Random thoughts on my 10/10 cruise

[bighairtexan]

Embarkation: we arrived early (just before 11) were escorted to the Aqua Class area where we waited for maybe 20 minutes. Very painless embarkation. We proceeded to the Bistro on 5 w/ some of our fellow cruise critics (Miscreants at Sea) for lunch. Can't say enough good things about the food there. Everything, from soup to salad to paninis to crepes, was WONDERFUL.

 

ROOMS: were ready at 1-ish and luggage was there w/in the hour. Cabin 1600, AQ... very quiet and I'm a light sleeper. We had a bed by the balcony--sofa by the closet-- and at that, it was still awkward getting into the closet. I guess if the bed were by the closet you'd sit on it to get into the lower hanger area. Beds were fine. We enjoyed AQ's teas and bottled water, the showers were fine (no big deal), we didn't want the aroma reeds as Bob has asthma so we elected to forgo them. Never used the special TV channels for relaxation or yoga. I went to the Persian gardens once. Now, sitting on a comfy tile lounger that is HEATED while looking at glaciers in Alaska sounds great. In the warm Caribbean?? Not so much. There were very few (maybe 2) people in there the couple of times I looked.

Storage: there was adequate storage. Lots in the bathroom. And lots of room in the shelves over the bed but I'm 5'4" so it was awkward to reach.

Nice balcony, comfy chairs w/ separate foot rests and the table was teak and just the right height to play games or eat breakfast.

Our steward was excellent and anticipated our needs w/o our asking.

 

MUSTER: kind of crowded us into the photo gallery where we stood and tried to see various screens giving instructions. Liked not having to lug the jackets w/ us but honestly I couldn't see a thing, except other ppl's backs.

 

BLU: Since this seems for many to be THE reason for AQ, I'll give you MY opinion.

Service: The service there was BEYOND impeccable. Viorel (probably slaughtered the spelling) one of the ass't head waiters or maitre d's or whatever you want to call them, was the BEST by far out of 40+ cruises. Very charming and very engaged with the diners. He'd come by our table several times each night. Bob has a nut allergy and my gosh they went way out of their way to see to it that nothing he ate came within 2 nautical miles of a nut. Each night they'd present the next evening's menu and Bob would make his selections. If he wanted something that was prepared w/ nuts, no problem, they'd make it w/o for him. The waiters were all terrific, and we asked for Jay and Raul after the 2nd night and never had to wait more than 5 minutes or so for a table, often by the window. We had "Marjie" as our sommelier and even w/ my drink package my glass was never empty. Excellent suggestions and even more excellent service.

 

Food: I'm a foodie. I've taught cooking classes, and taken scores of classes myself. I know most people feel BLU is the main reason to go for AQ. And perhaps the service alone would make that the case. But for Bob and myself, the food was hit or miss. The appetizers were "meh" as were many of the desserts. The filet, barramundi, and lamb shanks were terrific. Steak so so, and the pumpkin gnocchi was green and didn't taste anything like pumpkin. Soups could be great to not so much. Portions were perfectly sized, and we never asked for anything from the MDR so I can't really comment on that. Food is subjective and that's my personal opinion.

 

OCEANVIEW CAFE: for a buffet I thought it was really quite good. We used it mostly at tea time or for lunch.

 

ROOM SERVICE: We had breakfast on our balcony most days. The tray came always w/in the time frame we selected (unless it came a few minutes early). Full breakfasts. mmmmmmmmmmmmm waffles and Irish oats.

The only time we tried it outside of breakfast was for late night munchies. Took about 45 min and by that time we really wanted to just go to sleep but waited up for the tray. They apologized for the wait, w/o us even mentioning anything about it.

 

BARS: Martini bar, very good and really hopping at night. Molecular bar...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. And Kelby is a real artist.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: I don't like Cirque du Soliel on land or on sea so the Solstice show was sort of lost on me, though very well executed. I did like the show featuring the Broadway show tunes. They had a late night comedian (Steve Ciesler?) who was HYSTERICAL. Also there was a show featuring a guy playing the Xylo-synth. Now I was thinking.... a xylophone player? For an entire show? He was AMAZING. High energy, a huge variety of music and let me say this is not your father's xylophone, kids. There was a large assortment of bands and solo artists scattered around the ship. So many that we didn't hear them all. The hot glass show was interesting, but after spending over an hour watching them blow and shape glass, I sure couldn't imagine doing it twice.

 

 

CASINO: I was sitting at a machine (got killed at the tables) and the casino hostess sat down and called me by name and told me they'd been tracking my play, and she handed me a packet w/a card which said Blue Chip Member and now I'm told I get discounts on cruises and free drinks in the casino in perpetuity. So USE YOUR SEA PASS (or get a Fortunes Card at the cashier) and track your play.

 

PORTS: Unfortunately, Hurricane Paula played havoc with our ports. The first port was Caymans as scheduled. But w/ 5 ships and over 7,000 pax in port we elected to chill onboard. Then everything changed. We didn't visit Costa or Play whatever, Cozumel or Roatan. Instead we were in Montego Bay, Bahamas (w/ 6 or 7 other ships) and Labadee Haiti for Royal's private beach break. Labadee was heavenly, Nassau was CROWDED and MoBay was MoBay. But it is what it is and heck we were on a cruise so no big deal. We'll see Roatan on our next cruise I guess.

 

I loved all the nooks and crannies on the ship where you could either be as social as you liked or as secluded. I feel as if there are so many places I didn't explore (too much time in the casino and Molecular bar??). I can't say enough good things about the service. The ship is just gorgeous. The food (w/ very few exceptions) was really very good to excellent. mmmmmmm waffles. mmmmmm gelato.

 

We were so pleased that while onboard, we booked a B2B on the Solstice for December 2011. OUTSIDE of hurricane season. C1 Aft. Be there or be square! :D

[perico1206]

Loved your review. Thanks for posting!

[Orator]

Thanks for your very fair review. You might want to check the SolsticeCabin Sticky to see if others have said anything about a soot problem on your future aft cabin.

[Lois R]

Thanks for the review:) Glad you had such a good time too:D

Kelby is THE MAN:D

[Lois R]

Thanks for the review:) Glad you had such a good time too:D

Kelby is THE MAN:D

[cremebrulee]

Really enjoyed your review, honest and candid! Going on Solstice 10/31 and can't wait!! Did you enjoy the room service food when it did arrive, any recommendations? Did you try the Bacio Cafe or Cellar Masters or the Spa? :) Thanks for sharing, glad you had a wonderful time!

[bighairtexan]

First of all, you are all welcome. I got so much from previous reviews (Lois and others) that I wanted to give my 2 cents worth.

Orator, THANK YOU THANK YOU for your suggestion. I had no intention prior to boarding, to book a cruise onboard, so didn't bring a copy of the cabin sticky. I've already called and changed my cabin to one that seemed NOT to have issues. I appreciate the reminder. Didn't even dawn on me.

Creme, the room service food was really wonderful. Good sandwiches, chicken soup, and the breakfasts were terrific. And I even wrote in "Orange butter" for my waffles and it was delivered (in abundance). Went to Bacio and enjoyed some specialty coffees along w/ a great creamy chocolate mousse-y cake (coffee on my drink package and free snacky things). I didn't try Cellar Masters and the couple of times I walked into it, it was VERY quiet. Didn't try the spa either. I made my BF Bob give me a massage.

Of course when he did my pedicure... well I still have polish all over my toes. LOL

Enjoy your cruise.

[cremebrulee]

Lol, I am sure he gets an "A" for effort in the pedicure dept! Didn't know about the orange butter, wow, there is so much to look forward to, thanks for answering my many ?'s! I am especially excited for Bistro 5 and the Martini and Molecular Bar! Woot!

[BroncosFan2010]

Took me a minute to realize what ship you were on! Thanks for posting the review. Hope to try the Solstice Class one day.

[bighairtexan]

Took me a minute to realize what ship you were on! Thanks for posting the review. Hope to try the Solstice Class one day.

 

Probably would have been helpful if I put the ship's name in the title. But I've always been one for a mystery. Your powers of deduction were spot on, Watson. :D

[Topaz_M]

Thank you for a great review.

 

Guess what, we will be on the same cruise in Dec 2011 - your second of the B2B :)

I'm eagerly devouring any info I can find so this was fantastic.

 

 

We have a small roll call at present if you're interested.

[stinsowm]

Great review!! Thank you and I know I can't wait to board the beautiful Solstice again on the 24th.

[raytownlady]

Thanks for the review! I'm even more excited about our upcoming cruise on the Eclispe.

[wilko987]

Great review BHT.

 

We sail AQ class on the 21st November.

 

Read lots of threads on the Solstice, with varying levels of enjoyment !

Enjoyed reading yours the most, and am now looking forward to our cruise even more!

 

Thanks.....:cool:

[Aruba76]

Thank you for the great review! We are going on Solstice on 10/31 (our first cruise ever) and are also in AQ so really enjoyed your description of Blu.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

First of all, you are all welcome. I got so much from previous reviews (Lois and others) that I wanted to give my 2 cents worth.

Orator, THANK YOU THANK YOU for your suggestion. I had no intention prior to boarding, to book a cruise onboard, so didn't bring a copy of the cabin sticky. I've already called and changed my cabin to one that seemed NOT to have issues. I appreciate the reminder. Didn't even dawn on me.

Creme, the room service food was really wonderful. Good sandwiches, chicken soup, and the breakfasts were terrific. And I even wrote in "Orange butter" for my waffles and it was delivered (in abundance). Went to Bacio and enjoyed some specialty coffees along w/ a great creamy chocolate mousse-y cake (coffee on my drink package and free snacky things). I didn't try Cellar Masters and the couple of times I walked into it, it was VERY quiet. Didn't try the spa either. I made my BF Bob give me a massage.

Of course when he did my pedicure... well I still have polish all over my toes. LOL

Enjoy your cruise.

 

OMG, you mean I can get orange butter and waffles delivered for breakfast??? Never knew that. I'm in big trouble now. :eek: The one time I wrote in chocolate croissants on the breakfast menu just to see what would happen, our breakfast didn't come and didn't come and they finally called and said they couldn't find chocolate croissants! Duh. In the Cova. So that put paid to our requesting stuff not on the CC menu.

Thanks for your great review and still love your screen name!

[bighairtexan]

Linda, Since I don't really have big hair when someone asks about my screen name I tell them BigButtTexan was already taken. LOL

 

Funny thing is I don't much like orange anything but you and several others have raved about the orange butter so i wrote it in on my AQ room service menu and got a small dish of it. Gave it a try and then I ordered it every day after. WOW! It was fantastic.

[Lew's cruise]

Great review! Thanks

 

Lew

[scf1270]

Great review! Thank you!

 

Have been planning and planning (obessive? complusive??) our shore excursions, so did twitch a bit when you mentioned getting re-routed :eek:. We have those ports in December, so should be good. But you're right, it's a cruise - enjoy!

 

Thanks again

Sara

[bighairtexan]

Sara, December is outside of normal hurricane season so you should be good (which is also why I booked a B2B on the solstice next year for December). I really wish we could have seen Roatan, but the Mexican ports aren't any better than Labadee. It was spectacularly relaxing. Kind of like the Mayachan beach break we were going to do in Mexico.... surf, sand, sun, drinks and food... oh yeah baby!

[Honeybearhollow]

Your review was great. Thank you so much for the information about Blu. I am going Aqua Class on Solstice in March and had pretty much decided against Blu after reading the menus. This cinched it for me. I'm in room 1565. Am hoping it isn't under a noisy area. These reviews are so incredibly helpful.

[fleckle]

Linda, Since I don't really have big hair when someone asks about my screen name I tell them BigButtTexan was already taken. LOL

Love your great sense of humor!

Just adding another thank you for such an informative review.

[Tiki_Man]

Great review. Glad you were able to overcome the itin change and enjoy the cruise

 

Tiki

[John73]

 

CASINO: I was sitting at a machine (got killed at the tables) and the casino hostess sat down and called me by name and told me they'd been tracking my play, and she handed me a packet w/a card which said Blue Chip Member and now I'm told I get discounts on cruises and free drinks in the casino in perpetuity. So USE YOUR SEA PASS (or get a Fortunes Card at the cashier) and track your play.

 

Nice! If you don't mind, how much were you playing? I played Blackjack and Craps for a while but never thought to get a Fortunes card. I'll remember that next month.

[bighairtexan]

On the blackjack tables or craps you have to be playing "a minimum average hand or roll of $50 or more for 2 hours a day" each day. Machines are $5/spin for at least 2 hours a day each day. I'll tell you, when I got the card, it did make me go "whooooooa I gamble too much!" LOL

You get a "permanent ID number" and a "permanent Blue Chip card" and supposedly I'm going to get a call within a couple of weeks from someone at =X= about discounted cruises. Not yet. Though there is a number on the letter w/a name I can call. But they might not be able to reach me because I'll be at my first Gamblers Anonymous meeting. LOL