I chose this cruise based on the itinerary. This was my 32nd cruise not all with Celebrity. I like the size of the ship. Not too big that you get lost in the hoards. We were upgraded to Concierge class partly due to the prices falling after we booked.

If there was any negative to this cruise, it was the way in which Celebrity handled the Chinese Visa question. So much misinformation and non-communication on the part of the cruise line. From my research, all qualifying passengers could apply for a Visa-Free Transit permit. Celebrity declined to accept this. Rumors were flying that Celebrity may deny boarding in Yokohama if proper documentation was not shown. This did not happen. We were required to bring 3 copies of our passport which was taken at embarkation. These were used for China and Taiwan. The irony was that if you booked a Celebrity tour off the ship, no visa was required. That seemed pretty strange. We ended up booking a ship tour of Shanghai (against my better judgement) and it was very disappointing.

Embarkation was very easy for Concierge class and went smoothly. There was a special lunch that was very nice. Read more