dln929

If you're going AQ, I'd pick Reflection in a heartbeat. Reflection has all the extra amenities/ bells and whistles that the other S class ships don't.

Thank you for the update on the Solstice. I don't recognise any of the names but then I don't know all of the names Damien O'Conner was on Solatice twice but not last year he had gone to the Eclipse I understand. See he is going to the Reflection

I am looking forward to this cruise. I did Australia and NZ on the Millie when she was out there. I then stayed on for a further 5 weeks in Perth WA where my Brother lives. This time I am taking my SIL with me she will fly from Perth to Singapore and then we will fly from Sydney on the 9th Dec to Perth where I will stay until 15th January. This will be the 3rd Christmas I have spent down under in 5 years. Missing the UK winter is pretty good given that we have had some terrible ones in those years.

 

Sue

You're welcome, Sue. On our first sea day, Staff Captain Tasos Kafetzis gave a lecture entitled "Secrets to Ship's Navigation." If he gives this while you are aboard, don't miss it! That man is so funny! Plus we learned a lot about the Solstice. ;)

As of July 2012, from the Solstice "In the Spotlight":

Master: Captain Costas Nestoroudis

Chief Engineer: Stavros Zannikos

Staff Captain: Tasos Kafetzis

Guest Relations Manager: Tom Beeckman

Hotel Director: Jan Willem Kuipers

Cruise Director: Stewart Turnbull

Food & Beverage Manager: John-Paul Lamb

Executive Chef: Michael Fernandes

CC Host: Melissa Snow

Deck - 9

Cabin # - 9283

Class – Concierge

Starboard or Port Side - Port (left)

Bed near?(balcony or bath) –balcony

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Yes, very quiet despite being opposite the crew stairways door.

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Looks down on last of the lifeboats but the view was not obstructed in any way.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - normal size with foot stools for the reclining chair. We were glad to have the foot stools but it made for a very cramped balcony. We always had to move something to stand at the railing.

Was wind a problem? No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem?

Any specific problems with this cabin?

Any other comments?

I'm enjoying your review, especially the first few photos of Amsterdam. What a wonderful city that is! One of these days we'd like to take a cruise with the same itinerary as yours but until then we will read your report. Thanks for sharing your experience and keep on going!

They had one on the Brilliance of the Seas and it was predictably ugly art.

On our last cruise - a transatlantic on the Silhouette (the first ship to feature the alcoves), the only time I was tempted to book an alcove, they were offering a special during an evening concert on the lawn which was 29.95 for the concert time frame which included a bottle of wine. We didn't end up going to the concert because we had gone the night prior and I think we may have had specialty dining reservations that evening as well. Unfortunately, that was just prior to the crossing and once we started the voyage across - the weather was never nice enough for an evening lawn concert.

 

I have often mentioned that if X is looking for additional way to capitalize off the lawn area, they should offer "picnic dinners" on the lawn - with blankets, wine and a specialty picnic basket delivered etc. I personally, would love this. And of course, keep the fee in line with other specialty restaurants if for dinner and perhaps and lower rate for lunch.

 

I will also note, that we FAR preferred the lawn area on the Eclipse over the Silhouette and completely was because of the alcoves. It just never seemed like an appealing place to hang out because of the big cabanas - like, who would hang out in front of someone's alcove? How weird?

 

Anyway, my .02!

Your .02 is in line with mine. We took advantage of two incredible wine tasting parties on the lawn. The first one was as we sailed away from Naples. We were sitting on the lawn blanket with a nice pillow, a plate of cheese, and two glasses of wine. As we sailed by the island of Capri the sun was setting and the musicians were serenading us with beautiful music. The second wine tasting party was during the afternoon we left Venice. Again, great wine, great views, and great music.

If the Solstice had had those silly Alcoves, our views would have been blocked!!! Why the heck would Celebrity fence out the view like that? Let's see. From the deck plans, the Reflection will have eight of those things. Most likely they'll be used by only four people or less. That means that a minority of passengers will hog the view from the majority picnicking on the lawn, which seems bad business to me. :(

We didn't get the survey but if I had, I'd have told them in no uncertain terms to NOT put them on the Reflection!!! The Solstice doesn't have them. All that lovely open space on the lawn is too good to ruin with Alcoves. We were docked in Venice directly opposite the Silhouette and I got a gander at how the Alcoves work as a "fence" to close in the lawn. It made me doubly grateful that they weren't on the Solstice (and I hope they never will be).

Many thanks for posting the beer pictures.

Showed them to DH and he spotted his favourite beer and he said he hopes they have plenty on board for our cruise.

 

DH is now looking forward to the cruise as much as me :D

 

Jackie

Ha! You and me both. :p Cruise = happiness Cruise & beer = double happiness

We had #1324 on the Voyager last October. It's on the hump so the balcony bows out, giving you extra space. There's a chaise lounge on the left and a table and two chairs on the left. If you order room service, your waiter will lay a nice white tablecloth down for you as he/she sets the table. It's lovely. The bed is on the left of the room, loveseat and comfortable club chairs to the right. The bathroom has two sinks and a bathtub with not one but two retractable clotheslines if you are inclined to do your own hand washables in the sink. We loved the location of the cabin. Exit from stairs (we never take the elevator), turn right, and it's there. You can't get lost. :D No noise reaches the cabin from the downstairs, either. The concierge lounge is very close, just one flight down. Enjoy your cruise and enjoy the wonderful #1324!

Thanks so much! We're on the Summit in September; can't wait. It's fun to read the dailies for a preview of the wonderful cruise we're in for.

Terry, you are such a wonderful ambassador for X and CC alike. I want you to know that your posts and photos inspired my first cruise on X, which my husband and I are taking at the end of June. When my husband came home this weekend and told me "I have two weeks vacation accrued that I need to use or lose" well---I knew exactly what to do with it! Your magnificent photo of Kotor has been floating around in my head for over a year now. We looked up sailing dates for Solstice this summer and lo and behold everything fit. Great prices for a guarantee CC cabin, and exactly the week we wanted. So now we get to go on "your" very cruise! Thanks a million for the inspiration that got us there. :D

We were on the Independence of the Seas in February and while in Lisbon we took a walking tour with Inside Lisbon. http://www.insidelisbon.com/ Because of the day we were in port, we could only do the regular tour but man o man, what a tour it was! We were lucky enough to have Paulo, who entertained us with history and anecdotes about Lisbon. We walked our tails off but we learned a lot and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I know they do all sorts of tours so if you contacted them and told them exactly what you were interested in, they could most likely bring you on an amazing tour just like they did with us.

Fantastic photos, thanks! We're in C2 #1120 on the Reflection next April. Its equivalent cabin on other S class ships is 1108. Based on these photos I think we're going to be very happy with it. :D

I like that one a lot good idea. The condoms and false teeth gross but funny to thou.

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 9630 using Tapatalk

The false teeth are definitely for the Quest game show! If you google "Joff Eaton Independence of the Seas" on youtube you'll find a funny video about those false teeth. Joff Eaton is incorrigible!! :D:D:D

Ship - Independence of the Seas

Deck - 7

Stateroom - 7408

Stateroom Category - E1 corner balcony aft

Starboard or Portside - starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) - quiet in the interior, could hear conversations from balconies above and below while outside

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - no

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – incredible views all around!!!

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - gigantic balcony with 2 chairs, small low drinks table, and 2 lounge chairs, enough space for an army :D

Was wind a problem? - not while we were out on the balcony, but to be honest there must be some wind (maybe only late at night??) because over the course of our 11 night cruise 2 cigarette butts managed to find their way onto our balcony.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - no

Any specific problems with this cabin? no

Any other comments? Our cabin was located near a service door but we never heard any noise or even observed any staff using it. We liked the spacious hallway that all the aft cabins are located in. The only thing we disliked is that there were smokers in the two cabins below us on Deck 6. Smokers' cough is kinda gross to overhear and cigarette smoke is not what we love smelling while trying to enjoy our balcony. :mad:

The new concept for Michael's on the Silhouette is nice but on our cruise last fall the place was empty every night. If there were 5 people in there at any given time it was a lot. As much as we wanted to enjoy it, because of the lack of people there was no atmosphere at all.

I've read a lot of comments like yours. I don't think the lack of crowds at Michael's is necessarily a bad thing. There's so much commotion and noise on a cruise ship that the idea of a quiet place to escape to sounds heavenly. Add a beer into the mix and you've got double heavenly. I'm looking forward to visiting Michael's Pub on the Silhouette and it wouldn't bother me at all if my DH and I had only a handful of people to keep us company. More beer for us! :D

Sayvan, I'm glad your travelogue resurfaced a year later as it was a wonderful read! My husband just bought me a new camera and lo and behold, it's the same as the one you used. Let's cross our fingers that my cruise photos will turn out as well as yours. :D

I'll be printing this out for my son when he's in Rome next month. Grazie!

Thank you for sharing your photos and review with us. Best wishes to you and your new husband! My son is making his first trip to Rome next month and I'm going to show him all your photos as a preview of what awaits in wonderful Italy.

The first part of the video was taken in the Sky Lounge - deck 14 (waves crashing over bow). The first "crash of waves" was particularly impressive as the sea spray actually hit the window. The 2nd part of the video where the waves covered the window was taken from the Passport Bar on deck 3 and the final segment was from the Grand Cuvee - deck. 4. All images were recorded on 10/31. We joked at times that it was like being on a rollercoaster! Many crew members shared that they had been seasick.

 

Regarding the size of the waves, Phil is correct - about 25 feet. While the Silhouette certainly handled the storms we encountered - the anti shake function on the camera allowed for a much steadier image.

 

The evening we left Lisbon was actually the rockiest - our cabin was on the aft, so lots of motion. Everything on the shelf in the bathroom went flying, the drawers and closet were opening and closing all night, our fruit bowl, flowers and glasses on the dresser counter hit the floor! It was very difficult to sleep, but fun at the same time!

Okay. Officially double jealous now and even more anxious for 12/12 to come. :p

Wow, thanks for posting this, I'm a bit jealous, I really enjoy heavy seas! Hope you had a great cruise!

So do I. I love a good roller coaster ride. My sea legs are the best there are! We're on the Silhouette in Dec. '12 and I wouldn't mind in the least if we got a storm just like the one bhughey encountered. Thanks for sharing!

...when you read this post for confirmation that you are not the only crazy one who's addicted! Or maybe it's a new twist on the old saying "Misery loves company" No way. "CC addiction loves company." :D

The quick answer is "IT DEPENDS!". The factors? Money, timing, where to go, other priorities/needs, what each cruise line offers in where they go, value/pricing, etc.! With a new grandson (our first) in Charlottesville, Va, when my wife might retire from her school job in a year or two, the status of the "cash flow", etc., are among the issues at play. We would like to do next New Zealand/Australia, some China and/or SE Asia, etc. I'm glad that Celebrity is moving the Solstice to that "down-under" cruise circuit during the winter period. That would be of great interest at a much better pricing range than what the higher-end, small ships would offer/charge.

 

As we get closer, we will look at the various lines, see what they are offering, see what's of interests to some of our friends, etc. Nothing locked in now. Just re-building the bank account and dealing the other time/family issues.

 

THANKS for the nice comment! Keep the good questions rolling. Appreciate being over 28,000 views for these postings. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Well of course you have over 28,000 views. You're putting out some pretty fine stuff! Your cheerful and helpful nature makes you a valuable resource for those of us who are hoping to get the best out of our cruises to far away places. I always like seeing your name on a post because I know I'm going to be in for a treat. ;)