Solstice Review 12/12/10-12/19/10

[H2OH!]

A little about us:

Traveling with my 77 year old mother who has walking challenges and uses a scooter for long distances. This was my mom’s first cruise (she loved it!). I am a seasoned cruiser with many cruises on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and one cruise on Carnival. This is my first cruise on the S class ship…so excited!

Airline:

We flew SWA to FLL from MDW. It was a packed flight, not one seat open! When I asked for a drink, I said “please” and “thank you” to the flight attendant. I never gave it a second thought as I always say please and thank you. When I went to hand her my credit card to pay, she said she would be back later to collect. At the end of the flight while waiting for my mom’s scooter to be unloaded, the flight attendant said she decided that the words “please” and “thank you” were the magic words of the day and she was giving free drinks to anyone who uttered those words. She said only two passengers (myself and one other) were awarded a free drink. Pretty sad when you think this flight was full.

Scooter Info:

Mom uses the Go-Go Elite Traveler scooter, three wheeled version. We left the basket and arms at home since she does not use them on a day to day basis. There has been a lot of debate as to whether this brand of scooter fits through the door of a regular cabin…on the Solstice it does!!! It would not have fit with the arms intact but without the arms, I was able to hold the cabin door open and she easily drove through the door. No problems at all. We did not need an extension cord to plug in at night as her battery charger was long enough. We did carry the charger in our carry-on along with her medications and other important items.

This was the first time flying with her scooter so we were nervous. Mom was able to gate check the scooter at Midway and again in Fort Lauderdale on our way home. After going through security, we rode directly to the gate to fill out the gate check form and to get our pre-board passes. She rode up to the door of the aircraft and left the scooter for gate check. I labeled all removable parts, the battery, seat etc. I read some stories where staff broke the scooter since they picked the scooter up by the removable seat. To avoid this, I would tell them how to lift and how to place in lock/unlock position. To avoid any confusion or scooter problems, I filled out a form on SWA’s website called the Wheelchair/Scooter Form (see attached PDF). I placed a picture of her scooter on the form, printed several copies of the form and left it with the scooter so that staff could easily see where to lift the scooter and where not to lift. The scooter survived its trip and all was well!! Phew!

Scooter tip: On the disabled boards, it was suggested to bring shower caps and a poncho to cover the steering console in case it rained. We were unable to find a shower cap so we bought the Saran Wrap bowl covers. Thank goodness we had those covers, a poncho and large garbage bag (to cover the battery) as we were stuck in a downpour while shopping in St. Maarten. It worked perfectly…The Scooter remained dry.

wheelchairForm.pdf

[H2OH!]

Fort Lauderdale Arrival:

The weather was a beautiful and in the mid-70’s versus a chilly 15 degrees in Chicago. We used Holland Limousine service for our airport pick up instead of fighting for a cab. After receiving our luggage we called Holland and within 5 minutes, they were there to pick us up. One of the luggage porters helped us outside with all of our bags. Totally worth the $10.00 tip. Holland Limo service was great…we would use them again in a heartbeat. They were fast, dependable and helpful getting all the luggage in the car along with my mom’s scooter. So much nicer than a taxi!

Pre-Cruise:

We stayed at the Embassy Suites Fort Lauderdale on 17th street with AAA rate. Directly behind Embassy Suites are the Harbor Shops (http://theharborshops.com/) where the Publix grocery store is located. There are several other shops, cafés and restaurants in the Harbor Shop area. Outback steakhouse and CVS Pharmacy is also close by. Literally 5-8 minute walk to Harbor Shops, Outback or CVS Pharmacy.

At the Embassy Suites, we were unable to secure a room that faced the port. Bummer. There have been mixed reviews on this hotel. I must say that I was not happy with this hotel and am not sure we will stay there again pre-cruise. I have stayed in youth hostels (as a chaperone) that were much cleaner than this hotel. At first glance, the room appeared to be quite nice. The furniture appeared to be in good condition and the beds were relatively comfortable. The room however lacked a level of cleanliness. There was significant dust build up around the bottoms of the tables including hair, dust, old food. The table had old dried food on it. The bathroom needed some help but was ok for one night. When I picked the phone up to use it, it was filthy dirty. Quite disgusting. As we walked around the hotel, the cleanliness theme continued. Rugs to and from the hotel were brown/black with dirt (I am not kidding). The free breakfast is the quality of a free breakfast. The tables in the eating area again had old dried food stuck to the tables. Linda Maloney, the concierge, was not friendly or very helpful as she was quite busy playing with her iPhone.

Interestingly enough, we met up with a Cruise Critic acquaintance who also stayed at the Embassy Suites pre-cruise. During breakfast, she talked to us about how dirty her room was. In fact, in her armoire, someone else’s clothes were still in it and a dirty, used washcloth was in the bathroom. Upon bringing this to the attention of the front desk staff, they did comp her room.

Dinner Pre-Cruise:

We ate at the 15th Street Fisheries and Dockside Café on 15th street, Fort Lauderdale. The food was good but quite pricey, $ 105.00 plus tip for two. It overlooked the Lauderdale Marina and was wonderful. There was a boat show along the intercoastal waterways so we were able to look out at the Marina and see the boats decorated for the holiday season. Very festive, memorable evening. Great views with good food. I would eat there again.

Excerpt from their website:

Dining upstairs at 15th Street Fisheries is both a visual and culinary feast. Inspiring panoramas will surround you while providing the most spectacular views of the Intracoastal Waterway to be found anywhere in South Florida. Add to that the charmingly authentic old South Florida boathouse atmosphere, the attentive friendly service of our expert staff, plus the ultimate in fresh seafood and other meticulously prepared specialties, and you're set for a most memorable occasion on the waterfront. 15streetfisheries.com

Heading to the Pier and Check-in:

Again we used Holland Limo service to get to the Pier. We had a 10:45am pickup time at Embassy Suites and they were prompt as usual. The Solstice was at Terminal 25. By 11:05 am, luggage porters at the pier had our luggage in hand. My advice is to watch your luggage to ensure it gets loaded with your other bags (never had to do this before). The luggage porter handling our luggage left one of our bags behind. I asked if he was going to place it with the others and he said he would. After 5 plus minutes watching him take other bags (and tips), I grabbed our one last bag, walked it over to the cart with our other luggage and threw it on the cart myself. I am glad I did as all three bags arrived together. By 11:15 am, we were checked in and sitting upstairs waiting to get onboard. Check in was a breeze with separate lines for Elite, concierge class, suites etc. Once upstairs, the dreaded announcement came overhead…the Solstice was undergoing an inspection. As a frequent cruiser, this is the dreaded announcement we never want to hear. Celebrity did a great job keeping us informed every 15 minutes or so as to the status of the inspection. Luckily, by 12:30 pm, we were on board and eating in the Oceanview Café and enjoying the beautiful ship. We wanted to avoid big crowds in Oceanview Café so we went directly there as Cabins were not open yet. The Solstice is drop dead gorgeous!

TIP: Have your x-press pass, passport and credit card handy and your check-in will be a breeze! Also need to fill out the health questionnaire, one form per family/stateroom.

Public Health Questionnaire.pdf

[H2OH!]

Embarkation Day, Welcome Aboard, All Aboard and Muster Drill:

Once onboard we grabbed a glass of champagne. Love that touch!

The Captain was Yannis Berdos who did the noon updates with a closing tag line of “this is Captain Yannis Berdos reporting from the bridge, out.” Pretty funny. The Cruise Director was Ian; I believe he was from Australia. He did a nice job throughout the cruise.

All Aboard time was 3:15 pm, Muster Drill was at 3:45 pm with a sailaway of 4:30pm. Our muster drill was held in the Murano. Get there in plenty of time as seating is tight. If you want a chair to sit in, you need to get there early. There is a picture on the back wall that turns into a screen where a video plays. It was very difficult for many people to see the screen. I am not sure if people really know what to do in case of an emergency. I know is maritime law to have a muster drill …I know this meets the letter of the law but not sure if will be helpful in a real emergency. The back door to Murano was opened for passengers to exit instead of going through the front entrance of the restaurant but disabled people will not be able to exit that way since there is a 4-5 inch drop off to get to the deck. We waited for the crowd to thin before moving from our seats.

Tips: Get there early for a seat. For disabled people, there is a 4-5 inch drop off out the back door so you will not be able to exit that way.

Stateroom:

We were in Sky Suite 2117 which is below the Oceanview Café. I loved the cabin and the balcony with the overhang. The bed was by the bathroom with the couch by the one window. I liked the layout which provided a few great places for the scooter to sit when not in use. Plenty of storage in the cabin! The cabin was spotless. No visible signs of wear or tear in the cabin. In the cabin was the champagne and plate of fresh fruit. Mom loved the tea and treat (cookies, cakes or canapes) delivery every day at 4 pm by our butler Nito. Nito was fantastic!! He treated us like gold!

I may be crazy but I think the overhang kept our cabin nice and cool since sun could not beat down on our cabin. Loved that! The overhang did not disturb my views at all. However, while taking some pictures from our balcony, the overhang did get in the way a little, especially when I did not want to use my zoom. One day it poured rain and not one drop of rain touched our card game because of the overhang.

There has been lots of debate about the level of noise in this cabin and those under the Oceanview café. I can only speak for this cabin and what we experienced during this cruise. During the first two days, there was not much noise in the cabin from the Oceanview café, just the occasional chair noise when moving or the occasional noise from a rolling cart. For some reason, as the cruise progressed, the noise was more frequent throughout the day. It never disturbed my sleep or my afternoon nap, but was definitely there throughout the cruise on an increasing basis. In the bathroom, there was a rhythmic roar/thump at times. Almost sounded like a washing machine. The noise became white noise at times with a low roar in the background. When docked, I walked upstairs to the Oceanview café to see what was directly above our cabin. It appeared to be just a few tables so am not sure what the rhythmic noise in the bathroom was. If you are a light sleeper or sensitive to noise, do not book this cabin. I loved the location of the cabin and even with the noise above; I would book this cabin again.

Tip for disabled: there is a bathtub in the non-handicapped suites. You will not be able to life your leg high enough to get into the tub. We were quite creative with the bathing J

Dining:

This was the first time I had tried early seating in main dining room. Since was my mom’s first cruise, I wanted her to experience the traditional main dining seating. We had a large table for eight which oddly kept rotating people in from other tables. The Grand Epernay is beautiful!! Our Head waiter Franco and Asst waiter Jose were outstanding!! They were great about informing us about time changes, the upcoming ports etc. The bartender knew our drinks on the second day. They all provided outstanding, classic Celebrity experience.

Our head waiter would let my mom drive her scooter to the table and then he would drive the scooter to the front entrance of the dining room. He always brought me the scooter key after parking the scooter. He was fantastic!!

· For dinner: I had the Goat Cheese Tart, Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino, Aged Prime Rib of Beef and the Cream Puff with Praline Ice Cream-all were delicious!

· Mom had: Jumbo Shrimp, Baked French Onion, Herb Crusted Merzula and No Sugar –Warm Banana Blueberry Crepe- she said all were excellent.

Day One Menu:

Classic Dinner Appetizers:

· Chilled Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

· Escargots

· Celebrity Antipasti Platter

Classic Dinner Soups & Salads

· Baked French Onion Soup

· Creamy Lobster Bisque

· Caesar Salad

Classic Dinner Entrees

· Baked Atlantic Salmon

· Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken Breast

· Grilled New Your Strip Steak

Classic Dinner Desserts

· NY Cheesecake

· Apple Pie Ala Mode

· Crème Brulee

Jacques Van Staden

Appetizers

· Tropical Fruit Medley

· Chilled San Francisco Crab Louis

· Tender Roasted Red Beets

· Baked Farm Goat Cheese Tart

Soup and Salad

· Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino

· Angus Beef Consommé

· Chilled Gazpacho

· Belgian Endive and Arugula Salad

· Red Pepper Meeclun Salad

Entrees

· Spaghetti Carbonara

· Herb Crusted Merzula

· Grandmothers’ Style coq Au vin

· Glazed Pork Loin

· Aged Prime Rib of Beef

· Grilled vegetable Kabob

Desserts

· Crème Brulee

· Cream Puff with Praline Ice Cream

· Raspberry Cheesecake with Mango Coulis

· No Sugar –Warm Banana Blueberry Crepe

· Assortment of sherbet and ice cream

Celebrity Today Sunday 12.12.10.pdf

[cherokeesmom]

Am thoroughly enjoying your review. We are boarding in 3 weeks!

[H2OH!]

Ship Design and Other food Venues:

The layout and design are perfect and so easy for someone who uses a scooter to get around. Lots of doors open automatically. Lots of great, open space. We were told the ship was full but never felt crowded, except for the Oceanview café during high times for breakfast and lunch. The ship is gorgeous.

There are mixed reviews about The Lawn Club. I like seeing the green grass but feel more seating up there would be nice. I can hardly wait for the changes Celebrity announced on the next S class ship. Will be great.

Elevators were fast and efficient. Never really had a hard time getting an elevator that we could hop in with mom and her scooter. The elevators light up red when it hits your deck. Nice feature. Only challenge is you cannot hit the up or down button when the elevator doors are open or the doors will keep opening. Wait for the red light to go out and then re-hit the elevator buttons. Learned that one pretty quick.

Loved the stations in the oceanview café…they are great! Asian, Indian, American, Pizza, Pasta, Antipasta, Salad etc. all great. The Mast Grill has hamburgers, hot dogs, wings and fries. Food in the mast grill was just so so. Lots of pre-cooked burgers sitting in pans. Fries were cold. Celebrity could improve on this. Interestingly enough, while in Port at St. Maarten, Celebrity moved the grill inside due to environmental issue related to flies. Who knew? Pays to read Celebrity Today!

Martini bar is a lot of fun! Drinks were pretty good! Lots of action around second seating in MDR. Loved the iced bar!

We loved the Gelato. Pistachio and Hazelnut are not to be missed!! They will give you a sample from any of the Gelatos so try them all! The waffle that comes with the gelato is freshly baked and to die for.

Café Al Bacio has wonderful sweets in the morning and interesting canapés in the afternoon. The coffee and hot chocolate are good. Prices are a little high so if you are going to drink a lot of coffee, worth getting the drink package.

We ate a Murano and it was heaven!! Food was great and the service was even better!! Fantastic evening!

· I ordered the Diver Scallop Wellington style which was pure heaven. The Wild mushroom cappuccino was wonderful! For my entrée I ordered the surf and turf. Next time I will order without the Cabernet Demi-glace as it covered the taste of the filet. You could cut the filet with a butter knife. I finished with the Dark Chocolate Soufflé…It was and fluffy like a soufflé should be.

· Mom ordered the Crispy Seared Sweetbreads whish she said was fabulous. She ordered the Bouquet of missed greens as her salad. Her entrée was the Dover Sole and was deboned tableside. She finished this meal the Crepe Balon Rouge which was flambéed tableside and was fantastic!

Prices:

· We bought the DVD of our voyage which costs $ 34.95. Since it was mom’s first cruise I thought would be a nice keepsake.

· Hot chocolate at Café Bacio was $ 4.00 plus 15% gratuity

· Beer-Corona was $ 5.00 plus gratuity

· Martini’s-most are around $ 10.00 per Martini

· Can of Coke was $ 2.00

· Gelato was $ 3.00 for 1-2 scoops plus gratuity

· 11 oz Evian was $ 2.50

· Small 8oz Pellegrino was $ 2.50 and the Large Pellegrino was $ 4.00

Entertainment:

Shows were just ok. The most interesting one was Pulse and the Newlywed Game Show ( Lots of Laughs). The comedian onboard was quite funny, can’t remember his name. Antonio Salaci was ok. Did not see Karen Grainger.

Service:

I have also been reading mixed reviews about the service. I have to say, the service was truly outstanding everywhere except the Pool Bar. The bartender Eric was just rude and grumpy. Since our cabin was on deck 12, jumping out to the pool bar was easy for us. I never saw him have fun or relax. He is not a fit for the Celebrity product. Service at Murano was over the top fantastic. As noted earlier, our head waiter Franco and asst waiter José were a delight. True professionals. Nito our butler was perfect. He got to know us and served us breakfast on the balcony every morning for day two on. He was always courteous and pleasant without being obtrusive. Thank you Nito for making our cruise special. Officers were visible in the hallways and chatty on elevators.

Cruise Critic Party:

We had a great showing for our party! Met lots of great CC folks. Kitty9 never received her CC invite but I did meet up with her later on. We did a Yankee swap which was a lot of fun! I had never participated in the past so was not sure how it would go but it was great fun. Ian the CD did participate for a little while. We had some pastry, coffee and juices as was held at 10:30 on Monday 12/13.

Debarkation:

We left our stateroom around 8:15 am and went to deck seven where the earth exhibit thing was. Not crowded and plenty of room to sit and relax. Since we had a late flight, we stayed on board until 9:30 am. Since we had used the Luggage Valet Service we got to skip past the luggage collection process and right into line for customs. We were in our taxi by 10:00 am. We then went back to the harbor Shops, at breakfast at Joe’s Café. They had wonderful blueberry and banana walnut pancakes. We walked around the shops til 12-1230 and then took a Taxi to FLL airport.

If you have a later flight and meet the criteria for Luggage Valet Service, go for it. It was fantastic!! Totally worth the $ 20.00 per person charge.

[H2OH!]

Here are the menus for the speciality restaurants...enjoy.

Speciality Restaurants Solstice.pdf

[H2OH!]

Here are the mini bar prices...

Mini Bar Sky Suite.pdf

[H2OH!]

completely worth the $ 20.00 per person charge!

Luggage Valet Information.pdf

[H2OH!]

Some more info in PDF format...

Bars and Lounges Eastern Carib.pdf

Beverage Package.pdf

Eastern Caribbean Bars and Lounges.pdf

[H2OH!]

Am thoroughly enjoying your review. We are boarding in 3 weeks!

 

Lucky you!!

[H2OH!]

st. thomas and st. maarten...

St thomas.pdf

St Maarten.pdf

[squidward]

How did you convince your Mother to join you on the cruise? I am trying to convince mine to join us on Equinox in February. She has cruised in the past, but always with my father, who passed away 3 years ago. She hasn't cruised since, and maybe that's holding her back. She is also very comfortable in her routine, keeping very busy volunteering and visiting family. She is in her 70's and in good health. She is very social and loves meeting new people, so I am at a loss (and trying not to take it personally;)).

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks!:)

 

Ed

[squidward]

Meant to say. . .fantastic review, and l look forward to meeting you on Equinox in 8 weeks!:D

[stratixman]

Outstanding review. Appreciate your posting the pdf's of the meus and bars. I have a dining recommendation should you happen to be back in Fort Lauderdale staying along 17th. Southport Raw Bar. It is well within walking distance - located on Cordova about 3 blocks north of 17th. An absolute must visit for us whenever we're cruising out of Fort Lauderdale. Thanks again for the amazing, in depth writeup. We will be there Feb 4th and 5th before leaving on the Solstice Feb 6th, and it will be the only place we plan on eating.

[VikingRob]

Outstanding review. Appreciate your posting the pdf's of the meus and bars. I have a dining recommendation should you happen to be back in Fort Lauderdale staying along 17th. Southport Raw Bar. It is well within walking distance - located on Cordova about 3 blocks north of 17th. An absolute must visit for us whenever we're cruising out of Fort Lauderdale. Thanks again for the amazing, in depth writeup. We will be there Feb 4th and 5th before leaving on the Solstice Feb 6th, and it will be the only place we plan on eating.

 

I agree completely about the Southport Raw Bar, it was amazing and I thought the prices reasonable.

 

Also thanks so much for the review! We are leaving on the Solstice the coming Sunday! YAY!!

[H2OH!]

Other Beer Prices-:

$ 4.50 Beers

· Coors and Coors Light

· Budweiser

· Bud Light

· Miller Lite

$ 5.00 Beers

· Amsetl Light

· Beck’s

· Corona and Corona Light

· Heineken and Heineken Light

· Leffe Blonde

· O’Douls

· Sam Adams

· Red Stripe

$ 6.00 Beers

· Bohemia

· Grolisch

· Guinness

· Newcastle Brown Ale

· Stella Artois

· Peroni

Non-alcoholic:

· Vitamin water $ 3.50

· Pellegrino-large $ 4.00

· Arizona iced Tea $ 3.00

· Red Bull $ 5.00

[H2OH!]

Outstanding review. Appreciate your posting the pdf's of the meus and bars. I have a dining recommendation should you happen to be back in Fort Lauderdale staying along 17th. Southport Raw Bar. It is well within walking distance - located on Cordova about 3 blocks north of 17th. An absolute must visit for us whenever we're cruising out of Fort Lauderdale. Thanks again for the amazing, in depth writeup. We will be there Feb 4th and 5th before leaving on the Solstice Feb 6th, and it will be the only place we plan on eating.

 

Thank you for the compliment and your welcome!

 

I will be in FLL 8 weeks from now and will put this on the list of things to do! Thank you.

[H2OH!]

How did you convince your Mother to join you on the cruise? I am trying to convince mine to join us on Equinox in February. She has cruised in the past, but always with my father, who passed away 3 years ago. She hasn't cruised since, and maybe that's holding her back. She is also very comfortable in her routine, keeping very busy volunteering and visiting family. She is in her 70's and in good health. She is very social and loves meeting new people, so I am at a loss (and trying not to take it personally;)).

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks!:)

 

Ed

 

maybe she will feel like the third wheel with you, your partner and the baby? Oh, I have an idea...can you use the baby angle meaning she is in good enough health to enjoy a wonderful cruise with her grandchild??!! Will that do it? If not, lets talk in person 8 weeks from now!! It was just my mom and I and she loved getting all the attention!

[H2OH!]

Someone asked me a question about the gym so here it is...

 

In the gym, all of the cardio machines sync up with Polar per the folks who work in the gym. Hopefully they are right!

[H2OH!]

I will be adding the rest of the MDR menus this week...stay tuned...

[srpilo]

H2OH

Awesome, can't wait for more !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, very imformative

Srpilo

[Ma Bell]

Fantastic job! Thanks for sharing.:)

[nat9511]

Hi Amy, your review is great and makes me wish I was still on the Solstice. I enjoyed meeting you and your mother. Have a great time on your February cruise.

 

Nat

[H2OH!]

Hi Amy, your review is great and makes me wish I was still on the Solstice. I enjoyed meeting you and your mother. Have a great time on your February cruise.

 

Nat

 

Come join us in Feb on Equinox!

 

did you see I mentioned your experience at Embassy Suites??

 

It was great meeting you too! wish we could have spent more time together. My mom loved the cabin and balcony so we spent alot of time there! Now I need to get out CC picture posted!

[yayvacation!]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to write it up :) Eagerly awaiting the arrival of the MDR menus!