

The Retreat Lounge

5 out of 5

Fantastic space if you're in suite class. Food, drink, and service all stellar.

The Martini Bar

5 out of 5

Always consider it one of the entertainment venues. The bar tenders are all great mixologists and entertainers.

Sunset Bar

5 out of 5

Great re-invented space and lots of energy.

Retreat Pool Bar

5 out of 5

They aim to please.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

All shiny new and easy to enjoy. Plenty of chairs. Loads of ship board activities every day. Trivia, dance, etc , but no BINGO.

The Retreat Sundeck

5 out of 5

Plenty of chairs plus access to bar and food. No need to leave the area

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Wide variety of venues from forward theater productions to aft Eden mini-productions. Both have talented vocalist, dancers, and aerial performers. Fantastic orchestra and head liner singers, musicians and this cruise, and illusionist. All great and led by a high energy cruise director - Luigi!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All had a great attitudes and were proactive in ensuring guest experience. Our room steward was on top of everything. Stayed in a Sky Suite so we had a butler who went out of his way to ensure we had coffee and snacks before breakfast.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Beyond has been in operation about a year and is immaculate. Ship has a large collection of art throughout the ship. Much to see and do. Only surprise is everything seems to "creak" and "crackle" when the seas get churned up. Was very surprised on such a new ship. But in all, an elegant , well managed and staffed ship..

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Plenty of room and very comfortable. Adequate storage to avoid clutter. Bath large will plenty of storage.

Ship tip

Edge class ships have a unique asymmetry in deck flow walking from bow to stern so if you wish to go bow to stern quickly, cut through a deck with cabins to have the most level straight path.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5

We visited both Dutch and French side. Dutch side has the most "touristy" opportunity. The French side is more subdued and more residential. Still noticeable storm damage from years ago. They use Euro's on the French side, so use them if you have them. Dollars are still good.

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

4 out of 5

Enjoy. But town businesses still haven't recovered. Things are improving.

Thumbs Up 0

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Best Caribbean port area I've seen. Very nice complimentary pool and lazy river accessible by guests. Nice bars, restaurants and shops. Clean and air conditioned rest rooms. Was very pleasantly surprised.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

For some reason, the baggage claim area became congested because of how the laid out the bags. Self inflicted by baggage handlers.

Traveler Photos

9 Comments

deconz 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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irondalepics 1 year ago

Great review! Thank you so much! We just booked the Ascent for next March and it will be our first time on Celebrity. The cabin we booked is a deluxe ocean view handicap accessible. It looks huge! Can’t wait!

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dixietino 1 year ago

Thank you for this very detailed description and comparison, just the sort of review that is very helpful

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

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Sherry2017 1 year ago

I am going on Beyond but booked a Sunset Veranda. It has a real balcony and isn't a suite. Hope the food gets better.

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed and informative review. Glad you thoroughly enjoyed your cruise.

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javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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natelorip 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing. Glad you enjoyed the Beyond as much as we did.

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DiegodaMonkey 1 year ago

Great TIPs!..looking at booking on Edge and was very perplexed by the “so called”balcony options .

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