Celebrity Cruises Guide
Traveling With Celeste · A firsthand cruise guide
Is Celebrity Cruises Right for You? What I Learned Sailing Beyond
Start planning with meI have sailed Celebrity multiple times aboard Celebrity Beyond, in 2025 and again in 2026. I have sailed with just me and my husband, and we have also sailed with our kids.
Sailing Beyond as a couple and with our teenagers gave me two different perspectives on the ship. Here is what worked for us on each trip, and what I would consider before recommending Celebrity to your family.
The short answer
Celebrity suits travelers whose idea of a good vacation is a memorable dinner, a relaxed day by the pool, and real time in port. If that describes you, I think you will love it.
It suits you less if what makes a cruise for you is the ship itself being the attraction. There are no waterslides, no go-karts, no surf simulators. If that is what your family pictures when they picture a cruise, there are lines that do it better and I will point you to them.
There is still plenty to do. The Club runs activities through the day and productions at night, there is live music most evenings, and Eden is genuinely unlike anything else at sea. It just is not designed to keep a twelve year old busy from breakfast to bedtime.
Start with your travel style
A quick gut check
Celebrity is probably a good fit if you:
- Care more about the food than almost anything else onboard
- Have a group with different tastes and want dinner to be easy
- Like having a reason to dress up for dinner, without being required to
- Want somewhere to relax by the pool and a cocktail bar with live music in the evening
- Are traveling as a couple, with friends, or as a multigenerational group where the adults set the pace
- Pick your cruise based on where it goes
Consider talking to me about a different line if you:
- Are traveling with kids or teens who want constant activity onboard
- Want waterslides, go-karts, surf simulators, or a big water park
- Are looking for the lowest possible fare
- Want nonstop organized entertainment from morning to midnight
Tell me what your group enjoys, and I will help you decide whether Celebrity is a good fit.
Start planning with me
The atmosphere on my sailings
Who I saw onboard
On my Beyond sailings the crowd skewed 50 and up. There were multigenerational groups, groups of friends traveling together, and a lot of couples. Very few children, and that was during summer vacation.
Evenings had a rhythm I liked. People gathered at the Martini Bar for music and dancing, or stayed out by the pool with a drink and a book. Dinner was something people dressed up for.
That said, I would not read the average age as a requirement. A younger couple who wants great food, somewhere unhurried to spend the afternoon, and real time in port will fit right in. The crowd skewed older on my sailings, but the experience is built around interests, not age.
On dressing up
People do dress nicely for dinner on Celebrity, and if you enjoy having a reason to, you will like it here.
On Evening Chic nights, formalwear is welcome but it is not required. Smart casual is acceptable, so you do not need to pack a tuxedo or a gown unless you want to.
Smart casual applies in the main dining rooms in the evening, so leave shorts, flip flops, and pool attire for the daytime.
Included dining & memorable dinners
The food
This is my favorite thing about sailing Celebrity.
What is included. Beyond has four main dining rooms, all included in the cruise fare. I have eaten in all four and enjoyed each one.
Each one has its own identity. Cyprus is Mediterranean, drawing on Celebrity's Greek heritage. Tuscan is Italian. Normandie is French. Cosmopolitan is the classic Celebrity main dining experience.
Each restaurant has its own menu that changes daily, and there is also a shared menu available in all four. You can order from any of the dining rooms even if you are not sitting in it.
For families and groups with different tastes, that gives everyone more choice while keeping dinner together in one restaurant.
The Oceanview Café. Of the cruise lines I have sailed, Celebrity has my favorite buffet. The Oceanview Café is included in your fare, too.
So if you never book a single specialty restaurant, you will still eat very well on this ship.
What costs extra. Across my sailings on Beyond I have been to Eden, Le Petit Chef, Rooftop Garden Grill, Le Voyage, Fine Cut Steakhouse, and Raw on 5. I would not tell a client to skip any of them.
Le Voyage is the one I still think about. My husband and my son both call it the best meal they have ever had, and we have been lucky enough to eat at a lot of very good restaurants.
Specialty restaurants are not the same from ship to ship, even within the same class. Le Voyage is on Beyond. It is not on Celebrity Edge, which has its own lineup including Fine Cut Steakhouse, Le Grand Bistro, Raw on 5, Eden, Rooftop Garden Grill, and Le Petit Chef.
They also change over time. Everything I describe above is what I experienced aboard Beyond in 2025 and 2026. Celebrity has announced new alfresco venues arriving on the ship in November 2026, including Bora, Orange Peel Bar & Grille, and Tacos del Sol, so there will be more to try than there was on my last sailing.
If a particular restaurant is the reason you are picking a sailing, tell me and I will confirm it is on that ship for your dates before you book.
Space, views & the right category
The cabin I booked
I chose an Infinite Veranda on Beyond both times, and I liked it. Instead of a separate outdoor balcony behind a sliding door, the front of the cabin opens up and the whole room becomes the balcony.
Some people prefer a traditional veranda with a door and a defined outdoor space. That is a fair preference, and I would rather know it before I book you.
Compared with a standard oceanview cabin, an Infinite Veranda gives you a full wall of window that you can open.
Two things to know. Cabin types vary by ship, so if you have your heart set on a particular layout, I will confirm what that specific ship offers. And on the ships that have Infinite Verandas, the balcony design is separate from the stateroom category. Booking up into Concierge Class or AquaClass gets you added services and perks, but it does not automatically mean a traditional balcony. If a door to the outside matters to you, say so and I will find you the right category rather than just a higher one.
My experience with teenagers
Is Celebrity right for kids?
Our kids are serious foodies, and the dining on Beyond was everything we hoped. They loved the meals. They loved the pool. What they loved most was getting off the ship and doing something adventurous in port.
After dinner was a different story. There was very little for them to do, and most nights they ended up back in the cabin watching TV and scrolling their phones.
Part of that was specific to our family. On our last Celebrity sailing our two were 16 and 19. The young adult events were too old for one of them and the teen events were too young for the other. They wanted to be together, so neither worked out.
So the question I ask families now is: what kind of teenagers do you have?
If they want constant action and a packed schedule, Celebrity may not be the right call and I will tell you that.
If they are happy to relax, eat well, and spend their energy in port, Celebrity can work beautifully. In that case I would steer you toward a port-heavy itinerary rather than one with a lot of sea days. Some Celebrity itineraries call at Perfect Day at CocoCay, which has the waterslides, zipline, and water sports the ship itself does not. That one port can change the whole trip for a teenager.
Budget separately for the paid attractions at CocoCay. Thrill Waterpark, the zipline, and some of the water sports carry an extra charge. Plenty is free, including the beaches and the pool, but if waterslides are the reason you chose that itinerary, plan on paying for them and I will tell you what to book ahead.
Our June 2026 family cruise
Seven days on Celebrity Beyond
I filmed a seven-day TikTok series during our June 2026 family cruise on Celebrity Beyond. Start with Day 1 here, then visit my TikTok for the rest of the trip.
Watch the full series on TikTokWatch Day 1 on TikTok@traveling.with.celeste Family Cruise Vlog: Day 1 on the Celebrity Beyond in June 2026 #celebritybeyond #celebritycruise #cruisevlog #familycruise @Celebrity Cruises #creatorsearchinsights ♬ Erasure Ft. When In Rome Kylie Minogue mashup - ROCKET MAN 🚀
Choose the destination, then the ship
Where Celebrity goes
Caribbean
The easiest place to start, with the most flexibility on length and departure port. This is also where you are most likely to find an itinerary that includes Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Alaska
Celebrity has a full Alaska season running May through September, with roundtrip sailings from Seattle and Vancouver and one-way itineraries between Vancouver and Seward that pair well with a land tour.
Which ships sail Alaska changes from season to season, so I would rather check your specific year than quote you a fleet list that may be out of date.
The dining venues and cabin layouts differ between Celebrity's Alaska ships. If food is a big part of why you are choosing Celebrity, I will help you choose a ship whose restaurants suit you.
Europe
Celebrity sails across the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, and the Canary Islands from homeports including Barcelona, Southampton, Amsterdam, and Reykjavik.
What I like about the European program is how much time it gives you ashore. Celebrity builds in long port days and overnight stays in port, which is exactly what you want when the destination is the whole reason you are going.
Which ships go where changes year to year, so rather than list a lineup that will be out of date, tell me where in Europe you want to be and I will find the right ship and sailing for it.
If Europe is on your list, this is the conversation I would want to have earliest. Good cabins on the best itineraries go well in advance.
River cruising, new for 2027
Celebrity is launching river cruises on the Rhine and the Danube. The inaugural sailings are set for August 2027, and both 2027 and 2028 are open for booking now.
River fares include a shore excursion in every destination, wifi, select wine, beer, cocktails, coffee and soft drinks through the day, and dining at multiple onboard restaurants. Upgraded beverages cost extra. Gratuities are not included and are charged onboard unless you prepay.
If you are interested in a Celebrity river cruise, I will check availability for your dates.
Ask me about Celebrity river cruisesA departure closer to home
Sailing Celebrity from Boston
Celebrity sails from Flynn Cruiseport, which matters if you would rather drive to your cruise than fly to it.
Celebrity Silhouette has an 11-night Boston, Maine and Canada roundtrip in fall 2027. Rockland, Halifax, Sydney, Quebec City, Charlottetown, and Portland, then back to Boston. Several dates in September. If you have been waiting for a Canada and New England sailing that does not start with an airport, this is the one I would look at first.
There are also one-way repositioning sailings out of Boston in October 2027, heading south to Fort Lauderdale or San Juan. Those are a good option if you want warm weather at the end and do not mind flying home.
Silhouette is not an Edge-class ship like Beyond. It does not have Infinite Veranda cabins, and the specialty dining lineup is different. I will go through the cabin options and restaurants with you before you book.
Ask me and I will pull current dates and pricing for any of these. Explore cruises from Boston
