Birthday Cruise

Having been one of the first agents to look her over in 2022 I was looking forward to see what how she was getting on in her maiden season Itinerary is really important to me and this cruise was taking me to Montenegro , Olympia and Dubrovnik in Croatia which were ports I hadn't visited before As well as Corfu, Sicily , Florence and Naples

One of the huge selling points was we flew from Birmingham which was a huge bonus into Rome - Rome is a great setting out point for local departures

We set sail first for Kotor in Montenegro - which was a small town but picturesque feeling more like a Fjord in Norway than an Adriatic port Then onto Croatia - we decided on bypassing Dubrovnik and saw it from above as we made our way to visiting Cavtat nearby We were able to climb Mount Etna and visit Taormina in Sicily , visit Pompeii , Olympia in Greece the home of the Olympic games and shop in Corfu town So easy to do all this from a cruise ship as you only have to unpack once

I have been with Celebrity cruises more than any other cruise line So know what to expect - the ships to me fell like 'you are coming home' when you are in port

The ship is stunning but unlike other Celebrity ships I have been on previously there is a two tiered system of suite guests having use of the retreat and also having seats held off in the theatre ( which didn't go down too well) .

The Persian garden replaces 'the lawn' and is a huge plus and makes use of the space on board with a giant screen to watch sporting events like premiership football and world rugby cup was also on The Martini bar is over 3 floors and now the centre piece of the ship with bartenders juggling bottles and a grand chandelier in teh centre which lights up from time to time . Here you will find the 'silent disco' which happens several time per cruise The entertainment on Beyond was excellent I loved the acrobats , singers and dancers at Eden which was very up close and personal . Eden is a stunning location and we paid extra to eat there one evening and the food was the best we had on board The theatre entertainment was really good with performers and shows every night with all the latest technology We ate at Le petit chef on my Birthday which was such great fun if you haven't heard of it before a cartoon chef is beamed down to your table in 3D and catches and prepares your meal in front of you such good fun Food I enjoyed Eden and Le Petit Chef but not so keen on the other restaurants we ate at - not quite to the quality of the Solstice ships I have been on in the past The main restaurants are smaller and split into 4 categories though I felt were limited

Our cabin was an inside one and we opted for a non alcoholic package as the previous cruise we went on we never drank anything so it was wasted on us! There was a big difference in cost between the 2 grades - which is why we went for the cheaper option The cabin had plenty of cupboard space though we had no idea of what time it was in the morning as it was nice and dark so we slept well!

For the first time on a Celebrity cruise there was difficulty in finding a sunbed - I put this down to more Brits on board as normally there are more Americans who are not that bothered about sunbathing and more into the culture . Thee was a lot of reserving of sunbeds by people too which I found a little naughty

This ship is relocating to USA in 2024 so the sunbed situation will not be such an issue as there will be more Americans on board

I had a lovely birthday