This was the third cruise on Celebrity for me and my partner. We booked through a G&L agency that places small groups of G&L cruisers on larger ships. More on that later. We booked about three months before sailing, and the agency was able to get us ($1829/each) for a C2 class Concierge class room; the price on Celebrity's site for the same room at that time was in the $2400/each range.
I stayed at the Renaissance Cruise Port hotel (my partner met me at the ship - was with family); nothing wrong with this hotel, great location, good rooms; a bit pricey ($240 w tax) but I have Marriott Gold status, so the evening snacks and breakfast are free. I think the Embassy Suites has a slightly better location, and drinks/breakfast are free there. $14 taxi ride to the hotel and a $6 shuttle van to the port in the morning.
The worst part of the cruise, bar none, was the embarkation. Apparently there was a combination of a crew customs check and some technical problems with the card scanners - but I have never waited so long to get on board. We were at the pier at 11:30, and seated by 11:45. We did not BOARD until 2:15. It was a very disorganized process, with people cutting the lines, other guests telling them to sit back down, etc. I suppose the only good part was that the rooms were ready when we got on board.
We've been in suites before, so this long narrow cabin did seem a bit claustrophobic. The cabin is right next to some of the larger suites, and this means the balcony is easily 2x the size of a regular C2 balcony, so that is a big plus. Very convenient location right off the aft elevators and library, but no noise issues. Everything worked great, plenty of hot water, good lighting, TV was fine.
No room up top so we sat in the parlor car. In the end that was a good decision as we were in the first car and the diesel smoke up top was not good. It was a nice trip but perhaps not worth the $100+ cost per person.
Excellent. Do not miss this.
Took our own trip to the beach. Nice location and interesting French cultural influence.
Took our own trip to the beach. Very nice, even with the rain.
Embarkation was not good, but there's lots to do in FLL. Check out the share bikes on the beach area.