This was my 8th cruise, 5th Christmas Cruise, 6th Cruise out of San Juan. I have cruised with Norwegian, RCCL, and Carnival before, but this was the 1st Celebrity Cruise. RCCL has been my favorite, but I had heard very good things from friends about Celebrity so we decided to give it a try. I traveled with my husband and 3 daughters ages 17, 15, and 12, and our friends who have 3 daughters ages 9, 5, and 1.

HOLIDAY: This was our 5th Christmas to cruise. We are Catholic and enjoyed Midnight Mass and the Priest on board. The ship had Christmas Caroling and Santa on board, and a traditional Christmas dinner. We were a little disappointed that the singers and dancers didn't do a Holiday show. We used wrapping paper to decorate our doors for Christmas and Hanukah, and strung lights around the inside of our rooms. The friends we travel with are Jewish and they enjoyed the Hanukah services.

SAN JUAN: People complain about San Juan and I just don't understand it. My family loves leaving from there. We always arrive 2 or 3 days early and stay at the Marriott to unwind and get relaxed before the cruise. We love the Marriott, they have a great pool and my daughters enjoy the beach. We enjoy Old San Juan and Condado. I like starting out somewhere tropical. We cruised out of New Orleans a few years ago and it was cold there, as well as the first and last days at sea. We enjoy knowing we will be warm the whole time. We have gone to the mall the last couple of years to finish our Christmas Shopping and had a good time. We always eat at the restaurant AJili Moli, it has great Puerto Rican food. EMBARKATION: We arrived at the ship around noon. No problems, very fast and easy. Went straight to our cabins. Read more