On the Solstice now

[The Doctor's Lady]

We're in port in Los Angeles on the Solstice preparing to depart. There are a half dozen cruise ships lined up. And ours was the only one that played the theme from The Love Boat on the ship's horns. So much fun. I bet all the other cruise ships were jealous! 😁

[SFCAcruiser]

43 minutes ago, The Doctor's Lady said:

We're in port in Los Angeles on the Solstice preparing to depart. There are a half dozen cruise ships lined up. And ours was the only one that played the theme from The Love Boat on the ship's horns. So much fun. I bet all the other cruise ships were jealous! 😁

 

The Solstice did not play the theme from the Love Boat. What you heard was the horn from the nearby Princess ship. If there is a Disney ship you encounter along your trip, you may hear "When you wish upon a star". The Celebrity ship will be a standard blast from the ship horn. 

[Guindalf]

I doubt it!

 

That theme is exclusive to Princess and I’m sure that’s what ship was playing it. We heard it when the Apex left FLL last year. 

[Lastdance]

10 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

I doubt it!

 

That theme is exclusive to Princess and I’m sure that’s what ship was playing it. We heard it when the Apex left FLL last year. 

Did you have to go and burst the bubble?  I know; the truth is important no matter what the topic! 

[jwlane]

You heard Discovery Princess.

[LGW59]

8 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

Did you have to go and burst the bubble?  I know; the truth is important no matter what the topic! 

Right!  They heard it, no matter where from, obviously made them happy to start their cruise on that note...

[Cruising89143]

Trying to understand how there is a “half dozen” cruise ships lined up in San Pedro when the port can only accommodate two ships at once. The other ship today was the Discovery Princess which played the Love Boat theme last month when we were leaving San Pedro on the Solstice. With the way the two ships face and depending on where the OP was during sail away could leave one to believe that it was the Solstice playing the horn.

[all2me]

Just funny! Our Alaskan bound Magestic Princess played it for sail away in August.

Way cool yes! Highly doubt Celebrity would or be allowed to!? 

[jwlane]

Carnival Radiance & Panorama were also in the not so close neighborhood.

[rj59]

I was on Discovery Princess in November, and they had a Love Boat deck party one night, with the black cruise director dressed up as Isaac from the show--very fun. Before Covid they'd have original actors from the show recite parts of the safety drill on the TV and muster stations (alas, no Charo showing off her flotation devices and giving a coochie coochie). There's evidently a new Love Boat, so they're promoting that, along with nostalgia for the original. Discovery also does the impressive backing out of the San Pedro channel. Carnival goes out of Long Beach, far from the San Pedro pier, and if there are more than 2 ships in San Pedro, one has to go to a far pier by the harbor entrance--I had to go there for Solstice in November. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

5 hours ago, The Doctor's Lady said:

We're in port in Los Angeles on the Solstice preparing to depart. There are a half dozen cruise ships lined up. And ours was the only one that played the theme from The Love Boat on the ship's horns. So much fun. I bet all the other cruise ships were jealous! 😁

 

I'll ask the most important question; is there prime rib on the last night of the cruise? lol

[dock]

You had a great start to your cruise. 
Have fun. 

[NMTraveller]

Say hi to Gopher and Captain Merrill Stubing for me.

 

[GenerationX]

4 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Right!  They heard it, no matter where from, obviously made them happy to start their cruise on that note...

Right? Furthermore, OP is so happy and excited that they wanted to take the time to share their experience with others. Which I always appreciate!

 

I’m sailing on Solstice in a couple of months and was just happy once I clicked in to see that the post wasn’t bad news about food/service/ship condition onboard.

 

As that Disney song goes, “Let it go…”. Wow actually now that I think about it, Disney Cruises should make THAT the horn song on their ships! 🤣

[Wink87]

21 hours ago, The Doctor's Lady said:

We're in port in Los Angeles on the Solstice preparing to depart. There are a half dozen cruise ships lined up. And ours was the only one that played the theme from The Love Boat on the ship's horns. So much fun. I bet all the other cruise ships were jealous! 😁

Looking forward to your comments and hopefully some pics! Have fun!!!

 

[LaCal]

How are you liking the Solstice so far? food, drink service etc 

 

Thx 

[GeorgiaRetiredCruisers]

I thought the Solstice was supposed to be in port being rehabbed this month?

[NMTraveller]

I think that they ended up on the Discovery Princess 🙂

[The Doctor's Lady]

My word. Just home from our cruise and shocked at some of the rude comments in response to my post. It was our first cruise in a decade and we were excited. No we don't go on the internet while on a cruise to check our posts. What a waste of cruise time that would be. For those of you who felt compelled to post something snarky, please seek a life outside of the internet. For everyone else, I hope to meet you on a cruise someday. 

 

Unfortunately it is with a heavy heart that I report the Celebrity we started cruising with when Century was a new ship doesn't exist any longer. And whatever it is that they're doing now (are they even sure?) isn't for us.  We always cruised Celebrity for the good food and exceptional service. Presently the food has been dumbed down to the point of not being worth eating. As a food service professional, now retired, the present ingredients are subpar and the menus aren't interesting. We ate numerous times in Blu, the MDR, Ocean View Cafe, Mast Bar, and room service. We also ate twice in Murano. Only Murano had food worth eating. The Murano experience was above and beyond. Truly exceptional in every way. Sadly everything else was on par with a Carnival cruise I was strong armed into going on a few years ago. 

 

It obviously would take a lot to shift us off of Celebrity after so many wonderful cruises and life changing memories. But the customer Celebrity is pursuing doesn't seem to be us any more. We're foodies and Celebrity was once upon a time a foodies cruise.

 

We kicked around getting a suite next time so we could eat in the better daily dining restaurant, because no one can eat rich food like Murano every single night. But we're booking Oceania for our next cruise. My understanding is that's where the refugees from the old Celebrity are finding their sweet spot. 

 

We still plan to do the Galapagos with Machu Pichu land extension on Celebrity Flora when the Civil unrest there simmers down. And we'll keep our ears on Celebrity to hear whether they've returned to their culinary roots.

 

They should start with the Mast Bar and Oceanview Cafe. It is not difficult nor expensive to serve extraordinary hamburgers and buffets. At this point they're simply choosing not to.

 

And why not? Carnival has made a fortune serving bad food to people who value other things in their cruise experience. Celebrity seemingly feels that's a more appealing audience that the one that has been cruising with them since the Century was a young ship.

[Georgia_Peaches]

11 minutes ago, The Doctor's Lady said:

Unfortunately it is with a heavy heart that I report the Celebrity we started cruising with when Century was a new ship doesn't exist any longer. And whatever it is that they're doing now (are they even sure?) isn't for us. 

First, thank you for coming back and reporting out!  I was hoping you would...and I must say, DARN!  I was so hoping for a better report on the food quality...although I don't know why it would be different on Solstice than what seems to be going on fleet wide.  I am happy to hear the Murano is still on par with the past.  We are sailing in a RS so plan to dine in Murano quite a bit...

 

Regarding the cruise as a whole, were there other stand outs (good or bad) besides the food?  We've never done the Mexican Riviera and I am excited to see some of the pacific side of Mexico.  How was the service and entertainment on board?

 

I'm trying to soak it all in as we still have 40 days of waiting to go...

[NMTraveller]

27 minutes ago, The Doctor's Lady said:

My word. Just home from our cruise and shocked at some of the rude comments in response to my post. It was our first cruise in a decade and we were excited. No we don't go on the internet while on a cruise to check our posts. What a waste of cruise time that would be. For those of you who felt compelled to post something snarky, please seek a life outside of the internet. For everyone else, I hope to meet you on a cruise someday. 

 

Unfortunately it is with a heavy heart that I report the Celebrity we started cruising with when Century was a new ship doesn't exist any longer. And whatever it is that they're doing now (are they even sure?) isn't for us.  We always cruised Celebrity for the good food and exceptional service. Presently the food has been dumbed down to the point of not being worth eating. As a food service professional, now retired, the present ingredients are subpar and the menus aren't interesting. We ate numerous times in Blu, the MDR, Ocean View Cafe, Mast Bar, and room service. We also ate twice in Murano. Only Murano had food worth eating. The Murano experience was above and beyond. Truly exceptional in every way. Sadly everything else was on par with a Carnival cruise I was strong armed into going on a few years ago. 

 

It obviously would take a lot to shift us off of Celebrity after so many wonderful cruises and life changing memories. But the customer Celebrity is pursuing doesn't seem to be us any more. We're foodies and Celebrity was once upon a time a foodies cruise.

 

We kicked around getting a suite next time so we could eat in the better daily dining restaurant, because no one can eat rich food like Murano every single night. But we're booking Oceania for our next cruise. My understanding is that's where the refugees from the old Celebrity are finding their sweet spot. 

 

We still plan to do the Galapagos with Machu Pichu land extension on Celebrity Flora when the Civil unrest there simmers down. And we'll keep our ears on Celebrity to hear whether they've returned to their culinary roots.

 

They should start with the Mast Bar and Oceanview Cafe. It is not difficult nor expensive to serve extraordinary hamburgers and buffets. At this point they're simply choosing not to.

 

And why not? Carnival has made a fortune serving bad food to people who value other things in their cruise experience. Celebrity seemingly feels that's a more appealing audience that the one that has been cruising with them since the Century was a young ship.

Thanks for your review of the food.  We appreciate it. 

 

I am sorry that you had to experience Celebrity this way.  Celebrity used to have very good food.

 

Many others are moving on due to the food cutbacks.

Edited January 22, 2023 by NMTraveller

[The Doctor's Lady]

18 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

First, thank you for coming back and reporting out!  I was hoping you would...and I must say, DARN!  I was so hoping for a better report on the food quality...although I don't know why it would be different on Solstice than what seems to be going on fleet wide.  I am happy to hear the Murano is still on par with the past.  We are sailing in a RS so plan to dine in Murano quite a bit...

 

Regarding the cruise as a whole, were there other stand outs (good or bad) besides the food?  We've never done the Mexican Riviera and I am excited to see some of the pacific side of Mexico.  How was the service and entertainment on board?

 

I'm trying to soak it all in as we still have 40 days of waiting to go...

Cruise ship entertainment has never been our bag. We've been to too many Broadway Shows and headliner concerts and it's ruined us for everything else. So with that as a caveat, a group called The Barricade Boys was extremely good in the theater one night and they also performed in the foyer the next evening. The food and wine pairing class was expertly conducted by Murano's assistant sommelier and we were suitably impressed. Glass blowing was fun. The whale watching excursion we booked through the ship was fun. The stop on Catalina was unexpectedly charming, and we plan to return there for a long weekend getaway. Our room steward was just wonderful and our room was spotless. Molly in Guest Services could not have been more helpful or kind. So yes there were wonderful things. No cruise is all bad. 

 

We've spent quite a bit of time on the Baja, both on cruises and land based trips. We know it well and love it. If you're new to Cabo and want to party, you'll find plenty to do on a self-directed basis. If you're looking for the real Baja vibe, I'd recommend the excursion to Todos Santos.

 

On the not good side, we've loved the Persian Garden on the M-class shops and spent a lot of time relaxing in them. It added immensely to our overall relaxation and enjoyment of our vacation. The Persian Garden on the Solstice was not good at all. Not even a little bit. Like the food, it just wasn't worth getting out of bed for.

[dock]

Thank you for taking the time to follow up on your cruise. 

I’m a bit anxious as recently many reviews have been less than stellar re: the food , which is one of the reasons we chose X this summer. Haven't cruised since 2019. 
The limited buffet in OVC, paying for room service or an extra lobster is not an issue but I do expect good calibre food as opposed to some of the other lines. 

This is a family cruise but our next two cruises in 2024 we’ve booked on O as it seems the time has come to change lines. Maybe will cross paths. 

I’m expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

[MarEll1]

4 hours ago, The Doctor's Lady said:

Cruise ship entertainment has never been our bag. We've been to too many Broadway Shows and headliner concerts and it's ruined us for everything else. So with that as a caveat, a group called The Barricade Boys was extremely good in the theater one night and they also performed in the foyer the next evening. The food and wine pairing class was expertly conducted by Murano's assistant sommelier and we were suitably impressed. Glass blowing was fun. The whale watching excursion we booked through the ship was fun. The stop on Catalina was unexpectedly charming, and we plan to return there for a long weekend getaway. Our room steward was just wonderful and our room was spotless. Molly in Guest Services could not have been more helpful or kind. So yes there were wonderful things. No cruise is all bad. 

 

We've spent quite a bit of time on the Baja, both on cruises and land based trips. We know it well and love it. If you're new to Cabo and want to party, you'll find plenty to do on a self-directed basis. If you're looking for the real Baja vibe, I'd recommend the excursion to Todos Santos.

 

On the not good side, we've loved the Persian Garden on the M-class shops and spent a lot of time relaxing in them. It added immensely to our overall relaxation and enjoyment of our vacation. The Persian Garden on the Solstice was not good at all. Not even a little bit. Like the food, it just wasn't worth getting out of bed for.

Did you do an excursion on Catalina? We stop there the end of Feb. and are trying to figure out what to do. Glad you enjoyed it.

Also I just saw you are in Tucson - us too!

Edited January 22, 2023 by MarEll1

[The Doctor's Lady]

8 hours ago, dock said:

I’m expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

That's the best you can do under the present circumstances. That way you might get better than you expect.