Just off Solstice 10/29-11/5

[dad son team]

I thought I would share some observations-

 

This was my first time on Celebrity, but my 19th cruise overall, most on Royal

 

I traveled solo but was part of a group of about 150.  Ship had 1200 guests (27 under 18) which made it nice.  Always able to get a chair by the pool and a table in the buffet.  To be honest, if it wasn't for my group the ship would have seemed very quiet and several guests even told us.  We are a very social group.  *Note - I was chatting with a guest from a Princess ship that said they only had 800 and it holds 4,000.  Seems this route isn't very popular.  Maybe too many ships sailing it?

 

I used the Move Up option and was able to get Aqua Class upgrade from my Obstructed Verandah.  $200 total ($100pp). For me, it was worth about that.  I didn't use the Persian Garden as much as I thought I would, and because I was a solo, I also didn't use Blu as much as I could have.  I liked it most for the location of the cabin.

 

Ship is fine.  Yes, there are spots of wear but nothing to take away from the enjoyment.  Biggest issue for me was all the paints spots on my verandah railing.  I was on deck 11, cabin 1541, which I thought would be nice since it was under the spa area.  Seems it was under a storage room or something and cabinets started opening and closing at 6am.  Not horrible but still heard and would be a problem for a light sleeper.

 

Food was good.  Coming from Royal, I was expecting more with all the hype about how this is a higher end product but to me they are very similar.  The dining room is nicer, and more elegant which makes for a more pleasant experience.  I did eat 2 breakfasts in Blu and 2 dinners and the food there was better, and the room more intimate and less chaotic.

 

I didn't see any shows or do any of the ship excursions so I cannot comment on those.  The different musicians on the ship were all very good.  For me, the energy was a bit lower than I like.  A DJ or more contemporary band at the pool works better for me than the acoustic guitar guy, but it depends on the vibe you're looking for.

 

Overall, it was enjoyable.  Would I do X again?  Yes, but it would not be my first choice.  I'll stay with Royal

 

[jelayne]

Thanks for sharing your experience.  We will board tge Solstice in 3 weeks.  
In my experience the music at the pool changed about every hour.  Was the guitar the only music at the pool during the afternoon?

Were there DJs playing music at the various venues at night?  How was the house band?
 

We did a few cruises with 900 -1400 passengers after the restart and while it did make some things easier it did feel dead, not like our other Celebrity  cruises.  Returned from a Celebrity cruise 2 weeks ago and the ship was full, it was nice to get back to that atmosphere, even if tables in the buffet weren’t so easy to find😂

[dad son team]

3 hours ago, jelayne said:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  We will board tge Solstice in 3 weeks.  
In my experience the music at the pool changed about every hour.  Was the guitar the only music at the pool during the afternoon?

Were there DJs playing music at the various venues at night?  How was the house band?
 

We did a few cruises with 900 -1400 passengers after the restart and while it did make some things easier it did feel dead, not like our other Celebrity  cruises.  Returned from a Celebrity cruise 2 weeks ago and the ship was full, it was nice to get back to that atmosphere, even if tables in the buffet weren’t so easy to find😂

The music did change throughout the day.  I would have preferred just the DJ or house band the whole time.   The DJs did make appearance in different bars.  My group was in the Martini bar every night for happy hours and the DJ was always there

[Georgia_Peaches]

We are doing this cruise in March.  I'm taking it all in and appreciate your review.

[runrene]

We board the Solstice on 11/12!!! I am super excited!.  I have a bid in to move up TOO! Hoping to learn if our bid was accepted.  I am looking forward to PV.  The weather is supposed to be very nice!

 

Thanks for your Review

[NitaBcruising]

15 hours ago, runrene said:

We board the Solstice on 11/12!!! I am super excited!.  I have a bid in to move up TOO! Hoping to learn if our bid was accepted.  I am looking forward to PV.  The weather is supposed to be very nice!

 

Thanks for your Review

My daughter and I will be on the Nov 12th sailing, too! Looking forward to sunny and warm days! And can't beat being on a cruise!

Thanks to the OP for posting! I've been on Celebrity, but not Solstice. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

23 hours ago, dad son team said:

Seems this route isn't very popular.  Maybe too many ships sailing it?

Thanks for your mini-review!

 

X sent a comped casino offer for this sailing to just about anyone who played in an X casino before; they also didn't exclude holidays like Thanksgiving, XMas or New Years which is highly unusual and was most likely included due to low bookings.  I took the offer for her and will be on her soon but this is the least excited I've been to go on a X cruise as it only goes to Mexico and I have been to all the ports before, there isn't a ton to do.

[dad son team]

17 hours ago, runrene said:

We board the Solstice on 11/12!!! I am super excited!.  I have a bid in to move up TOO! Hoping to learn if our bid was accepted.  I am looking forward to PV.  The weather is supposed to be very nice!

 

Thanks for your Review

I will say this, I kept an eye on the cabin availability and saw there over half of the cabins were still empty, so I bid the minimum and won.  You may want to bid low if there are lots of empty cabins

[dad son team]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thanks for your mini-review!

 

X sent a comped casino offer for this sailing to just about anyone who played in an X casino before; they also didn't exclude holidays like Thanksgiving, XMas or New Years which is highly unusual and was most likely included due to low bookings.  I took the offer for her and will be on her soon but this is the least excited I've been to go on a X cruise as it only goes to Mexico and I have been to all the ports before, there isn't a ton to do.

I met a guy that took the casino offer.  He said he had only been on 1 X cruise and played $40 in the casino

[NutsAboutGolf]

59 minutes ago, dad son team said:

I met a guy that took the casino offer.  He said he had only been on 1 X cruise and played $40 in the casino

 

Yeah, there was an older thread on this and were wondering who makes the decision to "release" casino offers to those with minimal play and some claimed they received the offer and have never played.  Seems to be a total crap shoot to whether they attempt to fill underbooked sailings with casino offers, removed single suppliment, deep military/vet/emt/etc

[AnnaNicole]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Yeah, there was an older thread on this and were wondering who makes the decision to "release" casino offers to those with minimal play and some claimed they received the offer and have never played.  Seems to be a total crap shoot to whether they attempt to fill underbooked sailings with casino offers, removed single suppliment, deep military/vet/emt/etc

I just got another offer last week.   This offer was different as it specified only 8 dates to choose from.   This is the fourth offer for us.   Three for me and one for my husband.   Mexican Riviera and Caribbean offers.

 

We gamble a little on cruises.

Edited November 7, 2022 by AnnaNicole

[SFCAcruiser]

On 11/6/2022 at 9:15 AM, dad son team said:

...This was my first time on Celebrity, but my 19th cruise overall, most on Royal....

 

Overall, it was enjoyable.  Would I do X again?  Yes, but it would not be my first choice.  I'll stay with Royal

 

 

Thanks for the review. I enjoy reading the perspectives of a first-timer on Celebrity. I am on Solstice in a few weeks, so I appreciated you taking the time to write. Your comments were a reminder to me that we are all different and have different reasons for cruising. I've done a couple of RC cruises and prefer Celebrity, but would certainly sail RC again for the right itinerary.

(Went to grad school at that place on East Hill)

Happy cruising.

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, AnnaNicole said:

I just got another offer last week.   This offer was different as it specified only 8 dates to choose from.   This is the fourth offer for us.   Three for me and one for my husband.   Mexican Riviera and Caribbean offers.

 

We gamble a little on cruises.

 

Are the Caribbean offers have many ships/itineraries or is it just the Millie out of PR?

[gold1953]

7 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thanks for your mini-review!

 

X sent a comped casino offer for this sailing to just about anyone who played in an X casino before; they also didn't exclude holidays like Thanksgiving, XMas or New Years which is highly unusual and was most likely included due to low bookings.  I took the offer for her and will be on her soon but this is the least excited I've been to go on a X cruise as it only goes to Mexico and I have been to all the ports before, there isn't a ton to do.

I know many Celebrity cruisers who play casino and I am the only one who got the offer. Three of them tried calling Blu Chip club to see if they could get this deal and were turned down. I doubt that I have ever spent more than $10 in slots and have never played tables

[NutsAboutGolf]

11 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

I know many Celebrity cruisers who play casino and I am the only one who got the offer. Three of them tried calling Blu Chip club to see if they could get this deal and were turned down. I doubt that I have ever spent more than $10 in slots and have never played tables

 

Yeah, it def seems odd what the factors are to trigger the offer(s)

[gold1953]

10 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Yeah, it def seems odd what the factors are to trigger the offer(s)

when I asked during my last call i was told that the selection was not random.

[SHIP TRAVELER]

13 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Yeah, it def seems odd what the factors are to trigger the offer(s)

I know several Blue Chip players (including myself) who have not received offers and do not understand why when what I consider non gamblers are getting them.  I am only ONYX in Blue Chip but that beats "I played $20 through a slot machine once on a cruise before the shut down".  Maybe the idea is to fill ships with bodies who will spend on drinks packages, specialty dining, and in the Spa based on their past cruise history. This means they do not have to lower the posted prices on cruises and offend those who booked early.  We do not use the Spa and don't buy the drinks (Elite+) unless they are included at a good price, we tend to use our all OBC in the Casino.  Just off a cruise where I discussed this "give away" with the Casino Manager.  He of course would have rather had gamblers than people with a free ride but this is marketing.

Yes, I am envious.  Yes, I called the Blue Chip Club with no offer and the best I could get was Casino Net 60 but at least that includes 3 perks.

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 11/6/2022 at 9:15 AM, dad son team said:

I thought I would share some observations-

 

This was my first time on Celebrity, but my 19th cruise overall, most on Royal

 

I traveled solo but was part of a group of about 150.  Ship had 1200 guests (27 under 18) which made it nice.  Always able to get a chair by the pool and a table in the buffet.  To be honest, if it wasn't for my group the ship would have seemed very quiet and several guests even told us.  We are a very social group.  *Note - I was chatting with a guest from a Princess ship that said they only had 800 and it holds 4,000.  Seems this route isn't very popular.  Maybe too many ships sailing it?

 

I used the Move Up option and was able to get Aqua Class upgrade from my Obstructed Verandah.  $200 total ($100pp). For me, it was worth about that.  I didn't use the Persian Garden as much as I thought I would, and because I was a solo, I also didn't use Blu as much as I could have.  I liked it most for the location of the cabin.

 

Ship is fine.  Yes, there are spots of wear but nothing to take away from the enjoyment.  Biggest issue for me was all the paints spots on my verandah railing.  I was on deck 11, cabin 1541, which I thought would be nice since it was under the spa area.  Seems it was under a storage room or something and cabinets started opening and closing at 6am.  Not horrible but still heard and would be a problem for a light sleeper.

 

Food was good.  Coming from Royal, I was expecting more with all the hype about how this is a higher end product but to me they are very similar.  The dining room is nicer, and more elegant which makes for a more pleasant experience.  I did eat 2 breakfasts in Blu and 2 dinners and the food there was better, and the room more intimate and less chaotic.

 

I didn't see any shows or do any of the ship excursions so I cannot comment on those.  The different musicians on the ship were all very good.  For me, the energy was a bit lower than I like.  A DJ or more contemporary band at the pool works better for me than the acoustic guitar guy, but it depends on the vibe you're looking for.

 

Overall, it was enjoyable.  Would I do X again?  Yes, but it would not be my first choice.  I'll stay with Royal

 

 

Did have a quick question, is the ship time fixed as CST or did you have to change the clocks at all?

[spiritkat090909]

We must be an anomaly.  DH, Sapphire and myself, Amethyst in BCC... both received the offer. AFTER we had already booked  on Millie, the difference being an added classic beverage package. I called and had that matched and we are set to go.  Will be difficult to get any gambling time in with all of the port days and only one scheduled sea day.  So, maybe the offers for low gamblers are for port intensive itineraries?

[NutsAboutGolf]

5 hours ago, gold1953 said:

when I asked during my last call i was told that the selection was not random.

 

I take anything the BCC says with a grain of salt yet for the Solstice and Millie offers they casted a much wider net than usual.

[CalTexCruiser]

2 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

I know several Blue Chip players (including myself) who have not received offers and do not understand why when what I consider non gamblers are getting them.  I am only ONYX in Blue Chip but that beats "I played $20 through a slot machine once on a cruise before the shut down".  Maybe the idea is to fill ships with bodies who will spend on drinks packages, specialty dining, and in the Spa based on their past cruise history.

 

Same here.  Onyx.  I have received only one offer in the last six months.

 

My daughter, who ran $ 10 through a slot machine for about 10 minutes back in 2019, has been getting non-stop continuous offers.

 

I wonder if they are trying to get younger people to try their product and hopefully become avid cruisers like us. 

 

We are elite and do not plan on buying any drink package for our upcoming comped cruise.  So definitely Celebrity will "lose" money on us, unless the casino manages to get some back.  LOL.

[edgee]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Did have a quick question, is the ship time fixed as CST or did you have to change the clocks at all?

I am curious about that also. Just came off of another cruise line with similar itineraries. Went from Pacific time (LA  and Ensenada)to Mountain time (Cabo and Mazatlan) to Central time(Puerto Vallarta) and back again to Pacific time when we disembarked LA.

[AnnaNicole]

19 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Are the Caribbean offers have many ships/itineraries or is it just the Millie out of PR?

There were many itineraries offered.   We booked the Reflection out of FLL.

[Retired888]

I had dropped maybe $100 in their casino slots and received 3 offers, 2 for the Mexican Riviera and one for the Caribbean.  My husband had never played in the casino and did not get any offer.  We had usually stayed in Sky Suites and once in Aqua, and had 4 cruises booked for sailing during the pandemic which we cancelled, forfeiting the deposit, before they were cancelled by Celebrity.  I wonder if the offers were targeting those who had cruised alot, and stopped because of the pandemic.  Anyway, we booked a Mexican Riviera for March, booked and then cancelled the Holiday sailing in the Caribbean, and then booked a Holiday sailing at the Mexican Riviera when I received another offer about a week ago.  We are having so much travel coming up which made us decide not to fly to Florida to get on a Caribbearn cruise.  We were able to pay a little extra to upgrade to Aqua on both the cruises.  

Edited November 8, 2022 by Retired888

[gold1953]

6 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

I know several Blue Chip players (including myself) who have not received offers and do not understand why when what I consider non gamblers are getting them.  I am only ONYX in Blue Chip but that beats "I played $20 through a slot machine once on a cruise before the shut down".  Maybe the idea is to fill ships with bodies who will spend on drinks packages, specialty dining, and in the Spa based on their past cruise history. This means they do not have to lower the posted prices on cruises and offend those who booked early.  We do not use the Spa and don't buy the drinks (Elite+) unless they are included at a good price, we tend to use our all OBC in the Casino.  Just off a cruise where I discussed this "give away" with the Casino Manager.  He of course would have rather had gamblers than people with a free ride but this is marketing.

Yes, I am envious.  Yes, I called the Blue Chip Club with no offer and the best I could get was Casino Net 60 but at least that includes 3 perks.

Well if they look at my history , I never pay for specialty eating, never buy internet or beverage packages, rarely book excursions and don't use the spa . We got 3 offers!