Odds and ends as we bring this trips' story to a close

 

We didn't get to experience the Thermal Suite much that was part of our Edge Villa cabin perks. Here is the price list for spa services as of December 2023.

Retreat Lounge, Sundeck, and Concierge operational hours. Also listed is the days when as a Retreat passenger, you can get an escort to reserved theater seating on Evening Chic (aka Formal Nights) for production shows. There was also two Retreat passenger only events during this sailing. The Retreat Soiree was held in the Retreat Lounge. Drinks and snacks were passed around while crew department heads and officers mingled to chat with passengers and answer questions. 

The Complimentary Jewelry Tracker schedule. Each cabin, regardless of stateroom category, will receive a complimentary locket at the beginning of the cruise. This promotion in conjunction with the EFFY store onboard, has select two hours windows each day of the cruise where you can visit the store and pick up a free tiny charm to put in your locket. The two hour block gives you ample time to stop in between activities and it's never during the hours while the ship is in port so no worry of missing out if you're off on an excursion. Just make sure to catch that some of the days have a morning and an evening time frame with different charms. I did observe one passenger who asked the EFFY store employee about getting past charms since they'd only found out about the promotion several days into the cruise. They were assured that the charms start to repeat during the second half of the cruise. That may not be the case if you're on a seven day or less cruise however.

The finished product with all 14 charms inside. The chain is a decent length falling just below my collarbone when wearing. I highly suggest finding a space to stow all the little plastic baggies the charms come in so you can pack them and the locket to bring home before adding them all to the locket. It can take a little jiggling finesse to make all the charms lay down in order to clasp the locket closed. A lot easier to keep track of the gems sitting at your kitchen table than trying to find them on the floor or within your bedsheets in the cabin. 

In addition to cabin category perks, each Celebrity cruiser becomes a member of their loyalty program called the Captain's Club. Thanks to the Power Up Points program Celebrity started to keep cruisers engaged during COVID, we were able to complete several online tasks like watching webinars and taking surveys/quizzes to get points added to our loyalty status. By the time our cruise on Celebrity Beyond rolled around, we were both Elite loyalty level. This level got us invited to exclusive events on board such as the Senior Officers Party and the Backstage tour of the theater. These events are held at certain days and times during the cruise so make sure to plan accordingly if you want to attend.

Our backstage tour of the theater was led by a representative from the tech crew/theater manager, Vocalist Anna Watson, and Hand Balancer/Aeralist Klaudia Ciupak. The small group experience was really interesting given how advanced the theater is on Celebrity Beyond. 

What looks like a giant movie screen surrounding the stage is actually millions of LCD panels so they can project a big image such as pictured below or smaller images by singling out the panels. There is also panels that can completely move out of the way to reveal performers on platforms. The center of the stage does allow for rising up as well as moving items on stage around via a track system. The mechanical system in the ceiling has a catwalk around it so props and performers can be dropped and raised from above. 

Check out my Instagram for photos from the performances we attended in this theater.

The Senior Officers Party hosted by our Cruise Director Shawna

The back side of this Elite loyalty events schedule is the list of perks an Elite member gets for use while on board such as discounts on spa services, photos, or excursions.

A special thank you to Celebrity Cruises and the bridge officers of the Celebrity Beyond for offering us the opportunity to visit the bridge on this sailing. I was delighted to see all of the female officer representation among the crew and only lament that our visit coincided with Captain Kate's well deserved time off. Maybe next time...

Thank you for taking the time to read about our father/daughter adventures on the Celebrity Beyond. Would I sail in The Retreat again? Absolutely! Would I sail on Celebrity Cruises again? Most likely! Would I sail on Celebrity Beyond again? Beyond a doubt I would love to! 

Stay tuned to find out where this traveling pair ends up next as we revisit an old experience in a new place! As always I'll be sharing live updates on social media. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions!