Solstice cabin Question and restaurant help

We are doing the Great Barrier Reef cruise March / April 2018 on Solstice and have a couple of questions

Do the cabins / staterooms have a hair drier? - Mrs M can't be without one

I know you have to pay extra if you want to dine at Murano, Tuscan Grille, sushi on 5 and Silk Harvest

but what other restaurants / cafes do we have to pay extra for?

I have done a bit of research, but I thought there was a café that's for aqua guests only or something?

I'd hate to get a coffee or something to eat on the ship and find out I've been charged for it.

I'd just like to know the 'free' places to get food from on the ship - we have the classic beverage package so I believe that includes coffees like lattes, long blacks...etc...?

It looks like there is a gelato stand on Solstice - is this included or do we have to pay for this also?

Thanks in advance :D

We are doing the Great Barrier Reef cruise March / April 2018 on Solstice and have a couple of questions

 

Do the cabins / staterooms have a hair drier? - Mrs M can't be without one

 

I know you have to pay extra if you want to dine at Murano, Tuscan Grille, sushi on 5 and Silk Harvest

but what other restaurants / cafes do we have to pay extra for?

I have done a bit of research, but I thought there was a café that's for aqua guests only or something?

I'd hate to get a coffee or something to eat on the ship and find out I've been charged for it.

I'd just like to know the 'free' places to get food from on the ship - we have the classic beverage package so I believe that includes coffees like lattes, long blacks...etc...?

 

It looks like there is a gelato stand on Solstice - is this included or do we have to pay for this also?

 

Thanks in advance :D

What you are referring to is Blu which is a restaurant for Aqua Class patrons. Luminae is a suites only restaurant.

The coffee bar is open to all guest, you pay for drinks but the pastries are free.

All cabins have hair dryers.

I think you have pretty well covered the Pay for food venues. It's possible to be invited to Luminae by a suite guest and then you'd have to pay for that. With the bevy package all you coffee's, juices and waters are free in addition to the booze. There are a couple of coffee drinks (with alcohol) that are not within the classic package limits. The buffet, MDR, Mast Grill and Aquaspa cafe are free as is room service. So plenty of places to eat without spending any extra.

Yes, there is a hair dryer, but if you wife is like me, she will want her own. The provided ones are pretty anemic...they get hot, but don't BLOW worth a damn. That's the whole point of "blow drying"...the blowing power!

I think you have pretty well covered the Pay for food venues. It's possible to be invited to Luminae by a suite guest and then you'd have to pay for that. With the bevy package all you coffee's, juices and waters are free in addition to the booze. There are a couple of coffee drinks (with alcohol) that are not within the classic package limits. The buffet, MDR, Mast Grill and Aquaspa cafe are free as is room service. So plenty of places to eat without spending any extra.

so we can order dinner or breakfast direct to our stateroom for free? seems too good to be true!

I was aware that special coffees with alcohol are extra and if we order a drink over $9 we have to pay the difference and that's fine

thanks for the replies - Mrs M will be relieved about the hair drier situation!

so we can order dinner or breakfast direct to our stateroom for free? seems too good to be true!

 

I was aware that special coffees with alcohol are extra and if we order a drink over $9 we have to pay the difference and that's fine

 

thanks for the replies - Mrs M will be relieved about the hair drier situation!

Room service is fantastic and free. You can order from the menu in your room and I believe you can order your dinner from the MDR menu (this I have not tried since we enjoy eating with friends). And yes it's FREE (except between midnight and 6am or there about)

Hair dryer.... yes..... but Mrs Gut who has fairly thick hair, says they suck.

Aqua Spa cafe is free, but Blu is for Aqua class cabins only.

thanks for that - with the MDR are you just allocated the same table each night sitting with the same people? - or can you choose where you sit? - I'm not sure how it works

is the MDR where you sit after getting food from the ocean view café (buffet) - or is there a separate seating area for the buffet?

sorry for all the questions - just getting excited about the cruise

There are two seating plans in the Main Dining Room.

Traditional puts you at the same table with the same people each night. There are two seatings, early (arond 6 or 6:30) and late (around 8 or 8:30h.

There is also Select Dining which allows you tompick your time and you can change it each night if you wish, so 6:15 one night, 7:45 another night. The MDR serves breakfast and dinner every day, and lunch on sea days. You can ask for a table for two or ask for a sharing table and meet different people each night.

The buffet is in a separate area altogether and has its own seating atea. There will be breakfast lunch and dinner served there.

You book your dining choice when you book the cruise, so your reservation documents should show which one you chose.

thanks for that - with the MDR are you just allocated the same table each night sitting with the same people? - or can you choose where you sit? - I'm not sure how it works

is the MDR where you sit after getting food from the ocean view café (buffet) - or is there a separate seating area for the buffet?

 

sorry for all the questions - just getting excited about the cruise

Buffet is a totally different thing to MDR.

When you booked you should have been offered a choice between traditional dining, early sitting or late, and Any Time Dining. With traditional you have a set time and set table (with same table mates each night) with Any Time, you show up when you like and are asked what size table you’d like, sometimes there may be a shortish wait.

The buffet is the Oceanview cafe and you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner there. You can also eat breakfast, lunch ( on sea days) and dinner in the MDR. The food you get in the buffet on deck 14 is eaten in the buffet.

As for dinner if you have selected traditional dining you have selected (or been assigned) either early seating or late seating. You dine at the same time at the same table each evening. If you selected Select dining you can dine anytime between 5:30-9 or 9:30. If you don't know which dining you have you can log-in to your reservation on the website and it will show you.

so we can order dinner or breakfast direct to our stateroom for free? seems too good to be true!

 

I was aware that special coffees with alcohol are extra and if we order a drink over $9 we have to pay the difference and that's fine

 

thanks for the replies - Mrs M will be relieved about the hair drier situation!

You can order breakfast from the room service menu. Lunch and Dinner may be ordered for free from the Main Dining Room menu during dining room hours also free. The only time there is a cost for meals is late at night into the morning.

Also, drinks on your drink plan cannot be ordered from room service, you will have to go to a bar to get any drinks.

The Aqua Spa cafe is located in the Solarium and is open to everyone, it is open for breakfast and lunch and has healthier food.

There is a fee for gelato. There is ice cream available at the buffet that is free.

As for dinner if you have selected traditional dining you have selected (or been assigned) either early seating or late seating. You dine at the same time at the same table each evening. If you selected Select dining you can dine anytime between 5:30-9 or 9:30. If you don't know which dining you have you can log-in to your reservation on the website and it will show you.

thanks for that - we've only paid the deposit for the cruise at this stage and we will be paying the rest to the travel agent in January - so we will be getting the documents / information then and we can talk to her about dining options. :D

thanks for that - we've only paid the deposit for the cruise at this stage and we will be paying the rest to the travel agent in January - so we will be getting the documents / information then and we can talk to her about dining options. :D

Just be advised that if you wait some options might not be available.

Ok thanks for that - I'm not sure what the travel agent has organised... like me, Mrs M did not know about the dining times./..etc..

Another question - can we change where we eat each night? so we can go to the main dining room 1 night, go to the ocean view buffet 2 nights, get room service 1 night...etc?

Ok thanks for that - I'm not sure what the travel agent has organised... like me, Mrs M did not know about the dining times./..etc..

 

Another question - can we change where we eat each night? so we can go to the main dining room 1 night, go to the ocean view buffet 2 nights, get room service 1 night...etc?

You should have gotten something from your TA when you paid your deposit. That should have your reservation number along with your dining time. If you have your reservation number you can also log onto the Celebrity website and look it up under your reservation. That part of the website seems to actually function fairly well (unlike many of the other areas).

You should have gotten something from your TA when you paid your deposit. That should have your reservation number along with your dining time. If you have your reservation number you can also log onto the Celebrity website and look it up under your reservation. That part of the website seems to actually function fairly well (unlike many of the other areas).

ok thanks - I've just logged into Celebrities site and it says - Open Dining seating time - Anytime, so that's all good :D

Ok thanks for that - I'm not sure what the travel agent has organised... like me, Mrs M did not know about the dining times./..etc..

 

Another question - can we change where we eat each night? so we can go to the main dining room 1 night, go to the ocean view buffet 2 nights, get room service 1 night...etc?

Yes, you can do that...

Give the gelato a miss - it's expensive and the free ice cream in the buffet tastes better

thanks for that - we have the classic beverage package - does that mean we can go to any bar on the ship and get a beer / wine / cocktail? or are there only certain bars we can go to? (e.g. could I get a beer at the martini bar)

thanks for that - we have the classic beverage package - does that mean we can go to any bar on the ship and get a beer / wine / cocktail? or are there only certain bars we can go to? (e.g. could I get a beer at the martini bar)

Any bar.

Hair dryer.... yes..... but Mrs Gut who has fairly thick hair, says they suck.

 

Aqua Spa cafe is free, but Blu is for Aqua class cabins only.

There are some items at the Aqua Spa Cafe that unfortunately are not free.