Experienced cruisers here, 9 cruises on HAL, 2 on QM2 (one of these was a transatlantic crossing) and 1 on Carnival (yuck!!). Decided to cruise back to Bermuda (did one in 2010 on the Veendam), but since HAL does not offer a Bermuda cruise this year decided to take Celebrity. Most of this review will provide commentary on the differences between Celebrity and HAL, but will start off with general observations.

My wife and I had a Sky Suite on deck 9. We arrived at the port at around 10:30 (I don't understand why people have difficulty finding it, no problem here), dropped off our luggage, parked our car and proceeded to the suite check-in. Fastest embarkation ever (we were on the ship 10 minutes after arriving at the port). We had an invitation to have lunch in the Normandy restaurant, which is a great way to start the cruise! After lunch, went to our cabin, where we met our room stewards and our butler, Sebastion (who did a great job all week!). Re. the suite, no problem with a/c all week, including the time in Bermuda (heard some deck noise above us where the pool deck was, but not annoying. Dined twice that week at the Normandy (great food, ambiance and service) and once at Q'Sine (had a great time). Bermuda was beautiful. Fastest disembarkation on record.

Now, for the pros and cons vs. HAL......on HAL we always get a Neptune suite, so suite comparisons are between a Neptune suite on HAL and a Sky Suite on Celebrity. Read more