2022 Celebrity Beyond US Inaugural Ship Review

We were so lucky to have been invited to the Celebrity Beyond US Inaugural two night trade event cruise. We were so impressed with this extraordinary ship. They made little tweaks and improvements in every aspect of the ship over the original design of the Edge and Apex. These changes included Stretching the ship in the center section to put in two more bars, World Class Bar and Craft Social, and the brand new Daniel Boulud signature Restaurant.

They also added a deck, but the Suite Resturant Lumiea up on the top of the ship near the front.

Perhaps most impressive is the expansion of the Sunset Bar designed by Nate Berkus.

The Beyond offers an array of cabin types including the following that we toured

The Sunset Veranda Cabins with Aft Facing Balconies.

The Infinite Veranda is a balcony cabin with convertible indoor-outdoor space. We actually sailed on one of these on the Edge a few weeks later. There are many pros and cons of this design, but I actually loved having the flex space which could be indoors or out. There were a few things I didn’t like: having to hold the button the entire time while the window and blinds opened and closed was the main thing and the inability to slip out on the balcony and keep the blinds closed while my husband slept. There were a few things I was neutral about, for example it did not bother me that the ship had to close the window in rainy weather. I can’t imagine wanting to be on a traditional open balcony in the rain anyway. Also the rail height is the same height as a traditional balcony rail, so I don’t understand the complaint about that. What I really really loved about the infinite veranda concept is on a day when there is cooler weather outside having the balcony extend all the way into the room. I loved working at my desk with the cool breeze and ocean sounds. Our room on the Edge was configured with the opposite layout, so my desk was by the balcony and the bed was by the bath. I also loved the large baths, with more storage space, and the shelving and drawer space, though we felt the hanging space in the closet was a little too small.

Other types of rooms inlcuded the accessible infinite veranda cabins with large accessible bath and clearance around the bed for a wheel chair.

The ship also offers a panoramic ocean view cabin, which is just like an infinite veranda except the window doesn’t open the the room lacks the bonus indoor outdoor space and the interior cabins which though they lack a window, still feature the spacious (by cruise ship standards) bath.

The Retreat Experience is amazing for those passengers who are willing to pay more for a full luxury experience.

First the Retreat Embarkation Experience – With its own line for retreat guests, there is no queueing up to check in. Retreat guest are escorted from the sidewalk to their own elevator in the terminal, to the retreat terminal check in lounge. If the guest needed to wait to board the ship there are refreshments and plenty of relaxing seating. But in our case, the ship was ready so we checked in and directly boarded the ship.

One on board we dropped off our luggage in our Sky Suite, which is the entry level suite for the Retreat Class amenities.

The retreat features several exclusive areas for suit passengers including a lounge with bar service, sun-deck and pool area and the Luminea restaurant. These spaces are designed to replicate the luxury experience that one might find on a small ship luxury line with intimate relaxing spaces and highly personalized service.

We loved the dining experience in Lumine. The views made us feel like “The King of the World” and the food was equally as spectacular.

There are so many types of Suites on this ship, We got to tour most of the different types.

First the Two Story, Two Bath Edge Villa with its own plunge pool.

Next was the Grandaddy of all suites, the 2500 sq foot Iconic suite.

We also toured a Royal Suite.

The Penthouse Suite was also quite impressive.