Solstice: Visuals, Highlights Shared! Add Yours?

[TLCOhio]

Terry. You are bringing back excellent memories. Hard to believe it been 6 months since we both sailed on that outstanding cruise. I believe you'll agree with me that the 2 day Queenstown tour was/will be truly unforgettable. I still remember on the second day traveling to Dunedin when our bus made a "pit" stop, I step off and find you sitting on the bus stop bench trying to connect to the world on your laptop. The "Southern Alps" must/has to be on everybody's bucket list. Thank You for including me in your "photo show". I always knew Buckeye alumni had good hearts. :)

Mike (retired Solstice Jan 20th 2014 AUS/NZ Roll Call Admin) ;)

 

Appreciate Miami Mike's great follow-up and comments. YES, Mike was the super best ever Roll Call Administrator. Wow!! What amazing detail and super performance.

 

See that you going to be on the Celebrity Eclipse doing the "Exotic Southern Caribbean Cruise". Are you doing the Jan. 4 or 18 sailing? We have done very little in the Caribbean and this looks like a great collection of port stops. Right now, the pricings seem high. Maybe we could pick up a late bargain after final payments are done. When are those final payments due for your cruise? Not sure things would work for this coming January as we have our mid-March to mid-April Africa trip planned. Only so much money, unless you'll loan me more from your banking interests. Best to the 'Canes for the upcoming football seasons. College football is nearly here!!

 

YES, guilty as charged for trying to get some of that free wi-fi time while doing a pit stop on our way to Dunedin. Shopping is not my thing, so why not try to get on the web? It was a great excursion to Queenstown and seeing all of these spectacular parts of NZ's South Island. See more below.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity 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 nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 181,218 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 Mike and his family enjoying dinner while we were in Queenstown and did a smaller sailing on the scenic lake there. Sorry I didn't do a better job getting perfect smiles from everybody. BUT, people were happy with the Celebrity excursion.:

 

 

 

Here is one of my visuals in connection with this Celebrity-arranged steamship sailing leading to the dinner at the sheep station at the other end of this scenic lake near Queenstown during this two-day Solstice excursion. You will see lots of scenic mountains and areas during this sailing that is a key part of this evening fun. And, then there was the food!!:

 

 

 

Here is another visual in connection with this steamship sailing leading to the dinner at the sheep station. This includes the ship captain at the controls. Not the Solstice, but a ship-related picture!:

 

 

[2morecruises]

Terry, we are doing the Jan 4th trip. Prices are steep compared to booking during spring of 2013. Those interesting southern ports were the hook to book. Other than Trinidad & Tobago that about scratches off all the islands for us.

 

Final payment is due Oct 27th (+/- 2 days)

 

Hopefully you can squeeze it in without stopping over in Hawaii. :p (lol) I dumped all my banking interests right before the AUS/NZ cruise. :D

 

Mike

Edited August 12, 2014 by 2morecruises

[cruise love]

Great photos everyon. does any one have any cabin photos

I am on the Solstice in Jan

Cruise Love

[Lois R]

Great photos everyon. does any one have any cabin photos

I am on the Solstice in Jan

Cruise Love

 

Hi, this is a photo....looking from the doorway....you can see outward.

This was taken back in 2008....it was a 2 night pre-inaugural cruise:D

brand new Solstice.

[TLCOhio]

Terry, we are doing the Jan 4th trip. Prices are steep compared to booking during spring of 2013. Those interesting southern ports were the hook to book. Other than Trinidad & Tobago that about scratches off all the islands for us. Final payment is due Oct 27th (+/- 2 days) Hopefully you can squeeze it in without stopping over in Hawaii. :p (lol) I dumped all my banking interests right before the AUS/NZ cruise. :D Mike

 

Appreciate Mike's follow-up and glad that you booked early before prices went up so much. NOPE!! Won't need to fly through Hawaii as we smartly did in going down to Australia. Sorry that you don't have those needed "easy banking" connections for me.

 

SERIOUSLY, a couple of questions for Mike and/or any others experienced in these Carib areas. Both of these Eclipse cruise options do a total of eight different ports, including their stops in Aruba, Curacao, St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten. But the differences? With the the Jan. 4-18 Eclipse cruise that you are on, they also have stops in Bonaire and St. Kitts as the two other ports to be visited. But for the Jan. 18-Feb. 1 sailing, they have Grenada and St. Thomas in place of Bonaire and St. Kitts. Two key questions?

 

1. How do you rate Bonaire and St. Kitts . . . versus . . . Grenada and St. Thomas? Pro/con factors, any big difference with these two potentials/options between these two cruises?

 

2. Among the six ports of Aruba, Curacao, St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua and St. Maarten, how do you rank these locations/stops, overall? Best of the best/tops for most of these ports? Mostly all very good? Good and a few better than average? Which of these six are the best super-stars?

 

Would like to do this Southern Caribbean Cruise, especially in January when the weather is crappy up here in Ohio. Like my shocking honesty? The Jan. 18-Feb. 1 dates would be better for me and my schedule. But, the Jan. 4-18 pricing is lower and there would be that chance to hook up with you. On Australia-NZ adventure, we never really had a chance to talk much, enjoy that beer you were going to buy, etc.

 

Tell me more!! This area of the world is definitely on our future wish list.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 71,961 views for this fun posting.

[TLCOhio]

Great photos everyon. does any one have any cabin photos. I am on the Solstice in Jan. Cruise Love

 

Lois R: Hi' date=' this is a photo....looking from the doorway....you can see outward. This was taken back in 2008....it was a 2 night pre-inaugural cruise brand new Solstice. [/quote']

 

Appreciate this request for cabin photos and the great help from Lois R. Sorry, I didn't do that much on cabin/room pictures during our two Solstice cruises. For our first Med cruise in June 2011, we had an "access" cabin that was a little larger than the average, typical room. Plus, it had other, different set-ups and fixtures, etc. For Australia-NZ, we had a nice Celebrity Suite for the 14-days that worked so well. Neither of those, if I had done room pictures, would really shown what things look like for most cabins on the Solstice.

 

For cruise love, keep planning and let us know any other questions, needs, interests, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and 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. This posting is now at 153,268 views. Nice to be hitting this high of a level for viewership. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

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

[2morecruises]

Terry,

I spent the money for that beer I promised you back in January. BUT, I believe I can save the $ needed for next January's beer IF you decide to hop aboard the 4th sailing. :p

 

About the pro/con factors - Since we have never set foot on Bonaire or Grenada I'm unable to compare them with St Thomas and St Kitts. For us (especially DW) it was the ABC islands that was the deciding factor for this cruise and we wanted to make a return to enjoy St Lucia again. I think the itinerary is great with 5 sailing days.

 

I can't tell you how many times we wound up in St Thomas on the numerous 7 day cruises from Miami/Ft Lauderdale. Been there done that waaay to much.

 

The beaches of St Thomas (+ St Croix) and St Maarten are fabulous and a place where you poor Ohioians would be able to "defrost".

 

St Lucia has The Pitons (their local beer is called Piton). We planned a private tour to The Pitons that included a stop (among others) at a smoking/stinky volcano (not Kilauea) more like a sulfur vat, the area also has hot mud baths (I passed).

 

I'm rambling to much.

 

Hope you can make this cruise. We can catch up on Hurricane/Buckeye college football domination talk. BTW, The Sunset Bar will have to shorten it's hours if you are not on board. :eek:

 

PS: Check out the Roll Call for the Jan 4th cruise. The Roll Call List is outstanding !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Mike

Edited August 14, 2014 by 2morecruises

[TLCOhio]

Terry, I spent the money for that beer I promised you back in January. BUT, I believe I can save the $ needed for next January's beer IF you decide to hop aboard the 4th sailing. :p About the pro/con factors - Since we have never set foot on Bonaire or Grenada I'm unable to compare them with St Thomas and St Kitts. For us (especially DW) it was the ABC islands that was the deciding factor for this cruise and we wanted to make a return to enjoy St Lucia again. I think the itinerary is great with 5 sailing days. I can't tell you how many times we wound up in St Thomas on the numerous 7 day cruises from Miami/Ft Lauderdale. Been there done that waaay to much. The beaches of St Thomas (+ St Croix) and St Maarten are fabulous and a place where you poor Ohioians would be able to "defrost". St Lucia has The Pitons (their local beer is called Piton). We planned a private tour to The Pitons that included a stop (among others) at a smoking/stinky volcano (not Kilauea) more like a sulfur vat, the area also has hot mud baths (I passed). I'm rambling to much. Hope you can make this cruise. We can catch up on Hurricane/Buckeye college football domination talk. BTW, The Sunset Bar will have to shorten it's hours if you are not on board. :eek: PS: Check out the Roll Call for the Jan 4th cruise. The Roll Call List is outstanding !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike

 

Appreciate so much Mike's added details about the ABC islands and other aspects regarding the Caribbean. Sounds great. BUT, I'm in the middle of lots of work things for the next two and a half months. Got to get billings done and other things in order to be in position to consider this option. Sailing with you and getting that "free beer" sounds super great. BUT, not there right now, especially with planning work in process (and finances) for a costly trip to Africa from mid March to mid April. Will keep thinking, research and planning.

 

Did check briefly and see that it is a very active roll call for this Jan. 4 cruise. Keep me posted for any other insights and suggestions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity 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 nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 181,560 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

[lovevacadays]

I am so happy I found your thread. Your pictures are absolutely amazing. I loved every minute I spent looking at them. I have never sailed Celebrity. I've sailed Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Carnival. I am thinking I really want to try Celebrity so I am lurking on the Celebrity boards.:D:D:D

[TLCOhio]

I am so happy I found your thread. Your pictures are absolutely amazing. I loved every minute I spent looking at them. I have never sailed Celebrity. I've sailed Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Carnival. I am thinking I really want to try Celebrity so I am lurking on the Celebrity boards.:D:D:D

 

Appreciate the nice comments and that our Orange County friend has dropped by. YES, "lurking" is allowed. AND, encouraged. Always good to be on the look-out for varied, future options. What part of the world are you looking to sail? For us, it about the location, ports, etc., as the first priority. Then we consider which cruise line fits best for our interests, the value, their specific offerings.

 

Have done four cruises in Europe, plus the one earlier this year in Australia and New Zealand. Lots of great places where Celebrity and other lines go. Let us know any added questions, special info/visual needs. Happy to be of any help, answer your interests.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 72,739 views for this fun posting.

[TLCOhio]

To TLCOHIO, You have wowed me again. First time I have seen your photos from the Bridge of The Solstce... Wowzer, these are MARVELLOUS shots !! Especially like the one from "the wing"... Beyond cool. And Mr Sloop liked the one also of the Navigation Panel... Mostly because it showed wind direction & speed and how it effects the ships reading, course & progress (an issue that we had on our Solstice cruise when we hit gale force winds unexpectedly... And Mr Sloop consequently suffered from a bout of vertigo... Something he never knew could happen). lo, great Galley Tour pics, when I posted for the OP I was hoping you'd add on some of those pics, as they truly are some of the best showcasing the Tour experience here on CC. Cheers!

 

On another Celebrity CC Board thread, this above posting was done in connection with certain "behind the scenes" tours that might be possible on the Solstice and other ship. Earlier here I posted details and a number of pictures from our bridge tour.

 

Below are three additional bridge tour related pictures that I had not previously posted. Hope this gives more insights on this ship, its engineering, what it takes to operate it, etc. Always fascinating background of which I personally find of high value. Inside this bridge area, having my 10-20mm wide angle lens helped capture these areas and tight settings from good angles.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and 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. This posting is now at 153,988 views. Nice to be hitting this high of a level for viewership. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

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

 

 

From our balcony room, here is the long-lens view towards this ship bridge "overhang". You can see people in this glassed area getting a tour.:

 

 

 

Here are two more visuals from inside the bridge area, giving a sense of its size, equipment, views, etc. Here, you are clearly in the "cats bird" seat! Very interesting!:

 

 

 

[cruiseclues]

Absolutely Excellent Photos, thank you for the experience. :):):):)

[greeneg]

Nice, nice photos. Celebrity should buy some of them from you and use them in their brochures, they are better than what they have.

 

ED

[TLCOhio]

Nice, nice photos. Celebrity should buy some of them from you and use them in their brochures, they are better than what they have. ED

 

cruiseclues: Absolutely Excellent Photos' date=' thank you for the experience. [/quote']

 

Appreciate so much these very nice and kind comments. YES, I need to get Ed as my agent to negotiate with Celebrity for a nice contract to do photos for them in exchange for free travel. You are hired to represent me!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 24,209 views for these postings.

[NorbertsNiece]

Speechless.

 

Best pictures I've seen in a very, very long time. You really have heightened my expectations now. Have shared with my roll call.

 

Linda

[TLCOhio]

Speechless. Best pictures I've seen in a very, very long time. You really have heightened my expectations now. Have shared with my roll call. Linda

 

Appreciate your kind viewpoint on my pictures. Glad to know you're a person of such high class, great taste and wonderful judgment to make these generous comments.

 

Will try in the future to post here some added Solstice pictures from my files. Lots of pictures of this great ship. It makes a photographer look good and skilled.

 

Yes, keep encouraging any on your roll call to drop by my live-blog. Will be happy to answer any follow-up questions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, look at this earlier posting for many options and visual samples this city that is so great for "walking around", personally seeing its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 53,832 views.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

[jayde43]

 

Yes, keep encouraging any on your roll call to drop by my live-blog. Will be happy to answer any follow-up questions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Thanks Terry for your wonderful photos and the time in effort you have gone into in your posts. I'm sailing on the Solstice but not till Jan 2018. So excited :). Might ask you a question or before I sail (newbie cruiser this will only be my second cruise

). Happy travels Debbi :)

[TLCOhio]

Thanks Terry for your wonderful photos and the time in effort you have gone into in your posts. I'm sailing on the Solstice but not till Jan 2018. So excited :). Might ask you a question or before I sail (newbie cruiser this will only be my second cruise ). Happy travels Debbi :)

 

Appreciate Debbi's super nice follow-up and comments. YES!! Happy to answer any added questions, share more, etc. Fire away on that live/blog for Australia and NZ. Will try to help in response to your (and other's) good questions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 22,714 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

[jayde43]

Okay Terry, this a really random question about the Hot Glass show. Can you get items made? How much do they cost? Thanks in advance it was just something I was wondering about. Cheers Debbi :)

[TLCOhio]

jayde43: Okay Terry' date=' this a really random question about the Hot Glass show. [b']Can you get items made?[/b] How much do they cost? Thanks in advance it was just something I was wondering about. Cheers Debbi

 

Appreciate, Debbi, this good question. Unfortunately, I do not know the definite answer, but I can offer a good "guess" and/or suggestion. My view? Ask!! Assuming that your cruise is not too short, I would talk with the Hot Glass staff, tell them your interests, etc. My experience has been that in many cases that the staff likes creative, special requests. See what's possible. Not sure on costs. But, give it a try. Good luck!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 160,553 views for this posting.

[jayde43]

Appreciate, Debbi, this good question. Unfortunately, I do not know the definite answer, but I can offer a good "guess" and/or suggestion. My view? Ask!! Assuming that your cruise is not too short, I would talk with the Hot Glass staff, tell them your interests, etc. My experience has been that in many cases that the staff likes creative, special requests. See what's possible. Not sure on costs. But, give it a try. Good luck!!

 

 

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

 

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 160,553 views for this posting.

 

 

Thanks Terry, good suggestion will try that [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Wansbrough]

Really excellent photos Terry, we are on Solstice in 89 days time and although this thread is a few years old its still a fantastic read.

[TLCOhio]

Really excellent photos Terry, we are on Solstice in 89 days time and although this thread is a few years old its still a fantastic read.

 

jayde43: Thanks Terry' date=' good suggestion will try that [/quote']

 

Appreciate these nice and kind comments and follow-ups.

 

The Solstice is headed back to Australia from Alaska and Hawaii. From the Sidney Morning Herald and other Fairfax newspapers in Australia last week, I did see this headline: "Solstice: cruise ship rated Australia's best gets $11 million makeover". Look forward to hearing more from those sailing on this ship in the upcoming months to share more on these upgrades.

 

Here are some of their story highlights: "Celebrity Solstice, has arrived in Sydney following a multimillion-dollar makeover, which includes new outdoor cinema and foodie experience and Australia's first Tiffany & Co. store at sea. Celebrity Solstice was awarded the Best Cruise Ship, and after an $11 million revitalisation, the ship looks to retain its top rating. Boasting a Miami-beach vibe, this cruise ship is nothing like the old-school, rather stuffy sea experience we've come to imagine. There's definitely a US east coast flare and something quite luxe-hip about this ship, from its bars, to restaurants and the touch of subtle neo-lights, which oddly evokes the feeling of summer music festival and parties."

 

Nice review and details on the Solstice.

 

This story also shares: "One of the ship's standout new features includes the new lawn club cabanas. The ship has added six new alcove-style cabanas with super comfy cushions to the lawn area on the top deck, which mirror the sails of the Opera House. The cabanas can be adjusted, so when you tire of the views out to sea, it can be rotated to face the outdoor movie screen."

 

Full story at:

http://www.traveller.com.au/celebrity-solstice-cruise-ship-rated-australias-best-gets-11-million-makeover-gspfrt

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and 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. This posting is now at 205,630 views.

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

[jayde43]

Australia's first Tiffany & Co. store at sea.

ooooh this could be dangerous... hehehehe

[CruisinCanine]

What a great thread and rich in pictures too! Thinking about a Sydney to Auckland cruise on the Solstice in Feb '18. Just a terrific resource!