To begin, my husband and I are mid 50s and love cruising. This is our 13th (I think) cruise and the 4th with our favorite line, Celebrity.We were on the Solstice in December. This enabled us to use more of the Equinox because we were already familiar with the Solstice Class ships.Embarkation: We flew into Rome (FCO) airport. I had contacted RomeCabs and arranged for a car to take us to the port. Very easy. Cost was 130 Euros. Picked us up in a Mercedes van, very professional. Would definitely use again. Our driver dropped us at the port, helped my husband with the bags and gave us instruction on how to proceed. When we arrived in the terminal, Celebrity was very organized and had cookies, water and fruit punch as the terminal was a little on the warm side. Not hot, just warm. It took us all of 5 minutes to process our papers. Please be aware, they will take your passport. I do not like this practice, but I suspected this would happen so I made copies of our passport to keep with us before we left. We received them back the day before the cruise ended.Ship: What can I say, it's a Celebrity Ship and is beautiful. Public areas, stateroom, restaurants, every area on the ship was amazingly clean. Someone was always cleaning. If they weren't cleaning the inside. They were painting the outside of the ship when we were in port. We had more than ample storage in our balcony stateroom.Crew: Our stateroom attendants were great. Never did we ever feel they were hovering, but they were always there when we needed them. Very courteous from beginning to the end. I wound up with a sinus infection (more about that later) and their concern was very kind. It was not only because they have to report illness on the ship, but because they were really concerned if I was OK. When I went to the ship's doctor, they made sure I knew were I was going. That is just one example of the kindness each and every crew member exhibited. I used the spa twice and both times I was treated professionally and with respect. Our waiters in the dining rooms were great. Each night they gave us their recommendations. However, as the cruise progressed they were able to make recommendations based on our preference. I was very impressed. Fellow Passengers: This was the most age diverse cruise I have ever been on with Celebrity. Let's face it, most young people do not sail with this line. They usually sale with the sister company, Royal Caribbean. On this cruise there were people of all ages and plenty of families with small children. It was actually nice to see some younger people on the cruise. Most passengers adhered to the no smoking in the stateroom policy. Especially after they were notified by Celebrity that they couldn't smoke on the balcony. The minute we entered our room, I went out on the Balcony when we were leaving port and of course my neighbor decided he would smoke on the balcony. I had decided I was not going to tolerate it like I had previously. I called guest relations. Within 5 minutes someone was up at my neighbors door and we didn't have that problem again. Way to go Celebrity! Food: I have an allergy to MSG. They assured me they didn't use and I had no problems eating anything I wanted to eat. The food in the dining room was good. In fact it was really good. I had lamb 2 nights and both nights were excellent. I am usually just one of those people who will eat the same thing over and over so I know what I'm eating. However, I tried many different foods and was pleasantly surprised at the preparation and presentation. We ate in the dining room for dinner. Usually we had breakfast in the dining room as well. They had an express breakfast for days when passengers needed to get out to excursions early. We did it one day and wasn't impressed. For the most part we had lunches in the OceanView Cafe. We did not use the specialty restaurants. Entertainment: Well, to be honest. I'm not a big fan of cruise production numbers. I just don't think they are very good and my mind hasn't been nor was it changed on this cruise. I did enjoy the young lady who was a British singer and theater actress. She had a beautiful voice. My husband said their was a jazz violinist who was really good. I will say, my husband and I did really enjoy Les DeMere and his wife Bonnie. The are part of a jazz quartet that played in the Ensemble Lounge. They were excellent and that soon became our favorite place for nightly entertainment. There is really something for everyone. I'm just not one of those people who think the nightly shipboard shows are the greatest in entertainment. For instance, one night they had a Den Martin impersonator who didn't sound close to Dean. There was also a comic magician. He was so corny, I couldn't help but laugh. Shore Excursion: I really want to be as fair as possible when reviewing the Shore excursion. First, I think shore excursions are very valuable for those who don't travel well independently or for those prefer to be in a group. My husband and I usually mix it up and will do some shore excursions through the ship and also enjoy venturing out on our on. So note, I am not knocking the shore excursion process. It's particular shore excursions that really "got my goat".In Mykonos, why did we have to pay $10 to be transferred from the port to town. I don't understand as we didn't pay to be transferred when we arrived in the Athens port. It just seems as if Celebrity was nickle and diming us on this that one.But the most aggravating of all the practices was when we were in Kusadasi, Turkey, on many of the shore excursions, we were brought back for a "Carpet Making Demonstration". What it turned out to be was a high pressure sales presentation with a little bit of carpet making demonstration. We were escorted upstairs in this building and were able to sit all around the room. In the middle was a loom that was used to show us how the carpet was made.They brought out about 20 carpets and flipped them out with dust flying everywhere in a closed room. Because of all of the dust flying, I began to sneeze continuously. 2 days later I had to go to the ships doctor with a sinus infection. The same thing happened in Naples. People were taken to cameo factories to see how they were made when they were really being taken there to buy these products. However, the one that really got me was when we ported in Naples we were not led a direct route to get off the ship. We were led to go thru a marketplace so that we could buy from the vendors in the marketplace. They had signs that showed that was the way to exit with a young lady saying for us to exit this way. When I saw this, I was livid. These kind of antics I expect from lesser cruise lines, not Celebrity.With all this said, I did enjoy the cruise. The weather was wonderful, The ports were great. Would I go on another Eastern Med Cruise? Maybe. Will I sail Celebrity again? Definitely.