First time Cruiseds

[Just to cruise]

Hi All Wife and I have booked on Celebrety Solstice April 2018 Sydney Hawai Have some questions if anyone can help The Beveridge packages what to choose Me a few beers during the day wine with Dinner Wife Occassional Cocktail Non Drinker any suggestions on suitable package Re speciailty Dining Is this worthwhile ? Quality of the restaurants Food ??? Anyone done the trip what stops excursions are worthwhile ?? Any tips traps lol to avoid would be great to get some info Thanks in advance

[sanger727]

Your post is very difficult to read; I can't tell if English isn't your first language or it's a typing issue but you may have trouble getting good responses. Based on what I *think* you are saying; I don't see any benefit for you to get the beverage packages. You'll need more than. Few beers and an occasional cocktail for the cost to be worthwhile. Plus you can bring two bottles of wine onboard with you to drink in your cabin.

 

I've not dined in specialty dining on celebrity. I found the MDR food perfectly fine and the specialty dining costs too high. I'd suggest waiting until you board to decide if you want to purchase a dining package or not.

 

What excursions are worthwhile are highly subjective and difficult for someone to recommend, not knowing what you enjoy doing. You may want to check out the 'ports of call' board to get more information about the ports.

 

 

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[richsea]

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic! You should join the roll call for your sailing. Follow this link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=479

It will take you to the page where all Solstice sailings are listed. Join in and you can get lots of ideas of what to do.

As far as a drink pkge., frim what you describe, the classic package should be fine for you.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

You might not need a beverage package at all if both of you drink as little as you describe. There is a non-alcoholic drink package you could check out for your wife. I think it is about $18 a day. For me, that was barely worth it. I didn't even spend that much on a daily basis as I cannot drink alcohol and I don't drink sodas.

 

As for premium restaurants, we really enjoy Murano. That said, for a first cruise, I don't think you will even need to go to a premium restaurant. The Main Dining Room will most likely be an excellent experience for you. This is just my thought, but I think premium restaurants suit those who have cruised more often and are looking for something above and beyond the Main Dining Room.

 

You are not required to book a premium restaurant before you cruise. I'd wait until you board and look around to see what is appealing. Read the posted menus and see the appearance of each restaurant. The Main Dining Room is very elegant and is plenty good enough, honestly. I don't know, of course, your lifestyle and preferences. If you are a highly sophisticated diner, you may want to try a premium restaurant at least once.

 

As for excursions, be aware that they can add up your daily expenditure rapidly, especially longer excursions such as those that last several hours. I don't often go to the roll call, but that would be a good way to find out what folks think of various excursions. There is also a place here that deals with each port call. Go there for specifics too.

 

I hope you both really enjoy your first cruise. My biggest advice would be not to do what Hubby and I did on our first cruise fifteen years ago. We overdid to exhaustion because we were so eager to try everything and had a true fear of missing out. I almost collapsed from exhaustion! Now we pace ourselves. Just let some activities go. You can always cruise again.

[Mr. Click]

Beyond what others have suggested I would add, be sure to be on deck at the Sunset Bar for sail away from Sydney, the views are spectacular, especially if you get a nice sunset. Be sure to check out the hot glass shows on your sea days. Fun and informative and free. Dining, we do the MDR 99% of the time and we find the food enjoyable. On rare occasions when we have OBC to use up we will book a specialty restaurant. They often offer discounts onboard to generate business so do not book them ahead of time. The few times we have gone we have gotten discounts from 30% to 50%. The Solstice is a great ship with a great crew. Enjoy it all.