Chrisclaire

Our latest cruise on Solstice, I ordered Champagne and was served horrid Prosecco. We were on the classic package, so I was paying $8 & for the privilege! I ended up asking to see the bottle and have it poured in front of me. This is disappointing as it causes unnecessary embarrassment on both parts.

We have just returned from 15 nights on Solstice. Stateroom 8066 The bed had a mattress topper on it when we arrived. It was super comfortable and we both slept incredibly well! Been looking for similar back home 😊

We also took the ferry over to Manly, so easy to do! The beach was fabulous and it was kinda like stepping back in time to a "seaside" resort. Getting around Sydney is so easy with the underground, ferries & trams. You just tap your credit or debit card.....so advanced compared to what we have in Edinburgh 🙄

We stayed at the Bali Tropic Resort & Spa. It was lovely, very traditional. Little bungalows dotted around beautiful gardens. We were upgraded to the Royal Room and it was beautiful. Breakfast was included and it was excellent. Incredibly reasonable price too 👍 Enjoy!

Sorry, don't know. We don't use the casino.

Great photo of Solstice!

My pleasure 🙂

Hope you have a great time! We had 2 nights in Sydney and loved it. The ship was docked close to the Opera House and the sail away was amazing. The embarkation was a shambles. Total disorganisation until you entered the building to check in, then it was very well organised. They were very strict with who they allowed on and when. I.e. if your checkin time was 1pm and you arrived earlier, they didn't let you on. I think this caused a lot of problems as many were arriving early. Brisbane, we did a Celebrity Trip to the Gold Coast. Coach travel and left to go it alone. I reckon we could have done it much cheaper, but hey you have the perks that go with booking through Celebrity. Airlie Beach was tendered, which is a bit of a pain & time consuming. We did a private tour with 30 others to Whitsunday Island and Whitehaven Beach. Absolutely fantastic! Didn't see any of Airlie Beach....sorry. Cairns, another Celebrity tour to Kuranda. Again tendered & a pain to get off. Again, saw nothing of Cairns but the Kuranda scenic train trip was well worth a visit. Darwin, we did ourselves, there was a shuttle bus at the port. Wandered round the shops for a bit, not really a whole lot to see or do and the temperatures were pretty unbearable! Bali, the ship was docked overnight. The biggest cruise ship ever to visit Benoa. That was fun watching all the staff at the port taking photos. We decided to book an hotel at Nusa Dua to spend a night in Bali. Driver transfer to & from (organised by the Hotel) It was around 20 minutes away & worked really well. Nice to be off the ship for a bit. Again, didn't see any sights in Bali, happy to chill by the pool. Singapore, exceptionally organised and very slick disembarkation. Spent 2 nights here and loved every minute despite the hot, humid weather. Singapore slings at Raffles was a highlight. Hope this helps, sorry to ramble on.....still on a high 🤣🤣🤣 Ps Many were commenting on how little time the ship spent in the ports, which restricted what you could & couldn't do (especially the tendered port's)

I see you are from Edinburgh also! I hope you have a fantastic time in Japan. We waited a long time for our Oz trip & weren't disappointed. When we spoke with Joseph Rebello, Maitre D'Specialty he advised us that there were big, positive changes coming in the next few months! I wonder if that's why they are trialling the "specials" We are not posh nosh people, but we do expect good food presented and served well. Agree, management are key with such a large number of staff. Chateaubriand pictured 😆

This is our 7th cruise with Celebrity and was a decider as to whether we would remain with Celebrity or "jump ship" I have gained invaluable information from CC over the years and wanted to share my honest thoughts about our latest cruise......... We had a balcony stateroom, therefore ate in the MDR and OV cafe. No speciality dining this cruise. MDR One of the most important things for us is the seating in the MDR We like to dine at a table for 2. First evening we were sat at a table for 2, but the tables were so close together that we would have been as well sharing. This has always been an issue for us that we have had to address. We were also sat next to the work station for the staff coming and going.....not pleasant! We met with the Maitre d who listened to our concers and organised a table that remained ours the duration of the cruise. This made our dining experience so much better. Thankyou Joseph! The service we received was first class, professional, efficient and friendly. The food, IMO was very good. The plates were always hot, presentation good and a decent choice with "specials" available each night.......chateaubriand being one of them.....delicious! The french onion soup has remained as good as the 1st time I tried it and despite the bad press, the mashed potatoes were very tasty! There were always managers visible in the MDR observing and acting when necessary. My overall impression was excellent! Everything we requested was met with a "yes, no problem" and I felt the staff genuinely wanted to please. There were always short queues at the entrance, but they were efficiently managed. OV Cafe...... I thought the choice of food was excellent and much improved from our cruise last year on Constellation. I was impressed with the sign on the table asking for guest's to vacate the table when finished, if busy. Not sure I've seen that before. I loved the Solstice The size was perfect for us, easy to navigate and very comfortable seating areas. There was a great vibe on the ship and as per usual, the staff were "The Stars" The "Manager's" were way more visible & friendly than our previous cruise, with the exception of the Captain. Only saw him once at the ceremony crossing the Equator! Our stateroom on deck 8 was perfectly acceptable, we opted for the green package & met with our attendant to discuss our requirements. This worked well for us & our room was well serviced. You can tell it's an older ship but had everything we required. I definitely favoured the glass doors in the shower, to the curtain on Constellation! The bed was very very comfortable, looks like they have added a topper. We had many sea day's and the pool area was very busy. I noticed that the pool staff were removing towels from unoccupied bed's. It did state on the daily brief that towels would be romoved after 30 minutes. I personally feel this is too short, but like the fact they are attempting to address it. Some guest's were incredibly selfish. There is a qr code on the daily brief for feedback. I used this on a few occasions to compliment staff and to highlight anything we were unhappy with. One of my complaints was there were no brandy glasses when I ordered a brandy. Minor I know, but you wouldn't serve beer in a wine glass! Whilst at dinner, the F&B manager approached our table to discuss. He ensured that each bar would have the galsses available & he was correct! I was most impressed with this follow up! My advice.....if you are unhappy with anything, send feedback whilst on the ship to give the staff a chance to rectify. Unfortunately we do not attend the shows, so can't comment. Although the band's round the pool and bars were excellent. The overall appearance IMO of the Solstice considering it's age is very good. It was being painted outside whilst we were overnight in Bali. In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed our trip and was most impressed with the service, the food and the comfort. I got the impression that Celebrity were doing what they could to please guest's and improve on the issue's highlighted on CC many times. I went on this cruise with some concern after reading much negatively, but with an open mind. I would say the improvement from our Constellation cruise in September 2022 to this one is 100% Will I "jump ship"? Absolutely NOT. More than happy to book another Celebrity cruise and will look forward to the continued improvements!

Good advice.....many thanks!

Thanks for that!

Just received an email on the above. Would appreciate any feedback, good & bad please. If we opt in are our towels replaced in the evening? I also note you can choose your times. Does this work well? Tbh, reading it I don't see a whole lot of difference.

We did 10 nights Best of Western Mediterranean on Constellation Sept 2022. This was our 3rd time on Constellation. We have only ever sailed with Celebrity, so nothing to compare with. Some public areas had had a mini makeover......new carpets, seating etc and was perfectly acceptable IMO. However, the stateroom and in particular the bathroom for us was pretty disappointing. The decor is dated and just a bit drab. That said, the bed is super comfy with lovely fresh white linen! The balcony was in need of tlc also. The shower enclosure was unacceptable for us. Horrid curtain that needed replaced & tiles that needed ripped out & replaced, no amount of bleach would sort the grubby look. Not unclean, just unsightly! We did speak to guest relations but were told that the stateroom we could move to had similar problems! Probably best to check with Celebrity what they intend to upgrade in 2024. Only other slight disappointment for us was the MDR. We just felt that the staff were really stretched and our dining experience was not as relaxed as our previous cruises....pre covid 😕 I agree with the previous post, I guess you maybe ask yourself what's most important to you? Everyone has different standards/expectations & tolerances. That said, we still had a fantastic time and are off on Solstice for 15 nights from Sydney next week! This cruise will determine our future with Celebrity. We WILL have a great time, but I'm keeping everything crossed that we do not encounter any of the aforementioned issues. Hope this helps your decision 🙂

Order a Dessert Wine to have with your dessert 😉 Cause you can! Nice to try. Also, not sure if they still do "freshly squeezed orange juice" at breakfast, it's miles better than the standard. Enjoy trying the different Martini's at the Martini Bar.

Thankyou! Yes, very exciting to be returning to Asia. We had a big trip cancelled Feb 2022 and were most disappointed. This is a very different itinerary, but looking forward to it 😀 Enjoy yours in December!

I have just checked the planner on the app for this cruise. Day's 2 & 4 state "Tonight's attire, evening chic" and Day's 3 & 12 state "Evening chic photo studio" Does this mean there will be 4 chic nights? 🤔

Thanks for info! Can I ask if you are a champagne drinker? If so, do you know what brand they are serving and is it available in all bars? Thanks 😊

I think I will take this screenshot from their website......

Hope you have a great time! Good news re taxi to stateroom! Not such good news re absence of a safe, especially after the sad thread from Mark_uk with regards his parents passports being stolen in Athens. This is a tad worrying 😟

Very excited! First time in Australia. Long way to travel from Scotland, but I'm sure it will be worth it! Overnight in an Hotel in Bali whilst the ship is docked for a wee change of scenery.

Thankyou for taking the time to post this. I will be following with great interest.....when your cruise ends, our's begins from Sydney to Singapore! Counting down the days 😊 The Martini Bar is our favourite spot on the ship, those Martini's look great! Have a wonderful time Cheers! 🥂

Haha, someone who feels the very same as us! Like you, we love people, but want to spend our dining time privately. Unfortunately there are very few tables for 2 & the one's there are are so close you would be as well sharing! We were first on Millennium after the refit but were in Aqua so can't comment on MDR, however, we were on Constellation in September last year (similar set up I think) We managed to bag a table at foot of the stairs which was pretty private, relatively speaking! Sorry, dont know the number. We aporoach the host/hostess on the day we arrive & ask if we can look round the tables in the MDR to earmark potential areas. Sometimes they are very obliging, sometimes not. Last cruise we managed to keep the same table for the whole cruise, we had booked on the app for the same time each night. Sometimes it wasn't ready, but we got a buzzer, went for a drink & they called us. We are on Solstice in a few weeks and hope we can bag a table for 2. Without sounding ungrateful or unsociable, the squashed in tables for 2 is the only part of cruising that is a little disappointing for us 😞 Enjoy Millennium, its beautiful!

These dishes look lovely!

Thankyou so much for posting these, the dishes look delicious! We are going on Solstice in 4 weeks and I was starting to become a little concerned after reading some of the posts on CC. I always described our dining in the MDR as eating out every night in a 5 star hotel. Not sure this will still be the case, but will go with an open mind, judge for ourselves and will have a blast, whatever 😉 Thanks again!