Celebrity Cruises unveils new ship Celebrity Beyond, set to sail from UK waters in 2022

Celebrity Cruises has unveiled its latest Edge series ship, Celebrity Beyond, which it claims ‘defies imagination’.

The ship will embark on her maiden voyage from Southampton in April 2022 and guests onboard will enjoy a vast array of features.

Some of the hottest highlights include two-storey villas with private plunge pools, wellness programmes devised by Gwyneth Paltrow and the ‘Magic Carpet’. This Celebrity Cruises speciality is a tennis-court-sized cantilevered platform that moves up and down the side of the ship.

On the accommodation front, as well as the villas, the liner will boast staterooms with ‘infinite verandas, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living’ as well as ‘Iconic Suites’ that are ‘the largest in the fleet, offering better views than the captain’s quarters’.

The vessel will also have AquaClass SkySuites, which Celebrity Cruises says are an ‘immersive living experience that helps guests find their centre’. They feature ‘floor-to-ceiling ocean views, private verandas, luxurious bedding and other wellness amenities’.

These amenities include ‘fitness kits from Paltrow’s modern lifestyle brand goop, aimed at enhancing self-care and collective well-being’.

Meanwhile, Paltrow, the cruise line’s new wellness advisor, and her team at goop will also curate onboard wellness programming and participate in Celebrity Cruises’ new Women in Wellness initiative.

When it comes to stretching the legs and breathing in the sea air, guests are well catered for.

Architect Tom Wright of WKK – best known for designing Dubai’s Burj Al Arab – has ‘expanded the exterior spaces… transforming them into serene outward-facing sanctuaries leveraging endless ocean vistas and breathtaking panoramas of the extraordinary places the ship will visit.’

On the Resort Deck, guests will ‘enjoy a stunning asymmetrical space with a 25-yard lap pool surrounded by a terraced pool deck and new sunken seating areas designed by Kelly Hoppen’. The deck will also boast a huge elephant sculpture.

Meanwhile, the Rooftop Garden, which will be 40 per cent larger than on previous Edge series ships, will feature ‘private nooks and more spaces for movie-watching, enjoying live music and outdoor dining at the expanded Rooftop Grill’.

Celebrity Cruises adds: ‘A highlight of this area is Wright’s incorporation of two spectacular floating pools cantilevered six and a half feet over the side of the ship, taking guests beyond the water’s edge.’

Wright also designed the Magic Carpet platform that ‘transforms from open-air lounge or restaurant hovering above the ocean along higher decks to a tender platform for going ashore on lower decks’.

The cruise line explains: ‘Featured on Celebrity Beyond, it debuted on Celebrity Edge in 2018 and is still considered one of the most unique design innovations ever for a cruise ship.’

Also on board is The Retreat, which is described as an ‘unrivalled and exclusive resort space for suite guests’, with aspects of the design by Hoppen.

The Retreat Sundeck will offer ‘unadulterated outdoor bliss and ways to rejuvenate in the fresh ocean air with secluded cabanas, chic new seating areas, additional water features and the exclusive Retreat Bar’.

This area also features the ‘warm and inviting Retreat Lounge’, which is described as a ‘stylish space to unwind’. Adjacent is the private restaurant Luminae, where ‘every corner provides a new experience with each visit, in keeping with the daily changing menu’.

At the centre of the ship will be the Grand Plaza, designed by Jouin Manku – the team responsible for designing the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.

Inspired by the piazzas of Italy, the Grand Plaza spans three decks and is larger than the Grand Plazas on its sister ships.

Celebrity Cruises explains: ‘The Celebrity Beyond Grand Plaza has an airier atmosphere with more room for intimate seating. The added space allowed designers to move the Martini Bar into the centre of the venue as a full, circular bar.

‘Hanging proudly above the new Martini Bar, the Grand Plaza’s iconic chandelier boasts a new, organic shape with hundreds of individual LED lights that cast an inviting glow at all hours, taking centre stage with talented bartenders at night during their exciting and theatrical Flash Flair Fusion performance.’

Connected to the Grand Plaza will be Le Voyage, an ‘intimate 50-seat restaurant’ by world-renowned chef Daniel Boulud – best-known for his two-Michelin-starred New York restaurant Daniel.

According to Celebrity Cruises, ‘travel is the inspiration for the globally inspired flavours within, designed to transport guests to the very places that inspire the Michelin-rated chef’.

The restaurant itself will have ‘intimate seating cocoons’ that are ‘surrounded by luminous portals highlighting the themes of journey and travel, while graphically lit “glass flutes” provide layers of light and texture to create an enchanting experience’.

Meanwhile, another venue onboard will be the Sunset Bar – designed by American interior designer Nate Berkus.

Celebrity Cruises says: ‘Inside this space, which is nearly twice as large as previous iterations, Berkus has created a chic, Moroccan-inspired escape that is reminiscent of a modern-day Casablanca.

‘Guests will enter through a pergola-covered entrance to enjoy one of the hottest spots at sea. With more conversation niches and covered enclaves to allow guests to connect in a more intimate way, the Sunset Bar’s cascading terraces will combine to provide the perfect place to soak in spectacular views and create unforgettable memories.’

Celebrity Beyond will depart on her maiden voyage from Southampton on April 27, 2022, on a 10-night Western Europe cruise.

She will visit Bordeaux, Lisbon, Seville, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.

The vessel will then offer a variety of Mediterranean journeys, including nine-night Italian Riviera and France itineraries and 10-night Greek Isles itineraries until early October 2022, when she will head to the Caribbean.

Celebrity Cruises president and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo says: ‘Celebrity Cruises has always been an innovator at sea, and now we have challenged the status quo with a vessel that goes beyond expectations, beyond imagination.

‘Celebrity Beyond shatters any and every preconceived notion of the cruising experience.

‘This exquisite ship offers a journey at the intersection of elegance and approachability filled with what’s important to our guests today: forward-thinking design, culinary excellence, unparalleled well-being and incomparable service.’

Richard Fain, chairman of Royal Caribbean Group, the parent company of Celebrity Cruises, adds: ‘With Celebrity Beyond, we saw an opportunity to take the extraordinary features of Celebrity Edge – like the focus on the connection with the ocean and the grand spaces – and really amplify them.

‘We focused on providing more openness, height and spaciousness throughout the ship’s most popular spaces. The end result is a next-generation ship that embodies the intersection of architecture and design.’