A first look at what awaits on Celebrity Beyond
By: Ann Ruppenstein
How do you perfect perfection? That’s the question the team at Celebrity Cruises asked while dreaming up Celebrity Beyond after Celebrity Edge launched with rave reviews.
“We asked ourselves how do we make the extraordinary even better?” Celebrity Cruises’ President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said during a recent reveal event for the third ship in the award-winning Edge series. “The world received Celebrity Edge in such an amazing way and our travel partners as well so we had to think long and hard about what that would look like.”
Here’s a look at what sets Celebrity Beyond apart:
1) The Sunset Bar designed by Nate Berkus
American designer Nate Berkus from HGTV shows like Rock The Block and Nate & Jeremiah Save My House designed the multi-level, multi-terraced Sunset Bar. The Moroccan-inspired escape is nearly twice as large as previous iterations but features niche areas for guests to unwind.
“When a good designer thinks about how something should look, they are thinking about how people should feel. I thought to myself, [what] if I could combine my favourite places in the world — the best parts of Mexico, with the best parts of Greece, with the best parts of Uruguay, with the best parts of California,” he said. “I wanted this space to represent aspiration. I wanted this place to represent relaxation but like an upmarket relaxation.”
2) It’s bigger in a better way
Celebrity Beyond is not only longer but also taller with an additional deck, which Lutoff-Perlo said was transformational for extending areas like the Retreat, the Resort Deck and the Rooftop Garden.
“We were very thoughtful about where we added additional space for our guests and we did this for a very specific reason — to be able to enhance the areas that our guests love the most,” she said. “The outside spaces on the ship are fabulous.”
The Rooftop Garden is 20% larger and the Resort Deck features cantilevered float pools extending over the side of the ship, cabanas designed to create intimate spaces within the large scale of the ship and even more wind spoilers. There are also 179 additional staterooms and suites.
Another standout feature is the Retreat section, dubbed an exclusive resort-within-a-resort, with a two story sundeck that’s 40% bigger.
“We’ve really been able to create more of a sanctuary for our Retreat guests,” Lutoff-Perlo said.
3) All on board with Gwyneth Paltrow
Actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow is Celebrity’s newly announced well-being advisor. The CEO and founder of modern lifestyle brand goop will also be providing amenities and fitness kits for Aqua Class guests across the fleet.
“At goop, our curiosity leads us to explore different approaches to wellbeing and sends us around the world, reporting on the best places to eat, drink, engage, and unwind,” said Paltrow. “As Celebrity’s new well-being advisor, I’ll be working with my team at goop to bring onboard some of our favourite practices and tools for deepening wellbeing and joy.”
Paltrow and her team will also curate onboard wellness programming and participate in the line’s new Women in Wellness initiative.
“I couldn’t be more excited to continue our partnership with goop and have Gwyneth as our wellbeing advisor,” added Lutoff-Perlo.
4) Oh, the Instagrammable moments
Have you ever seen a person lifting an elephant? Situated by the 25-yard lap pool on the Resort Deck is a showstopper statue of art showcasing exactly that. From the Rooftop Garden to the cantilevered float pools, Celebrity Beyond is loaded with photo opportunities all around.
“I think I will lose my mind the first time I see one of your guests, our guests really, on Instagram or on social media saying here I am at the Sunset Bar designed by Nate Berkus on Celebrity Beyond,” Berkus enthused.
5) Take a voyage around the world
One of the specialty restaurants announced during the reveal event was Le Voyage, an intimate 50-seat restaurant by renowned chef Daniel Boulud.
“As a young chef I always dreamed of travelling, and ‘le voyage’ means travelling all over the world and taking a food journey,” said the Michelin-rated chef.
Of note, the entrance and the exit of the restaurant are two different locations.
“Le Voyage will be a culinary journey like no other and will reflect the flavours of the destinations the ship will visit,” said Boulud. “The menu will be grounded in the DNA of my French roots, but, at the same time, it’s going to be very adventurous. My goal is to create a wonderfully comfortable environment where the food is centre stage. I want this to be the most special restaurant at sea.”
There will be culinary and wellness reveal further down the road, but Lutoff-Perlo confirmed Celebrity Beyond will have Eden, and, yes, the Magic Carpet returns too.
6) Inspiring itineraries
Bookings are now open for Celebrity Beyond. The ship departs on a maiden voyage on April 27, 2022 from Southampton, England, on a 10-night Western Europe cruise visiting Bordeaux, France; Lisbon, Portugal; and Seville, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona, Spain.
Celebrity Beyond will then embark on a variety of Mediterranean journeys including nine-night Italian Riviera and France itineraries and 10-night Greek Isles itineraries through early October, with late stays in Santorini to experience the sunset.
Then Celebrity Beyond sails to the Caribbean departing from Fort Lauderdale for Eastern/Western Caribbean itineraries.
