After several caribbean/mexico cruises with our kids (Disney, RoyalCaribbean) we opted for a 12 day Venice overnight cruise out of Barcelona on Celebrity. It was the kids first trip to Europe and this was a great way to experience it with them. We arrived in Barcelona the day before our cruise and checked into the Hotel Regina. They had a large room with a king size bed and two twins beds in an alcove which was perfect. Since Celebrity is billed as a more luxury line than the others we've been on we were anxious to check out the ship. Embarkation was very easy at the port and we were onboard within 35 min. of our arrival. When we stepped onboard we were greeted by ships officers and waiters carrying trays of champagne. Nice touch. We reserved two connecting balcony rooms (8275/8277) and since they were ready immediately we went to check the rooms out. Connecting apparently means that the two rooms are side by side with a large double exterior door that can be closed in front of the two rooms individual doors. It is not connecting in the way that hotel rooms have a shared interior door. Our room attendant opened the balcony divider between the rooms for us and that was the easiest way to go back and forth as separate keys had to be used for each room. The boys are 14 and 16 so it was less of an issue than if they had been younger. Rooms were well laid out with great storage compartments over the bed. The baths seemed to be more spacious and had touches like real rug and cotton balls/q-tips in a container. Great bathroom storage for toiletries. The ship overall was very clean and the overall appearance was upscale and more sophisticated. There were many areas for drinks/entertainment at night. We liked the atmosphere of the wine bar (woody, dark, club feel), but it was often very quiet. The bar area outside of the specialty restaurants was very very nice. They had live music and a living room feel to it. Very sexy. Food in the main dining room was generally good. Tables are barely separated so the people around you may as well be sharing a table with you. We opted to do specialty dining on four occasions and the Tuscan Grill was a favorite with gorgeous views off the back of the ship and the best food onboard. We ate there twice. The sushi rest. was good, but small and the fine dining rest. Murano had outstanding food, but we did have service issues there that turned us off. Entertainment onboard was on average very good. The "Cirque Style" show is amazing. Don't miss it. Pools were typically crowded on sea days, but we were always able to find something and they were very good about not letting people save chairs. If you weren't there for 1/2 hr they removed your things. Good idea. Entertainment poolside was always fun and festive. Great bands. Loved the Zumba guy! Fitness area was packed and hard to get into unless you were early. The spa was a little disappointing. No robes were available so you just walked down the hall wrapped in a bath towel. No slippers either. The spaces felt very bare bones. The treatment was good, however. Odd. The clubs for the kids at this age are always challenging not because the ship doesn't provide opportunity, but because at that age it is hard to get them interested. They did make friends. Ship demographic was about 50% American and 50% European so it was great fort hem to meet people from outside the US. The ports were fabulous! When reboarding there was always a table covered in a Celebrity table cloth with servers offering cold water and juice as well as cold towels. Very nice. The ports themselves were great. Dbrovnik and Kotor were the two places we had never been and they were outstanding. We are not excursion people and we did take the Speedboat/Cave Swim tour in Kotor. It was worth it! We would never have found the beach bar on our own and the cave was gorgeous. I would like to say that this was a Venice overnight and I was amazed at the number of people that got back on the ship after the daylight hours! Not experiencing St. Marks square at night is like only reading the even numbered pages of a book you love! The lights, the lack of crowds, the bands playing at the cafe's in the square, people dancing and romance everywhere. Go have dinner! Dance in the square! Go to La Fenice! The only port we didn't really enjoy was Villefranche. The people in town were rude and unwelcoming. Yes we do speak at least basic French. The ship arrives in the AM and they were not interested in waking up to accommodate you in the restaurants. Taxi's didn't get rolling until an hour after we arrived. We eventually after 1 1/2hr. were able to get a cab to Villa Euphissi the Rothchild mansion. It saved the day. Wonderful, beautiful, peaceful place to spend the day. Gorgeous gardens, house tour and a fabulous restaurant onsite with killer views. People were wonderful there. Saved the day. We navigated our own transportation and itineraries at the other ports very easily and had the best time. Overall: Service was outstanding. Ports were great. Ship is beautiful and easy to get around. Food/Entertainment were better than average. We would definitely use this cruise line again. This was sooo long and I still feel I didn't do it justice!