My wife and I just got back from a five-day cruise aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Beyond. Wow! What an incredible experience! This was our first time sailing on Celebrity and they really set the bar high. We’re looking at doing another one in 2026 and can’t wait!
The entire time we were aboard the Beyond, my wife and I kept commenting on its similarities to the classic ocean liners of yesteryear. So today I’d like to talk a little about that.
A Modern Ship for a Modern Age
Built by Chantiers de l’Atlantiqu in Saint-Nazaire, France, Celebrity Beyond and her sisters (Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Ascent, and the under-construction Celebrity Xcel), are perhaps the most modern cruise ships sailing today. Their lines are startlingly (and refreshingly) different from what we’ve seen over the last few decades, and the amenities are truly out of this world. It was this cutting-edge design that gave name to the first ship and the whole class. The Edge-class ships are strikingly modern. This was by design.
According to Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Vice Chairman of External Affairs for Royal Caribbean Group (which owns Celebrity Cruises):
We designed our staterooms, outdoor decks and spaces, and a very special feature called the “Magic Carpet,” a cantilevered element that hangs over the side of the ship, to create a connection to the sea like never before. We literally took our guests to “the edge.” Soon, the series name took on an entirely new meaning in how we thought about the ships and how they were going to make guests feel. We incorporated as much glass and as many windows as we could into the ships’ design. Everything became outward facing. We blurred the boundaries between inside and outside. So, for the first time ever, the project name became the name of the first ship in the series.
The Celebrity Beyond, as well as all of the other Edge-class ships, reminds me of another bold and modern ship build Chantiers de l’Atlantiqu ship: the French Line’s famous SS Normandie.
Much has been said about the Normandie since 1935. She was the living embodiment of French pride, and its unofficial ambassador to the world. She was the fastest ship in the world in 1935 and 1937. Normandie’s Art Deco design was new and bold, and the ship was truly one-of-a-kind. She was a modern ship for a modern age. Her luscious interiors are the stuff of legends, and the ship featured so much original artwork that she was practically a floating art museum (the same would later be said of Italy’s Cristoforo Colombo and Andrea Doria after World War II as well). There was even an indoor winter garden that spanned the width of the ship (Eden on the Beyond really reminded me of it). In short, everything about Normandie was a modern artistic statement. It’s such a shame that she had so short of a career.
One of the things that surprised us on Celebrity Beyond was the huge artwork collection. The fact that it was all attributed made both of our museum nerd hearts jump for joy. In fact, all of the Edge-class ships have impressive art collections. On the other cruises we’ve been on (not naming names), the artwork has always seemed pretty generic and cookie cutter. The staterooms even seem to have all the same artwork. On the Beyond, though, all of the art was bold, modern, striking, and felt like it belonged. None of it felt out of place. Though I did overhear another passenger commenting to her husband while we were on the way to dinner, that the artwork aboard was “interesting.” But people were saying that about Normandie back in the 1930s. To each their own.
Celebrity Beyond’s interior spaces were incredibly appointed too. Everything from the Grand Plaza to the Resort Deck to the main dining rooms were marvelous. Celebrity has been known to have parts of classic ocean liners aboard their ships for years (the old Olympic Restaurant on Celebrity Millennium for example). The Beyond carries a very unique statue: “La Normandie” by Leon Baudry. Commissioned in 1932, she originally graced the stairway leading to Normandie’s First Class Smoking Room. Following the ship’s untimely demise, the statue was found in a New Jersey scrapyard in the 1950s. “La Normandie” was eventually purchased by Celebrity Cruises and installed aboard Celebrity Summit. The statue was eventually moved to the Beyond where she stands today. Crewmembers affectionally call her the “Chocolate Lady.”
At this point, I feel I should confess to probable blasphemy. I’ve never been a particularly big fan of the Normandie until now. I couldn’t tell you why that was, however. Maybe it was blind loyalty to my beloved Queen Mary. But I guess I never really “got” the ship until now. To me, Celebrity Beyond is like a modern-day Normandie. I got a sense of what it must have been like to sail aboard the “Ship of Light” in the 1930s. I really feel that the Celebrity Beyond and her sister ships are as revolutionary today as the Normandie had to have been when she set sail.
Extreme Luxury & Unparalleled Service
A friend of mine recently described Celebrity Cruises as “American Cunard.” I’ve yet to sail on Cunard so I can’t attest to that statement. That said, though, being aboard the Beyond definitely reminded me of what I’ve read of the Cunard Line in the 1940s and 1950s. So, he’s probably pretty accurate.
The luxury and service aboard Celebrity Beyond was unparalleled. It made me think of what service aboard the classic liners was like. From crystal water glasses at dinner to attentive crew to cotton hand towels in the restrooms, it certainly made me think of that famous Cunard service. On Celebrity, I’ve heard that you can order food and drinks that aren’t on the menu (we didn’t try that), much like back in the day on the Queen Mary. When I was a tour guide, we told the story of how there were only two times in the Mary’s long career that her crew couldn’t accommodate a passenger’s culinary request (one asked for a Dr. Pepper and the other a rattlesnake steak).
It was the Beyond’s crew w who truly made our cruise special though. Our stateroom attendant Lasjaya was phenomenal and took great care of us. The waiters and bartenders all had big smiles on their faces and took obvious delight in their work. We even had crew members offer to take pictures for us, which has never happened on any of our other cruises before. I feel quite confident in saying that Celebrity’s crews are among the best in the industry.
Just as the Queen Mary was known as a happy ship, so too is the Celebrity Beyond. And it’s reflected in the high standards of service and quality aboard. I should add that we’ve never had anything but good and positive experiences on our other cruises. But there just seemed to be something different about this one. Maybe it has a lot to do with the Beyond’s leadership.
Famous Ship, Famous Captain
Some ocean liner captains were as famous as the ships they commanded back in the day. The White Star Line’s Edward Smith was one such captain, as were Sir James Charles and Geoffrey Marr of Cunard. We don’t see too much of this today. However, there’s one very notable exception.
Captain Kate McCue made headlines in 2015 when she became the first American woman to command a “mega” cruise ship (the Celebrity Summit). She went on to command Celebrity Equinox and Celebrity Edge. She was the build captain for Celebrity Beyond and has since become synonymous with “her baby.” Captain Kate has a tremendous social media following (as does her pet Sphynx cat, Bug). I heard quite a few people comment during the cruise just how incredible of a brand ambassador she is for Celebrity. To be honest, Captain Kate and Bug are the two biggest reasons we took this cruise in the first place.
As it happened, we were lucky to sail with them at all. Captain Kate was supposed to go on vacation starting April 22, the day our cruise left Ft. Lauderdale. We didn’t find this out until mid-January and we were crushed. However, last month on one of her daily Instagram posts, Captain Kate revealed that she’d been asked to stay on for a few more weeks. So, we would be sailing with her after all!
My wife and I decided to give Captain Kate a small gift: an Images of America: RMS Queen Mary book and a cat-shaped rubber duck (yes, I’m into cruise ducks). We were invited to the Captain’s Circle reception, where we met and took a photo with Captain Kate. We asked her for an autograph (a tradition going back to my Queen Mary days). Captain Kate was gracious, kind, and absolutely hilarious. She got excited when I told her I used to work on the Queen Mary. The captain then told us how she stayed onboard the ship before her Second Mate’s examination for “those good vibes.” Later that night, we came back to the room and saw that we had a handwritten thank you note from Captain Kate waiting for us, as well as a Celebrity Beyond pin.
Later in the cruise, Captain Kate gave her “Oceans Ahead” presentation. She told the story of how she became a cruise ship captain and what it’s like to be in command of a modern cruise ship. Passengers were invited to submit written questions for the Q&A session. So, I figured I’d put one in. Why not, right? I asked, “Which of the classic ocean liners do you wish you could’ve sailed on?”
My question was pulled! And I just so happened to be recording when it happened! Turns out, it’s Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary.
As we were disembarking, we noticed a long line just outside of the luggage hold area in the terminal. Captain Kate was saying farewell to passengers and taking pictures with them one last time. Now that’s dedication! She’s truly a great brand ambassador for Celebrity Cruises.
Final Thoughts
All in all, and in case you couldn’t tell, this was an incredibly memorable cruise! We kept joking beforehand that Celebrity was going to spoil us for our future cruises. I think it really did. The atmosphere was relaxed and restful. But there was never a shortage of things to do either. The ship also never felt crowded at all (except for maybe the lunch buffet on the last day…and even then, it wasn’t so bad). The ship had fantastic food, highly original cocktails, and an overall relaxed vibe. At several points in the cruise, I felt like I’d gone back in time and was aboard the Normandie or the Andrea Doria. It was like sailing on one of the classic liners in many ways. At the same time, however, everything had a fresh and modern take.
We’ll definitely be sailing with Celebrity Cruises again!
References
- Lutoff-Perlo, Lisa with Sarah McArthur. Making Waves: A Woman’s Rise to the Top Using Smarts, Heart, and Courage. Dallas: Matt Holt Books, 2024.