Celebrity Cruises 4+

Had a fantastic time on Ascent!! The ship is beautiful and wants for nothing. I have never had the pleasure of staying anywhere that was so spotlessly clean!! Every spill was dealt with immediately, plates were removed immediately after finishing by the extremely hard working and diligent team, which was a godsend as the food was fantastic and such an array of choice there was always something else you needed to try hungry or not!! You certainly wrack up more than one plate or bowl!!
Every night Ascent is cleaned meticulously- decks power hosed even the large X symbol on top of the ship got a good cleaning, carpets were vacuumed and even got cleaned just to make sure they were like new on awakening. Rooms and public bathrooms looked new on every visit.
If this wasn’t enough the professionalism and care the staff team show with a very strong can do attitude , nothing is too much trouble with a smile and friendly demeanour that cannot be missed is outstanding and certainly takes one’s stay from being very pleasant to ensuring you have the best customer experience and feeling very special during your stay. As much as the ship is beautiful and spotless the staff team is it’s shinning glory! I was only ever met with a smile and above and beyond care and attention from these wonderful people. A very happy team who understood the importance of providing that special stay.
Cannot praise everyone enough. A most enjoyable stay on a very special ship.

I like Celebrity ships and the happy crews that work ceaselessly to give the passengers great service.
Our recent cruise had a few glitches which I would like to relay.
1. The PA system was pretty indistinct in many areas of the ship.
2. The Elevator / Lifts seemed to be having mechanical problems and causing some delays and moaning from some sections.
3. Not the Ship’s problem but Indian Immigration is an absolute joke, face to face meeting on the ship caused an average 3 hour queue in the corridors.
4. Another ‘meaningless’ troop off the ship at Cochin into the Immigration Terminal, then an about turn back onto the Ship with a stamped form.
I stress that this is not the Ships fault but this is definitely causing passenger disruption and disquiet.
I think the Cruise Companies should give the Indian Authorities an ultimatum that they will avoid Ports in India until this Immigration / Bureaucratic debacle is sorted out.

Back to Celebrity Cruises.
Excellent food and service, Stateroom was extremely clean and modern.
Have got two other cruises booked so will be returning.

Shandy and D have been excellent tour guides but Excursions too long on the bus and not enough relaxation time at first hotel Adiwana Kamania which, along with the staff, was superb.
Sol Benoa Hotel had more facilities with beach, pool/bar and 3 restaurants but even though we tried to book a day in advance the expensive restaurant was fully booked. Kitchen restaurant needed more staff to clear tables and pool restaurant was restricted in choice.
Trip to see the Fire Dance was literally a washout with torrential rain which really spoilt the day. Lot of time hanging about but the worst comment I would make would be about the last dinner en route home. Was looking forward to a seafood dinner but when it came the fish was dried out, the calamari was like rubber bands, the crab you couldn’t get into as there were no suitable utensils, the rice was cold and the vegetables were smothered in chilli. There was no choice for those who didn’t like hot, spicy food. The only edible fish were the small prawns which were still in their shells and coated with a sauce making them hard to peel. Got a bottle of water each but given the terrible meal we thought we would at least get a complimentary drink but were told the meal was ‘free’ and we had to pay for any drinks plus service charge. WORST MEAL I HAVE EVER NOT EATEN. Reputational it would be beneficial to move to another hotel.