I’ve Spent 32 Days on Celebrity Beyond, and Here’s What I Think

After more than 50 cruises on several different lines, you’d think I’d be hard to impress when it comes to ships and service. I have to say, though, Celebrity Beyond exceeded my expectations about what a leveled-up cruise experience could offer. 

Accommodations Aboard Celebrity Beyond

My husband and I have traveled in every type of cruise cabin ranging from the largest suite on a sizable ship to a tiny inside cabin in a smaller vessel. We can make do with just about anything for the sake of an adventure, but on the Beyond we didn’t have to. 

On both trips we booked inside cabins to make our travel budget stretch further and discovered they were the same size as a veranda cabin minus the outdoor sitting area. At a little over 200 square feet, it’s a decent sized space with enough storage for two travelers. Additionally, the bathrooms don’t feel overly cramped, and the glass-enclosed shower stall is surprisingly large when you’re inside.  

Some people opt for the veranda cabins with a balcony or The Retreat suite area, and we got a sneak peek at those through our friends. Both are nice enough if you want to splurge, but I can honestly say that our time aboard Beyond was not impaired by selecting an inside cabin. The beds were extremely comfortable, the type of furnishings in our cabins were on par with other more expensive staterooms, and the attendants were among the best we’ve had on any ship. 

Dining the Beyond Way

Food is always a big deal for cruisers. Too many marginal meals and it’s a thumbs down for the entire trip. After making the rotation through several of the specialty dining experiences and spending lots of time in the main dining areas, that’s definitely one thing you don’t have to worry about on Beyond.

The food is consistently good whether you’re visiting the Ocenview Café (buffet), Café Al Bacio, one of the four main dining rooms, or a specialty restaurant. 

Breakfast and Lunch

Breakfast and lunch often mean visiting the buffet, and most of the food we tried, from standard breakfast fare to pizza, peel and eat shrimp, build your own sandwiches, salads, and desserts, was good. We also enjoyed muffins and pastries for breakfast in Café Al Bacio, the ship’s go-to for coffee, tea, and all-day snacks.

For burgers and hot dogs, we also stopped by Mast Grill out on the pool deck a couple of times midday and enjoyed that as well. Grabbing a fresh sandwich or salad in Eden Café on sea days is also an option. The sweet treats are especially good there. One of the main dining areas is always open for breakfast and lunch on sea days as well. 

Main Dining 

For dinner, unlike traditional cruise dining, there’s not one giant ballroom-style venue. Instead, there are four different restaurants: Cyprus, Tuscan, Normandie, and Cosmopolitan. Each one has different décor and exclusive menu items unique to that restaurant.

However, if you want to order something off another restaurant’s menu at any given time that’s perfectly fine. For instance, we enjoyed dining in Cyprus most of the time, but I liked one of the appetizers from Normandie, so my favorite waiter could get that for me any time I wanted it.

There are also several menu items that change nightly offered in all the venues so you can rotate every night or pick a favorite restaurant and stick with it without missing out on any food options. 

Specialty Dining

We also tried a number of the specialty dining experiences that require an additional charge including Fine Cut Steakhouse, Le Petit Chef in Le Grand Bistro, Raw on 5, and Rooftop Garden Grill.

We would consider going to Fine Cut again for a special occasion and the smoked chicken wings and baby back ribs at the Rooftop Garden Grill were excellent. Le Petit Chef was a fun thing to do with friends but probably not something we’d repeat. Raw on 5 was just okay for the price so we probably wouldn’t visit that one again either. 

We did not try Le Voyage, the most upscale option on the ship, or Eden Restaurant. I’ve heard great things about dinner in Eden, so I plan to check it out in the future. Truthfully, though, you can find enough good options for dining on Beyond that spending extra isn’t required to have a satisfying meal. 

Dining Dress Code

On “Evening Chic” nights, some people wear evening attire while others stick to the smart casual clothing suggested the majority of the time in the main dining and specialty restaurants. In general, shorts and flip flops don’t qualify for smart casual, but whether it’s appropriate really depends on the style. Celebrity defines it as “comfortable yet tasteful” on their website.  

Entertainment on the Beyond

Our traveling buddies clued us in that we’d be wowed by Beyond’s main theater, and they weren’t kidding. It features a 20-foot-tall, curved screen that expands the stage and performances in an immersive way.

Every show is enhanced by it whether it’s a backdrop for a comedian or a vital part of the choreography of one of the production shows. Speaking of which, they’re all good on this ship but Arte’, which brings the work of several renowned artists to life on both the stage and screen, was our favorite. 

There’s more to entertainment on Beyond than the main theater, however.

Eden

Eden is a unique multi-purpose wake-view venue filled with unique furnishings and greenery that includes a bar, restaurant, and its own production show team.

The performances they offer are on a more intimate scale without a true stage when compared to the main theater. We enjoyed the late-night shows here, especially one based on Alice in Wonderland. We also appreciated the live music performances scheduled in Eden on several occasions.

The Club

Activities in The Club include the game show Deal or No Deal, which for us was a fun-to-do-once kind of paid activity, karaoke, and late-night parties.

A speakeasy performance by the Eden production cast is also featured here but we didn’t enjoy it as much as those performed in Eden. It’s a two-story space, but not all areas of the venue have a good sightline of the small stage area so keep that in mind.

The Martini Bar

The centrally located multi-level Martini Bar is the hub of the ship with many daytime activities like dance classes, trivia, and music bingo taking place there.

In the evening, live music fills the air, and the bar staff entertains with cocktail shaker performances. A silent disco held there one night during the week is also a crowd-pleaser that spills upward to all levels of the bar.

Poolside Activities 

Among the poolside activities is The Poolest Day Ever held on one of the last sea days. There’s live music, of course, but the cruise director’s staff is also on hand for fun and games.

One night during the week a Shine the Night party where guests are encouraged to wear white or sequins is also held on the pool deck, but it is moved indoors to the Martini Bar if the weather doesn’t cooperate. 

Is Beyond a Family-Oriented Ship?

In a nutshell, no. They do have a children’s program, and many people report on social media that their kids or grandkids love it, but all-in-all there aren’t many venues around the ship where children can find lots of things to do. In other words, there are no water slides or boardwalks with arcades and carousels. 

Instead, Beyond has the Magic Carpet, a venue that moves up and down the side of the ship usually serving as a spot to enjoy a beverage. But at night, it transforms into a pricey specialty dining venue in the evening. Amazingly, it also serves as the exit point on the ship when tendering ashore is required.

Then there’s Craft Social Bar where you can watch the game and grab a bar bite, the World Class Bar where top shelf spirits are poured, and the Sunset Bar where you can sip a cocktail or beer while enjoying the view outdoors. 

In all honesty, the grown-up vibe and many little luxuries that would be lost on children is one of the reasons I enjoy Beyond so much. Celebrity caters to adults, and it shows.

What It Costs to Sail on Beyond

Cruise prices vary widely from season to season and occasionally you can find some really great deals. Whether you use a travel agent or website specializing in cruises, checking the pricing on the Celebrity website is usually a good place to begin. Here’s a sampling of pricing for a 7-night cruise on Beyond for several stateroom categories.

In My Expert Opinion

Beyond isn’t the newest of Celebrity’s Edge Class ships; it entered the fleet in 2022. It’s also not the most economical choice in the Celebrity fleet. Even so, it’s still a beautiful ship with appointments and décor everywhere that make it look and feel like a luxury resort.

And even though she developed a mechanical issue in the summer of 2025 that won’t be fully resolved until her next drydock, that didn’t have any impact on my comfort and enjoyment. In fact, the itinerary had to be changed on our last week aboard due to a major hurricane in the Caribbean and the captain’s team handled it brilliantly.

After logging more than a month already, and I’d go back on Beyond in a heartbeat.