Solstice - did you find your cabin?

[Andreas Depping]

Particularly for this thread I took today many photos from both sides and different angles. So you might see the forthcoming of the work and maybe some more details from your cabins.

The first photo is really big, the rest is smaller but if needed can be produced in much higher resolution.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy them. Here is the direct link:

 

http://web8.506.bces.de/cruise_xxl/thumbnails.php?album=48

 

Andreas

http//www.cruiseship-gallery.de

[cruise47]

Your pictures are always "Outstanding" !!!! I wish you had taken a few AFT Cabin pictures. I just purchased a Nikon D80 for an upcoming cruise. This is my first SLR camera. One day I want to own a camera like your.

[Andreas Depping]

Your pictures are always "Outstanding" !!!! I wish you had taken a few AFT Cabin pictures. I just purchased a Nikon D80 for an upcoming cruise. This is my first SLR camera. One day I want to own a camera like your.

Thanks for your positive comment. The AFT cabins are in the afternoon "against the light". Maybe I take some shots in the morning at the weekend. It depends on the weather and on my schedule.

I think Nikon D80 is a very good SLR camera. Maybe one advice: if you want to have really technically good quality photos don't try to save money with cheap lenses. In internet forums like this you can find out which lenses fit best to your camera (and to your money bag ;-) ).

Secondly: make many hundreds (!) of photos before your cruise- look at them and try to improve allways. It's highly frustrating when you have unique situations and you look more into the instruction manual instead of the camera viewer.

Andreas

[cruise47]

Thanks for the great advice.

[hylasgirl]

Particularly for this thread I took today many photos from both sides and different angles. So you might see the forthcoming of the work and maybe some more details from your cabins.

The first photo is really big, the rest is smaller but if needed can be produced in much higher resolution.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy them. Here is the direct link:

 

http://web8.506.bces.de/cruise_xxl/thumbnails.php?album=48

 

Andreas

http//www.cruiseship-gallery.de

 

 

Thanks so much!!! I have the Nikon D70. Aren't they awesome SLR cameras? Someone is sitting on my balcony!!! Can you tell them to kindly remove themselves. :D Just kidding.

 

I can't wait to see some real photos of the inside. BOY, I wish I could see the progress all the time like you can.

 

Thanks for all the updates. We LOVE you for it!

[erms]

Andreas,

 

Thank you so much for the photos... you are great!

 

Esther

[ATLfuzzy]

Skysuite/2124: "BOY THAT'S A BIG OVERHANG" over the Resort Deck rooms....don'tcha think? :eek:

[Andy]

Hi Andreas !

 

I wanted to say Thank You, for your fantastic photos. Solstice is looking better and better each day. I cant wait to sail on her on the Inaugural on 11/23.

[barb2dave]

We booked Aft cabins SV last April and now I am concerned as we are traveling with first timers and I am reading on this thread that AFTs aren't so great on this ship. How do I find if there are any 1A's available without calling my TA. Thanks, Barbara

[excitedofharpenden]

We booked Aft cabins SV last April and now I am concerned as we are traveling with first timers and I am reading on this thread that AFTs aren't so great on this ship. How do I find if there are any 1A's available without calling my TA. Thanks, Barbara

I'm interested to now what brings you to the conclusion that afts aren't so great on this ship? I've got an SV booked for next November and nothing I've read here or elsewhere has put me off the thought of looking at that wake:cool:

 

Andreas, thanks once again for the updated photos. I'll be keeping my eye out for another picture of the aft facing cabins;)

 

Phil

[BethV114]

I'm interested to now what brings you to the conclusion that afts aren't so great on this ship? I've got an SV booked for next November and nothing I've read here or elsewhere has put me off the thought of looking at that wake:cool:

Phil

 

Phil - Your idea of a great cabin and Barbara's may be quite different. I know that on a lot of Royal Caribbean ships, the aft cabins are sought after not just for their views. In fact, they are most often sought after for their oversized balconies. Perhaps Barbara is concerned about the possibility of paying more for an aft cabin that isn't what she had originally expected it to be? As far as I can tell, the aft cabins on Solstice are CC or suites, so if Barbara/her companions aren't interested in the CC perks and don't feel as though their cabins would offer much more in the way of size, etc., it may well be worth it for them to downgrade to 1A's, if those are less expensive on her sailing.

 

We booked Aft cabins SV last April and now I am concerned as we are traveling with first timers and I am reading on this thread that AFTs aren't so great on this ship. How do I find if there are any 1A's available without calling my TA. Thanks, Barbara

 

Barbara - In answer to your question, you can simply go through the Celebrity website and search for your cruise. It will then give you a list of three cabins in each category that are available. If you are interested in a particular cabin, there will be a box at the top of the page (after you've begun your search) where you can input particular cabin numbers to see if they are available for your sailing. Alternatively, you could try searching for your cruise on a website like Travelocity, where it will bring up a deck map with little flashing arrows showing you up to six cabins available cabins in your selected category. I hope this helps!

[excitedofharpenden]

Phil - Your idea of a great cabin and Barbara's may be quite different. I know that on a lot of Royal Caribbean ships, the aft cabins are sought after not just for their views. In fact, they are most often sought after for their oversized balconies. Perhaps Barbara is concerned about the possibility of paying more for an aft cabin that isn't what she had originally expected it to be? As far as I can tell, the aft cabins on Solstice are CC or suites, so if Barbara/her companions aren't interested in the CC perks and don't feel as though their cabins would offer much more in the way of size, etc., it may well be worth it for them to downgrade to 1A's, if those are less expensive on her sailing.

My question was a direct one. I'm interested to know why barb2dave thinks the aft cabins aren't so good on this ship so that I can better understand and maybe put her mind at rest. BTW, she's not in a CC, but an SV (they are on decks 6, 7 and 8) so the CC perks is a moot point.

 

Phil

[fattyjeff]

My question was a direct one. I'm interested to know why barb2dave thinks the aft cabins aren't so good on this ship so that I can better understand and maybe put her mind at rest. BTW, she's not in a CC, but an SV (they are on decks 6, 7 and 8) so the CC perks is a moot point.

 

Phil

 

Phil - As BethV114 stated, most people that feel the Aft cabins aren't so good are referring to the balcony size. On Solstice, the Aft balconies are the same size as the rest of the balconies on the ship. Many of Celebrity's other ships have larger Aft balconies.

[BethV114]

My question was a direct one. I'm interested to know why barb2dave thinks the aft cabins aren't so good on this ship so that I can better understand and maybe put her mind at rest.

 

Phil

 

And that's why the internet can never replace face to face interaction - it's so hard sometimes to correctly guess a writer's intonation! I'm sure you meant to be helpful, but the way your tone came across to me was "not so much" and unfortunately I've seen a lot of posts on these boards lately that are designed more to "start trouble" than to provide actual assistance.

 

For example, over on the Royal Caribbean boards last week there was a thread where a terminally ill woman who has limited mobility asked for help in working with her rather unhelpful TA to get her booked into a cabin where she can smoke now that the smoking policy has changed and she can no longer smoke inside. Of course there were several posters who said to quit smoking, even though the smoking has nothing to do with her illness and is, by her account, one of her last "guilty" since she can no longer drink, etc.!:eek:;):D

[excitedofharpenden]

Phil - As BethV114 stated, most people that feel the Aft cabins aren't so good are referring to the balcony size. On Solstice, the Aft balconies are the same size as the rest of the balconies on the ship. Many of Celebrity's other ships have larger Aft balconies.

Hi Jeff. I guess that is what I'm trying to drill down to. If that is one of the worries Barb has, my comment would be that comparing the aft facing cabins on the Millennium Class ships to those on Solstice/Equinox is starting at a very high base point. Those balconies are huge. Really great for get togethers, you can fit 15 or 20 people out there no problem, but for your average couple there is WAY more space than you really need in my view. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but the balconies on Solstice are going to be a good bit larger than the standard M-Class balconies anyway and that gives enough space for lounging out with no need for your partner to hop over your outstretched legs to get back in the cabin (listed as 58 sq ft as opposed to 38 on other =X= ships):

 

 

The advantage of the aft cabin is the "both sides" view you get and in fact the standard size balcony area on Solstice will make the cabin inside, whether you have the bed or the sitting area closest to the balcony door, that bit nearer the sea action and the wake which I love watching. When you are in one of the aft facing cabins on the M-Class ships the water is a long way from you.

 

Or perhaps it's because I sometimes think we all get hung up a bit too much on size;)

 

Just my two cents.

 

Phil

[excitedofharpenden]

And that's why the internet can never replace face to face interaction - it's so hard sometimes to correctly guess a writer's intonation! I'm sure you meant to be helpful, but the way your tone came across to me was "not so much" and unfortunately I've seen a lot of posts on these boards lately that are designed more to "start trouble" than to provide actual assistance.

 

For example, over on the Royal Caribbean boards last week there was a thread where a terminally ill woman who has limited mobility asked for help in working with her rather unhelpful TA to get her booked into a cabin where she can smoke now that the smoking policy has changed and she can no longer smoke inside. Of course there were several posters who said to quit smoking, even though the smoking has nothing to do with her illness and is, by her account, one of her last "guilty" since she can no longer drink, etc.!:eek:;):D

Beth, I'm sorry. It was meant to be a helpful rather than a "start trouble" question. Apologies if it came across that way.:o

 

Phil

[fattyjeff]

Hi Jeff. I guess that is what I'm trying to drill down to. If that is one of the worries Barb has, my comment would be that comparing the aft facing cabins on the Millennium Class ships to those on Solstice/Equinox is starting at a very high base point. Those balconies are huge. Really great for get togethers, you can fit 15 or 20 people out there no problem, but for your average couple there is WAY more space than you really need in my view. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but the balconies on Solstice are going to be a good bit larger than the standard M-Class balconies anyway and that gives enough space for lounging out with no need for your partner to hop over your outstretched legs to get back in the cabin (listed as 58 sq ft as opposed to 38 on other =X= ships):

 

 

The advantage of the aft cabin is the "both sides" view you get and in fact the standard size balcony area on Solstice will make the cabin inside, whether you have the bed or the sitting area closest to the balcony door, that bit nearer the sea action and the wake which I love watching. When you are in one of the aft facing cabins on the M-Class ships the water is a long way from you.

 

Or perhaps it's because I sometimes think we all get hung up a bit too much on size;)

 

Just my two cents.

 

Phil

 

 

Hi Phil -

 

The Aft cabins sound nice. I should look into booking one in the future. Currently, I have a "hump" cabin (7215) booked for the Jan 4th sailing of Solstice. Either way, I'm very excited to be cruising on a new ship, regardless of cabin location! :)

 

Jeff

[dmk]

 

The advantage of the aft cabin is the "both sides" view you get and in fact the standard size balcony area on Solstice will make the cabin inside, whether you have the bed or the sitting area closest to the balcony door, that bit nearer the sea action and the wake which I love watching. When you are in one of the aft facing cabins on the M-Class ships the water is a long way from you.

 

Or perhaps it's because I sometimes think we all get hung up a bit too much on size;)

 

Just my two cents.

 

Phil

 

The other point, Phil, that I love is the beautiful view of the wake of the ship. Balcony size or not, the view of the wake is fabulous!:)

[klflote]

The other point, Phil, that I love is the beautiful view of the wake of the ship. Balcony size or not, the view of the wake is fabulous!:)

 

For me, the disadvantage on Solstice is that there is no overhang, and hence no privacy whatsoever. We always eat breakfast on the balcony in our robes, I'll step out onto the balcony pretty much anytime at night to breathe the sea air, and so on. So we changed to a hump from the aft once I saw Andreas' excellent pictures (thanks Andreas!). But certainly, YMMV.

 

Yes, I know that X may still put in something as an overhang, and the CC rep insisted to me there would be an overhang. We'll see...there's always next time for an aft.

[barb2dave]

And that's why the internet can never replace face to face interaction - it's so hard sometimes to correctly guess a writer's intonation! I'm sure you meant to be helpful, but the way your tone came across to me was "not so much" and unfortunately I've seen a lot of posts on these boards lately that are designed more to "start trouble" than to provide actual assistance.

 

For example, over on the Royal Caribbean boards last week there was a thread where a terminally ill woman who has limited mobility asked for help in working with her rather unhelpful TA to get her booked into a cabin where she can smoke now that the smoking policy has changed and she can no longer smoke inside. Of course there were several posters who said to quit smoking, even though the smoking has nothing to do with her illness and is, by her account, one of her last "guilty" since she can no longer drink, etc.!:eek:;):D

 

My concerns about the AFT cabin are based on the fact that I read that they have no overhang which means lots of sun and very little privacy. The last AFT cabin I was in had a huge balcony which was half covered and half uncovered. It appears that the AFT balconies on this ship are no larger than other balconies. In fact I read somewhere that they are modular and mostly the same size.

 

Therefore that means the only advantage of an AFT cabin is the wonderful view which now needs to be balanced against an overdose of sun, little privacy and a long walk to the cabin. For me I am happy to stick with what I have. My question primarily concerned first time cruisers traveling with us who counted on me to book the appropriate cabin.

 

Hope this clarifies the issue.:)

[bon_bonvoyage]

Thank you so much Andreas for our expertise and time. I'm going to provide your link to our Feb 1st 2009 Roll Call for all to enjoy. Please come visit and say HI...

[excitedofharpenden]

My concerns about the AFT cabin are based on the fact that I read that they have no overhang which means lots of sun and very little privacy.

I'm still sticking to my thoughts as I posted in reply number 61 on this thread. I think they will put a canopy of some sort over the aft balconies. To be honest it isn't a deal breaker for me if they don't, but I can see why some wouldn't like it. Time will tell as to what they will finally look like. Andreas seems our best bet at first look:cool:

 

Phil

[dmk]

My concerns about the AFT cabin are based on the fact that I read that they have no overhang which means lots of sun and very little privacy.

Hope this clarifies the issue.:)

 

The thing is nothing has been written officially by Celebrity. These are only suppositions by people on the board looking at the premature pics of the Solstice. So, there still is a 50/50 chance for an overhang.

 

Yes, I know that X may still put in something as an overhang, and the CC rep insisted to me there would be an overhang. We'll see...there's always next time for an aft.

 

Never put your trust in a CC rep. They are very uninformed. You can get more informed knowledge here on Cruise Critic. So, wait until the first group comes back with first hand experience. And please give us your own first hand experience on the Hump cabin you booked.

[BethV114]

Beth, I'm sorry. It was meant to be a helpful rather than a "start trouble" question. Apologies if it came across that way.:o

 

Phil

 

Like I said, that's part of the problem with the internet. No body language and, more importantly, no idea as to intonation.:confused: In fact, I owe you an apology as well, for jumping to the wrong conclusion about the purpose of your post.:o I hope we can just forget about it and all try to have a lovely weekend.:D

[LT. DAN]

Im thinking w/ the sail out on 9/27 they would have the canopy's over the aft balconies by now ??