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I thought I would write this review to help people thinking of travelling on Celebrity with children or to the Baltic as I struggled to find reviews when I was researching the trip. Here it goes!!
Embarkation - we travelled by car and arrived about 12.30pm. It was a slightly different procedure to P&O, we dropped our luggage off first, and then parked our car ourselves in an open air car park 5 mins walk back to check in. We only queued for 15mins before an easy check in and onto the boat! We were greeted with a glass of bubbily and were allowed straight to our cabin to have a look around. We also were allowed to explore all areas of the ship (unlike Ventura where we were only allowed on lido deck). Brilliant!
Stateroom - we had a family balcony cabin. It was the best family cabin we have had. A big king size bed and then at night the sofa converted to one single bed with another single bed on top which came down from the ceiling making double beds. Fantastic. Stateroom was lovely, like all other reviews, very modern and enough space for all 4 of us to store clothes.
Dining - we opted for select dining, as then we can fit meal times in with entertainment, children etc. We varied what we did at night, sometimes taking the children to the MDR (kids menu and waiters great with the kids), room service for the children (again brilliant and very quick), ocean view cafe (see other reviews, well designed lots of choice). We also visited Quisine and Tuscan Grill (20% off cover charge on final night). Both were amazing and well worth the money, just don't eat all day!
Kids Club - only 25 kids on board, so we were a bit concerned how it was going to work as we have only been on cruises with 100s of children. The children were all put into one big club with activities designed for ages. The kids facilities were brilliant, all upto date computer games and DVDs, plus lots of games, crafts and more!! Children LOVED it!!! Better than Ventura they said! Counsellors were lovely and made us feel very welcome. Kids made friends with children from all over the world. One advantage you can leave children on board when you visit a port, disadvantage have to pay for babysitting after 10pm and lunch and tea times.
Entertainment - daytime entertainment was the usual trivia, dancing, lectures etc etc. No difference to any other cruise we have been on. Can do as much or as little as you want. Evening entertainment - ALL acts we saw in the theatre were an excellent standard from the eclipse shows to the guest comedy acts, juggler, singers etc etc. the only negative we had is that there was not an alternative thing to go while the theatre was on, could have done with a big quiz or a comedy act. There was also a cinema showing lots of new DVD release films. They were also shown in cabin too!
Disembarkation - VERY good. We chose what time we wanted to leave (up until 9.30am), and we were off within 10 mins of the time we asked for. Collected cases easily and were at our car within 30mins. No problems.
Summary - we LOVED Celebrity. Yes, it was an older crowd (60+) and we worried about the lack of children, but that was no problem. The ship is amazing, VERY high standard of furnishings and service was far better than P&O. Everyone we met was very friendly, loved the children, and we actually made more friends on this cruise than any other. We love travelling and this was the main factor on going to the Baltic and I would definately do it again, and I would go on Celebrity again.
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