It was a great cruise and Celebrity certainly delivered when it came to service because it was some of the best I've experienced. The ship has an easy layout and does not feel too large or too small. Our friends who joined us were cruising for the first time and they loved it. I will cruise with Celebrity again, but definitely on a larger ship and a longer cruise as those tend to have a better clientele.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
We drove to the port and dropped our luggage with the porters. We had to get out of our car to unload everything (seemed most of the guys working there were in their 70s) because the porters would not take the luggage out of the car but were quick to say "Tips are appreciated"....well, so is working for your tip, but I gave him a few dollars anyway since I had already planned to. Directions to park at the garage were clear and garage parking was easy. We got in the terminal easily enough and got checked in. One person in our group had their name spelled wrong by the person checking us in so that created a bit of a snag, but it was resolved fast. They did not board us based on assigned times. They boarded based on how early you arrived, which is something I have heard a lot of people talk about. It was orderly, though and handled well. I do consider the muster station drill part of the embarkation process and this was an absolute disaster. Even though we had already watched the safety video, we had to sit through a live demonstration of everything again in small groups of ten. It was concerning when I heard one crew member ask another "Have you ever done this before?" and their answer was "No". In addition, they would not start muster station drills until 11:30 even though we were allowed to board early. Also, when it was our group's turn, we were asked if we watched the video. When we said we had, our sea pass was scanned and we were told we were free to go. It was an absolute disorganized mess and not a good first impression at all.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We ate in the MDR on the first night only and did buffet the rest of the week for the sake of convenience. I found the food at both places to be quite good, although the quality on the final night was noticeably low.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The indoor pool was spectacular, but no one showered ahead of time before getting in the pool and most people had drinks in the pool but none of the crew said anything, so maybe that is no longer an issue.
Entertainment
Did not attend
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This is where they really got it right. Our room steward and the bartenders and servers were all spectacular.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I love the size of the ship. It's easy to navigate and the layout is easy to grasp.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
All was well, but I wish the bed had been closer to the balcony and not the bathroom. Our friends were three decks above us and they had that configuration and the cabin just felt larger even though it was not.
Ship tip
Our cabin was just above the theater (we let Celebrity choose for us to get a balcony for about $100 less each) and I heard so much about never getting a cabin in that location. A set of earplugs remedied that situation, so it was not the end of the world to have a cabin above the theater.
Never again. We got the " Ultimate Beach Experience: Resorts World and Bimini Beach with Lunch". DO NOT waste your money. The beach was beautiful. I am still wondering where anything resembling a resort was located. We got umbrella-covered chairs right up front. As the day progressed, I needed another umbrella to cover my chair. I asked one of the attendants for one and the response was "We can put it up, but tips are appreciated." I explained I only had a $100 bill but I would be glad to break it for a tip. Well, this is a CASHLESS experience with signs everywhere that point this out. I could not get change anywhere because when I asked, they pointed to the CASHLESS signs. They put up the umbrella and about an hour later this same kid approaches all of us and asks if I was able to make change. I told him no and he left, but he walked in front of us a few more times during our stay almost like an intimidation thing. It was ridiculous. Then we went to our "lunch". It was served outdoors and was very poor quality. Warm fruit, fly-covered food and barely-cooked hamburgers. They called it a buffet because they had multiple dishes you could take but it was sitting outside in the heat. Then you sit an picnic tables in the heat. We paid $60 each for this experience and it was about $59 too much. Bimini is the worst island I have ever visited and will never go back. Getting back to the ship is a free for all because once the tram arrives, everyone rushes it to get on, even if they were not there before you. It was chaotic and disorganized.
We like porters to take our luggage from car or bus or uber whoever drops us at the curb. We tip them and then i feel confident they will get to the correct spot to be loaded on ship.
@donnakra Our experience, and this is based on cruising out of EVERY port in Florida, is that when we pull up to the curb, the porter gets our bags....Ft. Lauderdale was the first place this DIDN'T happen. I'm not sure why you say you say you wouldn't want the porters to get your bags out of your car when they are going to be handling your bags regardless. I suppose I have higher standards and expectations....as do the people with whom I travel.
I’ve never known any porters to remove bags from our car nor would I want them too. As far as tips go you should definitely tip them if you want to make sure your luggage gets on the ship! lol
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
