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

[dlh015]

WOW! You be having some fun!!!

 

I hope 'The Fox' is getting great pics of you as you are of her!! You two were made for this cruise!

[LinnieRed]

1 hour ago, dlh015 said:

WOW! You be having some fun!!!

 

I hope 'The Fox' is getting great pics of you as you are of her!! You two were made for this cruise!

I was thinking this exact same thing! These two are a couple of very good sports.

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, dlh015 said:

WOW! You be having some fun!!!

 

I hope 'The Fox' is getting great pics of you as you are of her!! You two were made for this cruise!

Oh she’s *much* more photogenic than me… 

 

But it’s been so fun introducing her to cruising and I’m so very happy that she’s enjoying herself. 

[Milhouse]

3 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

My briefcase contained the $300. But that’s like $500 Canadian right? 🤣

 

Free cruise.  Some free drinks.  $300 Deal, No Deal win... Are you sure you aren't a Celebrity marketing inside plant?  😉

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, OrcaGirl said:

Oh she’s *much* more photogenic than me… 

 

But it’s been so fun introducing her to cruising and I’m so very happy that she’s enjoying herself. 

Oh, I didn't mean for you to post them! I just meant so that you, too, would have pics of you for your trip memoirs...and I think you are having a lot of 'memoirs'!!

 

And it *is* great that 'The Fox' is having a wonderful first cruise...you've probably created a cruise fan...lol...

 

 

[OrcaGirl]

26 minutes ago, Milhouse said:

 

Free cruise.  Some free drinks.  $300 Deal, No Deal win... Are you sure you aren't a Celebrity marketing inside plant?  😉

I was *just* saying that I need to have someone pay me to cruise and live-blog it… 🤣

[OrcaGirl]

After our Deal or No Deal shenanigans, we spent some more time chillin’ in our cabin, listening to the waves, and then got ourselves gussied up for the final elegant night.

 

To the MDR. I had the French onion soup (which was delightfully gooey but ultimately too big for me to finish),  followed by the lobster. Nom nom!

 

 

 

We then headed to the final production show, Amade. This one was great, still a mash-up show of modern songs but with a historical twist. Or, as the Fox commented during the first song, “What in the Alexander Hamilton is this?!?”

 

 

 

 

No plot? No problem! Give me pretty/bendy people dancing around in fun costumes to pop songs.

 

 

Then we swung back to the ice bar just in time for the officers’ soirée and some martini shenanigans. And also martinis.

 

 

 

Finally, we wrapped up our evening with a trip to the casino. We parlayed that $25 in free slot play we won during Deal or No Deal into another $100 or so between us! Not too shabby!

 

[ellendrew]

Been following your posts and loving them. We board Solstice 11/5 for our 30th anniversary getaway and are big fans of Celebrity (have been on Silhouette and Equinox). If you think of it and have time amidst all the fun you're having, would love to see what the wine list at dinner or in any of the bars looks like these days. We popped for the premium beverage package and your martini bar pics are putting a big smile on face! Thanks 🙂

[pickle11]

On 10/26/2022 at 4:44 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Probably 15-20 feet.  Which I've found on many of the ship to improve performance by about 50% with a poor signal strength.   It also allows one to select a different channel that is not as busy.  I usually bring a wifi extender  and  place is directly on the wall as the door  closest to the direction of the hallway router. 

I learn something every day.  I'm not that tech savvy but a gadget geek.   I always bring my Sirius Stiletto portable on every cruise.  Thanks

[Jim_Iain]

On 10/26/2022 at 6:35 PM, lakegirl16 said:

What kind of an extender do you use?  Thanks!

 

I often use a Travel Router like TP-Link AC750.   Since there are lack of power outlets I power it using a power cell. 

[MikeandRon]

We are doing Blue Chips for the Nov 26th and Dec 3rd sailings in Aqua.  Crossing the date line, equator and the old Elite cocktail hours with new friends aboard the Solstice on a transpacific from Sydney a few years ago are some favorite cruise memories.  Your updates on the Solstice and pics now are really appreciated by so many that will soon follow you. 

Our only pos Covid test was on our July cruise, so we are also interested in your observations onboard in that respect too.

Thanks for taking the extra time out of your fun to include us.   Mike and Ron

[bubbachief]

Did they adjust ship time to be on local time?

[OrcaGirl]

Day 7 - Ensenada, morning/afternoon

 

It was a misty morning as we approached Ensenada.

 

 

We had breakfast (the hash brown quality improved as the cruise went on), watched the crew basically parallel park the ship, and then headed off the ship to meet our shore excursion.

 

 

 

We had chosen the Food and Tequila Walking Tour. (A couple of weeks ago, we received an email that ‘due to operational reasons’ the tour start time had changed from 10am to 11am, but the app and our excursion tickets still said 10am and that was when it did indeed start.)

 

 

I’m gonna skip the detailed play by play of the tour, but instead give a summary of personal high points and low points.

 

High points: The shrimp tacos were delicious, as was the horchata. The mango paleta at the end was a perfect icy treat on a hot day. We were able to sample eight different tequilas. The Fox bought an absolutely beautiful hand-painted bottle of tequila. There was a lot of beautiful public art along our route, and who doesn’t love multiple large city name signs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Low points: I didn’t love the number of times the guide mentioned that the food and drinks weren’t included but we were getting them as a bonus. No, we paid for a tour that included samples of food and drinks. Of note, the description said we were going to stop for ceviche tostadas and beer, and we never did. The guide was very nice but sort of lost control of our group, and a lot of time was wasted standing around. At one point, two people wanted to leave and keep exploring independently and it became a whole thing. At this point, I just wanted some quiet time and honestly I mentally checked out. Ensenada was a little too noisy and aggressive for me.

 

 

Random observation, that I may have already mentioned:

 

The Norwegian Jewel was running a KISS cruise with stops in Cabo and Ensenada. Neither the Fox nor I are fans, but the guests all seemed like a fun group of people. 
 

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by OrcaGirl
Removing duplicate photos

[OrcaGirl]

3 hours ago, bubbachief said:

Did they adjust ship time to be on local time?

Yes, we ended up having four different time changes and as a result I never knew what time it was.

[OrcaGirl]

Day 7 - Ensenada, afternoon/evening

 

Upon returning to the ship, we wanted to take naps in the cabin, but holy heck there was a very strong smell of varnish on deck 7 forward. Never did find out what it was, but we relocated poolside instead until sailaway.

 

But first, a pit stop to grab my free scoop of gelato. It was delicious.

 

 

We finally decided to get ready for dinner but got distracted by SO MANY SEALS in the water right by the ship and stayed up on deck for sailaway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was in the buffet.

 

 

 

And then it was time for Broadway Cabaret. Less of a production show, more the singers belting out their favourite Broadway songs. And it did really showcase their voices. The Fox and I are both musical theatre nerds so we enjoyed ourselves immensely, and I was impressed that they included songs from more modern musicals like The Book of Mormon (You and Me But Mostly Me) and Hamilton (The Room Where It Happens). And that the choice from Rent was Take Me or Leave Me.

 

 

 

 

 

Alas, after the show we had nothing to do but return to our cabin and pack. The Solstice was set to dock at the ‘outer berth’ (Terminal 46) and the disembarkation instructions said no carrying off luggage, so we set out our luggage and retired to bed for the evening.

[OrcaGirl]

Day 8 - disembarkation

 

Woke up early to the melodious sounds of port workers and Solstice crew yelling at each other. Who needs an alarm?

 

 

We grabbed a final breakfast and final mimosa, said a final selamat pagi and terima kasih to my fav waiter, grabbed our bags and said goodbye to our cabin (7130), and headed to Quasar to wait for our final excursion.

 

 

 

 

Customs and immigration was perfunctory, and we were soon herded onto a shuttle bus to a luggage tent. Except the luggage for most people on the excursion wasn’t there yet, and more non-excursion people kept arriving and it was a bit chaotic.

 

 

 

 

But our luggage showed up on the next cart, and we headed out to our coach bus. Our tour was billed as ‘Beachfront Santa Monica, Malibu & Beverly Hills with Airport Drop-off’.

 

 

 

I’m going to sound like such a b%¥€& but this was a very disappointing tour. I don’t think my expectations were especially high, so it was a low bar, but nonetheless a strongly worded “I’m not mad I’m just disappointed” email will be directed to Celebrity Shore Excursions once I’m home.

 

So the positive things:

 

The coach bus was comfortable and in good condition. The driver seemed like a nice and interesting guy.

 

The weather was great and traffic was surprisingly not bad.

 

We enjoyed our time in Santa Monica and got to ride the Ferris wheel which was AWESOME!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then the big negative thing:

 

Our guide made a dumb-but-understandable mistake but then lied about it. Even though the first two rows of passengers heard him tell the driver about his mistake. (Basically, he misread an email from the tour company and as a result, completely skipped going to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. But then later claimed he intentionally decided to skip Beverly Hills because he thought traffic would be worse and ‘in the past, guests complained if they missed Malibu’.) So yeah, we would have been understanding if he’d fessed up, but the bald-faced lies really irked us.

 

I could b&$@% more about other stuff but won’t.

 

We got dropped off at the airport, I bid a fond farewell to the Fox, and I’m now sitting at LAX, waiting for my husband to arrive so we can head to Disneyland for a couple of days. Feel free to follow along that trip too over on IG stories (erin_braincandy).

 

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by OrcaGirl
Fixing photo

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for taking to time to post.  Enjoyed coming along on your vacation.   I'll probably continue along and visit Disney.

[wikoffclan]

49 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Our tour was billed as ‘Beachfront Santa Monica, Malibu & Beverly Hills with Airport Drop-off’.

 

Thank you for this wonderful review of your cruise. My sister and I are scheduled for the 12/3 sailing on Solstice and have booked this "excursion" post cruise. I appreciate your comments and will hope we get to see the whole tour! (BTW - I Love "the Fox's" shoulder tattoo. If I ever got the nerve to get a tattoo, that's the one I want!! 🙂

[dlh015]

Thanks!!  It was grand!

[hcat]

Great review..thanks!

[MikeandRon]

Thanks OrcaGirl.  So, no official requests for masking onboard or excessive coughing on your Solstice cruise?  We don't mind the masks in between food and drink for that possible extra margin these days.  We would just be interested in any observations you might have. 

 

Hope your reintegration with the workday reality isn't too severe!  Repeat cruises if so.

 

Wikoffclan, we booked the post 12/3  (12/11) Beachfront Airport transfer TIMEKILLER excursion too.  They better not cut our "Pretty Woman" shopping moments on Rodeo Drive!  

[yoshi]

Thank you for your review and pictures Orcagirl, I'm glad you got to cruise with your friend. Have a good Disneyland trip with Hubby too!

[mauimary]

Thank you OrcaGirl for your review. We too we’re on this cruise so it was fun to read of your experiences.   You have a good way with words. Sounds like you did a variety of excursions so really enjoyed your honest take on them. You two really know how to have fun.  
 

Mike and Ron who are asking about masks and coughing. Yes there was some coughers but not a lot.  Very few wearing masks. No requests to wear them by staff or Capt.  We are very cautious so purposely kept ourselves out of crowds.  Even had our own corner in the Theatre by ourselves and we’re one of the last to leave.
There was one guy who we particularly noticed so stayed well clear of him.  Would see him at El Bacio. Unfortunately today through all the chaos of disembarking and on and off again shuttle buses just to get to where we could get an Uber we found ourselves several rows behind the cougher who made no effort to protect anyone else. We made sure we wore masks on those busses.  Others got them out and put them on.  Fingers crossed 🤞 

 

Several years ago we did the Airport transfer excursion Timekiller. Got a glimpse of Rodeo Drive. Ended up costing us a 50$ taxi to get back to LAX from Santa Monica!  Make sure you have a really late in the afternoon flight!! 

[mjmagee]

Thank you! Great review.  Marilyn

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, MikeandRon said:

Thanks OrcaGirl.  So, no official requests for masking onboard or excessive coughing on your Solstice cruise?  We don't mind the masks in between food and drink for that possible extra margin these days.  We would just be interested in any observations you might have. 

 

 

No official masking requirement, plenty of people coughing without any attempt made to cover their months, move away from others, etc. 😷. Honestly, sometimes it felt like we were the only ones who remember that the pandemic is still a thing.

 

The Fox and I wore masks anytime we were in an indoor space that wasn’t our cabin unless we were actively eating/drinking. We’re also both relatively anti-social people, so for the most part we kept to ourselves.

 

I’ve managed to go on four cruises now since the restart without getting COVID yet; the Fox had COVID earlier this year and had no desire to repeat that experience. So we were more cautious than most seemed to be.

 

We both had second thoughts after the vaccination and testing requirements were lifted, but by that point we were emotionally invested (and were both able to get our second boosters just prior to the cruise). And we both were more nervous about the flight down than anything else.

I brought a couple of COVID rapid tests with me just in case, but never felt the need to use them. If either of us get sick or test positive, I’ll report back.