We've just returned from this cruise sailing from New York to Quebec via Newport, Boston, Portland, Bar Harbour, Halifax, Quebec and Charlottetown on the Celebrity Summit. It was a real adventure because this was the first time I have visited the U.S. and Canada and the first time on board a Celebrity cruise ship. The ship was impressive with plenty of space inside and out in all areas, which meant the ship never felt crowded. It was immaculately clean, tidy and fresh and had a great atmosphere. I particularly liked Cafe Cova for drinks during the day and the Champagne/Cocktail lounges for evening drinks because they had a wonderful atmosphere and could be relaxing as well as stimulating depending on the time of day. We did not bother with the "crows-nest" bar at the top of the ship as it was either empty or was holding some form of "entertainment" that crowded the place out. All the serving and cabin staff were excellently trained and had slightly more professionalism than those on other cruise lines I have encountered. All food from breakfast to dinner was generally excellent, but avoid "Moroccan Style" dishes because they tasted bland and far from fruity and spicy as you might expect. The entertainment on board was expected to be really good, but for me it failed (apart from the bands). After dinner "shows" were at really stupid times and did not fit the timings for dinner. We were on the 8.30pm sitting and missed the early show (we were dressing for dinner)and the later show (we were eating dinner). Karaoke and quizzes are best left on land!

We chose not to do any excursions, which like those offered by other cruise lines lack imagination and quite frankly mean alot of queuing - spending hours on a coach with people pointing out the obvious just to get to a destination where you get ten minutes to take photos (weather permitting) may suit some people, but we prefer to explore the ports of call and get to know the real town.