Celebrity does many things right, an Incredibly Wonderful, hardworking staff, Wonderful food, Beautiful cabins, elegant ships and a wide array of options to customize your vacation time. We sailed on the August 15, 2014 Inside Passage Cruise to Alaska with our family. We had multiple cabins, ours was a Concierge Level cabin, #1207 on Sky Deck. Beautifully laid out and well designed this was a pleasant roomy cabin with a small balcony. Our room attendants were friendly, helpful yet unobtrusive...although the same can be said for absolutely every staff member we encountered. Everyone was a delight and no question or concern was too small or trivial. The staff and how it relates to and works with guests is one of Celebrity Cruises very strong points. Food throughout the ship was thoughtfully prepared, well presented and tasty. Surprisingly, The Oceanview Café (the Lido buffet) was among the best we've ever experienced (this was cruise number 14 for us). The layout of Café was well planned and facilitated an easy flow throughout. The food was of equal quality to the Main Dining Room and was well displayed creating an appealing visual presentation. It would be very easy to completely blow your diet here. We also had occasion to try some of the food offerings in SPA area of the Solstice, forgive me but I forgot the name of this eatery. Again, quality was very good and beautifully presented as well as tasty. The Grand Epernay Dining Room is a breathtaking room that settles somewhere between late 90's modern and Jetsonesque in appearance. Understated, this room lets the food and service be the star of the show, and it was. A diversified menu offered many options and we were able to find a delicious entrée each evening. Our group also tried The Tuscan Grill one evening. Again, spot on service, and very good food. Here though we encountered one of the few challenges of our trip; there was a problem with several orders of steak that were not prepared as requested and arrived very overcooked. When this was brought to the attention of our waitstaff, they offered to recook the entire meal. Those with the overcooked food refused (this is not a fast service venue and the rest of us would have been finished with our meal by the time the food had been re-cooked) and chose not to finish their meal and simply requested that they not be charged. There was much discussion amongst the waitstaff and restaurant manager but in the end, they refused to remove the charges for those who didn't eat. Our group spent $300 dining in this venue and this should have been handled better.

There are a number of bars onboard and many of them were busy at all hours. The most popular spot was the Martini Bar. It is obvious that the staff here enjoys their work and wants to create a memorable experience for every passenger. The Molecular Bar is good but not outstanding, at $13 per cocktail I expect to be wooed and tempted. The multi-page menu here is somewhat overwhelming but the knowledgeable bartenders (they won't let forget how much they know and how lucky you are to be there) offer suggestions but are rather abrupt and even a bit catty in trying to get you make a decision so they can move on to the next guest. The Sky Lounge Was a spectacular space that offered panoramic views. It was sadly very underutilized and remained empty much of the time. The same was true for Quasar Nightclub which was mostly used for table tennis and for Cellar Masters Wine Bar, which just seemed to empty anytime we stopped by.

During one of our sea days we did happen upon The Corning Hot Glass Show. In a word, outstanding. Do not miss this. The artisans onboard were knowledgeable, approachable and created a sense of excitement and beauty in the work they performed. Viewing is up close and sightlines are quite good. It is amazing what they are able to accomplish with the limitations they have trying to do a glass show at sea. Read more