Is It Worth $20K? Our Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean Cruise Review (2023)

We first sailed on Celebrity Beyond last year in the Caribbean. As one of the newest cruise ships in 2022, we rated this latest Celebrity Cruises’ Edge Class vessel very highly in a number of categories. In fact, when pressed for an answer, we often rank Celebrity Beyond as one of our favorite cruise ships of all time.

So, we decided to return to the ship for our anniversary trip on an 11-night Mediterranean voyage. The itinerary was roundtrip Rome with stops in Italy, Greece, and Turkey–many places we had yet to visit.

Between the cruise fare itself, travel expenses, upgraded accommodations, shore excursions, and onboard charges like specialty dining and upgraded drink packages, we spent over $20K for this vacation. Was it worth it? Find out in our Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean cruise review 2023.

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Is It Worth $20K? Our Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean Cruise Review (2023)

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review: The Ship

Celebrity Beyond is larger than the two previous vessels in the Edge Class. At nearly 141K gross tons, this ship is longer and taller than Edge and Apex. This additional space means there are more passengers as well. The ship has 179 more suites and staterooms, for a double occupancy of 3,260 guests.

However, that doesn’t mean that the ship feels crowded at all. In fact, there were several enhancements and redesigned spaces that give Celebrity Beyond resort-at-sea vibes. There’s always a space to chill and enjoy the outdoors. Likewise, there’s always a space to socialize, indulge in upscale dining and craft cocktails, and enjoy energetic nightly entertainment.

During our first sailing on Celebrity Beyond, we fell in love with the luxurious décor and many of the redesigned spaces. From the swanky Resort Pool deck to the Tranquil Rooftop Garden and lively multi-story Sunset Bar, we were still impressed. Even if our busy port days didn’t allow us as much time to enjoy these spaces this time around.

Indoors, the reimagined Grand Plaza is the heart of the ship where we found ourselves returning on a nightly basis. With entertaining chandelier shows, live music and parties, and some of the most talented bartenders on the ship, it was never a dull moment. Not to mention, we love the martinis at the Martini Bar and the specialty coffees at the nearby Café al Bacio.

Eden is another multi-purpose space on Celebrity Beyond where we spent quite a bit of time. From enjoying breakfast and lunch at the complimentary Eden Café to the craft cocktails at the Eden Bar and the Wonder at Eden nightly entertainment, this alluring venue shouldn’t be missed.

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review: Complimentary Dining

When it comes to complimentary dining on Celebrity Beyond, it too lived up to our expectations. While the options are more limited than some other cruise lines, we’ve always enjoyed the food quality on Celebrity Cruises.

Instead of one large main dining room, the Edge Class ships feature four complimentary dining rooms. Each dining room offers an “exclusives” section of the menu with dishes giving nods to Greek, Italian, French, and American cuisines. These menu options are only available in the select restaurant. The rest of the menu is available across the four venues.

The menus consist of a “classics” section which is the same every night and a “signatures” section that changes nightly. We did notice the “signatures” section had been reduced to fewer options since our last sailing though.

Of our food selections, the carbonara and pork chop at Tuscan were standouts, as were the baked brie and pan seared duck at Normandie and the lamb shank at Cyprus.

While we are not typically fans of cruise ship buffets, the Oceanview Café ranks among the best for us. With a predictable layout and a variety of options, we dined here a few times for lunch and once for dinner. Options included Mexican, Asian, Indian, grilled favorites, pizza, a wok station, a pasta station, a salad bar, and various other hot entrees and seafood selections that rotated daily.

There’s also the Eden Café which serves up salads and sandwiches for lunch and breakfast sandwiches in the morning. Unfortunately, this café is only open very select days and hours. Additionally, while we love the desserts and breakfast pastries at Café al Bacio, we do wish it functioned more like cafes on other cruise lines. It would be nice to be able to grab a quick sandwich here before or after a port of call instead of heading to the crowded buffet.

The Mast Grill and Spa Café are other complimentary options, but we did not test them out this cruise. Of note, room service breakfast is no longer free on Celebrity Cruises. It now comes with a $9.95 (+20%) fee.

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review: Specialty Dining

Since this was our anniversary cruise, we did splurge a bit on specialty dining. We dined at five restaurants over the course of eleven days. While some lived up to our expectations, others were a bit of a let down.

Thankfully, the Fine Cut Steakhouse and Le Voyage delivered phenomenal Evening Chic dining experiences. At Le Voyage, we took our tastebuds on a culinary journey that started with a welcome glass of champagne.

Don indulged in the tamarind and peanut-crusted prawns and the tuna crudo riviera for starters along with the lobster risotto entrée; all of which were delicious. Likewise, I enjoyed my vidalia onion tart and poulet aux morilles. We finished off this decadent meal with the raspberry and lime pavlova and café-cardamom.

At the Fine Cut, Don enjoyed the ricotta gnocchi, crab cake, and a medium-rare filet. These choices paired perfectly with the smoked bacon mac & cheese, parmesan truffle fries, and roasted mushrooms. I stuck with my classics, a wedge salad and the roasted chicken.

While these two restaurants delivered, the Rooftop Garden let us down this time. Don thought that his smoked chicken wings and mesquite baby back ribs were both dry and lacked flavor. My watermelon and feta salad and BBQ chicken were pretty average as well. Further, the signature cocktails have been removed from the menu, and they were not able to make them. The highlight of the meal was certainly the warm cookie dessert.

Finally, we tried two new-to-us Celebrity Cruises restaurants, Raw on 5 and Eden. Having tried similar restaurants on other cruise lines, I guess we were expecting a bit more. At Raw on 5, Don sampled the The Beyond rolls and the calamari along with the spicy shrimp stir fry.

While he did enjoy the dishes, they still fell short when compared to the likes of Izumi on Royal Caribbean or Tamarind on Holland America. I like the chicken gyoza but was underwhelmed by the chicken teriyaki entrée.

Similarly, Eden fell a bit short when compared to other experiential venues like Wonderland on Royal Caribbean. It felt like an ordinary meal rather than a culinary journey. The highlight dishes were the carabinero shrimp and lobster casserole.

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Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review: Accommodations

Honestly, we are not fans of the infinite veranda on Celebrity’s Edge Class, as we prefer a more traditional balcony. For us, this arrangement is essentially a glorified window. So, we opted to upgrade to a sunset verandah for this sailing and are so glad we did.

We stayed in cabin 11294, located completely aft on the starboard side. This cabin measures in at 317 square feet and features a large walk-out balcony with some of the best views on the ship.

Upon entering the cabin, it is noticeably roomier than balcony staterooms on other cruise lines. The décor is trendy, sleek, and modern. The bathroom is also larger and more upscale than most cruise ship bathrooms. It features a larger glass enclosed shower and marble finishes.

The vanity and seating areas are spacious as well. The vanity area consists of three large drawers for storage, an average-sized desk, plenty of counter space, and a charging station with two power outlets and two USB outlets. The sofa resembles more of a chaise but was plenty big enough for two adults to sit comfortably.

The closet is average in size with two half length clothes bars, the safe, and a series of three drawers. The combination of this closet, along with the dresser drawers, some smaller hidden compartments adjacent to the closet, and our tried and true cabin hacks, allowed us to comfortably unpack for our nearly 2 week voyage.

The bed in this sunset verandah cabin is located closer to the balcony, which is our preferred location. This king-sized bed features Celebrity eXhale bedding and cashmere mattresses. Needless to say, we never had an issue falling asleep after our long days ashore. Additionally, there was a power outlet and 2 USB outlets on one side of the bed for charging phones and other devices at night.

While the rest of this sunset verandah cabin felt like an upgrade, the real draw was the spacious aft-facing balcony. It features two upright chairs, a small table, and plenty of space for admiring the views. We found ourselves using this balcony quite a bit during sail-in and sail-out of ports of call. It was also our quiet retreat when we wanted to get a bit of work done on sea days.

While it will cost you more, we definitely think upgrading your accommodations on Celebrity Beyond is worth it. Of course, if you really want to splurge, you could opt for a suite, with exclusive access to the Retreat amenities like a private sun deck, lounge, and restaurant.

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review: Entertainment

This 11-day cruise on Celebrity Beyond had no shortage of entertainment. In fact, it was difficult to fit it all in given our long days in port, but we tried our best. While we didn’t take advantage of many daytime activities, we did enjoy many of the nighttime entertainment offerings.

The main theater featured three signature production shows and several headliner acts.

While we had seen the signature productions during our previous trip, we decided to watch them again. These shows were just as good the second time around, even if the vocal talent was a bit better in the first cast. The rotation includes Arte, Elements, and Stage Door. These shows are very dynamic with a talented cast of singers, dancers, and aerial acts making full use of the circular stage and digital screens.

Stage Door brings to life the biggest Broadway and West End productions. Elements takes guests on a journey through air, water, earth, fire, and ether in a show that is not-to-be-missed. Arte uses art to create art in a visually-stunning performance. I liked Arte and Elements best, while Don enjoyed Arte and Stage Door more.

On the additional nights, the main theater hosted a variety of headliner acts. These included generations of soul with Jesse Hamilton Jr., a rock concert by Our Lady Valentine, the vocalist Philippa Healey, the rock violinist Analiza Ching, magic with Matt Johnson, the comedy of Jeff Stevenson, and the pianist Antonio Salci. Some of these acts also performed more intimate shows in Eden or The Club during the week.

Speaking of Eden and The Club, there is a second full production cast that is allocated to shows in these venues. The Wonder at Eden series consists of three shows: Dreams, Decadence, and Paradise. These interactive and whimsical performances feature singing, dancing, strength acts, and more. Be sure to arrive to Eden early if you want a good view for these shows though.

The Eden cast also performs a separate show in The Club, The Jazz Joint. This swinging speakeasy-themed performance is a fun time and the best of their four shows in our opinion. Not to mention, The Club is also home to nightly gameshows, like Yes or No, live music, and parties.

If that’s not enough, there are several bars and lounges on Celebrity Beyond featuring signature cocktails. Many also have live music. The most happening bar in the evenings is the Martini Bar. This hub of nighttime activity boasts a signature martini menu, a grand chandelier, and the most talented bartenders on the ship. There are a variety of cocktails including the popular Espresso Martinis on tap that pair perfectly with the live music, silent discos, and resident DJs.

For something more exotic, the Eden Bar offers some of the most unique drinks at sea. The World Class Bar makes a comeback on Celebrity Beyond showcasing fresh ingredients and the finest spirits. As a beer lover, Don enjoys the Craft Social as well which is the perfect place to catch a game along with a brew.

Of course, there’s also the outdoor, new and improved Sunset Bar. The Moroccan design offers lush seating, amazing views, and a signature menu with cocktails and light bites. We love the décor and layout of this space. Not to mention, there is live music here in the evenings.

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review: Service

When paying a hefty price tag of $20K, you would expect exceptional service. For the most part, Celebrity Beyond delivered. Beginning at embarkation in Civitavecchia, the process was quick and efficient as was disembarkation 11 days later. Similarly, getting on and off the ship at ports of call was quick even during our two tender ports. The Destination Gateway and Magic Carpet make this process smooth and seamless.

Onboard the ship, we never waited long to order drinks at any of the bars, nor did we have issues getting a table at one of the main dining rooms even on nights we didn’t make advance reservations. The service in these venues was generally friendly and prompt with Gloria in Tuscan certainly standing out. The service in most of the specialty restaurants was equally outstanding, with Le Voyage being a step above the rest.

In terms of the entertainment, it is important to arrive early if you want good seats. Typically, 30 minutes before showtime was plenty in the main theater, but you may want to stake claim an hour in advance for the Eden shows.

Further, the Cruise Director Alejandro was excellent as was his activities staff. He was funny, high-energy, and engaging; he made a great host for the week’s events. We enjoyed the live in the theater event with Alejandro and Captain Kate.

The two areas that were a bit more inconsistent were the stateroom service and Café al Bacio.

Unlike many cruise lines, Celebrity Cruises does still offer twice daily stateroom service which we appreciate. It’s nice to have the room cleaned in the morning and still get turndown service in the evening with an occasional towel animal and pillow chocolates.

Although, it did seem that the staff were servicing more staterooms as we often did not get our first service until well into the afternoon. Still, our stateroom attendant was friendly and often apologetic for the delay. He even made it a point to decorate our cabin for our anniversary, which was a nice touch.

Additionally, Vivie and Philip in Café al Bacio were great. But unfortunately, the venue just didn’t seem to have the appropriate systems in place. Many times, our drink orders were lost in translation between ordering and making as the orders were typically just yelled out instead of being written on cups. There also was never a clear structure for ordering as the queue seemed to form in different spots each day. And sometimes there were separate lines for food and drinks and other times not.

Overall though, even with Celebrity Beyond sailing at full capacity, we never felt the crowds. The ship’s layout and the schedule of activities did a great job at dispersing the crowds.

Celebrity Beyond Cruise Review: Ports of Call

One of the main reasons we booked this cruise was the itinerary. Of course, we love Celebrity Beyond, but it was also visiting several places that we had never been. This roundtrip sailing from Rome included stops in Catania, Sicily and Naples, Italy; Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens, Greece; and Istanbul and Kusadasi, Turkey. The itinerary also featured an overnight stay in Istanbul.

Rome

Our 11-night Celebrity Beyond cruise departure day was a Monday. So, it was an easy decision to extend the trip a few days on the front end. Thus, we took the overnight flight on Friday, giving us half a day on Saturday and a full day on Sunday to explore Rome.

Borghese Gallery and Gardens

During this time, we got to experience several of the city’s major attractions. We stayed at the Rome Marriott Grand Flora hotel during our two pre-cruise days, which was within walking distance to the Borghese Gallery and Gardens. Not wanting to start the trip off too tired, we booked a late morning tour of this exquisite 1-billion-dollar estate via Viator.

This small group, the skip-the-line tour gave us the perfect introduction to 16th-century art from the likes of Bernini, Caravaggio, and Raphael. The 2.5-hour tour was just long enough; at least we didn’t waste our first day in Rome sleeping!

Somehow, we managed to stroll around the gardens for a few in the 95 degree heat before returning to our hotel. With jet-lag officially set in, it was time for cold showers and take-out pizza from a nearby restaurant before crashing by 6 PM.

Rome Walking Tour

For Day 2 in Rome, we had a double-feature of tours booked through Viator as well. Our first tour was a city walking tour. Our tour guide was an expatriate but had lived in Rome for over 40 years.

The tour hit many historic spots like the Imperial Forum, Plaza Venezia, Plaza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and more. While we could have walked this route on our own, it was the ideal informative introduction, so we knew what we wanted to see and do more of on the back end of our trip.

Colosseum Tour

We gave ourselves a two-hour break between tours. This was just enough time to get some coffee and air conditioning at our hotel. After all, it was another 90-degree-plus day. Then, we were off in a taxi to our tour of the Colosseum with underground access, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.

Our tour guide offered an in-depth history of Rome and the archaeological surroundings. It was well worth the upgrade to see the inner workings of the Colosseum, which has limited daily capacity.

To round out the evening, we met some friends for dinner at Alfredo alla Scrofa. Ironically, they just got off a Mediterranean cruise in Rome, so the timing was perfect.

Vatican Tour

Because we love to see and do as much as possible, we booked an early morning tour of the Vatican before heading to Celebrity Beyond in Civitavecchia. Thankful for late checkout, we were able to head off for our 7:30 AM meeting time without worrying about our luggage.

Our early access tour of the Vatican started in the courtyard with some sculptures, along with several galleries, including the Sistine Chapel, Rafael Rooms, maps, antiques, and tapestries, and then to St. Peter’s Basilica for about 45 minutes.

The tour ended here where we had the option to explore the catacombs below or head to the top of the Dome. Though, given our schedule, we needed to head back to our hotel to checkout and await our transfer at 12 PM.

As luck would have it, our private transfer that we arranged through Viator never showed up. So, we had to pay $200 for a taxi to the cruise port. This drive took a little over an hour, so we arrived at the port by 1:30 PM.

More Time for Self Exploration

Given the flight schedule, we also spent an extra day in Rome on the backend of our cruise. This time, we stayed at the W Rome (my preference of the two hotels). We also arranged a private transfer from the ship in Civitavecchia back to Rome. Thankfully, when we disembarked the ship around 8 AM, the driver was waiting for us.

Arriving at the hotel in just about 1.5 hours, we only had to wait a short time for our room to be ready. We got a sweet upgrade, with a beautiful terrace. So, we dropped off our bags and headed off for a few hours of walking around the city to a few places we didn’t have a chance to see, including inside the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. Of course, we also grabbed some gelato and souvenirs along the way.

Tired and hot, we headed back to our hotel room by 2 PM. We spent the rest of the evening here relaxing and enjoying some pizza and drinks from the hotel’s restaurant on our private terrace. Unfortunately, tomorrow would be an early morning and long day of travel back home.

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Santorini

While our first port of call on this Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean cruise review was supposed to be Catania, Sicily, the weather had other plans for us. Unfortunately, rough seas prevented us from leaving Civitavecchia as planned so we ended up skipping Sicily. This meant we had two sea days in a row before arriving in Santorini, Greece.

For today, we booked the Best of Santorini Tour with Celebrity. This was a full-day tour exploring several notable landmarks. We were excited as this was our first time visiting Greece.

We had to meet in the theater at 7:45 AM. Given Santorini was a tender port, excursions were actually being tendered to a different location than those guests going ashore on their own, meaning we did not have to deal with the cable car until later in the day.

Arriving directly at our tour bus, we met our guide and headed off on the approximately 45-minute bus ride to Oia village. Oia is home to historic coastline and churches best known for the blue dome roofs. With only an hour here, it felt rushed to get pictures and explore.

We then took another approximately 45-minute drive to Akrotiri, the Pompeii of Greece, an archaeological site from 1600 BCE. Here, we had about an hour guided tour which was well-executed. From here, it was a rushed wine tasting at Santo Wines. This felt very touristy, with several other buses, and we didn’t gain anything from the experience besides a free glass of wine.

Our next stop on this tour was lunch, Greek dancing, and music at a Tavern named Demitri’s. The buffet food was okay, and the entertainment was passable, complete with some dancing and plate-breaking. Opa!

Finally, we took the short drive to Fira, where we were dropped off near the Golden Mile and would need to either take the cable car or walk 600 steps down to the tender location. We browsed some shops, grabbed some gelato, and waited about an hour for the few-minute ride down.

While Santorini was beautiful, this experience was everything we don’t like about cruise excursions– rushed, crowded, and very touristy. The heat and long lines for the cable car didn’t help either.

Mykonos

Another day in Greece, another tender port. Our ship was docked at the old port, which meant we could walk into town after a short tender ride. We could see a Virgin Voyages ship docked at the new port, which required a 20-minute bus transfer to the older part of town.

We had a 9 AM tour booked through Shore Excursions Group. Thus, not knowing how long we would have to wait, we began to head ashore around 7:45 AM. Luckily, we were ashore in about 15 minutes and spent about 30 minutes strolling the waterfront area before meeting our tour.

Good thing we returned early as we met our tour organizer and had just enough time to use the water closets before being ushered on a bus for the New and Old Mykonos Tour well ahead of schedule.

We drove from west to east towards the historic small town of Ano Mera. Here, we visited the Monastery of Tourliani. Our guide’s detailed explanation of the history of the monastery and facets of the religion gave the tour more meaning. We spent a little over 30 minutes here before walking to a local bakery for a frappe and Loukoumades, traditional Greek donut holes.

From there, it was back on the bus for a photo stop and an opportunity to dip our toes into the Aegean Sea at a nearby beach. (I believe it was Kalafati Beach, which is all the way east of the island.)

During the drive, the tour guide described the history of the island and discussed her years of education and training to be a certified guide. Returning to the port, we then took an hour walking tour of the old town. Here, the main attractions include the Panagia Paraportiani, Windmills of Mykonos, Little Venice, and some shopping.

The tour ended at the windmills around 11:45 AM. We spent another hour or so walking the cobblestone streets and shopping as we made our way back to the tender boat. Now, this was more of what we envisioned for a day in Greece. The tour was informative and perfectly-paced.

Istanbul

Next up on our Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean cruise review were two days in Istanbul. Celebrity Beyond would be docked here overnight giving guests plenty of time to explore this Turkish city. With an arrival around noon, it also gave us the opportunity to sleep in a bit.

As you may have guessed, we booked the Best of Istanbul Tour with Celebrity. This tour was a 12-hour, 2-day tour that visited all the highlights of this metropolis. Meeting in the theater for our tour, we waited over 20 minutes just to check in and get our stickers. We were then ushered ashore to the cruise terminal which is actually underground. Here, we met our tour guide and bus.

Our tour started with a short drive across the Golden Horn to board a boat for an afternoon cruise up the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Marmara and Dead Sea. It is the official border between European and Asian Turkey. While we are not huge fans of wasting time on tours eating lunch, this scenic cruise, complete with some traditional Turkish music, was a whole experience.

Back ashore around 2 hours later, we headed towards Sultanahmet Park for a visit to the nearby Hagia Sophia mosque. This area was extremely crowded! While tours do have a separate entrance, we did still have to wait outside close to a half hour. While the crowds may be a bit of a culture shock, it is worth it to marvel at one of the largest domed structures in the world that was originally constructed in 537 AD.

We spent about 25 minutes inside before wading our way through the hordes of people for a few blocks to the Basilica Cistern, the equally ancient Roman water source feeding the area. 276 columns support the 9,000 square foot space that was made famous by the James Bond movie, From Russia With Love.

Even though our tour guide was petite, she held her own navigating us through the crowds and standing up to the locals constantly trying to cut us in line.

From here, we took an approximately half mile walk to the Grand Bazaar where we were given an hour to browse the over 4,000 shops and stalls that make this one of the largest covered markets in the world. With the crowds and smoky air, we spent barely 30 minutes walking around the alleys. Unless you are looking for something specific, most of the merchandise was the same and not really my style of shopping.

Back to the ship around 7 PM, we were instructed to meet up for 7:45 AM the next morning. According to our guide, the city would be much quieter and more manageable tomorrow as it was a Sunday.

Thankfully, that was very accurate. Departing before 8 AM, we headed back to the same area as yesterday which was a ghost town. The first stop of the morning was the Hippodrome of Constantinople. A few sculptures and the obelisks remain from the original massive sports complex, which resides below the modern-day surface.

From here, we walked over to the Blue Mosque which is across the park from the Hagia Sophia. We were let in at 8:30 AM and spent about 30 minutes. Of note, all visitors must remove shoes, and shoulders and knees need to be covered. Women also need to don a headscarf when entering these mosques.

The Blue Mosque is an Ottoman-era imperial mosque which gets its name from its Iznik tiles and remains in operation today. Given its size, location, and number of minarets, it was likely built to rival or surpass Hagia Sophia.

Next on the agenda, we walked to the nearby Topkapi Palace. We were given a semi-guided tour of the first, second, and third courtyards followed by some free time to explore on our own.

Back to the bus around 10 AM, we took a short drive to a carpet-weaving demonstration. I’m not sure what we were expecting, but this took place in a rather modern department store. We had an approximately 30-minute presentation with some history, demonstration, and sales pitch.

It included a quick demo from a weaver and samples of various carpets consisting of different fabrics, knots per square inch, and dying methods, along with some Turkish coffee and a simit. I think they almost had Don convinced to buy a carpet!

With that, our time in Istanbul had come to an end. This 2-day tour was a great introduction to the city.

Kusadasi

Our second stop in Turkey on this Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean cruise review was Kusadasi. Here, we booked the Exclusive Ephesus tour with Celebrity.

Off just after 10 AM, the first stop on this excursion was a visit to The House of the Virgin Mary, which was about an hour drive from the cruise terminal. This Catholic shrine was discovered in the 19th century following the descriptions reported by a nun and visionary in a book published after her death.

After a short drive, we then spent the next 90 minutes or so on a guided tour of the ancient city of Ephesus. This was perhaps the grandest of our ancient ruins visits.

Our tour started at the second entrance at the top of the hill. From this vantage point, our guide went through the history of the ruins and its discovery. From the baths, we strolled the marble and cobblestone streets eventually making our way down to the main attraction, the Library of Celsus. If taking this tour, be sure to use caution. The marble is quite slippery, and proper footwear is crucial.

Along the way, we passed landmarks like Trajan’s Fountain and Hadrian’s Temple with some explanation provided. At the Library of Celsus, we had about 10 minutes for some pictures.

From there, we passed the agora onto the massive theater and a short re-enactment depicting a gladiator fight and traditional dance near the main entrance.

After 30 minutes of free time, we made our way to a hotel restaurant for a very lackluster lunch. We then got dropped off at the harbor where we were supposed to attend yet another carpet-weaving demonstration before being escorted back to the ship.

But, we may have skipped out on this presentation in lieu of walking around the waterfront and back to the ship on our own.

Athens

Another port of call, another early morning, another ancient ruins visit. As you may have guessed, today we were setting off on the Best of Athens tour which had a meeting time of 7:15 AM. As luck would have it, we ended up with the same tour guide from Santorini.

This tour started off with a visit to the Acropolis which was about a 45 minute drive from the cruise port. Here, we had a 90-minute guided tour followed by 30 minutes of free time.

Our tour started at the base of the hill with a brief orientation before beginning the slow climb up. A mob of other tourists greeted us at the entrance of the ancient ruins. These crowds would only grow as the morning went on.

The tour started in front of the ancient gates of the Acropolis, or the Propylaea, and the nearby Temple of Athena Nike. From here, we had an amazing view overlooking the city of Athens.

Passing through the gates, the massive and impressive Parthenon is right before you. Our guide would get to this attraction to describe its construction and ceremonial purpose later.

For now, our tour moved to the Erechtheion. Comprised of several sanctuaries, the building is an intricate ruin that is also home to the symbolic olive tree. Legend has it that the goddess Athena planted this olive tree, which has lasted throughout the centuries.

As the crowds gathered, we made our final stop of the guided tour at the Parthenon. This is the most famous building of the Acropolis. During our visit, the façade was undergoing restoration. Still, marveling at this testament to ancient Greek architecture was impressive.

Lastly, we were off to explore on our own for the next 30 minutes. This barely gave us enough time to take a few remaining photos, make a restroom pit stop, and take the slow walk down the hill to get back to the bus.

Back on the bus, we drove around Athens for some additional sightseeing including the Olympic Stadium, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and Hadrian Arch where we got dropped off to walk to a nearby restaurant in the Plaka neighborhood. This would be followed by some free time for shopping. Once again, this lunch was very uninspiring, and our shopping was interrupted by torrential rain. This meant we spent most of the 45 minutes taking cover.

Our final stop of this tour was the National Archaeological Museum of Athens where we spent about an hour. This guided tour started from 8th Century BCE with each exhibition moving forward in time. Within each room, there were various examples of sculptures, artifacts, and other artwork from various historical periods. While the ground floor consists of over 1,000 works of art, we only got a glimpse at some of the more notable pieces.

Among the works were a mostly intact sculpture from 550 BCE of an Egyptian youth. There was also the impressive 2nd century BCE marble sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite and god Pan and other metal works dating back to about 460 BCE.

Neither of us are big art buffs, but it is quite astonishing to see works of art that are literally 3,000 years old. It does give you a different perspective.

While this museum was interesting, we probably could’ve just booked a tour to the Acropolis. The lunch, shopping, and extraneous driving didn’t add much value to our day.

Naples

Following a relaxing sea day, we had come to our final port of call on this Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean cruise review. During our final day, we would be exploring Naples on a 9.5 hour excursion, the Amalfi Coast by Motor Launch and Pompei. While it was a long day, it was well worth it and ended up being one of our favorite tours.

Once again, we were off to an early start. Yes, we were tired, but our “famous” tour guide, Marco, was full of energy, passion, and plenty of food talk. He really made the tour and kept us entertained throughout the day.

As a native of Naples, he had a deep connection to the Volcano and the region. Not to mention, we learned more than we needed to know about San Marzano tomatoes, Amalfi lemons, pizza, and pasta–which isn’t a bad thing!

This tour included a cruise of the Amalfi coast, about 90 minutes of mostly free time in Amalfi, a lunch stop, and then over 2 hours exploring Pompei. It was about an hour drive from the cruise port to Salerno to take our tour group’s arranged ferry. It was a picturesque ride; we are glad we booked the ferry ride instead of the bus ride into Amalfi.

While in town, we strolled the streets surrounding Piazza del Duomo shopping and admiring the architecture. Upon recommendation from our guide, we purchased some limoncello from Nino and Friends, a pastry from Pansa, and lemon gelato from Sporta Marina. Yum! This is our kind of tour.

From here, we then took the approximately 45 minute ferry ride back to Salerno. It was then a half hour or so drive to a restaurant near Pompei. While still a typical tourist trap like other restaurants, the food was better than some of our previous excursions. The meal included a gnocchi appetizer, lemon chicken, and a rather plain lemon cake.

Now , it was on to Pompei. There are several entrances to Pompei, but Gate 3 seemed to be the one all the large tours used. There were other groups from our ship here, plus groups from Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises as well.

While Don had visited Pompei before, this was my first time. Marco did a great job showing us the highlights of this ancient city in a short time, including some shops, homes, a theater, forums, a spa, and more. Again, it was Marco’s charismatic delivery and deep love for the topic that keep the tour moving along. In fact, he is an official tour guide of Pompei. 

Given this is a vast area covering 66 hectares, we toured mostly regions VII and VIII which was a perfect introduction. Overall, this tour was a great way to end our trip.

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Recap of our Celebrity Beyond Mediterranean Cruise Review

So, back to our original question. Was this trip worth 20K? The answer for us is yes. Given that this was a vacation for our 14th wedding anniversary, we did splurge a bit more than we normally do on a cruise.

Still, it was an 11-day itinerary and we added on a few extra days in Rome for a total of two weeks of travel. The flights to and from Rome and the hotels in Rome certainly jacked up our total vacation costs.

In terms of the cruise itself, we did upgrade to a sunset verandah cabin which also inflated the cost of the trip. There are certainly more modest accommodations like inside, oceanview, and even infinite verandah cabins. Of course, there are also pricier options like suites that come with the added Retreat amenities.

Further, we did also pay to upgrade from a classic to a premium beverage package and opted for 5 specialty dinners. If you are looking to save money, you can definitely forego these add-ons and still have a great time on Celebrity Beyond.

Another big factor when examining price on this port intensive itinerary is shore excursions. Most of these ports of call were new to us, so we opted for lengthy and often pricey comprehensive tours. There are certainly cheaper options; or you could choose to just explore on your own without an organized tour.

A cruise vacation is all about what you want to make it, what fits your budget, and what’s your travel style. A cruise on Celebrity Beyond can certainly be done for cheaper (and more expensively). But, the important takeaway is that she is a great ship offering top-notch dining and bars, entertainment, and beautifully-appointed public spaces.

We would also highly recommend this cruise itinerary!

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