LIVE - Solstice Transatlantic April 15-29

[aquaseeker]

Roy,

I knew by your narrative that your posts were going to be interesting & informative. I had not heard about blount before. That looks like like a different & fun way to cruise. I can't wait for your report from the blount cruise as well.

Thank you for posting the snap of yourself & make sure you have your fellow cruisers snap more of you during your adventures.

[rafinmd]

I arrived at the terminal about 12:00, 10 minutes for security and another 10 for registration. After lunch I watched the Westerdam prepare for drydock and sail away. I got into my room just as it was pulling away from the dock.

 

Roy

[fishywood]

Greetings Roy! I noticed that you were down here just in time to say bon voyage. Thankfully the weather for your sailaway today is much better than the last two days.

 

I am eager to see your impression of your first Celebrity cruise. Since we met last August on QM2 I have taken another Cunard TA on QV, and then came my first Celebrity cruise Around The Horn on Infinity in February. Maybe you shouldn't read my review or my other posts on this board so as not to color your opinion. I certainly hope you don't perceive as big a gulf in quality between Celebrity and other premium lines than I did. (Think of the gap between Cunard and the other luxury lines you have sailed and multiply that twentfyold--oops, I may have said too much!)

 

Anyway, its all relative--a lesser day at sea is still a worthwhile one overall. Enjoy it all!

 

Charles

[twosit]

I just happened to click on the webcam and watched the Solstice heading out! Have a great trip!

[rafinmd]

I've tried posting the activities and menus to the blog, but am not sure how well they'll come out.

 

I woke again about 7 with all 5 of today's cruise ships already docked. The ankle was significantly better. I wore the brace most of the day, removing it about 3PM, and had only a few twinges.

 

I walked out onto the 17th street bridge about 10 for my first in-person view of the Solstice, and finished packing and checked out of the hotel about 11:30. My shuttle got me to the pier at noon, and after 10 minutes security and another 10 registration I was on board at 12:20, We were docked stern to stern with HAL's Westerdam, and I watched from the Oceanview Cafe as containers were loaded on her in preparation for her drydock. The announcement came that rooms were ready at 1:45, and as I checked out my veranda Westerdam was edging away from the pier. I went out on deck to watch her sail away empty and then down to the terminal to use the last of the free wifi. When I returned at 3, my bags were outside my door, and I was mostly unpacked by the lifeboat drill at 4:15.

 

Muster on Solstice is in public lounges; my station was the Tuscan Grill. Life jackets were not required, there was a video safety message, and the exit from the muster station was very clearly marked. The drill went very well with one exception. It took me about 15 minutes to reach the muster station because the stairways were crowded and the pace down the stairs was a crawl. With 2800+ passengers, Solstice has only 2 staircases and it seemed to really impede traffic. QM2 with 200 fewer passengers has twice the stair capacity, HAL R class ships with about half the passengers have 3 comparable staircases, and Crystal with only about 1000 passengers also has 3. The stairs must pass some kind of safety muster but they just didn't feel right to me.

 

As the drill ended we were pulling away from the pier, and I watched us go out the channel from my veranda, then went up to the Oceanview bar for the Cruise Critic sailaway gettogether. We have a large number of Cruise Critic members on this voyage with a very lively getaway session.

 

I am dining in Blu, an intimate specialty restaurant. I went in about 5:45 and enjoyed quite prompt service and an excellent fillet mignon. I had just time to sign up for an internet account before the 7PM welcome show in the Celebrity Theater. The current Captain is Yannis Berdos, the Hotel Director Nina Hautaniemi, and the Cruise Director Esperanza Gambroudes. The show included a comedian, the singers and dancers with a cast of 12 who each seemed to contribute to both the singing and the dancing. For me, the best of the acts were the Neptunes, the acapella group. We lose an hour this evening as we sail eastward making for a short night.

 

Today's parting shot: There are many kinds of adventure. For me, the adventure of learning a new cruise line culture is just beginning. Whatever happens for the next 14 days, it will be interesting.

 

Roy

[ImpulsivePuppy]

Bon Voyage! And thanks again for taking the time out of your vacation to post for us envious readers! Btw, on The Solstice I remember thinking the same thing about there only being two stairway thoroughfares. However, the muster drill was the only time I ever found the crowd congestion you experienced today. Other than that the traffic flow through out the ship was smooth and sparse. I am glad your ankle is feeling better. Oh, make sure you go to the Molecular Bar, the drinks there are unreal.

[gentlemancruiser]

Have a wonderful voyage. We just left the Solstice yesterday and we were not disappointed to be leaving, your comment about the crowded stairways was right on. I'm sure you'll enjoy Captian Yannis - OUT.

[rubens]

Roy, many thanks for the menus photos, but I'm afraid they are not clear enough to read

[Dunmore2]

I was able to read them on my iPad, and my computer.

[drarill]

Roy:

I'm loving your review!! Hope you have a great cruise!! :)

[rafinmd]

Posted by: BEAV

On: April 15th, 2012 11:16 AM

 

-

"Will certainly try, Roy! We are leaving this coming Friday aboard Celebrity Century to Hawaii for 15 days, so I guess we're all in traveling mode!

 

Have a wonderful, safe and fun crossing.

************

@thebeav"

 

Beav, Bon Voyage on your Century cruise.

 

Posted by: aquaseeker

On: April 15th, 2012 01:04 PM

 

Roy,

"I knew by your narrative that your posts were going to be interesting & informative. I had not heard about blount before. That looks like like a different & fun way to cruise. I can't wait for your report from the blount cruise as well.

Thank you for posting the snap of yourself & make sure you have your fellow cruisers snap more of you during your adventures."

 

Aquaseeker, my last time on Blount was in October and I posted my trip reports for that at http://yulcircle.wordpress.com. I also did a thread on cruise critic on the Crystal forum; I don’t have a link to it right now. When I leave for New England, I’ll probably post on the “Other Cruise Lines” forum.

 

Posted by: fishywood

On: April 15th, 2012 03:13 PM

 

"Greetings Roy! I noticed that you were down here just in time to say bon voyage. Thankfully the weather for your sailaway today is much better than the last two days.

 

I am eager to see your impression of your first Celebrity cruise. Since we met last August on QM2 I have taken another Cunard TA on QV, and then came my first Celebrity cruise Around The Horn on Infinity in February. Maybe you shouldn't read my review or my other posts on this board so as not to color your opinion. I certainly hope you don't perceive as big a gulf in quality between Celebrity and other premium lines than I did. (Think of the gap between Cunard and the other luxury lines you have sailed and multiply that twentfyold--oops, I may have said too much!)

 

Anyway, its all relative--a lesser day at sea is still a worthwhile one overall. Enjoy it all!

 

Charles"

 

Good to hear from you Charles. Fortunately, with satellite internet I won’t be looking for your other posts until I get home. FWIW, I don’t see Cunard as a luxury line. I reserve the term mass market for RCI, NCL, and Carnival. There’s no set line of demarkation between mass market and mainstream but I see the most likely mark of mass market as repetitive itineraries. I see Cunard as one of the better mainstream lines.

 

Posted by: ImpulsivePuppy

On: April 15th, 2012 09:50 PM

 

Bon Voyage! And thanks again for taking the time out of your vacation to post for us envious readers! Btw, on The Solstice I remember thinking the same thing about there only being two stairway thoroughfares. However, the muster drill was the only time I ever found the crowd congestion you experienced today. Other than that the traffic flow through out the ship was smooth and sparse. I am glad your ankle is feeling better. Oh, make sure you go to the Molecular Bar, the drinks there are unreal.

 

I agree that the stairs are not normally crowded but a muster activity is when I really want them to be free flowing. As I understand it, in a real emergency some normally “crew only” stairways would be available for use. That will help but I can’t really judge since we haven’t practiced with them. I also wondered what those 2 staircases would be like if we had an emergency in rough seas.

 

The ship has wifi, but I am not using it. There is an ethernet jack at my desk and I'm connected to the ship's network by a cable. Satellite internet is still slow, but I think the hard wired connection is a nice touch and both faster and more secure than wifi.

 

I woke about 6 and was up for 12 laps (1.5 mi) ending about 7:30, with the ankle holding up well. Sunrise was about 7:40, and there was just enough of a break in the clouds to allow a small slice of sunrise. At breakfast in Blu I was greeted by name both by the Maitre d' and by my dinner waiter John.

 

We had our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet, a very large affair, at 11 in the Sky Observation Lounge. Esperanza and about 5 other senior officers were present, and plans were finalized for out luncheon, our cabin crawl, and the murder mystery night. Apparently a recent issue has caused a change in Celebrity policy and M&G organizers are not generally permitted use of the microphones at these events but Esperanza made an exception for Raptor Bill and our other event leaders.

 

There were 2 Celebrity Life speakers today. Smithsonian Journeys speaker Marc Kaufman spoke at 11:30 on "Is there life beyond earth", covering the unexpected places on earth (hot, cold, desert) where life is found and exploring the possibility that there could be life elsewhere in the universe. Kaufman is a science writer for the Washington Post. At 1:00 Beyond the Podium presenter Steve Javie talked about his journey from an aspiring major league baseball player to becoming a 25-year NBA referee. I think his lesson was follow your dreams but be prepared for a fork in the road. At noon, Captain Berdos told us we were about 120 miles past the nearest land. It is cooler at sea with a temperature of about 60F, and a light motion to the ship.

 

The Neptunes performed mid-afternoon in the foyer. Their closing number was "When I'm 64". It was great music in the Barbershop Quartet style but also a reminder that 64 is now just a fond memory.

 

The formal night dinner in Blu was wonderful as expected. I enjoyed a salad entree. After dinner we had the Captain's welcome toast and the Stars of Solstice - The Show, a combination of aerial acts, acrobatics, and dancing.

 

Today's parting shot comes from the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle. It is wonderful that Celebrity hosts these events for us and a shame that the actions of a few have apparently caused them to restrict our access to the microphones. A party is never an appropriate venue to start a public gripe session or to organize events which directly compete with products offered by the hosts.

 

Roy

[catkoe1]

Where are Ray's menus posted? I couldn't find them on anything in "Live-Solstice Transatlantic". So I think they might be at another link somewhere. I would like to see menus. Thanks!

 

See you all next week. I like that tone!

[kazu]

Beav and Jacqui, will you give me a heads up if there's anything I need to know about on the Crystal or HAL boards?

 

I took a walk on the bridge this morning and got my first view of the Solstice. I've seen a number of Celebrity ships in person in my travels but I'm pretty sure this isn't one of them.

 

I believe also this is the largest ship I'll have sailed, at least in passenger capacity. QM2 is about another 30,000 tons but I think carries about 200 fewer passengers.

 

I'll be leaving the hotel soon.

 

Roy

 

absolutely Roy - enjoy your cruise:D

[kazu]

Where are Ray's menus posted? I couldn't find them on anything in "Live-Solstice Transatlantic". So I think they might be at another link somewhere. I would like to see menus. Thanks!

 

See you all next week. I like that tone!

 

here is Roy's blog spot

 

http://solsticeta2012.blogspot.com/

[happy cruzer]

I'm still wondering if they have escargot on the classics menu? Do they plan to have it in the med?

 

Love the blog.

[rafinmd]

Roy, many thanks for the menus photos, but I'm afraid they are not clear enough to read

 

Perhaps some experienced Celebrity people can help me out here. When I do things like menus and programs, I like to do scans instead of photographs. I also normally blog in wordpress rather than blogger and have encountered some disadvantages in blogger as they only allow me to post photo images. I’ve had reasonable luck converting the scanned activity page to a jpg file, but menus are more of a problem. When I was last on HAL the evening menus were on a table in the lido at lunch time and I was able to take my equipment up there and scan them, but I have not found anything similar on Solstice. Are there menus somewhere I can pick up and scan? The MDR menus are particularly a problem to photograph since they’re behind glass in a fairly dimly lit area. I hope photographing the menu top and bottom views helps some, but don’t see many options for further enhancement.

 

Where are Ray's menus posted? I couldn't find them on anything in "Live-Solstice Transatlantic". So I think they might be at another link somewhere. I would like to see menus. Thanks!

 

Jacqui(kazu) your posts will be in the email I get tomorrow, but I did see them. Thanks for providing the link to the menus.

 

Roy

[kazu]

Roy - just to let you know that the Saga Sapphire's inaugural cruise has gone awry with engine trouble and is being cancelled.

 

There is concern on the boards that Stephen (Topsham) is on this cruise as people remember him mentioning an inaugural Saga cruise.

 

No injuries so all are fine, but it would be one huge disappointment.

 

Fair winds and following seas to you:)

[JezzaC]

Could you check what kind of beer menu is at the moment in Michael's Club? Because Solstice was on dry dock on January and Michael's Club was supposed to be changed more pub style with 60 different beers.

 

So have changes be done and what is the beer situation at the moment?

[rafinmd]

Roy - just to let you know that the Saga Sapphire's inaugural cruise has gone awry with engine trouble and is being cancelled.

 

There is concern on the boards that Stephen (Topsham) is on this cruise as people remember him mentioning an inaugural Saga cruise.

 

No injuries so all are fine, but it would be one huge disappointment.

 

Fair winds and following seas to you:)

 

Having sailed with Stephen on the Rotterdam transatlantic that would be a huge disappointment. Thanks for the heads up; I hope all works well for him.

 

Do you mean engine trouble before the cruise ever got started? Better there than once under way.

 

Roy

[kazu]

Having sailed with Stephen on the Rotterdam transatlantic that would be a huge disappointment. Thanks for the heads up; I hope all works well for him.

 

Do you mean engine trouble before the cruise ever got started? Better there than once under way.

 

Roy

 

no the engine trouble was underway. They are pulling into port and cancelling the rest of the cruise and offering a 50% refund. Apparently it's still 'safe' to cruise but Saga doesn't want to take any chances. Stephen hasn't posted (a few have asked if he's on) so I suspect he is on her:eek:

[candbgirl]

I'm still wondering if they have escargot on the classics menu? Do they plan to have it in the med?

 

Love the blog.

 

I was on Equinox 3/26-4/6 and we were told no escargot fleet wide for now. They hope to bring them back sometime in the future but until their supplier can provide sufficient quality product they won't be available. They have been replaced with stuffed mushrooms which were excellent

[rafinmd]

I'm getting closer to my normal shipboard routine, rising at 5:15, but still walked only 2 miles (with the brace). Most of the time the moon was shining brightly over the bow, and about 7 there was a very nice sunrise (although it only "dawned" on me a few minutes after the fact that the Ocean View Cafe was at the wrong end of the ship to see it.

 

There was a packed "Beyond the Podium" enrichment series today. At 9:30 Fred Bronson started his series off with "Behind the Scenes of American Idol" with a lot of video clips. At 10:30 there was a lull for a galley tour, attended by over 500 people. With a group that large the right way to do it is a bit problematic. Last summer on QM2 it was set up as a self-guided walk through, here we were guided in groups of 30. That was a more intimate tour but we spent 45 minutes in the dining room (with some presentations and Q&A) for out time to come, and then spending 15 minutes actually in the galley. Chef Mario was a very informative host and it was my first actual visit to the MDR.

 

The enrichment program continued at 11:30 with a pair of followup lectures by yesterday's presenters. Marc Kaufman started things off with "Earthly Extremophiles and What They Tell Us About Possible Life Beyond Our Planet", followed at 12:30 with Steve Javie on "Basketball Referees and Bloopers".

 

The afternoon brought lunch, reading, and writing. Before the end of the cruise I'll hope to get the hang of how Esperanza describes things. At 3 I saw "Solstice Matinee Spectacular" in the schedule and assumed it was a movie. In rereading the Highlights around 4 I discovered I had missed a performance by the Neptunes and guitarist Cesar Paucar. I'll try not to make that mistake again. I did stop by the Corning Glass Demonstration after tea and the staff there was putting the finishing touches on a locomotive for about a 3-year-old guest.

 

This is a Smart Casual night and I had another salad entree in Blu. The show in the theater tonight was a comedy performance by Rondell Sheridan and we move the clocks ahead tonight as we continue sailing eastward.

 

Today's parting shot comes from Mark Kaufman's lecture. It is surprising how the things we see in our travels enrich our experiences later. He spoke of using Svalbird Norway on as a testing ground for our searches for unexpected life. His talk brought great memories of my cruise there last summer.

 

Just as an aside. I've attached a thumbnail of the scanner and computer I work with.

 

Jacqui, that is a shame about Stephen.

 

candbgirl, thanks for the information.

 

 

Roy

[Deamagoli]

Thanks for doing this! We will be on the Solstice in late may, would you mind commenting on how she handles rough seas... will you mention how rough it is? This is something I am worried about as I am notorious for getting sea sick (I am getting the patch for this trip). However, my past cruises were on older ships so I would like to hear how the Solstice handles rough weather. The biggest thing for me is the deep rolls and pitch (if that makes sense).

 

I get very motion sick and I have found that the patch works wonders for me. However, be very sure not to get into your eyes. I put on my patch, then put in my contacts...my poor husband was sure I was having a stroke, one of my pupils was totally dilated and the other wasn't. This went away after about 4 hours. So be absolutely sure not to get that into your eyes. I find that ginger chews from "the ginger people" work great to keep my tummy calm. I get these at World Market stores.

[h20cruzer]

ROY how about a picture of you?????????

[texmex.ferr]

ROY how about a picture of you?????????

If you go to post #37 at the bottom there's a thumbnail attached, I think this is Roy.