We booked our trip directly with Celebrity using their online reservation process. I found it easy and straight forward. After placing the reservations, I received a call from Celebrity a few days later to confirm our information. They were friendly and helpful! We had received a direct email with a fantastic rate offer, which is why we booked with them instead of using one of our "usual" online TA's.

We embarked from Bayonne, NJ. Never having been there, we were a little concerned about directions, parking, etc. The wonderful Cruise Critic members on the Bayonne board provided us with fantastic directions and good insights about how to board with a walker and handicapped parking. It was quite easy, and within 40 minutes of arriving in Bayonne we were on board and in our cabin, even though it was well before the 1 PM "rooms ready" timeline. We were warmly greeted by our Room Steward and shown the features of the room.

We headed upstairs to the Buffet for a delicious lunch. The Buffet line is broken up into sections, with Pizza being one place, sandwiches and Paninis all the way in the back, and the hot buffet offered on usually one side only. It took a few days to get the hang of where to find things. Breakfast is the same way, with the popular waffles, pancakes and french toast being all the way Aft. Don't miss the fantastic orange butter for your waffles, etc.! Also in the back is a small covered open seating area. It's a little windy while at sea, but nice when in port. Read more