Solstice - May 30 Sailing - Comments

[nadalina]

I debated about writing about my recent cruise on the lovely Solstice because others have already written about this same sailing and I agree with many of their comments. However, I am an "old school" cruiser, meaning that I have been cruising for 20 years and I love the older, smaller and more intimate ships, formal nights, and the international elegance of the crew in the dining room. I had not been on a Celebrity ship in six years, so my comments are really more of a comparison of how it was when I first sailed on the Horizon in 1990 to my last Celebrity cruise on the Constellation in 2004 and now to last week on the Solstice. I have over 30 cruises with Celebrity but after the merger with RCCL I decided to venture out and try other cruise lines, so it was interesting to return to a new Celebrity ship and see how things had changed. So, for whatever they're worth, here are a few of my opinions and comments, the positive, the negative, and the neutral.

 

Positive:

*Embarkation - Easier than ever.

*Ship - Solstice is truly a beautiful vessel; elegant, sophisticated but not stuffy, artsy but not intimidatingly so. We participated in a cabin crawl and got to see several different categories of cabins, including three different types of suites, and they were really, really beautiful.

*Hot Glass Show - Amazing and one of the highlights of our cruise - we went 4 times.

*Food - Very good to excellent - no disappointment there.

*Room Service - Only had it once but it was excellent.

*Service - Except in Cafe al Bacio, service was also very good to excellent. *Beverage Packages - Premium Alcohol Package and Premium Non-Alcohol Package turned out to be excellent choices for us and a great value.

*Shops - Really nice and varied onboard shopping opportunities.

*Officers - Very visible and approachable.

*Lawn Area - Really lovely and well-kept. I was a little surprised that I enjoyed this area so much. Very nice seating areas and aft bar.

*Itinerary - Just perfect for us. Nice combination of ports and sea days.

*Misc. - No constant announcements. No pushy photographers. Ice water and cold face towels when returning to the ship when in port was a really nice and thoughtful touch.

 

Positive AND Negative:

*Stateroom - We had a standard balcony cabin and it was lovely and well-appointed. The bigger bathroom and shower area were very nice. The closet, however, was poorly designed, small and very difficult to access. Also, there was limited drawer/shelf space for folded clothes. Even the night stands had no drawers and were extremely small. Hard to believe the four women that Celebrity hired to help design their cabins on the Solstice-class vessels had anything to do with the closet and storage design. Yes, there was storage over the bed but it was not easy to access.... maybe for someone taller. We managed for the week, but if there had been more than two people in the cabin or if the cruise was longer than 7 nights, it would be very difficult.

*Pool Areas - Beautiful but very, very crowded. Solarium was really lovely.

*Select Dining - The positive is that we never made a reservation, walked up to the podium at varying times each evening and were seated at a table for two within a couple of minutes every night. The negative is that we had a different waiter and asst. waiter every night and, therefore, did not have the enjoyable opportunity to get to know each other. Service, however, was excellent and consistent. One other negative aspect to Select Dining was that it was somewhat annoying and distracting, albeit completely necessary, for the surrounding tables to have to be constantly reset. The entire crew in that section just seemed to be more rushed and at times even frantic. Would I choose Select Dining again? I honestly don't know. The flexibility was really great, but what I missed most was having the same wait staff every night.

*Entertainment - Really a mixed bag. Two of the three production shows were hugely disappointing and clearly not up to past Celebrity standards, in my opinion. One of the lounge singers and one of the pianists were just okay. Sipra, the party band, however, was excellent and very versatile, as was Will Folker, the pianist & singer. The iTones, the a cappella group, were very good (and adorable too). Paul Baya was a very good Cruise Director and entertainer/singer as well.

*Bars/Lounges - Usually I always find the perfect bar/lounge to which I tend to gravitate, but not so on this cruise. I don't really have anything negative to say about any of them but I just never found that "good fit", if you know what I mean. (I think I miss the old Rendezvous Lounge - old habits die hard.)

*Oceanview Cafe (the Buffet) - The food and variety of selections was very good. However, despite the new design of multiple stations, it still felt crowded, chaotic, and like you were in the midst of a three-ring circus with people darting in all directions. We had to wait in long lines (20-30 minutes) for Belgian waffles, pasta dishes and stir fry each time we went. Finally just stopped going because it was such a hassle.

*Disembarkation - Getting off the ship was easy and effortless, but getting through the terminal was something else entirely. There were only two Customs & Immigration officers on duty and the line of guests was so long that it took forever. Also, trying to get a porter was impossible because they were all in line with the guests trying to get through Customs & Immigration. What a mess! Got off the ship at 8:45 but did not get to the airport until 10:35.

 

Negative:

*Formal Nights - I was totally surprised at how truly NOT formal people were dressed. I saw many jeans on both men and women in the dining room as well as shorts on two gentlemen. There were very few women or men in true formal attire. Very disappointing for me. I admit that as I have gotten older I sometimes enjoy a less formal cruise, but when I do, then I go to a different cruise line where they don't have formal nights. Sorry if my opinion offends some, but I began these comments by saying that I am an "old school cruiser" and I believe in adhering to the onboard dress attire requested by the cruise line. I just wish Celebrity would enforce their own policies in this regard.

*Attire of Dining Room Management - This may sound silly to most of you but I have always loved that the Asst. Maitre d's and Restaurant Managers dressed in tuxedos and white dinner jackets. It was all part of that international elegance of dining on a cruise ship that I came to love and expect. Now they wear different variations of very common suits & ties with absolutely no way to distinguish their position except to read their name tags. Even on formal nights, they still just wear a suit, so if they don't adhere to their own formal attire policy, why should they expect the guests to? Perhaps for the crew this new dress attire is an improvement as opposed to having to wear a tux every night, but it is definitely not an improvement for me. The waiters and asst. waiters still look very professional, with the waiters wearing suits and ties most nights.

*Cafe al Bacio - Service the first two days was terrible but got better as the week progressed. I ordered the same item each time I went, a hazelnut soy latte, and the quality ranged from excellent to not able to drink. I finally just stopped going because of the inconsistency of the product and service.

*The X on the ship's funnel - Sorry, but I hated the little X on the funnel. It was tacky and looked like a last-minute thought or addition. Don't get me wrong..... I have loved the X on other Celebrity ships! When I see it at a distance, I feel like I'm coming home. But this one on the Solstice was too small and diminutive for such a grand dame. She needs a statement symbol, not a tacky trinket.

 

I'm sure the moment I submit this thread I will think of other things to write about, but please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any.

 

Peggy

[dalitos]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write your review, I'm glad you decided to do so.

Looking forward to sailing on an S class vessel and was happy to read how beautiful you thought the ship was.

Sorry you didn't find the dinner atmosphere as formal as you would have liked (or not formal at all), regardless of what I personally think on the subject, X is doing, and will always do, what they think pleases the majority.

[lysolqn]

Thanks for your review - you struck the perfect balance of "positive, negative and neutral" comments that make it not only informative but especially credible. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Gracie115]

Thanks for your review, we were on Solstice in January after a 6 year hiatus from Celebrity and agree with nearly everything you had to say. We did not do Select Dining as we were in Blu so can't comment on that but do agree with you about the lack of "formal" night attire. I personally don't care but it is odd to me that anyone would book a cruise that includes formal nights when they have no intention of ever going formal. There are so many cruising choices out there that if you want to be completely casual you can be...so why book a cruise that includes these events? Just seems weird to me...but again it has no impact on our enjoyment I just don't understand it....

 

Also agreed on the entertainment...we loved Will Folker, we were on his 1st ever cruise, I imagine he is even better now that he's had 6 months to settle in. The big shows were only OK, except for the Cirque show which we loved.

 

Glad you overall enjoyed your cruise!

[Massnatives]

Hi - we were on the same cruise - I posted a mini review under "21,000 pieces of candy"

 

I love your review - you stated your opinions without being extremely negative - this was really our first cruise (4 days 21 years ago) and we were just so happy all the time.

Celebrity can give you the tools for a great vacation but it is up to us to have fun. I'm not talking about you here....some other reviewrs have actually said NOTHING was good on their cruise.....how could that be?

 

I loved the lawn too - what would they replace it with? More lounge chairs?

I hang up everything (except underwear), even brought some hangers from home - so we had plenty of storage room - loved the accessible safe in the closet.

I think a buffet trying to serve so many people would have to be a little chaotic at times. But there was plenty of food - I always got a waffle immediately, but never wanted to wait in the stir-fry line, so passed on that. Coffee was not that good. I didn't care for the ice cream either - no taste - but liked the soft serve.

Our debarkation - from leaving the theater at 8:20am - we were out on the street at 8:55am - I had nothing to base this on if it was quick or not - lots of mazing lines going on. We were at the airport by 9:30 via the Celebrity bus.

We were seated in an alcove for dinner at a table for 2 by the window!!!

Everyone I could see was dressed formally - a few sports jackets. I heard that some people were in shorts and tank tops (men) - were they trying to make a point? I wish they had been asked to put on pants and a shirt.

The buffet is open for dinner - go there if you don't want to abide by Celebrity's 'suggestions'.

This cruise made me see it's truly 'different strokes for different folks'. It's all about what you make it. From what people say - it's not the same anymore - it must be because of the economy - have to get people on board even if they don't own a pair of pants.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Nice, balanced review. Enjoyed reading it.

[nadalina]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write your review, I'm glad you decided to do so.

Looking forward to sailing on an S class vessel and was happy to read how beautiful you thought the ship was.

Sorry you didn't find the dinner atmosphere as formal as you would have liked (or not formal at all), regardless of what I personally think on the subject, X is doing, and will always do, what they think pleases the majority.

 

You know, Dalitos, I'm sure you are right about Celebrity doing what they think pleases the majority regarding formal attire, but I am, frankly, confused by their intentions. Every day at 12 noon Captain Berdos would make his daily comments, and then Paul Baya, the Cruise Director, would follow with his, usually reminding everyone about any special entertainment planned for the day, etc. Without fail, on both days that formal attire was requested for the evening, he reminded everyone that it was formal night and even further asked that formal attire be worn throughout the entire evening.

 

I know this is a very sensitive topic for discussion and I truly am not trying to stir up this pot, but, if it is as you say, that X is doing what they think pleases the majority by not enforcing the requested dress attire of the evening, AND, more importantly, in my conservative estimation, at least 75-85% of the guests ignored the requests and were not dressed in formal attire anyway, then why have formal nights at all any more? Most of the women wore dresses or pantsuits they might wear to church or to a nice restaurant, and while they looked nice, it was far from formal attire or even cocktail attire. Most of the men wore sport coats and ties or just shirts & ties without coats. I saw only a few dark suits or tuxedos and dinner jackets.

 

On the first formal night, I wore a formal outfit, but to be honest, I felt so over-dressed that on the second formal night I decided not to wear my other formal outfit but chose something still dressy but clearly not formal so I would not feel so out of place. To have formal nights but to be one of only a few, comparatively speaking, to adhere to the requested dress attire is not fun or comfortable.

 

I have no problem at all with lines who want to have "smart casual, resort casual, dressy casual" (or whatever they want to call it) every night and have no formal nights at all. But to have formal nights and go to the extent that they did to try to gain adherence and then to be ignored, well, ....... I'm sure everyone gets where I'm going with all of this. There were over 3,000 guests on this ship. It really felt like only 10%, maybe, were dressed in true formal attire. I really felt uncomfortable being one of the 10% and feel Celebrity should listen to the majority of their guests and rethink their dress attire policy. At least in this regard, things had really changed in the 6 years since I had been on a Celebrity ship. I'm sure I will sail with Celebrity again in the near future as I truly do love their product but I will not take any more formal outfits with me.

 

Peggy

[Gracie115]

Don't want to get into "formal vs informal" arguement....but will say I think 10% is pretty low estimate for number of people wearing formal outfits....on our January cruise it was at least 75% if not more...can't imagine it has changed that much in a few months....

[nadalina]

Don't want to get into "formal vs informal" arguement....but will say I think 10% is pretty low estimate for number of people wearing formal outfits....on our January cruise it was at least 75% if not more...can't imagine it has changed that much in a few months....

 

Perhaps our definition of what is formal attire differs, Gracie. Not saying I'm right, but for me formal attire for women means long gown, long evening skirt/pants or cocktail dress. A black dress or pantsuit, in my opinion, is not formal attire, no matter how much one might try to dress it up with jewelry and accessories. For men, again in my opinion, formal attire can only mean dark (black, dark navy, charcoal) suits with ties, tuxedo or dinner jacket with tux trousers. Any other color suit or sport coat does not constitute formal attire to me.

 

Again, I'm not saying I am right and other definitions are wrong, just stating my opinion. But I would like to explain that my opinion is based on Celebrity's own written guidelines back when I first began cruising with them 20 years ago, and maybe that's the problem. Maybe the "definition" has changed over the ensuing years but I'm still stuck back in the old days of cruising.

 

Also, perhaps since it was in June and not January, people tended to dress less formally. So I still stand by my first estimation of 10%..... 15% max... were dressed in true formal attire.... or 300-400 people..... by MY definition.

 

It's interesting that you mentioned "formal vs informal" because when I first began cruising with Celebrity in 1990, their dress code for the week was for 2 formal nights, 3 informal nights, and 2 casual nights, but the description for informal attire was sport coat & tie for gentlemen and nice dress or pantsuit for ladies, which is exactly what most people were wearing for the formal nights last week.

 

I agree that I don't want to debate the formal vs informal vs resort casual dress codes. I'm really fine with any. In the last three years, I have been on five different cruise lines and it has been my experience that dress attire on all of them has become much more casual across the board, including on formal nights.

[Gracie115]

Perhaps our definition of what is formal attire differs, Gracie. Not saying I'm right, but for me formal attire for women means long gown, long evening skirt/pants or cocktail dress. A black dress or pantsuit, in my opinion, is not formal attire, no matter how much one might try to dress it up with jewelry and accessories. For men, again in my opinion, formal attire can only mean dark (black, dark navy, charcoal) suits with ties, tuxedo or dinner jacket with tux trousers. Any other color suit or sport coat does not constitute formal attire to me.

 

Again, I'm not saying I am right and other definitions are wrong, just stating my opinion. But I would like to explain that my opinion is based on Celebrity's own written guidelines back when I first began cruising with them 20 years ago, and maybe that's the problem. Maybe the "definition" has changed over the ensuing years but I'm still stuck back in the old days of cruising.

 

Also, perhaps since it was in June and not January, people tended to dress less formally. So I still stand by my first estimation of 10%..... 15% max... were dressed in true formal attire.... or 300-400 people..... by MY definition.

 

It's interesting that you mentioned "formal vs informal" because when I first began cruising with Celebrity in 1990, their dress code for the week was for 2 formal nights, 3 informal nights, and 2 casual nights, but the description for informal attire was sport coat & tie for gentlemen and nice dress or pantsuit for ladies, which is exactly what most people were wearing for the formal nights last week.

 

I agree that I don't want to debate the formal vs informal vs resort casual dress codes. I'm really fine with any. In the last three years, I have been on five different cruise lines and it has been my experience that dress attire on all of them has become much more casual across the board, including on formal nights.

 

 

Well I do think the "January to June" does make a difference...so hot in June....and my definition of "formal" is the same as yours...I was pleased to see so many tuxedos on our January cruise, my husband wears one and on a few Royal cruises has stuck out like a sore thumb but on the Solstice he was just one of many others. Oh well...like you I don't really care and it doesn't make a difference in OUR cruise experience, I just find it odd that someone who doesn't want to dress "formal" by whatever definition would even bother booking a cruise on a line that states they have formal nights...however I(we) are clearly becoming more and more in the minority...because like you, our cruises 10 years ago were much more formal than today's. Certainly the baggage restrictions from the airlines don't help either. I am sure when we take our Med cruise next September that we will carry far fewer "fancy" clothes than we do on a Caribbean cruise that we don't have to fly to get to.......but we will still make the effort to at least "dress up" some for those formal nights...:)

[Andy]

Hi Nadalina !

 

Thank you for your detailed, and excellent review. I agree with many of your comments, especially of Solstice's beauty, the Service, the Officers, the Hot Glass Show, the Closets, and.... the X on the Funnel. As for attire ? I'm not going anywhere near that debate !

 

Here's some insight about the X on the Funnel : When Solstice made her debut at the Shipyard, there was NO X on the Funnel. When I saw Solstice for the first time, my first thought was : "Where the heck is the X ?". Ok, maybe I didn't say heck :). Instead, Celebrity chose to put a Huge laminated X on Solstice's Hump Balconies, which clearly did not work.

 

Most of the long time Celebrity passengers (myself included) had a lot to say about this, and urged Celebrity to restore the X on the Funnel. The good news is... Celebrity listened, and for the time being, they painted an X on Solstice's Funnel. Equinox & Eclipse have a real X on their Funnels. I hope that Celebrity will install a real X on Solstice's Funnel, when she has her first Drydock.

 

While I'm not sure if it is feasible, wouldn't it be great if Celebrity can recall a piece of their History, and install the X's from Galaxy and Mercury on Silhouette and S-Class #5 respectively ? I think it would be a wonderful idea.

[flarad]

nadalina,

Thank you for posting. You brought up some things that DH and I agree on but forgot to mention. It is interesting how perspectives are different though. Having most recently cruised NCL and Princess DH and I were impressed by the numbers of people who were really dressed up for formal night. Yes, most did not meet your definition of formal but many were really dressed up, cocktail dresses, etc. I think that our culture does not require attendance at formal events as much as in the past and that people are really at a loss as to what formal means. Regardless, I thought most people we saw looked fabulous. We did eat in the specialty restaurants on formal night so perhaps our view was skewed. I also have to say we visited the Cafe once for breakfast and after that stuck to Blu. It was so peaceful in comparison. Also, after two trips to the coffee bar I decided not to return. Long lines and poor quality drinks.

[dalitos]

Hi Nadalina,

Thank you for your reply to my comments on the subject of formal. I also know this is a very sensitive subject and usually steer out of it on the board, so I will keep this answer short.

As you said on another message on this post, I think it is a matter of perception on what is considered formal. I am sure this definition has changed a lot in the last 20 years (since you mentioned you started cruising), especially for the younger people.

To some, formal (or at least formal enough for a cruise vacation) means a nice pair of pants and a very nice top, or a cocktail dress for women, and a suit (including jacket) + tie for men. To some (probably you will fall into this category), formal means a gown dress and a tux for men. I do agree on the latter as the definition for formal wear, but think a lot of people going on vacation (including me, especially but not necessarily when flying) just don't want to bother with this. I'm sorry this is not to the liking of a lot of people, and I am sorry they are no longer able to enjoy a product/atmosphere that very much suited them.

I will add to this though, that "appropriate" clothes should be worn to dinner as you would to a nice restaurant, shorts and t-shirts are just unacceptable in my opinion (yet it wouldn't ruin my vacation if someone was wearing that).

Hi Gracie,

I just want to say that X offers a product that many people enjoy, even if they don't care so much for formal. So a lot of people are booking X because they like the adult and relaxed atmosphere, the great service, the lack of tons of family/children, the non-smoking policy, etc etc etc, even if they don't like to dress up for formal night so much.

[nadalina]

Hi Nadalina !

 

Thank you for your detailed, and excellent review. I agree with many of your comments, especially of Solstice's beauty, the Service, the Officers, the Hot Glass Show, the Closets, and.... the X on the Funnel. As for attire ? I'm not going anywhere near that debate !

 

Here's some insight about the X on the Funnel : When Solstice made her debut at the Shipyard, there was NO X on the Funnel. When I saw Solstice for the first time, my first thought was : "Where the heck is the X ?". Ok, maybe I didn't say heck :). Instead, Celebrity chose to put a Huge laminated X on Solstice's Hump Balconies, which clearly did not work.

 

Most of the long time Celebrity passengers (myself included) had a lot to say about this, and urged Celebrity to restore the X on the Funnel. The good news is... Celebrity listened, and for the time being, they painted an X on Solstice's Funnel. Equinox & Eclipse have a real X on their Funnels. I hope that Celebrity will install a real X on Solstice's Funnel, when she has her first Drydock.

 

While I'm not sure if it is feasible, wouldn't it be great if Celebrity can recall a piece of their History, and install the X's from Galaxy and Mercury on Silhouette and S-Class #5 respectively ? I think it would be a wonderful idea.

 

Hi Andy. Thanks so much for the explanation about the X on the Solstice funnel. That's a great story and I, too, hope Celebrity will be able to outfit the Solstice with a "real" X upon first dry dock. And what a great idea about installing X's from previous ships on the newer ones!! I hope Celebrity is listening this time. I was on the Crystal Symphony back in January and we docked beside the old Galaxy in one of our ports, and I was surprised at how sad it made me to see her under a new name and flag. (The paint job was not very good and you could still make out the word "Galaxy" along the side.) I really love that size ship, but I have to admit that my favorite of those three Century-class vessels is still the Century..... love, love, love that dining room.

 

All the best,

Peggy

[nadalina]

Hi Nadalina,

Thank you for your reply to my comments on the subject of formal. I also know this is a very sensitive subject and usually steer out of it on the board, so I will keep this answer short.

As you said on another message on this post, I think it is a matter of perception on what is considered formal. I am sure this definition has changed a lot in the last 20 years (since you mentioned you started cruising), especially for the younger people.

To some, formal (or at least formal enough for a cruise vacation) means a nice pair of pants and a very nice top, or a cocktail dress for women, and a suit (including jacket) + tie for men. To some (probably you will fall into this category), formal means a gown dress and a tux for men. I do agree on the latter as the definition for formal wear, but think a lot of people going on vacation (including me, especially but not necessarily when flying) just don't want to bother with this. I'm sorry this is not to the liking of a lot of people, and I am sorry they are no longer able to enjoy a product/atmosphere that very much suited them.

I will add to this though, that "appropriate" clothes should be worn to dinner as you would to a nice restaurant, shorts and t-shirts are just unacceptable in my opinion (yet it wouldn't ruin my vacation if someone was wearing that).

Hi Gracie,

I just want to say that X offers a product that many people enjoy, even if they don't care so much for formal. So a lot of people are booking X because they like the adult and relaxed atmosphere, the great service, the lack of tons of family/children, the non-smoking policy, etc etc etc, even if they don't like to dress up for formal night so much.

 

Hi, again, Dalitos. I completely agree with you about everything you said. The younger people onboard looked wonderful EVERY night, not just on formal nights..... and were much more festively dressed in the evenings than the others. I love the trend of attire for the younger generation now and understand it's appeal. I'm just jealous and wish I was younger and thinner and could enjoy it myself!

 

So y'all keep booking with X. Being around younger folks keeps me young too, and even though I may not be able to dress like you do, I can certainly enjoy looking.

 

Warm regards,

Peggy

[Gracie115]

Hi Gracie,

I just want to say that X offers a product that many people enjoy, even if they don't care so much for formal. So a lot of people are booking X because they like the adult and relaxed atmosphere, the great service, the lack of tons of family/children, the non-smoking policy, etc etc etc, even if they don't like to dress up for formal night so much.

 

Oh...I'm sure you're right...X has a great product....and as I said I don't care one way or the other....I'm just happy to be on a cruise....:)

[Solstice23]

It's hard with people from all over the world and ages to get dress code right. Most people my age call it "black tie" I think this would be a better term. I do not feel a tux is needed a black tailored suit with formal silk tie etc is dressy enough! I have worn tux but formal to us now at events is a dark black suit nice cuff links and polished shoes.

 

I think they need to change the terms!!! Celebrity is now much more urban and modern and current rather then Cunard formal stuffy like

[lblk]

Thanks for your well balanced review! You mentioned that you participated in a "cabin crawl". Could you tell me how you can take part in this? Is it advertised or were you invited? We are cruising on the Solstice in November and I would love to see different types of accommodations!!

[Ma Bell]

We were on this cruise as well and agree with most of what was said. Your review was well balanced. It was interesting to us that many of the crew in supervisory positions commented in how disappointed they are with the manners of passengers and the lack of respect shown by how some of them present themselves. They seemed to think it was that they are doing these summer sailings at discounted rates.

 

It's the first time I've heard that from them.

[nadalina]

Thanks for your well balanced review! You mentioned that you participated in a "cabin crawl". Could you tell me how you can take part in this? Is it advertised or were you invited? We are cruising on the Solstice in November and I would love to see different types of accommodations!!

 

Hi lblk. There were quite a few Cruise Critic members on this May 30 sailing. One of the members offered to organize a cabin crawl whereby other CC members who had cabins in various different categories would generously allow the others to come in and view their cabins. We all met at the appointed time and place and went together as a group to view the various cabins, only spending a few minutes in each. I think we saw 6 or 7 different categories of cabins, including three suites. I was very appreciative of this opportunity, so please let me thank all of those who participated and organized the tour. It's a great way to meet other CC members AND to see the amazing suites. And it was all arranged on the Roll Call Board.

[bellybutton530]

Thanks, Peggy, for your insightful review. Having sailed many times on Vistafjord and Sagafjord I'm OLD SCHOOL on formal attire as well. It is truly sad to see that many folks don't want to dress for dinner anymore.

 

I'll dress properly for dinner every night, even if the nearby folks have on jeans, cutoffs, flip-flops, or t-shirts. THEIR lack of tact will not disrupt my birthday celebration in the least. I will simply tune them out.

 

I stopped sailing on NCL when their dining rooms turned into what looked like cafeterias.

 

This is MY opinion. It is not THE opinion; rather it is only AN opinion.

[I love my cat Licky]

I will be dress formally on formal nights. I have already bought my gowns. In fact, I have bought more gowns that there are formal nights and it's not over yet... I still have sixty-something days left. :D

 

Who knows how many gowns I will have by sail date. I have just got to stay out of the mall and especially Caché. LOL

 

Thanks everyone for the great reviews!

 

Rita

[krewzin]

 

Thanks everyone for the great reviews!

 

Rita

 

 

Thanks for having such a cool screen name.:D

[Scarletina]

What would you say the general attire was for the formal nights? I don't want to be overdressed - neither will my DH. Would you say cocktail dresses and suits? Obviously we are not going the shorts or jeans routes - I would be of the stand that this is not acceptable for formal nights.... I just don't want to be overdressed.... Makes me feel awkward.

 

Also, I have a general question about the formal nights. What nights do the formal nights occur? I am trying to make dinner reservations for some of the specialty restaurants but formal nights are some of my favorite on board and I don't want to miss these.

 

Thanks in advance for anyone that answers...

[csg0325]

What would you say the general attire was for the formal nights? I don't want to be overdressed - neither will my DH. Would you say cocktail dresses and suits? Obviously we are not going the shorts or jeans routes - I would be of the stand that this is not acceptable for formal nights.... I just don't want to be overdressed.... Makes me feel awkward.

 

Also, I have a general question about the formal nights. What nights do the formal nights occur? I am trying to make dinner reservations for some of the specialty restaurants but formal nights are some of my favorite on board and I don't want to miss these.

 

Thanks in advance for anyone that answers...

 

I would say that the majority on our cruise were cocktail dresses and suits. I wore a longer dress the first formal night and a shorter cocktail dress the second formal night.

 

On our Eastern Caribbean 7 night the formal nights were the 2nd evening and the 2nd to last evening - both were sea days. (So Monday night and Friday night).