Rare tigervixxxen Posted September 28, 2023 #1 Share Posted September 28, 2023 (edited) This post was recognized by LauraS! "Congrats on your first "Live from..." Thanks for generously sharing your time at sea with everyone at Cruise Critic! Please consider submitting it to the site for publication as well: Click: Write a Review" tigervixxxen was awarded the badge '"Live from...."' Hello and welcome to my first go at starting a live thread for this upcoming cruise. I will try my best to keep it updated and my fellow shipmates are welcome to post their photos and experiences as well especially as I will likely not post too many photos. If there’s any questions I have 11 sea days worth of time to go check something out and report back. We will be primarily dining in the MDR so follow along and see if we make it through all 17 nights before burning out! A couple nights for Tuscan Grill and Murano are planned as well. This is our 20th Anniversary cruise and have been looking forward to it for a long time. We cruise about once a year and have been on three Celebrity cruises prior to this one, having never been on Solstice but familiar with S class ships. Our longest cruise was a 14 night round trip from LA to Hawaii and back so I know a little of what to expect but much of this will be a new adventure. We fly into Hawaii on Saturday and will be ready to board the ship bright and early on Sunday! Edited September 28, 2023 by tigervixxxen 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthousepointdream15 Posted September 28, 2023 #2 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Did you need a visa for the New Zealand stop and the Australia stop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Norwaylady Posted September 28, 2023 #3 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Safe travel! Looking forward to your sailing. Really want to sail this route. Small islands are tempting. We sailed last year from Vancouver to Hawaii🥰 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinsusin Posted September 28, 2023 #4 Share Posted September 28, 2023 1 hour ago, Lighthousepointdream15 said: Did you need a visa for the New Zealand stop and the Australia stop? Not the OP but also on this cruise- yes you do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lienf Posted September 28, 2023 #5 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Looking forward to this posting as we are doing this cruise next October on the Solstice. Will definitely be following. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mahdnc Posted September 28, 2023 #6 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Have a terrific cruise. I will enjoy reading your posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barwick Cruiser Posted September 28, 2023 #7 Share Posted September 28, 2023 I will enjoy following along as well. They’ve given you nice long port times which will be helpful for any excursions you’ve got planned. If you’ve been on Eclipse or Equinox the Solstice has a similar layout. Do you plan to do any glass blowing? So much fun! Have a wonderful time and I hope the skies are clear and the seas are calm! 🥂🛳️ Cathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthousepointdream15 Posted September 28, 2023 #8 Share Posted September 28, 2023 2 hours ago, cruisinsusin said: Not the OP but also on this cruise- yes you do Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Texed Posted September 28, 2023 #9 Share Posted September 28, 2023 10 hours ago, tigervixxxen said: Hello and welcome to my first go at starting a live thread for this upcoming cruise. I will try my best to keep it updated and my fellow shipmates are welcome to post their photos and experiences as well especially as I will likely not post too many photos. We have looked at this itinerary quite a few times. So far, the air fares to/from Australia have been a deterrent . But, looking forward to your review. 😊 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare tigervixxxen Posted September 28, 2023 Author #10 Share Posted September 28, 2023 1 hour ago, Barwick Cruiser said: I will enjoy following along as well. They’ve given you nice long port times which will be helpful for any excursions you’ve got planned. If you’ve been on Eclipse or Equinox the Solstice has a similar layout. Do you plan to do any glass blowing? So much fun! Have a wonderful time and I hope the skies are clear and the seas are calm! 🥂🛳️ Cathy Yes, we have sailed the Equinox and Silhouette. Probably won’t pay for a class but might watch someone else do the glass blowing. As mentioned yes we had to obtain Australia and New Zealand ETA, not as bad as a full blown visa process. Only having to do the flight one way was a big draw for doing this itinerary. We are taking Air Canada back through Vancouver to Denver, we’ll see if the strategy of avoiding LAX works out for us lol. Thanks all for the comments, I hope to keep updated regularly. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDPCruisers Posted September 28, 2023 #11 Share Posted September 28, 2023 3 hours ago, tigervixxxen said: Yes, we have sailed the Equinox and Silhouette. Probably won’t pay for a class but might watch someone else do the glass blowing. As mentioned yes we had to obtain Australia and New Zealand ETA, not as bad as a full blown visa process. Only having to do the flight one way was a big draw for doing this itinerary. We are taking Air Canada back through Vancouver to Denver, we’ll see if the strategy of avoiding LAX works out for us lol. Thanks all for the comments, I hope to keep updated regularly. We, too, are looking forward to your review and thoughts (pros and cons). We have cruised TA and are looking to plan another in 2025 (rest of 2023 and 2024 booked) depending on itineraries and I, more than my better half, am interested in TP at some point. Safe travel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy planning mom Posted September 28, 2023 #12 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Enjoy! Are you going to spend anytime in Australia after debarking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare tigervixxxen Posted September 28, 2023 Author #13 Share Posted September 28, 2023 24 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said: Enjoy! Are you going to spend anytime in Australia after debarking? Yes we are going to spend a few days in Sydney after the cruise but unfortunately can’t do much more, we aren’t retired! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwichick62 Posted September 28, 2023 #14 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Auckland is my home city, let me know if you have any questions on this port. Still early spring and chilly, hopefully we can turn on some sunny weather for your arrival. 🌞 Looking forward to hearing about French Polynesia, I would love to visit this area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare tigervixxxen Posted September 28, 2023 Author #15 Share Posted September 28, 2023 (edited) 39 minutes ago, kiwichick62 said: Auckland is my home city, let me know if you have any questions on this port. Still early spring and chilly, hopefully we can turn on some sunny weather for your arrival. 🌞 Looking forward to hearing about French Polynesia, I would love to visit this area. We are going to do the excursion that visits the Kelly Tarlton’s and Sky Tower, anything I should know about either? Also, any restaurant recommendations by the pier? We might just go back on the ship but with a late departure maybe we’ll get off again later on. Ive seen some heat wave temps in Sydney, we can definitely leave the 90 degrees behind lol. Edited September 28, 2023 by tigervixxxen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Texed Posted September 28, 2023 #16 Share Posted September 28, 2023 1 hour ago, kiwichick62 said: Looking forward to hearing about French Polynesia, I would love to visit this area. To me, about as close to paradise as you can get on earth. 😊 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwichick62 Posted September 28, 2023 #17 Share Posted September 28, 2023 1 hour ago, tigervixxxen said: We are going to do the excursion that visits the Kelly Tarlton’s and Sky Tower, anything I should know about either? Also, any restaurant recommendations by the pier? We might just go back on the ship but with a late departure maybe we’ll get off again later on. Ive seen some heat wave temps in Sydney, we can definitely leave the 90 degrees behind lol. Kelly Tarltons is an underground aquarium. Not huge but is interesting, a must see there are the penguins. Sky Tower - Nice views of Auckland from the viewing deck. Also has a few restaurants and a casino. Cruise ships dock right in the city, there are many eateries within an easy walk. Across the road is Commercial Bay mall with restaurants and cafes. You can walk along the waterfront to Wynyard Quarter - more restaurants, bars etc. Auckland is multi-cultural and you will find a wide variety of cuisines available. Have a look around and see what you fancy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deus Posted September 28, 2023 #18 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Looking forward to reading all about your trip! See you on board in a few days. Lauren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare theopup Posted September 28, 2023 #19 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Following along too. Looks like a very interesting itinerary. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jim_Iain Posted September 29, 2023 #20 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Will be following along. Looks like a nice itinerary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkesbaynz Posted September 29, 2023 #21 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Following too😀. We are on the Solstice when it arrives in Singapore in four weeks for the leg up to Hong Kong via Vietnam. I understand that some of our touring group have been on her since Vancouver (must be retired). Interested in a TP too. The airfares are the off putting aspect from the UK. Last several years we have used airpoints for Business Class for Caribbean/Med/ Far East cruises. Not an option for a TP and DW has become accustomed to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jandex Posted September 29, 2023 #22 Share Posted September 29, 2023 We are on this cruise too, have done this itinerary in the opposite direction about 5 years ago. Am following along with you … 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrk2cruise Posted September 29, 2023 #23 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Did Auckland to Sydney the first year Celebrity did it on Mercury. Spent a week in NZ on the South island prior to the cruise. Loved NZ. In January we are doing our first Windstar cruise on one of their motor yachts from Auckland to Tahiti via Fiji 15 days. We are flying to Auckland about a week before and going to spend 3 days in the Bay of Islands area which we didn't get to last time. We are from the east coast so it's taken us this long to agree to the long flight again. This time we are going to overnight in LA each direction. With the prices could only go for premium economy and even so ouch! Business would have been 1.5x the cruise price. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut head Posted September 29, 2023 #24 Share Posted September 29, 2023 What a wonderful adventure! Thank you for sharing. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachlover1989 Posted September 29, 2023 #25 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Looking forward to following along! We are supposed to do this the opposite direction, but like so many have mentioned, airfare has us thinking twice. Business class fares are astronomical! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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