Great Cruise - I have read the other reviews and believe that they are to the point. Embarkation - We arrived around 12:30 and it took around 1 hour to get through. We could get into the room after 1:00. So we bypassed the elevators right as you embark and walked to the back of the ship and the elevators were available and no long wait. Our room was typical for Celebrity, we choose the back of the ship and had a large balcony. No problem with the motion of the ship.
FOOD: Breakfast and lunch were basically the same everyday but always ample choices. No complaints. Sometimes the area was very crowded but it all depends on the time you go. Main Dining Room : we choose Select Dining since we were traveling with a one year old. I had made reservations before we left for 7:00, (since we were 7 people dining ) No problem but on Monday when I tried for the rest of the week I could only get 8:15. Which is too late. Russell was very accommodating with trying to fit us in according to the baby's schedule. I was told that Celebrity had an overwhelming demand for Select Dining on this cruise. Which was obvious, the area was overcrowded, the servers weren't able to handle the crowds, and when people left the tables weren't clean - so when we went at 8:15 we had to look at dirty tables. I would never do Select Dining again. Hopefully, Celebrity will get it worked out. The food in MDR was the weakest part of the cruise. When I go on vacation I enjoy good food - I think my cooking is better and I am not a gourmet cook. On the other hand, the NORMANDIE was EXCELLENT with a great wait staff.
Ports: I did a lot of research before the cruise for shore excursions. When you are traveling with 7, the ship's excursions are pricey and I didn't want the baby to bother anyone else. PORTLAND: MAINE FOODIE TOUR - Culinary Trolley - Wonderful, Randy was a great host with lots of info on the area and food. BAR HARBOUR - I booked with At Your Service Taxi. We were met as we got off the ship, Mary O was our driver. She was a wealth of info - and showed us all the highlights of the area. My husband loves photography and she stopped wherever he wanted. ST. JOHN'S BAY - Roy Flowers, Roy was a great tour guide, showed us some places off the beaten path. Having a private tour we actually got to see both stages of the Reversing Falls. BAR HARBOUR - Greg - Kiwikaboodle. This was the most enjoyable day Greg was very easy to relate to and knew the area very well. We did downtown Halifax then out to Peggy's Cove. I would highly recommend Greg. All of the tours can be found on the web.