This was a great first cruise on Celebrity. I was hesitant about it as I thought they are much more formal and catered to an older cliental. While they do have a couple of formal nights, most people don't dress up more than a collard shirt and khaki pants. I was right about the age range, they confirmed the average was in their 50's-60's, however there were some younger cruisers as well. The ship was very well designed, and did not feel crowded. We had around 2,700 guests on a ship that has a double occupancy of 2,900, so we were at just under 95% capacity yet I never would have thought there were as many people. Never waited in lines for more than a minute or two.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fastest and most organized embarkation I have experienced. From arriving at the terminal, I was on the ship in 10 minutes. No lines, just moved from one checkpoint to the next, through security, and onto the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The buffet had a wide selection for both breakfast and lunch. Dinner was limited, however that was expected as most people dine in the restaurants. The food at the buffet was always quite good, definitely a higher quality than you normally get at a buffet. I ate at 3/4 of the main dining rooms. Food there was also very good, my only slight issue was the limited number of options. There were a few that were available every day, and only a few others changed daily. Some additional options would have been nice.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Didn't use the main pool, however the pool in the solarium was usually less crowded.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The shows were excellent. They offered live entertainment every night, including a number of shows in the theater. I went to Divas3, the comedy show, Tree of Life, Rockumentary, and the magic show. All of the performers were top notch and great to watch.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All of the staff were exceptional. My room steward was very attentive and every time he saw me asked to ensure everything was fine and checking to see if there was anything I needed. Bar service was always quick, one of the servers in the theater even remembered what I like to have by the end of the cruise. The servers in the main dining rooms were very attentive and friendly.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship looks beautiful. Everything was clean (staff were always around tidying up). There was a lot about the layout I enjoyed, including that the casino didn't take up all of deck 4, so you could actually walk from the atrium to the aft restaurants and not have to go through it. The main atrium was spacious and had a lot of seating. The theater was large enough that it could hold a good number of the passengers. The only negative I had was some of the shows in the smaller venue, The Club, should have probably been in the theater as it wasn't large enough and it was standing room only.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very spacious, tons of storage space. Not everyone likes the infinite veranda, but I thought it worked well for me and enjoyed the extra space it provided in the room.
Ship tip
The shows don't take reservations, so get there early. Most open up 30 minutes prior, so get there at least 15-20 minutes beforehand to guarantee a good seat.
Did a city & zoo tour. The zoo is about a 40 minute drive from the city, but was a nice visit and allowed everyone to see a number of indigenous animals to the area.
The Cayman islands are always a favorite. The snorkeling and scuba diving is exceptional. My only issue is that it is a tender port, and the tender process here was very disorganized. Went to pick up a tender ticket an hour before my excursion meeting time, and they were on #10. They were handing out #32. It was taking over a half hour between tenders. Fortunately I eventually learned those with excursions had priority and didn't need a tender ticket, however due to the slow process I still didn't make it to the pier until 12:15. Fortunately my excursion hadn't left and I still made it.
Very fast, off the ship in 5 minutes, took a little time just because of the walking through the terminal, but cleared customs in no time. Entire process took no more than 15-20 minutes.
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