I miss HAL's Rotterdam, SOLSTICE is a huge Disappointment

[NMTraveller]

I was hoping for a review of Rotterdam vs E class myself.

 

Anyways from my recollection Rotterdam had the rear facing MDR where you could see whales spouting in Alaska during dinner.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by NMTraveller

[SunNFunCruzer]

4 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

...and will be looking for the “problematic” ramps.

 

I'll get you started....  Visit the transition area at the back of the very high-traffic Ocean View Cafe Starboard side as you transition from inside to outside. They are trying to mitigate the risk by covering the incline with a carpet.  Maybe you can post the next one you find... that's just one of many on this ship.

[SunNFunCruzer]

12 hours ago, JLMcruise said:

The Millennium was built in 2000. Did have a rehab. Solstice was built in 2008 - awaiting for a rehab. The reason for the change in ship was the cancelation of Asia cruises.  You stated  "I don't recall any fare discount of obc offered when the change was made."  You had a chance to get a full refund or book another ship. We also booked the Millie and when the change in ship came - we were happy. The S class ship is more to our liking.  Millie has her qualities just spent 2 weeks on her in August.  

 

Most working age people schedule vacation time and buy flights as part of their cruise planning, so I doubt the average passenger booked on Millennium took advantage of the option to get a refund. I'm sure most did what we did which was allow Celebrity to switch cabins ship to ship. 

 

As mentioned, I didn't choose the Best of Norway cruise because it was on Rotterdam, and I did not choose this Mexican Riviera itinerary because it was on Millennium (or Solstice). I was just giving readers another data point about the pros and cons of the Solstice.

[abbydancer2003]

I don't quite understand the thing about the casino.

 

I was on the Eclipse twice this past summer and it also only allowed 50.00 increments.  I'd put 50.00 OBC from my account and get a ticket that I could put into a machine.  I could play as long as I wanted on my even multiples of 50.00.  I could cash out at any point and get cash back on what was there.

 

Are you saying that if I put 50.00 in, and I cash out when it's at 51.25, I only get 1.25 back?  And if I cash out at 47.50, I get nothing back?

 

 

[SunNFunCruzer]

4 hours ago, abbydancer said:

I don't quite understand the thing about the casino.

 

I was on the Eclipse twice this past summer and it also only allowed 50.00 increments.  I'd put 50.00 OBC from my account and get a ticket that I could put into a machine.  I could play as long as I wanted on my even multiples of 50.00.  I could cash out at any point and get cash back on what was there.

 

Are you saying that if I put 50.00 in, and I cash out when it's at 51.25, I only get 1.25 back?  And if I cash out at 47.50, I get nothing back?

 

 

 

We were told that you can only cash out your "winnings" on slots and that we'd be given "special" chips for table games, with the same rule about only converting "winnings" to cash. Not big gamblers, so I don't know how those things are monitored. I've shared what we were told.

 

On HAL's Rotterdam you can charge $5.00 or $10 at a time while at a machine to your on board account and this amount will be deducted from nonrefundable obc first. On Solstice there is no way to charge to your cabin while sitting at a machine (at least that we could figure out or were advised how to do).

[prmssk]

@SunNFunCruzer Just curious, have you cruised any other ships besides the two you are comparing?  If so, how recently?

 

[JLMcruise]

9 hours ago, SunNFunCruzer said:

 

Most working age people schedule vacation time and buy flights as part of their cruise planning, so I doubt the average passenger booked on Millennium took advantage of the option to get a refund. I'm sure most did what we did which was allow Celebrity to switch cabins ship to ship. 

 

As mentioned, I didn't choose the Best of Norway cruise because it was on Rotterdam, and I did not choose this Mexican Riviera itinerary because it was on Millennium (or Solstice). I was just giving readers another data point about the pros and cons of the Solstice.

I work full time for a large resort. Maybe I look at life differently. I don't sweat the small stuff - life is too short. I hoped your trip would get better after your first day.  So looking forward to mine! I worked hard for it. That's why I don't "plug in" on vacation.  No cell phone - no computer. Different strokes for different folks. I wish you all the best on your next cruise. 

[hcat]

We sailed on Solstice when she was brand new and cuttung edge.,,hope sge will be upgraded...not that old for a ship.  No interest for us to cruise on  HAL!

[SJ1_]

On 9/25/2022 at 7:51 PM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Sorry to hear that you are disappointed with Celebrity. 

Never had a bad cruise   Love them all   Celebrity is my fav,

[phoenix_dream]

On 9/25/2022 at 7:31 PM, SunNFunCruzer said:

Currently on the Solstice out of LA. Occupancy numbers from crew are all over the map (~1700-1900), and it feels uncrowded. While I was disappointed with the lack of variety in Lincoln Center shows, the Solstice disappoints in so many areas:

 

1) There are 2 American outlets in the room, both at the desk, none near the bed.

 

2) The tv is mounted in front of the loveseat, catty corner to the bed, and difficult to see, while there is a large tv size framed photo directly in front of the bed.

 

3) The pools feel like they are 84-87 degrees. Not refreshing at all even though the air is hot. Guests almost universally grimaced and complained about the temperature upon entering when we sat poolside.

 

4) The casino forces you to use OBC in increments of $50 non-refundable and you can only cash out what you've won. This I understand, but it's super annoying that they refuse to allow incremental cashouts.

 

5) The food in the buffet is lukewarm and the pizza (a fast and easy staple) is soft and soggy.

 

6) They allow smoking in waaaay too many areas, and especially in outdoor areas with tables and chairs, so its almost impossible to sit outside comfortably with a drink and game, etc. There are almost no outdoor areas with dining height tables in non smoking areas, except on personal balconies with no drink service.

 

7) The Ocean view Cafe aft behind the buffet has very limited outdoor space, and many of the tables are in direct sun. This is really the only place to hang out with a dining height table. You'll wait a long time for drink service, and will probably give up and get a yourself a cocktail.

 

😎8 ) staff are truly hit or miss. I miss HAL's super friendly, hardworking and proactive staff. In my opnion, 50% of the staff are HAL quality and 50% check their pockets every day.

 

9) The room AC struggles to keep the cabin cool.

 

10) The cabin layout and ship areas are dangerous. There is a very large step from the bathroom to the cabin, and in many public areas there are random ramps and uneven surfaces. I'd be really curious to know if the incidents of onboard accidents - in cabins and throughout the ship - is higher on this ship than on other ships.

 

11) The comedian last night bombed, and he knew it. He asked to have the lights turned up b/c there was so little sound in the room. Part can be explained by his trying new material related to Covid, but part was that his tired, stereotypical sexist jokes need to be replaced.

 

Staff mask wearing is high, guests are estimated at ~5% masking up, but the Covid risk seems low because it seems low density.

 

The positives:

 

1) The drink variety so far is good.

 

2) The lawn/grass areas and hot glass classes are very nice and, as far as I know, unique to Celebrity.

 

3) The variety of food is good, but quality is 6-7 out of 10. It's early days so hard to critique dining room food yet.

 

4) There are a number of relaxing indoor areas that have comfortable couches and cushy chairs, and homey touches like a live potted tree. These can be seen from the glass elevators and it gives that interior part of the ship a classy feeling.

 

I have identified and experienced a lot of negatives, so will be on the lookout to add some more positives. Happy to answer questions when/if possible.

 

If you're sailing soon, tone down your expectations. If you're home without a booking, you're not missing much.

 

 

 

 

 

Question about your casino comment.  Are you saying you can't load casino $ from your account on the machine itself and then cash out. I can do that on Summit but I know it varies by ship. I was hoping to have that option as alot of obc on an upcoming Solstice cruise

[Mimiya11]

Sorry to hear about your disappointment with Solstice.  But what a list!   

 

We were on the HA Eurodam a few years ago and the only thing we loved about HA was variety of entertainment venues, basically covering all musical interests.  Everything else (our opinion) was way off, in comparison to Celebrity.   Am talking about the big things that matter to most cruisers like food, consistent customer service quality, and overall ambiance. 

Enjoy HA.    

 

 

[ScottC4746]

1 minute ago, Mimiya11 said:

Sorry to hear about your disappointment with Solstice.  But what a list!   

 

We were on the HA Eurodam a few years ago and the only thing we loved about HA was variety of entertainment venues, basically covering all musical interests.  Everything else (our opinion) was way off, in comparison to Celebrity.   Am talking about the big things that matter to most cruisers like food, consistent customer service quality, and overall ambiance. 

Enjoy HA.    

 

 

We noticed on HAL while the public spaces were gorgeous, we felt we were clambering to see out.  On X they certainly know how to use windows.  

[Mimiya11]

Just now, ScottC4746 said:

We noticed on HAL while the public spaces were gorgeous, we felt we were clambering to see out.  On X they certainly know how to use windows.  

Good point.   Our only experience was on the Eurodam which felt very claustrophobic and had a very choppy layout on the deck which had all the main entertainment.   

[ScottC4746]

2 minutes ago, Mimiya11 said:

Good point.   Our only experience was on the Eurodam which felt very claustrophobic and had a very choppy layout on the deck which had all the main entertainment.   

Ours was on the same and noticed the maze of corridors as well.  No straight shot from end to end. 

We also missed on HAL the grand staircase.  They had a hole on one deck so you could see down, but not the same as descending the grand staircase. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

We sailed on Solstice when she was brand new and cuttung edge.,,hope sge will be upgraded...not that old for a ship.  No interest for us to cruise on  HAL!

I hear you but I feel that Celebrity is chasing me away.  I didn’t like it when Celebrity eliminated 14 day cruises, I’m not a fan of the IV’s and Celebrity is assigning more of the E class ships to itineraries that are of interest to me.  I don’t know anything about HAL ships or service but they certainly have itineraries that look interesting to me.

 

Sooner or later I will likely find myself on some HAL ships.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Ipeeinthepools

[LGW59]

3 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I hear you but I feel that Celebrity is chasing me away.  I didn’t like it when Celebrity eliminated 14 day cruises, I’m not a fan of the IV’s and Celebrity is assigning more of the E class ships to itineraries that are of interest to me.  I don’t know anything about HAL ships or service but they certainly have itineraries that look interesting to me.

 

Sooner or later I will likely find myself on some HAL ships.

They have not been eliminated, or if they were, they forgot to tell me.  I am on a 14 nighter on Oct. 24

[canderson]

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

They have not been eliminated, or if they were, they forgot to tell me.  I am on a 14 nighter on Oct. 24

Doesn't seem like there are as many as there used to be.  Constellation used to get the longer and different itineraries, which is why we logged so many nights there.   I guess they figure B2B is supposed to be the solution now.

 

The web page used to make it easy to search for cruises based upon length of itinerary.  IIRC, there was a 10+ selection that thinned the herd a bit when doing a search.  Don't see anything like that now, as though it isn't relevant to us.

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

They have not been eliminated, or if they were, they forgot to tell me.  I am on a 14 nighter on Oct. 24

i guess I don’t count repositioning cruises.  Many of were hooked on the 14 day Caribbean itineraries in the winter.   

[hcat]

Some areas ( theater) of the newer  HAL ships look okay.  We do not gamble so whatever was discussed above is a non issue for us, .

 

  One time we could not get a res at our usual pre cruise hotel.. We stayed at a place with a tiki hut that catered to HAL cruisers.  Def they were the  super senior crowd, slow moving, many  needing asistance ...We are srs ourselves at this point, but still not in that group..Nice people I am sure, but not our cup of tea. Elevs were jammed,

 

We plan to stick it out with X as we wind down our cruise bookings.  Staying closer to east coast US....nice and newest  X  ships..except Tampa.

[canderson]

6 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

i guess I don’t count repositioning cruises.  Many of were hooked on the 14 day Caribbean itineraries in the winter.   

Yup.  Connie used to pick up a number of the longer ABC (or at least AC) cruises each winter.  Always looked forward to them.

[Ken the cruiser]

25 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

i guess I don’t count repositioning cruises.  Many of were hooked on the 14 day Caribbean itineraries in the winter.   

FWIW this is why we also like to book Princess cruises along with Celebrity. They definitely have some longer "single itinerary" cruises, but we still get to laugh a lot during the evening and on sea days with their usual very funny CDs and their 4-5 assistants! 

[Georgia_Peaches]

37 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Celebrity is assigning more of the E class ships to itineraries that are of interest to me.

I have no interest in the E class ships.  And I'm not really interested in HA either.  I will say that we recently tried MSC Yacht Club and loved it!

[prmssk]

37 minutes ago, canderson said:

The web page used to make it easy to search for cruises based upon length of itinerary.  IIRC, there was a 10+ selection that thinned the herd a bit when doing a search.  Don't see anything like that now, as though it isn't relevant to us.

They still have this option.  You just have to first narrow it down by time of year, departure port, etc.  Then once you have a list of cruises from those criteria, there are filtering options for length and ship.  I use these filter options quite a bit to find exactly what I'm looking for.

[prmssk]

We have Holland on our list to try again (our last Holland cruise was our wedding cruise 17 years ago) and even had the Koningsdam booked at one point (cancelled due to COVID) but these comments don't make me to anxious to try and get one booked again.

[canderson]

1 minute ago, prmssk said:

They still have this option.  You just have to first narrow it down by time of year, departure port, etc.  Then once you have a list of cruises from those criteria, there are filtering options for length and ship.  I use these filter options quite a bit to find exactly what I'm looking for.

We would prefer not to have to make 90% of the sort BEFORE selecting for length of itinerary.  The way it works now requires many searches.  Back in the day, one could just keep filtering after selecting 10+ as the starting point.