''Celebrity Beyond'' is a cruise ship owned by

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in ...

, taking its name from the company's slogan. The third in the , the ship was constructed at the

Chantiers de l'Atlantique Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire, ...

shipyard, and entered service in April 2022. The ship was captained from 2022 to 2025 by

Kate McCue Kate McCue (born January 6, 1978) is an American cruise ship captain. She is currently employed with Four Seasons Yachts and is the inaugural Captain of Four Seasons l, which enters service in early 2026. When she became the commanding off ...

Background and design

On 25 May 2016, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., parent company of Celebrity, announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the

STX Corporation STX Corporation is a South Korean company that provides trading services and is publicly held. The company operates through two divisions: trade and ship maintenance. Its trade division deals with shipping and energy materials such as coal, oil ...

(then owners of Chantiers) for the third and fourth ships of the ''Edge'' class. Like other ''Edge''-class ships, ''Celebrity Beyond'' features Eden, a 270-degree, three-deck observation lounge which features a ramp connecting decks 5 and 6, in addition to a cafe, a bar, and a dining venue. The ship is also fitted with the ''Magic Carpet'' tender dock, designed to prevent hull collisions while anchored offshore. While sailing, the Magic Carpet is equipped with a bar and can be used as a patio, when positioned at three different decks (Decks 5, 14, and 16). The ship features a spa and a fitness centre that overlooks the sea from above the wheelhouse. ''Celebrity Beyond'' was the first in the Celebrity fleet to be equipped with

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

Starlink Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 130 countries ...

internet connections. The service launched on the 5 September 2022 "Celebrate With the CEO" cruise.

Construction and career

Steel cutting for ''Celebrity Beyond'' occurred on 28 January 2020, at which point Celebrity confirmed the ship's name. At the same time, it was reported that the ship, and sister ship , would be an evolution in the ''Edge''-class design and feature an increase in gross tonnage, length, and passenger capacity. In August 2020, it was announced that the delivery of ''Celebrity Beyond'' (as well as that of ) would be delayed by approximately 10 months due to shipyard closures and delays caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On 19 November 2020, the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

for ''Celebrity Beyond'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

. The ship arrived in Southampton on 21 April 2022 for its maiden voyage on 27 April to Barcelona. This initial itinerary called at La Rochelle, Bilbao, Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga, Palma and concluded in Barcelona. On 10 May 2022, Celebrity Cruises announced that gymnast

Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...

will be the godmother of the ship. The christening ceremony was held in Florida on 4 November 2022. ''On 19 July 2025 The beyond suffered major engine troubles that delayed her entry into miami by 7 hours causing celebrity to cancel the following cruise on the 20th.''

Notable Captains

Captain

was the captain of Celebrity Beyond from April 21, 2022 to February 24, 2025. She was the first captain of ''Celebrity Beyond''. In an announcement made on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, she bid farewell to the company. "Today, I say farewell to

Celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

," she begins, "I've spent the last 22 years on 11 ships in the

Royal Caribbean Group Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a cruise holding company based in Miami, Florida, United States and incorporated in Liberia. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corp ...

, from 2nd Officer to Captain." McCue was the first American woman to captain a "Mega" cruise ship.

References

External links

{{Celebrity Ships 2021 ships Beyond Ships built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique