We always choose a cruise for the itinerary and not the ship. This was our first cruise on Celebrity and we were not disappointed at all. I thought the ship was easy to get around and the public areas were very nice. The BEST surprise was that the Casino is non-smoking, so when you go to the theater and shops, etc. and have to walk by it, it is great!!!

We tried all the specialty restaurants except Blu as we bought a 5 dinner package and paid for the 6th one. We thought all were really worth the money. Ate in the dining room a few times and thought it was pretty good too. Oceanview buffet was OK with adequate variety for breakfast. Only ate lunch twice but variety was better then. Also they have a bar in the buffet and you can get fresh juice, wine, or mixed drinks. I appreciate getting wine with lunch and being able to drop by at any time to take a drink to your room. We had a classic beverage package free with the promotion, but when we got on board, they said we could sign up for the premium package for $10 a day each. We did and it was well worth it. All drinks were free up to $13 and if the wine we choose was more, we paid it. No cocktails were higher and the package included water, fresh squeezed juice, specialty coffees, etc. Great deal! The entertainment was very good - some by the ship and some specialty entertainers. The aerial act was really good. Skipped the theater a few nights and heard some musicians in smaller venues. Never went to the late night places and can't imagine many that did as it was an older crowd. I wish they had better dancing times and places earlier, but most ships do not. The lobby dance floor gets too crowded so that needs to be moved to a bigger area as the bands are pretty good. we were well pleased with the service in all venues especially our room steward. All seemed trained to be extra friendly and courteous including the officers, I read a Sept 2017 review and unless they changed the personnel completely by October I can't believe we are talking about the same ship. As I said we pick by the itinerary and were not disappointed in the ports - Mallorca, Cartegena, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Cadiz/Seville, Ibiza, Barcelona. Cruise started in Rome, but we had done that so we went straight to the port. I was so glad the first cruise day was a sea day. It helped to get over the jet lag. The cruise went on to Marsaille and then back to Rome, but we got off in Barcelona (you have to get permission before you begin the cruise) as we had seen the rest and wanted more time in Barcelona. We did not get any refund for the room, but no more gratuity charges. It was worth it. We did the Choice Air for the flights and they arranged for us to fly home from Barcelona without any problem. We rarely do ship excursions as they are more costly and usually large. But in Ibiza, there were few private choices and I wanted to see the island, so we booked a half day trip on the ship. It was OK as it was not that costly, but the places we saw were not exciting except for the old part of town. That was the only day it rained and so the island looked dreary, but by afternoon it was sunny and looked beautiful as we sailed away, Even so, I would not waste my money going for a glamourous vacation on Ibiza. We saw the big party town Sant Antonio, but no fancy resorts. All the other ports were well worth touring with a guide. In Lisbon, we opted to go on a private tour in wine country outside of town and it was great. At the largest winery, we were with one bus of Celebrity as they only give tours at certain time, but we had a private table and got to taste more than the cruise tour. Seville is a lovely city with many historical places. Cartegena was the big surprise as it has many Roman ruins and gorgeous buildings. Palma has historical places but the town is large. We did an island tour that went to the old towns and the coast which had magnificent views. Barcelona cannot be seen in one day so we stayed three. Only had two days in the city and the third went on a wine tour in the extensive wine area to the south. There are still places I would like to see in Barcelona, so would not mind another stop there on a cruise. The architecture (not just Gaudi's) is unbelievable. The weekend demonstrations were not a problem except with traffic. The old Gotic area was lovely. Ships should really do an overnight there as they mostly do in St. Petersburg because there is so much to see. All in all, one of our better cruises. We signed up for another Celebrity cruise throught the Panama Canal next April.