Won't post negative reviews

[OzAngel]

We completed a Celebrity Solstice 13 night cruise on 17/1/2019. I submitted a review which was less than favourable and Cruise Critic will not post. It was my first cruise with this line, also we were with people who had cruised 20 odd times and they were wholly disappointed too. Others we met on the boat were also very unhappy with the food and entertainment. One couple tried to get off the ship early but were going to be financially penalised.

i note that when you search for a review of this cruise line only the 4 and 5 star reviews are very visible and appear straight up. This is not fair for consumers who have a right to all the information. We did not meet anyone on that cruise in all our various dining, bar, excursion experiences who thought the food was anything other than repetitive and average. Many walkouts during the cringeworthy shows too. Less bias in reporting please.

[NSWP]

28 minutes ago, OzAngel said:

We completed a Celebrity Solstice 13 night cruise on 17/1/2019. I submitted a review which was less than favourable and Cruise Critic will not post. It was my first cruise with this line, also we were with people who had cruised 20 odd times and they were wholly disappointed too. Others we met on the boat were also very unhappy with the food and entertainment. One couple tried to get off the ship early but were going to be financially penalised.

i note that when you search for a review of this cruise line only the 4 and 5 star reviews are very visible and appear straight up. This is not fair for consumers who have a right to all the information. We did not meet anyone on that cruise in all our various dining, bar, excursion experiences who thought the food was anything other than repetitive and average. Many walkouts during the cringeworthy shows too. Less bias in reporting please.

Thanks for raising that, we did Solstice, Syd-NZ-Syd about 6 years ago when she first arrived in Australia, whilst OK, not great and overrated, even back then, untrained staff, food not hot due to Laminated heating plates used in kitchens, according to Maitre 'D and Executive Chef.  Entertainment ordinary.  I did a review, I must see if it is still on here.

Edited January 27, 2019 by NSWP

[sewgood]

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.

Was it your first cruise?

Or do you have a usual cruise line you sail with?

Interesting that you could not get your review published.

I stopped reading reviews long ago as so many of them were so negative.

Are you going to cruise again on another line after your experience?

I believe that there is a cruise line out there for everybody you just have to find the right fit.

[OzAngel]

3 minutes ago, sewgood said:

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.

Was it your first cruise?

Or do you have a usual cruise line you sail with?

Interesting that you could not get your review published.

I stopped reading reviews long ago as so many of them were so negative.

Are you going to cruise again on another line after your experience?

I believe that there is a cruise line out there for everybody you just have to find the right fit.

Cruised with Royal Carribean twice previously, much better. There were lots of Americans on board and they were not happy, being used to better quality food and service on cruises with Celebrity out of USA and Europe. Wasn't just our experience in other words. Agree there is a cruise liner that suits everyone, just don't like to be sold a 'premium' cruise that is truly ordinary.

[NSWP]

12 minutes ago, OzAngel said:

Cruised with Royal Carribean twice previously, much better. There were lots of Americans on board and they were not happy, being used to better quality food and service on cruises with Celebrity out of USA and Europe. Wasn't just our experience in other words. Agree there is a cruise liner that suits everyone, just don't like to be sold a 'premium' cruise that is truly ordinary.

Good points.  Reading Solstice reviews of late on CC, cold food is still an issue.  Overrated like Cunard.

 

I have said several times on CC that the cruise lines drop the ball when they cruise in this region, I suspect they have a lower operating budget and that most Aussies will not complain as many are first time cruisers, so everything is great in their eyes.   Cruising Princess here and from Europe/USA is like chalk and cheese.

Edited January 27, 2019 by NSWP

[sewgood]

OzAngel, thanks for replying.

I do enjoy the buffet on RC.

Glad to hear it wasn't your first cruise.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We've done two cruises on Solstice so far - we're on her again in April. The food on the first cruise in Dec 2015 was average but on the second cruise in Feb 2017 it was much better. It will be interesting to see how it compares on the next cruise. We choose late traditional dining on these cruises.

 

I haven't been impressed by the shows on Celebrity but there is usually some good music in one or other of the bars after dinner so that's not a big issue for us. 

 

Although we've enjoyed every cruise we've been on, we've always found a few things we didn't like. We haven't found the perfect cruise line yet, although Crystal came close.

Edited January 27, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[Chiliburn]

Celebrity classes it self as a premium cruise line .

can anyone show me someone else who rates it as a premium line.

Its not any better than RC,if you take entertainment into account it probably worse.

Theres talk of merging the older ships into RC to replace some of the older small ships like vision class.

[Pushka]

28 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We've done two cruises on Solstice so far - we're on her again in April. The food on the first cruise in Dec 2015 was average but on the second cruise in Feb 2017 it was much better. It will be interesting to see how it compares on the next cruise. We choose late traditional dining on these cruises.

 

I haven't been impressed by the shows on Celebrity but there is usually some good music in one or other of the bars after dinner so that's not a big issue for us. 

 

Although we've enjoyed every cruise we've been on, we've always found a few things we didn't like. We haven't found the perfect cruise line yet, although Crystal came close.

 

Im hoping Viking does that for us. Have not cruised yet on Solstice and am unlikely to do so but we loved Equinox and Silhouette (sister ships) on our Med Cruises. Off to Alaska in May on Orion. I’m hoping they un-Australianise it by then and treat us to the local cuisine. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

40 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Celebrity classes it self as a premium cruise line .

can anyone show me someone else who rates it as a premium line.

Its not any better than RC,if you take entertainment into account it probably worse.

Theres talk of merging the older ships into RC to replace some of the older small ships like vision class.

 

I'd rank both Celebrity and Princess as premium mass-market lines. Not to be confused with the true luxury lines though.

 

Moving ships between one brand of a corporation to another isn't unusual. Carnival Corp moved Dawn Princess to P&O, and Golden Princess will be going to P&O in 2020 I believe.

Edited January 27, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[Aus Traveller]

We usually cruise with Princess, but have cruised a few times with HAL and with Carnival out of USA. We did one cruise with Celebrity (15 night Panama Canal) and felt, comparing it with the Australian-based Princess ships that there were plusses and minuses. We would not categorize it as up-market from Princess. It is interesting that Les mentioned cold food. This one one of the issues we encountered - even if we were at the buffet when it opened, the foot was lukewarm at best.

[vozzie]

Our experience to NZ on Soltice was lack-lustre. We were locked out of our cabin on many nights and they couldn't fix it. A pretty basic need in my book...to be able to get into your cabin. The dinning room was not very exciting as we were thrown down the back on what seemed like a couple of tressle tables. I definitely wouldn't rate it as "premium". We prefer the service and shows and vibe of Carnival Spirit. Maybe we're just a lower class of passenger.

[GUT2407]

We were happy enough with out Celebrity cruises, but then I guess we are pretty easily pleased. (well Mrs G is, after all she is married to me).

 

I don’t The there is any formal rating system for lines, they can call themselves whatever they like.

 

To my mind you have Mass Market, broken up into probably three sub groups, Luxury, Expedition, Cargo and Small ship.

 

but where a line (or even an individual ship) fits is really like food, a personal call in many cases.

[NSWP]

My statement is...'There is no bad cruise line or cruise ship...but some's better than others !!!

[OzAngel]

Would like to see the basic  principles of food hygiene adopted on Solstice, even the buffet food was lukewarm. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Re not having your review accepted: is it possible you used some terms that are on the banned list here, or mentioned a travel agent? Both those things could result in your review being rejected. Sometimes words and phrases that are quite acceptable in Australia are deemed offensive in the US, and Cruise Critic is a US site.

[OzKiwiJJ]

24 minutes ago, OzAngel said:

Would like to see the basic  principles of food hygiene adopted on Solstice, even the buffet food was lukewarm. 

I've noticed that on other cruise lines as well. Sometimes it depends on timing - go when the buffet is busy and the food is hot and fresh, go when it's quieter and you get lukewarm food.

[portcbob]

Sorry guys to be a party crasher. Cruised on the solstice in January 2018 to new zealand and totally enjoyed the experience . Unless the whole operation has changed in 12 months we must of been on another ship. In fact we are doing solstice again in March to nz so maybe I should prepare myself to a lesser experience and cold food. 

ps. Yes, not first time cruisers, done about 15 plus with all lines and rate celebrity highly.

cheers Bob. 

[OzAngel]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Re not having your review accepted: is it possible you used some terms that are on the banned list here, or mentioned a travel agent? Both those things could result in your review being rejected. Sometimes words and phrases that are quite acceptable in Australia are deemed offensive in the US, and Cruise Critic is a US site.

 

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Re not having your review accepted: is it possible you used some terms that are on the banned list here, or mentioned a travel agent? Both those things could result in your review being rejected. Sometimes words and phrases that are quite acceptable in Australia are deemed offensive in the US, and Cruise Critic is a US site.

No, no reference to anybody or any agents, and the language and tone of my review is similar to my original post on this forum. Not trying to crucify them but by comparison to other cruises I've done it was not value for money and sold to us as being better than other ships sailing in our region.  Just sharing our experience and if it WAS just our experience we could think maybe we were being picky, but we know otherwise. Wish we had searched for reviews before we booked. I'll always give credit where credit is due....

[OzAngel]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I've noticed that on other cruise lines as well. Sometimes it depends on timing - go when the buffet is busy and the food is hot and fresh, go when it's quieter and you get lukewarm food.

 

37 minutes ago, portcbob said:

Sorry guys to be a party crasher. Cruised on the solstice in January 2018 to new zealand and totally enjoyed the experience . Unless the whole operation has changed in 12 months we must of been on another ship. In fact we are doing solstice again in March to nz so maybe I should prepare myself to a lesser experience and cold food. 

ps. Yes, not first time cruisers, done about 15 plus with all lines and rate celebrity highly.

cheers Bob. 

Irrespective of when you get to the buffet, hot food should be served hot and temp monitored, otherwise you risk food poisoning. Not sure where you are from but in Australia we are used to safe food management practices.

[possum52]

OzAngel,

 

May I ask how you know your review has been rejected? The last review I submitted took more than two weeks to be published. It is only ten days since you returned from your cruise. Some reviews I have read have been very negative over the past year or so, so I would be surprised if yours was rejected.

 

Leigh

[whimsy7]

@ possum52,

good point....some reviews do take a while to be posted.

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, OzAngel said:

 

Irrespective of when you get to the buffet, hot food should be served hot and temp monitored, otherwise you risk food poisoning. Not sure where you are from but in Australia we are used to safe food management practices.

With regards to food safety in buffet lines, the food there is on "time control".  Food can only be considered to be on "temperature control" when in an appliance that is enclosed and has a means of temperature control and monitoring, like an oven or a warming cart.  Even a steak cooked on a grill or flat top cannot be considered to be under temperature control.  Foo under temperature control can be held indefinitely (though of course the quality degrades), while once out of a temperature control appliance, the food goes to "time control".  All steam tables are time control devices, whether in the buffet or the main plating line in the galley.  Food, once in time control, does not need to be kept at a fixed temperature (because it can't), but must be discarded after 4 hours, which is the time needed to start harmful bacteria growing.  This is a basis of all safe food management practices.  While cold or cool food is not something that enhances the guest experience, there is no food safety issue involved.

[portcbob]

Hi ozangel.

I also are from aussie, fyi.

I am only giving our opinion on our cruise 12 months ago. Most people we spoke to on our cruise and quite a lot were from the states also thought the experience was great.

i am not saying for a moment you are wrong as celebrity may of slipped somewhat since our last cruise however i will go once again with an open mind in a few weeks time and report back.

if it's as bad as you claim we will look for change.

cheers Bob. 

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I checked the Solstice reviews here

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=381

there are 60 reviews that give it a rating of terrible.

Cruise Ratings
Excellent 1,083
Very Good 475
Average 260 
Poor 120
Terrible 60

The latest review was dated Dec . and the posters cruise was Jan . I