Great itinerary and ship but the waiters, bartenders, and room stewards are terrible. Slow, non-caring, and disgruntled. As long as you don't care about eating in the restaurant, drinking at a bar, or your room cleanliness--it was awesome!
Embarkation
2 out of 5
The embarkation process in Vancouver is a mess. There are 4 different stops to make in what is convention halls on the pier. Poor signage and drop-off points. Since we walked from a local hotel, we had to ask numerous times how do we get to the ship and the check-in counters. Once there, we had to travel multiple escalators and elevators to check-in. Stop one is baggage outside, then back inside and up and escalator for keys--wait, next stop is back down stairs again--back down the escalators--very confusing. You would think that since they embark from May until September (this was August), they'd have a more organized process for boarding.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food was average for a cruise ship. Not sure why Celebrity says they have great food. Presentations were great but the food was nothing special. With a giant menu every day in the dining room, they can't make quality food anymore. Every night there were at least 10 entrees on the menu. How can any kitchen put out 2,000 meals quickly with at least 10 different entrees? The buffet was good but since this was an Alaska cruise, many people would sit at the tables for hours looking outside. This left seating difficult to find at times.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
I don't think there were a lot of activities on the "at sea" days compared to other ships. The fitness center was nice and it wasn't usually crowded.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The stage shows were excellent. The bands and solo performers were great. We sat throughout the ship during the day and evening listening to our favorites.
Children's Programs
No Children traveling with us.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
The ship's officers were great. Very humorous and friendly. The rest of the personnel on the ship were friendly but seemed very tired. It was difficult to get drinks at the bars since no one wanted to wait on you. I found myself asking "can I please get a drink" numerous times when the bartenders looked busy but really weren't doing anything. The waiters were constantly tired and you got you food when they felt like bringing it to you. The one day during the week the crew had to explore Juneau, the ship scheduled a "ship's drill" so they couldn't go ashore until later and only had a short time. Bottom line--the crew on this ship is disgruntled and it shows.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship is older but it's clean in the common areas.
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
Great balcony on this room. Room size is slightly smaller for balconies but considering its an older ship--it was ok. Our biggest complaint was how dirty the room was. The bed sham was disgusting. Spotted, stained, and torn in many places. There were water stain marks everywhere and we were scraping dried "stuff" off the counter tops. The curtains needed to be replaced too. I have been in 1 and 2 star hotels that have been a lot cleaner than this room.
Ship tip
Upgrade to the premium drink package--it's well worth it.
Did the Taku lodge float plane and lunch. Fantastic. We did the 12:30 flight. In hindsight, I would do the first one at 8:30 and have the rest of the day when we got back.
not indicative of the typical Celebrity experience. Ours have always been top notch service and friendly, attentive service from the crew in whatever capacity they serve. very sorry you didn't get to experience that.
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