Background: I'm 55, DH is 61. We're active but not partiers, from New England, enjoy good food and relaxation on winter cruises. We're Elite on Celebrity but also enjoy Princess Cruises and go back and forth between them. We'd booked this cruise onboard the prior year, and as such had free classic alcohol packages, free pre-paid gratuities and $550 in onboard credit, which ROCKED.
Embarkation: Because this cruise departed on a Saturday, the port was busy, Oasis OTS was at Terminal 18 and Equinox was at Terminal 29. It's a tiny terminal with very little seating, only one gangway, and can't handle many people inside. Many of the check-in clerks were brand new; we had one; he was very pleasant but needed some coaching to get things done, so it took longer than usual. We arrived fairly early (11ish) and hoped for the best; took us about 90 minutes to get to the ship. At 2 pm when we looked down from the open deck at Oceanview Cafe, the line outside the terminal was enormous. I know this was not a great start for many people and I felt particularly bad for the older folks and families with small kids who had to wait in the sun for a long time. I thought, however, the Celebrity staff did the best they could given the Port stuck them at the worst terminal. There were signs saying "A better terminal is coming!" and I hope it's soon.
Cabin: We had a Concierge Class C2 cabin, 9296. It's one of the "hump" cabins, starboard side on the back side of the hump, with an enormous fully-covered veranda. Bed is by the veranda, couch by the bathroom, bed faces aft. This was a fantastic cabin. Very quiet, easy access to public areas above and below (we used the aft stairs for access to everything) and we loved the extra space on the veranda and used it extensively. Celebrity's storage space is a little skimpy, with 4 standard drawers, 2 over-the-bed cabinets and a closet, but we typically pack light and had no trouble finding a spot for everything. The bathroom does have quite a few cubbies, some of them behind a glass door and some behind a wood cabinet door, plus a small pull-out drawer.
We had a Concierge Class C2 cabin, 9296. It's one of the "hump" cabins, starboard side on the back side of the hump, with an enormous fully-covered veranda. Bed is by the veranda, couch by the bathroom, bed faces aft. This was a fantastic cabin. Very quiet, easy access to public areas above and below (we used the aft stairs for access to everything) and we loved the extra space on the veranda and used it extensively. Celebrity's storage space is a little skimpy, with 4 standard drawers, 2 over-the-bed cabinets and a closet, but we typically pack light and had no trouble finding a spot for everything. The bathroom does have quite a few cubbies, some of them behind a glass door and some behind a wood cabinet door, plus a small pull-out drawer. Couch is also a sleeper but we didn't pull it out. TV would swing towards the bed for viewing, or we could sit on the couch. A small oval table is in front of the couch; we had a rose and 2 stems of alstroemeria the 2nd day through the 2nd-to-last day, when they mysteriously disappeared. We declined the "afternoon canapes" because we preferred to just get something ourselves if we were hungry (and they're not that great, honestly - it's 4 very small items, and a single shrimp or a tablespoon of hummus or a few olives really wasn't that appetizing.) We could have asked for something else but we just didn't need the extra food. Cabin attendant Nelson was friendly and very fast (with his assistant) to make up the cabin. We felt well cared for.
Just walked around; it's nice to see a port before it's taken over by jewelry stores. Interesting architecture. Very French; lots of bakeries and shoe stores. Major bank with ATMs is by the La Savane park in front of the port. Ferry dock is next to the cruise ship pier, with helpful guy explaining routes and fares when we first docked. Fares range 4-9 Euros. Nice port, very scenic.
Docked at Havensight, easy access to downtown, shopping. Had a walk downtown (about 3 miles round trip) to enjoy the view.
Stayed overnight at Embassy Suites with Hilton points. Nice hotel, very close to shopping and restaurants, and close to port. Great pre-cruise hotel.