Our third cruise and second with Celebrity (previously Eastern Med on the Equinox in summer 2011), although the first with our children ages 23 and 19. Chose this for the excellent itinerary and were not disappointed as we saw some great cities, had some terrific experiences and were fortunate with the weather in most ports. We had really enjoyed the Equinox and looked forward to another Solstice class vessel - as others have noted in the intervening three years we noticed a few corners being cut but nothing which really detracted from the overall experience.

Embarkation at Southampton was a breeze - we had booked Concierge Class this time and were on board within 20 minutes of arriving at the dock and leaving the car just over the road from the arrivals terminal. Cabins (9334 and 9338) were available by 2pm and we were well settled before the muster drill. Cabin stewards Emmy and Kenean were always smiling and obliging, and the cabins were much as we remembered - adequate storage, comfortable beds, excellent bathrooms with good, spacious showers. The afternoon canapes which come with Concierge Class weren't really up to much, but the robes and the toiletries were excellent quality.

We ate in the MDR most nights - service good but the food not consistent. We had a couple of really excellent meals but others were disappointing and did not live up to the menu descriptions, particularly the desserts. We made a couple of comments one night and these were followed up, but things were still a little variable. Breakfast and lunch choices in the Ocean View cafe were pretty good - lots of variety and replenished frequently. It did get pretty busy at peak times but tables were cleared quickly, although some of our fellow diners didn't seem to pay any attention to the notices asking people to vacate tables once they had finished eating. We had booked a 3 meal speciality dining package so ate in each of the three premium restaurants. We loved QSine which was fun and different. Murano was a step up in class and quality - great lobster flambeed at the table and really great venison. Tuscan Grille was good but not as special as the other two, but has a great view over the stern of the ship. We had a lot of coffees in Cafe al Bacio which could also get somewhat busy but it was always easy to get a drink to take out. We had the Classic Alcohol package as part of the 123Go offer and this was more than sufficient for our needs - it covered all the standard items on the Cafe al Bacio menu, a decent range of wines by the glass, a good selection of cocktails plus fresh orange juice and non-premium bottled water. Given that so many people had taken the drinks package like us as part of the offer there was some serious advertising and pushing of the opportunity to upgrade to the premium package for an additional $10 a day or so but I think this would only be worth it if you were planning to spend a lot of time at the Martini or Molecular bars or were a big fan of premium brands and more upmarket wines.. Read more