Go, beyond
Dave Monk gets a sneak peek of Celebrity Cruises’ $1bn new ship
Bigger, better and Beyond – that’s my verdict on the new Celebrity Cruises ship that set sail on her 10-night maiden voyage from Southampton to Western Europe on Wednesday.
Celebrity Beyond, skippered by Captain Kate McCue, is the largest in the fleet – 66ft longer, a deck higher and carrying 350 more passengers than her older sisters Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex.
There’s more seating around the 75ft-long pool and the terraced Sunset Bar area at the stern has doubled in size.
Much of the new space has been given to suite guests, who can now visit their own restaurant, lounge and sundeck without having to step into the rest of the 3,260-passenger ship.
They would certainly miss out if they didn’t. At the centre of Celebrity Beyond is the lively Grand Plaza with a Martini Bar that every evening hosts a lights show flashing in time to the beat of music, while bartenders flip and shake cocktails.
Eden is a three-deck entertainment, food and drinking area at the back of the ship while the Magic Carpet is a cantilevered orange restaurant that moves up and down between decks, becoming an extension to the Grand Plaza in the evening or a platform to board tender boats in port.
On the top deck is a
Rooftop Garden and all around the ship are 1,000 pieces of new artwork, including a sculpture by the main pool of a white elephant balancing on a man.
But Celebrity Beyond itself is no white elephant and is worth its $1billion price tag. Built in France largely during the pandemic, it is stylish, spacious and chic.
On a preview cruise, I saw a spectacular show called Elements – combining superb dancing, singing, acrobatics and effects – that would have put the West End to shame. At one stage, an enormous silk sheet billowed over the audience, powered by an “air fountain”. Two other new performances are dedicated to art and musicals.
Like her sisters, Celebrity Beyond has four complimentary main dining rooms that share mostly the same menu with a few dishes to reflect their individual themes: American, French,
Mediterranean and Italian. Other venues, such as an expanded steakhouse and a sushi restaurant, cost extra.
New additions include a restaurant that showcases the food of Michelinstarred French chef Daniel Boulud, as well as another drinks venue, the World Class Bar. The Club has been redesigned to be lighter during the day but remaining a dark dance venue in the evening while the Craft Social still serves a selection of beers.
Active cruisers will use the running track and gym while those who’d rather stay still can enjoy massages, a sauna, a steam room and even acupuncture and teeth whitening in the spa.
As the first female captain of a major US cruise ship, Captain Kate, along with her cat, Bug Naked, has become something of a social media star, regularly posting to her 336,000 Instagram followers. But she told me: “On our really big days I don’t post very much because I leave my phone in the office and I’m just a captain.”
She’s not alone – a third of the line’s bridge officers are female. The company
president and the UK and
Europe MD are also women.
Former Dragons’ Den star Kelly Hoppen designed the suites and some other areas and Gwyneth Paltrow will lead a special cruise promoting her goop brand in September.
As someone who has been on more than 80 cruises with 33 different lines, I regard Celebrity Cruises as one of my favourite brands. Not too big, nor too small, not too flashy nor filled with noisy distractions.
A sister ship to Beyond, Celebrity Ascent, is due to join the fleet next year, with the fifth in class, as yet unnamed, arriving in 2024.
After a miserable two years when cruising was largely becalmed by Covid, the 1,400-strong crew appeared ecstatic to be back and gave everyone a warm welcome as they boarded. Though passengers need to be vaccinated and pass a lateral flow test before embarking, once on board things are just about normal with the exception of staff wearing masks.
It’s been tough. But with a fair wind returning, it’s time to head back to the sea and go Beyond…
Kate is the first female captain of a major US ship and a social media star