We chose Celebrity Solstice for our Ruby Wedding Anniversary cruise because she was sailing to the right places (Nice, Rome, Naples, Venice) at the right price and on the right date. We booked our own B.A. flights and stayed overnight at

Barcelona Airport Marriott Renaissance -a good hotel with shuttles to the Cruise Terminal.

Check-in for the Solstice went smoothly until we read the sheet handed to us with our cruise cards . There had been an outbreak of noro-virus and we could re-schedule if we had health concerns but at our own expense. It may be expedient for Celebrity to warn people this way but for someone with heart problems (my wife), it really throws you. We tried to reach our doctor for advice but could'nt. If we had a Smart phone, we could have found out that Solstice has re-ocurring noro-virus problems and a passenger died in 2010 (Celebrity have recently settled the claim). However, blissfully unaware of this, we decided to risk the cruise. Read more