We had not cruised on Celebrity since 2010 and not on any of their newer Solstice class vessels.
Getting there: We opted to take Amtrak from the Washington, DC area to Ft Lauderdale. Although the trip took about 24 hours, it was much more comfortable than flying and less money as well. We arrived in Ft Lauderdale in the late afternoon the day before sailing and stayed in a very nice hotel.
Embarkation: It was raining the day of embarkation which slowed the process down somewhat. The locals have the operation quite well set up and it did not take us that long to check in and board. The cabins were not ready yet so we did the usual thing of eating lunch in the Ocean view Café before going to our cabin.