My wife and I were wary cruisers because of a previous experience we had when I worked for a company that rewarded us with an incentive cruise. That lone exprience turned me off cruising. Needless to say I was somewhat concerned this Alaska cruise would be a similar experience. I could not have been more wrong. The difference between Celebrity and the other cruise line was like night and day. From the check in, the quality and cleanliness of our suite, the ship itself, the passengers, the crew, and the amenities, wine selections, and food Celebrity hit a home run.

We booked our flights through Celebrity and arrived a day before embarkation in Vancouver. We stayed across the street from Canada Place in the Fairmont Waterfront and walked to the ship the next morning with a Celebrity rep. No one was at check in and we breezed through the process. At that time, being a suite guest, we were escorted to another kiosk and offered a specialty restaurant seating at a nominal fee rather than the ordinary fee which we took advantage of. Once on board we were met with champagne on our way to our suite where more champagne and a fruit basket were awaiting us.

After the mandatory lifeboat drill we meandered through the Millenium and I found it extrodinarily easy to navigate from our room on the sixth deck. Even though we were one deck above the restaurant there was never any noise coming from it that we heard. My wife and I requested a table for two when we booked the cruise and our wishes were honored with a wonderful table next to a large round window that allowed us a wonderful view during the times we ate there. The food was excellent and in the Olympic restaurant, the specialty restaurant, it was exquisite with a top notch wine list and, again, both times we ate there we were given a great table that allowed us our privacy. Frankly, I was blown away by the experience. Read more