Solstice B2B - April 15-29 - Mex Riviera & Pac Coastal

[aring75]

3 hours ago, westcoastsue said:

 

You are a couple after our own hearts! We plan on booking the Veuve Clicquot dinner as soon as we get on board on the 22nd! You must be the East Coast version of us.

 

 

3 hours ago, westcoastsue said:

Also something we often do on Day 1.

This is the first time we have booked the VC specialty pairing dinner. The last two times we sailed we were too slow. They only have 8 seats available!

 

And So5 is a boarding day favorite. So, so much quieter than the buffet!

[aring75]

I ordered flowers for the stateroom pre-cruise since we were going to be onboard for 14 days. They were delivered this morning and they are gorgeous. 
 

[aring75]

Got hungry for lunch a little early today (I only had coffee for breakfast! 😳) so stopped at the Mast Grill for a burger. It’s a little too cool to eat out on deck, so we carried our plates into the Oceanview Café. 
 

 

 

Drink menu in the OVC (buffet).

 

 

[aring75]

For any tea drinkers (who don’t have a beverage package) there’s a decent assortment of bagged teas in the Oceanview Café. 
 

 

 

If you do have a beverage package, the Tea Forté available at Café al Bacio is also included.

[aring75]

Getting ready to start the Food & Wine pairing workshop. I’m one of the first people here. (Might be a little excited about this! 😂)

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, aring75 said:

 

Drink menu in the OVC (buffet).

 

 

On our last cruise there was a bartender in the bar in the OVC that was making his own version of Sangria by the glass.  i discovered this by accident when I went to the bar to order a drink and saw him making one for the fellow standing next to me.  They were delicious!

 

[DaKahuna]

36 minutes ago, aring75 said:

Getting ready to start the Food & Wine pairing workshop. I’m one of the first people here. (Might be a little excited about this! 😂)

 

 

That looks like it is going to be wonderful.  We signed up for it on our upcoming cruise.

[aring75]

35 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

On our last cruise there was a bartender in the bar in the OVC that was making his own version of Sangria by the glass.  i discovered this by accident when I went to the bar to order a drink and saw him making one for the fellow standing next to me.  They were delicious!

 

Mmmm…sounds like a great warm weather drink. I’ll check that out for sure!

[aring75]

Wine pairing was good. They served a Riesling, Sauv Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a Cab. The Cabernet was not my favorite, but it was a very young Kendall Jackson (2020, I think).
 

All of the other wines made interesting pairings (Tried to get photos of the labels, but I have a tendency to talk too much. They were clearing everything away by the time I thought about it. 😩)

 

I have also booked the premium wine pairing and the world wine tour for later in the week. I will definitely report back. 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. I am enjoying reading your posts and especially the food pictures. Love Celebrity and have been sailing with them since inception. Have agreat time!

[aring75]

16 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. I am enjoying reading your posts and especially the food pictures. Love Celebrity and have been sailing with them since inception. Have agreat time!

Thank you so much! 😁

[aring75]

Dinner menu - Day 2 - first day at sea

 

 

[aring75]

Watermelon and tomato salad. This was so light and refreshing. Delicious. 
 

 

 

Roasted lamb. 
 

 

Everything was yummy. 

[aring75]

Dessert. Yummy, yummy dessert. 
 

 

 

 

Chocolate cake with a side of vanilla ice cream. 
 

[aring75]

So after dinner, we had about an hour to kill before the show. Where did we stop? Why, the martini bar of course!

 

Started the evening with a 25th anniversary martini for Mark and a Fresca martini for me. 
 

 

Ww have always enjoyed a blue martini on other Celebrity cruises. However, after ordering it this time I thought it tasted different. 
 

 

 

After re-checking the menu, it seems my fears were confirmed. The blue martini has always been made with Hypnotiq in the past. They are now making them with blue Curaçao. Not terrible, but not nearly as good. 

 

BEFORE:

NOW:

 

 

Still, we always enjoy stopping here for a while in the evening and last night had a fun and lively crowd. (Except for us. We become decidedly less lively after 10 pm.)

 

[aring75]

The entertainer in the theater was Heather Sullivan. She really did a great job and I was impressed with how much credit she gave the ship’s band members. I always feel like they are so amazingly skilled and she really highlighted that. 

 

She was very talented herself and even received a standing ovation at the end of the show. 

 

[aring75]

Breakfast this morning (again) consisted of a double americano from Café al Bacio, but decided I needed a blueberry muffin as well. Took my treasures up to the Sky Lounge to watch as we sail toward Cabo. 
 

 

Mmmmmm…look at all these tasty treats to go with your coffee (or without coffee).

 

[DaKahuna]

32 minutes ago, aring75 said:

So after dinner, we had about an hour to kill before the show. Where did we stop? Why, the martini bar of course!

 

Started the evening with a 25th anniversary martini for Mark and a Fresca martini for me. 
 

 

 How was the Fresca Martini?  I hope you enjoyed it. 

 

Do you ever drink Sidecars?  I have recently been reacquainted with them and enjoy them in the evenings. 

 

[phoenix_dream]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:25 AM, juanrod said:

We were never able to transfer funds on the slots , good thing we had cash with us.    Hope the guest is okay when you had to divert to San Diego 🤞

All you have to do is go to the casino cashier and they will let you take out cash from your account at a minimum of $50 (maybe $50 increments after that, don't recall).  On this ship if playing machines they will just give you cash out tickets like the machines would give you.  Then whatever you don't use you can just cash in when you're done.  We did it multiple times last month.

[KasioSails]

21 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 How was the Fresca Martini?  I hope you enjoyed it. 

 

Do you ever drink Sidecars?  I have recently been reacquainted with them and enjoy them in the evenings. 

 

Another Sidecar shout out! I just got off the Solstice and had some lovely ones. I found the best were ordered directly at the bars versus the ones brought to the tables at dinner - the bar ones were the full size with the sugar rim. 

[westcoastsue]

1 hour ago, aring75 said:

So after dinner, we had about an hour to kill before the show. Where did we stop? Why, the martini bar of course!

 

Started the evening with a 25th anniversary martini for Mark and a Fresca martini for me. 
 

 

Ww have always enjoyed a blue martini on other Celebrity cruises. However, after ordering it this time I thought it tasted different. 
 

 

 

After re-checking the menu, it seems my fears were confirmed. The blue martini has always been made with Hypnotiq in the past. They are now making them with blue Curaçao. Not terrible, but not nearly as good. 

 

BEFORE:

NOW:

 

 

Still, we always enjoy stopping here for a while in the evening and last night had a fun and lively crowd. (Except for us. We become decidedly less lively after 10 pm.)

 

My husband loved the Hypnotiq martini - I have the recipe and will make them on occasion! We got hooked on the “old style” martini bar on the Infinity in 2006 going through the Panama Canal to South America. Those were the days prior to drink packages - I’m too embarrassed to tell you how much our bar tab was! A visit to the Martini Bar is definitely in the cards for next week. 

[aring75]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 How was the Fresca Martini?  I hope you enjoyed it. 

 

Do you ever drink Sidecars?  I have recently been reacquainted with them and enjoy them in the evenings. 

 

The Fresca martini was quite nice. Light, but very flavorful. It would be easy to drink a few of these without realizing how they sneak up on you!

 

I haven’t tried a sidecar, but my list of things to try grows longer everyday! I’m not complaining, mind you, I’m just thankful for the beverage package! 😂

[aring75]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

All you have to do is go to the casino cashier and they will let you take out cash from your account at a minimum of $50 (maybe $50 increments after that, don't recall).  On this ship if playing machines they will just give you cash out tickets like the machines would give you.  Then whatever you don't use you can just cash in when you're done.  We did it multiple times last month.

Yes. That’s what we did the next time we went to the casino. Slightly more of a hassle, but not a big deal. I wonder if they are trying to cut down on people taking OBC out at the machine?

[aring75]

55 minutes ago, KasioSails said:

Another Sidecar shout out! I just got off the Solstice and had some lovely ones. I found the best were ordered directly at the bars versus the ones brought to the tables at dinner - the bar ones were the full size with the sugar rim. 

Okay, now you guys definitely have me convinced to try this!

[aring75]

43 minutes ago, westcoastsue said:

My husband loved the Hypnotiq martini - I have the recipe and will make them on occasion! We got hooked on the “old style” martini bar on the Infinity in 2006 going through the Panama Canal to South America. Those were the days prior to drink packages - I’m too embarrassed to tell you how much our bar tab was! A visit to the Martini Bar is definitely in the cards for next week. 

I love all the options at the martini bar. And it usually feels like a very fun atmosphere. Did you say you were going to be onboard the Solstice? Maybe we’ll see you there!