Background: I'm 55, DH is 61. We're active but not partiers, from New England, enjoy good food and relaxation on winter cruises. We're Elite on Celebrity but also enjoy Princess Cruises and go back and forth between them. We'd booked this cruise onboard the prior year, and as such had free classic alcohol packages, free pre-paid gratuities and $550 in onboard credit, which ROCKED.

Embarkation: Because this cruise departed on a Saturday, the port was busy, Oasis OTS was at Terminal 18 and Equinox was at Terminal 29. It's a tiny terminal with very little seating, only one gangway, and can't handle many people inside. Many of the check-in clerks were brand new; we had one; he was very pleasant but needed some coaching to get things done, so it took longer than usual. We arrived fairly early (11ish) and hoped for the best; took us about 90 minutes to get to the ship. At 2 pm when we looked down from the open deck at Oceanview Cafe, the line outside the terminal was enormous. I know this was not a great start for many people and I felt particularly bad for the older folks and families with small kids who had to wait in the sun for a long time. I thought, however, the Celebrity staff did the best they could given the Port stuck them at the worst terminal. There were signs saying "A better terminal is coming!" and I hope it's soon.

Cabin: We had a Concierge Class C2 cabin, 9296. It's one of the "hump" cabins, starboard side on the back side of the hump, with an enormous fully-covered veranda. Bed is by the veranda, couch by the bathroom, bed faces aft. This was a fantastic cabin. Very quiet, easy access to public areas above and below (we used the aft stairs for access to everything) and we loved the extra space on the veranda and used it extensively. Celebrity's storage space is a little skimpy, with 4 standard drawers, 2 over-the-bed cabinets and a closet, but we typically pack light and had no trouble finding a spot for everything. The bathroom does have quite a few cubbies, some of them behind a glass door and some behind a wood cabinet door, plus a small pull-out drawer. Read more