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Solstice Jan 2-Jan 9 review

VikingRob

By VikingRob,
in Celebrity Cruises

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VikingRob

VikingRob

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Embarkation: We arrived at the port between 11-11:30. We were dropped off by the taxi right where you drop the bags off. We left our bags and preceded to walk right in and only waited a couple of minutes, got our room keys and preceded on board. The whole process probably took only 15 minutes. We walked around the ship for a bit. Stopped at the pool bar for our second cocktail (the first was the glass of sparkling wine we got when we boarded). Went to the aquaspa café for a bite to eat and rested in the Solarium until the all clear was given to go to your rooms. We had a C2 number 2112. It was a great room with a really nice balcony. The location is also great, easy access to the pools and the buffet.

Dining- We really enjoyed the main dining room. Our waiter Harvey was the best and always had good recommendations for dinner. There was a really nice variety and we were always pleased with our choices. We also tried Murano and Tuscan Grill, both were fantastic! If we had to choose one though it would be Murano, they totally exceeded our expectations! The buffet for lunch and breakfast was also very good. We really liked the setup in the buffet, you never felt like it was too crowded, and for the most part you never had to wait in a line.

Drinks- We both purchased the premium alcohol package. It was well worth it for us. We used it for sodas, bottled water, lattes, wine, before and after dinner cocktails, and a drink by the pool. It was very easy to use and we did not feel we were treated any different than anybody else. At dinner our wine glass was always full, in the MDR and the specialty restaurants. We truly enjoyed the Molecular Bar and Ricardo the bartender (or should a say artist, because the drinks were a work of art). It was a show in itself watching him make the drinks.

Shows- We did not go to any of the shows so I cannot comment on them.

Ports- San Juan- we did a walking tour, on our own, to the two forts. It was very easy to do and we could do it our own pace, which is usually faster than the normal tour pace.

St Thomas- We did a tour through the ship, a ½ day catamaran and snorkel to St John. We have done this tour before and really had a good time. It is a lot of fun.

St Marten- We got off the ship right away and took a taxi to Orient Beach, had a great day! We also had a great Lobster and Shrimp pizza for lunch!

Casino- We like to gamble, we just hate to lose!! We did not play many table games because the minimums were $10, we prefer the $5 tables. This is one thing that they should change, at least when the casino is not busy. There were always open seats. As for the slots there were a lot to choose from, we had a few that we preferred to play and actually ended up winning! That does not happen very often for us! We actually took more money home than we came on the ship with and that never happens!!

We spent also spent a lot of time in the Solarium pool area. We never had a problem getting a chair. It is a very nice place to read and of course nap! Another unique place to hang out is on the lawn! Crazy as it may sound there is a lawn and we spent some time up there playing bocce ball. It was a blast!

Disembarkation- Went very smoothly. We checked our baggage and were given green 10 luggage tags and told to go to the MDR at 8:15. We left there about 8:20 and we were to the airport by 9:15.

The only bad thing that I can say about the cruise is that it is over. The staff was for the most part really friendly and they went above and beyond! We had so much fun that we booked our cruise for next Jan while on board! We also met some of the most amazing people through cruise critic. Most of which I hope to remain friends with! I suggest if you have not yet signed up for your ship’s roll call, do it now!!

If you have any questions please ask, I will do my best to answer them!:D

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VikingRob

VikingRob

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Would love to know where you had the pizza at Orient beach - we'll be on the Solstice in March - love Orient Beach! Thanks.

 

vicky

 

It is called Orange Fever, it is just up the beach from the south end. They had chairs with cushions and unbrellas for $7 each including a drink. The rum punch was very good! Food and drink prices were very reasonable.

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daveb82

daveb82

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Totally agree with your assessment of casino tables. Most of the time the $10 table (blackjack) was two deep of people waiting to play, while the $25, $50 and $100 tables were completely empty. This went on for hours.

 

We asked the pit boss if he could open up some more lower minimum tables, even temporarily until the high rollers came in, but he always said "no". This was definitely a missed opportunity for the casino...

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Miss SeaBee

Miss SeaBee

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Thanks for your review! I am getting very excited about our April Solstice cruise! Glad to hear that you had no problems finding loungers in the solarium. I think I will probably spend a lot of my time there. It sounds wonderfully relaxing, and I have fair skin, so I can't lie around in the sun, anyway. Thank you again for taking the time to post.

Suzanne

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VikingRob

VikingRob

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Rob,

We are on the same trip in Feb. How long and how much (return) is the taxi to Orient Beach? And I guess how reliable for a return on time?

Cheers, Don

 

The price varies by driver and how many passengers. We paid $7 per passenger there and $6 per passenger home. We requested to be dropped off in the shoping area on the return so that may have been the difference. It took less than 30 minutes to get there and and the same back. We left the beach around 2:30 and there were many taxis waiting to take people where they wanted to go. You will have a great trip!

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Cheers4cb

Cheers4cb

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Never been to Orient Beach but plan on taking a taxi there on our upcoming trip. Is Orange Fever near the nude end or the "prude" end of the beach? Also, can anyone recommend a place for jet skis? That is the one request my teen has made for his first cruise.

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vickykay Great Review Rare

vickykay

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Dear VikingRob - Trying to decide on which night to do a speciality restaurant. Was there a night that you felt the MDR menu was the weakest?

 

Also, was it difficult to get a cab to the airport from the port?

 

Thanks,

 

Vicky

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Gram54

Gram54

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Embarkation: We arrived at the port between 11-11:30. We were dropped off by the taxi right where you drop the bags off. We left our bags and preceded to walk right in and only waited a couple of minutes, got our room keys and preceded on board. The whole process probably took only 15 minutes. We walked around the ship for a bit. Stopped at the pool bar for our second cocktail (the first was the glass of sparkling wine we got when we boarded). Went to the aquaspa café for a bite to eat and rested in the Solarium until the all clear was given to go to your rooms. We had a C2 number 2112. It was a great room with a really nice balcony. The location is also great, easy access to the pools and the buffet.

Dining- We really enjoyed the main dining room. Our waiter Harvey was the best and always had good recommendations for dinner. There was a really nice variety and we were always pleased with our choices. We also tried Murano and Tuscan Grill, both were fantastic! If we had to choose one though it would be Murano, they totally exceeded our expectations! The buffet for lunch and breakfast was also very good. We really liked the setup in the buffet, you never felt like it was too crowded, and for the most part you never had to wait in a line.

Drinks- We both purchased the premium alcohol package. It was well worth it for us. We used it for sodas, bottled water, lattes, wine, before and after dinner cocktails, and a drink by the pool. It was very easy to use and we did not feel we were treated any different than anybody else. At dinner our wine glass was always full, in the MDR and the specialty restaurants. We truly enjoyed the Molecular Bar and Ricardo the bartender (or should a say artist, because the drinks were a work of art). It was a show in itself watching him make the drinks.

Shows- We did not go to any of the shows so I cannot comment on them.

Ports- San Juan- we did a walking tour, on our own, to the two forts. It was very easy to do and we could do it our own pace, which is usually faster than the normal tour pace.

St Thomas- We did a tour through the ship, a ½ day catamaran and snorkel to St John. We have done this tour before and really had a good time. It is a lot of fun.

St Marten- We got off the ship right away and took a taxi to Orient Beach, had a great day! We also had a great Lobster and Shrimp pizza for lunch!

Casino- We like to gamble, we just hate to lose!! We did not play many table games because the minimums were $10, we prefer the $5 tables. This is one thing that they should change, at least when the casino is not busy. There were always open seats. As for the slots there were a lot to choose from, we had a few that we preferred to play and actually ended up winning! That does not happen very often for us! We actually took more money home than we came on the ship with and that never happens!!

We spent also spent a lot of time in the Solarium pool area. We never had a problem getting a chair. It is a very nice place to read and of course nap! Another unique place to hang out is on the lawn! Crazy as it may sound there is a lawn and we spent some time up there playing bocce ball. It was a blast!

Disembarkation- Went very smoothly. We checked our baggage and were given green 10 luggage tags and told to go to the MDR at 8:15. We left there about 8:20 and we were to the airport by 9:15.

The only bad thing that I can say about the cruise is that it is over. The staff was for the most part really friendly and they went above and beyond! We had so much fun that we booked our cruise for next Jan while on board! We also met some of the most amazing people through cruise critic. Most of which I hope to remain friends with! I suggest if you have not yet signed up for your ship’s roll call, do it now!!

If you have any questions please ask, I will do my best to answer them!:D

 

Can you use the Premium or Classic package in the Molecular bar?

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VikingRob

VikingRob

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Dear VikingRob - Trying to decide on which night to do a speciality restaurant. Was there a night that you felt the MDR menu was the weakest?

 

Also, was it difficult to get a cab to the airport from the port?

 

Thanks,

 

Vicky

 

We actually booked Murano before the cruise so we chose the night we were in San Juan (Tues, day 3) only because we felt if any night would not be great it would be the one with fewer people on board. We did not really even check what the menu was that night. We did choose Tuscan on Thursday (day 5)night, because nothing on the menu completely stood out to us, but I don't remember what the choices were.

 

Easy, you just have to walk a little way to the taxi stands, there is signage and also plenty of people to ask if you are not sure, and there were taxi's there and waiting!

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VikingRob

VikingRob

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Can you use the Premium or Classic package in the Molecular bar?

 

The drinks in the Molecular bar are all $12, so you would have to have the premium package. We tried almost all of them, so glad we did it was a great experience and Ricardo is the best!

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