The cruise started at Southampton so, for us, it was a relatively easy drive down on the A3 to our pre-booked car park on the dock near the ship. A Celebrity van was waiting just by our actual car parking space to take the luggage, and it was then a short stroll over to the terminal and a very quick check-in - we were on the ship by 1:30 just as the announcement telling us the cabins were open.

This is the second time we have been on this ship this year. Our balcony stateroom was on deck 8, by the rear stair/lift core, and it gave us our preferred layout of the couch nearest the window. We like this class of ship, it has a more contemporary feel to its interior design and the public areas are very spacious. We particularly like the Sky Lounge in the early evening.

We always do Select Dining, and make sure we book in advance - although, in fairness the queues were well controlled. It would be good, however, if Celebrity could make booking select dining times on its website a bit easier - we normally have to ring up head office! We prefer a table for two, ideally by the balcony edge overlooking the main dining area below, and managed to secure it every evening through the hostesses at the front desk. The waiters were cheerful and efficient as were the sommeliers - the food in the dining room was fine, better on some days than others, but no problem in finding something acceptable - except the soups which were very dull this time. A real surprise (and well done Celebrity) was the supply of jackets that the Maitre D kept by the desk - no one was allowed in the dining room on formal nights without a jacket - about time the dress code was enforced - but it wasn't a problem on this cruise - the DJ & Tux count was the highest we have ever seen! Read more