This was our first Celebrity cruise chosen because of the ports and the deal. We paid £2500 for balcony cabin 9250 including a classic drinks package and flights from Birmingham . Bargain. Everything went like clockwork in Rome, easily identifiable staff to meet us, straightforward transfer to the port of Civitavecchia and seamless boarding. So far so good. We were very impressed with Celebrity Reflection, beautiful cabin, lovely double bed, sofa and immaculate bathroom. The public areas are all superbly maintained, the main atrium stunning.

We were very pleased with the itinerary which stopped at Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, Kusadasi, Bodrum, Crete and Naples. We arranged our own tours through cruise excursions which was just as well as the Celebrity ones are outrageous. We were very satisfied with the entertainment especially the house band which popped up all over the place. It's certainly livelier than P&O. The outside decks are all very good with lots of extremely comfortable sunbeds and loungers with plenty of towels. The usual irritation of banging techno music and aerobic sessions around the pool but a very nice indoor pool and Jacuzzis.

Now the not so good bits, this is definitely aimed at the American market and the hard sell starts from the minute you board, constantly being urged to upgrade drinks and dining packages and staff trying to drag you into the jewellers or the spa to part you from your cash. The food in the main restaurant was average at best, poor and lukewarm at worst. We were seated at a table for twelve and people were ordering 3 starters each to make sure they had enough. The food in the buffet ,Ocean View Cafe, on the other hand, was superb. We decided after day 3 of the food to treat ourselves to a $ 137 pp. Speciality dining upgrade. Don't bother, the Lawn club grill was pizza followed by a very good steak. Next was Qzine which is a very strange concept, they seem to be so busy trying to be trendy and telling you what an amazing experience you're having, they've forgotten about the food. Next was the Tuscan grill, ravioli in some kind of disgusting gravy, Italian onion soup which was inedible and had to be sent back (they explained why it was our palate ) then the best steak and a great pudding. Finally Murano which was superb from start to finish but if you want their best steak it'll set you back another $18! Read more