We cruise a lot. Family of 4 (including 2 teenagers). We hadn't sailed Celebrity for a couple of years and were really looking forward to this cruise. The ship was not in good shape. Cutbacks and cost reduction were evident everywhere. The food was alright at some meals and really bad at more. They ran out of things - like oatmeal. The windows in cabins and public areas were dirty when we boarded and were never cleaned the whole trip even though there were many port days. On RCCL we see crew constantly chipping and grinding and painting outside surfaces. On Celebrity there was no evidence of exterior maintenance visible on our cruise - or - judging by the appearance of exterior deck areas - in recent memory - lots of rust and paint peeling. The entertainment was pretty good.

The air conditioning in the cabin was impossible. We had maintenance down 5 times but most of the time we just put up with the sweltering cabin by wearing as little as possible. Teen club was ok though nothing special. The staff tried their best but were hampered by Celebrity cutbacks and policies. They deserve credit for maintaining a cheerful, polite attitude. When we disembarked in Shanghai it was pouring with rain. The shuttle bus to the subway station was not operating. The woman overseeing the taxi line (and supposedly instructing the Chinese taxi drivers) spoke No English. There were no crew in evidence to help. We ended up walking to a bus station in the pouring rain. Overall a really disappointing trip and we are avoiding Celebrity in the future