Semi-live from the Solstice | Mexican Riviera, Oct 22-29

[OrcaGirl]

I haven’t seen a ‘live from…’ thread for the Solstice on the Mexican Riviera yet this season, so I figured I’d do one… 😉

Flew down this morning from Vancouver (BC, Canada) to LAX to embark on  the 7-day Mexican Riviera itinerary with stops in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo san Lucas and Ensenada.

I will try to post 2-3 times each day with what we’re up to, but my particular focus is usually cocktails, food, entertainment, and excursion adventures. (I’ll also likely be posting lots of photos over on Instagram Stories; look for erin_braincandy if you just want photos without all of the reading.)

Background notes:

This is just my second time cruising with Celebrity, having sailed on the Reflection about five years ago in the Caribbean.

Despite only sailing with Celebrity once before and despite not being a big gambler, I received a Blue Chip Casino ‘free balcony cabin’ offer for this cruise 
and jumped at it.

My husband couldn’t get the time off work, so I’m travelling with a new-to-cruising friend (hereafter referred to as ‘the Fox’) and introducing her to my favourite type of travel. 

This will be my second time cruising the Mexican Riviera, having gone on a Christmas cruise on the Norwegian Bliss last Christmas. I did a ‘semi-live from…’ for that cruise too:

Aside from Celebrity and Norwegian, I’ve also sailed with Princess and Carnival, for a total of about a dozen cruises under my belt so far.

We were on the last sailing of the Norwegian Epic in March 2020 when cruising was suspended – we weren’t allowed to dock in San Juan for disembarkation 
and spent an extra 2.5 days at sea heading to Orlando instead. I’ve been on three cruises since the restart without getting COVID, but am worried about the removal of vaccination and testing requirements and how that’s going to play out.

[OrcaGirl]

Embarkation day notes:

 

Our flight down was uneventful if a bit tardy. We had booked transfers via Celebrity, and had a good hour wait until our bus arrived to pick us up at LAX. The transfers cost $35USD per person. A Lyft probably would have been cheaper/faster but we mostly didn’t want to have to think about transportation.

 

 

Check-in and boarding was super-fast and we were on board by 2:30pm.

 

Dropped off our bags in our room and then headed to our muster station for a perfunctory check-in there.

 

Had a snack at Cafe al Bacio and then set about exploring  the ship.

Watched the hot glass demo which was delightful. Got the Fox signed up for a class tomorrow; I’ll be her personal photographer.

 

 

The weather was overcast and chilly (for Los Angeles; my hometown got snow this morning, so it’s all relative) and we headed back to the cabin to reacquire our hoodies.

 

 

 

We had dinner in the buffet; the Fox declared it delicious, I thought it was okay. Although the caramel cake was a highlight for me.

 

 

Then off to the theatre for tonight’s vocalist, who was very good, but I felt bad because the theatre was sooooo empty.

 

Martini time! I loved the ice bar on the Reflection and the bar on the Solstice was just as delightful. In addition to the martinis we ordered, we each got a mini martini as part of the flair bartending ‘show’ (it was cool but not much of a show).

 

 

 

 

 

Random observations:

 

We’re wearing masks when in public indoor spaces; a few others are as well but not many.

 

The ship feels empty; I haven’t heard what the actual capacity is.

 

 

Apparently there’s a hurricane headed towards Puerto Vallarta? No one’s mentioned it on board that’s I’ve heard but my aunt messaged me so it’s made the news in BC… I guess we’ll see.

 

See y’all tomorrow!

 

 

 

[FastandFurious]

Approximately 1200 guests which makes it enjoyable. Previous 2 cruises 2K +.

[chemmo]

OrcaGirl, sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise! 
 

From a cold, wet and grey England I hope you get some good weather we can vicariously enjoy!

[Milhouse]

 

Wish you and "the fox" a great cruise too.

We're sailing Solstice in two weeks so looking forward to reading your updates and would love to hear about everything.

 

3 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Apparently there’s a hurricane headed towards Puerto Vallarta?

 

I only recently caught wind of this (pun unintentional 🙂) by scanning one of the other roll calls.  Upgraded to a major hurricane so hoping for the best for folks in its direct path.  PV looking like it might be spared the worst of it tho as Roslyn seems to be trending further north before making landfall.    

Safe travels everyone.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Following. 

[goldnprin]

Thanks for the updates. I'll be following along as I'll be on the Solstice in a couple of months. Have a wonderful cruise!

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks so much for doing this Live Post.    I will be vicariously enjoying it from my living room.  We will be taking the 8 day Mexican Rivera cruises in December.

 

Just to make you feel comfortable Hurricane Roslyn  came ashore north of Puerto Vallerta.   I was watching a couple webcams his morning and the resort towns seem to have dodged the bullet.    You can see a couple  live webcam at the links below.

 

http://www.cuatesycuetes.com/

https://vallartashores.com/live-vallarta-webcam/

 

Really love you photos.

 

 

[cabogal]

Thank you for doing this live post with photos. I will be following as we board the Solstice on the 29th.

I hope you and the Fox have a wonderful cruise.

[MCazer]

I will be following this thread, as my husband and I also got the BLUE CHIP offer and will be sailing in March!!

 

[helenb]

We will be doing this cruise on Solstice at New Year's. Looking forward to reading your observations about the ship, the food and the cruise, as well as anything about how things have changed from 2019.

Edited October 23, 2022 by helenb

[cnkgirl]

I’m loving your review? I am from Vancouver also and I am going  on the solstice at the end of January. I have been on her a couple of times before and hope she’s as beautiful as I remember her, so this is a very helpful review thank you 😊

[OrcaGirl]

Wow the wifi is horrible today, photos might have to wait until later. I can text my mom, but photos and videos are impossible.

[OrcaGirl]

Day 2 at sea - morning

 

Slept well. Our phones didn’t adjust automatically to the time change, so we ‘slept in’ until 8am ship time.

 

Weather is nice by Canadian standards 😉 and we still haven’t heard anything about impacts to our itinerary due to Hurricane Roslyn.

 

Priorities this morning are coffee/tea, breakfast, the Fox’s hot glass class, and then some serious lounging.

 

Random observations:

 

I booked the Premium Wifi for 2 devices; it was fine yesterday during sailaway, a fair bit slower this morning, and doesn’t work on our veranda at all.

 

The bed was quite comfy, if a bit small (we’ve got it split into two singles). The balcony furniture is a bit past its prime, but nothing that stops us from sitting out and enjoying the view and ocean breeze. And it’s one of the biggest ‘regular’ balconies I’ve ever had at sea.

 

Wildlife count: several diving birds, and one flying fish being chased (and possibly caught and eaten) by one of the aforementioned diving birds.

[OrcaGirl]

Morning photos

 

 

[davekathy]

28 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

sitting out and enjoying the view and ocean breeze. And it’s one of the biggest ‘regular’ balconies I’ve ever had at sea.

What stateroom number are you in?

[lakegirl16]

@OrcaGirl Thank you for doing the live from.  We're on the Solstice for a B2B starting 12/11.

Enjoy your cruise!

[OrcaGirl]

Day 2 - sea day, morning continued

 

Headed to the buffet for breakfast; it was fine, but I have STRONG opinions on hash browns and these were lacklustre. The sausage and cantaloupe were good.

 

 

And then it was time for the Fox to play with fire! Heather was a great instructor and the Fox made a beautiful jellyfish. The hot glass studio was actually the clincher when I invited her to join me on a free cruise. 😅

 

 

 

 

We spent an hour at Cafe al Bacio enjoying some tea (the Fox) and iced Americano (me) while struggling with the slow internet speeds. Several people were commenting on how bad it was, and one man even stopped us to ask if he was doing anything wrong. No, it’s not you, it’s the ship. 

 

 

The rest of our morning was spent perusing the shops and trying to find the archery activity (the Fox has archery experience and I wanted to see her smackdown the dudes) but it wasn’t in the location listed on the app; we later found it at the other end of the same deck.

 

Spent an hour chilling by the pool with some frosty adult beverages, watching the line dance class. Fun fact: I still know all the words to Achy Breaky Heart. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.

 

 

Lunch was enjoyed on the outdoor area of the Oceanview Buffet. This is one thing I enjoy very much on Celebrity vs NCL.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by OrcaGirl
Goddamn typos

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

What stateroom number are you in?

We’re in a plain 2B veranda cabin. Won’t be sharing the exact number until we’re off the ship.

[davekathy]

Just now, OrcaGirl said:

We’re in a plain 2B veranda cabin. Won’t be sharing the exact number until we’re off the ship.

Thanks. I understand. Just curious based on your comment/opinion. 

[OrcaGirl]

Day 2 - at sea, afternoon

 

Apres lunch, we popped into the spa to make some appointments for tomorrow. The spa desk staff was lovely and accommodating, and we’ll report back tomorrow on the actual treatments.

 

Then to Celebrity Central to just watch the Deal or No Deal game. It was pretty fun so we’re going to try to play it tomorrow (if we’re out of the spa on time) or our final sea day.

 

The wifi suddenly improved so we’re hanging by the pool and catching up on the world.

 

 

Our only plans for tonight are probably MDR for dinner and then the 7pm Rock City show. Possibly followed by another trip to the martini bar and maybe some casino time (if I can figure out how to add money to my card…)

 

Random observation from the Fox:

 

Pool loungers need drink cups. 

[briguy1314]

Following along! Thanks for sharing. We’ll be on in a few weeks so this helps me get even more excited!  Would love to know guest count if you hear it! (Our cruise last month we had a grand total of 288 passengers on the Millennium!!!)

Edited October 23, 2022 by briguy1314

[Georgia_Peaches]

8 hours ago, MCazer said:

I will be following this thread, as my husband and I also got the BLUE CHIP offer and will be sailing in March!!

 

We sail this itinerary in march as well.  March 4-11.  Really looking forward to the Mexican Riviera!

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, briguy1314 said:

grand total of 288 passengers on the Millennium!!!)

WOW!  Where was everyone?  The ship must have felt like a ghost town...

[OrcaGirl]

Day 2 - at sea, evening

 

Formal/elegant/chic night… got our ‘fancy’ clothes on, mostly because I wanted to try the MDR tonight.

 

Dinner was delicious, and we cleaned our plates. I had the escargot and rack of lamb, with crème brûlée for dessert. The Fox enjoyed her honey and pear soup, steak Dianne, and apple crumble. And oh god the bread and butter was amazing, but I had to limit myself to one piece…

 

 

  

 

The actual service by the waitstaff was fabulous, and (humblebrag) I still enjoy surprising/shocking them by speaking my little bit of Indonesian and Tagalog. Only glitch was a couple of instances of waiters escorting couples to a table only to find it already occupied. Communication breakdown with hostess maybe?

 

Apres dinner, we hustled over to the theatre for the 7pm Rock City production show. Basically Rock of Ages without the plot. Great songs, fabulous costumes (Sequins! Kilts! Purple fur coats!), singing, dancing, aerialists, etc. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.

 

 

Our original plan was to return to the martini bar for more martini shenanigans but we were both still so stuffed from dinner that we decided to drop $20 in the casino and call it a night.

 

 

Did catch a teeny bit of martini shenanigans on our way back to our cabin.

 

 

And now to bed! Dawn comes early on a boat.

 

 

Random observations:

 

The PA system continues to be impossible to hear; did the captain say anything important? No idea. I’ve never found a ship that did this well. 

 

Our cabin is absolutely fine for us, but a few bits of wear and tear are evident, eg the shower door is janky as heck and there’s a small rip in the fabric headboard.

 

We’ve yet to meet our steward, but chocolates appear on our pillows and he or she accommodated our request for extra towels.

 

I hope the ship laundry has good bleach; I dyed my hair right before flying down and despite my best efforts, the colour is transferring to my pillowcase, towels, bath mat, etc.

 

We had changed clocks by one hour last night, and again tonight. Time is a construct, etc.