I am an experience cruiser, 60ish, and went on this cruise with my significant other. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly and quickly. The ship is only 2 or 3 yrs. old and is in very nice shape. It sailed full with around 2900 passengers and at times felt a bit crowded, especially on the pool deck. I think Celebrity would be wise to lose some/most of the grassy deck and add a pool with more facilities. The concierge balcony cabin was nice but could be a bit larger. Concierge service is worth the extra charge only if it is minimal. The main benefits are the full room service menu, bottle of champagne, flowers, and canapes. The itinerary was good but it would benefit by more time in port(s). We arrived late into San Juan which exacerbated the situation. I especially feel the ship would benefit by leaving St Martin later so we could enjoy it by night. We left at 6PM and then had 2 full sea days before returning to FT Lauderdale. The food and service in the main dining room was excellent with one exception. We had the select dining, could go when we chose, and usually were seated promptly. The food was so good, we felt no need to try a specialty restaurant. On Thursday morning the breakfast service in the main dining room was totally unacceptable. We waited and waited and finally walked out. The entertainment was very good including the main showroom, lounges, etc. although 1 lounge was quiet with no entertainer. (I believe the piano player was missing in action for this cruise) Smoking was limited to a few areas and was not a problem which we really appreciated. There were 2 formal nights on the cruise and the vast majority of passengers dressed appropriately although there were the few usual slobs. I fell that if cruise lines want to have formal nights, they should not let a small minority of ignoramuses dress inappropriately in the main dining room and showroom. Also, I did observe some "reserving" of seats in the showroom and pool deck which should not be allowed when other legitimate passengers are searching for seats. Tips: In St John, visit the Tap Room microbrewery at St John brewers In St Martin, take the water taxi to downtown. All in all, this was a very enjoyable cruise and is definitely superior to my other recent experiences on Carnival and NCL.
Very nice but could be a little larger.