We joined the ship after spending time with family in Scotland - I'm from there though now a Canadian citizen. We decided to do our first Transatlantic instead of flying back.
The night before the cruise we stayed at the Premier Inn a walk away from the cruise terminal - modern and reasonably priced. Since our recommended embarkation time was 2:15 we left our luggage at the hotel after checkout and visited the Seacity museum - highly recommend, especially the Titanic exhibition. Embarkation was smooth with virtually no lineup at that later time.
Our previous five cruises were with Regent Seven Seas so we're accustomed to a great experience on their smaller ships but at the outset, let me say that overall we were very impressed with Celebrity.
Great mdiship location with unobstructed views