A little about us: this was my 4th cruise but my first on Celebrity Cruiseline (recent last 2 were NCL and 1 Carnival Cruise back in my 20's). This was my husband's 2nd cruise, his first being NCL Epic. We are in our early 40's, no kids. We are somewhat health and fitness minded so while we like to indulge while on vacation, we still stick somewhat to routines such as working out in the gym and balancing lighter meals to compensate for some of the higher calorie meals and drinks while we are vacationing. We probably don't represent the majority of cruisers which seemed to be about 45% families with young children/pre-teens and 45% who appeared to be couples in their late 50's and up without children. We did see some young couples around our age without children but not many. So my review will have more weight around items that fit our profile vs. what others may be looking for (such as children's activities, etc).

The boarding process. We came in the night before to avoid any travel delays getting to the Ship. We stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay (very nice hotel and fantastic sleep in the "heavenly bed"). A short cab ride over to the marina and we arrived about 10:30am. The Port is always chaotic what with the Cab drivers with baggage handlers and cabbies fighting with one another. Last year when we went on the Epic, we witnessed a little spat between a passenger and a bag handler and whether or not it was coincidence, one of their bags never made it on the ship. We opt for over-tipping the baggage handlers and my husband joked with the man that he was paying insurance to ensure our bags all make it on the ship. Our bags were available almost immediately on the boat. Back to check-in. Unlike NCL, where we lined up outside, Celebrity allowed us inside the terminal. I did the pre-registration easy pass thing prior to leaving and we were scanned in, setup the credit card and ready for boarding in 5 mins. We had to wait approx 10 mins before being let onto the ship which was about 11am or so. Our cabin wasn't ready but I didn't expect it to be until 1pm or so based on other reviews I had read prior to sailing. The bars were open so we immediately started with a beverage while we explored the ship. First thing I noticed in comparison to NCL Epic was the drink had plenty of booze in it and that the bartender was not too friendly. On the Epic, the alcohol in the mixed drinks was practically non-existant but the bar tenders were very friendly. I'll take a good drink over friendliness so not a bad trade-off from my perspective.

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