Review of our totally excellent 1/17 Solstice cruise!!!

Solstice 1/17/2010:

US: We are mid-50’s, live in Florida and cruise about once a year. This was our 1st Celebrity cruise in 6 years, have been on several Royal Caribbean ships during that time..and loved the Jewel of the Seas from that line.

Embarkation: After a harrowing drive down Interstate 95 in driving rain we arrived at the port and quickly left the rain and clouds behind! We drove down in a pickup truck with no cap on it and therefore had encased our bags in plastic, but more about that later. Once we deposited our bags with a porter we entered the terminal and were on board ship in less than 10 minutes. We arrived around Noon……absolutely painless and the glass of champagne as we walked on the ship set the tone for a marvelous cruise experience.

Dining: Of course the first thing we did since it was too early to go to our staterooms was head to the buffet area. It was very busy as it always is on embarkation day but we still managed to find a table without too much trouble. My husband, who is a picky eater, and really doesn’t like buffets, in facts refers to them as “troughs” went to get some food while I waited at the table. When he came back with a plate full of food and said, “Wow, the food selections look so much better than on Royal!” I was pretty sure food wasn’t going to be an issue on this cruise. And it wasn’t. We were booked into Aqua Class, 1640. Aqua Class guests eat in their own restaurant, Blu, and it was wonderful, to say the least. We found their food selections excellent, portions to be MORE than adequate…despite what I had read on Cruise Critic, and the service was outstanding. The food was not laden in heavy sauces or salt which was a welcome change. Blu had just changed to their “Flexi Dining” schedule and the 1st night was a bit hectic as it appeared everyone in Aqua Class wanted to eat early but we were still seated immediately in Igor & Nikolai’s section and were very happy. I can’t say enough good things about Blu, perhaps the best endorsement we can give it is to say that we will definitely book Aqua Class again if for no other reason but to eat there and we really see no need to eat in any of the “Specialty” restaurants as we really loved the service and food in Blu. Having said that we did eat at both Tuscan Grill and Murano’s on this cruise. We liked Tuscan Grill, the veal chop I had was marvelous, the service was excellent, especially the waiter who had a great knowledge of the wines on board. It was a very enjoyable evening, took about 2 hours total. We went on Tuesday night and I don’t know if it’s normal or not but it was not busy at all that night so might be a good choice for anyone wondering. Most other nights it appeared very busy. We went to Murano’s on Thursday. I was expecting a Normandie type experience(Summit’s specialty restaurant) and was disappointed. It was extremely busy the night we went with every table full and apparently several of the 6PM reservations did not show until 6:30 which threw the service off for the entire restaurant that night. Everyone was very nice but we were never quite sure who our waiter was and there was a breakdown in communication between him/them and the Sommelier. I don’t want to say anything bad because the Maitre’d more than took care of the problem when we complained to him but I don’t think we’ll go back again. The food we ate was good, but it was not even close to being as good as the service/presentation/food in the Normandie, so I guess we are spoiled! We tried Bistro on 5 once for lunch and were very pleased. The crepes were great and the service too, well worth the $5.00 cover charge. We did not try Silk Harvest. The Mast Grill had good hamburgers, but the day we were there had no normal size hot dogs which my husband was disappointed about. The pizza on board was very good for cruise ship pizza. All the homemade ice creams were wonderful especially the peanut butter and cinnamon. There is also a soft serve ice cream available. The cookies were great, I could have eaten far more than I did. We found the food overall FAR SUPERIOR to anything Royal Caribbean offers and especially the experience in Blu. The coffee was surprisingly good the first two days, awful the next 2 and then OK the rest of the cruise....I don't understand why it changed day to day, maybe someone can explain that.

Aqua Class: As I said we were in 1640 and were very happy. We have normally cruised in Junior Suites on Royal, Sky Suites and Royal Suites on Celebrity but decided this time to book a normal veranda size stateroom as we realized we just didn’t need the extra space and the amenities offered in Aqua Class and through our Elite status in the Captain's Club were more than enough to compensate for the loss of some of the benefits of being in a suite. We were greeted by Oliver, our stateroom attendant, who was the best we have ever had. He took care of all our needs, in some ways better than the butlers have in the past. He kept my husband’s beer stocked, provided us with a large ice bucket which he refilled 3 times a day so that the beer would stay icy cold and gave us all the free water we could drink….and I can drink a lot… There was a bottle of champagne waiting for us and fresh fruit daily. The stateroom itself was great. We chose to have the bed next to the window which works out very nicely for getting ready for dinner, seems to provide more space…probably doesn’t but seemed to. I’m not going into great detail on the stateroom as there is so much info out there already that I think it would be repetitive. Leave it to say we were very happy with it and fully intend to book Aqua Class for all our cruises in the future.

Aqua Spa- Wonderful gym, many cardio machines, lots of free weights and weight machines. I took my first Spa class this cruise, the “Gravity” class which was very informative and will help in my gym where we have those machines but I had never had a chance to learn how to use them. The treadmills face the side of the ship, which is different and someone said caused vertigo which I suffer from, but never had an issue with because of this change. Used the spa several times and only once were all the cardio machines in use but even then it was about a two minute wait for a treadmill to open up. Also had nails done as I always do and did do one of the specials offered on a port day and was relieved NOT to get the hard sell on products that I’m accustomed to. I had stopped having treatments done because of this hard sell and it was great to not be subjected to it this time. Maybe they are listening….

We loved the ship overall. In fact I can’t think of any negatives to offer. Everything is state of the art, spotlessly clean and the staff was more than accommodating. The entertainment was good, the cirque de soleil type show being the best. On our 1st day we watched the Vikings destroy Dallas in Celebrity Central, a theatre that holds about 300. That was a blast! They had a great little buffet and bar set up and was a great way to start the cruise. (It helped that I’m a huge football and Brett Favre fan) The A Capella group was very good and we enjoyed the way they would just appear and start singing in various parts of the ship. The young piano player, Will, was very good and fun to talk to, he was normally in the Ensemble Lounge early evenings. Dan, the piano player in Michael’s was OK, but we’ve been spoiled in the past by Perry Grant and he was not nearly as entertaining. There was a steady flow of entertainment every evening and always somewhere to go to hear music, if that was what you wanted.

In San Juan we took the Segway/Fortifications tour and it was great fun. The Segway really is the way to see as much of San Juan as you want without riding in a bus or car. The tour lasted about 3 hours and took us from the ship to the fort at the top of San Juan with spectacular views of the entire area. We had several people try to bribe us off our Segways as they were trudging up the hill to the fort. I kept telling my husband that I want one of these for my work which is spread out over 5 acres and 11 buildings and I really do want to get one, they are so easy to ride and control. I highly recommend this tour, the guide was very informative and fun and all of us on the tour were very happy. It’s much better than the Segway tour offered in St. Maarten which we had done a few years back.

In St. Maarten we took the Rhino Riders adventure which also was a lot of fun. These are two person plastic boats with motors that really MOVE on the ocean. Once we learned how to operate we buzzed around the coast to “Happy Bay” where we snorkeled for awhile before going back. Again this was about a 3 hour tour and the two guides were great fun, especially Bob, relocated from Philadelphia. He kept us all laughing.

We did not do any excursion on Tortola although we did get off the ship and look at the straw market offered right at the pier.

We were not going to get off the ship at Labadee until they announced that all proceeds would go to the Haitian relief effort. We purchased all our souvenirs there. We watched as they unloaded many, many pallets of supplies for the Haitian people. We believe that Celebrity and Royal have made the right decision to continue stopping at Labadee and the Haitian workers there agree as it helps provide a much needed source of income for these people.

Shopping: I don’t do much shopping but like to replenish my T-Shirts while on board as I use these for my “work out” clothes in the gym at home. (It’s great inspiration for staying in shape for the next cruise) I guess Celebrity decided that they were not much of a money maker as there were very few shirts to choose from with “Solstice” on them but I did manage to find two. Other than that there are many nice shops to wander through but I didn’t purchase anything else.

I could write on and on about this cruise, but suffice it to say that we will be staying with Celebrity for all our cruises in the future and in fact have decided that we will be taking a Mediterranean cruise on Equinox in Aqua Class in fall 2011.

Disembarkation was absolutely painless. We went to the theatre at 8:10, we were escorted off the ship by 8:15 and we were driving home by 8:30. Wonderful!

If anyone has any questions please let me know. I can’t imagine anyone cruising on Solstice and being unhappy. It was one of the best cruises we have ever been on.

Oh the plastic encased luggage…..I told my husband to take it off before giving it to porter because you couldn’t read the stateroom number beneath the plastic. Instead he gave the porter a “good tip” and the porter assured him he would remove and all would be fine. Uh oh….Well, one of the perks of Aqua Class is that you get your luggage first….when ours hadn’t arrived by 6PM I told Oliver, our stateroom attendant, and he looked puzzled but assured us it would be here. At 7PM he came in dragging one of our bags, still encased in plastic and over the course of the next half hour found the rest of our stuff…all still encased. He said it was some of the last to come up the elevators…. Oh well, it wasn’t a big deal but I had told my husband I was sure the porter wouldn’t take it off and sure enough he didn’t.

I can’t wait to cruise on Solstice or one of her sister ships again!!!

There was a large group, about 60, in Aqua Class for this cruise. They wished to be seated during early dining timesat the same time and in the same area. This might account for some of the rushing around during early dining times. I've been in Blu three times prior and never experienced early crowds.

There was a large group, about 60, in Aqua Class for this cruise. They wished to be seated during early dining timesat the same time and in the same area. This might account for some of the rushing around during early dining times. I've been in Blu three times prior and never experienced early crowds.

I had read your comments prior to this cruise about your experiences in Blu and was surprised at how busy it was early, this helps explain that, thanks. We loved our waiters, Igor & Nikolai and really didn't care what table we had as long as it was in their section!

Thanks for posting. :)

I had read your comments prior to this cruise about your experiences in Blu and was surprised at how busy it was early, this helps explain that, thanks. We loved our waiters, Igor & Nikolai and really didn't care what table we had as long as it was in their section!

All of the staff in Blu were wonderful. Mildred Byers was one of the nicest people I've ever met. The Goa crew were great!

Thanks for the review! We are on Solstice the first week of April and I can hardly wait for my first Celebrity cruise experience!

A good read thks...

Since it was six yrs ago that you were last on =X= I would be interested in your opinion if the Solstice felt more like RCL or your last Celebrity experience ?

We were on the same cruise and it was as flawless as can be. The Solstice is a fantastic ship with outstanding service and excellent food. While onboard, I booked another cruise on her sister ship the Equinox and can't wait!

Great review we went on our 1st Celebrity cruise last year and liked it so much that we are ready to plan our next one. Our TA has been on Solstice and he loved the ship. Since we live in Ft Lauderdale this may well be our next cruise. Really enjoyed reading about your wonderful experience.

Shari & John

Great review! Thanks. two weeks to go and we will be on the solstice in aqua class... we can't wait to be you!!!

Thanks for the post! I will be on my first Celebrity cruise and on the Solstice on February 14th I was excited before but now I can hardly wait!!

Endorse everything Gracie 115 said!

We did a B2B on Solstice over the Holidays and rate it as the best of the 30 cruises we have done! We did one week in a regular balcony, and the second week in AQ. Both experiences were very good, but Blu is in a class of its own. Food, service and presentation were all first rate. It was like being in an intimate luxury ship within a ship :)

It seems Celebrity really got this one right, from the soaring atrium, to the relaxing Lawn Club, to the fascinating Glass Show. Some of the best features are the abundance of chairs at the pool, and the shade structures on several decks.

We also enjoyed Blu a lot. HOWEVER, we missed the opportunity to be at a larger table. On previous cruises it's been nice to come back at the end of the day and share experiences. I realize that some people prefer smaller tables, but there's no reason why Blu couldn't create a number of larger tables for people like us who enjoy the opportunity of meeting and talking with new people. I'm not sure if we'd take Aqua Class next time, although we thought Blu was a fantastic restaurant.

A good read thks...

Since it was six yrs ago that you were last on =X= I would be interested in your opinion if the Solstice felt more like RCL or your last Celebrity experience ?

Interesting question! I actually think that Celebrity has melded the BEST that Royal had and integrated it into their line. The "stations" in the buffet area definitely come from Royal and are infinitely more preferable to the long lines I remember from the Summit & Millie. Tuscan Grill is Celebrity's answer to CHOPS on Royal and while I LOVE Chops, Tuscan Grill is definitely more upscale. One of the reasons that we stayed with Royal for so long was the friendliness of the crew, we felt that Celebrity was somewhat "stuffy" for lack of a better word. Not true anymore, smiles everywhere and an obvious enjoyment for what they are doing was evident throughout the ship. The "flexi-dining" in Blu and Celebrity Select Dining is a result of a year's testing on Royal's ships, it's called My Time Dining on Royal.

But don't get me wrong, these are OBVIOUSLY Celebrity ships, they only took the best of Royal. The glass of champagne on embarkation, the cool towels on returning to the ship at ports, the FAR better food, the overall elegance of the ship is all Celebrity and reminiscent of our first trip on Summit when she was only 1 month old.

It felt to us that Celebrity had improved immensely in many ways, not to mention the FAR better benefits of the Captain's Club vs. the C & A of Royal, while Royal, in our opinion anyway has not improved over the years but gone backwards. YES, they have bigger ships with rock climbing walls and all the bells & whistles that "bigger" brings but it has NOT improved the overall cruise experience in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blasting Royal, it's just that after this cruise on Solstice the difference in the two lines was painfully evident as far as overall quality is concerned. I always prefer quality over quantity...in other words bigger isn't always better!!!:)

We also enjoyed Blu a lot. HOWEVER, we missed the opportunity to be at a larger table. On previous cruises it's been nice to come back at the end of the day and share experiences. I realize that some people prefer smaller tables, but there's no reason why Blu couldn't create a number of larger tables for people like us who enjoy the opportunity of meeting and talking with new people. I'm not sure if we'd take Aqua Class next time, although we thought Blu was a fantastic restaurant.

While I understand your concerns there are many "two-tops" that are very close together in Blu and we watched those table constantly interacting with the people around them. There was also at least one large round table that 8 people sat at, we were next to it for the whole week.

Most of your review and enjoyment of your cruise seems to revolve around being in Aqua-class and Blu. Would you have enjoyed your cruise and Solstice as much had you not been in Aqua-class?

Most of your review and enjoyment of your cruise seems to revolve around being in Aqua-class and Blu. Would you have enjoyed your cruise and Solstice as much had you not been in Aqua-class?

Well...obviously, I have no idea since I WAS in Aqua Class, but we LOVED the ship too. It is a beautiful ship, with great entertainment and lounges and I can only assume that service and food in MDR was good too. Accented review on those areas precisely because we had never tried either before and they were a resounding success in our estimation. Can't imagine that other staterooms classes would fall so far below those standards to ruin your cruise!!! In fact I've seen enough reviews of those who weren't in Aqua to support that although some food reviews of MDR are not as good. Husband did try the escargot from the MDR one night, our waiter in Blu brought to him, and he loved it. We also ate lunch in MDR a few times and it was great. So, yes, I think it would have been a great cruise if not in Aqua!!

Gracie: Thanks for the review. We will be on our first Celebrity cruise next Jan. on Equinox as Elite because of our Diamond + status on RCI. Now I have to decide if eating in Blu is worth the cost of Aqua class.

Agree with everything Gracie said.The ship is amazing.BLU was wonderful.We were at a table for 6 but our neighbors at the next table were very close so we were able to chat to them,which was great.The 2 tops are close together so its very easy to meet.I noticed that several 2 tops combined their tables as the week progressed.We ate in the MDR on one of our Solstice cruises and the food in the Mdr was excellent.

Thank you for your review.

Agree with everything Gracie said.The ship is amazing.BLU was wonderful.We were at a table for 6 but our neighbors at the next table were very close so we were able to chat to them,which was great.The 2 tops are close together so its very easy to meet.I noticed that several 2 tops combined their tables as the week progressed.We ate in the MDR on one of our Solstice cruises and the food in the Mdr was excellent.

I aslo saw tables moving closer together through the cruise. I think Blu is very conducive to either eating alone or joining in with others.

Gracie

Sorry you missed our cruise critic party. I was looking forward to meeting you. We also found Blu a terrific experience. The food was excellent and you are right about the lighter sauces and lower salt content. I actually didn't gain any weight and thimk if I had exercised more control over the bread I might have lost. We prefer traditional dining and large tables on cruises but found that the open dining in Blu worked very well. We like to have a cocktail before dinner and were able to do everything we wanted and get to the dining room at about 8. There was never a wait and no rushing. Had lovely leisurly dinners. The tables for 2 are so close together it made it very easy to interact with everyone. The wait staff was all exellent. We were welcomed by staff that had waited on us on previous noghts even if we weren't seated in their station. We ate at Murano on Wednesday and it was a beautiful meal. It wasn't crowded at all. I guess everyone made their reservations the night you were there.

I agree with your assessment of the entertainment also. It was a great cruise and we'll certainly repeat Aqua Class. We were not as lucky as you with the cabin steward. We didn't see our steward for the first 2 or 3 days and then flagged down somone in the hallway who turned out to be the assistant to ask for something. I was wondering if that was the new process or if it was ajust a fluke. I'm glad to hear that is not a new trend.

Glad you had a great cruise too.

Irene

Gracie

Sorry you missed our cruise critic party. I was looking forward to meeting you. We also found Blu a terrific experience. The food was excellent and you are right about the lighter sauces and lower salt content. I actually didn't gain any weight and thimk if I had exercised more control over the bread I might have lost. We prefer traditional dining and large tables on cruises but found that the open dining in Blu worked very well. We like to have a cocktail before dinner and were able to do everything we wanted and get to the dining room at about 8. There was never a wait and no rushing. Had lovely leisurly dinners. The tables for 2 are so close together it made it very easy to interact with everyone. The wait staff was all exellent. We were welcomed by staff that had waited on us on previous noghts even if we weren't seated in their station. We ate at Murano on Wednesday and it was a beautiful meal. It wasn't crowded at all. I guess everyone made their reservations the night you were there.

I agree with your assessment of the entertainment also. It was a great cruise and we'll certainly repeat Aqua Class. We were not as lucky as you with the cabin steward. We didn't see our steward for the first 2 or 3 days and then flagged down somone in the hallway who turned out to be the assistant to ask for something. I was wondering if that was the new process or if it was ajust a fluke. I'm glad to hear that is not a new trend.

Glad you had a great cruise too.

Irene

Hello we are in AQ on our next sailing. We have chosen early dining for a table of 8. However I have read many posts about the select dining. Do you change this when you embark? Or if they don't have enough fixed they let you go anytime?

thank you

Claudette

Gracie

Sorry you missed our cruise critic party. I was looking forward to meeting you. We also found Blu a terrific experience. The food was excellent and you are right about the lighter sauces and lower salt content. I actually didn't gain any weight and thimk if I had exercised more control over the bread I might have lost. We prefer traditional dining and large tables on cruises but found that the open dining in Blu worked very well. We like to have a cocktail before dinner and were able to do everything we wanted and get to the dining room at about 8. There was never a wait and no rushing. Had lovely leisurly dinners. The tables for 2 are so close together it made it very easy to interact with everyone. The wait staff was all exellent. We were welcomed by staff that had waited on us on previous noghts even if we weren't seated in their station. We ate at Murano on Wednesday and it was a beautiful meal. It wasn't crowded at all. I guess everyone made their reservations the night you were there.

I agree with your assessment of the entertainment also. It was a great cruise and we'll certainly repeat Aqua Class. We were not as lucky as you with the cabin steward. We didn't see our steward for the first 2 or 3 days and then flagged down somone in the hallway who turned out to be the assistant to ask for something. I was wondering if that was the new process or if it was ajust a fluke. I'm glad to hear that is not a new trend.

Glad you had a great cruise too.

Irene

Hi Irene-

Wish I had met you too. Don't know why we didn't hear about the gathering until it was too late...

I also did NOT gain weight on this cruise! WOO HOO!!A first for me! John & I found that we were happy with our meals and almost never ate anything in between which is also a first.

We ate in same station in Blu all but one night, but even then, Nikolai our assistant waiter the other nights kept coming by to check on us. I really loved Blu as you can tell from my review!

Our cabin steward, Oliver, was just great. He is very dedicated and actually knew Edwin, a butler we had had back in 2001 on the Summit and is modeling his career after him. Oliver was on his last cruise for the Solstice and we actually got to wish him farewell once we were off the ship as he was waiting for his transportation to Ft. Lauderdale airport. He was from the Philippines and said it would take about 3 days to get home what with transfers and waits. He will be coming back on the Eclipse when it debuts. Hope we encounter him again sometime, sorry you had bad experience with your attendant, we couldn't have been happier with Oliver.

Perhaps we'll meet on another cruise in the future.

Take care

Gracie

Hello we are in AQ on our next sailing. We have chosen early dining for a table of 8. However I have read many posts about the select dining. Do you change this when you embark? Or if they don't have enough fixed they let you go anytime?

 

thank you

Claudette

You will have a letter in your stateroom when you arrive advising you of Blu's flexi dining and telling you that a table is waiting for you between 6 & 7(if all are now set up for early dining) and stating you should contact them if you want to eat later. It would probably be worth your while to stop by during that first afternoon and let them know you are a party of 8 (if they don't already know) so that they can seat you all together. You'll love it, I'm sure. Ask for Igor & Nikolai's section, they were great fun!!