This was our 6th cruise with Celebrity, our first Trans-Atlantic. Next Trans-Atlantic, we will go the OTHER way, but, that was our issue, not Celebrity's! We often joked as we cruised east, moving the clock forward one hour, 6 separate times, losing an hour each time, that hey!, we should be getting a refund from Celebrity, because 6 hours, for the 4 of us in our family, comes out to a total of 24 hours LOST, that's one full day - haha! Anyway, yes, that was our inside joke. So, to fly to Europe, then cruise west back home, would have given us 24 hours EXTRA, (just kidding, but hey, depends on how you look at it!!) plus, it would have eliminated any jet lag issues here at home - it's always easier to deal with jet lag at the beginning of a vacation when everything is fun and exciting, but back home, waking up at 2am for a full week before your body clock adjusts, is definitely not fun.

We had sailed on Equinox in August of 2011 in the Med so it was great to be back onboard. She is a beautiful ship, a wonderful crew. The captain was the same captain that we sailed with on Summit this past October in the Caribbean. It was great to hear his familiar voice, and to see him often in the public areas, nearly every day. I suppose that a Trans Atlantic cruise is very simple for the captain - just set the auto pilot due east in this case, for 7 days and relax! But, seriously, it was great to see the captain so often, as well as many other of the senior officers. It is always nice to see the officers out and about with the passengers - makes us feel welcome and also that the crew is involved. I once saw the Hotel Director officer walking about the ship and her keen eye flew to a VERY minor issue with the flooring - she was on top of it, clearly concerned and taking ownership of even the most minor of irregularities.

We sailed in Aqua Class, 2 cabins - one for my husband and I and one for 2 of our adult children - our daughter is mobility challenged so they were in a handicapped accessible room. The handicapped facilities on the Solstice Class ships are TOP NOTCH. We do not cease to be impressed every cruise we take with Celebrity on Solstice Class ships. The accessible cabins are much larger than the regular cabins to allow for the equipment that the person with the disability must use. The veranda door is ramped on both sides and the veranda itself is considerably longer than the regular verandas, to allow for walkers and/or wheelchairs. The bathrooms are larger and also ramped, but ramped in the floor so you don't see it. The shower, which is large and has a built in chair which flips out of the way for a non physically disabled co-passenger, drains into a slanted floor drain, and in case the water swooshes around the bathroom floor, there is a several foot long drain in the floor before the bathroom door, so there is zero chance of flooding. There is a telephone in the bathroom next to the toilet as well as an emergency pull cord to notify medical of any problem. The door to your handicapped accessible cabin opens automatically, so when you swipe your Seapass Card into your lock, the door automatically opens, and when you have to leave your cabin, you just press the automatic button - so there are no heavy doors to open. Throughout all Solstice Class ships, every single public bathroom door has an automatic open button, and the handicapped accessible stalls also have an auto open door, with a very simple lock inside. A fantastic system! Plus, all public areas have auto open doors onto the decks, with no step up or step down - the ship is perfectly designed for people with mobility issues. Not so the Millennium Class ships, but those are much older. Clearly, the services of a disability consultant were engaged when the Solstice Class ships were designed. Read more