Celebrity Beyond Comments 5-12 Mar 23

[cruisellama]

Summary:  We sailed the week of 5 March 2023 with about 3200 fellow passengers.  Celebrity Beyond lives up to its name.  Its design and service goes beyond earlier Edge and Apex ships. Port visits included:  St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Puerto Plata DR.   At first glimpse, Beyond fixes some of the “nits” that Edge and Apex rolled out with.  For example, the Martini Bar is positioned into the center of the atrium, making it a focus while adding more seating, the Sunset bar is made over to give a Moroccan feel with various levels of seating on the aft starboard edge, and most noticeable for Retreat members, there’s an additional deck that holds a pool and two hot tubs.   The Retreat hits new levels now contained within 3 - decks with Luminae positioned between the Retreat lounge and upper pool deck (Decks 15-17 forward).

 

Embarkation: 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 & Dining:  We stayed in a Sky Suite so had access to Luminae and Blu for main dining.  Except for 3 specialty restaurants, we dined in those venues all week for major meals.  Also dined in the Aqua cafe, Eden cafe, and Oceanview cafe.  All venues were well maintained, but it was obvious the menu quality & strength has been reduced (just as on the Royal parent).  Its not the Celebrity dining of 5 years ago.   

 

Le Voyage - Daniel Boulud’s intimate signature specialty restaurant on Beyond (and highest price).  Features assorted entrees a tasting menu and chef’s table.  We’re not fans of Daniel’s stye of French cuisine , but we needed to try the new venue.  Restaurant ambiance and service is first rate; however, the food is ordinary.  I would give a 10 to service and an ambiance, and rate the food between 7-8. The restaurant is a small space in the on deck 4 that has a rather hard to see front outer sliding door (think Star Trek).  It opens into a small space with the maitre’d and you then pass through a second sliding door into a very intimate dining area with about 14 small tables.  A small private dining room off to the side can accommodate a 6-8 person chefs table.  Its a 2 hour experience and service is old school cruise line style.  But the menu being the weakest part of the experience.  Not bad, not exquisite, just about equivalent to a Luminae offering at a premium price.

 

Luminae - Visited for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  If you’ve sailed Celebrity with Luminae in the past, you’ll notice a weaker menu.  (In fact our honest waiters confirmed our observation on several nights).   The Baja Eggs content/presentation was different from what I was used to on other ships.  When I attempted to explain to the waiter, he didn’t understand what I was trying to communicate (new guy with little English).  Second issue with a lunchtime Margarita Flatbread that had a blue food residue on the bottom.  Not knowing what this was (as it looked like mold), we informed the waiter resulting on a visit from the chef.  He apologized profusely, but admitted the blue material came from a placing the flatbread on a dirty tray  (that’s called cross contamination in a US restaurant kitchen).  We found out a few of the staff were on first contracts.  Which explained the low energy service and wait times.  Lunches could go 2 hours.

 

Retreat Lounge :  All good and exceeded expectations with service and food / drink offerings. Three deck areas:  Lounge, sun deck, and pool deck with pool and hot tubs with connectivity to the Luminae on deck 16.  (The arrangement is far more efficient arrangement than the new suite neighborhood on Wonder of the Seas configuration).  The total area seems large enough to accommodate everyone.   The availability of pool, hot tubs, and food within the private area allows guest to pretty much homestead in the Retreat.

 

Blu :   A lighter (maybe healthier) breakfast and dinner offering for AquaClass guests.   As suite guest, we also were given unlimited access and found the menu to be more attractive than Luminae on several occasions.   Service was also a little faster allowing you to not get too bogged down at a sit down dining venue.

 

Le Petit Chef:  French “like” cuisine with a clever animated table projection story about the creation of the dish.  The meal contained 4 courses and a projected petit chef walks you through the making of the particular dishes and his path to becoming a chef.   Kids would love it.   Its more about the show than the food.  Food was OK, but again, nothing you could not experience in the complimentary Normandy “French” restaurant.  In viewing the menu, it seems than many of the items are actually available as complimentary menu items in other venues.  Box checked.

 

Raw on 5:   As we enjoy shell fish, we really enjoyed Raw on 5.   We are raw oyster fans and had our fill.  They offer an Imperial Tower which is a seafood extravaganza of crab legs, oysters, lobster clams, shrimp, fish that will challenge 2 to finish.   Sushi is also offered with pricing well in line with what you would pay off the ship.

Oceanview Cafe:  Main buffet.   Nice offerings, but not as many as pre-Covid.   More of less on the serving tables.  Also noticed they would let stations go “empty” about 20 minutes prior to closing so you were out of luck if you got there too close to closing.

Onboard Activities

Entertainment:  Very ample.  Three theater productions, a couple of aft Eden productions and top liners.  Ship entertainment venues offer great screens for effects and the production teams know how to make best use of the “special effects” offered by the screen.

Service & Staff:  All good - no complaints.   They all worked to keep you happy.  They all seemed happy and enjoyed being with the guests.  Very attentive butler and room steward keep the room ship shape and ensured we had coffee first thing in the morning.

Ship Quality:   The newest and brightest in the Celebrity fleet.  Ship is fantastic and it seems they applied practical lessons learned from earlier Edge class ships.   Lots of space and filled with very nice art.  Edge deck plans exhibit a noticeable amount of asymmetry so you find there are not necessarily direct walking paths from bow to stern on certain decks forcing you to go up - go straight - go down to get from bow to stern,    Just takes some thought to select decks with straight paths between forward and aft section of the ship.  Elevator capacity seemed ample for the 3200 passengers if you avoid dinner rush.  Elevator capacity is being challenged on all ships pushing capacity.   We did notice the ship structure itself was obviously “noisy”.  When the sea state increased a bit, everything seemed to “creak” in the cabin.   In fact just walking the decks you could hear creaking and cracking everywhere you walked (like the rigging on a sailboat) .  We overheard one family saying maintenance showed up at their cabin and made adjustments to panels and doors that were apparently loose.  Appeared to be a feature on the ship.   I wondered if its still under warrantee.

Cabin/Stateroom: 10-215 port side Sky Suite with ample floor space and comfortable atmosphere.   Balcony was sufficient with lounge, chairs and small table.  Like the cabin, would stay there again.  Only nuisance was the creaking and cracking when seas were a little rough.  Room had plenty of light, and a very nice bath with a tub.

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, and after seeing family members IV cabins,  I would not book one myself.  (Would bite the bullet and move to a Sky Suite)

[SebagoSue]

Thanks so much for the great review and pics @cruisellama! I can’t wait to check out the new Retreat setup next month. One question….do you know if they were still allowing some more “classic” type foods to be ordered at dinner in Luminae? Thank you!

[cruisellama]

39 minutes ago, SebagoSue said:

Thanks so much for the great review and pics @cruisellama! I can’t wait to check out the new Retreat setup next month. One question….do you know if they were still allowing some more “classic” type foods to be ordered at dinner in Luminae? Thank you!

Yes.   You can still get escargot, French onion soup and order from the children's menu for the filet.   As on other lines, the menu is getting less impressive.   Even our wait staff was brutally honest on some evenings, steering us to the "classic" selections.    Staff was excellent across the ship.  The all seemed to be in a good mood.  Other surprise was we were told on day 1 by our butler that we had full access to Blu (lunch and dinner).   I thought that was stopped, but not on Beyond.   Some nights they had a nicer menu.  Also you could get through breakfast much faster than Luminae.  (more servers)

[BB1]

We were on Apex and really enjoyed it. My only issue with the retreat was that it was too crowded.  Did they change anything on Beyond to help accommodate the number of people in the retreat. We could never find chairs in the shade so we would go to the solarium.  This was fine since we thought the solarium  was very nice but the retreat is still nicer.

[cruisellama]

41 minutes ago, BB1 said:

We were on Apex and really enjoyed it. My only issue with the retreat was that it was too crowded.  Did they change anything on Beyond to help accommodate the number of people in the retreat. We could never find chairs in the shade so we would go to the solarium.  This was fine since we thought the solarium  was very nice but the retreat is still nicer.

Yes.  Added an additional deck.  Retreat area encompasses portions of deck 15, 16, 17.     Deck 15 is the Retreat lounge as on the Apex, but a little larger enclosed as the patio is converted to inside space.  Deck 16 is additional Retreat sun deck with a connection to Luminae (more lounge chairs).  Deck connects with the previous with stairs or elevator and provides additional sun deck, bar and two hot tubs.   Shortfalls on Edge and Apex are corrected on Beyond and soon to sail Ascent.

 

[BB1]

Sounds wonderful.  We'll be on the Apex again but maybe Beyond  next time.

[SpicyCherry]

23 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Summary:  We sailed the week of 5 March 2023 with about 3200 fellow passengers.  Celebrity Beyond lives up to its name.  Its design and service goes beyond earlier Edge and Apex ships. Port visits included:  St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Puerto Plata DR.   At first glimpse, Beyond fixes some of the “nits” that Edge and Apex rolled out with.  For example, the Martini Bar is positioned into the center of the atrium, making it a focus while adding more seating, the Sunset bar is made over to give a Moroccan feel with various levels of seating on the aft starboard edge, and most noticeable for Retreat members, there’s an additional deck that holds a pool and two hot tubs.   The Retreat hits new levels now contained within 3 - decks with Luminae positioned between the Retreat lounge and upper pool deck (Decks 15-17 forward).

 

Embarkation: 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 & Dining:  We stayed in a Sky Suite so had access to Luminae and Blu for main dining.  Except for 3 specialty restaurants, we dined in those venues all week for major meals.  Also dined in the Aqua cafe, Eden cafe, and Oceanview cafe.  All venues were well maintained, but it was obvious the menu quality & strength has been reduced (just as on the Royal parent).  Its not the Celebrity dining of 5 years ago.   

 

Le Voyage - Daniel Boulud’s intimate signature specialty restaurant on Beyond (and highest price).  Features assorted entrees a tasting menu and chef’s table.  We’re not fans of Daniel’s stye of French cuisine , but we needed to try the new venue.  Restaurant ambiance and service is first rate; however, the food is ordinary.  I would give a 10 to service and an ambiance, and rate the food between 7-8. The restaurant is a small space in the on deck 4 that has a rather hard to see front outer sliding door (think Star Trek).  It opens into a small space with the maitre’d and you then pass through a second sliding door into a very intimate dining area with about 14 small tables.  A small private dining room off to the side can accommodate a 6-8 person chefs table.  Its a 2 hour experience and service is old school cruise line style.  But the menu being the weakest part of the experience.  Not bad, not exquisite, just about equivalent to a Luminae offering at a premium price.

 

Luminae - Visited for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  If you’ve sailed Celebrity with Luminae in the past, you’ll notice a weaker menu.  (In fact our honest waiters confirmed our observation on several nights).   The Baja Eggs content/presentation was different from what I was used to on other ships.  When I attempted to explain to the waiter, he didn’t understand what I was trying to communicate (new guy with little English).  Second issue with a lunchtime Margarita Flatbread that had a blue food residue on the bottom.  Not knowing what this was (as it looked like mold), we informed the waiter resulting on a visit from the chef.  He apologized profusely, but admitted the blue material came from a placing the flatbread on a dirty tray  (that’s called cross contamination in a US restaurant kitchen).  We found out a few of the staff were on first contracts.  Which explained the low energy service and wait times.  Lunches could go 2 hours.

 

Retreat Lounge :  All good and exceeded expectations with service and food / drink offerings. Three deck areas:  Lounge, sun deck, and pool deck with pool and hot tubs with connectivity to the Luminae on deck 16.  (The arrangement is far more efficient arrangement than the new suite neighborhood on Wonder of the Seas configuration).  The total area seems large enough to accommodate everyone.   The availability of pool, hot tubs, and food within the private area allows guest to pretty much homestead in the Retreat.

 

Blu :   A lighter (maybe healthier) breakfast and dinner offering for AquaClass guests.   As suite guest, we also were given unlimited access and found the menu to be more attractive than Luminae on several occasions.   Service was also a little faster allowing you to not get too bogged down at a sit down dining venue.

 

Le Petit Chef:  French “like” cuisine with a clever animated table projection story about the creation of the dish.  The meal contained 4 courses and a projected petit chef walks you through the making of the particular dishes and his path to becoming a chef.   Kids would love it.   Its more about the show than the food.  Food was OK, but again, nothing you could not experience in the complimentary Normandy “French” restaurant.  In viewing the menu, it seems than many of the items are actually available as complimentary menu items in other venues.  Box checked.

 

Raw on 5:   As we enjoy shell fish, we really enjoyed Raw on 5.   We are raw oyster fans and had our fill.  They offer an Imperial Tower which is a seafood extravaganza of crab legs, oysters, lobster clams, shrimp, fish that will challenge 2 to finish.   Sushi is also offered with pricing well in line with what you would pay off the ship.

Oceanview Cafe:  Main buffet.   Nice offerings, but not as many as pre-Covid.   More of less on the serving tables.  Also noticed they would let stations go “empty” about 20 minutes prior to closing so you were out of luck if you got there too close to closing.

Onboard Activities

Entertainment:  Very ample.  Three theater productions, a couple of aft Eden productions and top liners.  Ship entertainment venues offer great screens for effects and the production teams know how to make best use of the “special effects” offered by the screen.

Service & Staff:  All good - no complaints.   They all worked to keep you happy.  They all seemed happy and enjoyed being with the guests.  Very attentive butler and room steward keep the room ship shape and ensured we had coffee first thing in the morning.

Ship Quality:   The newest and brightest in the Celebrity fleet.  Ship is fantastic and it seems they applied practical lessons learned from earlier Edge class ships.   Lots of space and filled with very nice art.  Edge deck plans exhibit a noticeable amount of asymmetry so you find there are not necessarily direct walking paths from bow to stern on certain decks forcing you to go up - go straight - go down to get from bow to stern,    Just takes some thought to select decks with straight paths between forward and aft section of the ship.  Elevator capacity seemed ample for the 3200 passengers if you avoid dinner rush.  Elevator capacity is being challenged on all ships pushing capacity.   We did notice the ship structure itself was obviously “noisy”.  When the sea state increased a bit, everything seemed to “creak” in the cabin.   In fact just walking the decks you could hear creaking and cracking everywhere you walked (like the rigging on a sailboat) .  We overheard one family saying maintenance showed up at their cabin and made adjustments to panels and doors that were apparently loose.  Appeared to be a feature on the ship.   I wondered if its still under warrantee.

Cabin/Stateroom: 10-215 port side Sky Suite with ample floor space and comfortable atmosphere.   Balcony was sufficient with lounge, chairs and small table.  Like the cabin, would stay there again.  Only nuisance was the creaking and cracking when seas were a little rough.  Room had plenty of light, and a very nice bath with a tub.

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, and after seeing family members IV cabins,  I would not book one myself.  (Would bite the bullet and move to a Sky Suite)

Nice review....We will be on Beyond next year. We were on Edge in December and loved it. Glad we have something even better to look forward to. The addition of Blu access is exciting. On Edge, we didn't eat as much as we should have at Luminae and regretted that because we found the food amazing. We also did the Chef's Table and it was a nice experience. While on Infinity, we ate at Blu and enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!!!

[cruisellama]

50 minutes ago, SpicyCherry said:

Nice review....We will be on Beyond next year. We were on Edge in December and loved it. Glad we have something even better to look forward to. The addition of Blu access is exciting. On Edge, we didn't eat as much as we should have at Luminae and regretted that because we found the food amazing. We also did the Chef's Table and it was a nice experience. While on Infinity, we ate at Blu and enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!!!

If you wish to dine at Le Voyage, reserve as soon as possible.   They sell out very quickly.  It's a small venue with only 2 seatings per night.   Takes about 2 hrs.

[SpicyCherry]

27 minutes ago, cruisellama said:

If you wish to dine at Le Voyage, reserve as soon as possible.   They sell out very quickly.  It's a small venue with only 2 seatings per night.   Takes about 2 hrs.

Yes, I think that we'll try it. Our sailing is not until December 2024 so the Specialty Dining is not yet available to book but I will keep a 'weather eye'!! Thanks for the head's up.

[JeffB]

Thanks for the great Beyond review crusiellama. We've got 4 Edge Class cruises booked. Three on Apex and one on Beyond through January 2024. On our first Edge Class Cruise (Edge, Athens, June 2022) it took some getting used to the new design but we did. Just sailed Apex in January and had similar reactions to yours and another poster who found The Retreat "too crowded." Agree with that. Nice to hear Beyond has added a 3rd deck to The Retreat. The Retreat Lounge wasn't the "step above" you would expect for the premium being paid and Luminae was by far not our favorite restaurant - that would be Normandy. But as you noted, the staff that served us across the ship were outstanding and service at a high level. Glad to see the Martini bar improved as both Edge's and Apex's are small and there is insufficient seating. The special effects in the main theater were also a noteworthy addition to ship board entertainment.

There's no question that Celebrity's food quality has declined post COVID interruption but is entirely satisfying. I tend to stick to long time menu "favorites" and I enjoyed them. The roasted pork chops is one of them. The Chilean Sea Bass was Branzino and that particular fish filet was thin. Lobster tails on Lobster night in the mains are smaller (tender and succulent)  but the Beef Wellington is still very good.

WIth Celebrity trying to position itself as a "premium" line, the concept of "X" signifying excellence, Lutoff-Perlo might want to consider shaving the company's margins a bit to preserve the concept of "X." I know that's not what stockholders want and she's under pressure to keep margins high. Still, tread cautiously there. Competitors are offering similar premium cruises at lower prices. We've got a Princess cruise scheduled in June (Caribbean Princess) and booked the equivalent of Celebrity's Sky Suite (not as big, same perks but fewer amenities and called Club Suites) for around 60% of the cost of Sky Suite on an Edge class ship. Don't know about others bu, given the premium, I'm loath to book a Sky Suite on Millenium or Solstice class ships given the plus-up of the "suite life" on Edge class.   

[cruisellama]

22 hours ago, JeffB said:

Thanks for the great Beyond review crusiellama. We've got 4 Edge Class cruises booked. Three on Apex and one on Beyond through January 2024. On our first Edge Class Cruise (Edge, Athens, June 2022) it took some getting used to the new design but we did. Just sailed Apex in January and had similar reactions to yours and another poster who found The Retreat "too crowded." Agree with that. Nice to hear Beyond has added a 3rd deck to The Retreat. The Retreat Lounge wasn't the "step above" you would expect for the premium being paid and Luminae was by far not our favorite restaurant - that would be Normandy. But as you noted, the staff that served us across the ship were outstanding and service at a high level. Glad to see the Martini bar improved as both Edge's and Apex's are small and there is insufficient seating. The special effects in the main theater were also a noteworthy addition to ship board entertainment.

There's no question that Celebrity's food quality has declined post COVID interruption but is entirely satisfying. I tend to stick to long time menu "favorites" and I enjoyed them. The roasted pork chops is one of them. The Chilean Sea Bass was Branzino and that particular fish filet was thin. Lobster tails on Lobster night in the mains are smaller (tender and succulent)  but the Beef Wellington is still very good.

WIth Celebrity trying to position itself as a "premium" line, the concept of "X" signifying excellence, Lutoff-Perlo might want to consider shaving the company's margins a bit to preserve the concept of "X." I know that's not what stockholders want and she's under pressure to keep margins high. Still, tread cautiously there. Competitors are offering similar premium cruises at lower prices. We've got a Princess cruise scheduled in June (Caribbean Princess) and booked the equivalent of Celebrity's Sky Suite (not as big, same perks but fewer amenities and called Club Suites) for around 60% of the cost of Sky Suite on an Edge class ship. Don't know about others bu, given the premium, I'm loath to book a Sky Suite on Millenium or Solstice class ships given the plus-up of the "suite life" on Edge class.   

Watch item:   We sailed in a Sky Suite and gratuities are included.   We watch our cabin balance while sailing, and we were seeing a $21/pd/pp charge on certain days, then later -$21 for each of the daily gratuity charges.  Once we disembarked, we received the final folio which included a $21/pd/pp daily gratuity charge.   I called Celebrity while I was still in the airport.  The agent was congenial, but claimed a review couldn't be conducted until 4-5 days after the cruise (and she promises to research, then call back.  She did, 4 day's later, and by the end of the conversation she agreed we were improperly charged and processed a refund for $294 after a lengthy apparently manual process.  She noted I would see a refund in 4-5 weeks.  Other observation, despite having a "final" folio summary charge posted to my credit card, I had 3 additional "pending" card charges that were already comprehended in the final folio summary, but still listed on the card account as "pending".   So 3 in a "post status"  while being told by the Celebrity agent, they'll drop because they were already comprehended in the "final statement".   Still waiting for the drop, but this is the second time in 6 months something like this has happened with Celebrity.   A comprehended charge will be carried for about a month, then drop.   As this is the second occurrence in 6 months, I'm wondering if it's a nefarious scheme to bump/squeeze bump monthly revenue to show a higher review for  period of time.    Multiply by a couple of thousand of guests at sea and you're recording/churning a nice bank month-to-month on these floating (to be retired) charges.  And sometimes, the guest won't watch expiration and they get a tip.  Long story short - just watch the card charges as you're sailing.. 

[FionaMG]

This ship looks so amazing. I also recently saw a video about it by UK bloggers Ben & David.

I really want to sail on Beyond sometime soon.

[KathyC]

Glad you enjoyed her!  We loved our time spent last October.  The Rooftop Garden Grill had the best food we found.  So good.  We're on Summit in a couple weeks, curious as to how different she will be post-restart.  Last time she was shiny & smelled of refurbishment.   

[BrianAlt]

 Beyond

[Andonini842]

We were on Beyond last year and had a great time. Truly a beautiful ship but we felt somewhat underwhelmed by the food in the main restaurant. The evening entertainment was amazing with some goosebumb moments from two of the vocalists. Altogether it was a great experience and I would echo the other comments on here about the speciality restaurants - very good indeed!

[Kathleen]

@cruisellama enjoyed reading this as we are due to sail Beyond in January as our first Celebrity cruise! I am beginning to collect information so we may be as prepared for it as we have been for our RC cruises. Like you, we are booked in a sky suite on deck11, 11219. First question is about the magic carpet. Is that an included venue or is that like specialty dining. We are looking at purchasing a dining package. We are on an 11 night sailing so we thought that might be of benefit. If so how many nights dining package would you suggest out of 11 nights. Is there a concierge or butler that would make specialty dining reservations in advance for us like on RC. We were unsure if there was a butler with the sky suite or if that was really more like a concierge. Any help is greatly appreciated. We look forward to sailing her!

[SebagoSue]

@KathleenYou will love the Beyond, especially in a Sky Suite with all the Retreat benefits.  We loved going to Luminae for breakfast and many lunches. The food and service there are excellent. We did a 7 night cruise in April and had dinner in a specialty restaurant each night.  Planning a future 11 night cruise on Beyond, we plan to eat dinner in Luminae about 1/3 of the nights.  Le Voyage and Eden are exceptional and you should definitely try those.  We also really enjoyed Raw on 5, Rooftop Grill and Fine Cut Steakhouse.  Le Petit Chef is okay.  The show is different, but we didn’t find the food as good as the other specialty venues.  However, we did Le Grand Bistro for lunch one day and it was excellent.  We didn’t do the Dinner on the Edge on the Magic Carpet. My understanding is they do it just one night each cruise, but it is often cancelled for wind or weather.  You can just go out on the Magic Carpet to relax or get a drink anytime.  We booked our dining individually rather than buying a package as we wanted to make sure to get the restaurants and times we wanted.  My understanding is that either your butler or the concierge can make reservations for you, the only issue being you may not get the times you want. Also, Le Voyage is small and I’m not sure how many slots they hold back for onboard reservations. You will definitely have a butler with the sky suite, as well as the concierge in the Retreat Lounge.  Enjoy your cruise!

[Kathleen]

@SebagoSue thank you for all those answers. I feel so prepared when I sail RC but feeling a bit like a fish out of water not knowing the answers to some of the simplest questions. Did the butler or concierge make contact prior to the cruise? 

[SebagoSue]

@KathleenI know that feeling!  This was only our second Celebrity cruise ( Apex in Nov) and there are definitely some differences.  I still love the energy of Royal and will probably always sail Royal with friends and family groups.  But the Celebrity Retreat sun deck has me hooked. Maybe it’s the fruit kabobs they bring around in the morning and the sorbet they bring in the afternoon.  Or it could be the way they set up your lounger towels and pillow. The staff really is amazing with the friendly service they provide.  As far as pre cruise, my understanding is the concierge ( I think shoreside staff?) only reach out to certain levels of suites. Sky suites are usually not included. Although, we were in Sky suites on both cruises and I did get an email pre cruise from the concierge on Beyond, but not on Apex.  Perhaps @cruisellama knows? But your butler will definitely find you on Day 1 and you can make any requests at that time.  On this cruise we asked for some fruit, cheese and crackers to be delivered at 4:00 pm every day.  It was a great snack while sitting on the balcony or getting ready. The butler delivered that as well as coffee and pastries we had ordered one morning. The butler and the suite attendant really worked well together as a team..We didn’t spend any time in the Retreat lounge or use the services of the concierge. 

[SebagoSue]

@KathleenWhen you are planning your dining times, on most sailings the shows in the main theater are every night at 7:30 and 9:30.  On the 2 chic nights, the theater will be packed, often early, as the shows are fantastic.  There is a reserved section for suite guests in the balcony and the butlers will be there to assist.  The doors open 30 minutes before the show.  We found these seats to be fine and it was much easier leaving the show.  Even with the reserved section, I would arrive at least 15 minutes before the show starts.

The other two venues that have shows are Eden and the Club.  The shows in Eden are late, around 10:30 or 11:00.  The Club hosts game shows and other random entertainment.  Both venues have somewhat limited seating so I would arrive early. Enjoy!

[cruisellama]

On 5/10/2023 at 2:50 PM, Kathleen said:

@cruisellama enjoyed reading this as we are due to sail Beyond in January as our first Celebrity cruise! I am beginning to collect information so we may be as prepared for it as we have been for our RC cruises. Like you, we are booked in a sky suite on deck11, 11219. First question is about the magic carpet. Is that an included venue or is that like specialty dining. We are looking at purchasing a dining package. We are on an 11 night sailing so we thought that might be of benefit. If so how many nights dining package would you suggest out of 11 nights. Is there a concierge or butler that would make specialty dining reservations in advance for us like on RC. We were unsure if there was a butler with the sky suite or if that was really more like a concierge. Any help is greatly appreciated. We look forward to sailing her!

Yes on reservations, but there isn't an early outreach email for Celebrity Sky Suite as in RCL Sky Suite level.  There is an early outreach for suites above Sky.  The suite concierge(s) in the Retreat can take care of requests.  Magic Carpet dining is a premium venue.  Lunch is a less expensive option than dinner.  Also, offerings are "weather (wind)" dependent.  La Voyage is unique to Beyond (and Ascent), very small and intimate dining experience.  Found the atmosphere and service excellent, but we're not a fan of Dan Boilud menus (you can also get a sample in the Retreat overnight and Chef's table).   As it's a small venue, reserve early.   We've tried all the specialty restaurants to gauge preferences.   Personally I prefer Fine Cut, Eden & Raw on 5.  But IMPO - they're really not necessary for a great experience.  In the future, we'll only do 1 or 2.   The butler will take care of you so start thinking  of preferences.

[Kathleen]

@cruisellama Was“Dinner on the Edge” on the Magic carpet worth it? We enjoy trying different things but wanted to see if others thought the experience was worth it. Our cruise is 11 nights. Sounds like 3 nights possibly 4 out of 11 is enough specialty dining since Luminae is so highly regarded. 

[SpicyCherry]

4 hours ago, Kathleen said:

@cruisellama Was“Dinner on the Edge” on the Magic carpet worth it? We enjoy trying different things but wanted to see if others thought the experience was worth it. Our cruise is 11 nights. Sounds like 3 nights possibly 4 out of 11 is enough specialty dining since Luminae is so highly regarded. 

We were on Edge last December, a 10N itinerary and we did all the Specialty Dining venues. However, we found that it was not necessary because Luminae was so very nice. We didn't eat there nearly enough. Won't make that mistake again on Beyond next December. 

As for Dinner on the Edge, we felt the experience and ambiance was more enjoyable than the actual meal. The meal wasn't bad, mind you, but not sensational(in our opinion, of course). We were still in port and the dinner was at sunset so it was beautiful. It may be worth a try for the experience though. Below is our menu. Depending on the cost, we would probably do it again.