I've noticed that Cruise Critic reviews often come from those who have opted for the deluxe cabin category, such as Celebrity's Aqua class. Few actually reveal what it's like for the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, those of us in inside cabins. This review is for those curious to know how the other, more budget-minded half, cruises.

As background, my 81-year old mother wanted to go visit the Greek Islands, but my father doesn't fly, so she offered me a free cruise if I would be her traveling companion. Now I am prone to seasickness, and I had only ever cruised once before, on a Carnival cruise in 1991, where I watched a fistfight break out in the shore excursion line over the last remaining tickets. I convinced her to select an itinerary that included Istanbul, and so we landed on the Celebrity Reflection.

As a Rick Steves devotee, I was convinced that we could embrace DIY for most ports, including travel to and from Civitavecchia, our port of embarkation. We took the regional train and walked from the train station to the port (we had only carry-on size luggage). A shuttle bus was waiting, and soon we were deposited in front of the processing center. Mom is a veteran of many cruises and many cruise lines, but she had not cruised on Celebrity for many years, and had never cruised in Europe. To me, embarkation seemed like barely controlled chaos, but she thought it went very smoothly. It barely took 10 minutes before we were cleared for boarding. Mom made it a point to sidestep ship's photographers wherever they appeared. Read more