This was my 14th cruise, having sailed 8 times on Princess, three on RCCL, and the last three (including this one), on Celebrity with Equinox and Solstice my last two ships. So, having been so very pleased with Celebrity on the previous two cruises, I was looking forward to this cruise. A previous review by agathasmum was very similar in many ways to my thoughts on this cruise... for the most part, I agree with the points made in that review and I'll just add my thoughts here.

We flew in from JFK via Lufthansa through Frankfurt. I wanted to fly on the new A380 and I must say, that is one big airplane! But it was comfortable, quiet, and we even had the center seat empty on the way out so it was a great way to start! No issues with the connection to Venice either... good job Lufthansa.

Upon arrival in Venice we had a car waiting for us and we drove directly to the port. We arrived at the port at approx. 11am local time and after a very short wait, we were one of the first to checkin. We were Aqua Class, 1610 (the most extended of the "hump" cabins right in the center). This was the first time I tried AQ class. The price paid really made it a great deal as it was part of a great deal offered by celebrity when booking a guarantee AQ. We ended up getting an A1 which I moved to 1610. The balcony is enormous facing forward. Was a great spot on the ship as you could literally walk off the stairs or elevator and almost be in your cabin. The cabin itself is really no different than any other regular balcony cabin on the ship... storage space is less than even on Solstice or Equinox as they reconfigured the closet and drawers... it's actually WORSE than before and they should have left it alone. Princess certainly knows how to make use of space and this is not Celebrity's best effort. Glass doors on the shower vs. the miserable Princess curtain is always welcome. The shower with all the extra jets was cool, and having the free access to the thermal suite which we used daily was worth the AQ class. On Equinox I booked Concierge Class and it really was not worth it at all. You also get priority with the tenders so that benefit helped a few times. On Solstice we had a regular balcony cabin and it was really almost exactly the same aside form some fancy towels, robes, and other odds and ends. AQ, if you get a decent deal, is however worth the extra few bucks. Read more