It’s barely gone noon, and already I’ve drunk a peach bellini with breakfast, had a 90-minute hot-stone massage, bought $250 worth of collagen-infused skincare, contemplated a Peloton class, inspected a $14,000-a-night suite – and just missed almost spotting Ronan Keating in The Retreat before he returned to his two-storey villa.
In this case, it’s Celebrity Beyond, the third ship in the series: a 21-deck fun ship that boasts the brand’s distinctive orange ‘magic carpet’ – a cantilevered platform that moves between decks, and can be used for al fresco dining, as a bar or dance floor. There’s also a life-sized sculpture by the pool, of an elephant balancing on its forelegs.
It was an energetic and enlivening if slightly surreal experience that I’ve never quite forgotten. So, when the invitation came to do it all again for Celebrity Edge in the British port of Southampton earlier this year, I thought, why not! We pull out from Southampton on a Sunday evening, and spend all of Monday sailing back and forth in loops along the British coastline, becoming well acquainted with the White Cliffs of Dover.This vast experiment at sea suggests it’s virtually irrefutable that nationality tends to dictate desired activity. The Australian media are all over the gym, the day spa, and the wine lists. Word also spreads fast as to which of the ship’s 29 cafés, bars and restaurants has the best gluten-free bread.