I joined the ship in Amsterdam, check-in was extremely efficient at 1.00pm - almost no queques. I received my on-board Sea Pass card which is used for opening my cabin door and for paying for everything on board ship. A cashless system apart from the casino. Sailing was at 5.00pm for Zeebrugge in Belgium.

I booked an Oceanview Stateroom No. 4017 on Continental Deck. The Stateroom  was quite spacious compared to some other cruise lines.  Celebrity spent US$50 million upgrading the ship in 2006 and the thing you notice most is the amount of space available for its 1800 guests.  The other thing I noticed and a real feature of Celebrity Cruises is the small amount of on-board announcements throughout the ship compared with the continual interruption on similar cruise lines.  You are encouraged to read the "Celebrity Today" daily newsletter for the next day's activities.  Amazing really!  On some cruise ships such as Costa and MSC, you have to listen to even more broadcasts in both Italian & English everyday.

As on most cruise lines, the activities arranged can keep you busy every minute of the day, or you can just find a quiet spot to relax and read a good book.

I looked through the list of shore excursions for the cruise and booked some sightseeing at each stop.

I booked main sitting for dinner - 6.00pm and joined 6 other guests on a table for eight. All were from the USA.  A very comprehensive dinner menu with a choice of chicken, veal, steak or fish for the entrée (our main course), plus a choice of appetisers, soups, desserts, or cheeses.  The food was outstanding and professionally served by our Waiter 'Frankie' and his trusted assistant 'Aston'.  Celebrity has been rated by Berlitz Cruise Guide as the best food on the high seas.  I can now vouch for that.

I went to the 9 o'clock show - a great A Cappella Quartet, with singers & dancers then crashed early after a long flight from Melbourne.

14 SEPTEMBER:

Arrived in Zeebrugge at 7.30am.  I booked a 4 hour sightseeing tour of Brugge (US$70).  For those that haven't been to Brugge.  Brugge is called the 'Venice of the North' and is truly a unique city with medieval canals and bridges throughout the town.  We took a walking tour around the town taking in the 14^th to 17^th century architecture, visiting the Church of Our Lady which houses Michelangelo's marble statue "Madonna & Child".  We also took a short canal cruise to give us a different aspect of  Brugge.  Wonderful buildings and market squares and great shopping, especially chocolates and lacework.  Back to the ship by 1.30pm to relax for the rest of the day.

15 SEPTEMBER:

We berthed this morning in Le Havre, located in the Normanby area of France. Tours were offered to Paris (11.5 hours).Cost US$99.  Mont Saint Michel - 10.5 hrs. Cost US$167. I've been there before and it's just a real highlight if visiting the Normanby area.  D-Day Beaches & Bayeaux Tapestries - 11 hrs. Cost US$192. I took a 4 hour trip to Honfleur - US$59.  I've visited all these places before so took the shortest option.  Honfleur  is a very scenic little port village totally relying on tourists. It is a very popular weekend getaway for Parisians.  It has an abundance of restaurants and art galleries and as it was Saturday morning. It had a wonderful fruit & vegetable market right in the main square. They also had fish markets and cheap clothes, shoes, etc. market.  I was back on the ship in time for lunch and an afternoon siesta. 

Casual dinner tonight as the ship didn't sail until 10.00pm. Plenty to do during the afternoon -  a movie in the cinema,  sporting events, games, bingo, an Irish comedian as the main floor show. He was very funny, without being smutty.

16 SEPTEMBER:

A day at Sea as we sail around the Bay of Biscay into Spain for our next port of call - La Coruna.  The weather was very kind to us the first two days, however today is very  gloomy with a few showers, and 12c. A good day for sailing.  The seas have been around  1metre waves so far, so really smooth for sailing. If you want it to be, today is full of activities - clothing sales, trivia quiz, lectures on art, nature,  the Empire of Napoleon, sports events, casino tournaments, aqua spas, gym,  cooking demonstration,  dance lessons, bingo, wine tastings!!  I'm exhausted just thinking about it all. The entertainment tonight is "Jack Walker" a vocal singer from bonnie Scotland.  He was very good and sang a variety of songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Les Miserables, Phantom, etc. to Tom Jones, closing with Pavarotti's tribute song.

17 SEPTEMBER:

We berthed in La Coruna, Spain at 7.00am.  La Coruna is located in the northwest corner of Spain.  A city of 300,000 people.  It's a major fishing centre for Spain with lots of fish markets by the port. I booked a walking tour of the town for 8.45am. Cost US$38 for 4 hours.  Apart from the obligatory 16^thCentury ABC (another b.... church) tour, and looking at ironwork on Phoenician balconies, I found the tour really boring.  I think our guide may have been new at it was she had a mouse voice and you had to really strain to hear, especially with forty other soles crowded around.  One of the best parts was attempting to walk off all the food consumed so far.

We sailed at 3.00pm.  The weather was threatening all morning, but luckily it didn't rain - the temperature was 21c. A sail-away party on the pool deck - live music, tapas & sangria, plus a Mediterranean Bazaar.  T-shirts, jewellery, etc, for sale.  The evening show was the singers & dancers 60/70's night.  Clocks back an hour tonight as we sail for Lisbon.

18 SEPTEMBER:

We berthed  in Lisbon at 12 noon.  I booked  a 1.25pm "City of Lisbon" 4 hour tour - Cost US$46. They offered various walking and panoramic drives around Lisbon - same price.  Fatima on your own - US$79 for 5.5 hrs.  Medieval  Obidos - US$46 for 4.5hrs.  Lisbon by Tram -  US$95 for 4 hrs. Lisbon, the capital of Portugal is situated 8 miles in from the Atlantic on the River Tagus - or Rio Tejo Le Tage to the Portuguese.  We berthed under a mammoth suspension bridge - 25^th April Bridge -similar to the San Francisco bridge.  3^rd largest in the world.  Lisbon is a beautiful city with lots of parks and gardens.  It's surrounded by  seven hills as in Rome.  The old city of Alfama is a maze of winding narrow streets.  A lot of houses are tiled with lots of different colours all over the outside, or white washed with either flower pots or washing hanging from balconies.  There are lots of monuments to their Discoverers. Even I remembered Vasco da Gama from schooldays.  Impressive is the Lisbon Cathedral, dating back to the 12^th Century.  It was damaged by an earthquake in 1755 and was rebuilt before the end of the 18^th Century. It is as high as it is long.  Well worth a visit. 

We sailed at 6.30pm for Tangier.  The show tonight was a Virtuoso Pianist "Tian Jiang" from Shanghai, now living in New York.  He played Broadway hits, classical, and his own compositions - Shanghai Dreams.  He's played 6 times at Carnegie Hall and toured the world.  "He could really play!"

19 SEPTEMBER:

We woke to a beautiful smooth sea for our cruise into Tangier, Morocco..  We berthed at 12 noon - 25c. I am booked (as is the whole ship, almost) on a 4 hour sightseeing tour - US$55 at 12.45pm.  They also offer a  5 hour tour to Tetouan for US$69.  25 coaches were lined up on the pier, so 1100 plus passengers were descending on Tangier.  We started with a visit to a park which had a large Moroccan tent.  We were herded into the tent and watched a show of music, magician, belly dancer, sword swallower, acrobats.  Fairly average. Then outside to have your photo taken sitting on a camel - if you wished.  Souvenirs were abound .  The reason we were taken there.  Then on to the coaches for a tour of Tangier.  We visited the coastline to see where the Atlantic met the Mediteranean - no line there though. We visited what was supposed to be Hercules Cave - mythology only.  We then went back into town to visit the Medina - the old part of the City -this is a walled part of the city featuring lots of narrow streets and winding alleys - lots of traditional markets and craft shops.  We were taken to a co-op which sold everything Moroccan including the obligatory carpets.  We were told they would explain how carpets are made - naturally we weren't told anything apart from being shown lots of carpets and "have we got a deal for you".  Unfortunately, you know you are taken to these places to spend money and your tour guide will get a commission.  They make it blatantly obvious and get rather hostile if you don't purchase anything.  We were rushed through the tourist places so more time could be spent at the shops.  There were a lot of high steps and up and down sloping streets throughout the Medina which made it really hard for the more elderly to keep up.  This was undoubtedly the worst tour of the whole trip and there were a lot of unhappy people around the dinner tables that night.  Tonight was Lobster night and a special presentation by the waiting staff.

The ship sailed at 7.30pm for Barcelona.  Lots of entertainment on board tonight.  Singers and Dancers were the floor show.  Pianist in the Piano Bar. Part Band in the Crystal Room. Diamonds Quartet in the Rendevouz Lounge.  Guitar & Song in the Cova Café or Karaoke in the Rendevoux Square.

20 SEPTEMBER:

Today is a day at sea as we sail across to Spain.  Lots of last chance opportunities to purchase all sorts of goodies - watches, jewellery, shirts, duty-free alcohol, facials, massages - plus jackpot bingo, etc. Or just relax by the pool, or continue eating and eating.  I went to a morning  presentation by the Cruise Director and Ships's Captain where they answered questions about the running of the ship.  It was really interesting.   For instance, on a normal 7 day cruise the kitchen will through 15,400 pounds of beef, 2,500 pounds of lamb, 3,000 of pork, 2,000 of veal, 3,100 of chicken, 4,000 dozen eggs, 20,000 pounds of fresh fruit, 3,000 gallons of milk, 3,000 bottles of wine, 7,800 cans of beer.  This evening has a great floor show - all the major acts that were on for the week.  Casual dinner for our last night.  A chance to say farewell to my dinner companions and thank our fine waiters with the normal gratuities envelope.  Back to the cabin to pack the suitcase to be placed outside the cabin by 10.30pm with appropriate baggage label.  Checked the final account from the purser's office.  It was automatically taken from my credit card account - as agreed.

21 SEPTEMBER:

We arrived in Barcelona at 7.00am.  After breakfast we took ourselves to our designated departure area and awaited disembarkation.  This happened at 9.00am and it took us about 20 minutes to leave the ship, collect our luggage, hop in a taxi and head for my hotel for 2 nights.

SUMMARY:

Celebrity Cruises run a fabulous cruise line.  The average age was most certainly 45 .  There were some children on board, but I have to say I can't recall seeing them on board for the whole trip.  They obviously are well organized by staff during the day. The ship was spotlessly clean.  All staff were extremely friendly and helpful.  You couldn't fault the entertainment on board, even down to the in-cabin movies and news on the flatscreen TV's.  As I said from the beginning you could be busy everyday with activities from 6.30am to the wee hours of the morning, or you could find a quiet corner to relax and read a book, either your own, or select one from the on-board library.  You could eat until you dropped, or even eat healthily from the Aqua Spa café located next to the gym.  You can attend all sorts of seminars such as computers,  art auctions & lectures, wine tastings, dance classes, etc.

I was able to use my mobile phone in each port and use my laptop in my cabin (wireless connection)to keep in touch with the office - however  very slow and a little expensive.

Once again I was not disappointed with choosing a cruise for my holiday .  It's my fourth cruise in two years and I can't wait to plan the next one.  I would certainly recommend Celebrity Cruises to anyone seeking a 5 star cruise. It is great value for your dollar considering almost everything is included in the cost.

I will most certainly cruise with Celebrity again.

Joel McGlynn

The Cruise Specialists