Norah Casey explores the futuristic Celebrity Beyond featuring a whole new level of cruise luxury with stunning sea views, a women’s wellness programme inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow and a floating cantilevered platform, the Magic Carpet, hovering off the edge of the ship.

Full disclosure, I was one of those people who declared openly and often that a cruise was not for me. In fact I probably layered on a few solid reasons why I didn’t identify as a cruise-going sort of person. But that was before I boarded the contemporary, ultra-cool and luxurious Celebrity Edge. I was bowled over. It is unlike anything I had conceived or seen in the cruise space. Now her bigger and taller sister, Celebrity Beyond, has arrived and she’s raised the bar a few notches higher. I was fortunate to be on board for a two-night sneak-peak.

After her first voyage from the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, Celebrity Beyond arrived in style at her new home in Southampton. She will be here for a summer of Mediterranean cruising. I was on board for the unveiling along with the dream team of designers who created and enhanced the iconic onboard spaces.  They include Oprah’s favourite celebrity designer Nate Berkus; multi-award-winning British designer Kelly Hoppen; Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud who opens his first fine-dining restaurant at sea ( Le Voyage); and wellness experiences and products from goop CEO and founder Gwyneth Paltrow, the brand’s new Wellbeing Advisor.

Reimagined

Designed entirely using 3D technology, Beyond is a significant step up from her sister ships. She’s quite magnificent, in a class all of her own, with all of the expected grandeur and style but with some surprises too. The travel industry has been hotly anticipating the arrival of Beyond, which is taller ( 17 decks high), longer by 21 metres and even more spectacular than her  revolutionary Celebrity Edge Series predecessors. A few key areas of the ship have benefited from the extra space and height. The Retreat,  a resort within a resort, is an exclusive area for suite guests and now features a two-storey sundeck. The expanded contemporary playscape, the Rooftop Garden and Resort Deck, features cantilevered float pools which extend out over the ocean for a surreal infinity effect blending pool with ocean. Perhaps, the most dramatic transformation is the new multi-level, multi-terraced Sunset Bar, which Nate Berkus designed as “a chic, Moroccan-inspired escape that is reminiscent of a modern-day Casablanca”.

ART AT SEA

Contemporary art remains a central theme of the third generation Edge Sries of ships. The dramatic art installations take centre stage in many of the open spaces. There’s a three-deck drop chandelier weighing in at seven tons hanging spectacularly above the iconic (and even larger) Martini Bar, which comes alive at night with eight all-new light shows choreographed to music. The reimagined Grand Plaza acts as the ‘beating heart’ of Celebrity Beyond which draws guests from morning to night with impromptu pop up performances and live music. Wall art adds character and humour to suites and staterooms while a life-size contemporary pool-side art piece, a sculpture that depicts a man, balancing the weight of an elephant on his back, is glorious. It was created by the French artist Fabien Mérelle.

Entertainment

Technology and art blends to take the on board entertainment to a whole new level with a 110-foot curved LED screen wraparound with moving panels for a truly immersive and dramatic experience. I caught a performance of ‘Arte’ - an explosive digital meets dance experiential production featuring iconic works of art. High-flying acrobatics, screen and floor projection creates an extraordinary visual masterpiece.

The Retreat

Globally renowned interior designer Kelly Hoppen has nudged the luxury and wow factor of The Retreat to a whole new level with redesigned two-story villas with outdoor plunge pools. Up a further notch in the accommodation stakes,  the Iconic Suites (the largest in the fleet), are perched above the ship’s bridge with breath-taking views of the world passing by.  Retreat guests enjoy the privileged seclusion of their own ‘private utopia’ with a dedicated concierge, a private pool, relaxation space and an exclusive restaurant, Luminae. A fresh colour palette and chic little hideaway spaces add to the exclusive retreat guest experience while the new, two-story Retreat Sundeck features secluded cabanas, the exclusive Retreat Bar. and the stylish Retreat Lounge. 

AquaClass SkySuites

I stayed in a beautiful and spacious AquaClass room with stunning floor-to-ceiling ocean view windows and a private veranda. I didn’t get to see it much during the packed launch programme but it was definitely somewhere I would like to hang my hat for a week or two! The wellness-focused SkySuites, a first for the Edge Series, features luxurious bedding, branded fitness kits from goop and a host of perks including; “on-demand wellness programming, a spa concierge, priority access to spa programs and wellness-oriented excursions and access to Blu, a ‘clean food’ restaurant with plant-based and sustainable seafood dishes''.

Ocean Views

International renowned architect Tom Wright (who also developed the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai) was the design inspiration behind the Resort Deck where he ripped up the rule book and pulled off one of the greatest engineering feats. The expanded Resort Deck features the pool, solarium and rooftop garden - all outward-facing sanctuaries leveraging endless ocean vistas and breath-taking panoramas of the extraordinary places the ship will visit. Wright’s design allows for more urban roofscape spaces for movie watching, live music, dancing and outdoor dining. A wow-factor highlight of Wright’s design is the design of those surreal floating pools cantilevered six and a half feet over the side of the ship with unrivalled views over the water’s edge.

Magic Carpet

Perhaps the most talked about innovation still is the ‘Magic Carpet’ first unveiled at the launch of the Celebrity Edge in 2018. It was the world’s first cantilevered platform at sea, and at 100 feet long and 20 feet wide, this incredible viewing and entertainment space is the size of a tennis court. It began life as a more convenient on/off point for guests (tender platform) on port days. Now it is one of the most exciting additions to the ships. The Magic Carpet moves between decks from sunrise to sundown offering unrivalled views for al fresco lunch, evening cocktails and at night it is positioned 13 stories above sea level.

Sanctuary at Sea

Wellness is taking centre stage on board Beyond, from the stateroom to the spa, with a global icon of wellbeing curating the new ethos. Founder and CEO of lifestyle brand, goop, actor Gwyneth Paltrow was recently unveiled as Celebrity’s Well-being Advisor, creating wellness programmes and hand-selected in-room goop products. And the other secret ingredient is the voyage itself. Commenting at the launch, Lutoff-Perlo said being surrounded by the ocean added to the sense of wellbeing.  “Because we’re doing all of this at sea, which is incredibly therapeutic in itself, it becomes a wonderful wellness journey unlike anything in the world”, she said. As well as Paltrow, a team of ‘best in class’ experts and advisors curated Celebrity Beyond’s ‘Women in Wellness’ program, including Noella Gabriel, the beauty entrepreneur from West Cork and Oriele Frank, co-founders of Elemis; Kimberly Snyder, New York Times best-selling author and holistic wellness expert;  Ruth Zukerman, co-founder of Soul Cycle and Flywheel Sports; Morgan Mitchell, Olympian and F45 Training Athlete; Katie Brauer, Yoga Master (I joined her sunrise power yoga session on board) and Founder and CEO of The Yoga Professional.

Oriele Frank was on board to launch the new Elemis Pro-Collagen Morning Matrix Performance Day Cream and Pro-Collagen Overnight Matrix cream. Press launches don’t get much better than having the beauty founder in-person sharing her insights in the intimate setting of a sumptuous suite, while sipping a glass of fizz watching the ocean roll by.

Cork woman Aisling McCarthy, Director of Operations at OneSpaWorld, showed us around the state-of-the-art spa on board which boasts a number of ‘first at sea’ treatments and fitness facilities, including specialty infrared, massage, rejuvenating and detoxing treatment beds, F45 fitness classes and Peloton cycling. Spa treatments range from acupuncture and ‘destination inspired’ to over 120 rejuvenating treatments.  The SEA Thermal Suite has different spaces to enjoy and relax with some incredible sea views from expansive windows. There are daily wellness programmes including morning Tai Chi, yoga, meditation, strength, stretch and cardio classes. The spa also boasts the first Kérastase® Institute at sea, a barbershop; and an Ideal Image Ocean MedSpa for those who want to return even more rejuvenated.

WOMEN AT THE HELM

Celebrity Cruises are also breaking records for women in the marine industry. The three most visible leaders at Celebrity are all women - President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Vice President & Managing Director, EMEA Jo Rzymowska and the amazing diversity record breaker and influencer, Captain Kate McCue. Only two per cent of mariners in the world are women, CEO Lisa told us at the launch, and while Celebrity started at five percent they are now at 32 percent women. Captain Kate moved from Celebrity Edge to captain Celebrity Beyond in April, the first and only American female to captain a cruise ship of this magnitute.  Last year she steered the first post-pandemic cruise from an American port and on International Women’s Day this year, for the first time in maritime history, Captain Kate led an all-female team who ‘manned’ the bridge including 26 other women representing 16 different countries. Women are very much in evidence at every touch point on board. Kate, and her traveling hairless cat Bug Naked, has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and is helping to change perceptions of women on board.

Get Booking

Celebrity Beyond’s maiden voyage left Southampton last month on a 10-night Western Europe cruise visiting Bordeaux, France; Lisbon, Portugal; and Seville, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona, Spain. She will then offer a variety of Mediterranean journeys including nine-night Italian Riviera and France itineraries and 10-night Greek Isles itineraries through early October 2022, when she then heads to the Caribbean. There is still time to catch her in Europe before then!

For more visit celebritycruises.com

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