We arrived in Barcelona on the day of our sailing, and headed straight from the airport to the pier. There we were greeted by porters, who quickly made luggage tags for us, seeing how Celebrity doesn't ship them to our country. Check-in was quick and easy, and we only had a short wait before they let us on board early.

We headed up to the Ocean View buffet and had lunch, seeing how we had been up since 4.am and had nothing to eat on the way. The buffet was not too crowded, and the selection of food types was excellent! We used the buffet for lunch several times, and although the selection never really changed much, the quality of the food was way superior to my experiences with other cruise lines. The pizza was a huge hit with hubby and myself, and some of the free ice cream selection (there were new flavour every day) was delicious. We're not talking Italian gelato-delicious, but absolutely the best free ice cream I've had on a ship so far. The assortment of candy was also appreciated, and we often picked up a bowl on the way to one of the shows.

The ship itself is marvelous, with beautifully designed public areas. The Sky Lounge was stunning, and could have been used for more activities than it did on our cruise. The various bars also looked good, from the chilly martini bar to the space-age-crazy Quazar. I know some people prefer the promenade type of midship design like RCI tends to use for its ships, but personally I find this kind of ship prettier. Less shopping mall-like and better use of the space. It also makes each area seem more private and less noisy - it was never too crowded anywhere. Read more