Celebrity Beyond: What's Onboard And Which Island Itineraries Should You Book?

After spending the summer in Europe following its late April 2022 debut, Celebrity Beyond, the third vessel in the cruise line's innovative Edge Series of ships, will offer a half-dozen different itineraries in the Caribbean through April 2023 before heading back across the Atlantic to cruise the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Adriatic next summer. 

And over the next two years, sailings aboard this 3,260-guest ship will visit more than 20 top island destinations—from Barbados and Curacao to Sicily and Santorini—along with alluring coastal ports in countries such as Croatia, Montenegro, Mexico, Panama, and Colombia. 

These atmospheric locales, paired with Beyond's design-centric ambience, elevated food and beverage offerings and inviting outdoor spaces, make this modern ship ideal for couples or groups of friends seeking a cruise experience that's both sophisticated and youthful—a perfect formula for Gen X cruisers in their forties and fifties and leading-edge Millennials. 

Step aboard Celebrity Beyond and you'll discover that this ship has many of the familiar features—tangerine-hued The Magic Carpet suspended from its starboard side, the gleaming Grand Plaza with its popular Martini Bar, and the sultry lounge/entertainment/dining space Eden—that first greeted passengers during Celebrity Edge's 2018 debut. But there are also many new features that create an even more visually stunning contemporary vibe. 

Changes to Celebrity Beyond include a more spacious Resort Deck, which now has a 25-yard lap pool, along with a massive balancing white elephant sculpture (a popular photo-op spot) and the Edge-class ships' distinctive champagne-glass-inspired hot tubs. The Rooftop Garden has also been reconfigured and now features cantilevered infinity-edge plunge pools. 

And Beyond's aft Sunset Bar is now two levels—and 180-percent larger than its previous version—after having been re-imagined by designer Nate Berkus in an Andalusia-meets-L.A. hybrid featuring black-and-white tile flooring, palm tree wall murals, tropical rattan bar chairs, and daybed niches.

Beyond offers several new suite options

At 65 feet longer than her Edge-class siblings (2018's Celebrity Edge and 2020's Celebrity Apex), Beyond features 179 more suites and staterooms, as well as a redesign of The Retreat, Celebrity's "ship-within-a-ship" enclave for suite passengers, which has been enhanced by British designer Kelly Hoppen with a two-story sundeck and six new 789-square-foot duplex Edge Villas. 

The ship also features new AquaClass Sky Suites that combine the spa-centric amenities of AquaClass with access to the public spaces of The Retreat, and twice as many Single Staterooms with an Infinite Veranda for solo travelers. 

All Edge-class ships boast Infinite Veranda Staterooms, which offer a floor-to-ceiling view by eliminating the balcony door and making the veranda part of the stateroom; the top portion of the glass window can be lowered with the push of a button to get fresh air and there is a folding door that can be closed create a faux veranda. Some guests love the extra interior space, while others miss the feel of an actual balcony.

Guests aboard Beyond can reserve a table in Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud, the renowned chef's first signature restaurant at sea featuring tasting and a la carte menus (at an extra charge) in a sleek modern setting seating just 50 people. Other extra-cost specialty-dining venues include Eden, which now serves globally-inspired a la carte dishes featuring fresh, natural ingredients; Fine Cut Steakhouse, a sophisticated space serving expertly prepared meats, poultry, and seafood; and Rooftop Garden Grill, offering barbecue favorites. 

For those guests who prefer not to pay extra at mealtime, Celebrity has enhanced Beyond's dining room approach by offering four distinct, beautifully designed complimentary a la carte restaurants—Normandie for French, Cyprus for Greek/Mediterranean, Tuscan for Italian, and Cosmopolitan for new American with a global influence—each featuring menus with 75 percent of the offerings changing daily and 25 percent reflecting the venue's theme. 

For pre- or post-dinner entertainment, Beyond's enhanced Theatre is the largest in the fleet and features 110 feet of LED panels to immerse guests in visual imagery during four new production shows. Wonder at Eden also features live interactive performances, and The Club is the setting for both late-night disco and The Jazz Joint speakeasy shows.

When guests book a Celebrity cruise, "always included" perks include a complimentary Classic Drinks Package (valid for beverages priced at $9 and under), basic Wi-Fi and crew gratuities. But you'll pay extra for fancy cocktails and better wines by the glass.

Not only is Beyond 20 percent more fuel efficient than Celebrity's last ship, it is also helmed by Captain Kate McCue, who in 2015 became America's first female cruise ship captain. In addition, 70 percent of the bridge team under her command are also women.

Beyond offers more than a dozen unique itineraries ranging from seven to 12 nights, with winters spent in the Caribbean and spring through fall months in Europe. 

The Caribbean: From November 2022 until early April 2023, Beyond visits some of the top ports in the Caribbean on roundtrip sailings from Fort Lauderdale. Itineraries include 7-night Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten sailings; 7-night Bahamas, Mexico, and Grand Cayman cruises (calling on Nassau, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman); and over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, an 8-night Eastern Caribbean Holiday cruise (calling on Nassau, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola) and an 8-night Western Caribbean Holiday sailing (calling on Nassau, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel).

Looking ahead to itineraries scheduled for November 2023 to April 2024, the ship will add several longer Caribbean sailings, including 9-night Aruba, Curacao, and Cayman cruises; 11-night Panama Canal and Southern Caribbean sailings (calling on Cartagena, Colon, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao); 10-night Ultimate Southern Caribbean itineraries (calling on St. Maarten, Antigua, Dominica, Barbados, and St. Kitts and Nevis); and 11-night Southern Caribbean cruises (calling on Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Aruba, Curacao, and Jamaica).

The Mediterranean, Aegean and Adriatic: Beyond relocates to Europe each spring and beginning in April 2023 the ship will homeport in Rome and visit some of the most scenic locales in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Adriatic—including southern Italy, the Greek Isles, Athens, Dubrovnik and Istanbul. 
Top itineraries include 11-night Italy, Turkey, and Greek Islands sailings (calling on Naples, Sicily, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi, and Istanbul); a 12-night Italy, Turkey, and Greek Islands cruise (similar but with the addition of Crete); and 10-night Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro sailings (with a call on Corfu along with Naples, Livorno, Sicily, Dubrovnik, and Kotor).