Celebrity Solstice

[Cthy651]

Hubby (69) and myself (59) are considering a 10 day cruise on the Solstice. We have never cruised with Celebrity, but are avid Royal Caribbean cruisers.

Is there a listing somewhere of the free restaurants on board?

Also what are the pro's and con's of this ship?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

One more question is my RC status of any benefit on Celebrity?

Thanks I look forward to hearing from you.

[4774Papa]

Solstice is a beautiful ship. It has several restaurants:

 

Oceanview Café and Bar This is the buffet on deck 14

Mast Grill and Bar

[anonymousegirl]

If you are Diamond on RCI, then you are in the second level of Celebrity (Select). If you are Platinum then you are top level (Elite). This may change as we are hearing of possible new tier levels coming to Celebrity.

[Lois R]

If you are Diamond on RCI, then you are in the second level of Celebrity (Select). If you are Platinum then you are top level (Elite). This may change as we are hearing of possible new tier levels coming to Celebrity.

 

Hi,:) I would not hold my breath at all about new tiers....they have

been talking about that since.....well, back to when Solstice came

into the fleet and that was 2008...so 5 years. We would have turned

blue holding our breath.......:eek:

 

To the OP, Solstice is the first of the S class....she came into the

fleet in the middle of 2008.

 

Free restaurants,?Main Dining room, Oceanview Cafe, Aqua Spa

Cafe (breakfast and lunch only) and if you are in AQUA CLASS, Blu

is your main dining room and that is included in your cruise price.

[skandls]

If you are Diamond on RCI, then you are in the second level of Celebrity (Select). If you are Platinum then you are top level (Elite). This may change as we are hearing of possible new tier levels coming to Celebrity.

 

If you are Diamond or D+ on Royal you will be at the top level 'Elite' on Celebrity. Platinum Royal cruisers are Select on X. Make sure to get your Captains Club number before your cruise.

[Waihekean]

I have not sailed on Royal Caribbean, but what I have gathered on these boards; the major pro's of Celebrity are the non smoking policy in the casino and on the balconies (there are a couple of outside spots that are smokers designated) and the very few announcements.

 

The ambience of Celebrity ships is laid back and elegant as opposed to RCC sporty and family atmosphere.

 

The MDR, Aqua Spa Cafe, Mast Grille and Ocean View Buffet are all free restaurants. The food at the Al Baco Coffee Shop is also free, but there is a charge for coffee, tea and other drinks.

 

Next door you will have to pay for the gelato and they have also a crepe station. The meals there cost $5, but you can have as much as you want and it also serves salad and desert.

Then you have the speciality restaurants with different fees. You can check on Celebrities web site, what current prices and menu's there are.

 

Other pro's of Celebrity is the choice of differrent drink packages and that there is no need to sign for a pool towel, you just take one at the towel station and dispose your towel there in the laundry basket.

 

A con of Celebrity is that there is no self serve laundry.

[CathyCruises]

Another pro is that it is very soft sell, only one announcement a day from the Captain followed by a brief talk from the CD. We loved the laid back mostly adult atmosphere, and we are very close in age to you and your DH. I think it would be a good fit!

[TLCOhio]

Hubby (69) and myself (59) are considering a 10 day cruise on the Solstice. We have never cruised with Celebrity, but are avid Royal Caribbean cruisers.

Is there a listing somewhere of the free restaurants on board?

Also what are the pro's and con's of this ship?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

One more question is my RC status of any benefit on Celebrity?

Thanks I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Lots of other good comments and insights have been made. The two main places to dine without any added cost are the MDR, main dining room, a two-level large dining area, plus, also the Oceanview Cafe, a buffet with a number of different stations and serving places with a wide variety of options for lunch and breakfast. Dinner in this buffet is a little more limited and also (good news) less crowded. Below are some of my pictures for these two areas. If you look below to the link provided, you can see a wider range of my visuals on this ship, its design, food, entertainment, etc., etc.

 

The biggest pro is its classy design that is very "fresh" and well-done. Plus, the Solstice does not seem that crowded or congested.

 

Plus, also below, is a link from our June 2011 cruise on the Solstice in the Med.

 

Have not done RC so I cannot respond on the various "programs" and rewards they have, how it might work with Celebrity, etc.

 

Reactions and added questions?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Celebrity Solstice Visual Highlights? From our June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in France, Italy, Kotor and Dubrovnik, I have pull together a number of wonderful visuals of the Solstice, its features, food, entertainment, options, etc. We are now at over 1,910 views for this shorter version started late last week of my larger full review of that cruise and all of the port pictures/details. Check these postings and added info at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803477

 

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 wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 123,837 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

 

 

For the handy and quick, especially at breakfast and lunch time, here is the Oceanview Cafe buffet on the Solstice. This visual sample shows how large and open are these various serving areas. This area includes getting items from the pizza-pasta bar area, various hot and cold items, free tea and juice machines, etc. The pizza is very good when it is hot and coming fresh right out of the oven.:

 

 

 

 

 

From the Oceanview Buffet, here is another sample, including the sushi selections in this area during the evenings.:

 

 

 

From the Main Dining Room on the Solstice in June, here is one of the dishes that I enjoyed on this cruise. As I recall, it is a veal beef shank.:

 

 

 

This is an overview for how the whole main part of the open, central MDR was taken over by the various stations of food, ice carving, treats, etc., for a special mid-day brunch on a sea day. This photo was taken right at the start, before things got super busy. The only "downside" is that this buffet and location gets very busy and crowded with all of the people, plus staff re-stocking the food.:

 

[keesar]

Having been on both lines, Celebrity is not high energy as RCCL. Passengers are mostly older than those on RCCL. I like Celebrity for the lack of announcements, restrictive smoking policy, great food and significantly fewer children.

 

Celebrity is a classy cruise line that treats you as a mature adult.

[Cthy651]

Thanks everyone for your comments - just one more - is there an area where they serve free coffee and tea all day? We are avid coffee drinkers, not alcohol so much, lol.

[Cthy651]

Sorry I more question.

We do not want to be dressing up for dinner, is this going to cause a problem?

[cirman52]

we wear chinos & a collared knit shirt to the mdr for the everyday dinner & skipped the formal nights.

[dln929]

Sorry I more question.

 

We do not want to be dressing up for dinner, is this going to cause a problem?

 

Celebrity's dress code is on their website. What I've cut-and-pasted below is taken from the Q&A. What do you mean by not dressing up? I can't see that there would be any problem if you adhere to their guidelines about what's appropriate for dining. Here it is for your reference:

You will need three types of clothing on your Celebrity cruise: casual shipboard attire or day wear, conservative port wear, and eveningwear.

 

Daywear includes slacks or pants, blouses or shirts, knit tops or polo shirts. Bring a pair of sneakers or rubber-soled shoes for deck sports and a swimsuit cover-up for cool areas on the ship.

Port wear for women includes a casual dress, skirt and blouse, or pants outfit; for men, casual pants or walking shorts, and polo-type shirts. Comfortable walking shoes are a must.

Also, remember to bring extra bathing suits, as well as sun block, sun visors and other types of sun protection.

 

 

Cruise Length Smart Casual and Above Formal 4 Night 3 1 5 Night 4 1 6 Night 5 1 7 Night 5 2 8 Night 6 2 9 Night 7 2 10 Night 8 2 11 Night 9 2 12 Night 9 3 13 Night 10 3 14 Night 11 3 15 Night 12 3 16 Night 12 4

"Smart Casual & Above" attire includes:

Ladies: Skirt or pants (no holes, rips or tears) with a sweater or blouse. Gentlemen: Pants (no holes, rips or tears) with a sports shirt or sweater. Shirts must have sleeves.

 

"Formal" attire includes:

Ladies: Cocktail dress, gown, or dressy pantsuit. Gentlemen: Tuxedo, suit, or dinner jacket with slacks.

 

 

The dress code in Celebrity’s specialty restaurants, including Blu, is “Smart Casual & Above” for every night of the cruise, regardless of the evening dress code in the main restaurant.

 

 

Note that T-shirts, swimsuits, robes, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps and pool wear are not allowed in the main restaurant or specialty restaurants at any time. Shorts and flip-flops are not allowed in the evening hours. The appropriate dress code will be enforced at all restaurants. Additionally, you are asked to follow the "Smart Casual & Above" dress code in the Celebrity Theater for all evening performances.

The daily program, delivered to your stateroom and available at the Guest Relations Desk, will be your guide to the correct attire each evening. A casual dress code applies at all time onboard Celebrity Xpedition®.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[voyager90265]

There is free coffee in the Oceanview Cafe aka the Buffet. You can also order coffee from room service at anytime. Cafe al Bacio on Deck 5 has specialty coffees for a price. The free coffee I have to say is pretty bad. If you like your coffees you might think about buying one of the non-alcoholic drink packages that include all your sodas, bottled water, premium coffees, fresh and bottled juices. I think the classic non-alcoholic drink packages are around $12-$14 per day

 

Thanks everyone for your comments - just one more - is there an area where they serve free coffee and tea all day? We are avid coffee drinkers, not alcohol so much, lol.

[Cthy651]

What about at the buffet, do they allow shorts and t-shirts for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

We are planning a 10 day cruise, and do not want to bring 3 different styles of clothing - on vacation we like casual.

Thanks again for all your input!

[CathyCruises]

What about at the buffet, do they allow shorts and t-shirts for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

 

We are planning a 10 day cruise, and do not want to bring 3 different styles of clothing - on vacation we like casual.

 

Thanks again for all your input!

 

Shorts and tees are fine for breakfst and lunch, and even dinner, although you may feel a bit out of place/underdressed compared to the rest of the cruisers. 'Smart casual' is the requested dress for all evenings except formal nights. I don't think anyone would say anything if you went to the buffet at dinner dressed in shorts, though.

 

The evening buffet is pretty limited--I sure wouldn't want to eat there every night (or for me, any night!). They do have salads, a pasta station, a stir fry station, and pizza I think; but since I never eat there that is just information I have read here and could be wrong,

[boston_scientist]

Sorry I more question.

 

We do not want to be dressing up for dinner, is this going to cause a problem?

 

Search on the forum for Blu, a restaurant exclusively for AquaClass guests, where the dress code is always smart casual (no flip-flops or shorts) at dinner time.

[Islandgirl4242]

We cruised on the Solstice December 2012. We've also taken several cruises with RCI and loved every one. But I have to say that our Solstice cruise switched our loyalty to Celebrity. The ship is beautiful! It was filled to capacity on our cruise and we never felt crowded...even when tendering in. They handle the number of passengers very well. The elevator banks seemed to continually have one stopping on our floor. We're in our early 60's, have been cruising for 20+ years, and have cruised on just about all of the mid-range lines. We cruised with Celebrity a few times in the early 90's and we're baaaaack!!:D

 

We felt the food was better than we have experienced on RCI and, again, we have no complaints with RCI. The Oceanview Cafe (buffet) is larger with lots of food stations and choices. The food stations help with lines of hungry passengers. They even have a homemade ice cream bar. I'm not a coffee drinker, but DH is and he's never felt coffee was good in the dining areas on any cruise line.:rolleyes: He had a drink package on the Solstice enjoying coffee specialties each morning at Al Baco with a huge smile on his face! Coffee and tea are available throughout the day in the Oceanview Cafe and you can also order through room service.

 

Someone commented that Celebrity is not as high energy as RCI. I think the energy level depends a lot on the passengers and our latest Celebrity cruise was a mix of passengers from young families with children to many "oldies but goodies" and lots of in-betweens and everyone seemed to be enjoying their days. The kids program has its' own area on the ship and we seemed to only see kids when dining with their parents. We also have friends who returned from a Celebrity cruise and mentioned there were no kids on the cruise.

 

Often we have felt that entertainment becomes the same shows just on different ships and we've spent evenings doing other things. The Solstice had some very enjoyable entertainment and we went to most of the shows.

 

Yes, you can wear shorts and t's in the Oceanview Cafe. We were relieved to see them speak to the man who showed up one morning in his robe for breakfast! On most evenings DH/you would/will be fine in the MDR in chinos and a casual shirt (not a t) and ankle length pants and a top with a cute scarf. If you want to stay in your shorts for dinner the Oceanview serves a wonderful nightly buffet. And for $5 you can eat at the Bistro on Five in casual clothes if you want to sit, relax, and be served your meal. With the luggage size/weight restrictions on the airlines I think that more and more cruisers are leaving tuxedos and formals at home...we certainly are!!

 

On the Solstice there are a lot of areas to get away to. Great/comfy seating and we always seemed find areas that we hadn't seen before. Who would think you could walk on soft green grass on a ship!! My only complaint about the Solstice is that our days just passed much too quickly!!

 

In October we'll cruise the Adriatic on her sistership, the Silhouette. And then, well who knows, but I'm thinking it will be with Celebrity!!

 

Whatever you decide...enjoy your days...they're almost always better at sea!! ~~Judy

[Onessa]

We've done both RCCI and X, and enjoyed both lines. Whether you as a RCCI cruiser will equally enjoy both depends upon what makes you happy on a cruise. My family cruises mainly for the itinerary -- so we make little use of the climbing walls, skating rinks, flow riders, etc. on RCCI and so do not miss those on-board activities on X. We are also did not do any of the shows in the theatre on our last few cruises, so I can't really even compare those! (On Solstice we loved the Hot Glass Shows though!)

 

Both lines have great atmosphere -- lots of public art, high quality bedding. The crews I have encountered on RCCI tend to be a bit more friendly; on X a bit more reserved.

 

Tell us a few things that you look forward to on your RCCI cruises, and we'll be better able to answer if X is for you .

[CactusGirly]

We loved the ship, especially all the interior spaces

[Cthy651]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their input - it was greatly appreciated - off to the travel agent on Saturday.