Given that this was the maiden voyage for fare paying passengers, it started badly when the check in at Southampton ground to a halt, due to "system failure" for quite some time resulting in a significant queue of un-checked passengers - made worse by the complete lack of information being broadcast to those waiting.
Finally through check-in and onboard, complete with a glass of complimentary ...
I am not as experienced a cruiser as some on here, but I do have 5 cruises under my belt (so far). My experience has been confined to NCL, Royal Caribbean and now Celebrity. We booked the inaugural 2 night 'cruise to nowhere' on Celebrity Solstice out of Ft. Lauderdale. My travel partner lives in the area, so we had no hotel. As a little background, this 2-night cruise, while it was the maiden ...