Is Retreat on Solstice worth it? (Mexican Riviera cruise)

[MarEll1]

Hi All - we are looking at a last minute-ish Mexican Riviera cruise on the Solstice. We have only cruised twice - Equinox in 2019 in Concierge Class, Edge last March in Sky Suite. We really liked Luminae and the Retreat Lounge and Sundeck and priority embarkation etc. We can book a Celebrity suite for not much more than the Sky suite on this sailing. But the Retreat amenities look much different on the Solstice vs the Edge. I’m wondering if it’s worth it - does anyone who has sailed both ships recently have any thoughts? Thanks!

[blackshirt]

We just did that itinerary last month, we thought it was worth it. The only real difference in amenities was no Retreat sundeck. Otherwise Luminae and Michael’s Club (they still call it that on Solstice) were every bit as nice as on Silhouette, our previous Retreat experience.

[Jim_Iain]

We also did it last month and even though no Retreat Sundeck we felt pampered and had a great time.

[MarEll1]

2 hours ago, blackshirt said:

We just did that itinerary last month, we thought it was worth it. The only real difference in amenities was no Retreat sundeck. Otherwise Luminae and Michael’s Club (they still call it that on Solstice) were every bit as nice as on Silhouette, our previous Retreat experience.

Thank you for your response. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[MarEll1]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We also did it last month and even though no Retreat Sundeck we felt pampered and had a great time.

Thank you Jim. I was just looking at your live posts from December. I was worried about noise from OVC in a Sky Suite -I see that it was an issue for you. I guess paying for a Celebrity Suite may be worth it.

[Northern Aurora]

I am a little late to the discussion, but did a B2B in June (same cornerSky Suite 1 for both legs) and another B2B in September (a Pacific Coastal in a Celebrity Suite and the first Mexican itinerary in a corner Sky Suite 1).  While the Solstice hasn't been "revolutionized," and the color scheme is definitely dated the ship is in good repair.  All three of our suites on the Solstice were in good shape with some clearly having new soft goods.  Staff and crew were great.  

 

While we were in corner Sky Suites so were not under the Ocean View Cafe so no comments on a noise issue.   I would book the Celebrity Suite for the additional space.

[MarEll1]

47 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

I am a little late to the discussion, but did a B2B in June (same cornerSky Suite 1 for both legs) and another B2B in September (a Pacific Coastal in a Celebrity Suite and the first Mexican itinerary in a corner Sky Suite 1).  While the Solstice hasn't been "revolutionized," and the color scheme is definitely dated the ship is in good repair.  All three of our suites on the Solstice were in good shape with some clearly having new soft goods.  Staff and crew were great.  

 

While we were in corner Sky Suites so were not under the Ocean View Cafe so no comments on a noise issue.   I would book the Celebrity Suite for the additional space.

Thank you. That is helpful information. We have the CS on hold until Tuesday - I thought it went to Mazatlan as well as Cabo but just realized it goes to Catalina and San Diego instead. Now I’m not so sure about it ….

[Georgia_Peaches]

I love the suite experience with or without the official Retreat sun deck. However, the great thing about celebrity, IMO is that regardless of stateroom category, they go the extra mile to make all guests feel special. It’s the only line I’d feel comfortable booking a veranda stateroom without feeling like I’m sacrificing a quality experience. Having said that, once pwe hit 50 we’ve only booked suites and feel the extra cost is well worth it. 
 

As for your itinerary, I wouldn’t let that dissuade you from your category choice. It just means you’ll perhaps enjoy the ship’s offerings more?  We are also on Solstice in early March but we go to Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan.  So other ports are available on different legs if that one doesn’t excite you. 

[MarEll1]

47 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I love the suite experience with or without the official Retreat sun deck. However, the great thing about celebrity, IMO is that regardless of stateroom category, they go the extra mile to make all guests feel special. It’s the only line I’d feel comfortable booking a veranda stateroom without feeling like I’m sacrificing a quality experience. Having said that, once pwe hit 50 we’ve only booked suites and feel the extra cost is well worth it. 
 

As for your itinerary, I wouldn’t let that dissuade you from your category choice. It just means you’ll perhaps enjoy the ship’s offerings more?  We are also on Solstice in early March but we go to Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan.  So other ports are available on different legs if that one doesn’t excite you. 

Unfortunately suites are sold out on the Mar. 4 cruise, probably the one you are on?. The Feb. 18 cruise also goes to those 3 Mexican ports but suites are much more expensive - I assume either due to the itinerary and/or President’s Day being that week. I’m leaning towards not going - while we enjoy the ships, we are still more interested in the ports. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 hours ago, MarEll1 said:

Unfortunately suites are sold out on the Mar. 4 cruise, probably the one you are on?. The Feb. 18 cruise also goes to those 3 Mexican ports but suites are much more expensive - I assume either due to the itinerary and/or President’s Day being that week. I’m leaning towards not going - while we enjoy the ships, we are still more interested in the ports. 

Yes, we are on the Mar. 4 itinerary.  We booked last August during the double points window and my guess is that's why suites are sold out on this sailing.  Maybe something will open up...I encourage you to keep checking.

[MarEll1]

On 1/14/2023 at 7:00 AM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yes, we are on the Mar. 4 itinerary.  We booked last August during the double points window and my guess is that's why suites are sold out on this sailing.  Maybe something will open up...I encourage you to keep checking.

I will keep checking. Thanks for the encouragement. Enjoy your cruise in March!

[Cruising89143]

We were on last month and we were booked in the retreat. We had a CS with the large angled balcony. Nice room but small bathroom which we knew to expect. I think it depends on the individual. For us we were underwhelmed. The PDP comes with the retreat so we chose to enjoy cocktails at the various bars around the ship and other than a few minutes directly after boarding, never stepped foot in Michael’s Club the remainder of the cruise including for cocktails. We never used the suite concierge. 
 

Luminae was good (not great) but we enjoyed the specialty dining more. We dined a total of four nights in Luminae and two of those nights we ended up ordering from the MDR menu. We did enjoy lunch in Luminae. A much more relaxed experience. 
 

Our butler was nice but for the entire cruise he delivered breakfast approx. four mornings, took care of laundry once and brought requested blankets for the balcony. We did not use him a lot. Our choice obviously. 
 

We just booked the Solstice for Alaska and for the first time in over twenty years we opted not to book a suite. We booked a sunset veranda with AI and upgraded the drink package to premium and it was over four grand less than a Sky suite. We will dine most evenings in a specialty venue and still come out with a big savings. I know that everyone is different but we’re going to try this for a change. 

[MarEll1]

2 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

We were on last month and we were booked in the retreat. We had a CS with the large angled balcony. Nice room but small bathroom which we knew to expect. I think it depends on the individual. For us we were underwhelmed. The PDP comes with the retreat so we chose to enjoy cocktails at the various bars around the ship and other than a few minutes directly after boarding, never stepped foot in Michael’s Club the remainder of the cruise including for cocktails. We never used the suite concierge. 
 

Luminae was good (not great) but we enjoyed the specialty dining more. We dined a total of four nights in Luminae and two of those nights we ended up ordering from the MDR menu. We did enjoy lunch in Luminae. A much more relaxed experience. 
 

Our butler was nice but for the entire cruise he delivered breakfast approx. four mornings, took care of laundry once and brought requested blankets for the balcony. We did not use him a lot. Our choice obviously. 
 

We just booked the Solstice for Alaska and for the first time in over twenty years we opted not to book a suite. We booked a sunset veranda with AI and upgraded the drink package to premium and it was over four grand less than a Sky suite. We will dine most evenings in a specialty venue and still come out with a big savings. I know that everyone is different but we’re going to try this for a change. 

This is very helpful information! I have been interested in a sunset veranda - maybe this would be a good time for us to try one. Thank you!

[miched]

De-ending on the price difference we will book a suite but also enjoy AQ.  
Onour last cruise in a SS we felt that Luminae menu was not that great.  We ordered for the MDR or AQ menu.  We were on a S class and could do that.  
 

Blu is nice and about the same as Luminae.  A smaller dining area but can get rather noisy if you have large parties. 
 

We have sailed in a veranda and found that the breakfast in the MDR was just as good if not better.  There were more options and they came around with the same juices and pastries.  Our intent was to book a 6 or 7 night dining pack with the money saved over AQ or a suite.   We didn’t do that as we found the MDR with select dining very nice and satisfied us.  
 

We also dined in the MDR for lunch on sea days.  It didn’t feel any different than Luminae.  We had great service and good food.  

 

Look at the prices and evaluate. 
 

I don’t agree with the once you book a suite you will never go back.  We have done it many times and enjoyed the cruise with no regrets and don’t feel as if we missed out on anything.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸

[MarEll1]

3 hours ago, miched said:

De-ending on the price difference we will book a suite but also enjoy AQ.  
Onour last cruise in a SS we felt that Luminae menu was not that great.  We ordered for the MDR or AQ menu.  We were on a S class and could do that.  
 

Blu is nice and about the same as Luminae.  A smaller dining area but can get rather noisy if you have large parties. 
 

We have sailed in a veranda and found that the breakfast in the MDR was just as good if not better.  There were more options and they came around with the same juices and pastries.  Our intent was to book a 6 or 7 night dining pack with the money saved over AQ or a suite.   We didn’t do that as we found the MDR with select dining very nice and satisfied us.  
 

We also dined in the MDR for lunch on sea days.  It didn’t feel any different than Luminae.  We had great service and good food.  

 

Look at the prices and evaluate. 
 

I don’t agree with the once you book a suite you will never go back.  We have done it many times and enjoyed the cruise with no regrets and don’t feel as if we missed out on anything.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸

You make some very good points. I am looking at Aquaclass and also veranda cabins. We enjoyed the suite perks on the Edge but I’m not as sure it’s worth it on Solstice. The priority embarkation is very nice though!

[zgscl]

I absolutely love the Retreat on Solstice. While no sun deck, the butlers (excuse me, PHRs) & Michaels Club team were incredible as were the folks in Luminae. 

 

On 1/13/2023 at 6:20 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

However, the great thing about celebrity, IMO is that regardless of stateroom category, they go the extra mile to make all guests feel special. It’s the only line I’d feel comfortable booking a veranda stateroom without feeling like I’m sacrificing a quality experience. Having said that, once pwe hit 50 we’ve only booked suites and feel the extra cost is well worth it. 

I totally felt this. I was very impressed by the front desk as someone coming over from Holland America which has the most useless and unhelpful front desk people fleet wide (despite all of the other areas of service being fantastic). 

[MarEll1]

16 hours ago, zgscl said:

I absolutely love the Retreat on Solstice. While no sun deck, the butlers (excuse me, PHRs) & Michaels Club team were incredible as were the folks in Luminae. 

 

I totally felt this. I was very impressed by the front desk as someone coming over from Holland America which has the most useless and unhelpful front desk people fleet wide (despite all of the other areas of service being fantastic). 

That’s good to know. Our butler on Edge was not around much. 
I’m trying to figure out what to do - the itinerary were we can get a reasonable price on a CS is not the best. I’d be happy with a Sky Suite but have read about noise problems as they are under OVC. There are a few aft corner Sky Suites available on one of the dates but I’m unsure about those. 
May I ask what kind of suite you stayed in?

[zgscl]

4 hours ago, MarEll1 said:

That’s good to know. Our butler on Edge was not around much. 
I’m trying to figure out what to do - the itinerary were we can get a reasonable price on a CS is not the best. I’d be happy with a Sky Suite but have read about noise problems as they are under OVC. There are a few aft corner Sky Suites available on one of the dates but I’m unsure about those. 
May I ask what kind of suite you stayed in?

So I took advantage of fantastic pricing & a single supplement waiver and got a royal suite (1609). My mom decided to tag along last minute and it was cheaper to get her a separate cabin so we booked an aft facing sky suite (1663). We did not have any noise issues on either one. 

 

The royal suite was, of course, delightful and I was extremely well taken care of everywhere. A Sky Suite is basically a very large balcony cabin with The Retreat perks.  My go to is definitely going to be a Sky Suite absent great pricing on a Royal or Celebrity suite, the whole Luminae and Michael's Club team were fantastic. Butlers were great also, they definitely worked as a team - we had room service delivered by several different butlers throughout the cruise. The crew everywhere was really incredible and friendly. My butler was definitely more proactive and attentive - but we were well taken care of in both cabins. This may have been a product of spending more time in my room, and personality/experience differences between our butlers. 

 

It is a good distance from the elevators to the aft sky suites. On our next sailing we are going to try to get a sky suite as far forward as possible on deck 12 because my mom has a hard time walking long distances and I think it will be more convenient. 

The pro of the aft facing Sky Suite is you have both a balcony and a large porthole - note there are a few aft facing sky suites on 11 & 12 that are not corners which of course do not have a port hole. 

 

I really like the aft view and being above to see things on both sides of the ship, but if you are at all concerned about privacy on the balcony I would not book anything aft facing. Each deck comes out farther so everyone above you can see basically the whole balcony, and even on the top deck there are public spaces above that can see down. I also felt like seeing so many balconies from the aft made me feel a bit crowded, on these vessels I think I personally prefer something side facing where I can't see 40 or so cabins are right there. 

 

Including some pictures from 1663 for reference 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MarEll1]

27 minutes ago, zgscl said:

So I took advantage of fantastic pricing & a single supplement waiver and got a royal suite (1609). My mom decided to tag along last minute and it was cheaper to get her a separate cabin so we booked an aft facing sky suite (1663). We did not have any noise issues on either one. 

 

The royal suite was, of course, delightful and I was extremely well taken care of everywhere. A Sky Suite is basically a very large balcony cabin with The Retreat perks.  My go to is definitely going to be a Sky Suite absent great pricing on a Royal or Celebrity suite, the whole Luminae and Michael's Club team were fantastic. Butlers were great also, they definitely worked as a team - we had room service delivered by several different butlers throughout the cruise. The crew everywhere was really incredible and friendly. My butler was definitely more proactive and attentive - but we were well taken care of in both cabins. This may have been a product of spending more time in my room, and personality/experience differences between our butlers. 

 

It is a good distance from the elevators to the aft sky suites. On our next sailing we are going to try to get a sky suite as far forward as possible on deck 12 because my mom has a hard time walking long distances and I think it will be more convenient. 

The pro of the aft facing Sky Suite is you have both a balcony and a large porthole - note there are a few aft facing sky suites on 11 & 12 that are not corners which of course do not have a port hole. 

 

I really like the aft view and being above to see things on both sides of the ship, but if you are at all concerned about privacy on the balcony I would not book anything aft facing. Each deck comes out farther so everyone above you can see basically the whole balcony, and even on the top deck there are public spaces above that can see down. I also felt like seeing so many balconies from the aft made me feel a bit crowded, on these vessels I think I personally prefer something side facing where I can't see 40 or so cabins are right there. 

 

Including some pictures from 1663 for reference 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow thank you so much for your detailed response and the photos. They are very helpful. I will show them to my husband so we can make a decision - I’m a little worried about the motion in an aft cabin though.

And may I say how nice that you travelled  with your mother. Mine has been gone 2 years now and I regret not bringing her along on vacations after my dad died.

[LaCal]

6 hours ago, zgscl said:

So I took advantage of fantastic pricing & a single supplement waiver and got a royal suite (1609). My mom decided to tag along last minute and it was cheaper to get her a separate cabin so we booked an aft facing sky suite (1663). We did not have any noise issues on either one. 

 

The royal suite was, of course, delightful and I was extremely well taken care of everywhere. A Sky Suite is basically a very large balcony cabin with The Retreat perks.  My go to is definitely going to be a Sky Suite absent great pricing on a Royal or Celebrity suite, the whole Luminae and Michael's Club team were fantastic. Butlers were great also, they definitely worked as a team - we had room service delivered by several different butlers throughout the cruise. The crew everywhere was really incredible and friendly. My butler was definitely more proactive and attentive - but we were well taken care of in both cabins. This may have been a product of spending more time in my room, and personality/experience differences between our butlers. 

 

It is a good distance from the elevators to the aft sky suites. On our next sailing we are going to try to get a sky suite as far forward as possible on deck 12 because my mom has a hard time walking long distances and I think it will be more convenient. 

The pro of the aft facing Sky Suite is you have both a balcony and a large porthole - note there are a few aft facing sky suites on 11 & 12 that are not corners which of course do not have a port hole. 

 

I really like the aft view and being above to see things on both sides of the ship, but if you are at all concerned about privacy on the balcony I would not book anything aft facing. Each deck comes out farther so everyone above you can see basically the whole balcony, and even on the top deck there are public spaces above that can see down. I also felt like seeing so many balconies from the aft made me feel a bit crowded, on these vessels I think I personally prefer something side facing where I can't see 40 or so cabins are right there. 

 

Including some pictures from 1663 for reference 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re booked on our first Celebrity cruise on the Solstice in April in Sky Suite 1665 which is next door to the one you stayed in 

 

Do they have the same room settings that you know of?   thx 

[zgscl]

6 hours ago, LaCal said:

We’re booked on our first Celebrity cruise on the Solstice in April in Sky Suite 1665 which is next door to the one you stayed in 

 

Do they have the same room settings that you know of?   thx 

Yes, we saw into that a couple times when we walked past. Basically the same room, of course no port hole looking out but otherwise the room looked very much like ours. I think ours is a bit longer and narrower since it is on the corner and the location of the door is different. But the actual cabin space looked very much the same. 

[zgscl]

12 hours ago, MarEll1 said:

Wow thank you so much for your detailed response and the photos. They are very helpful. I will show them to my husband so we can make a decision - I’m a little worried about the motion in an aft cabin though.

And may I say how nice that you travelled  with your mother. Mine has been gone 2 years now and I regret not bringing her along on vacations after my dad died.

I will say I do not recall any issues with motion. We felt it much less than we do on the HAL aft wrap suites. But the seas were very calm so not sure what they would be like in rougher seas. If you are on the higher decks the ship does slant in pretty sharply as you go farther up so you are not really at the very back. 

 

And that is so nice of you to say. We are very close and love to travel together, though I can't always convince her to come along. I usually have to drag her kicking and screaming, but she always has a fabulous time once we are there. 

[LaCal]

2 hours ago, zgscl said:

Yes, we saw into that a couple times when we walked past. Basically the same room, of course no port hole looking out but otherwise the room looked very much like ours. I think ours is a bit longer and narrower since it is on the corner and the location of the door is different. But the actual cabin space looked very much the same. 

Thanks