Best Cruise Yet Solstice April 18-25 E Carib

[njs]

Solstice April 18-25 E CaribAs I sit in the Ft Lauderdale Airport waiting for my delayed Spirit airline flight, I will write a review and a few thoughts while fresh in my mind. DH and Self (mid 50's),DS (almost 22). Michael had just finished 4 gruelling yrs of university and this was a time for him to relax before starting work. We have been on 6 cruises and many land vacations - this was our first time with Celebrity. It's safe to say we are sold on cruising Celebrity-style. Arrived in Fort Lauderdale on a gloomy, rainy Saturday, enjoyed one of our favourite American eateries (The Cheesecake Factory),and prepared for the cruise sun am.

 

EMBARKATION

We were booked in concierge class cabin #1207, deck 10. We arrived at port shortly after 12 noon, no lines, and after the usual picture and check-in, we were at the oceanview cafe half an hour later. Finding a table was a bit of a challenge on embarkation day, but the rest of the wk was ok. The ship was fully booked but apart from that first day, it did not seem overly crowded.

 

CABIN

Shortly after 1pm we headed to our cabin to meet Marcelino (butler) and Nolly (steward). Both went above and beyond as far as accommodating us and making us feel welcome and special. They never acted like any request was a bother and constantly asked if our day was going ok and did we need anything. Marcelino even took DH's carry-on b/c the handle broke during boarding, and had it fixed. The room was spacious enough for the 3 of us -instead of using the trundle bed with the sofa they put a mattress on top for my son (he's 6 ft so it was easier for him so he appreciated their thoughtfulness). The bed is comfy with pillowtop foam but it would be nice if the sheet and duvet were just a tad longer. I pulled it out at the bottom each night so it would cover my shoulders (and I'm only 5'2"). The interactive TV was great for viewing photos/account etc. Some had posted pics of the input jack strip as tho you could attach a DVD player or computer, but our butler informed us that it is disabled. The BR has a great shower with glass doors ~great so you can actually turn around in the shower without taking the curtain with you and soaking the floor. The balcony was a normal size with 2 reclining chairs and 2 footstools and high table. Fresh-cut flowers in cabin and brm are a nice touch, but son's allergies had them placed in the bathrm for most of the trip.The closet seemed a little small and was quite full of clothing for 3 adults. The cupboards above the bed are roomy and ok if you are tall ~DS and DH used them and I claimed more drawers.

 

BUFFET

I loved the individual stations with various offerings instead of the long lines of similar buffet foods that we have seen on other ships. We felt that both the bkfst and lunch buffets gave an excellent variety of choices.I did miss the Reuben's and roast beef and brie sandwiches of other cruises, but felt that the food on Celebrity was far superior so gladly gave up a few of our favourites. With concierge we were allowed full breakfast menu in-room with excellent fresh-squeezed OJ, but only used it twice since we liked the buffet. Great getting eggs benedict in the breakfast buffet and loved the fresh waffles and English station. The brunch buffet in the MDR on Tues was fabulous ~ we preferred that to a midnight buffet or chocolate buffet. I really don't like eating a lot at night and how much chocolate can you really eat in one sitting anyway ?!

 

DINING

WE were assigned First Seating (6pm), table 472 (side room) deck 4. At first we felt short-changed being in the small side dining room instead of the large one, but Jose and Jovania took such good care of us. The maitre d' asked us if we wanted to move but we told him we loved our servers and table. The meals and presentation on the most part were good to exceptional. If I was going to book the specialty restaurant I think I would do it on day 4(wed)- it seemed the least popular menu by many and the blackened rib eye steak was tough and tasteless. The deserts weren't as sweet as expected but still good. I liked the options available every night ~ I think my son had escargot 2 nights and I had shrimp cocktail and creme brulee many evenings as well.

 

PORTS

WE have done tours on all of these ports so this time we chose to do things at our own pace.

Puerto Rico -We took a taxi bus ($4PP) to Ft El Morro~the ride on the cobblestone roads rivalled some of the rides at Canada's Wonderland. We had waited for the free open air green trolley for 45 min but it never arrived. We had been told it came every 20 minutes but that was not the case for us.

NOTE- white trolley goes up and down streets of OSJ in the shopping district. green trolley goes around the outside of that area to the fort. At least that is what the locals told us but feel free to correct me if we were misinformed. DH and DS toured the fort on their own while I watched a movie of the history of the fort and PR in air conditioning. Comparing notes after- I learned and saw more on the video than they did on their tour LOL. As we were leaving the heavens opened with a torrential downpour (and nasty little gnats beforehand), so we went back to the ship without going to the Coach or Burberry stores. It was great sitting on our balcony and catching up on emails compliments of San Juan free internet.

ST. THOMAS

We took a bus to downtown after walking around Haven-sight Mall. Managed to find a replacement band for my Philip Stein watch here b/c the On-Board Port Shopper suggested St Thos as a better price. Wished I had waited until St Maarten since they were $10/$15 cheaper there. DH had been looking for a specific Breitling watch but didn't find any better deal in St Thomas either.

ST MAARTEN

I know the ship shopping talks always push St Thos as the best place for shopping, but our experience has been that we find better bargains in St Maarten. We took the water taxi from the ship to the shopping district.DH couldn't find his breitling so he surprised me with a diamond upgrade instead. WOW- no wonder I like St Maarten.

 

SHIP EXPERIENCE

We thought the ship was beautiful with muted tones and inviting nooks and crannies with comfy chairs to sit and relax. The pool chairs with padding were plentiful, even on sea days. Enjoyed most of the shows, rather low-key but still entertaining. Thot the impressionist singer's imitation of Mick Jagger was spot-on and we've had a few good laughs over it since. We liked John Grantham as the CD- not in your face but very personable and approachable. We loved that we didn't have to put up with a million and one announcements over the PA system- definitely easier to relax with quiet in the background. DH and DS attended some of Dr Ryan's talks about the Caribbean and Cuba/Castro. I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever relaxed as much as I did on this cruise - didn't feel the need to book a spa treatment or massage - liked the 'less activity' and uncrowded feeling I got from this cruise ~ that's a good thing, not a negative viewpoint. We met John at the CC connections party and got into a talk with DH. We told him we were on the cruise to celebrate DS grad from U and he asked if we thot he would enjoy a bridge tour. On Fri we joined a group for the tour and it was the highlight of Michael's trip. George (first officer) was very entertaining but also managed to give a good overview of the workings on the bridge. Of course we all know now that Celebrity hired and re-hired him because he is so good looking (his story anyway, and a funny one.)

 

DISEMBARKATION

Green Group 7 for 8 am mtg in theatre -disembarkation moved smoothly and we were off the ship by 7:55am.

I'm sure I have forgotten plenty, but all in all this was a great vacation and we look forward to cruising with Celebrity again.

 

ONLY DRAWBACK- having to get off the ship - would have loved to have been on a b2b like some others we met...maybe next time.

A special thanks to Cruise Critic- without these boards and the cc connections party, we would not likely have had the chance to take the bridge tour. I proudly wore my cruise critic connections pin on my lanyard:)

[sunsetme]

can you tell me if you did a meet and greet or cruise connections meeting?

where do they have it, was it welll attended?

thanks

[njs]

can you tell me if you did a meet and greet or cruise connections meeting?

where do they have it, was it welll attended?

thanks

 

Yes - we did the meet and greet cruise connections meeting on the Monday am. It was at 10:45 am in the Sky Observation Lounge Dk 14 forward. Altho our roll call had I think at least 100 registered for this party, it seemed like only a quarter showed up. Unfortunately many didnt seem to get the invite. Thanks to these boards we knew to go and check at guest services on Sun eve and she checked the time for us. Later in the eve we received a printed invite in our room.

The time conflicted with the galley tour and some took it.

THose who attended the mtg received celebrity pens, writing paper and cruise critic connection pins.

[travelmon]

would you be at all familiar with the Texas Hold Em games to know if there was a dealer, of if it was an online type of poker game?

 

Thanks for any help.

[portofrome]

Thanks for posting your review.

[njs]

would you be at all familiar with the Texas Hold Em games to know if there was a dealer, of if it was an online type of poker game?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

DH says there was a dealer- I didnt spend any time in the casino so will have to defer to his answer:)

[njs]

Thanks for posting your review.

 

I see you have many cruises/cruiselines you have experienced. I can honestly say this was our best and most relaxing cruise we have been on.

[keela1eva2]

Thank you for your review and I am doing a BTB starting 23rd May. I should have been on the Equinox T/A 19th April but due to the situation flying out of the Uk we didn't make it.

I have been on Solstice last October in the Med for 10 nights. We will now have 14 and I am so looking forward to it.

Could you tell me who current Hotel Director and the CC Hostess are. It would be nice to find they were the same ones we met on our last cruise.

So glad you enjoyed everything about your trip and again thank you.

[texkan]

We also enjoyed the cruise. Beautiful ship.

[cruzmaven]

would you be at all familiar with the Texas Hold Em games to know if there was a dealer, of if it was an online type of poker game?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

I was on the Solstice in December, 2009, so it could have changed, but at that time the poker tables were electronic, no dealer. You're playing against other people at the table but cards, chips, etc are on a screen. Since I'm used to playing on line I actually prefer this but some people are turned off by it and prefer a live dealer. At that time they had two tables and ran several tournaments on sea days and cash games at night. I'm sure someone who's been on more recently can update this if its changed.

[bubbie617]

Thanks for the review of your Solstice cruise. It makes us even more excited about our sailing on 5/30.

 

I have one question, though. You said you were in a CC cabin and you had a butler and steward. Butlers are only for the suites. Are you sure you didn't have a steward and an assistant steward? If things have changed, I would love to have a butler in my AQ cabin.

[njs]

We also enjoyed the cruise. Beautiful ship.

 

So sorry we didnt get to meet you - guess you enjoyed the galley tour

[njs]

Thanks for the review of your Solstice cruise. It makes us even more excited about our sailing on 5/30.

 

I have one question, though. You said you were in a CC cabin and you had a butler and steward. Butlers are only for the suites. Are you sure you didn't have a steward and an assistant steward? If things have changed, I would love to have a butler in my AQ cabin.

 

I could be wrong but I dont think Aqua Class have butlers, but we were charged higher grats and were told it was b/c of the butler. Perhaps the staff at the guest relations was wrong in calling him that, but he was on call 24/7. I've never had a room steward who was available that much (not that we called either of them), but I have been in suites and Marciano seemed to perform the same duties as our butler when we had a suite.

[njs]

I was on the Solstice in December, 2009, so it could have changed, but at that time the poker tables were electronic, no dealer. You're playing against other people at the table but cards, chips, etc are on a screen. Since I'm used to playing on line I actually prefer this but some people are turned off by it and prefer a live dealer. At that time they had two tables and ran several tournaments on sea days and cash games at night. I'm sure someone who's been on more recently can update this if its changed.

 

Sorry cant help you there- I asked DH if there were dealers for texas hold em and he thot there were but like I said I dont go to the casino. You are probably right;)

[Xport]

If things have changed, I would love to have a butler in my AQ cabin.

 

There are no Butlers in AquaClass... But the Stewards and Assistant Stewards who have been assigned to the cabins I've occupied have been terrific...

[njs]

Thank you for your review and I am doing a BTB starting 23rd May. I should have been on the Equinox T/A 19th April but due to the situation flying out of the Uk we didn't make it.

I have been on Solstice last October in the Med for 10 nights. We will now have 14 and I am so looking forward to it.

Could you tell me who current Hotel Director and the CC Hostess are. It would be nice to find they were the same ones we met on our last cruise.

So glad you enjoyed everything about your trip and again thank you.

 

Sorry you missed your initial cruise(there were some on our roll call from the UK who also didnt make it). Im envious of your BTB in May. I m sorry I dont know the HD and CC Hostess- this was our first cruise with Celebrity and we were just too busy admiring our beautiful surroundings I guess!

[njs]

There are no Butlers in AquaClass... But the Stewards and Assistant Stewards who have been assigned to the cabins I've occupied have been terrific...

 

I would have to agree about the terrific staff (regardless of what they are called!) They were the most personable and attentive of any we have ever encountered. Everywhere on the ship the staff was friendly and helpful. I think that is what makes it such a positive ship and exceptional cruising experience

[jemastc]

Thank you for the excellent review. I also liked the policy on smoking and didn't mind going through the smoke free casino

[njs]

Thank you for the excellent review. I also liked the policy on smoking and didn't mind going through the smoke free casino

 

Funny you should say that, b/c that is why I usually avoid casinos like the plague:p Alot of ships you seem to have to go thru the casino to get to the other end, but I liked the way the Solstice was set up so I could go thru the shops instead

[keela1eva2]

I didn't take it in that this was your first X cruise but can understand only too well how much you were enjoying it and so happy that you had a great experience!

Its just that those of us who are frequent X cruises do get to know who is who and it is always wonderful to find that the same people are aboard from Captain to HD Waiters and yes Cabin crew.

I had a wonderful waiter on Solstice in October and if he is on board then I definately want to be on his table.

Thank you also for saying you were sorry we didn't make the Equinox but NOT ME any longer. I am so happy to be going back on the Solstice and had I been on Equinox my holiday would be finishing next Monday 3rd May.

 

Your review is an excellent one and it is always good to hear that first time cruisers with X enjoyed it as much as a lot of us.do.

You could also post your review on the CC Cruise reviews as someone who didn't see it on here could benifit from you very clear opinion.

 

Once again thanks a million for answering my Post. I am hoping that it is Damien O'Connor as he is a great Guy!

 

Sue

[Texed]

NJS,m

Thanks for posting. :)

[njs]

I didn't take it in that this was your first X cruise but can understand only too well how much you were enjoying it and so happy that you had a great experience!

Its just that those of us who are frequent X cruises do get to know who is who and it is always wonderful to find that the same people are aboard from Captain to HD Waiters and yes Cabin crew.

I had a wonderful waiter on Solstice in October and if he is on board then I definately want to be on his table.

Thank you also for saying you were sorry we didn't make the Equinox but NOT ME any longer. I am so happy to be going back on the Solstice and had I been on Equinox my holiday would be finishing next Monday 3rd May.

 

Your review is an excellent one and it is always good to hear that first time cruisers with X enjoyed it as much as a lot of us.do.

You could also post your review on the CC Cruise reviews as someone who didn't see it on here could benifit from you very clear opinion.

 

Once again thanks a million for answering my Post. I am hoping that it is Damien O'Connor as he is a great Guy!

 

Sue

 

Thanks for your kind words. Our experience was so totally positive I just had to let others know just how great Celebrity and the Solstice were.

 

CC already posted the review under the solstice review page.

Maybe a host or some other experienced forum user can answer a question for me now. Bubbie 617 was absolutely correct- I checked the Celebrity site and we had a steward and assistant steward in our cc cabin. When we went to guest relations to question extra billing for our gratuities the girl told us it was b/c we had a butler (perhaps it was too hard for her to say concierge class!) I just wish I could change that on this forum and on the review so people going in cc dont think they have a butler.

The great thing about cruise critic is the amount of info given out and I dont want to be guilty of misinformation in my review. Can anyone out there tell me if there is any way to correct my mistake:o

[keela1eva2]

You pay a higher Grat. rate in a CC room. I think maybe 50c a day more so maybe this was where the confusion came from

 

Sue

[njs]

One thing I did forgot to mention in my review - Celebrity differs from other lines when it comes to the muster drill.

NO lifevests needed for the drill (altho some did come with them) and it is not done at the lifeboat muster stations. Our meeting place (for group B1 and B2) was the photo gallery . The info is displayed on screens around the area and on the open area on the deck below. If you are short I would suggest being at the front of your group so you can actually visualize the screen. Because of the lack of visualization, a lot of people were chatting amongst themselves until those in charge reminded them that there were those that attended b/c they actually cared about their safety :eek:. I think think the real reason is that it is required and not optional!!! I had just never gone to a muster drill before and not actually seen my lifeboat muster station but it seems to work for Celebrity

[mafig]

Most of the cruiselines are doing it this way now.