Regarding checkin, advising nearly 2000 passengers to arrive at Harwich at approx 2pm meant that the checkin area was similar to that of an airport... get in a queue to be moved on to the next queue. Like others have since discovered, checkin actually starts at 11am so why not stagger the arrival times ? Quality of food we found to be very good and ate in the main restaurant every night, opting to stay well away from the "canteen" style casual dining which was chaos. To be honest the entertainment was totally dire. We only looked in a couple of times and left on both occasions totally disillusioned, even embarrassed. Our main gripe was that being on a late dinner our entertainment was laid on at 7pm ! no thankyou...I like to eat and then go to the theatre as with Cunard. Can only assume this was organised to allow the entertainment staff to go to bed early and not for the passengers benefit !!! The staff we found excellent overall, especially Farrah our waitress and Raimond our steward. Went on very few shore excursions, found it more suitable to do our own thing apart from St Petersburg where both the tours and guides were very informative. Helsinki could be cut out of the trip as nothing there to excite. Our cabin was clean and comfortable and we were glad we chose to have a balcony, however, storage was an issue. Living in and departing form the UK means we can take as many cases as we like but even storing our 2 (albeit large) suitcases was a problem. Overall very enjoyable but would we cruise with Celebrity again ? not sure.... Maybe a bit too much sell, sell, sell and maybe they should pay their staff more than $50 per month so they don't have to rely on tips ! (approx $300 per cabin)

Cannot comment on your personal experience, but would answer one or two. 2pm embarkation is so that your cabin will be ready and for the previous occupants to leave the ship. However, some of the occupants will have remained on board to continue cruising and the entertainment arranged on the morning will have been for those people, not for the new cruisers. The drinks waiters ask if you would like drinks, the simple answer is no thank you. I have been on many cruises and never found them a nuisance. The shows on American ships are geared towards the Americans and therefore may not be what other nationalities will find particularly entertaining, but all the activities on board should mean that most people are catered for. As you discoverd, if you have a particular request regarding meals, the matre D will always ensure your need is catered for.