Is Celebrity Solstice worth an extra $1000?

[TLCOhio]

Another thing is that you said that your parents were elderly people, so keep in mind that they will most probably spend more time on the ship! Usually when I get off a ship I already see the elderly people returning back to the ship.

 

Since the Solstice is of new (late 2008) design, they did very well on the ship with the various facilities and accommodations for those older and seeking better facilities for those with those various needs. It is not just the accessible rooms, but in the rest rooms, elevator buttons, opening doors, etc., they were thinking ahead to those needing more help. The back of the ship is handy for food from the Oceanview Cafe, seeing the sights, etc. See one of my pictures below.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 88,292 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Here is the view from the back of the Solstice near the Oceanview Cafe as the Solstice makes a turn in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Sicily. Loved hearing the water and watching the action at sea. This is a great viewing area to see the "action" as you sail.:

 

[jackdiamond]

It's booked for Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014. Hasn't cost too much so far!! Got a few months to wait.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 87,566 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Thanks. I inquired because you earlier indicated that it was 2012.

[emilygrace]

$1000 is a lot of money, but in this case I think it would be well spent. I've been on both lines and to me they are vastly different. We're booked on the Solstice for next June and even though it is our 3rd time to Alaska (previous 2 on RCL) I am looking forward to maybe having a good guest lecturer and wonderful food and service.

 

Just did NCL for the second time last fall and for me it just wasn't a relaxing experience. The cabins (standard balcony) are smaller than any other cruise line I've been on and there just wasn't anywhere to sit and relax. People everywhere all the time, milling around looking for a place to sit. And the cabin was not conducive to sitting and reading and relaxing.....the sofa in there is a joke (slabs of fabric covered foam stacked up). BUT.....I just kept telling myself that it was a cheap, cheap, cheap cruise and I should enjoy it. I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the food in the dining room.....everything was very good, unlike my previous NCL cruise.

[Gig103]

Are they the same itinerary? I dunno about 2013 but I liked this year's one-way itinerary that gets you all the way up to Seward, because I am doing a land tour to Denali afterwards. If both are R/T tours, and go to the same cities, I'd probably save the $1000 because the Mendenhall Glacier excursions are $300-$500 per person.

 

Have you looked at some online sites? They're offering some good savings on NCL cruises. My only NCL concern is that their Freestyle dining sort of pushes you towards eating at specialty restaurants. $25/night/person is $700 for a family of four all week. Yes, X has specialty restaurants too, at a greater expense, but reviews of the main dining room are more positive.

[TLCOhio]

Thanks. I inquired because you earlier indicated that it was 2012.

 

Sorry! I must have mis-typed on that post. That finger from brain coordination sometimes gets goofed up. 2014 seems like a long time off, but now we are now getting closer as half of 2012 is gone. Getting nearer for this early 2014 adventure. Time does fly by fast.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 88,292 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[kitty52]

Reading the posts with interest as we are thinking of an Alaska cruise in 2013. I noticed you said May was too early - what is the best time to go and what are the temperatures like? Also I have read that you should have a balcony that faces land for the best views. Do you know if that generally means port or starboard? We are looking at Celebrity Solstice. We had our first cruise this year in the Caribbean and am now hooked.

 

Appreciate any help from anyone out there who has done Alaska. Thanks

[kitty52]

Also any recommendations on cruise lines for the best Alaska cruises?

[momofmeg]

We really enjoyed the Solstice. She is a beautiful ship, although I still feel the Constellation is a better ship for my tastes. The Solstice was just a bit too many people-no she never felt crowded-EXCEPT when disembarking in ports-especially the tender ports-and we were in a sky suite and had priority disembarkation- but it was still a bit frustrating.

 

However, the NCL Jewel class ships hold about the same amount of people-and so you will see no improvement going NCL for my particular gripe.

 

Celebrity is classier, nicer, has an adult's only pool in the solarium area-instead of on the public lido deck next to the family pool. The food is much better-which can be viewed as a negative if you are watching your weight. You also get better service on Celebrity. I think there may be a higher crew/passenger ratio, there definitely is more crew visible on Celebrity.

 

Celebrity has great bedding but so does NCL IF the ship has freestyle 2.

 

Bottom line I guess depends on what these things are worth to you. Some feel $1000 is a lot of money-others not so much-with me-it depends on how much we have marked for our vacation budget for that particular trip-there are times when we decide to save the $1000, because of things such as extra medical/dental bills that year. Other times we feel $1000 is well worth spending for the better experience. However, if we decide to save the money, our expectations are less than if we picked the nicer cruiseline. With lowered expectations we still have a good time.

 

Personally, if we were planning to go to Alaska next year-I think I would pick Celebrity Millennium, as she is a sister ship to the Connie, as I preferred the Connie to the Solstice and also to the Pearl (sister ship to NCL Jewel) that is unless I decided to do the 10 day Princess cruise from San Francisco. I find that cruise choice very appealing. Chances are though I would still pick the Millie, as that 10 day Princess is a bit expensive and the Millie would be a great compromise.

[emilygrace]

momofmeg, just a little heads up about the Princess cruise from SF. Unless you are planning it because you are doing several days in SF pre and/or post cruise to see the city, you lose several days going up the coast and coming back down. And you don't sail close enough to the coast line to see anything.

[chefcaw]

I have sailed both a Jewel class ship on NCL and a Solstice class ship. Both ships are lovely. For the difference in cost I would sail NCL. We sailed RCL Radiance for Alaska on a one way trip. The trip to Mendenhall Glacier can easily be booked after arriving in Juneau. We took the tour that put us on a yellow school bus for $14.00 round trip. We could stay as long as we liked, then caught the return trip back into town.

 

Do not miss Tracey's Crab Shack for lunch. It was parked near the public library that also had free WIFI

 

Chris

[momofmeg]

momofmeg, just a little heads up about the Princess cruise from SF. Unless you are planning it because you are doing several days in SF pre and/or post cruise to see the city, you lose several days going up the coast and coming back down. And you don't sail close enough to the coast line to see anything.

 

We want to spend time in LA and then take a train up to San Francisco or viceversa. Not sure if we will do that. We have been to Alaska before but it as been some time ago- actually one of the coastal wine cruises that stops in San Francisco appeals to me more.

 

I am really not sure WHAT type of cruise we will take next year-we are still in the "day dreaming" stage and considering what we might want best. We are tired of the Caribbean-will only do that again if we get a great last minute deal-now we want to plan something further away and nicer.

 

BTW we just got off the Solstice Thursday from a 12 day Med-and have been home not quite 24 hours. That is why we are still in the "dreaming stage." Hubby is even saying maybe we will go back to the Med next year-but the reality is we can't do that every year-not on our income-LOL!- but dreaming is free! Hey I will be happy with a nice coastal wine country cruise or else a southern Caribbean cruise.

[momofmeg]

I have sailed both a Jewel class ship on NCL and a Solstice class ship. Both ships are lovely. For the difference in cost I would sail NCL. We sailed RCL Radiance for Alaska on a one way trip. The trip to Mendenhall Glacier can easily be booked after arriving in Juneau. We took the tour that put us on a yellow school bus for $14.00 round trip. We could stay as long as we liked, then caught the return trip back into town.

 

Do not miss Tracey's Crab Shack for lunch. It was parked near the public library that also had free WIFI

 

Chris

 

Chris, Radiance of the Seas is RCL not NCL-I would pick that OVER the Solstice-but not over the Connie/Millie class of Celebrity. I understand your confusion- RCI Jewel of the Seas is a radiance class also-but NCL Jewel class is the NCL Jewel, NCL Pearl, etc. I did like the NCL Pearl-but the NCL Sun and Sky, both smaller and older ships-not so much.

 

Then Princess has Diamond, ruby, emerald etc. LOL! It IS easy to confuse the lines with their similar names.