We have cruised more than twenty times on three different cruise lines, and this cruise was the worst one we have ever been on.

We arrived at the pier via Taxi from our hotel before noon. A sign at the terminal said "return at 2:00pm". We couldn't leave and return because we didn't have a car and we had no place to go. Apparently we need to check our email more than once a week because others said they received an email from Celebrity about the late boarding. We sat on a bench in the shade near the Holland America terminal for a while, then walked over to the Celebrity terminal and got in line. The line went nowhere fast and we ended up standing until about 3:00pm in both sunshine and rain showers. After waiting for more than 3 hours to check-in, we boarded the ship and then waited in the public areas while the rooms were "sanitized". We were told that the cabins would open at 5:00pm, but that was delayed until 6:00pm. Finally, more than 6 hours after we arrived at the pier we were in our cabin. The same could not be said for our luggage. They waived the dress code for dinner and moved both seatings back a half an hour. We waited in line to enter the main dining room because they were squirting Purell hand sanitizer on everyone that entered, causing quite a traffic jam. To say the least, it was a miserable first day.

We understood the boarding delay, and assumed that once we were underway we would have the same cruise experience we have come to expect from Celebrity. We were wrong! Read more