CELEBRITY BEYOND : DINING
MY SOLO CRUISE PART TWO – FEED ME!
EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
If you read part one you already know my first impressions of the cruise ship Celebrity Beyond and have seen the tour of my cabin.
As that story ended I was firmly settled in the Sunset Bar setting sail from Civitavecchia. And the thought of the food, drink and entertainment to come was all quite exciting.
“Food to eat, drinks to drink, entertainment to be had”
– A solo cruise on Celebrity Beyond – Part One
So to continue my ship tour of Celebrity Beyond what better way to explore than through the dining experience in its restaurants, drinks in the bars and the myriad other ways to entertain yourself at sea.
On this ship there is so much of all of this, that I’m going to dedicate part two to the first thing on the list. Food!
EATING ALL DAY LONG
Breakfast
I know some people love a formal breakfast with waiter service.
For me I have no patience with people in the morning. At least not until I’ve had a couple of mugs of tea.
So my choice each day was the Oceanview Cafe buffet.
The buffet was divided up into sections and they pretty much catered for anything anyone could think of at breakfast.
Cereal and toast. Fine.
A full English. Definitely. Why not add a bit of full American to it!
Pancakes and maple syrup; an omelette station; smoked salmon with whatever; fresh fruits of all sorts. All the Continental options of breads, cheeses and meats. Have a bit of everything!
There were even more exotic options, like noodles and stir fries. Maybe not for my breakfast, but they were back at lunchtime too.
There is not much excuse to be hungry when leaving for a shore excursion from Celebrity Beyond.
Breakfast does have a time limit though. Worth remembering if you are having a lie in on a sea day.
Lunch
Once again the buffet comes into its own at lunchtime.
There are dozens of choices of hot meals. Roasted meats. Pasta dishes. Salad bars. Grilled chicken and fish. All the veg to go with it. Those stir fries and noodles. I’ve a feeling there was pizza somewhere, though I never had that.
Then you can just make a sandwich with lots of bread options. Afternoon tea kicks in late afternoon for even fancier sandwiches.
There were deserts too. Sponge cakes, puddings with custard, even more fruit.
Scoops ice cream was around the corner if you needed an ice cream fix.
Pool deck grill
Then again you might fancy a burger by the pool. So they have a grill on deck with hot dogs, various burgers, fries and salads made to order.
That’s always a nice snack when you are back too late for a proper lunch, but not so late that you won’t survive until the evening without starving.
Cafe al Bacio
It amazed me that anyone had room for the deserts at Cafe Al Bacio.
They were so nice you could stop at the cabinet whilst walking past the Grand Plaza to just look at them.
Personally I love a cake or desert, but if there’s a savoury snack to be had I’d go for that first. I was just too full from all of the other options for more cake.
Dinner time
Now the Oceanview buffet has an equally good range of options for dinner. There are choices from all over the World, just like at breakfast and lunch.
On my first few cruises as a solo traveller I ate at the buffet every night too. I really didn’t feel comfortable eating alone and so ate in the buffet, where no one would notice me. From what I’ve read on cruise forums its a common issue.
However then I discovered the joy of a three, four, or sometimes more, course dinner in the main dining room. Not just a pick and mix from the buffet, but beautifully designed plates of food. I never looked back.
Since then I only eat dinner in the buffet when I’m late back aboard and can’t be bothered rushing to get ready.
It happened once aboard Celebrity Beyond. The food I chose was very nice, but it was not the dining experience that I enjoyed every other night on board.
Solos Tip: Please, please don’t hide in the buffet because you feel uncomfortable dining alone elsewhere. You have already plucked up the courage to cruise alone. The dining room food on Celebrity Beyond is one of the best bits.
CELEBRITY BEYOND DINING OPTIONS
How many for dinner?
So I’ve mentioned that a lot of solos don’t like eating alone. But I sometimes think table by myself is a nice choice.
To be honest I also read a lot of comments from couples who want a table for two and can think of nothing worse than having to share a table.
Then again there are the people for whom sharing a table at dinner and chatting to either the same people every night, or a different group each evening, is as much a part of cruising as lounging by the pool or going ashore in a new port of call. I like this option too.
Everyone is different, but there are ways to deal with all of this with Celebrity Beyond’s dining options.
A table for one
I was travelling solo, so I’ll start with what I did.
There was a solo travellers meet up listed in the Celebrity Today newspaper, delivered to your cabin every evening. I had been busy chatting to a couple I met at an event and forgot to go.
That didn’t create too much of an issue for me, as there was so much going on about the ship I was happy to entertain myself and I made plenty of new friends too.
It did mean that one great side effect of meeting other solos was closed to me. On many a cruise I have attended these meetings and a few, or sometimes a lot, of us have gone to dinner together each evening. You effectively have a bunch of friends to share with if you want to, whilst still having the freedom to do your own thing at other times.
On my own I turn up at the restaurants and ask for a table for one. Sometimes they ask if you want to share a table. Sometimes I do, other times I have plans and want to be in and out.
I generally find if you share a table that dinner takes longer than if you are by yourself. If you’ve ticked a dozen things to do in the schedule for that evening a two hour dinner is not always ideal.
At other times a long dinner with new friends can make your evening.
Sometimes the tables are so close together that you find yourself chatting to your neighbours anyway.
On Celebrity Beyond when I arrived at my chosen dining room I always had my own table. To be honest it suited me perfectly on this cruise.
Tables for two, or more
Do you want a table for two? It is definitely possible. I did see a few couples being offered a buzzer and asked to wait a while, but generally they walked in just like me.
Want to share? Although I never asked for, nor was offered, the option of sharing there were certainly some tables where two or three couples and maybe the odd single were sharing .
Obviously there are tables for big families and groups as well.
So whatever your favourite they have you covered.
Dining Times
In the main dining rooms Celebrity Beyond has three dining options.
They call them Celebrity Select Dining: Early, Late or Anytime.
Early is 6pm, Late is 8.30pm and Anytime allows you to go literally any time in between during restaurant opening hours.
I had only booked with a couple of weeks to go, and unusually the Anytime option was not available, with my choices limited to Early or Late.
I say unusually, because on other cruise lines I’ve been on its usually the fixed dining times that book up and the default is any time, which is always my preference.
With no alternative I opted for Early dining, which is far too early for my liking, even if it is better than eating as late as 8.30pm. I worried about not being back on the ship in time and missing dinner and the lovely food!
However I had a lucky break. When booking the person I spoke to casually mentioned a waitlist. So I asked to be put on that.
There was also a back up option listed on the Celebrity Cruises website that said you could speak to the Maitre D on the day you boarded to see if you could change, subject to availability.
As it happened the waitlist came through and my dining option was updated in the Celebrity app to Anytime before I even boarded Celebrity Beyond.
It did make me realise that not having the freedom to eat when and where I like might be a bit of a cruise deal breaker in future though. How times have changed!
Cruise Tip: If you don’t get your chosen dining option ask to be added to the waitlist, or speak to the Maitre D on board.
TO BOOK OR NOT TO BOOK
Celebrity do advise you to reserve a table in advance. For me that sort of defeats the object of Anytime dining, because I never know what time I will be ready to go and eat.
However a lot of people go along on day one and book a specific time or table for every night of the cruise. You can book on the day too though if you aren’t that organised.
Big parties that need a large table almost always have to book to guarantee that. True of any cruise line.
Similarly Celebrity Beyond’s speciality dining rooms tend to book up quickly, so making reservations for them is a day one job!
You can always eat in the Oceanview Cafe and never have to book.
But if you are opting for the main dining room and like me don’t know quite when you want to eat you can just turn up and risk it.
As mentioned, I did see people being offered buzzers, where you can go and get a drink and they buzz you when your table is ready.
It might be trickier if the ship is full. When I sailed it certainly wasn’t at full capacity and I never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table for one (which is usually pre set as a table for two).
THE MAIN DINING ROOMS
When you are dining on Celebrity Beyond you don’t have one main dining room to choose from, but four.
Every restaurant’s menu offered the “Celebrity Signatures” specials of the day and also the “Classics” which you could have every night.
But each restaurant then offered their own specialities. A few starters, mains and desserts based on that restaurant’s theme. These stay the same every night too.
Its one of the reasons I’m not sure how the fixed dining time worked, because I didn’t stick to one, but worked my way around all four restaurants – twice!
They even had their own signature cocktails, though I prefer a glass (or two) or wine with my dinner.
It was nice to see Celebrity still have sommeliers as well as drinks waiters. Some were better than others, but with the best ones you could tell them what you had chosen for dinner and they would suggest a wine to pair with your food.
I’m no wine expert, but I had some very nice recommended glasses of wine with my meals. Other nights I just asked for a glass of pinot grigio, because that’s what I fancied.
At the end there was a separate menu for desserts. Here the specials didn’t tempt me as much as the classics. I did have cheesecake more than once!
Cosmopolitan
The design of the Cosmopolitan restaurant was elegant, almost art deco in style.
Every restaurant had its own design and plates to match the style. I certainly started taking more notice of the details as I ate at each one and worked my way around.
I’d say the food here was a bit more modern. It didn’t have a regional style in quite the same way as the others.
My favourite courses here were the salmon gravlax for starters, and black cod with quinoa and beurre blanc. Delicious.
Normandie
As it sounds, more of a stylish French themed cuisine.
The pink plates and crystal chandeliers stood out in this one.
Coquilles Saint-Jacques was the starter I kept going back for. Baby scallops baked in gruyere and breadcrumbs. Then the beef tenderloin en croute just melted in your mouth. Loved it.
It was actually my favourite food and was the restaurant I chose to go back to for my last night, although they fluffed it with uncharacteristically slow service!
Cyprus
In keeping with the name this restaurant’s theme was Greek Cypriot.
The food had Mediterranean flavours.
Each restaurant provided you with a basket of bread and selection of dips while you waited. Here there were mini pittas and the dips included humus, as well as the usual bread rolls and fresh butter.
Hot melted cheese saganaki for starters was something I had never tried before. Whilst I spotted someone else having the Cypriot short ribs, and copied that. It was a carnivore’s delight and one of the best meals I had anywhere on the ship.
Tuscan
Tuscan is designed in black and white, with yellow sunflowers to give a flash of colour and hint of Tuscany.
The Tuscan shrimp soup here was beautiful. It sounded as good as it tasted. I don’t often have soup for starters as I love the savoury options. But its a cruise, so I had two starters, because you can. The Celebrity Signature beef and tuna carpaccios were magnificent too.
This was also chance for a pasta night. Both nights in here I went for pasta and both times I was a bit disappointed. Not because the food was bad, but because it felt a bit ordinary.
But every day is a learning day and I realised I should be more adventurous when cooking pasta at home, because these were restaurant dishes I could definitely have a go at myself.
SPECIALITY DINING
The main thing I haven’t mentioned in all this talk of food is that on board Celebrity Beyond all of those dining options, with their multiple courses and having as much as you like, are all included in the price of the cruise!
Depending on your drinks package some, or all, of the drinks may be too, but I’ll save that for part three!
However there are then the speciality dining options which come with an additional cover charge. That means you pay a bit extra for the experience.
As a solo traveller I don’t generally bother. I think that eating alone is fine, but paying extra to do it seems a stretch too far. To me these dining experiences are to be shared.
So I’m not here to sell the speciality dining, other than to say there are plenty of options to choose from.
I was told that Le Petit Chef was a fabulous dining experience. In fact that is one that tempts even me for next time.
There is an open kitchen restaurant at Eden at the back of the ship which looked impressive.
Blu was very stylish and looked full as I walked past.
There was the Rooftop Grill for dining under the stars by the Rooftop Garden. That had vibes of eating out in a holiday resort.
One night the Magic Carpet on the side of the ship was converted to a restaurant, so you could eat watching the waves go by.
So if a nice meal for a special occasion is your thing I would definitely do your research, because it looks like you are spoilt for choice.
MY DINING EXPERIENCE
If you have read this far you will have realised I can talk about food.
In no way am I a gourmand or a great cook. In fact I did get to go on a galley tour of the Cyprus and Cosmopolitan kitchens and realised I wouldn’t last five minutes in there. They make everything from scratch.
I wouldn’t say I was a fussy eater and to be honest if you put a plate of food in front of me I will probably eat it and just leave the bits I don’t like. I’m not a fan of fat or gristle and there’s always the odd bit of veg. I mean who eats cauliflower?
And that is the telling point about the food and on Celebrity Beyond. I don’t remember sending a plate back with anything left . There might have been the odd bit of garnish, but that was probably it.
The whole lot was delicious.
Yes, I had a couple of meals, like the pastas, that I possibly wouldn’t have chosen again.
There was certainly enough choice on the menu that I could avoid the foods I don’t like. Just ignore the ones with cauliflower!
Its been quite a few years since I last sailed with Celebrity Cruises. Since then I have often said that they have the best food of all the ships I have sailed on. That’s not to say other ships are bad, its just Celebrity are a step up.
I wondered if the same would still be true. Well I wasn’t disappointed at all.
If Gary Travels gave cruise awards then the “Award for best food” would go to Celebrity Beyond for a wonderful dining experience.
