LIVE: Dec 23 2019, Solstice, 12 Night Holiday New Zealand Cruise

[mahdnc]

We then took a guided tour of the iconic Sydney Opera House which took an hour. It is an impressive building. 

 

After that, we ate at the restaurant there, Bennelong. 

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by mahdnc

[Dar28]

The view from your room at the Marriott is spectacular! I’m really enjoying hearing about your adventure so far and looking forward to your NZ experience.

[ipeeinthepool]

Looking forward to you finally being on the ship, what you first shore excursion?

[Beba-Beba]

I'm following too.  Oh David this is so much fun to experience this adventure through your eyes. 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Looking forward to you finally being on the ship, what you first shore excursion?

Our first port of call is Picton. We are going to rent a car and drive leisurely along the coast. 

[mahdnc]

I wanted to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon on the day Solstice arrived to see the view. Here it is:

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by mahdnc

[ipeeinthepool]

If I remember correctly, one of the reasons for this cruise was to celebrate your daughters completion of her Ph. D. Program.  Congratulations to her.  Job well done.

[hcat]

Catching up on this review.  Excellent photos and descriptions!

Love the way you  manage crises along the way!

Bon Voyage!  Congrats to your dtr...

 

prayers for Australia and the firefighters!

[mahdnc]

25 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

If I remember correctly, one of the reasons for this cruise was to celebrate your daughters completion of her Ph. D. Program.  Congratulations to her.  Job well done.

You remember correctly! I will convey your congrats at dinner tonight

 

[Reel Love]

Just found your review and loving it!!!  Hoping to do a Celebrity cruise out of Sydney in the near future so very interested in your reports and will certainly be following along. 

Have to give kudos to how you handle pre-cruise crisis!  Pretty sure I would not handle those situations so well, lol.  😊   

Really appreciate your great pics.  Interesting to see the difference of the pictures of the Opera House depending on the day.  My colleague is heading out on a cruise from Sydney in mid-January and is really concerned about the air quality.  

[mahdnc]

19 hours ago, lovedecruise said:

Thanks so much for your review.  I am following with great interest.  I hope your embarkation goes well tomorrow and that you have a wonderful cruise to our lovely country.  If you have time, could you please see if the Aqua Spa cafe in the Solarium, is open for lunch.  I don't think it was on our embarkation day when we boarded Solstice on our last trip. I checked back through our dailies and it wasn't advertised as being open.  Many thanks.

 

The AquaSpa Cafe was closed for lunch when boarded today. 

 

[lovedecruise]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

The AquaSpa Cafe was closed for lunch when boarded today. 

 

Thanks so much for looking into this for me.  It has been mentioned as an embarkation lunch option but it doesn't look like it is on the Solstice.  Enjoy your cruise.

[mahdnc]

Here is the itinerary. 4 days at sea plus cruising through Milford Sound. 5 stops in New Zealand. We tender only once--at Akaroa. 

 

Evening Chic is on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and Jan 2. 

 

And we give up 2 hours sleep on the way to New Zealand and we get it back when we return to Australia.  

[mahdnc]

Good morning from the Tasman Sea. This is the first of two sea days before we arrive at New Zealand. 

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

Christmas Eve morning view from the bow:

 

[lovedecruise]

Hi, just looking at your balcony furniture, do these chairs lie back at all?  Could you please find out if they still provide footstools for Concierge and Aqua Staterooms.  Many thanks.

 

The Tasman looks pretty calm today.

[magpies66]

Thank you for your review. I am enjoying following along. We are boarding on Jan 14 for our third cruise on this beautiful ship. We have been told that the Captain has changed since last time we were on. We had been looking forward to Captain Tasos’s entertaining reports and am wondering what the new Captain is like?

[Scottygirl1]

38 minutes ago, lovedecruise said:

Hi, just looking at your balcony furniture, do these chairs lie back at all?  Could you please find out if they still provide footstools for Concierge and Aqua Staterooms.  Many thanks.

 

The Tasman looks pretty calm today.

 

We just got off Reflection the other week and yes, Concierge class up had footstools.  Those chairs do recline too.

[Beba-Beba]

Scottygirl1  A Reflection question if you do not mind.  Were the passengers permitted to access cabins early to drop-off carry-on luggage, put valuables in the safe, pick-up the Sea Pass from the bed or mail slot in the corridor and exit the cabin to leave the stewards to the task of preparing them for the current sailing or did passengers get their sea pass at the check-in desk at the terminal and have wait for the announcement that the cabins are ready at about pm?

 

Sorry David for hijacking the thread.

[mahdnc]

19 hours ago, lovedecruise said:

Hi, just looking at your balcony furniture, do these chairs lie back at all?  Could you please find out if they still provide footstools for Concierge and Aqua Staterooms.  Many thanks.

 

The Tasman looks pretty calm today.

 

Our balcony cabin has two fixed back chairs and one recliner. I will inquire about CC and AQ. 

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

 

Just like our GBR cruise on Solstice in Jan 2018, the CC Party was scheduled for the first full day of the cruise (today) at 9:30 am.  The ship's clock advanced an hour last night so we were all missing an hour's worth of sleep. Our Event Coordinator, Ranee, was our Event Coordinator last year aboard Reflection. 
 

Still, we had about 60 CCers show up today. Our registration count was 119. So had a pretty good turnout. 

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

 

I didn't remember which officers showed up. The Captain was not in attendance, but the Hotel Director made a brief appearance along with the Cruise Director

Edited December 23, 2019 by mahdnc

[lovedecruise]

38 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Our balcony cabin has two fixed back chairs and one recliner. I will inquire about CC and AQ. 

 

 

Thank you.  In January in our Aqua room we had two recliners, two footstools and a table on our balcony.  Am hoping for the same when we board in 11 days.

[mahdnc]

[mahdnc]

There are 150 kids on board in the 3-12 yr old age group. There’s another 150 kids in the 13-17 age group. This info comes straight from the Fun Factory youth counselor.