The one thing I do wish that would be included by a cruise line is a list of all the crew at the end of your cruise. Everything from the Captain to the people in the laundry that you may not see, I think this would add a special level of intimacy to the vacation.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was a painless and enjoyable experience
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
One thing we had always been told about Celebrity was how good the food was. That did not disappoint. Either the buffet, the main dining room or specialty dining. All were great. I will say that the best for us was the Tuscan Grille. The view, service, and food were all exceptional. The main dining room also gets high marks for the little things, like remembering our names, and favorite drinks. Qisine and le Petite chef is something not to be missed if for nothing else the experience is something beyond words.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The activities could use a bit more work and more often. I did find that the "Sales" Activities could sometimes outnumber the number of actual ones.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
This was a bit of a tough one as some of the performers and musicians were exceptional, some not as much. The one thing that did stand out was that a lot of it was a bit on the loud side. One band that did play in the Grand Foyer could use a bit of balance as the instruments would overpower the vocals and sometimes one instrument would dominate the whole set.
The acrobats were the highpoint of the entertainment. The lady and gentleman that were paired up were amazing and we think would be a perfect fit for Cirque de Soliel. The second gentleman was very talented and had some amazing balance and high-flying moves.
When it came to vocalists, there again the volume issue could be looked at more and balanced. Some of the singers do have strong voices and may not have needed the mics that were used. At times the mics would overpower the abilities of the singer when the sound would become distorted.
The productions were very good and entertaining, but some could have benefitted from more information on what was going to be happening and what the night would consist of. One sounded like a Hawaiian production with dancers and the like but felt more like a Hawaiian lounge singer and 4 dancers. Although this was good, it still had a bit of a letdown feeling.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The one thing I do wish that would be included by a cruise line is a list of all the crew at the end of your cruise. Everything from the Captain to the people in the laundry that you may not see, I think this would add a special level of intimacy to the vacation.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We stayed in a balcony cabin on deck 6. It has good size and ample room. It was mostly quiet but found that the music in the atrium could be heard if you are a light sleeper. I think had we picked a room a bit further away the noise would not be much of an issue.
Overall the cabins are very nice and not too small. With lots of nice nooks and crannies to put things.
Ship tip
If you are not a smoker ... Watch out for the number of smoking sections.
I will say that the layout of the port was a bit of an issue. As a lot of the activity was on one side and our section was in another it was a bit lacking. Our tour was to go to the planetarium and the Macadamia nut factory. Our Driver, Captain Rob was amazing and highly informative. Kept people laughing and really giving a feeling of what it was like to live in Hilo. You will never know when you book an excursion if you will get this driver but if you do .. You are in for a treat.
We did a snorkel adventure with Body Glove. These guys and gals were great. They stopped and tried to allow for dolphins and other sea life to come close. If you are a first-time snorkeler, they have everything to make you feel that this will not be an issue. Highly supportive and informative in the proper way to snorkel and to make sure that it is safe and fun.
Lahaina was one we did not book an excursion on, we just wanted to see the port. However, while here it donned on me that there were no 3-hour boat cruises …. This only works if you have the Gilligan’s island theme running through your head as I did.
This was a simple Hop on, Hop Off bus tour, which did start a bit rough. We did the first one which was the “Blue Line” that is a 2-and-a-half-hour scenic drive. Which was okay, when you sit at the back you do get a lot of wind and engine noise. Then things got BAD. When we get back into town we wanted to do a bit of looking around and did some wondering. When we decided to head to the main mall on the pink line that ran every 10 min … it took over 40 min for it to show and it was PACKED. The trip to the mall that should take about 15 min, took over 45 min to complete. Turns out that the walk to the mall would have been faster had we walked to it. As a cruise based tour I think this reflects badly on Celebrity. If you are thinking of doing the Hop on and Hop off as an option .. Don’t.
Here we simply just wandered the streets to see what was there. Having been told before there was not much there and that maybe staying on the ship was a better idea. Well, I can say .. the later was true. There were lots of shops but all selling the same thing with lots of pushy salespeople.
Other than an error of my own making (thinking i had packed my passport in my luggage) this was nice and smooth. Although more accurate directions getting off ship would have been nice
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