Having been to Australia 5 years ago but mainly to the East coast region, ie Sydney, Brisbane, etc, we decided to do the West coast option but doing cruising as opposed to land based tour. We are a couple of reasonably fit, adventurous 70 ish people from the UK. After a couple of long uncomfortable flights we arrived in Perth to spend 3 days pre-cruise. Perth is a beautiful city, we used the free CAT buses to get around with four different routes (why doesn't every large city have this option). We spent a few hours walking around Kings Park, beautiful sights overlooking the Swan River, following day we did a tremendous wine tasting tour with Out and About Wine Tours incorporating river cruise, three wineries, brewery and chocolate factory, it didn't get any better than this.

We embarked at Fremantle and were told quite wrongly that we had to be back on the ship by 16.00 hours for lifeboat muster. This was apparently wrong as we could have done it later in the evening we, therefore, cancelled going walkabout in Fremantle. Embarkation was a doddle, in our cabin within 20 minutes. This was our first cruise with Celebrity and it's quite possible that we picked the best ship in the fleet?? Arguable. We were absolutely blown away by the style and elegance of this beautiful ship and considering there were so many people on board you never had the feeling of being overcrowded, plenty of sun loungers, you were always able to find a lounger on any deck. There was always something interesting going on, glass blowing demonstration, popular Zumba, interesting talks particularly by a guy called Milos who gave talks on a variety of interesting subjects but with a quirky offbeat sense of humour.

The standard of service on board was exceptional from the bar staff, waiters, cabin steward, dining room staff, all were superb. We had the drinks package and we found this a very quick and hassle free option when ordering drinks, so much quicker and easier to check your onboard account, instead of looking for the things you have ordered just looking for the ones you haven't. Read more