The itinerary change on this cruise upset many people. How often do you get the opportunity to visit the Normandy beaches on June 6th, D day? Unfortunately, we didn't, although we had a private excursion booked and paid for. Celebrity changed the itinerary so that we were in Cherbourg on June 5th, not 6th. We found this out upon embarkation. I had booked the tour 9 months ago and this was the main reason we booked the cruise. To add insult to injury, Jun 5th was a holiday in France with nothing open. Very poor planning by Celebrity, with obviously no research done. This whole situation really put a damper on the start of our cruise and we never really recovered from the upset.

There were other things which contributed to our disappointment. The daily newsletters contained wrong information at times, and the Skylounge was often unavailable. On one occasion, my husband installed himself front row centre at 12.30 p.m. to watch going through the locks after leaving Amsterdam, only to be asked to leave at 4.15 just as we were approaching the lock because they had to clean for the elite cocktail hour. To say he (and others who were there for the same reason) was not happy is putting it mildly.

The lack of quiet spaces was just as noticeable as ever. I went up to the Skylounge at 5.30 one morning to watch a sail in only to be met with fairly loud music. I had to call and ask for it to be turned down. I missed Michael's club as an entertainment/activity space. It is now a suite guest venue and seemed to be mostly empty. Read more