LONG Solstice Review - E. Carib 2/26 (Lots of Photos)

[CactusGirly]

Do you remember how much a rum and coke was?? would i be able to grab a drink with just the classic package and not the premium?

 

Nice review by the way....very informative

 

I'm sorry, I don't - but I am sure you could find it in the drink prices on this thread somewhere. It was likely under $10. The martinis were $10-12, so I would imagine a rum & coke would be less unless you specified a particularly high-end rum.

 

And thanks for the kind words!

[CactusGirly]

Did you find the pole in the middle of the suite intrusive at all?

 

Not at all. Because of where it is situated, it wasn't in a "traffic flow" area where you would naturally be walking. I slept on that side of the bed, and got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and never even came close to the pole. They really did put it in a good spot.

[CactusGirly]

Just as an alternate opinion -- I've been on Solstice 3x and will go again this weekend.

clearly, I love the ship. But, as to restaurants, I liked Murano the least. I found it dark and sort of snooty. I thought the food was good but the servers were clearly more interested in the parties that opted for the high-end dinner (more $$ than the regular diner) and the expensive wines. We like Silk and Tuscan grille much more....

 

We did hear that from so many people before we sailed. I truly think it depends on when you go, who's working that night, what you order, and what your preferences are. So many vairables.

 

We loved Silk Harvest too (especially the Duck... did I mention that :p?) and found it to be a very relaxing and fun evening both times we ate there.

 

Murano is definitely more formal than Silk Harvest, but I found it to be no more formal than Tuscan. The servers gave the same level of attention. We ordered the "a la carte" items (included in the per person charge) vs. the more expensive menu with the wine pairings and found that we received just as much attention as other tables around us. I will say though that the restaurant was not even 1/2 full when we were there, so perhaps that makes a difference too.

[Decebal]

Packing & Valet Luggage Service:

Earlier in the cruise we had stopped by Guest Relations and got the forms for the Valet Luggage Service. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS!!!! It is $20 per person, and will be the best $20 you spend on the cruise. You have to turn in the forms by noon on Friday (I think). We just had to fill it out & give a copy of our flight itinerary to Guest Relations. Then, when you come back to your cabin on the last night your boarding passes are waiting for you on your bed! You put your luggage out as normal by 10pm, and the next day you disembark whenever you please, (they will give you a letter with a time, but you can stay up until last call), and sashay right through the line out to customs. While everyone else is struggling with their luggage, yours is already on it’s way to the airport my friend, and you will not see it until you land once you get to your final destination. :D We were the envy of everyone in line around us, who were all asking “why didn’t we do that?!”.

 

Thank you for the wonderful reviews and photos.

The valet service you mentioned caught my eye. $20 per person not per bag? That is a bargain, if they ship the luggage directly to the aiport and they have the boarding passes printed for you. Amazing that more people are not taking advantage.

[dodger1964]

Thank you for the wonderful reviews and photos.

 

The valet service you mentioned caught my eye. $20 per person not per bag? That is a bargain, if they ship the luggage directly to the aiport and they have the boarding passes printed for you. Amazing that more people are not taking advantage.

 

 

We only had carry-on luggage so wouldn't have used this service...BUT...I don't remember ever seeing anything about this on ship. There is soooooo much information given our during the cruise that maybe I just glossed over it. We checked "carry off luggage" on the disembarkation form...so maybe they only give the paperwork to those who return those forms with flight information??

 

I wonder how it works for "payment"...if you have to pay the airline for checked luggage how would they know?

[cpinstein]

Loved your review. We leave for the Eclipse tomorrow. So excited. By the way heard on NPR yesterday that some drunk passenger dropped anchor on Holland America and has been sentenced to 4 months. Said it really rattled the ship. Perhaps that was the incident on HAL you mentioned

[Chris's girl]

Thank you SO much. We leave April 1st. So excited!

[Coolcruise02]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share with us. :)

[Jen & Kim]

Loved your review. We leave for the Eclipse tomorrow. So excited. By the way heard on NPR yesterday that some drunk passenger dropped anchor on Holland America and has been sentenced to 4 months. Said it really rattled the ship. Perhaps that was the incident on HAL you mentioned

 

I ran into someone in the airport that was on the HAL cruise. She said a passenger got sick and had to be taken back to Grand Turk to be flown to Florida.

[Jen & Kim]

This was a great review CactusGirly! It was almost like being back on the ship.

[dimiegirl]

What an awesome review of the solstice! Cant wait for our cruise!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to put together such a top quality review! :):)

[CactusGirly]

This was a great review CactusGirly! It was almost like being back on the ship.

 

Thanks! We had so much fun with you guys on St. John! Wonderful memories!

[CactusGirly]

We only had carry-on luggage so wouldn't have used this service...BUT...I don't remember ever seeing anything about this on ship. There is soooooo much information given our during the cruise that maybe I just glossed over it. We checked "carry off luggage" on the disembarkation form...so maybe they only give the paperwork to those who return those forms with flight information??

 

I wonder how it works for "payment"...if you have to pay the airline for checked luggage how would they know?

 

We read about it in a flyer that was in our cabin, I believe. We had to go to Guest Relations to ask for the forms.

 

It was $20 per person. And I am not sure how additional baggage fees would be handled. We were flying SW, so our bags flew free. We did make sure they were under the 50lb limit - not sure what would have happened if they were over.

[CactusGirly]

Loved your review. We leave for the Eclipse tomorrow. So excited. By the way heard on NPR yesterday that some drunk passenger dropped anchor on Holland America and has been sentenced to 4 months. Said it really rattled the ship. Perhaps that was the incident on HAL you mentioned

 

Thank you and to you, Chris's girl, dimiegir ~ I wish you all a wonderful cruise!

[morashid]

Thank you so much! I thought about taking food pics, but only seemed to remember to do it a few times... maybe it was the drink package. ;)

 

Enjoy your cruise aboard the Solstice (have a Miami Vice at the Sunset Bar for me)!

LOL. Looks like you guys had a blast. Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay are 2 of my favorite places in the Caribbean.

 

Couple more questions... When you dined at the Tuscan Grill, were there any kids dining? I believe Murano is NO kids. We have a couple young boys 8,3. They are well behaved and have eaten at many upscale places. Also in regards to the specialty restaurants, did they have any buy one get one free specials?

[packyourpixiedust]

We are also leaving in 18 days!!! We have reservations at Tuscan as well. What part of the meal was not up to par?. We are in Aqua and will only do one specialty dinner. Should we upgrade to Murano?

 

We were on Solstice a few weeks before (and actually stayed int he same cabin :)) But we LOVED Tuscan!!! Loved it! We ate steak, and they were great. And I greatly enjoyed the appetizer spread served at the beginning of the meal. I am returning on the Solstice for an unexpected Med cruise at the end of April and hope to return to the Tuscan. Sadly, we will not be staying in the sky suite this time.

[tispwisp]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an awesome detailed review! Makes me even more excited (wait is that even possible???:D) for our Solstice B2B cruises on March 25! Thank you! Thank you!

[Cupcrazy]

Great review! Thanks so much for posting. Like you, I like long detailed photo reviews. This one was great!

[CactusGirly]

LOL. Looks like you guys had a blast. Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay are 2 of my favorite places in the Caribbean.

 

Couple more questions... When you dined at the Tuscan Grill, were there any kids dining? I believe Murano is NO kids. We have a couple young boys 8,3. They are well behaved and have eaten at many upscale places. Also in regards to the specialty restaurants, did they have any buy one get one free specials?

 

We actually only saw 3 or 4 kids the entire time we were on the ship... they were scarce on this particular sailing I guess. I did not see any in any restaurant, except one baby in the MDR.

 

The specialty restaurants had a 20% off special going on, but I don't remember a buy one get one special.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Your kids will love the lawn!

[happyluna]

My husband and I are leaving Sunday on this cruise too! Love the detail and pictures I am even more excited! Monday is our 1 year anniversary!!

[sheffer]

Thank you so much for the fab review and photos. We appreciate your time and efforts. Love the SS. We are in AC April 1 and ready to go!

[happyluna]

When you get the drink package you can choose how many days or pick day?

[LMZinSC]

No. When you purchase the drink package it is for the entire sailing.

[CactusGirly]

My husband and I are leaving Sunday on this cruise too! Love the detail and pictures I am even more excited! Monday is our 1 year anniversary!!

 

Have a great cruise & happy anniversary!

[CactusGirly]

When you get the drink package you can choose how many days or pick day?

 

The package is for the entire cruise. However, you can wait and purchase the drink package a few days into the cruise if you want - then the price will be prorated for the rest of the cruise. That might be worthwhile if the first few days were really port intesive, and then you had several sea days. :)