My DH and I are in our late 40's early 50's this was our 3rd cruise. Our cruise last year was also with Celebrity. Our 1st cruise to the Western Caribbean was with RCI, aboard Explorer, 2nd to Eastern Caribbean aboard Constellation. For our next cruise we are trying NCL Freestyle onboard Gem.

We flew from the 'infamous terminal 5' Heathrow London amidst all the turmoil regarding the opening and all the lost luggage-we were so lucky-we had no problems at all! We stayed 2 nights previous to the cruise in Fort Lauderdale's Embassy Suites. They were indeed value for money- 2 rooms for the price of 1. Lovely bedroom area with wet bar etc and an added large lounge with flat screen TV's and Dining table and chairs, suite etc. Free newspapers, free drinks from the bar between 5.30 and 6.30. Breakfast was also complimentary. Would thoroughly recommend this hotel.

We had transfers to the Ship on day of departure which went very well. Embarkation was a little longer than previous cruises due to the fact customs were taking a long time clearing the ship as it had previously been in S. America (at least that was the excuse the line was given us) but I noticed another reviewer said it was because of fog?? Once onboard we wandered around the ship with our glass of Champagne to get the feel of it. We did notice some wear and tear signs, particularly noticed the large area in the forward deck up top that had railings missing! It was cordoned off but I wouldn't have liked to have had young children, it looked pretty unsafe to us. Due to the area being out of bounds it did affect the viewing area when we were transiting the canal. We did think the ship was probably due a refurb but it did not spoil our cruise overall. We enjoyed the Entertainment more on this cruise, probably because we had longer to experience everything. The theatre was really excellent, especially the big entourage shows. The comedians were good. We went to the Panama Canal lectures in the theatre which were really interesting, also watched a documentary in the cinema on the canal which was very informative and on the way to San Francisco, when the weather got colder, watched a movie in the cinema. The pool band was very entertaining, nothing more relaxing that listening to lovely music as we sailed off into the sunset to our next destination. Pablo the guitarist who played in the aft bar as we were departing the ports, was excellent. His rendition of Pink Floyd music was sooo relaxing. (Incidentally the aft bar is a lovely romantic place to end the night looking out to sea with a moonlit sky full of twinkling stars). The string quartet in Cafe Cova lounge was also of great quality and a nice way to relax before dinner. Read more