My wife and I have just returned from a fabulous 15 night transatlantic cruise (Fort Lauderdale to Rome) on the new Celebrity Solstice. The cruise was fantastic and the ship awesome! The ship is big but doesn't feel that big when you are on save for the very long walk from cabin 7344 at the back of the ship to the Theatre at the front but we considered this good exercise!

We flew out to Fort Lauderdale from the UK and spent 3 nights pre cruise at the Bahia Mar on Fort Lauderdale Beach. We had a nice room in the tower block with marina and sea views. We felt that the hotel (whilst not a luxury resort) gives good value for money and the location is excellent being linked by a walkway to the beach and near to the water taxi stop.

We took a taxi from the hotel to the cruise terminal ($10 including tip) arriving early at about 11.15. Check-in was a breeze and completed in no time. We then progressed to a seating area where a super efficient lady kept us all well informed on progress with embarkation. Being Captains Club Select members we were seated in a separate area. We were on the ship by 12 noon welcomed with glasses of champagne and since the rooms were not ready we settled down into two of the fabulous comfy chairs that abound on this ship. Read more