Overall a great cruise. Celebrity has maintained good food and service on this ship. We picked this cruise primarily for the itinerary and the overall on board experience was great.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very smooth and quick, but we took care to have all documents prepared prior to leaving the USA
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Main dining was good and the Oceanview Cafe buffets were terrific; Don't miss the last day's epic lunch buffet with endless shrimp cocktail and the chocolate fruit fondue. We also dined twice at Murano, which is always good. I also enjoyed the smoothies and healthy breakfast at the Spa Cafe
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Pools were generally not too crowded. I used the Solarium hot tubs regularly in the morning. Fitness center was well equipped and stretch classes were good, though there was some solicitation of paid services like orthotics.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Shows were entertaining, though not as spectacular as on the newer Edge ships. The lounge singers were generally good and the comedy acts were good.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward was great. Main dining and specialty waitstaff were also very capable. All staff at bars and food stations were helpful and pleasant.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship is 13 years old so the design is not as fresh, but very comfortable and well-maintained. Several sections of the ship that were public when we sailed in 2012 are now reserved for Retreat passengers, but overall there is no lack of places to relax.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Size is fine and we had one of the larger verandas. I prefer the Infinite Veranda on the newer Edge, but this is still very pleasant. The bathroom and shower are generously sized.
Ship tip
Though you are assigned a boarding time, no problem to show up a bit early so you can you get on board and start relaxing sooner.
We were docked at le Verdun sur la Mer, which is an industrial port and has absolutely no tourist services. We were supposed to dock at Pailluc but this was changed late (and may have been due to the city hosting a Marathon race during the week of our visit). The ship excursions were really the only options for touring and they were of mediocre quality and unacceptable expensive for the experience that we received.
We had an extra day here. We did one ship excursion to Sintra and Cascais which was worthwhile. We booked some of our our own tours and restaurants (Spinach tours and BelConte) which were terrific. The ship did provide a speaker who gave us some pointers on how to visit (walking apps) that really helped getting around.
The actual port is Cadiz, which is a perfect size for a one day stop. We did a ship excursion to vieja de la Fronterra, which was fine, but really I would recommend just walking around Cadiz and especially going to their Central Market. Unfortunately by the time we returned from the trip, most of the market was closing for siesta and would not reopen until 8 PM (ship sailed at 8:30)
We just did our own walking tour. It is a considerable distance from the terminal to the Jew's Gate (one hour and 15 minutes) to climb the Rock via the Mediterranean steps. You do need to be fairly fit to do this all on your own. Overall this was our longest walking day of the cruise (24,000 steps)
Only a limited time spent in the city as we booked a private tour to walk the Caminito del Rey (AWESOME!). On return we spent a brief time seeing the Cathedral and the Roman theater.
We decided to add two days after our ship arrived to see the city. Beautiful to walk around and terrific food and sights). Book your Sagrada Familia tickets in advance to get a late afternoon time so you can see the awesome light coming through the stained glass windows.
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