Solstice Live/First-Timer Reports/Pix’s: Italy/Croatian June 7-19

[TLCOhio]

Your northern Ohio neighbor thanks you for your pictures and narratives! I hope you enjoyed your Celebrity experience (barring cold eggs for breakfast; and look forward to your review being posted.

 

Appreciate the kind comments from our NE Ohio neighbor. The room service eggs weren't cold, just luke/half warm. At the brunch buffet detailed below, we got that problem solved with a made-to-order omelet, hot out of the skilet. Later at the Oceanview Cafe, I discovered the option of having omelets made to order, HOT, there . . . and having some of the sauce used for Eggs Benedict added on top. Very tasty!!

 

Did somebody wonder if there was a big buffet lunch/brunch put on in the main dining room of the Solstice? YES!! It was on one of our sea days. These pictures were taken right around 10 am as it commenced. Warning, these pictures do not reflect the “traffic congestion” as things got rolling with all of the people moving around, staff trying to re-stock, etc. It was busy, busy at times. Lots of good food and options, too.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

This is an overview for how the whole main part of the open, central MDR was taken over by the various stations of food, ice carving, treats, etc.:

 

 

 

Here is a table with just cheese items.:

 

 

 

Here are some sushi options and a nice ice carving.:

 

 

 

In front of where the desserts were offered, there were three ice carvings.:

 

 

 

Here are some more ice carving and food treats. The "flowers" were actually carved and arranged veggies! Cool!!:

 

 

 

Here is another angle to show the overall scale of this brunch buffet . . . BEFORE, the crowds peaked up.:

 

Edited June 19, 2011 by TLCOhio

[TLCOhio]

Here are some more Solstice “life” visuals and food options from our June 7-19 cruise on the Solstice.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

There was so many dessert options at that brunch buffet that I had to take five of them to avoid showing any favoritism. Got to be fair!!:

 

 

 

Here is the view from the back of the ship as the Solstice makes a turn in the Med with islands in the background. Loved hearing the water and watching the action at sea. Except from the last night, things were very, very calm for our sailing. It was a little bumpy that last evening. Not too bad.:

 

 

 

 

We did a galley tour and here is one of the staff members displaying his fine art in carving.:

 

 

 

During the galley tour, here is what can be done with the very good bread sticks. The bread options were good on this Solstice sailing.:

 

 

 

One of the chefs here is shown doing a cooking demo during a sea day program.:

 

[gfkcruiser]

Thank you for the wonderful review with your beautiful photos and great information. We will be on the Solstice in November on a 12 day with a few different ports. This will be our second trip to the Med. The first was on the Galaxy and after reading your posts look forward to many of the things that we enjoyed on Celebrity three years ago.

 

Thank so much.

Gail

[Esprit]

More great pictures. Well done Terry

 

Can you tell me if you saw much ballroom/latin dancing going on in the evengs please?

 

Thanks

Peter

[cjcruiser27]

Terry, you did an amazing job with photos and the review, enjoyed them all! Very captivating! Thanks so much for sharing:) Going to the Med. in October:DBelated "Cheers" to your Anniversary!

[Jdell]

Terry:

 

I loved following your trip with you!! The pictures and commentary were great.

 

Do you mind if I ask what kind of camera you used? It takes amazing pictures.

 

Joy

[rachelli]

:)anyone out there traveling on solstice on aug 12? Would like to find someone to join a tour of the amalfi coast Positano and Pompeii--I have a recommended driver from a friend and am looking for others. Rachelli

[TLCOhio]

Terry: I loved following your trip with you!! The pictures and commentary were great. Do you mind if I ask what kind of camera you used? It takes amazing pictures. Joy

 

rachelli: celebrity solstice aug 12. anyone out there traveling on solstice on aug 12? Would like to find someone to join a tour of the amalfi coast Positano and Pompeii--I have a recommended driver from a friend and am looking for others. Rachelli

 

For Rachelli and others' date=' it is best to [i']go to the roll call section for your specific cruise[/i] when looking for others to join on a private tour, etc. Those roll call postings can be found at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=479

Scroll down until you find your specific cruise. Some of the roll call boards are very active, others less. Post there.

 

On camera used, it is a Nikon D3100. It's an SLR with separate lenses. I did an earlier posting during the cruise with a link to more of my detailed photo tips and ideas. The camera is important, like a paint brush for an artist, but it's what you do in framing, seeking the best/different picture angles/views, fine-tuning things on your lap-top, picking and only showing your better pictures, etc.

 

THANKS to those with questions, comments, visiting this posting, etc. Views are now over 8,600! Keep it coming. Don't be shy. More pictures from Barcelona, the Solstice to be posted in the next few days. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now at 43,942 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[excitedofharpenden]

Terry, thanks for the pictures that brought it all back. It was good to meet you, albeit briefly. You seemed to be dashing around a lot when I did see you and your pictures have confirmed to me why!

 

Some very memorable sights including a near full moon over Venice, the total eclipse of the moon on the 15th (which I spotted after dinner purely by accident) and the orange moon rising on the last formal night viewed from the Lawn Club whilst enjoying a bottle of Pouilly Fuisse. Forget Solstice, this ship should have been Eclipse;) Kotor's sail in and out was spectacular as was the view we had when anchored. See this place before it gets spoiled. The food overall and especially in the MDR was the best I can remember in a while. I gave Silk Harvest another go, not having been impressed the first time on Equinox. I loved it. The starters are better there than the main courses (which are still nice) and the cream cheese wontons delicious. We ate in Murano twice and it was excellent as usual. Service issues in Tuscan made this a less enjoyable evening.

 

Overall this was an excellent cruise with a real mix of passengers (many very nice and some just obnoxious. A slice of life).

 

Phil

Edited June 20, 2011 by excitedofharpenden

[keela1eva2]

Absolutely fantastic photo's and they bring back so many memories of the 2 cruises I have taken on the Solstice.

Have just booked for the 24th August maybe not the best of rooms given what can be said about soot on aft balconies. It was a fantastic deal on a C1 room on the Sky Deck 1206 abd 1208 2 rooms for single occupancy. offer for the over 55's!

Just wondering who the current Hotel Director is on Solstice. Damien O'Connor was both May 2010 and October 2009. He I understand has moved to the Eclipse. I would be delighted if you could give me this info.

Yes that Brunch day is the best. Nobody wants midnight buffet's any longer. Just maybe a tiny little snippet of something.

Again thak you for your excellent work.

 

Sue

[austinlw]

Your photography is absolutely stunning! Thank you for sharing.

[Us Two]

What was the name of tha Tapas place you ate at and what area?

Wonderful pics and thanks again for giving us your time, much appreciatted.:)

[Andym]

Terry, would you be so kind to explain to a beginner how to post the photos. I always end up with a little thumbnail picture.

 

We are on the Solstice July 13th, your photos have really whetted out appetite.

 

Andy

[AquariusOne]

Terry, would you be so kind to explain to a beginner how to post the photos. I always end up with a little thumbnail picture.

 

We are on the Solstice July 13th, your photos have really whetted out appetite.

 

Andy

Hi Andy,

 

Some one had previously posted the following:

 

"You have to have your picture hosted on another site like photo bucket, (Free). Once you upload the picture to that site, you get a link from that site, then go to make a post in cruise critic, click on the mountain icon with the yellow background and past the Link from the host site. The trick to it all is finding the link you need from the host site (for photo only)"

 

So Andy, once you have photo's on your laptop/computer and when uploading to Photobuket, it will ask you the location of your photos on your computer. Click on the photo you want and it will up-load your photo to Photobucket. On the Photobucket screen (right side of the screen) it gives the option to copy the "photo" address. Click on that, it has now copied the photo address. Go to CC screen and click on the Yellow icon of mountian (top) and click paste (clear if there is another address there). You can try this in the Test Area of CC Boards to get the right size of photo you want to post.

__________________

[ljk76]

Our first trip to the Med was last summer...and Terry, I feel like you brought us back! Fantastic details, and photos. I noticed your earlier cruises were on much smaller ships. Now that you've done both styles, do you have any comments? Thanks for all the time you've devoted to this project, you have lots of followers!

[TLCOhio]

Our flight from Barcelona got in early to JFK in NYC. Waiting for the flight back to Columbus, Ohio.

 

Have done lots more photo sorting, organizing, fine-tuning, etc., during that long flight to USA from Barcelona. Have lots of great pictures ready for uploading.

 

THANKS for all of the added nice comments and questions! Will follow-up with more info tomorrow after getting a little sleep tonight. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our last July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 44,000 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Edited June 20, 2011 by TLCOhio

[Lois R]

Our first trip to the Med was last summer...and Terry, I feel like you brought us back! Fantastic details, and photos. I noticed your earlier cruises were on much smaller ships. Now that you've done both styles, do you have any comments? Thanks for all the time you've devoted to this project, you have lots of followers!

 

Great question because I was thinking the exact same thing;)

I believe at the beginning of this thread he mentioned the very

small luxury lines. As I was following the posts I was wondering

how they like such a large ship (compared to those smaller ones).

Everything seems to be very postive, from what I have read:)

and the photos are fabulous too:D

Edited June 21, 2011 by Lois R

[janejane]

Hello Terry,

Your photo's and descriptions of your tours are wonderful. We will be doing the same cruise in September. Could you give me the names of the tour operators that you used at each port. You sounded very happy with them. Barcelona looked incredible we will be there for four days including the day we start the cruise and had planned on going on the jump on jump off tours did you book them ahead of time or can you just buy tickets when you get there.

Many thanks.

 

janejane

[excitedofharpenden]

Just wondering who the current Hotel Director is on Solstice. Damien O'Connor was both May 2010 and October 2009. He I understand has moved to the Eclipse.

 

Sue

Sue, the Hotel Director was Sue Richardson. I'm not sure when she joined and how long she will be on Solstice. Assistant Hotel Director was Tom (not sure of surname) who was very personable and visible on the ship.

 

Phil

[Atwell]

Greetings from your So. Ohio neighbor! Your review and photos were excellent, as usual. We are on the Eclipse on July 16 for the Baltics cruise. You pics of the Solstice give us a feel for what to expect as it will be our first cruise on this class of Celebrity ship.

 

Glad you are enjoying your new camera!

[TLCOhio]

Espirit: More great pictures. Well done Terry. Can you tell me if you saw much ballroom/latin dancing going on in the evengs please? Thanks. Peter

 

excitedofharpenden: Terry' date=' thanks for the pictures that brought it all back. It was good to meet you, albeit briefly. You seemed to be dashing around a lot when I did see you and your pictures have confirmed to me why! [b']Some very memorable sights including[/b] a near full moon over Venice, the total eclipse of the moon on the 15th (which I spotted after dinner purely by accident) and the orange moon rising on the last formal night viewed from the Lawn Club whilst enjoying a bottle of Pouilly Fuisse. Forget Solstice, this ship should have been Eclipse. Kotor's sail in and out was spectacular as was the view we had when anchored. See this place before it gets spoiled. The food overall and especially in the MDR was the best I can remember in a while. I gave Silk Harvest another go, not having been impressed the first time on Equinox. I loved it. The starters are better there than the main courses (which are still nice) and the cream cheese wontons delicious. We ate in Murano twice and it was excellent as usual. Service issues in Tuscan made this a less enjoyable evening. Overall this was an excellent cruise with a real mix of passengers (many very nice and some just obnoxious. A slice of life). Phil

 

Keela1eva2: Absolutely fantastic photo's and they bring back so many memories of the 2 cruises I have taken on the Solstice. Have just booked for the 24th August maybe not the best of rooms given what can be said about soot on aft balconies. It was a fantastic deal on a C1 room on the Sky Deck 1206 abd 1208 2 rooms for single occupancy. offer for the over 55's! Just wondering who the current Hotel Director is on Solstice. Damien O'Connor was both May 2010 and October 2009. He I understand has moved to the Eclipse. I would be delighted if you could give me this info. Yes that Brunch day is the best. Nobody wants midnight buffet's any longer. Just maybe a tiny little snippet of something. Again thak you for your excellent work. Sue

 

Us Two: What was the name of tha Tapas place you ate at and what area? Wonderful pics and thanks again for giving us your time' date=' much appreciatted. [/quote']

 

Andym: Terry' date=' would you be so kind to explain to a beginner how to post the photos. I always end up with a little thumbnail picture. We are on the Solstice July 13th, your photos have really whetted out appetite. Andy [/quote']

 

ljk76: Our first trip to the Med was last summer...and Terry' date=' I feel like you brought us back! Fantastic details, and photos. I noticed your earlier cruises were on much smaller ships. [b']Now that you've done both styles, do you have any comments?[/b] Thanks for all the time you've devoted to this project, you have lots of followers!

 

Atwell: Greetings from your So. Ohio neighbor! Your review and photos were excellent' date=' as usual. We are on the Eclipse on July 16 for the Baltics cruise. You pics of the Solstice give us a feel for what to expect as it will be our first cruise on this class of Celebrity ship. [b']Glad you are enjoying your new camera![/b]

 

While waiting for our final flight, I have tried to answer several of the above questions raised. Our flight into Columbus, just like the one to JFK arrived ahead of schedule . . . AND . . . our baggage was all here, in both airport. Credits to American Airlines!!! Plus, helped by good weather in NYC area. It is now 6:30 am Tuesday in Columbus. Got six hours rest after watching David Letterman and his Top Ten list for the first time in two weeks, plus. Lots of mail to go through, seeing our two English Labs, Roxie and Rudy, etc. We have my wife's brother and his wife coming to Columbus on Wednesday night through next Monday. Then down to Charlottesville, Va., to see our now nine-month-old grandson and celebrate my wife's birthday on July 1. Busy, busy! Plus catching up on work, etc. Here goes on some follow-up items to comments and questions . . . .

 

1. For Peter, I will post a picture shortly showing some couples dancing in the lower level of the central court near where the two glass banks of elevators are located on the fourth or Promenade Deck. That was the main area where we saw some dancing happening in the evenings and this area had a hard surface where it was best to do such dancing. They had a nice variety of different music being performed here each evening and at other times. A couple times there were some couple dancing in the pool area when they had the “Party Band” playing fun pop/rock tunes.

 

2. Phil from the UK did a super great summary on some of the key cruise highlights. We didn’t get a chance to see the total eclipse of the moon on the 15th. That orange moon was fun. We were walking the 14th level above the pool and saw it there then. Cool!!! Will post more shortly on Silk Harvest. Liked very much our experience there. Sorry, Phil, we didn’t have a chance to connect more, talk, etc., during this cruise. That's the down-side to a larger ship and such a busy, intense port schedule.

 

3. For Sue, the current Hotel Director is Sue Richardson from the UK. From a few contacts with her (and more with her Assistant, Thomas Brady from Chicago), we were very, very impressed with their skills and attention to details. Very visible and approachable. They have a four months on the ship and two months off schedule. Don’t know when Sue started her current run on the Solstice.

 

4. The Barcelona Tapas place is named Neyras that we enjoyed so much. They are in the neighborhood of Sant Pere Santa Caterina i la Ribera with an address of Laietana, 41, 08003 Barcelona, Spain and their phone is +34 933024647. You can see more detailed reviews at:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d751585-Reviews-Neyras-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

 

5. For posting larger pictures, see those exact details below. From the ship, I had huge problems being able to upload pictures through the Celebrity Internet system to Photobucket. Getting off of the ship, everything uploaded quickly and nicely, both at JFK airport and home. Clearly, the problem was with Celebrity's weak wireless and IT set-up. The staff tried and were nice, but their wireless leaves much to be desired. On past cruises, I have never had these problems. It was a very slow, tiring process to upload pictures from the ship.

 

6. On the question of larger versus smaller ships, there are pro-con factors . . . both ways. Pro factors for larger ships such as with Solstice are more/better entertainment, lower price/good value, more ship programs, options, variety, etc. The down-side is that it harder to get to know/see some of the other passengers, key staff. Smaller can be more “personal”, but that sizing has its limits too. Open seating is another factor to consider. We have been very happy with all four our cruises. Much for us has been about ports visiting and who we might be traveling with. Will discuss more later.

 

7. YES, for our Mason, Ohio, neighbor, the new camera works well. It's nice to have the larger pixel "RAW" photo size, plus using the larger photo SD for getting lots of pictures as you shoot a wide variety of pictures.

 

THANKS for the continue comments and questions! Now approaching 10,000 views. Appreciate those who have tuned-in and given feed-back. Keep it coming. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

PHOTO POSTING TIPS/PROCESS:

I use Photobucket and have been pleased with how it works, uploads, etc. Here are my notes on how to do larger pictures. Below are a couple of examples for I have posted from my earlier pictures.

 

For posting larger photos to these boards, your FIRST STEP is pick an outside web source that will store or “host” your pictures to be posted. Cruise Critic does not have the space to do larger pictures on their site. You can check such places as photobucket.com, imageshack.com, photoshow.com, flickr.com, picasa.google.com etc. I’ve used photobucket.com and have been pleased with how they upload, etc. SECOND, you need to make an export of your picture in a size such as around 1000 pixel wide by about 700 to your desktop of your computer. That’s the approximate size that I use for this purpose. If you make your file too big for posting, then it slows the process and takes long to upload, etc. THIRD, you use this outside web host to which you upload these different pictures sitting on your desktop. FOURTH, after uploading each picture, you will make a copy of that imbedded address in your file for future posting purposes. It will have have the square parentheses or bracket symbols before and after the capital letter IMG at the start and end of this location on your photo storage site.

 

Then as you want to post each different picture, you would, FIFTH STEP, copy and paste that imbedded address file for each picture as a part of your message on the CC Boards. In my files, I also have brief written description of each picture and have them grouped by the different city or country locations. With this imbedded file address, the reader on these boards doesn’t have to check on anything or paste to their web browser. It just pops up showing the picture. Does this help? Let us know how it works out and/or any added questions. It will hopefully pop up as these couple of pictures do below. You can preview your post to see if it's working OK before doing the actual post to these CC boards.

[TLCOhio]

After getting off of the Solstice, we got a cab (process worked well), went to our hotel, Onix Liceo. It is a four-star botique hotel at Nou De La Rambla, 36 Barcelona, 08001. We got a great web rate. Their website is:

http://www.hotelonixliceo.com/en

The hotel was right next to Gaudi's Palau Guell and 300 metres from Liceo Metro Station on Barcelona's Ramblas. We wanted to try this location to sample another part of Barcelona. It worked and we were very happy with the hotel, its staff, etc. This stylish hotel offers a sun terrace, lots of nice design features that blend traditional with modern art in its public spaces.

 

Barcelona Sunday night was dining out at Les Quinze Nity in the La Place Reial just off of the Rambla. Great meal and value at this place. This location is a popular square that is a social focal point especially at night. It was filled, even on a Sunday night, with Barcelonian's and tourists soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying some food or drinks at one of the restaurants or bars that surround the square. We hooked up for dinner with a charming couple from Australia who had just gotten off of the NCI Epic that was in port unloading right next to the Solstice docking location.

 

One of the highlights Sunday, in addition to lots of fun walking around in Barcelona, was Gaudi's Palau Guell. Below are some pictures and added details on Gaudi’s first major work in Barcelona. Pictures tell part of the story. You have to see it to believe his genius. It is a mansion designed for the Catalan industrial tycoon Eusebi Guell. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí".

 

The home was built 1885-90 and is centered on a main room for entertaining high society guests of the powerful and well-connected Guell. That owner was a strong supporter of Gaudi and they worked together on other major projects. These guests entered the home in horse drawn carriages through the front iron gates. Those ironworks featured a parabolic arch and intricate patterns of forged iron-work resembling seaweed and in some parts a horsewhip. Animals could be taken down a ramp and kept in the livery stable in the basement where the servants resided. Guests went up the stairs to the receiving room with ornate walls and ceilings. The main party room has a high ceiling with small holes near the top where lanterns were hung at night from the outside to give the appearance of a starlit sky. A massive restoration has just been completed and it re-opened within the past couple of months. This “home” was used in Antonioni's film The Passenger as a backdrop for the first meeting between Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider. These various interior and exterior design details are really fascinating. This website has more info in English:

http://www.gaudidesigner.com/uk/palacio-guell.html

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here is a night view of Palau Guell taken from under the glass and iron entrance to the Hotel Gaudi that is immediately across the street from this mansion. Unique angle that plays off of the designs for both places.:

 

 

 

At Palau Guell, this shot provides more details on the iron work for one of the two "gates" at the front of this mansion.:

 

 

 

This is a little sampling for the grand staircase at Palau Guell.:

 

 

 

This is the Palau Guell main dining room for the family.:

 

 

 

This is overall sampling for the central “open space” of Palau Guell. This area was used for concerts, receptions, had a chapel, etc. You can see how it rose up to the higher, decorative levels within this unique room. :

 

 

 

This is a tighter shot for some of the upper design details for this main, central area of the residence.:

 

[Esprit]

Hi Terry

 

Thanks for confirming there is some dancing to be had on board. Looking forward to seeing the picture of it.

 

Cheers

Peter

[TLCOhio]

Here are some added pictures on Palau Guell. Really unique and special!! This is not a simple, little “house”. From the basement horse stables up through all of the levels to roof, things are amazing. They have two options of audio tours in your language to see and learn more during your visit. One shorter and more basic, but all of the main details. The other much longer and more detailed. Very spectacular!!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here is the view for part of the back at Palau Guell. Everywhere you look, you see many special Gaudi design touches and details. :

 

 

 

This is the unique wood ceiling design for the visitor reception room at Palau Guell.:

 

 

 

Here are the first of two pictures from the roof of Palau Guell with the twenty different chimneys, plus the central, middle tower that provides light to the main area of the house below. Many chimneys are decorated, Gaudi-style, with broken tile shards in special, creative designs. :

 

 

 

Here is another view for two of the roof chimneys, including the view in the middle near a home TV antenna that shows part of the Famila church towers in the distant background.:

 

 

 

Here is a night view on some of the ironwork designed by Gaudi from the front of Palau Guell.:

 

Edited June 21, 2011 by TLCOhio

[TLCOhio]

Hi Terry. Thanks for confirming there is some dancing to be had on board. Looking forward to seeing the picture of it. Cheers. Peter

 

THANKS, Peter, for the follow-up, questions, comments, etc.! Here is a little more on ship's music, etc. We loved the Solstice Orchestra, their leader, Jeff, and, ALL that they did. They were all very, very good. Keep those excellent questions rolling along. Very helpful. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here’s a example for some of the “swinging”action to band on the 4th floor, central court area near by main glass elevator bank. There were not large numbers dancing, but those that did, had fun and we enjoyed the "show"!:

 

 

 

I liked to ride one of the eight glass elevators in the mid-ship courtyard with nice views out to the different floors, enjoying the ship architecture, people being active, etc.:

 

 

 

This is the lead singer of the “Cheek to Cheek” group that specialized in some jazz, big band and “songbook” pieces. Here, they are playing in the evening in that 4th floor central court area.: