Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 3/4/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 3/4/23

Review Videos

We review Celebrity Beyond

Below are our review videos of Celebrity Beyond.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/19/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/19/23

Disembarkation and Return Home

We disembark Celebrity Beyond

This morning, Celebrity Beyond arrived safely back to Port Everglades where this week-long adventure began.

Guests with large luggage were advised to have their luggage outside of their staterooms by 10pm last night. On this cruise, Rickee and I decided to travel with only carry-on luggage. Checking luggage and dealing with baggage claim at airports is just such a hassle. And, we have found that if you pack creatively, you can get by just fine with only carry-on.

Even though we advised Guest Services during the cruise that our flight was not until 3:45pm, we were still assigned to disembarkation Group 2. That meant we needed to be off the ship by 8am. We had hoped for a later disembarkation, perhaps 9:15, but…oh well.

Disembarkation is on Deck 5 midship, through the Magic Carpet door. Since our stateroom is on Deck 6, this makes getting an elevator pretty much impossible as they are all full by the time they reach our deck (with guests from the upper decks). So, that meant carrying our hand luggage down a flight of stairs. Not a big deal, but if you have mobility issues (we do not), it might be something to consider.

We scanned our stateroom key cards at about 8:05am and as we walked down the gangway to the terminal, Rickee commented “where are all the guests?” As we arrived at the terminal, Captain Kate was there to say goodbye to guests and thank them for cruising with Celebrity. She was gracious enough to take a “selfie” with us.

We said goodbye to Captain Kate and assured her we would sail with her again in the future. And, her future, it would appear, is very bright.

After we breezed past the landscape of yet-to-be-claimed checked luggage in the terminal, we were once again struck by how well organized and uncrowded the entire disembarkation process was. Without question, this was the easiest and fastest disembarkation we have every experienced on a large cruise ship. We could not help but compare the experience to a recent one on Holland America where we stood in a huge line for nearly an hour just get off the ship! And, that was a smaller ship!

We ordered a Lyft to take us to the airport (only $13.50) where we had pre-booked a pass at the new Escape Lounge in Terminal 3.

Use of the Escape Lounge is complimentary for American Express Platinum card members, which we are no longer. However, you can purchase access for $48 per person. By pre-booking online, we saved $8 per person and paid $80 total.

The lounge is more comfortable than being forced to spend seven hours in the terminal. They offer complimentary light bites, drinks (including alcoholic beverages), coffee, cookies, fruit, etc. Guests are also provided three hours of complimentary Internet/WiFi, which was decent as far as speed. We found seats at a work table with AC and USB ports so I was able to get a lot of work done.

The food serving areas looked pretty messy when we arrived and the lounge was packed with people. A few people had rudely laid down to sleep in some of the seating areas, taking up more than their share of space.

There are only three restrooms, all of which are unisex, and when crowded, lines do form. That restroom situation was probably the worst feature of the lounge. On the upside, the food and free drinks were actually decent, probably about at the level of an Admirals Club. The Capital One Lounge at DFW Terminal D is still our favorite domestic lounge, but we may use the Escape Lounge in FLL in the future, should we have a late return flight.

The flight home to DFW was on time and uneventful. Now that we are back, it is time to get to work on my review videos of Celebrity Beyond. Thank you again to Captain Kate McCue and the Celebrity Beyond staff for a great cruise.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/18/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/18/23

Day 7 - Day At Sea

Our last day on Celebrity Beyond is a day at sea sailing back to Port Everglades.

The hightlight of today is a talk in The Theater by Captain Kate McCue.

Captain McCue shared an inspiring story about how she dreamed of working on a cruise ship since the age of 12 after her first cruise aboard The Big Red Boat with her family. Thanks to her hard work, dedication and the support of her family, she made her dream come true by becoming the first American female Captain of a “mega” cruise ship.

Captain McCue (or Captain Kate as she is often called) attended the California Maritime Academy.

After Captain McCue’s inspiring story, we enjoyed one last excellent performance by Jesse Hamilton, Jr.

If you have the opportunity to see Jesse Hamilton, Jr., his shows are excellent.

This afternoon we attended what has to the be the quirkiest trivia ever on a cruise ship. Bug Naked is the name of Captain Kate’s Egyptian Elf-Eared Sphynx cat, which is a hairless breed of cat. @BugNaked has more than 63,000 followers on Instagram, beating me my 62,000.

Well over 100 people showed up at The Club to answer trivia questions about Bug Naked and Captain Kate showed up with Bug in a baby carriage wrapped in a blanket and dressed in pajamas (Bug, not Captain Kate).

It was amazing how many questions people got correct and one person got every single answer correct.

Before dinner this evening, we decided to check out World Class Bar (Deck 5 midship) for a pre-dinner cocktail. We soon learned that my order of Canadian Club was too pedestrian for this upscale bar. They have an impressive menu of specialty cocktails whose descriptions sound delicious.

Our waiter was able to procure a Crown Royal for me. The glassware here is very elegant and ads a nice touch of class.

For dinner this evening, we have reservations at Fine Cut Steakhouse (Deck 5 Midship, port side). This is Celebrity’s upscale steakhouse with an impressive menu of USDA Prime beef cuts.

My meal started with a crabcake, which was quite large and filled with crab chunks.

Crab Cake Starter at Fine Cut Steakhouse

For my main course, I ordered the USDA Prime New York Strip which they claim has been dry aged for 30 days. So, was it any good? How did it compare to my all-time favorite cruise ship steak? Well, you will just have to wait for my Beyond Food and Dining Review on my YouTube channel coming soon. Make sure to subscribe!

It was a relaxing and fun day at sea aboard Celebrity Beyond. Tomorrow we will arrive back at Port Everglades and say goodbye to Captain Kate, Bug and Celebrity Beyond.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/17/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/17/23

Day 6 - Grand Cayman

Celebrity Beyond is in Grand Cayman today.

It is a beautifully clear morning as Celebrity Beyond pulls up to the anchorage off of the coast of Grand Cayman. As with every port on this itinerary, we have been to Grand Cayman more times that we can count. This is a popular cruise destination and one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. The only downside to visiting Grand Cayman is that guests must tender ashore as the coral reefs make docking impossible.

Once again, we have decided to remain onboard to enjoy the ship’s activities, which begins with a frustrating attempt at General Knowledge Team Trivia conducted by Bruno.

For lunch today, we decided to try Eden Cafe on Deck 5 aft. This is an interesting spot that we did not even know existed on Celebrity Apex until the final day of our Apex cruise (2022). So, today was our first visit to Eden Cafe and it was a real treat.

This is the perfect spot for a casual, light lunch, but Eden Cafe is only open from 11:45am to 1:15pm. Since most guests are off the ship on excursions today, this is the perfect time to enjoy Eden Cafe.

They offer a variety of paninis, wraps, a carving sandwich of the day, soups, creative salads, and cookies. Eden Cafe is one of our new favorite spots for lunch on Edge-class ships! My Chicken Pesto Panini was delicious, as was the Chicken with Ancient Grains salad.

As if General Trivia was not enough punishment, we tried music trivia this afternoon. DJ Kolerz played a few seconds of several songs from the 50s and 60s and we had to guess the song title and artist. We got all but one song title correct, but only a few of the artists. I think we came in second place.

For dinner this evening, we decided to try Cosmopolitan Restaurant, one of the four themed Main Dining Rooms. Cosmopolitan is like an upscale New York City restaurant (I think). The restaurant is very elegant and service was excellent, as it has been in every venue.

Cosmopolitan is where I had my favorite dish of the entire cruise. I will go into great detail about our dining experience at Cosmopolitan in my Food and Dining Review video which will be posted to our YouTube channel soon after we return from the cruise. Make sure you Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our reviews of Celebrity Beyond.

Can you guess what my favorite dish of the cruise was?

After dinner we head to The Theater for tonight’s production show, Arte. Once again, the cast of singers, dancers, acrobats and aerialists made this a memorable show and one that you should not miss.

Amazing contortionists/acrobats add to the visual feast that is Arte.

It was yet another incredible day aboard Celebrity Beyond. Tomorrow is our last day at sea and our final full day prior to disembarkation.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/16/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/16/23

Day 5 - Cozumel, Mexico

Celebrity Beyond is docked in Cozumel, Mexico today

Celebrity Beyond is docked in Cozumel, Mexico, today right next to Oasis of the Seas. One look gives you an idea of the difference in size. For us, Celebrity Beyond is as big as we need!

Oasis of the Seas docked next to Celebrity Beyond in Cozumel

We have been to Cozumel many times, and done most of the excursions offered here. So, today, we do what we do best. Relax! We did get off the ship and walk to the small shopping area at the end of the pier to get Rickee some Dr. Pepper.

Another guest offered to stop and take our picture as we walked back to the ship.

We are back onboard in time for our 1:00pm lunch reservation at Le Grand Bistro.

The menu here for lunch is extensive and the portions are very large. We remembered having an excellent meal here on our Celebrity Apex cruise. Today, we decide to skip dinner and enjoy this huge lunch.

I ordered the Double Cheese Truffle Burger with Parmesan Fries. I will tell you all about this burger and everything else we tried at Le Grand Bistro in our upcoming Food and Dining Review video coming soon to our YouTube channel.

As you can see below, the cost to eat lunch here is not inexpensive. There is a $30 per person cover charge plus 18% gratuity.

Tonight’s show was “Generations of Soul” performed by guest performer, Jesse Hamilton Jr., and backed up by the Celebrity Beyond Orchestra.

This was one of the most energetic and fun guest performances we have ever attended. Mr. Hamilton’s vocals are amazing and several standing ovations were offered during his performance.

It has been another relaxing and fun day aboard Celebrity Beyond. Tomorrow, Beyond will be anchored off the coast of Grand Cayman.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/15/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/15/23

Day 4 - Costa Maya, Mexico

Celebrity Beyond is docked in Costa Maya, Mexico today

Today, Celebrity Beyond is docked in Costa Maya, Mexico, after an impressive docking maneuver by Captain Kate McCue. The ship was experiencing 40 knot winds and 2+ meter swells, plus she had to swing the ship sideways and avoid Ruby Princess which was already docked.

Even though we have been here many times before, we decided to get some exercise and walk down the long pier from the ship to the shopping/tourist area.

I don’t recall that you had to enter the shopping area through a duty free shop in the past, but you do now. That is pretty typical of Caribbean ports now.

No deals on liquor here. I can buy 1.75 liters at home for $16.99.

If you have not been here before, check out the flamingos.

When we arrived, the Papantla Flyer show was just about to begin. The four “flyers” basically slowly descend from a tall tower while their ropes unwind on the spinning tower.

Rickee could not resist this colorful hat. It will make a nice addition to our next garage sale.

If you ever wondered just how big Oasis of the Seas is, here you can see it docked next to Ruby Princess which is not a small ship herself.

On our way back to the ship, we stop for a very windy photo op with the aft of Celebrity Beyond.

Once back onboard, it is time for a rum punch and a piña colada at Magic Carpet Bar.

Piña Colada and Rum Punch at Magic Carpet Bar

This afternoon, we tried team trivia again. Sabrina dealt out some harsh questions. We have yet to win at team trivia.

For dinner this evening, we visit Normandie Restaurant (Deck 3 aft). This is the French-themed restaurant on Beyond.

The bread basket served here (and in all of the restaurants) is amazing. These baguettes are some of the best we have ever had. I really enjoyed the Brie pastry.

Tonight’s show is ELEMENTS and, once again, the production team put on an excellent show. The show is a visual feast and very entertaining. We are quite impressed with the entertainment on Beyond.

At the conclusion of the show, Luigi, our cruise director, updates us on what we can expect tomorrow on Celebrity Beyond.

Tomorrow, Celebrity Beyond will be docked in Cozumel, Mexico.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/14/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/14/23

Day 3 - A Valentine's Day At Sea

Today is Valentine’s Day and a very special day on Celebrity Beyond.

Today is Valentine’s Day and Celebrity Beyond is sailing to Costa Maya, Mexico. Days at sea are typically our favorite as we can spend the day enjoying all that the ship has to offer. The only downside to a sea day is that everyone is onboard and venues can get pretty crowded, especially when we have more than 3,000 guests on board this week.

We are getting used to the idea of not having a traditional balcony. However, if you are a sun lover and want to work on your tan, you won’t get much sun love from an Infinite Balcony because, basically, it’s a window. Granted, a very nice, large window, but a window nonetheless.

So why did Celebrity decide on so many Infinite Balcony staterooms instead of traditional balconies? I recall a Captain one time telling us that one of the greatest sources of drag on a large cruise ship were the partitions that separate each of the balconies. When you think of it, it makes sense. Each one of those partitions can catch the wind and create drag, which can affect fuel economy. By replacing balconies and their partitions with a smooth surface like flat windows, you can reduce the drag and improve fuel economy. Of course, this is only my theory.

After my morning coffee and blogging at Café al Bació (above), we head back to The Club for this morning’s General Trivia with Bruno. Celebrity definitely has the most difficult trivia questions of any cruise line.

We wanted something very light for lunch today so we thought we would try Raw On 5 and maybe have some sushi. We are planning on a large dinner this evening at Rooftop Garden, so I needed something light. Also, a little known fact is that I am in the middle of an intermittent fasting regimen right now and I need to wait until 1:30pm to eat (I have to wait at least 16 hours after my last meal).

We were surprised to find that Raw On 5 was full and that reservations were being taken for lunch. The hostess did help us out and was able to get us a nice table for two, but honestly, you should plan on making reservations here. We shared an order of Edamame and I had a spicy tuna roll and both were delicious. I will go into more detail about Raw On 5 in my dining video at the conclusion of this sailing.

After lunch, we had some time before our next activity to do a little souvenir shopping at The Collection shop. We really want the ship model ($65) to use as a prop for our studio, but not sure how we will get it home since we only brought carry-on luggage. We may have to do some creative packing.

One of the highlights of this Valentine’s Day was a huge vow renewal ceremony that was held on the pool deck. The ceremony was conducted by Captain Kate McCue and hundreds were on hand to renew their wedding vows.

Before dinner this evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset cocktail at Sunset Bar (Deck 15 aft). If my memory is accurate, this area seems to be larger on Beyond than on Apex (someone help me out here).

For Valentine’s Day dinner tonight, I chose Rooftop Garden (Deck 15 aft, just forward of Sunset Bar) because it was one of our favorites on Celebrity Apex last year.

As with some other spaces on Beyond, it seems like Rooftop Garden Grill is smaller than on Apex, perhaps to make more space for a larger Sunset Bar? We arrived on time for our 7pm reservation and the restaurant was already pretty full. At first, we were seated at a table for two, which was nice, but was catching a lot of wind. We asked to be moved to another table and the hostess happily moved us to a four-top table in a more sheltered location.

Rooftop Garden Grill has an open kitchen where you can watch your meal being prepared. One of my favorite things here is the chicken wings, and I ordered them two ways. Half of the wings are tossed in a buffalo hot sauce and the other half in a sweet and spicy dry rub.

Of course, we will do a thorough review of Rooftop Garden Grill in our dining review video, so make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel (@cruisereport).

When we returned to our stateroom tonight we were pleasantly surprised to find a rose on Rickee’s pillow for Valentine’s Day.

Tomorrow, Celebrity Beyond will dock in Costa Maya, Mexico, at around noon.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/13/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/13/23

Day 2 - Nassau, Bahamas

Celebrity Beyond is docked in Nassau, Bahamas.

Today, Celebrity Beyond is docked in Nassau, Bahamas. We have been to Nassau more times than I care to count, so our plan is stay onboard and get more photos and video of the ship while most people are ashore.

We were blessed with calm seas last night as we sailed to Nassau. I am up early to get some work done while Rickee sleeps in a bit longer. Last night was our first night in the Infinite Balcony stateroom and it was very comfortable. The bed is as comfortable as I remember from our Celebrity Apex cruise. Both pillows are quite large and firm. One thing we love about this stateroom is the blackout shade that completely covers the “balcony” window. This shade can be lowered and raised electronically using the switch panel next to the window, or from the LCD control pad next to the bathroom.

This morning, I visited Café al Bació (Deck 4 midship) for the first time. When we sailed on Apex last year, I went to coffee every morning at Luminae lounge (we were in a Sky Suite). On this sailing, I need a good place for morning coffee and a nice table where I can work on my blog and photos from the previous day. Café al Bació is the perfect spot. There are two large tables that are designed for laptop working. While they do not have plain drip coffee here, they do make an excellent Americano, and of course they can make any specialty coffee drinks you desire. The coffee drinks are not complimentary, but are included in the Premium Beverage Package. A wide variety of breakfast pastries, on the other hand, are complimentary and look delicious.

We made another attempt at Team Trivia today held in The Club on Deck 4. Today’s theme was Sports Trivia and we did poorly…again. If we had only known that a golf ball had 336 dimples.

Interestingly, it is quite cool in Nassau today. I did not check the actual temperature, but I am guessing in the mid-to-high 70s (F). It was actually perfect weather for doing our daily one mile walk around the walking/jogging track which is the most unique track we have seen. The track changes elevations between Decks 15 and 16 and is slightly different from the one on Apex. The track on Beyond extends aft then wraps around in front of Rooftop Garden, rather than going all the way behind Rooftop Garden. It takes five laps to make a mile.

After our walk, we visit the Magic Carpet for a much needed morning cocktail. Rickee has a Bloody Mary and I have a Piña Colada. Both were excellent. We enjoyed our refreshments as we sat and looked at Carnival Mardi Gras docked right next to us. We reflected on what a great cruise we had aboard Mardi Gras.

For lunch today, we went back to Oceanview Cafe on Deck 14. Once again, we have a light lunch because we plan to have dinner this evening at Cyprus, one of the four main dining rooms on board.

As large ship buffets go, Oceanview Café is about as good as you will find. Again, neither Rickee nor I are big buffet fans, but we do like the way the food is presented at Oceanview in separate serving stations. Unfortunately (for us), many of the dishes are self-serve. There are a few dishes which the crew will put on your plate for you. There is a very large selection here for breakfast and lunch; however, we have heard that there are very few choices for dinner.

We usually sit aft, near the Pizza station. I tried a slice of pizza and have to admit it was much better than I remembered last year on Apex. It’s not quite up to Carnival pizza’s flavor, but it is pretty good.

One of my favorites at Oceanview is the Caesar Salad, which can be made fresh to order.

Most of the afternoon was spent reading in our stateroom on our “Infinite Balcony”. I am pleased to report that we have not suffered from any cigarette smoke odor from the smoking area on Deck 5 port side.

We chose to have dinner early this evening so we could make the early show at The Theater. We chose Cyprus dining room which is one of four themed main dining room options on Beyond. Cyprus offers a Greek cuisine menu, but all of the main dining venues share a selection of Celebrity Classics from which to choose.

I will include our Cyprus dining experience in my Food and Dining video review which will be posted to our YouTube channel (@cruisereport) at the conclusion of this cruise.

Before heading to the theater, we had a little time to kill and decided to make a donation at the Casino on Deck 5. The slots have not been kind to us on Beyond.

We arrived at The Theater on Deck 4 early to get a good seat for tonight’s show, Stage Door. The show opened with a greeting from our Cruise Director, Luigi, who introduced Captain Kate McCue.

Captain Kate introduced members of her Senior Staff to the audience and welcomed everyone onboard Celebrity Beyond. She has a BIG personality to match the responsibility of mastering a $1.4 billion ship.

Tonight’s show, Stage Door, is simply a “must-see” if you are sailing on Beyond. A cast of 22 singers, dancers and musicians put on a memorable show, and one of the best shows we have seen on a cruise ship. The ship’s musicians backed up a musical score performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The combination of set design, a huge LED screen surrounding the stage and a variety of costumes make this show a visual feast.

We are very excited to see the next show on Celebrity Beyond. If Stage Door is any indication of the entertainment to come, we are in for a real treat.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and we plan to do what we do best: relax!

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/12/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/12/23

Celebrity Beyond Embarkation Day

A very smooth embarkation, amazing dinner and the SuperBowl!

This morning we departed our hotel, Fairfield Inn Downtown,at about 10 am for Port Everglades. The Lyft ride to the port cost $17 + tip. Lyft/Uber ride costs can vary greatly depending on time of day, traffic and number of available drivers. We arrived at Terminal 25 at about 10:17 and a crowd of Celebrity Beyond guests was already forming. Getting through security was easy and we were directed to a waiting area.

Guests are offered flavored water in terminal

The Celebrity Cruises’ waiting area at Terminal 25 is probably the nicest we have seen for any large ship to date. They even offered guests complimentary cucumber or orange flavored water.

Boarding began at 11am and was very organized. Boarding passes are electronic (you can optionally print out your boarding pass). We entered Celebrity Beyond on Deck 4 midship and I immediately made my way to Guest Services on Deck 3 to see if we could change our stateroom location. I will explain why later in this blog. I was the only one in line at Guest Services, so there was no wait. It was then I learned that the ship is completely full and that no stateroom changes were possible. I was told that I could check back after sail away. I never did, and I will explain why later in this blog.

After my request was shot down by Guest Services, we decided to drop our luggage in our stateroom. Staterooms are ready for occupancy at 1pm, but Celebrity does allow you to go to your stateroom to drop off your hand luggage. When we arrived at our stateroom (6289), our room keys were waiting for us in the little room number document slot.

A stateroom attendant and housekeeping supervisor were in our stateroom cleaning when we arrived. The supervisor was very nice, welcomed us onboard and took our hand luggage into the stateroom. She told us that our stateroom would be ready by the time we finished lunch. I should probably mention that on this cruise, Rickee and I decided to travel with only carry-on luggage. We have learned that on a seven-day cruise or shorter, we can pretty much take everything we need in our carry-on luggage.

After dropping off our luggage, we decide to complete the muster requirements by visiting our muster station in person (Cosmopolitan Restaurant) where a crew member scanned our boarding pass. We had both viewed the muster safety video (required) while we were waiting in the terminal. This was the easiest and most logical muster process we have experienced on a large ship.

Cosmopolitan Restaurant Is Our Muster Station

It was a little too early for lunch, but not too early to celebrate our 139th cruise with a glass of Prosecco in the Martini Bar! We enjoyed a glass of bubbly before heading to Oceanview Cafe for lunch. Celebrity Beyond offers five different options for embarkation lunch:

Oceanview Cafe (buffet) 11:00am - 2:30pm
Le Grand Bistro (cover charge) 11:45am - 1:15pm
Mast Grill 11:30am - 6:00pm
Raw on 5 (a la carte menu) 12 Noon - 2:00pm
Luminae (for Retreat guests) 12 Noon - 2:00pm

When we finally arrived at Oceanview Cafe, it was pretty crowded. This is definitely the most popular lunch spot on the ship. The restaurant appears to be identical to Oceanview Cafe on Celebrity Apex, so we were familiar with the layout. Since we have reservations this evening at Le Voyage, we decide to have a light lunch. I did try the Butter Chicken, which was excellent. In fact, everything I tried on the buffet was very good. Granted, I did not try many things, but what I did try were all good.

A Light Lunch at Oceanview Cafe (Butter chicken, Pappadam w/Raita, Caesar Salad)

After lunch, it was time to unpack and familiarize ourselves with the Infinite Balcony stateroom. On our Celebrity Apex cruise last year, we were upgraded to a Sky Suite with access to The Retreat, so this is our first time in an Infinite Balcony stateroom. We will be doing a through review video on our YouTube channel (@cruisereport) of the Infinite Balcony stateroom, so subscribe to our channel so that you don’t miss it.

I will tell you why we decided to attempt a stateroom change. We learned just a few days before boarding that our stateroom, on Deck 6 aft, is right above an outdoor smoking area on Deck 5. We were concerned that cigarette smoke would waft up from Deck 5 and right into our stateroom.

As it turns out, the smoking area appears to be a bit aft of our stateroom and we have not noticed any cigarette smoke odor yet. However, the staterooms aft of our stateroom might get some of that pleasure, I honestly don’t know. Of course, when the ship is sailing, it probably is not an issue since the wind would carry the smoke farther aft, and there is an awning that might prevent the smoke from rising into the staterooms above.

Sail Away was at 3:30pm and we missed being on deck for sail away since we decided to indulge in Team Trivia at The Club. The General Knowledge trivia was the most difficult we have ever played. The questions were very off-the-wall and we did not do well. I only got 6 out of 20 questions correct, and the winner only got 7 right!

Our dinner reservations this evening were at 6:45 at Le Voyage on Deck 5. This is the new Daniel Boulud restaurant exclusive to Celebrity Beyond.

Le Voyage is a small but very elegant dining venue. And, of course, we will give a complete, in-depth review of Le Voyage and all of our culinary experiences onboard Celebrity Beyond on our YouTube channel at the conclusion of this cruise.

After dinner, we decide to catch the second half of the SuperBowl in The Theater, which has been converted into a massive makeshift sports bar for the game. There is a huge buffet line at the back of the theater with chicken wings, burgers, hot dogs, chips and dip and even two huge cakes, one decorated with green icing for the Eagles and the other decorated in red for the Chiefs. Based on how much of the cakes were eaten, it would appear as if there were more Eagles fans onboard than Chiefs.

The massive LED screen was perfect for watching the Chiefs defeat the Eagles in the last few seconds of the game. After the game, we are exhausted and ready for bed. We retire to our stateroom to get some much needed sleep.

Tomorrow Celebrity Apex will be docked in Nassau, Bahamas.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/12/23 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/12/23

Pre-Cruise in Fort Lauderdale

We spend 7 nights aboard Celebrity Beyond

We always try to fly into a city of embarkation at least one day prior to boarding. On European cruises, we may even try to add two days to the front end of a cruise. Our experience with airline reliability has not been great.

Our flight from DFW airport to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful on American Airlines. It may be my imagination, but it seems like since they have retired most, if not all, of the aging Boeing 757 fleet and replaced them with the Airbus A321s, there have been fewer mechanical delays.

We originally had booked and prepaid for an AirBnB since most of the hotels we like were full this week. This was our first time to try AirBnB, and I am afraid it may be our last. Two days ago we received a text from the AirBnB host that our reservation was cancelled! Apparently, the city shut them down for not having some sort of license to operate. While we did receive a full refund, we’re left with having to find a place to stay.

We ended up booking a room at Fairfield Inn in downtown Ft. Lauderdale for a hefty $320/night rate, about $130 more than we would spend on a Fairfield. We took a Lyft from the airport to Fairfield ($26 + tip) and checked in around 3:15pm.

The hotel is relatively new and pretty typical for a mid-range Marriott property. Our room on the 5th floor overlooked the Morton’s Steakhouse across the street and a CVS can been seen about a block away, just in case you need any last minute sundries. There are plenty of other restaurants within walking distance.

Our room was large enough for one night, even though the closet is very small. The bathroom looks pretty new with a large walk-in shower. The bed was comfortable enough and there is a small desk with AC and USB ports. The flat screen TV had lots of programming as well as Netflix and YouTube (using your Netflix account). My only complaint with the room was noise coming from a room above us and traffic noise. I am pretty sensitive to noise when trying to sleep and ended up having to utilize my Bose noise-cancelling headphones to get some sleep.

*Our room was similar to the one above, but without the sitting area*

Bottom line, Fairfield Inn is just okay, but not for $300+ per night. This would not be our first choice for a pre-cruise hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The Dalmar (another Marriott property) is nearby and is a much nicer property with more amenities.

I am writing this early in the morning of embarkation and in a few hours we will be taking another Lyft or Uber to Port Everglades. We are very excited to be boarding Celebrity Cruises’ newest Edge-class ship, Celebrity Beyond. More to come!