Have been back 4 weeks now so have had time to reflect on what was originally planned for my 50th Birthday trip, Ok so it was 4 years late but we prepared by having a trip for 7 days to the Fjords to get the feel of cruising, that trip was taken 2 years ago, on the P&O Azura so any comparisons that I do will be based on that experience.

Check in was much better, for the earlier Cruise we waited in a car line for what seemed like hours but was actually about 90 minutes when all we wanted to do was get on the Ship, in fact when we did board it was only 20 minutes until we sailed, with Celebrity we were on Board for 1145H for an 1130H time. Very good Celebrity, I would guess that we had pretty much the same class level on each of the ships but it was great to be on board before 1200H, and we could relax until our cabin was ready at 1340H. We ate the excellent Burgers at the Mast Bar for lunch, and had a few Beers whilst sitting in glorious Sunshine, a fantastic start. They also did Hot Dogs that I can recommend and Fish and Chips that presumably only appear on sailings from the UK, but I didn't try these.

Luggage was delivered to the Cabin about 1430H, and we spent some time unpacking before going exploring. The Cabin was smaller than our previous sailing (were we had a Bath that we never used once!) however we all thought that it was much better designed. The advice re the hump cabin came from Celebrity when we booked and they were correct 1075 was plenty roomy enough for us as the enlarged Balcony was great. If I was a sun worshipper I guess I could say that it was a little shaded but I preferred that to the tiered overlooked balconies of Azura. The layout of the bathroom was great and although small perfectly adequate. Great power in the shower. Read more