As a first time cruiser I had preconceived ideas about how I wouldn't enjoy most of ship life during an eleven day cruise. Celebrity did their best to change those ideas. Queuing , an all time hate for me ! was kept to a minimum (except one tour to Altun Ha which was'nt up to Celebritys' usual high standard !). Celebrity staff was very well trained and a "good morning, good morning, HAPPY COFFEE " ! Will ring in my ears for years ...its often these little things that 'ice the cake'......and this was a good cake believe me. Robert (exec Chef) was charming and an Australian so the food had to be great (it was !). the shows and movies were adequately entertaining, cabin staff excellent and our skipper 'parked the boat' without any indication we had actually stopped ! A special thank you to Joaquim and Augustus who attended to our restaurant needs every night.

If you prefer an 'older' peoples cruise with very few children this cruise is excellent and the history in ports like Cartagena read like a best selling novel ! We had a 'blind ' cabin on deck 7..........for my wife and I, plenty of room, well appointed and sleep quality was excellent, never heard a thing any night ! If you have to go from the pointy end to the blunt end you soon realise how long these things are, but after a brief stay at a bar we could continue on our way ! All organised tours (except A.H) were very well planned , informative/entertaining/fascinating. getting off and on the Equinox simplified by Celebrity staff armed with chilled water and towels (often very welcome indeed!). The end of the tour came too soon for me but the biggest let down was after we disembarked ! For 2 long hours I believed they had moved the terribly inefficient immigration/customs experience from LAX to Port Everglades !!!!! 2 weeks earlier I had commented about the marked improvement at LAX, but this was a disaster! If it can be made a longer queue and wait for mostly elderly people, let me know ? I only saw one woman being treated by medics, but there may have been more ? Appreciate this is beyond Celebrity's control.....but a word in the right ear never hurts ?

Would I do it again ........yes but probably only with Celebrity as a bench mark has been set pretty high !