This was our sixth Celebrity cruise and our third Transatlantic which we enjoy because of the relaxed sea days and extreme value provided by these "repositioning" cruises. This was an especially great cruise because it visited some great and unusual ports in Europe like Gibralter, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as a couple of our favorites - Madeira and Naples before arriving in Rome (Civitavecchia). On top of that, we had reached Elite status and were meeting up with 14+ friends we had met from previous cruises.

A great "Roll Call" had been set up and managed by Monica P. which allowed us to set up shore excursions prior to boarding the ship, which allows a more customized excursion than those available from Celebrity, and often at a better price (Thanks Cruise Critic). Monica had also provided extensive activity, ship, and port information. My wife and I have found that you usually enjoy a cruise more if you contribute and participate in the events so we usually host a cabin crawl, but this was already being managed for this cruise, so we were able to avoid the effort involved. Instead, I brought some paracord in various colors and taught some of my friends how to make survival bracelets. I often joined the "knitting group" for this activity. LOL One of my other friends, Fred C. gave astronomy lectures and stargazing sessions.

We arrived at the pier about 1PM and were quickly on the ship. The embarkation process was fast and efficient. We immediately headed to the Oceanview cafe where we found our friends lounging and re- connecting on the aft deck. After a while, we decided to head to our Aqua Class cabin to see if our bags had arrived. It was at this point where we did have an unusual negative experience. Basically, our cabin had not been cleaned properly (drawers had not been emptied and bathroom not completely clean) and it was not set up to represent an Aqua Class cabin (missing amenities, etc.) I would not want a first time Celebrity cruiser to think this was typical of Celebrity. Unfortunately, it took a trip to Guest Relations and two sessions with the steward manager to get things about right. We WERE given another bottle of Champagne to compensate, but I sincerely hope this was an isolated experience and not a trend as our previous cabins had been perfect. Read more