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My wife and I took this cruise to escape the cold weather and relax. We specifically chose a cruise with 4 days at sea so we would have some days without a schedule. We are in our late 30's and so were some of the younger people on this ship. However, we love the finer things in life (really good food, wine, ballroom dancing) so Celebrity was a great place for us (we will be choosing Celebrity again whenever we can).
This was a great cruise (the best we have been on). Embarcation was a breeze. There were no lines to speak of and our bags were waiting for us shortly after we checked in. The ship was is great shape (as you would assume since it was so new) and the amenities offered on board were great. We loved the wine bar (Cellar Masters) and the Martini bar. Anna in the wine bar was really great. She learned our names the first night and gave us tastings of several wines each time so we could choose the one we liked best. The gym was really great (if the machines got a bit crowded on the days at sea). The guy coming around with the cold wet towels was great. The Solarium (indoor pool area) was really nice. It was climate controlled so not too hot and you didn't have to put up with the noise from all the pool-side games and "entertainment".
For evening entertainment, we were really surprised by the amount of dancing (this is what we were looking for). The DJs were really great but the "Party Band" was pretty bad. Imagine someone singing "Rhinestone Cowboy" with an Asian accent. When their drummer sang it was really bad. They went into a country set that lasted 10 songs out of a 1 hr set. However, they did know the ballroom dances, so we got in a lot of Foxtrot, Waltz, Swing, Cha Cha, etc.
So, what we spent money on and the results:
1. We got the premium alcohol beverage package ($550 pp for 10 night cruise). It was really great. It included everything up to $12 per class and that meant all the cocktails, most of the wine and many of the scotches/cognacs/etc. It was really great not having to think about the cost of drinking. If we didn't like something, got something else. Loved having wines paired with each dinner course. Really love access to the coffee bar for during the day and after dinner. We are not big drinkers but usually had a drink before dinner, a couple glasses with dinner and a night cap. We definitely do it again. I really appreciated that anything that was over $12, they subtracted $12 from the price.
2. Mirano specialty restaurant (French style) was really good. After the first time we booked it again. Really good food with excellent service. Great wine pairings. Cheese selection was to die for. First night we had them bring it back three times.
3. Tuscan Grill (Italian steak house) was not worth the cost, we would have rather have gone back to Mirano a third time. It was OK pasta but nothing exceptional. The steaks were very well prepared but again, nothing special (we eat well at home so a well prepared filet is not a big deal).
4. We booked the concierge deck thinking we would get some sort of special attention / service. Nope. We got gold cards but other than that... We did have canapes delivered to the room each night but really this was no big deal (we had thought it was more of a canape reception with drinks). Also expended room service menu consisted of fresh OJ (at least for breakfast, didn't look at other meals). Didn't notice that we got any special seating in the dining room or specialty restaurants. Would definitely not do it again.
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