We always choose a cruise for the itinerary, with the cruise line choice very important as well. We prefer Celebrity & have sailed w/them (including Azamara) more than any other line. We were thrilled with this cruise & in fact rate it the best ever. We booked our air w/Celebrity & one additional night in Rome at the end of the cruise which sailed July 16, 2010 for 10 days. Our ports of call were Messina, Sicily; Athens; Mykonos; Kusadasi; Rhodes, Santorini, Naples, and return to Rome.

Embarkation was smooth & easy as always, with a glass of champagne passed out upon boarding. A crew member was to escort us to our cabin, but I declined as our room was easily located. We were almost right off the elevator in a cabin jutting out around the atrium, an excellent location. We were very pleasantly surprised with the cabin design, with multiple features not found on other ships; i.e., the foot rest for women in the glass enclosed shower, the storage above the bed, the bed's corners at the foot rounded off, storage space in the bathroom beyond belief with several drawers & 6 shelves plus "counter space", the full-length mirror outside the bathroom and a desk/TV area that utilized space well. We also loved the fact that the closet faced the room area as opposed to the the bathroom entrance. The veranda furniture was great with tall backs & adjustable reclining. We ate room service breakfast there several times. The couch was amply large as well. The closet also had two drop down racks for trousers or other short items to utilize space well. The light wooden decor was very nice also. Soundproofing was excellent & we loved the fact the the cabin doors never slammed shut--they were on a slow-closing spring, but always shut tightly.

Public areas -- The entire layout of the ship was excellent allowing for great passenger flow throughout. The ship was full w/approx. 2700 passengers, but never felt like that many. The shows in the Theater were superb & there were always vacant seats available even if you arrived late. The stage was specially designed to accommodate their shows with a section that allowed the floor to drop & another raised section to allow performers a higher location. Several shows also had performers doing acrobatics from the ceiling over the stage as well as over the audience. The performers were multi-talented indeed. I went to the Hot Glass show several times & found this very interesting, however, I question the location as it was on the Lawn Club which also had bocce (lawn bowling) & a putting course. The benches provided at the Hot Glass show sometimes were insufficient plus it was difficult to see from the back rows though there was a camera view on TV screen. There was a bar behind the Lawn Club which did not receive much air circulation. The pool area was designed well with cushioned deck chairs and a small area which was used as a dance floor for shows or had fountains (wet zone) during the day. There were two outdoor pools & 4 whirlpools which we did not utilize because we chose to use the Solarium with indoor pool & two whirlpools as it was adults only. It was stuffy in there, however, even though I did notice windows open sometimes. We only tendered once in Santorini & this process was conducted well. We did not tour here so we let the early people disembark & when we were ready, there was no line & no need to get tender tickets. When we arrived in Santorini, we just got in line for the cable car. We arrived at the top (Fira or Thira) and enjoyed this island on our own. We took the local bus (less than 2 Euros ea. way) to Oia for additional views from this location. Oia is less crowded & shopping is fabulous, with art galleries, jewelry stores, & many other upscale shops. The local bus ride afforded us a view of the other side of the island which has some flat areas for vineyards & other crops. Wine is stronger here due to the volcanic soil. Upon our return to Skala Harbor at the bottom of the cable car ride, we took the tender back to the Equinox. Upon return to the ship in all ports, we were offered cold towels & punch or water and were usually through the reboarding security process in less than 5 minutes. Read more