We were lucky enough to be invited on the launch of the brand new Celebrity Beyond, sailing out of Southampton for two nights to experience everything that Celebrity Cruises have to offer.
The interior design for Celebrity Beyond was completed by Kelly Hoppen and her signature style is clear to see, from neutral palates with a splash of colour in the soft furnishings, to eclectic sculptures like the playful elephant on the sun deck. This beautiful vessel is all about style, fun and quality.
As soon as we boarded, we headed to the top deck and the Sunset bar, where we enjoyed ice cold Pina Colada’s which were very welcome as the weather was surprisingly warm considering it was April in the UK!
Once we had settled in it was time to start exploring, looking at the beautiful staterooms and suites, experiencing the different restaurants onboard, enjoying the entertainment in the fabulous theatre and joining in on the cocktail-making lesson, which of course involved a little cocktail sampling.
The thing that struck me about Celebrity Beyond was the size of the accommodation, the staterooms appear so much bigger than on other cruise ships. This is partly due to the clever design of the verandah which at the touch of a button blurs the boundaries between inside and outside living, meaning the stateroom can be extended by leaving the bi-fold doors to the verandah open. We also viewed a selection of the suites on board and I can honestly say the Iconic suite is probably larger than my house and certainly has more facilities, such as a gym, whirlpool bath and a cabana lounger on the enormous balcony. We also looked at an interior stateroom and I was pleasantly surprised at the size, considering this is the lowest price offering on this beautiful ship. Celebrity Beyond also has accessible staterooms with excellent access to all decks, meaning the less mobile will not struggle onboard.
The food offering on board Beyond is vast and you could eat for 24 hours every day if you wanted to, there is everything from formal restaurants to a pizza bar and in each location there is a varied drinks menu that ensures all tastes are catered for.
A huge part of any cruise for me is people watching, I love to sit and watch the characters onboard and do the occasional bit of celebrity spotting. We heard that Ronan Keating was onboard but no matter how hard we looked, he hid himself well.
We spent a very enjoyable few days on Celebrity Beyond and once again the Cruise industry has introduced new concepts that proves that cruising really is for everyone.
