Background Information
We were celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary, and we decided we wanted to do a big cruise for the occasion. We'd sailed with Princess for 6 consecutive cruises, but as we evaluated itineraries, we didn't like any of their Europe/Med options for 2011. We had some specific requirements: Santorini was a must have port, an overnight in Istanbul was very appealing, and we wanted a min of 2 sea days on a 10+ night itinerary. We were also interested in trying either Celebrity or HAL, having heard great things about their newest ships. HAL was a bit pricier for both the cruise itself as well as the airfare to the embark/debark port Venice (compared to Rome). So we chose the 11 night E Med r/t Rome on Equinox with 3 sea days.
Hotel Info (if any)
Concierge Class Sky Deck 1245
Hands down the best one we've ever had on a cruise (and we've stayed up to a mini-suite on Princess). The bed was definitely the most comfortable we've had with a pillow-top mattress. The bath shower was fantastic - floor to ceiling glass enclosure meant no fussing with a stupid curtain and getting water on the floor, a spa quality shower head, and enough room to fully stretch your arms out. Strangely enough though, no built-in clothesline for hanging swimsuits, etc. but I have a travel clothesline so it wasn't a problem for us. Plenty of storage cabinets in the bathroom which helped compensate for a slightly cramped amount of counter space. The flat screen TV and the interactive media system was definitely a notch above what we'd had with Princess. The ability to pull up your shipboard account from your room TV - priceless! The remaining storage areas throughout the cabin were more than sufficient. Our cabin was on the Sky Deck bump-out (port side) so we had an extra deep balcony. The patio furniture was superior to what we'd had with Princess - lounge chairs with separate footstools were wonderful for relaxing.
As for the Concierge Class perks, we enjoyed the premium linens/towels, fresh flowers, and plush bathrobes.