Solstice Review - Eastern Caribbean - 4/18 - 4/25

Just returned from the Solstice this past Sunday, Eastern Caribbean itinerary, 4/18. A little background on us. It was me, my DW and DS (15). It was our 19th cruise, second on Celebrity after 10 on Royal, 4 on Carnival and 3 on Disney. A few random thoughts:

Stayed at the Cambria Suites pre-cruise. Liked it a lot and would stay there again. Excellent and timely transportation from the airport o the hotel on Saturday, and to the pier on Sunday. Grabbed the 11:00 AM shuttle, were at the pier by 11:20, and on the ship by 11:40.

Had cabin 8238, category 1B, on the hump by the elevators. Had read a lot about the cabin categories and absolutely loved this location. Being near the elevators was very convenient and had no noise. However, I do have a few thoughts about the infamous “X” on the balcony glass. Our balcony was about 60% “X” and 40% clear. The “X” definitely affects the view. I have a number of pictures that I will post in a few days that shows the difference. I would book in this location again but would try to get one of the cabins that is not part of the “X”. Of the 60 cabins on the hump (on each side), about 24 are not part of the “X”. The more we thought about it, the more we didn’t like many of the other balcony locations. My wife does not want to see the lifeboats, and if you are not on the hump you see them outside your balcony, especially if on deck 6 or 7. The slanting verandah cabins have large balconies, but you can’t see forward or backwards, depending on which side of the hump you are on.

Dining – We had early assigned seating and ate in the MDR every night, except our one night at Tuscan Grill. We thought the MDR food was very good. Actually surprised at the number of comments I have read to the contrary. Presentation was excellent, very flavorful, good portions, and a lot of options. One half of the menu is available every day with the usual items, while the other half changes daily.

The brunch on Tuesday was fabulous!

We really enjoyed Tuscan Grill, especially the fondue dessert! Steaks were well prepared, waiters were excellent. Would definitely go there again, although will probably try Silk Harvest next time. At $100 a night, can’t do them all every time !

Enjoyed our first muster drill without a lifejacket.

Definitely enjoyed the lack of smoking, especially in the casino.

Never saw a ship with more seating places – all with different style chairs. You could make a book about “The Chairs of the Solstice”.

Ports – Could do without San Juan. Would have preferred CoCo Key .

With almost 3000 passengers, there were only 165 children. From my observation, that number seems high.

Loved the Lawn Club. Played croquet, ring toss, bocce. It’s a great place to relax

Thoroughly enjoyed the Glass Blowing Show. They were held a number of times, so it was easy to catch one or two.

It was enjoyable to not have constsnt PA announcemnets. Only the daily noon captain's briefing (and one announcemnet about an emergency passenger evacuation done by the Coast Guard by helicopter).

Have all of the daily activity sheets and will scan/post them eventually.

Could probably go on and on. Overall, an exceptional time on a very classy ship. Can’t wait to go on another “S” class cruise – maybe this summer ????????????

I’d be glad to answer any questions.

Mac,

Thanks for posting. :)

Thanks for your review!

We thought the same when we sailed her this past March, Just booked the Equinox for this summer! HAHA

So happy that you enjoyed your cruise and said some lovely things about the Solstice. Just wondered if you or anyone you talked to went on the excursion in St. Maarten that used the three wheeled cars? I think that is the excursion we would like to book. Unfortunately for our Oct. 17th cruise the shore excursions are not yet available. Last time we were there we did the America's Cup and that was awesome.

Sincerely,

JoAnne

Thanks for posting! We're 2 1/2 weeks away from our trip and really looking forward to our first S class trip.

Angela

So happy that you enjoyed your cruise and said some lovely things about the Solstice. Just wondered if you or anyone you talked to went on the excursion in St. Maarten that used the three wheeled cars? I think that is the excursion we would like to book. Unfortunately for our Oct. 17th cruise the shore excursions are not yet available. Last time we were there we did the America's Cup and that was awesome.

 

Sincerely,

JoAnne

JoAnne,

We booked the speedboat excursion in SXM. Stopped in Marigot for shopping for about an hour, circled about 1/2 the island, then went to Friars Bay beach for 2 hours. It gave you a different view of the island from the water.

mac_tlc

A couple of more thoughts on our Solstice cruise:

We are RCI Diamond, so we got Elite Captains Club status. Enjoyed the evening cocktail hour from 4-6 in the Sky Lounge. That lounge is fabulous during the day with 270 degrees water views.

Storage space in the cabin seemed only adequate. The closet doors face the bed, so ther si not a lot of space in front of the closet without falling on to the bed.

Loved the flat panel interactive TV's. My son enjoyed a number of the on-demand movies, which you can pause for up to 48 hours if you can't watch the entire movie. Its also convenient to view your photos on the TV and not have to search for them.

Embarkation and debarkation were great, other than the fact that they made us leave!

It took me 5 days, but I finally noticed that there was not a hamburger ,hot dog or fries to be found in the Oceanview Cafe buffet. Only the Mast Grill by the pool had them, and the lines were noticable. Did enjoy the "stations" design as opposed to a single long line.

mac_tlc

Thanks for posting about your trip. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

I will be anxious to see your pictures of the cabin with the X on it. We have booked 7227 and have been told that it is a great cabin and the X is like looking through sun glasses and would not bother us at all.. Is that how you would describe the view, or can you tell me how it affected your enjoyment of the balcony.?I am not sure how much of 7227 is covered with the X, and would love to have more information about this cabin. We still have time to change this cabin if we need to... It is special cruise for us since my husband has been very ill, and we want to sit on the balcony and enjoy it.

Thanks for your input and your review

Jackie :)

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to see your pics! How was the wind on your "hump" cabin balcony?

Thanks for your review.

Thanks for posting about your trip. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

I will be anxious to see your pictures of the cabin with the X on it. We have booked 7227 and have been told that it is a great cabin and the X is like looking through sun glasses and would not bother us at all.. Is that how you would describe the view, or can you tell me how it affected your enjoyment of the balcony.?I am not sure how much of 7227 is covered with the X, and would love to have more information about this cabin. We still have time to change this cabin if we need to... It is special cruise for us since my husband has been very ill, and we want to sit on the balcony and enjoy it.

Thanks for your input and your review

 

Jackie :)

Jackie,

We still had about 1/2 of the balcony glass that was "uncovered" so the "X" did not imapct the enjoyment of the balcony. The issue with the portion of the "X" is that it is somewhat like looking in the mirror. So, if you are sitting on a chair, in front of the portion of the balcony glass included in the "X", you see yourself ..... you can also see "past" yourself to the ocean but I felt it was a little distracting. Hopefully I can post my pix tonight and they will help. I also plan on listing the specific cabins that have none of the "X", some of the "X" and a full "X".

Personally, I would try to get a cabin without any part of the "X", but would rather have the hump with a piece of the "X" than not have the hump at all. I really liked having an unobstructed view forward and aft -- protruding out a little from the rest of the ship.

mac_tlc

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to see your pics! How was the wind on your "hump" cabin balcony?

Jessica,

The wind was not a factor at all. Loved the unobstructed view.

mac_tlc

Here is a picture of the Starboard side "X" :

Continuing my pp,

Deck 6 is on the bottom, deck 11 on the top.

On Deck 6, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 6216, 6218, 6220, 6222, 6224, 6226, 6228, 6230, 6232, 6234

On Deck 7, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 7266, 7268, 7270, 7272, 7274, 7276, 7278, 7280, 7282, 7284

On Deck 8, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 8232, 8234, 8236, 8238, 8240, 8242, 8244, 8246, 8248, 8250

On Deck 9, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 9272, 9274, 9276, 9278, 9280, 9282, 9284, 9286, 9288, 9290

Deck 10 and 11 are suites and the "X" is not on your mind if you are here !!

So, the cabins with no "X" are : 6216, 6224, 6226, 6234, 7266, 7268, 7282, 7284, 8232, 8234, 8236, 8246, 8248, 8250, 9272, 9274, 9276, 9286, 9288, 9290.

You can perform the same analysis for the port side.

Our cabin was 8238. Here are three pix of the balcony glass:

Hope this is helpful !!!

mac_tlc

Thanks for posting about your trip. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

I will be anxious to see your pictures of the cabin with the X on it. We have booked 7227 and have been told that it is a great cabin and the X is like looking through sun glasses and would not bother us at all.. Is that how you would describe the view, or can you tell me how it affected your enjoyment of the balcony.?I am not sure how much of 7227 is covered with the X, and would love to have more information about this cabin. We still have time to change this cabin if we need to... It is special cruise for us since my husband has been very ill, and we want to sit on the balcony and enjoy it.

Thanks for your input and your review

 

Jackie :)

If my starboard picture is the same as the port side, then cabin 7227 would be the 4th cabin from the left on the second deck of the "X". That would say that the glass in completely part of the "X". Cabins 7221, 7223, 7239 ans 7241 would not have any part of the "X"

mac_tlc

We are on the Solstice 5/30 and plan on booking the Tuscan Grill. What night did you go? We are thinking about Wednesday. Trying to pick the weakest Menu night in the MDR. We have been on the Solstice before but had a different itinerary.

Hi Mac-Tlc

Thanks for your report on 7227...and the great pictures. I think we will try to change cabins, as ours would be completely covered, and I am not sure I would like the mirror image.... Thanks for the list of cabins you feel do not have the X problem.. I will call our TA tomorrow and see if there are any of these left..if not we will just have to deal with it...

Thanks so much for you help.

Jackie:)

Continuing my pp,

 

Deck 6 is on the bottom, deck 11 on the top.

On Deck 6, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 6216, 6218, 6220, 6222, 6224, 6226, 6228, 6230, 6232, 6234

On Deck 7, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 7266, 7268, 7270, 7272, 7274, 7276, 7278, 7280, 7282, 7284

On Deck 8, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 8232, 8234, 8236, 8238, 8240, 8242, 8244, 8246, 8248, 8250

On Deck 9, the cabin numbers are, from right to left, 9272, 9274, 9276, 9278, 9280, 9282, 9284, 9286, 9288, 9290

Deck 10 and 11 are suites and the "X" is not on your mind if you are here !!

 

So, the cabins with no "X" are : 6216, 6224, 6226, 6234, 7266, 7268, 7282, 7284, 8232, 8234, 8236, 8246, 8248, 8250, 9272, 9274, 9276, 9286, 9288, 9290.

 

You can perform the same analysis for the port side.

 

Our cabin was 8238. Here are three pix of the balcony glass:

 

 

Hope this is helpful !!!

 

mac_tlc

We were also on the Solstice with you. Our friends had 8269 and the Colored X glass.

We had 8259 (clear glass) and cabin 8277 has clear glass.

Great ship, great food and enjoyed the young Jazz pianist (Will).

Thanks for the review. We were so impressed with Equinox that we are booked on Solstice in November (wish it was sooner). Was planning on trying Tuscan Grille this time; not so impressed with Silk Harvest on Equinox. Did you try any pasta dishes?

Also, what is your opinion of the evening entertainment. There have been many posts lately bemoaning the lack of night life for the younger crowd (that is, those not eligible for SSI!!) What other activities did you enjoy besides the Hot Glass Show?

Please post your cabin info. so I can add it to the sticky. I know there are a lot of people interested in the "X" balconies.

Great review, thank you!

Loved the Lawn Club. Played croquet, ring toss, bocce. It’s a great place to relax

I could not agree more. People like it or think it is a waste of space but me and my DH both like ring toss, bocce, and croquet so I think we will like Equinox this November.

Thank you for your great review and the info on the "X" cabins. We were originally booked into cabin 7280,but changed it to 7268 when i found out about the "X". My father's cabin was changed to from 7278 to 7284, so we now have 3 cabins on the hump for our Solstice cruise on Nov. 21,2010. Thanks again for all your imput and Happy Cruising.

Thanks for the review. Sailing 5/2. Can't wait. Happy to hear about the lack of smoke and kids.

We are on the Solstice 5/30 and plan on booking the Tuscan Grill. What night did you go? We are thinking about Wednesday. Trying to pick the weakest Menu night in the MDR. We have been on the Solstice before but had a different itinerary.

We went on Wednesday (St. Thomas night) at 7:00PM. It worked out well, since the ship departed at 6:00PM we got to watch the departure before we went to dinner. If we did not go to the Tuscan Grill that night we would have been in the dining room when it departed. I enjoy watching the ship leave from the balcony. Gave me the opportunity to get a few photos of the departure and the sunset ...

mac_tlc

We went on Wednesday (St. Thomas night) at 7:00PM. It worked out well, since the ship departed at 6:00PM we got to watch the departure before we went to dinner. If we did not go to the Tuscan Grill that night we would have been in the dining room when it departed. I enjoy watching the ship leave from the balcony. Gave me the opportunity to get a few photos of the departure and the sunset ...

 

 

 

mac_tlc

The pictures are beautiful. Thanks for sharing:)

Thanks for the review. We were so impressed with Equinox that we are booked on Solstice in November (wish it was sooner). Was planning on trying Tuscan Grille this time; not so impressed with Silk Harvest on Equinox. Did you try any pasta dishes?

 

Also, what is your opinion of the evening entertainment. There have been many posts lately bemoaning the lack of night life for the younger crowd (that is, those not eligible for SSI!!) What other activities did you enjoy besides the Hot Glass Show?

 

Please post your cabin info. so I can add it to the sticky. I know there are a lot of people interested in the "X" balconies.

My wife enjoys donating at the casino, so that was a nightly event -- sometimes short, sometimes a little longer. They had a show, similar to Iron Chef, that was on Saturday morning in the theatre. The cruise director (John Grantham) is an ex-hollywood stuntman, so he had a short "meet & greet" called Meet the Stuntman. He had some clips of movies and TV shows he has appeareed in -- that was interesting also. Of course, the galley tour is always interesting.

There were theme nights almost every night -- either on deck or in the Sky lounge. We are not eligibale for SSI, and won't be for at least 12 years, but are not all-night partiers Having said that, I did not notice a lack of activities, but others may be better equipped to comment.

mac_tlc