We chose this cruise because the ship was advertised as a 5 star and the price was great. Since we had booked so far in advance, we had a generous room credit and tips were included. We had cruised with Celebrity once before (European) but I remember it being much better than this cruise. The food was just average at both the buffet and the main dining room. One of the most annoying experiences was getting soft drinks. I bought the soda package so I could have as many as I wanted. At the soda bar in the main buffet, I had to hand the bartender my card, have him swipe it and he would hand me a canned drink. Then I had to go get my own small cup of ice, my own straw, and my own napkin. This made every trip to the buffet several trips to get my food and then a drink. It felt like a very discount experience, like serving myself at Burger King. We went on a Princess cruise just a couple of months earlier and with my soda package, I just had to show the bartender my card, and he would fill a large cup with ice, fill it with soda and serve it with a straw and napkin. No swiping of the card. That felt like the treat I expected.

Also, the beds and pillows on Celebrity were not that comfortable or inviting (once again in large contrast to our experience on Princess.) The ship seemed to have plenty of activities but the nice large bar on deck 11 was often closed to most passengers. It was often reserved for their upscale customers. We wanted to go there to play cards and enjoy the view but were chased out. There was no game room on the ship.

Our stateroom was pleasant, we had a large oceanview window which we enjoyed. Our stateroom attendant was the most reliable person to have a cheerful and helpful attitude. We noticed that it seemed the staff was a little shorthanded and morale didn't seem great. Read more