My lovely wife booked us on Celebrity Solstice for a 7-day eastern Caribbean cruise to celebrate my 40th birthday. We have cruised on Princess once and Carnival 5 times, so my wife thought it would be a special treat to sail Celebrity. In short, we were so impressed with Celebrity we'll never cruise with anyone else again.

Embarkation: Fort Lauderdale is a nice port, embarkation was smooth and very simple. Passenger mix was mostly middle-age and older travelers, but there were a good number of younger people there as well. Keep in mind, this is not the "Geritol Generation" like you'll see on other lines. If you're looking for a cruise where the kids are coming too, you may want to steer towards Royal Caribbean. We saw very few children on the ship.

Ship Decor: We were very impressed with the decor of the Solstice. Much of the ship is like walking through a modern art museum, with many paintings and other pieces of art adorning the walkways and gathering areas. The decor is somewhat subdued but extremely elegant. Even though the Solstice is two years old, it shows no signs of wear and the crew works hard to "keep her presentable." The library and main foyer were spectacular. Surprisingly large workout room, spa is very nice. Indoor and outdoor pools areas were attractive, and Cranston and Mehmet at the PoolBar were nothing short of outstanding. Negative #1: the outdoor pool area is clearly not large enough to handle the number of passengers that want to catch rays. Lots of chair hogging, even early in the morning. Get there early if you want a good spot. Read more