Sunday 22nd - sunrise 5.19/sunset 10.05 Docked Portside We boarded the 7.45 BA plane for the short hop from LHR T5 to Amsterdam. 'We' are a 40-something couple who fell into cruising a few years back, and now have about 8 cruises under our belts. We have only cruised Celebrity once, and that was on Xpedition which is a totally different experience, so we were really looking forward to our first real Celebrity cruise. Whilst waiting for the luggage you can buy the tickets for the train to Amsterdam Central Station - €3.80pp 2nd class payment by credit/debit card only. We caught the 10.41 and at 11.00 we were walking off the train. Took the exit by platform 15 (spoor 15) and the Albert H store. Cross the road, and turn right, keeping the water on your left. Aim for the only high rise building you can see - the Movenpick Hotel and the cruise terminal is right next door. It is a simple 20 minute walk dragging luggage. We completed a health questionnaire, were given priority boarding cards (as we are Select members) and by 11.40 we were on board with our glass of welcome champagne in hand. Couldn't have been easier. We had a balcony - I must admit this was the smallest balcony room of all our cruises. It was meant to sleep 4 but I would think that would be an impossibility given the lack of space to move around. The decor was coffee, orange and burgundy. Flat screen Samsung TV, nice comfy bed with rounded edges, we always had ice and a jug of water each day; a large shower with the hottest hot water I have ever known and great water pressure (but a flappy shower curtain), a modern raised round sink, French milled-soap. Robes in the room and also an umbrella! Our luggage was delivered by 1.30. Trevor our steward kept the room spotless for us. We did not have a dining table number allocated on our card, so for the first night we were given a table for 2, then we were allocated table #507 at the back of the dining room, right by the window, and right next to the Captain's Table! We were on 2nd seating. Dinner every night was a 5 course event that took around 1hr 40 mins. I have listed the menu's for each day below but have skipped detailing the salad course each evening (hope you don't mind!) Little touches: We have mostly cruised with RCI so there are inevitable comparisons. The things that Celebrity did differently that really impressed me were: when you ordered a glass of wine, they bought the whole bottle and poured it out for you; bread at dinner is placed in a basket on the table, at dinner the butter pats are cut out in shapes and not left in the foil wrappers; deserts are presented on a tray so you can see what they look like before ordering; there are trays in the Island Cafe (this is one of my pet bugbears on RCI!); the plates there are china not plastic; the Island cafe at breakfast is not jam-packed and you can always find somewhere to sit; there is a noticeable increase in the numbers of staff; wait staff were dressed in bow-tie and dinner jacket instead of flowery shirts; they carried your tray to the table for you; there was noticeable more selling of drinks - Bloody Mary at breakfast anyone? Also a distinct lack of announcements calling you to bingo or art auctions made for a more relaxing environment Minor gripes: It really is hard to find fault with this cruise ship and her staff, but to present a balanced review there should always be a few negatives! The only things I can think of are: the towels in the bathroom were very small and would barely wrap around you; the towels in the Persian Gardens spa had a un-appealing brown tinge to them; dress code seemed to be confusing and was not adhered to - especially on Informal nights; the smell of smoke was evident in the central areas; and the room numbers on the doors and on the elevator buttons were a bit worn. The lay out of the ship is pretty odd on deck 6. It is hard to walk from front to back as there is a Card Room in the way and you have to squeeze your way round the card table and chairs! Best to use deck 7 to get around. That really is all. Otherwise it was pretty much perfect. On with the cruise: We had a great Roll Call group building up in the months before the cruise, and we met for drinks by the Mast Bar for sailaway. Good to put faces to names after all these months of communicating! Everyone was super and we met for drinks with one couple or another every day of the cruise. Sailaway from Amsterdam is up a long canal for about 2 hours and then through the locks to the open sea. We sat on our balcony with a glass of wine (you are allowed to bring on 2 bottles per cabin) and watched the Dutch countryside and the wind mills pass. The demographic was mostly American, around 100 British, 100 Canadian, and there were 2 large groups from Mexico and Brazil. I would estimate there were around 30 children on board. Our first dinner on board was casual dress: Baked goats cheese and roasted bell pepper tart Shrimp cocktail Duck confit with lingonberry Millefeuille of mushrooms in a creamy herb sauce

Oven roasted tomato and garlic soup Japanese vegetable consomme Chilled Tangerine and Apple

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