Chose this cruise because of the date, which worked with a business conference, and the itinerary, as well as the price (friends wanted to join us, but by the time they looked into it, our promotion was gone and price had doubled). Had sailed on Azamara last year, which we loved for its great service, small size, and everything but Iand excursions included policy. Not on Celebrity, where staff stopped someone publicly for trying to take a small bottle of water at breakfast, because she didn't have a drink package. Was a bit concerned by number of passengers, but that was handled well.

We were Aqua class and ate all our dinners and some breakfasts in Blu. Staff there were excellent, and we could choose to be seated with the same waiters and often the same people nearby we got to know. We have dietary restrictions and they arranged to get us food not on the menu as needed. Rest of staff on ship not quite of their caliber. Rest of food was not as good as we had enjoyed on previous cruises. Fruit at breakfast in buffet restaurant was either canned or the same choice day after day, melon and pineapple, with cherries twice. Beautiful produce anywhere we ate on land, but not the same quality on board. Tomatoes tasted like those from our grocery, while fresh tomatoes onshore in Italy and Greece are in season and amazing. Grill restaurant had no shade, do although we would have liked to have lunch there, we didn't. Ship was very clean. Our cabin was comfortable.

We did three land excursions, where quality seemed to be determined by guide. We had a great guide on Delos. We were very disappointed with Mt Etna where the guide's priority seemed to be his own lunch. He jumped off the bus and hurried us through the view of the crater, which was nowhere near the top of the volcano, not even allowing a rest room stop until after he finished his small tour, to a spot with a restaurant but not much else for us to see, where he and the guides and drivers from the other buses had lunch together. The main thing he told us when we drive was the name if the vegetation. There was nothing for us or most if the other passengers to eat at that restaurant, so we got no lunch until 3 pm when we had free time in Taormina. We did a self-guided tour in Oi and Fira which was excellent. We arranged private tours for the other stops because we didn't like the ship's choices. Read more