Overall my 15-day cruise to the Holy Land was good with one exception, we never made it to the Holy Land (Israel). Hamas and the Israelis decided to have a rocket contest just long enough to prevent us from visiting Israel. Celebrity decided to skip Israel (3 port days) and go to Istanbul instead. This was acceptable, but I think Celebrity did a poor job communicating the change in plans. Yes, they told us that they were discussing with the Celebrity headquarters and told us the night before our scheduled arrival in Ashdod, Israel that the Israel ports would be cancelled. But, they never explained why we sailed past Santorini, Rhodes, Crete and Cyprus and traveled way out of the way to get to Istanbul. We basically lost one port of call and added another sea day making it six out of a 15-day cruise. In addition, the Ship Officers disappeared from sight once the itinerary change was announced. The passengers came to the same conclusion, Celebrity selected the option that would make them the most money. It is really a shame since the ship, food and crewmembers, excluding the Officers that hide, were really good.

OK, now on to the review. The ship was really nice, only about 1.5 years old. There were 3000 passengers, but the ship never seemed crowded. The common areas were open and spacious. The pool and deck furniture were padded and comfortable. Never had a problems finding a deck chair. There was a common area with a real lawn. They had evening wine & jazz nights with blankets and pillows available to sit on the lawn. During the day they had lawn games like crocket. The lounges, bars and specialty restaurants were nicely decorated and comfortable. The entertainment was hit and miss. Their production shows were good, but they didn't have as many "fun" type of activities as Caribbean cruises.

The food was good but not great. The exception was the specialty restaurants. I went to two, Qsine and Murano. They have a steep surcharge fee, $40 per restaurant, but those two were probably worth the money. Qsine is a wild and quirky tapas restaurant. The menu is an iPad and a rubic's cube. The food presentation is amazing; nothing is served on a dish. Murano was a French restaurant where your meal is cooked tableside. The buffet was better than other ships, but the main dining was similar to other ships with average food. This cruise offered both set time seating and open seating options. I like the open seating option; I met more people and can go eat when I'm hungry. We only had to wait once, during a formal night. Read more