Positive reviews of Solstice

[cruisefan2009]

Hi all, I was saddened to read the recent wave of negative reviews of the Solstice. From disembarkation to staff attitudes and cleanliness, it is really a hard pill to swallow for those of us eagerly anticipating our upcoming vacations. I appreciate the honest feedback, but wanted to hear if people in general are still happy with the boat. We are scheduled to cruise in January, and the recent posts are making me a bit nervous. Thanks!

[rumfan]

Not to worry. Unless things have really changed since last January you'll have a wonderful time on the Solstice. We've sailed on various lines and various ships for a total of 17 cruises and The Solstice was our favorite. In fact we enjoyed it so much we booked again this January. The service was awesome and the ship was beautiful! :)

[Gonzo70]

The recent reviews have been overwhelmingly positive: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=381

 

There will always be a couple people with negative experiences on any given cruise (and often they are the most vocal), but by far the vast majority have wonderful vacations on S-Class ships.

[constantcruiser]

We sailed on Solstice in September; and out of 30 cruises on every major market line, she is my all-time favorite ship. Don't worry...your cruise will be wonderful.

[Wine-O]

Hi all, I was saddened to read the recent wave of negative reviews of the Solstice. From disembarkation to staff attitudes and cleanliness, it is really a hard pill to swallow for those of us eagerly anticipating our upcoming vacations. I appreciate the honest feedback, but wanted to hear if people in general are still happy with the boat. We are scheduled to cruise in January, and the recent posts are making me a bit nervous. Thanks!

 

We did two transatlantics on Solstice and had no problems whatsoever. Some people just have their own self-fulfilling prophecies. :D

[02143]

We just got off the ship yesterday and had a wonderful time! It was our first Celebrity cruise in several years, with a couple of Royal sailings in the meantime, and appreciated the return to Celebrity service. Had the alcohol package and had no trouble at all with bar service. Ship was very clean and in good repair. We were in Blu and loved the service we got there.

 

Disembarkation was a little rough, but far from a disaster. I concur with whomever attributed it to a) Customs lacking resources and b) a large number of people taking advantage of the self-departure option. There was a bit of a line to get through Customs as part of group 5, which was not fun, but I've been in much worse.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We were on a B2B in November and had a great time. The only negatives were the pier during disembarkation (we had used pier 18 on the last 2 cruises), and dinner in Blu. We were able to return to the MDR after the 2 nights in Blu on the 2nd cruise. All of the crew was friendly and service was quick. We enjoyed most of the meals, both at the lido and in the MDR. I had one steak that was much too fatty and the server gladly replaced it with the fish entree.

 

Mary Lou

[lblk]

We were just on the Solstice w/o 11/14 and it was possibly our best cruise ever (including 13 previous cruises on Celebrity). The crew was outstanding and could not have been more friendly and helpful. The food was very good (outstanding in Tuscan Grilled and Muranos) and the ship is spectacular. I am sure you will have a great time!

[mrshark]

We are on Solstice in Feb and are not worried, will be our 2nd cruise on Solstice and are looking forward to it. Some people will complain about anything so don't worry about it and have a nice time.

[helen haywood]

We were on Solstice in October. The itinerary changed to ports we weren't interested in and we wound up never setting foot off the ship. Solstice was so beautiful and everything about our cruise on her was so wonderful that I booked two more cruises while on board and I've decided I only want to cruise Solstice Class from now on!!!

[eastoftheboston]

I'm in the middle of writing a review of the 11-28 sailing, and I had a great time. I will post it soon.

 

Also, if anyone knows how I can post a PDF on here, I also saved all of the daily Celebrity Today newsletters they put the in cabin each night for those who are interested in it.

[kth100077]

Like another poster, we just stepped off the boat yesterday and had a truly delightful time. Yes, the customs was a ridiculous nuisance, but I felt that the Solstice crew had done everything within their power to attempt to make it work well. It was pretty clear that Customs was the holdup.

 

I was predisposed to dislike cruising -- I've held off for years, fearing being trapped in a floating Marriott with nothing to do. Instead, it was beautiful, the staff was attentive, and there was far more to do than we had time or energy for. I left feeling that we could have stayed on another week and still found more to do.

 

The food was quite good. Not the best food I've ever eaten anywhere, but definitely in the top quartile. We were trying to eat healthy, and were able to cobble something together in the Oceanview cafeteria every day that was fruity/vegetabley (is that a word) so we could indulge a bit more at dinner. Being at the late dinner meant that we often had a healthful (or pseudo-healthful) snack around 6 so we wouldn't get cranky.

 

Totally enjoyed ourselves. Hard to find anything much to complain about, in our view.

[gregjm]

We did two transatlantics on Solstice and had no problems whatsoever. Some people just have their own self-fulfilling prophecies. :D

 

Seriously...that's a very judgmental statement and tends to discourage dialog. Isn't this supposed to be a place where comments are welcomed (Good or bad?)

[gregjm]

Hi all, I was saddened to read the recent wave of negative reviews of the Solstice. From disembarkation to staff attitudes and cleanliness, it is really a hard pill to swallow for those of us eagerly anticipating our upcoming vacations. I appreciate the honest feedback, but wanted to hear if people in general are still happy with the boat. We are scheduled to cruise in January, and the recent posts are making me a bit nervous. Thanks!

 

The Solstice is beautiful and I wouldn't let any negative comments make you approach your cruise with anything but the anticipation of a great experience. My recent comments on the 11/28 sailing were hopefully an aberration.

[natshala]

I've sung the praises of Solstice here many times. I took my second Solstice cruise last month. She's still my fave and I'll definitely cruise Solstice again. Loved AQ and Blu. Have a wonderful time!

[steelhead1]

Hi all, I was saddened to read the recent wave of negative reviews of the Solstice. From disembarkation to staff attitudes and cleanliness, it is really a hard pill to swallow for those of us eagerly anticipating our upcoming vacations. I appreciate the honest feedback, but wanted to hear if people in general are still happy with the boat. We are scheduled to cruise in January, and the recent posts are making me a bit nervous. Thanks!

We were on the Soltice Nov. 7th. Our 6th cruise, third with Celebrity. Solstice is a beautiful ship, The service and attitudes from the staff were excellent. The captain was the best by far of any of our cruises.He is very funny and it was great to see him in the pool volleyball game vs. passengers. Except for the pure excitement of going on our first cruise, this one on the Solstice was the best.

[szq5231]

We were on the Solstice last month and had an outstanding time. Food was great, as was the service that went along with it. Disembarkation took a little longer than expected but by no means ruined our cruise. Had followed the reviews and posts prior to sailing, eagerly anticipated a great cruise and was not disappointed!

Get ready to enjoy yourself!

[katiebeth]

DearCruiseFan2009,

 

We were on the Solstice the week of Thanksgiving and I did post a brief review on these boards. As I stated we are Elite with Celebrity and have sailed 5 European itineraries with Celebrity (since 2003) and one European with Azamara (amazing). We have also sailed twice to Alaska on the Infinity. We have always had EXCELLENT service. Obviously, we are huge fans of Celebrity.

 

If you read my original post from our latest sailing you will see that I said the ship is beautiful, the food is good to excellent, our stateroom attendant was so sweet and wonderful, and the ship is spotlessly, clean. The one noticeable difference from our other cruises was I felt the staff, in general, seemed rather unhappy and some were outwardly rude for no apparent reason. I can't say as I blame them, as I am sure working on a cruise ship can be a very very exhausting experience. This was the shortest itinerary we have sailed and I think this may have something to do with it, in terms of embarkation, disembarkation, every 7 days as opposed to 12 to 14 days. Also, I would guess that the demands on the bar staff may be greater on a 7 day Caribbean sail than a 14 European sailing.

 

All of that being said, it was still a wonderful cruise and you will have a fantastic time! The ship is beautiful and very clean and you will enjoy the food! Celebrity is a great cruise line and a step above, IMHO, other mass market lines. I was just trying to give an objective and honest review (the good and the not as good).

 

Have a great time,

 

Nancy

[Grumpy100]

We just got off the Celebrity Solstice on the 11/7/10 - 11/14/10 and it was a fantastic cruise. No complaints whatsoever.

Again I state don't go on a holiday sailing because too many people expect things to be perfect and nothing is perfect.

Avoid holiday sailings. Best crew ever. Some people you just can't please.

[jackdiamond]

We love this class, particularly the Equinox, which we will cruise again in AQ for Christmas. After that cruise, we have three more booked in the same category on the same ship. We are particularly fond of the food in Blu for breakfast and dinner and lunch in the Aqua Spa Cafe after an hour or two of pool walking and laps in the Solarium. We also enjoy relaxation in the Persian Guardians.

There are a few folks who would denigrate the cuisine on this ship, but we pay them no mind, since their excoriations are contrary to our experiences on this class and the M class prior thereto.

[Hatteras51]

I have posted before about my Solstice cruise, 11/7-11/14. It was the best ship we've ever sailed. The ship is beautiful and the crew was outstanding. Everyone was very pleasant and helpful. The food was good, and we used room service for breakfast every morning. That worked very well. Everything about this cruise was exceptional. Debarkation was very rough because there were so many ships debarking at the same time, but that had nothing to do with Solstice. That didn't take away from our wonderful Solstice experience in any way. We would love to sail on her again.

[Wings of Eagles]

This post was exactly what I needed to read! I can't wait to take my DW on our first cruise together! I do however wish I had known about the AQ class prior to booking, oh well, there's always next time!! Thanks to all the positive reviewers!