Having previously cruised on Carnival, I was disappointed with Celebrity. The ship (Solstice) was absolutely beautiful and very clean, however my experience on the ship was not good. My husband and I booked this cruise 6 months in advance for our 25th anniversary. This was our dream vacation!

Embarkation was fairly smooth. They had a schedule for embarkation, and it did help alleviate the wait. Once on the ship, we were greeted with champagne and mimosas. The problem started when we got to our room. We had booked the Veranda suite, which included a balcony. Our balcony was obstructed by a lifeboat! We immediately went to guest relations to complain. They said they would 'attempt' to reassign us, but not likely, since it was a fully booked cruise. We waited until the next morning for a call, then went downstairs to inquire. There were no more rooms. The only thing they could offer us was $100 onboard credit. Celebrity should not be charging as much for the staterooms on the 6th deck, because they are ALL obstructed by a lifeboat, some worse than others. I overheard another passenger getting pretty heated about her stateroom because of the same thing. The stateroom was clean, but the beds were hard and had some strange thin blanket. On Carnival, you get this really plush bedding, with down comforters and pillows. I was really disappointed with the bedding in the stateroom.

The Oceanview Cafe (buffet) was too small for the number of passengers on the ship. It took us an average 15-20 to find somewhere to sit, and at times, there were dirty tables that had not been cleaned so that someone else could use them. The wait staff in the Oceanview Cafe were not very friendly. More times that not, we had to flag someone down to wait on us. The one thing I remember about Carnival was how friendly the crew members were. On this ship, they all seemed put out and grumpy. Read more