From the description you might assume that any old cruise would do but we consider ourselves discerning travelers as I travel for business over 150 nights per year and when we travel together we stay in places like the Four Seasons and Renaissance. For the past four years our vacations have been limited to three day trips to large cities usually in conjunction with a business trip. This year we made up our minds that we would take an extended, relaxing vacation.

After much research we selected Celebrity Solstice in late May. The itinerary was not that important to us as we have traveled to most places in the Caribbean so we settled on the Western route since we have never been to Roatan or Costa Maya. Our goals were relaxation, great meals, invigorating surroundings and forgetting about work and the rigor of our lives for a week. By even the most exacting standards all goals were exceeded.

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day before embarkation and made a smooth transfer to the Hyatt Place for an overnight stay. Walked to a nice dinner then purchased two bottles of wine to bring on board the hotel has a good location and transfers included with the comfortable room. On Sunday from the time we left the hotel until we were on board was about 45 minutes. The process could not have been more efficient. Once on board we explored the ship until our cabin was ready at 1pm. The cabin was on deck 11 near the middle of the ship with a great veranda and a super bathroom. The bed, close to queen size, was very comfortable. At 2:30pm our luggage arrived and once everything was stowed we went back out to explore some more of the ship. Our departure was on time as was everything else during the week and we were off. Read more