This was the first time I sailed on celebrity, and it will probably be my last. I booked with them for what I thought was a great deal for an AU/NZ cruise. I usually cruise on Carnival, and I have to say I've experienced much better with them before. I plan to stay away from all RCI related cruise lines. The entertainment also sucked. The comedy shows had few laughs, and there were only 1 or 2 on the whole cruise that were decent. I was bored out of my mind on this cruise.. You would think they could think of better things for you to do..but they bore you to death to get you to Gamble in the casino, and play Bingo for $30-80 a pop.. I wasn't alone. During the communal breakfasts other guests were all griping about the food. I ended up eating in the Olympic Restaurant most of the time because that is where the "best" food was...In there you can dine on Foie Gras as an appetizer. (Tip, ask for a double order.. they will never offer it, but you can ask) Now the entrees - The lobster was horrible. Very rubbery.. like something you'd expect in a cheap Chinese restaurant. The filet mignon wasn't actually on the menu, but on most nights the servers would hawk it, and say it is a "special"..well special it is.. It's terribly low quality - tough, dry, CHEAP!! I sent mine back and never ordered it again..and I love a filet mignon. I've had much better at Outback steakhouse. This is what they were serving in their specialty restaurant I remind you! The servers were very friendly.. the service was good. The rack of lamb was below average, but edible. It isn't seasoned well at all..even when I complained, all they would do is add salt & pepper to it. The chops were pretty small too. The cheese course is good, I can't comment on the quality because I'm not a cheese person, but it seemed good quality. The desserts.. Stay away from the secret surprise desert that they don't tell you about. It was very cheap bite sized crap. The chocolate souffle is authentic, and a safe choice. I can't recall some of the other ones, but they were mostly mediocre quality. The main dining room for dinner was quite bad.. the menu selection was terrible... I didn't like anything really at all they had so I avoided eating here. The best thing was on the pool deck, they had hand scooped ice cream.. There were different flavors. Breakfast was OK, but the fruit.. I had the worst fruit I've ever tasted.. Strawberries were flavorless. How that could happen I don't know. In the main dining room, the breakfast is served to you.. They don't have the waffles in their, which on the pool deck decent. Overall I was expecting alot better, but was terribly disappointed in the food on this cruise. I will add that the ship was late to almost every port we sailed to, the management was the worst I've had on any cruise I've been on. They scheduled shows and different activities in a way where you missed out on good stuff. They also scheduled a late midnight chocolate buffet right before an early morning arrival at a big destination city.. I didn't make it because I value my sleep, and I suspect others missed it too. Great way to save money for Celebrity though.. Overall I'd rate the cruise as FAIR.. It could have been worse.. but it could have been MUCH MUCH better. The service in public rooms was hit or miss... Sometimes you'd wait forever and no one will come around, other times they pester you to death. I was also overcharged more than once and had to wait for them to correct it.

The shore excursions are a huge rip off.. I could do the same on my own for much cheaper. $300 to tour some chocolate cafes? I could go myself at my leisure for a $20 cab ride.

In terms of bang for buck.. I admit I got what I thought was a good deal.. I paid less than $80 a day including taxes and fuel surcharges for single occupancy.. I still expected a better cruise, so the deal wasn't so great after all.. Read more