Celebrity Beyond HONEST Ship Review

I really appreciate this tour because rather than gushing over the ship, you actually give an analysis and comparison of the value of this ship. You hit on some real shortcomings in the cabin. Overall, the cabins are good but they could be better. And what you say about class system on this ship is right on target. People are so enamored by the trendy prettiness and tech of this ship that they're not seeing some woeful shortcomings in it. And I'll disagree with you about the entertainment venues because they are nowhere near as nice as what Celebrity has had on previous classes of ships. Back to classes, on the Edge ships, you can't even get to the fore of the ship on the higher decks. Those overpriced retreats, and you showed how you pay more on this mass market premium ship vs. true luxury ships for the Retreat package, the Retreat people get a forward facing view from inside the ship. That's unheard of. That doesn't happen with HAL or others and certainly not the previous Solstice, Millie, Century, Horizon or Chandris Celebrity ships. That's not a good thing IMO.

The restaurants mostly but not always delivering good food for you was mostly a big positive. But Celebrity's food in the MDRs is not consistent. I agree that the buffet looks fantastic. I do like some of the ship's look in some places but overall, the trendy dull beige tones and grays and soft colors and lack of evocative spaces on the Edge class ships don't give them the richness and evocative spirit of previous classes. It's new and nice now but quite dull in some ways.

But my biggest issue with this ship is tiered social spaces. Just look at the Martini Bar. And I'm kind of tired of seeing the bartender show. They only do it sometimes and once you've seen it a few times then OK, let's enjoy the martini . My issue is that this music and activity goes up to the Crafts social Bar, the dining bistro, the Cafe al Bacio, the World Class bar, all of these places where some quieter enjoyment of the atmosphere would be welcome. I've sailed the Century and Galaxy and for all of these what I think are excessive specialty restaurants aboard this ship, those ships left nothing wanting in terms of food and presentation. There was no need for so many different restaurants. Still, if you want variety, fine. But where is the balance between restaurants and dedicated social spaces? On the Century, for instance, you had Michael's Pub, a cigar spot and later a piano bar lounge; Rendezvous lounge for whatever type of music was playing there; the aft Crystal lounge and music and dancing there. None of these were stacked on the Grand Foyer. The Grand foyer wasn't used for dancing and was a quiet area for the then Cova Cafe. Worked wonderfully. Then there was also the observation lounge for a disco and in the daytime, viewing the ocean and relaxing. Can't do that in the Edge class ships, that area is some fancy shamcy restaurant for the suite people who overpaid. So go on deck, midship if higher up or go to Eden for aft views.

So, maybe you're picking up that I'm not enamored one bit to the Edge ships. That's not to say I don't like some things. I like the Cyprus and Cosmopolitan restaurants and 4 MDRs are fine vs. the one big one. I like the deck space. That theater looks terrific. The Club is fine as a nightclub but it is in no way an Ensembles Lounge on Solstice ships or a Crystal Room on the Century. It doesn't have the ambiance. Eden to me looks fairly casual and it's a mess. It's tiered and why are they putting on shows in such a space? I thought the original idea is for pop up interactive entertainers but so many descriptions I've heard is it is hard to get a seat, too crowded, people stand in front of you, etc. That's because it is trying to do too much multi-purposing rather than being some sort of either theater or performance space that limits and controls the crowding and sight lines. I think Virgin has something like it and it is a big dedicated space and not multi tired. I think Eden needs to be redesigned.

Do I think areas of the ship are pretty? Yes. And the ship is new. But newer isn't always better. Higher tech is nice but then in a few years, the next class of ships will have even higher tech. Some basic good solid design of spaces for what particular cruisers love have to be built into a cruise ship. Edge fails in too many ways IMO. It's pretty but lacks evocative spaces of Celebrity style so it becomes more generic in a sense than the Solstice or Millennium classes.

I also think Celebrity should cool it with the foyer activities. Simply because that disturbs areas on top of wherever the noise is happening (true of the Solstice class ships too). Dedicated spaces and space between them and quiet areas are important to ambiance and what some passengers seek. Celebrity is supposed to be premium and they border sometimes on more mainstream tendencies.

Again, you've done a great job in showing how Celebrity is in their way nickel and dimeing and that's good to have exposed. I think I've provided why the Edge ships aren't optimized for socializing. You can socialize, but it is kind of placed in. But, they do seem to do well on the deck spaces and that's good.

We agree our cruise was totally amazing !

I thought that cafe al bacon food was included without the purchase of drink?

We did a European cruise on Beyond for our 50th anniversary. Blue was awesome especially our servers . Our room attendant was perfect ! As was our cabin room . A word of caution, don’t leave anything behind you will never see it again ! They could care less .my husband bought a 2500.00 ring , left it on his nightstand and never saw it again . I was very satisfied with the handicap service also . The crew was there to help with e Rey need . I like the Summit best and liked the Edge better than Beyond

🤔🤐😬Food seems iffy and you boys seem very conservative. Second guessing my booking on Ascent. Good job on the video footage. Very professional. Is Celebrity worth every penny?

Thanks guys for your very beautiful video. I just booked the Beyond for next May in the same porthole veranda room you sailed in. Didn't know that the A/C cut off even with the door closed...not good. Needless to say, I won't be buying a drinks package. You would have to be drinking something from the moment you woke up in the am until you fell asleep at night. And, you still probably wouldn't break even. Unlikely to do any of the specialty restaurants either. $55 and $75+ is very pricey for just above average food and less than stellar service. I am looking forward to the cruise, buy you just have to be very disciplined with the costs. Otherwise, you could end up taking out a loan to pay for it when you get home.

We sail in 90 days for our transatlantic on the Celebrity Beyond. We have sailed Celebrity once before to Quebec, and just love the Solarium, the food and the service. Thanks for this thorough vlog!

HELLO FROM ROMANIAN

You made a comparison to ultra luxury lines such as Regent and that they would be less expensive than booking the Retreat class. The Beyond is significantly higher in price now because it is still considered a new ship. Not sure if it's a fair comparison as the ultra luxury lines have ships that are much smaller and provide a more intimate experience. The unique thing about Celebrity is you get high end food, service, and entertainment with an amazing amount of choices that the smaller luxury ships cannot compete with. Thanks for a great video.

Were are looking to cruise on this ship within the next year. It looks a stunning ship, but we may have to consider that port hole balcony cabin. You would think there should be an overide on the airccon unit when the doors are open though! We have also put the vote in for you. Great review guys!

Excellent review. Subscribed. Like your honest reviews. Working my way through your back catalogue, having just discovered your channel. Agree with your 2023 roundup of cruise lines. P&O have really dropped the ball. Celebrity are very good but a bit expensive. recently went with Regent, which was very good if somewhat quiet on board and lacking a decent live music band. Infinite Balcony are a really bad idea - others have said this. Your review of HAL has made me consider them.

Hi, great video, thank you! We are just looking to book our first cruise and are torn between celebrity beyond and explorer of the seas. We have 7 adults ranging from age 22 to 60, and a child age 13 who wont do things by himself. My daughter is a huge theatre fan and the shows on both ships look great. It's a huge expense for special birthdays so we want to choose right! Any recommendations? X

Agree with that Buffet test! Chips/fries are always my last resort!

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Fantastic video guys! You make Beyond look beautiful! We’ve booked on Ascent for next year and looked at your Beyond video for inspiration. Thanks for creating this video. It’s been so useful. We thought we were subscribed to your channel but we don’t appear to be 😮 we’ve corrected that now 😀

Just booked for end of August. Managed to get a great deal on The Retreat.

Great review of the ship! I'm happy to see your review of the restaurants onboard as we just ate at the main dining rooms! I thought the food was superb there!! It was great meeting you guys. 😀

Superb video - highly detailed and balanced! Just subscribed :)

Gentleman excellent video as always.

She looks stunning and as you say looked amazing at night. As you say it really does not look a family friendly ship, but that’s fine plenty of others, I like more things going on in day but I agree on this premium cruise line a more chilled atmosphere suits.

Cannot believe the prices of the restaurants, wow and did I hear right 110pp for top drinks package?

I love the chip thing in buffet, great way of looking at it

I travelled on the Beyond last June. It was my first ever cruise and I was totally blown away by the experience as I had nothing else to compare it to, it felt like the most luxurious holiday I have ever had. I mainly ate in the four "free" dining rooms, though did get to Eden on the first night which was great, and Le Petit Chef on the final night which I found gimmicky and underwhelming.

As I'd booked "always included", the classic drinks package came as standard, but I upgraded for about £150 on embarkation day to the premium package for the 10 nights, which didn't seem too bad. Most of the menus around the ship are full of drinks that are above the classic package price limit so it would definitely felt limiting if I'd not upgraded. I DID get one or two of the very special ones from Eden that come in weird containers, and they did appear as in the menu, not just regular glasses, so maybe that's changed since.

I started out in a porthole veranda cabin but got moved later to a higher up infinite veranda as the anchor noise kept waking me up early in the morning, guest services were incredibly accommodating with that, and I didn't find it a problem it not being a "real" veranda.

All in all it was an incredibly memorable experience which was difficult to find too much to fault with.

Excellent review guys. Looks a lovely ship. Some off the pay restaurants are pricey these days so you expect it to be wow, very disappointing when it’s underwhelming I’m sure.

Wow!!!! What a stunning ship ❤ your videos are so detailed and your filming is perfection. I cruise often and I always watch your reviews before booking anything. You’ve certainly sold celebrity to me!

Superb video, definitely like to try this ship one day looks like it will be good all round experience. Keep it going boys looking forward to the next one

Amazing video, Dan and Jay. We really want to try celebrity one day and now watching it makes us want to do it even more.😎

Another great video! What a stunning ship!

What a lovely well put together video, clearly celebrity are doing things right, if only they was a tiny bit cheaper lol!

Nice