17 nights on Solstice, sometimes good, sometimes less good

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for the reviews. :)

[6andy6]

 

It was a strange cruise in many ways, with so many back to back guests (over a quarter) plus a large group booking of another 250 guests, it was not as friendly a cruise as we have enjoyed in the past. Interesting comment..as we were on the 4th March sailing...the first time we have sailed Celebrity...and we found the guests extremely friendly and would strike up a conversation by and large very easily....we met many couples at either the bars (mainly the Sunset Bar or the Lawn) or at meals or watching the dancing in the atrium and had great and interesting conversations often with people much older than us (we are in mid 40's).

 

 

*The level of music volume in the bars at night - no techno boom we endured on Eclipse. Also great use made of the Atrium with music filtering up to all floors on several nights. We particularly liked Sonic Wave duo and Les de Merle Jazz (though we are not usually fans of jazz). It was lovely to see so many people dancing before and after dinner. Totally agree..we are not dancers but it was fun to see people dancing. And either for a few singers in the atrium, I would not characterise any background music as loud (and I hate loud music)

*Silk Harvest, we have never been here before despite having the opportunity on other ships - why not, it's so so good! Once again agree...the number of times I've heard people critise Silk Harvest is strange as we found the food excellent.....we often eat in chinese restaurants at home so have a comparision and half our friends are native born chinese so often eat at their places. The food, with a western twist, was up to par with what our firends cook in flavour and texture. I just put it down to very picky people.

*The Lawn - there was a real buzz up there, lots going on either on an organised or informal basis. This coupled with a great team at the Sunset Bar made this a favourite spot. Once again agree...it was our favourite bar at sail away and it was lovely to take ones shoes off and walk on real grass.

 

The less good

 

*There was a general service inconsistency, you could have great service at Al Bacio (lovely Ukrainian staff) or Martini Bars many days and then awful service on others, seemed to be issues with staffing numbers and training/ language skills We too loved the Ukrainian girls at Cafe Al Bacio.

*Some staff had attitude issues, we saw that most at Guest Relations Yup...total agree. Although generally good there was one total ingrate there that on the occasion we had 2 issues on one day...the only issues the entire cruise...said to my partner 'Oh this your second complaint for today ' in a condescending manner. Lucky it wasn't me..I would have jumped the counter.

. No problem, we discovered the Passport Bar, a venue we have not tried before and really loved it Ahh the only bar we DID have issues with...I think the bar tender forgot there actually were other passengers on the ship and kept looking after his favourite few.

*Entertainment - I accept we were in Australia so they were using Oz entertainers (not we suspect to appeal to guests as was being punted by the CD every night but as a cost saving measure) but only one group the Aussie Boys Really???? They were one of the few shows or groups I walked out on....talk about cliche and embarrassing. I couldn't stand it and if THAT was the standard of entertainment on other Celebrity ships I might have had another opinion of the ship was of the standard we have enjoyed before on Celebrity. Others were average at best. Really??? Apart from the above and the Magician (magicians are for kids partys I'm sorry...not adult entertainment) we found the award winning pianist good, The Solstices own entertainment singers and dancer good as was the house band, as was the singer and band that played in the Ensemble lounge of an evening and a female singer from Australia One was unacceptable and we did highlight this onboard - We were shocked to see a magician select a nine year old from the audience to go up on stage and then perform a card trick involving pulling down his fly and getting cards from there - accepted he told her to turn away when he did it but we feel that crossed a line that should not happen. There needed to be more recognition of the international balance of the guests in the entertainment line up. Really? I'm guessing most entertainers on a Alaskan or Carribean cruise are from the area as would the Europe cruises...that expectation is really stretching things. I have been on no ship where they fly entertainers out for 3 days at a time half way around the world unless it is the likes of a Cunard. Most of those entertainers got on at one port and got off a few ports later.The cruise director, also from Australia Ian Cresswell was adequate but is not of the calibre of others on Celebrity and needs to be much more genuine and engaging and less into spin Must admit we liked him..but we have no comparison for Celebrity this being our first cruise with them

* Although Milos gave reasonable naturalist talks he was not on a par with naturalists elsewhere on Celebrity like Brent Nixon or the reef pilot who really was so enlightening Not sure why Milos was on....my experiences of him would be dead wood.

*Murano - not sure we will go again on a Solstice class ship, we were there the week before the price rise and whilst the food was acceptable, the service was very much on the basis, I have a script, I follow it, I ask you a question, you give me feedback, I ignore. Maybe because we only went once this cruise and we were surrounded by many repeaters and two large quite lively tables of back to back guests who had been several times (and were offered menu choices not offered to us) it just took the shine off. See we loved Murano and have not be on before so had no preconcieved ideas or 'connections' to the staff. The wait were entertaining and always chatted to us as did the Maitre de. Service was exemplary. And the food was lovely.... We loved it and the staff so much we went back for lunch.

 

*Ships officers - invisible. Accept the Captain had a tricky medivac to handle and also was going on leave mid cruise, but you never saw people like the Hotel Director or F and B manager watching over things (something we have always seen on other ships) and most surprising of all officers would sit next table to you at lunch or walk by you in corridors and not acknowledge your existence. Saw plenty of officers wandering around and they always, particularly in the evening would stop and ask if you were enjoying yourself. Did not see the captain but then I am of the sort that he is the captain, he isn't their for our entertainment nor is he the door bitch at some nightclub. Just as I don't expect interaction from the captain of my plane. I assume he has a job to do and thats guide the ship and be in charge..not make balloons into animals for my enjoyment.This tone filtered down to the staff and too many were either automatons just doing their job with plastic smiles and not listening to what guests were actually saying or worse still too many examples of staff arguing amongst themselves. Once again say no arguing..not saying it didn't go on with your cruise but either I went around blind or their attitude changed.

 

.

 

In a nutshell, for a first time Celebrity cruiser with no point of comparison, we loved the ship, the staff and the cruise. But then the ship reminded me a lot of hip hotels we always stay at on land (think Kimpton or W hotels) which is our style. Food was good..no complaints and no regrets ordering anything (ok one exception...what is it about cruise ships catering to the land of lard and hamburgers of all delicious kinds (The US) that I have yet to be on a ship that caters for said population (by and large) that can cook a decent hamburger...even here in Australia we have great local fish and chip shops that can prepare 'one with the lot'

 

We enjoyed the overall experience we have already booked another cruise with Celebrity for next year.....now if you mentioned NCL... LOL...

 

Sometimes (and this is not directed at the OP), we spend our time searching for perfection when it doesn't exist....even in our our insignificant little lives (as up ourselves as some of us can get) and we get picky about pithy things. Was it the perfect cruise...no, one or two issues raised their heads but we drew them to Celebrities attention and they were acted upon and came back up trumps but then I have not flown the perfect business class, not eaten in the perfect restaurant, I have been to resorts people have raved about and not particularly liked it. Thats life and when they are hundreds of millions starving perspective needs to be looked at before one decides something is bad..... :)

Edited March 27, 2013 by 6andy6

[The_Big_M]

We are finally back from a month down under which included a 17 night cruise on Celebrity Solstice, I know others are doing detailed reviews on their experiences on the back to back 35 day adventure, so I will highlight our thoughts on the second leg Perth to Sydney and where this trip fits with our experiences of previous cruises.

 

We chose the trip because of its itinerary and the ports of call. We booked far out and were lucky to enjoy some price drops along the way therefore we would say this trip was good value.

 

Using the Celebrity end of cruise rating scale, we gave the cruise overall a good, we felt there were too many silly glitches to give an overall excellent, though some areas were excellent.

 

It was a strange cruise in many ways, with so many back to back guests (over a quarter) plus a large group booking of another 250 guests, it was not as friendly a cruise as we have enjoyed in the past. There were also over 400 elite guests but sadly they did not use the voucher system so if you wanted a seat at Elite drinks in a reasonable spot fir service you had to line up early which does not work for late diners as we were advised by phone no capris for ladies unless they were below the knee - a new one not seen on other ships. We met many elites elsewhere who like us went to no Captains Club events as they found the crowds and numbers overwhelming however, when talking with the CC hostess, her success measure was numbers not ambience or guest engagement, which was strange

 

So in summary, what was very good

 

*The ports of call ( yes the weather did not play fair but the ports were still good). There were issues with tenders in two ports Bali and Cairns but we were not as adversely affected as others particularly in Cairns where we still got our excursion albeit we were back two hours late from it

*Our stateroom - and the team looking after it. After issues on Summit it was great to see the full Aqua experience being delivered so well. We also had a deep balcony room 1606 which was posted elsewhere on this board in a photo summary as being a red (poor) cabin, this could not be further from the truth, it's in an excellent location and the deep balcony meant we could still sit out in monsoon weather

*Blu- although not quite on a par with Azamara Discoveries, the food and service was really good and wine service also hit the right spot for two premium package holders

*Ships organised shore excursions. Previously we have had some real rough experiences there but these were all so good even when we had the Bali delay -Patrick's song and dance routine in the theatre was a great distraction!

*The level of music volume in the bars at night - no techno boom we endured on Eclipse. Also great use made of the Atrium with music filtering up to all floors on several nights. We particularly liked Sonic Wave duo and Les de Merle Jazz (though we are not usually fans of jazz). It was lovely to see so many people dancing before and after dinner

*Silk Harvest, we have never been here before despite having the opportunity on other ships - why not, it's so so good!

*The Lawn - there was a real buzz up there, lots going on either on an organised or informal basis. This coupled with a great team at the Sunset Bar made this a favourite spot

 

The less good

 

*There was a general service inconsistency, you could have great service at Al Bacio (lovely Ukrainian staff) or Martini Bars many days and then awful service on others, seemed to be issues with staffing numbers and training/ language skills

*Some staff had attitude issues, we saw that most at Guest Relations (though we have to go on record and say Jeff Potts resolved our issues there impeccably) and Molecular Bar - we were only occasional visitors there and whereas in other bars, my Peroni drinking spouse was made welcome, the young lady and gent at Molecular were not accommodating and preferred to use their time to moan about their rotas. No problem, we discovered the Passport Bar, a venue we have not tried before and really loved it

*Captains Club, as we said difficult to engage with the hostess who saw numbers coming through the door rather than the experience of the guests as her primary success. If you have a drinks package and breakfast in Blu, hard to follow her logic we were missing out by not going to a more crowded Tuscan for breakfast. There are also issues with the laundry coupons where the wording on the $20 bag coupon is incorrect if the ships interpretation of this as it is also a wash and fold service only and not laundry is correct. Our lovely stateroom attendant sorted it out for us, the hostess said she did not know the wording on the coupons which we found strange

*Entertainment - I accept we were in Australia so they were using Oz entertainers (not we suspect to appeal to guests as was being punted by the CD every night but as a cost saving measure) but only one group the Aussie Boys was of the standard we have enjoyed before on Celebrity. Others were average at best. One was unacceptable and we did highlight this onboard - We were shocked to see a magician select a nine year old from the audience to go up on stage and then perform a card trick involving pulling down his fly and getting cards from there - accepted he told her to turn away when he did it but we feel that crossed a line that should not happen. There needed to be more recognition of the international balance of the guests in the entertainment line up. The cruise director, also from Australia Ian Cresswell was adequate but is not of the calibre of others on Celebrity and needs to be much more genuine and engaging and less into spin

*Activities - we enjoyed the progressive golf, but found the others to be either poorly organised or in the case of trivia not something that occasional guests were really welcome at, clearly you needed to be an every day player regardless of excursions (and ideally a back to back guest) to be part of it. Whilst the Activities Manager is lively and energetic, she needs to slow down and listen to what guests are saying. Although Milos gave reasonable naturalist talks he was not on a par with naturalists elsewhere on Celebrity like Brent Nixon or the reef pilot who really was so enlightening

*Murano - not sure we will go again on a Solstice class ship, we were there the week before the price rise and whilst the food was acceptable, the service was very much on the basis, I have a script, I follow it, I ask you a question, you give me feedback, I ignore. Maybe because we only went once this cruise and we were surrounded by many repeaters and two large quite lively tables of back to back guests who had been several times (and were offered menu choices not offered to us) it just took the shine off. We will certainly consider continuing to do Murano equivalents on M class ships but the jury is now out on S class

*Ships officers - invisible. Accept the Captain had a tricky medivac to handle and also was going on leave mid cruise, but you never saw people like the Hotel Director or F and B manager watching over things (something we have always seen on other ships) and most surprising of all officers would sit next table to you at lunch or walk by you in corridors and not acknowledge your existence. This tone filtered down to the staff and too many were either automatons just doing their job with plastic smiles and not listening to what guests were actually saying or worse still too many examples of staff arguing amongst themselves. Such a shame because there were some great staff on board as well.

 

 

So where does that leave us overall, did we regret booking this cruise, absolutely not, did we enjoy it absolutely yes, have onboard standards dipped on board, yes, will we go Celebrity again, of course but our decision is driven by destination and if Azamara is going to that destination, to equalise cost we will now always choose a lower category room with them rather than Blu on Celebrity every time.

 

Happy to answer questions or clarify points made.

 

Oddly enough, 10 months on... and it doesn't appear much has changed.

 

Just off a Solstice cruise and a lot of the identities above onboard are still the same... and the impression is also quite similar. It therefore looks to be coming from the crew, with a significant part from the cruise director, who sets the entertainment and activities as well as himself.

 

In our short cruise, he managed to offend a Love and Marriage contestant (because of his making fun of them, not because of events in the show), was blunt with patrons in the theatre, just telling them to go, and I found the morning show and evening rundown uninspiring with him just generalising "we've got a lot going on". The kicker was on the final show his activity manager reminded him it was the final show which he'd forgotten and he just made some quick 'hope you had a great cruise' statement, and just told people to look at the letter for the info on disembarkation procedures. A bit rough esp given many were first timers.

[BosoxI]

 

Just out of a curiosity... What was offered to those chosen people? So the next time I would like to have what they were having.

 

I would, too, if Meg Ryan is sitting at the next table.

[Oz_Steve]

We were on the Solstice in December and found the Blu staff (Savu, Dijana and gedday) to be fantastic. The wine service was always spot on as well. We tried all of the specialties restaurants and they were all good. The only bar we had an issue with was slow service at the passport bar. Adrian and Sladjana (sp) were excellent in the Molecular Bar and Sergei joined later and he was ok. The Sommelier in Cellar Masters was a scream. Ian was ok as a cruise director but I can see how he might put some people off.

However all in all it was a fantastic cruise and if I made any complaints it would only have been because I was looking for something to complain about.