Mid-cruise report aboard Solstice

[bludevil]

19 hours ago, camella said:

Are you on the July 1st sailing?  We are too!  

I am!

[dream2cruise]

2 hours ago, itsanita said:

We are going July 15th with 6 grandkids, ages 8 to 14.  This is the first time I will be cruising with kids.   

 

What kind of activities do they have for the kids.  I wanted to take them on RC, but we liked this itinerary better.  So 🤞.

 

FYI - Let the kids know to hunt for ducks.  We know of at least 60 that will be hidden on the ship - unicorns, ninjas, pirates, graduation and other assorted rubber duckies.  🦆  They may keep them or hide them again for others to find.

Edited June 15, 2022 by dream2cruise
typo correction

[CGBanks]

Thank you, thank you, thank you !  We will be sailing in July are I am soaking up all the info I can !  Sounds like you all are having a great cruise and have wonderful attitudes 🙂  We plan to mask up quite a bit as a precaution.  We feel we need to get on with life and that's why we decided to go ahead with our cruise.  We respect everyone's personal decisions.  Can't Wait to sail on the Solstice.  Thanks again for the review ~ Cindy & Howard

[mauimary]

For those of you on board now. When did you get your cruise cards?  We’re they on your door?  How early were you able to access your room to get the cards?  Wondering as you need them to order any drinks for lunch!!!  Please inform us anxious folks following in your footsteps after you. 

[dgoz]

Thank you so much for this detailed account! I am doing 2 of those excursions you mentioned so I loved to hear all the positive reactions. Do the veranda rooms still have the red carpet and couches?

[sjs203]

On 6/15/2022 at 10:12 AM, kasowell2 said:

Never mind I found it

Where did you find it? I've been looking but can't find. Thanks

 

[camella]

On 6/14/2022 at 7:58 PM, kcmo74 said:

OV cafe is 6pm to 9:15pm. Late night selection is 10pm to 1am.

Thanks!  That works.  We can have dinner outside and watch the sail away.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise and thanks for the daily updates.  They have been terrific!

[kcmo74]

On 6/15/2022 at 1:21 PM, mauimary said:

For those of you on board now. When did you get your cruise cards?  We’re they on your door?  How early were you able to access your room to get the cards?  Wondering as you need them to order any drinks for lunch!!!  Please inform us anxious folks following in your footsteps after you. 

They were on your doors/by your room number placard upon boarding. We boarded within an hour and a half of sail away and were able to access our rooms immediately, not sure when earlier boarders were able to get into theirs.

[kcmo74]

On 6/15/2022 at 2:47 PM, dgoz said:

Thank you so much for this detailed account! I am doing 2 of those excursions you mentioned so I loved to hear all the positive reactions. Do the veranda rooms still have the red carpet and couches?

Yes they do.

[kcmo74]

On 6/15/2022 at 6:02 AM, itsanita said:

Thanks so much for this great day by day review. 

 

We are going July 15th with 6 grandkids, ages 8 to 14.  This is the first time I will be cruising with kids.   

Where do you sign them up for the Camp at sea?   

What kind of activities do they have for the kids.  I wanted to take them on RC, but we liked this itinerary better.  So 🤞.

And my DH wants to know if they are still handing out champagne when boarding?

You just check them in at the Camp at Sea area on Deck 15 by swiping your card. They have 1.5 hr sessions in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and some other events at night. They also have a teen lounge with video and arcade games.

 

They didn’t hand out champagne as we boarded, but we boarded later so they may have to earlier boarders. They handed out hot chocolate and chicken bouillon when we got back on at ports.

[Mom2boysATX]

13 hours ago, sjs203 said:

Where did you find it? I've been looking but can't find. Thanks

 

It is on the Cruise Planner under "Internet & More".  Scroll past all the wifi options.

[kasowell2]

14 hours ago, sjs203 said:

Where did you find it? I've been looking but can't find. Thanks

 

It’s on the website under experiences

 

[floridianny]

On 6/15/2022 at 4:21 PM, mauimary said:

For those of you on board now. When did you get your cruise cards?  We’re they on your door?  How early were you able to access your room to get the cards?  Wondering as you need them to order any drinks for lunch!!!  Please inform us anxious folks following in your footsteps after you. 

You don't need the cards for drinks for lunch.. They just ask for your cabin number.

[itsanita]

This is so helpful, thanks for taking the time.

Can you tell us how many ports are available in your room for charging phones/ipad etc?  I usually bring a powerstrip, especially when traveling with the grandkids, but I am hearing that some of the cabins have several ports/outlets and that may not be necessary.  

[kcmo74]

1 hour ago, itsanita said:

This is so helpful, thanks for taking the time.

Can you tell us how many ports are available in your room for charging phones/ipad etc?  I usually bring a powerstrip, especially when traveling with the grandkids, but I am hearing that some of the cabins have several ports/outlets and that may not be necessary.  

There were only the 2 outlets in the vanity area and 1 in the bathroom. We got an extension cord from our room attendant because we have cpap machines and I plugged a small 3 outlet strip into that so we had 4 outlets in our room and still could have used 2 more at times. I definitely recommend a power strip and even asking for an extension cord if you want the plugs nearer the bed, our room attendant even ran it behind the sofa so it was as out of the way as it could be.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, itsanita said:

This is so helpful, thanks for taking the time.

Can you tell us how many ports are available in your room for charging phones/ipad etc?  I usually bring a powerstrip, especially when traveling with the grandkids, but I am hearing that some of the cabins have several ports/outlets and that may not be necessary.  

Power-strips with surge protectors are prohibited and are often confiscated and sent to the naught room.  

 

I picked up a couple of tese USB ports

 

and then recently discovered Octopus Charging cables and really solved the problem -  Each cable has 2x Iphone, 1 Micro USB and 1 type C.   They also sell different configuration and one with up to 19 connectors which is in my mind overkill.

 

 

Edited June 17, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[kcmo74]

Sitting in SEATAC now waiting for our flight I’ll give some final thoughts as the last 2 days weren’t near as event filled as the first 5. Finally asked yesterday and there are 2089 pax aboard. The captain (Charis not Harris btw) finally mentioned some Covid cases on day 6 but said they were all asymptomatic, and on day 7 he reported some more cases but that we were still under 1% or less than 20. I would highly recommend Camp if you have a younger child that loves arts and crafts and netting new kids, our daughter enjoyed every session she attended. The service on the boat was phenomenal and my daughter (and the rest of us) made a special connection with our assistant waiter and buffet attendant Radha from Mauritius. Our family enjoyed the Passport Bar a lot as it was a great place to play cards and was never busy so bar/waiter service was always fast and good. There have been differing things across the board about getting off in Canada, but for us it was the smoothest port of them all. All we needed was our seapass cards to get off and to pass back through to get on. We didn’t need our passports, and even though we completed it as required before our sailing, we never needed the ArriveCAN code at any point. As for Victoria, since we stop there in the evening 90% of the stores are closed, so it’s really only nice to get off if you are planning to eat in town. I also heard from others that the whale watching trips in Victoria didn’t see any whales, so definitely do your whale watching in Juneau if it’s on your list. To conclude, we had a fantastic trip and would definitely sail on Celebrity and the Solstice again. I think it made cruising fans out of my wife and daughter who were on their first cruise ever. I think Disney may be our next cruise though because the 4 year old won’t stop talking about it, and she’s the real boss of the family.

[PhunKruz]

20 hours ago, kcmo74 said:

Finally asked yesterday and there are 2089 pax aboard. The captain (Charis not Harris btw) finally mentioned some Covid cases on day 6 but said they were all asymptomatic, and on day 7 he reported some more cases but that we were still under 1% or less than 20. 

Do you know how asymptomatic cases were detected (maybe they were all crew who do periodic testing)?  I'm trying to understand the Covid protocols a bit more.  Was there any mid-cruise testing or anything beyond the test result to board?  Some cruises are starting to require masks and it sounds like you did not experience that on Celebrity.  Can you confirm?  This is a great post and very helpful for getting a feel of what Alaska is like on Solstice first-hand.

[kcmo74]

4 hours ago, PhunKruz said:

Do you know how asymptomatic cases were detected (maybe they were all crew who do periodic testing)?  I'm trying to understand the Covid protocols a bit more.  Was there any mid-cruise testing or anything beyond the test result to board?  Some cruises are starting to require masks and it sounds like you did not experience that on Celebrity.  Can you confirm?  This is a great post and very helpful for getting a feel of what Alaska is like on Solstice first-hand.

Masks were only required in the Theater and Casino, otherwise it was optional with the majority of people choosing not to wear them. There is no mid-cruise testing or any mandatory testing other than the test you get done yourself before the cruise. No explanations are given about how cases are discovered or any specifics, just a brief mention from the captain in his morning announcements about the general case count and status. We didn’t notice increased coughing or anything of the sort as the cruise went on, as others have mentioned. We were unmasked the entire time unless required and the elevators were routinely packed full with both masked and unmasked pax alike. So far nobody in our group is feeling anything other than normal and I think the less than 1% numbers reflect the way cases are everywhere not just cruise ships. Everybody’s choice is there own and we are moving on with life as normal.

[twodjs]

We were on the same cruise, masked whenever we left the cabin and two days after disembarking, my wife has tested positive. It was frustrating that so many people were maskless, only protected their chin, or held a drink throughout their time in the theater or Celebrity Central, not caring about how completely selfish and disrespectful those actions were. Amazing to us the number of people from Texas and Florida and the attitude that most seemed to have. I remember one guy boasting loudly to another - "we all come from Florida and my brother went to visit some friends in California "a lock-down state" (his emphasis) and he got Covid". As if somehow justifying Florida' approach to the pandemic.

We passed up crowded elevators, only ate in the OV once, and never in the MDR. Yet if only a few are masked, and masks help keep those who are asymptomatic from spreading the virus, it is bound to spread to those with masks also. We have cruised several times since the startup. This time our luck ran out.  

[jwlane]

36 minutes ago, twodjs said:

This time our luck ran out.  

Did you go ashore at all during the cruise? 

[twodjs]

One excursion - a walking tour - just us and the tour guide, booked through the ship. No bus tours, no plane rides. We drove to and from Seattle. 

[kcmo74]

5 hours ago, twodjs said:

We were on the same cruise, masked whenever we left the cabin and two days after disembarking, my wife has tested positive. It was frustrating that so many people were maskless, only protected their chin, or held a drink throughout their time in the theater or Celebrity Central, not caring about how completely selfish and disrespectful those actions were. Amazing to us the number of people from Texas and Florida and the attitude that most seemed to have. I remember one guy boasting loudly to another - "we all come from Florida and my brother went to visit some friends in California "a lock-down state" (his emphasis) and he got Covid". As if somehow justifying Florida' approach to the pandemic.

We passed up crowded elevators, only ate in the OV once, and never in the MDR. Yet if only a few are masked, and masks help keep those who are asymptomatic from spreading the virus, it is bound to spread to those with masks also. We have cruised several times since the startup. This time our luck ran out.  

I’m sorry to hear about your wife and I sincerely hope her case is not severe and she fully recovers. This case unfortunately shows that if you’re going to get it, you’re going to get it. No matter what you do to prevent it, this is an unpredictable virus with a mind of its own. You two took every precaution in the book and still ended up with a positive case, while my party took no precautionary measures and have no reported cases so far. This to me shows that everybody should get back to normal and know that you may or may not get it, but I would never want to spend my vacation the way you did and then still end up sick and it all being for naught. As I said before, I respect everybody’s decision and I was respectful of the required rules on the ship and courteous to those who were masked or seemed like they wanted space, but I would hope others respect my choice to be unmasked and that I’m able to assess my own personal risk. You may not think it, but judging the “Florida and Texas” people makes you just like them. I paid the money to go on a vacation and I would hate for anybody to dictate how I spent that time, and I think most would agree. You wouldn’t want somebody telling you that you had to go maskless and weren’t allowed to use the stairs. If everybody could worry about themselves and stop worrying or blaming others the world could get back to being a better place.

[upwarduk]

On 6/14/2022 at 8:21 PM, Mom2boysATX said:

-Is there a way to know which guests are vaccinated and which are not? 

Surely all adults are required to be vaccinated, it will only be children under 5 who are not ?

[Rjbobalou]

On 6/17/2022 at 11:37 AM, kcmo74 said:

There were only the 2 outlets in the vanity area and 1 in the bathroom. We got an extension cord from our room attendant because we have cpap machines and I plugged a small 3 outlet strip into that so we had 4 outlets in our room and still could have used 2 more at times. I definitely recommend a power strip and even asking for an extension cord if you want the plugs nearer the bed, our room attendant even ran it behind the sofa so it was as out of the way as it could be.

Thanks for the review. Did you have to do the ArriveCan App  and fill out questionnaire within 72 hours of arrival.

Thanks