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We had a fantastic 10 nights on this state-of-the-art ship.
We chose an Aqua Class Cabin with Balcony as we wanted something a little bit special for our honeymoon. On arrival at the embarkation marquee, we were delighted to be fast-tracked out of this cattle market as we were Aqua Class passengers. We were greeted with welcome drinks and iced towels as we walked along the red carpet onto the boat (this practice was repeated at every port we visited, so much so that we looked forward to getting back to the ice towel man at the boat every day as it was very hot in the Med in August!).
Our cabin was furnished with fresh fruit, welcome champagne, iced tea. The Aqua class cabin is very well appointed and, whilst not huge, was plenty big enough for the two of us with its large balcony, abundant storage space and lovely little ensuite shower/toilet. The only slight problem we had was that when you ran the cold water tap in the hand basin, the water would very quickly become lukewarm - not pleasant for teeth cleaning!! I complained about this twice to the Customer Relations Desk and was told on both occasions that it was being looked into. It was never resolved. In contrast, the Hansgrohe shower was fantastic with body jets and very good water pressure.
Our Stateroom Attendants were fantastic. Every time we returned to the cabin, our bed would be made, and our cabin tidied. Finishing touches like Celebrity chocolates on each of our pillows at the end of each day was a nice touch too. The room service menu for food was completely free and very nice on the few occasions we used it. This could be ordered form the TV Remote - flatscreen, wallmounted on a clever pull-out bracket. Internet was also available in the cabin at a charge.
We are both musicians so entertainment was very important to us. We are probably more critical of it than your average passenger too!! We were not disappointed. We were treated to the Equinox Orchestra (they were an 8-piece band rather than an orchestra) in the theatre productions on most nights, an excellent 6 piece covers band that played by the poolside each day for sailaway and then later in the Sky Lounge until late. Also onboard were, the Voicemales Vocal Quartet, Georgetown Jazz Quartet, a String Quartet and female guitar/vocalist. All of these acts moved around the ship regularly and were of the highest standard. The theatre productions were generally excellent and varied with a full programme of guest artists as well as resident acts. We did however find the second Equinox Spectacular Show a little bit repetitive (how long can you watch somebody dangling upside down from a piece of cloth for!!!???)
The bars were all good but we would strongly recommend purchasing a drinks package in advance - you still get an itemised print-out at the end and we definitely made out of Celebrity - we did our sums!!! The food was simply exquisite. Right through from the Oceanview Cafe (Buffet) to the speciality restaurants, everything was amazing and top-shelf. To say more, it would be hard to do the food justice. It was just fantastic. We only tried one Speciality restaurant - Tuscan Grille and it was lovely to sit right at the back of the boat and watch the sunset over the Mediterranean.
The Cruise Director was Dru. At the end of the theatre production each night he would give all of the information required for the following day's port of call. Very informative and very professionally delivered. Loved the cheesy jokes too Dru!!!
We were outnumbered by Americans by about 10-1 I would imagine. Everything on the ship was charged in US Dollars but that didn't matter a s they operate a cashless system and most things were included anyway. Everyone we met was very friendly and there was a complete mix of ages onboard. Families, young couples, old couples, groups of friends etc...
All in all, we loved this boat so much that we haven't really stopped talking about it for the last 3 months. We can't wait to go back. It's only money we're short of!!!
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