Patty..FYI.. the Sea has just been rehabbed within the past two months..and my cruise agent just told me on an e-mail today that people are waiting until the last minute to book. I notice that local charters companies are continuing the sales. If I hadn't gotten such a great deal on the cabin we did I would have upgraded to al larger cabin and a bigger window (which they hadn't put on sale). With the war situaton people are up in the air... there maybe last minute bargains, but if your limited to a special time period the way "slicari" is and you want a larger cabin or a certain week..I wouldn't take chances. Just because something is older and perhaps not as glitzy doesn't mean it's not good.... I'm older, not glitzy, but still good for an old gal with a very young spirit.

ParrotMom,<BR>I'm certainly not a big fan of glitz either. I was just going by slicari's earlier posts about her Regal cruise. <BR><BR>&quot; We drove up to the dock in NY, and I saw all of these mega ships, got all excited, then saw ours....it was defintely on the smaller side, and older. I'm not a complainer, but I thought it was going to be a little bit more of an adventure onboard. I don't mind the size but I felt I saw it all in one day, got bored and the pool was so small. I dreaded getting back on the ship from our ports of call. &quot;<BR><BR>I think she would find some of the same faults with the Sea. While I'm sure the Sea is a fine choice for some, I don't think it is the right 'match' for everyone. I've sailed on the Sea twice (last time was Jan 2002) and as far as cabin size, I think the only ones that would not be considered small compared to the newer ships would be categories CC, AB, and AA.

BTW I wouldn't consider Celebrity's ships glitzy either (at least not the Zenith or Horizon). I actually think they are more elegant and subdued and even the lowest inside cabin is a good size.

Thank you again everyone...your input has really helped me out quite a bit! It's refreshing to know that I can get such great responses on here. Anyway, I think I'm leaning towards Celebrity. Although now the tough part is deciding which one out of the two...Zenith or Horizon? Is there any significant difference between them?

I've been on both Zenith and Horizon and there is very little difference between the two. They are a smaller ships than the other behemoths out there, and a little older but beautifully maintained. You will love Celebrity. We've cruised on Celebrity 8 times and have never been disappointed.