Your thoughts on Soltice?

[NOSaints1]

We booked the Soltice to Alaska and staying in 1645 on penthouse in Aqua. Class, your thoughts on dining, entertainment my wife and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary, is there anything you can do to celebrate. What kind of learning can experiences are there? So what're your pros and cons and advice for a first time Celebrity cruiser?

 

 

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[WestLakeGirl]

Best advice, hang around cruise critic for a while and you'll learn a lot every day. Also sign up for your Roll call and connections get-together. When is the cruise?

[skyedoggie]

We booked the Soltice to Alaska and staying in 1645 on penthouse in Aqua. Class, your thoughts on dining, entertainment my wife and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary, is there anything you can do to celebrate. What kind of learning can experiences are there? So what're your pros and cons and advice for a first time Celebrity cruiser?

 

 

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My DH and I just got off Equinox. We were Aqua Class although not penthouse. We enjoyed ourselves so much. Thought that Aqua Class was well worth it. Loved Blu and the staff there. Loved the Canyon Ranch Spa and the Persian Garden. The other thing we enjoyed was the Glass Show and the Lawn Club.

Check out Youtube and look for the ship you are booked on. I think you'll be well pleased.

[CathyCruises]

I think you're missng an 'S'!!

 

It's a great ship, beautiful ones, great service. You will dine in Blu, the special dining room for Aqua pax. Be sure to take advantage of the Persian gardens

[NOSaints1]

If your in Blu would you pick some of the speciality packages or would Blu be good? We're sailing in Sept

 

 

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[NOSaints1]

We found on Carnival that the food stations were could close early or the same choices everyday, and we were found hungry, is that like on Celebrity?

 

 

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[vulcan1971]

My best advice for you is to stop posting every question you have as a new thread and actually spending some time searching through the forum to answer the questions you do have.

 

 

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[Xport]

My DH and I just got off Equinox. We were Aqua Class although not penthouse. We enjoyed ourselves so much. Thought that Aqua Class was well worth it. Loved Blu and the staff there. Loved the Canyon Ranch Spa and the Persian Garden. The other thing we enjoyed was the Glass Show and the Lawn Club.

 

That the original poster was referring to the fact that they will be staying in an AquaClass stateroom [1645] on Penthouse Deck [Deck 11]... The ship's Penthouse Suites are also on Deck 11 [1611 and 1616] but those guests have different benefits/services [though they do have access to dine in Blu on a space-available basis (which I suspect is always the case for PH guests!); a new restaurant is being added for suite guests in April] than do AquaClass guests...

 

Original poster... I have completed thirteen cruises on Celebrity's Solstice-Class ships--six of those were on Solstice [Equinox, Eclipse, Silhouette and Reflection are all very similar]; twelve were in AquaClass--and have five more booked... So obviously, I think you've made a terrific choice for celebration of your anniversary and expect that you'll enjoy every moment of your time aboard...

 

Surely, there are enrichment speakers/opportunities aboard all sailings [varies with itinerary/available time; your trip is quite port-intensive] but, on Alaska sailings in particular, there is always a naturalist--an expert who will provide interesting/entertaining presentations about the area and narration as you do the scenic cruising to Hubbard Glacier... In my opinion, don't miss those to take maximum advantage of your Alaska experience! Brent Nixon, the naturalist aboard my Alaska cruise [on Celebrity Infinity; Solstice is now doing that itinerary], was exceptional [as, I expect, others would be]...

 

If time allows, it would not be uncommon for the Captain or a Senior Officer to do a presentation about topics ranging from ship operations, navigation or shipboard life from a crew perspective [likely on a sea day]... And if you are interested--especially if you are a first time cruiser--the Galley Tour [referred to as "The Heartbeat Of The Operation"] is always informative, entertaining, and fun... You will not lack for activities/fun things to do; a daily newsletter--Celebrity Today--will be delivered to your cabin each night and will include a schedule of the next day's events...

 

There will be some sort of entertainment in the theater--at two performance times--every night [typically, the first night will provide an overview of what to expect during your cruise and the last will provide a "Cruise In Review" theme with encore performances by some who otherwise entertained you during the week]... There will be two--perhaps three--production shows by an onboard troupe of singers and dancers [generally a Cirque du Soleil type show (very unusual/entertaining), a Broadway/West End song/dance revue, and a third loosely themed song/dance show]... On other nights, contract performers--ranging from musicians to singers to comedians to magicians to ventriloquists [not all on each sailing]--will be aboard to entertain you... There will be an array of guitarists/bands performing at the ship's bars and lounges at various times... And there are usually late night events--themed parties, "Dancing With The Stripes", "Liar's Club" [my favorite], and "The Not So Newlywed Game"--in Sky Lounge, the Atrium, and/or Celebrity Central--to round out the day... Part of the magic of cruising comes from having lots of opportunity to do things but doing as much or as little as you choose...

 

Celebrations? Solstice offers three Specialty Restaurants--Murano [generally viewed as the most romantic], Tuscan Grille [exceptional view of the wake], Silk Harvest--offering varied cuisines that are frequently reserved for special occassions [for some, just being aboard a cruise is a special occassion] at an upcharge; you can learn more about each/see sample menus at the Celebrity website... You might enjoy indulgent spa services; a couples massage is offered... And then, it occurs to me that some of the very unique shore excursions--different experiences than you are apt to find elsewhere--are celebrations in themselves... I found the floatplane trip to Misty Fjords [out of Ketchikan] to be beautiful/extremely memorable... The trip to the Yukon [from Skagway]--I took the one which used a bus northbound and returned southbound from the Canadian border by historic rail [you'll pass "Bridal Veil Falls"] provided magnificent scenery... And there are scenic flights to glaciers [particularly out of Juneau] that land/allow you to trek around a bit with some including a "salmon bake" dinner [not gourmet but part of the Alaska experience/tradition] with local entertainment along the way...

 

As another poster has noted you will learn much more by following this Cruise Critic forum and joining the Cruise Critic Roll Call [you will "meet" some of the cruise mates sharing your specific sailing in advance of boarding]... Other ideas for gaining further knowledge/inspiration include visiting the Ports Of Call forums here on Cruise Critic, using the search function on Cruise Critic, exploring the Celebrity website, and learning about things to see/do via web search [TripAdvisor--a sister site to Cruise Critic--is a great resource that can be mentioned here]... Researching/planning can be helpful and fulfilling to get the experience you want; as a bonus, it builds anticipation...

 

Congratulations on your anniversary and your choice... I suspect that you'll have a terrific and memorable time... Enjoy!

[sawyer_boy]

Welcome to Celebrity cruises, post as many questions you may have as that's the point of this site. Congrats on your 10th anniversary, I would surprise your wife with some rose petals on your bed, chocolate strawberries and champagne or sparkling wine. Your Aqua spa concierge will be able to help organize this for you as I have done this in the past.

 

We are sailing on Solstice for our fourth time from leaving Sydney to Hawaii on April 3rd, we will try to do a live review.

 

Keep the questions coming.

 

 

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[NOSaints1]

This spa concierge, I thought all he did was book spas. What about choice air, I've read a few threads on it. I'm just wondering is it to book on my own, use my Celebrity CVP?

 

 

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[CathyCruises]

Just go to choiceair.com and pick the tab that says you're just looking. Plug in your info and see what you get. Then go to matrix.itasoftware.com and see what is available there (it does not sell tickets) and compare. If choice air has a better deal, you can just book it yourself, there are lots of flights to choose from. Your Cvp can't help you with this.

[KW Cruisers]

Welcome to Celebrity cruises, post as many questions you may have as that's the point of this site. Congrats on your 10th anniversary, I would surprise your wife with some rose petals on your bed, chocolate strawberries and champagne or sparkling wine. Your Aqua spa concierge will be able to help organize this for you as I have done this in the past.

 

We are sailing on Solstice for our fourth time from leaving Sydney to Hawaii on April 3rd, we will try to do a live review.

 

Keep the questions coming.

 

 

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I agree. Post whatever you want and ignore people who seem to love to chastise people for asking questions and "wasting" their precious time (of which they seem to spend most of their time on here). Maybe if they had other things to do besides reading and responding to almost every post and thread, they wouldn't be so rude.

 

Now I'm sure someone will reply saying it's not rude...blah blah blah.

 

Certain posters take this way too seriously...;)

[NOSaints1]

I was looking at the dining packages, Tuscan and murano look good but can you switch silk harvest for something else or do you have to keep it?

 

 

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[NOSaints1]

We have 300, can you buy extra OBC?

 

 

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[CathyCruises]

Why would you want to buy it? Any additional charges just go on your sea pass and you pay via credit card. Yes, you CAN buy it, I just don't know how that helps unless there is an exchange rate issue.

 

My understanding is that you cannot switch out Silk Harvest on the packages. Did you have any luck with choice air?

[NOSaints1]

Cause we don't have a CC, with a credit limit on it. We have to put money on it first.

 

 

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[Cruise Arizona]

There is no need to buy extra OBC, you will have a on board spending account tied to your credit card. Just spend what you need as you go. You can purchase a specialty dinning package ahead of time if you think you will be doing it more often than once it will save you money, or you can just make your reservations and pay as you go on board the ship.

 

Is this your first time to cruise? Did you book through a travel agent or direct with Celebrity?

 

If you booked through an agent, I think you could spend about 30 minutes on the phone with him or her and have all your questions answered.

 

A good travel agent will know the ins and outs of each cruise line, probably will have cruised many times, and will have taken training classes about many different cruise lines and have the answers at the ready for you. You pay no extra to use a travel agent, they have the same prices or better than direct and a good one will provide you with all the answers for which you are looking.

 

No doubt there are lots of answers here on CruiseCritic, but you might be better served by talking with a good TA. If you find one you like and you have booked with in the last 30 days, you could even transfer your booking to that agency.

[CathyCruises]

You can buy OBC at Gifts by Celebrity on their website.

 

I believe the cruise line will charge your credit card throughout the cruise for any monies due, or at least put a hold on some funds during the cruise. So if you only have a debit card, you may need to preload it with some money, or leave a sizable cash deposit at Guest Relations.

[NOSaints1]

We always book through the cruiseline, so when we booked this cruise we had to come up with the cash transfer it to our cc than book.

 

 

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[CathyCruises]

We always book through the cruiseline, so when we booked this cruise we had to come up with the cash transfer it to our cc than book.

 

 

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I'm talking about onboard charges not the cost of the cruise itself. My understanding is that rather than just charging the lump sum total at the end of the cruise, they deduct whatever the current charges are every couple of days. If they post charges and you don't have any credit balance, that could lead to trouble while you're on board and you will get a call to come down to guest relations and get it taken care of. If you prefer to pay in cash you can make a deposit when you first board and then if you use that up to you will be required to deposit more money to cover future charges

[Cruise Arizona]

You can purchase more OBC through the website

 

Another suggestion is that most debit cards or pre-paid cards have a daily spending limit. If you haven't yet paid for your cruise in full, it would probably make sense to spread out your final payment over the weeks between now and the final payment date. Don't wait till the last day and find out the amount you owe is more than your daily limit.

 

Have your tried calling back with your booking agent at Celebrity to get details about all of this?

[NOSaints1]

I tried to find if you can use your OBC to use too book future cruises. No such luck

 

 

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