chesterbear Posted March 18, 2017 #1 Share Posted March 18, 2017 I got off celebrity solstice on Monday and I had a great time. As a little background, this was my first cruise. I traveled solo and booked last august. I had always wanted to try it and mid last year I found out I would have the funds to do so. I picked celebrity for the itinerary and they were recommended over carnival [emoji14] I traveled to Sydney for 4 days pre cruise. Spent it with relatives and sightseeing. I managed to get some shopping done but not nearly enough. It was my second time there. Embarkation was easy. I didn't see gbenjo but I met up with a couple on the roll call and another couple they met at the airport. The line moved along and soon enough we were on the ship being handed our welcome drinks. The oceanview cafe was packed but we got seats and lunch until our cabins were ready. I then went there then to cafe al bacio for a relaxing iced tea. Our roll call had organised a sail away party so that was a lot of mingling photo taking and enjoying the sunset. We stayed there until dark. I had booked an inside cabin with a sideways layout. I would happily book it again. It was forward on deck 7 and quiet. It was well maintained by the room attendant. The food was wonderful. I ate at the mdr most nights and we had up to 11 people at a time. I had select dining and had worried I would eat alone every night but that never happened at dinner. I tried aqua spa for breakfast and room service on a couple of port days. I didn't eat in any of the specialty restaurants but I did dine in the penthouse suite one night and ate off the Tuscan grill menu. I had the premium non alcoholic package and it was nice not having to pay for everything individually. I only had a few alcoholic drinks and did wine tasting at cellar masters on a sea day. That was well worth it. I went to several of the shows. I saw all of the 9pm shows except amade. I also enjoyed dancing in the sky lounge a couple of nights and gave the silent disco a go. While it was still on I snuck out to the Tiffany store and my cabin and came back to the area to a lot of people singing highway to hell. [emoji3] I loved the public spaces especially the library and the sky lounge. I discovered the pools very late and liked to go in around 5 pm. And yes I did enjoy the shops as proved by my onboard bill! Some things were cheaper like perfume and guess handbags than at home. The ports were interesting. I went to the aquarium and lemon bay in noumea, then the vanilla factory in lifou. Both were celebrity excursions and very nice. Noumea was expensive but I was able to limit my spending to just using the $80 in local currency that I took. I loved mystery island. I wandered around the market and then took a swim in the ocean. It was perfect weather. I knew what to expect in Fiji from a previous visit and I booked excursions through viator. My favourite one of the whole trip was the jewel of Fiji in Suva where we went to the village then down the river on longboats. The waterfall swimming hole was beautiful. I went to the orchid garden in lautoka and the market and temple. Oh yes and downtown lautoka for aloe Vera for my sunburn. Disembarkation was all too quick. I was at the airport around 9 and was supposed to leave on a 3.50 flight so was prepared for a day at the airport. I went to the air New Zealand counter to see if I could go through customs early and they advised they could rebook me to an 11.50 flight. I was happy about that until I got on the plane and it was a turbulent flight. I was happy enough traveling solo but I did have my "what were you thinking?!?!" moments. They usually passed with a good meal and or company. There wasn't much to dislike at all. A couple of dishes in the mdr and that's about it. The staff were great and the 1700 Australians didn't tease me too much [emoji14] I booked onboard for a cruise in 2019 that is a round trip from Auckland to the South Pacific. I enjoyed that area so much that I wanted to see more of it. And to spend more time on the beautiful ship! Feel free to ask questions as I probably forgot something [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishfulone Posted March 18, 2017 #2 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Pleased you enjoyed your cruise but I really thought with all your posts you were an experienced cruiser! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussieflyer Posted March 18, 2017 #3 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Pleased you enjoyed your cruise but I really thought with all your posts you were an experienced cruiser! Yes, you certainly had me fooled Cesterbear. :) Glad you enjoyed the cruise. I really like Solstice and Celebrity in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newby58 Posted March 18, 2017 #4 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Loved the review. Thank you. Glad you had a good time! Not easy on your own. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted March 18, 2017 #5 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Pleased you enjoyed your cruise but I really thought with all your posts you were an experienced cruiser! Ditto! Very pleased to hear you enjoyed Solstice. She's a lovely ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newby58 Posted March 18, 2017 #6 Share Posted March 18, 2017 October 2018 can't wait! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterbear Posted March 18, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Pleased you enjoyed your cruise but I really thought with all your posts you were an experienced cruiser! Yeah I had way too much time on my hands beforehand so I learned about it like crazy. Or maybe I was just plain crazy [emoji14] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted March 18, 2017 #8 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Yeah I had way too much time on my hands beforehand so I learned about it like crazy. Or maybe I was just plain crazy [emoji14] Nope! I did exactly the same before our first cruise. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs and mrs Posted March 18, 2017 #9 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Nice feel good review, hope you forever enjoy your travels xo:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum52 Posted March 18, 2017 #10 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Great review Chesterbear. Glad you enjoyed your first cruise. You have the bug now! Leigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted March 18, 2017 #11 Share Posted March 18, 2017 So another addict??:evilsmile::halo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted March 20, 2017 #12 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Thanks for the Review. glad you really enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterbear Posted March 20, 2017 Author #13 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Thanks [emoji3] Yes an addict I think. I believe it's my job in life to recruit more addicts for the cause [emoji106] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted March 20, 2017 #14 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Thanks [emoji3] Yes an addict I think. I believe it's my job in life to recruit more addicts for the cause [emoji106] Sent from my iPhone using Forums A worthy vocation, if you can get paid for it even better.:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterbear Posted March 25, 2017 Author #15 Share Posted March 25, 2017 My plan is working!! My sister is keen and today we booked a family cruise on Pacific Explorer over New Years. I know I swore I wouldn't try p&o but I have to take the time off work anyway and I don't have to pay extra for traveling solo. [emoji106] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairebearinaus Posted March 28, 2017 #16 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Quick question for you if you're still reading my fellow Bear... :) I know you didn't go to the specialty restaurants, but did you notice if there were any special offers? I'm going on 13/4 and wondering whether to book online for my night of choice, or wait until I'm onboard in the hope of a discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterbear Posted March 28, 2017 Author #17 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Quick question for you if you're still reading my fellow Bear... :) I know you didn't go to the specialty restaurants, but did you notice if there were any special offers? I'm going on 13/4 and wondering whether to book online for my night of choice, or wait until I'm onboard in the hope of a discount. There were some packages offered onboard as some of the people I met bought 3 night packages. I didn't hear of individual dinner discounts. Our waiter in the mdr did advise of a $20 lunch at silk harvest which was Indian themed but it coincided with wine tasting which I really wanted to try. There was also rumours about all inclusive at sushi on five but I don't know if that was true. [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairebearinaus Posted March 28, 2017 #18 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Thank you! :) Sent from my SM-G930F using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted March 28, 2017 #19 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Quick question for you if you're still reading my fellow Bear... :) I know you didn't go to the specialty restaurants, but did you notice if there were any special offers? I'm going on 13/4 and wondering whether to book online for my night of choice, or wait until I'm onboard in the hope of a discount. On our recent Solstice cruise, last month, they had some specials. Sushi on 5 started off with $25 all-you-can-eat lunches, and then the price dropped to $20. Silk Harvest were offering dinner for $27 instead of $35. We weren't impressed by the food though. There was a special lunch in Tuscan Grille, $35, that was supposed to showcase all three restaurants but they pulled that menu at the very last minute, offered us the regular lunch menu and only charged $25. Awesome food. We didn't try to go to any of the other speciality restaurants for dinner this time. The MDR meals were exceptionally good, much better than on our previous Solstice cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairebearinaus Posted March 28, 2017 #20 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Thanks again. It's Murano I'm interested in, though all you can eat sushi sounds appealing too! Sent from my SM-G930F using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterbear Posted March 28, 2017 Author #21 Share Posted March 28, 2017 We also loved our waiters in the main dining room - Wilson and carmanta. We wanted them to serve us every night so we had to go back [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted March 29, 2017 #22 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Thank you for reviewing your cruise. It's great that you have future cruises booked.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted March 29, 2017 #23 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Thank you for reviewing your cruise. It's great that you have future cruises booked.:) Yep always nice to have something to look forward to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esilef Posted March 29, 2017 #24 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Clairebear I nearly booked that cruise! They had very good last minute specials. Enjoy your cruise[emoji4] Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffy62 Posted March 30, 2017 #25 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Quick question for you if you're still reading my fellow Bear... :) I know you didn't go to the specialty restaurants, but did you notice if there were any special offers? I'm going on 13/4 and wondering whether to book online for my night of choice, or wait until I'm onboard in the hope of a discount. I'm on the same cruise :) Hoping there's a chefs table night on board or a progressive dinner but I've heard maybe not on cruises from Australia :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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