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Solstice Questions Answered

Host Anne

By Host Anne,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Longboysfan

Longboysfan

Posted
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Am I correct in assuming that cabins with a trundle/pullman bed will have the bed by the bathroom and not the balcony?:confused: Thanks

 

No. Not from what I have seen in pictures - the cabins interlock and one cabin has near veranda or window the next is just the opposite.

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evoni

evoni

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Wow...cool....I grew up in FL, left for a while, and have been back for 10 years. Live off Harristown Rd, near Walsh pool.

 

I also grew up in Ft. Lauderdale and graduated from NorthEast High School. Tomorrow we leave for Ft. Lauderdale and the Solstice and I'll be back at home for one night at the house I grew up at, which is near Federal Hwy between Sunrise Blvd and Oakland Park Blvd. The house is on the water with intercoastal access so I'll be watching lots of boats go by tomorrow night, but too far away to see the Solstice or any ships.

 

Diana

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hcat "Live from...." Rare

hcat

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hcat ~ tough, tough question. There are so many wonderful spots on board. Here are my initial favorite spots (this may change after spending a week on board):

  • Sunset Bar Area
  • Ensemble Lounge
  • Michael's Club
  • Tuscan Grille
  • Sky Lounge
  • Pool Deck
  • Solarium

But these are just a few. I just realized yesterday in looking at the floor plan that there is a conference center next to the Sky Lounge. Missed it totally. There is definitely more exploring to be done!

 

Thanks Anne--

it is truly uncanny . I have singled out every one of those spots to check out as my favs from looking at the brochures & the postings on this board,,,,sort of the traditional X spots combined with some modern & fresh spaces!! Hope sometime we can join you on a cruise....

 

after our Jan cruise on Solstice we have a great board going for Solstice Sept 18, 2009 to E Medit!!! maybe we'll see you there?

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Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

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hcat ~ great minds think alike :) I know you will love this ship. I'm so excited to be heading back there tomorrow. After 18 months of waiting, this is one ship that was worth the wait. Would love to sail with you sometime....unfortunately the fall is bad for us. Always have a trade show we manage in Sept or early Oct so no cruising for us before the middle of Nov in the fall.....we'll have to work on it. I'd love to do the Equinox transatlantic....let's keep talking :)

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Oceangoer2

Oceangoer2

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Below you'll find answers to questions asked on the "What Questions Do You Have About Solstice" thread. I complied questions (as best I could) and attempted to get them answered this past weekend. Those I didn't get answers for do not appear below and I will attempt to get those for you on the maiden voyage next week.

 

If any of our other Cruise Critic members sailing can add to the information below, please post it or email me and I'll add it to my compilation.

I've also posted this on the actual QUESTIONS thread as well. I'll post a link to photos later tonight (sorry about the funky spacing...no time to try and fix at the moment).

 

SOLSTICE QUESTIONS

 

CABINS

 

  • How do the dividers work between balconies? Half of the wall is painted solid metal; the other half is a heavily frosted glass. There is a turnkey that has to be unlocked by the cabin attendant (so you cannot open and close the glass partition by yourself.). When the glass is unlocked, it folds back to meet the metal partition and hooks onto a metal latch to hold the glass in place, allowing for you to walk between the verandas.

  • Is the balcony furniture in a CC room different from the furniture on a standard balcony I believe the chairs have a foot stool to go with them (standard balconies do not) and they have a nicer table.

  • Do aft balconies have any type of covering or overhand? Essentially, there is no overhang on the aft balconies. The metal overhang comes out perhaps a foot at most from the sliding glass door. The rest of the balcony is uncovered. However, because of the angle of the back of the ships, you can only see about half of the balcony below you.

· Within an interlocking cabin pair design, quads and triples always have a sofa (trundle bed or sofa/pullman) near the balcony. Sofas there are long enough be made into a twin bed. But if so, than why have a pullman in the triples? When sofa is closer to door and bathroom, sofa is smaller (loveseat size?) and reason why there are no connecting 3/4s (ex a few handicap). Pullmans are from ceiling, not wall, and ALWAYS over the sofa near balcony, never over bed or other wall. The sofa is the same size regardless of its location in the cabin

· Is there enough closet space? This is subjective. For us, there was enough but I’m guessing that the majority of folks will say the closets are not big enough. In photos of the Solstice cabins, the closet appears to be much shorter and narrower than the other Celebrity ship's. You are correct…they are shorter and more narrow. And while the access to the closet isn’t terrible, it’s surprisingly easier to access the closet where the bed is next to the closet versus the couch. And is there more drawer and storage space to make up for any difference in the closet? I think there is. There are quite a few drawers in below the TV. There are two large storage units above the bed (not great for short people like me but great storage nonetheless; There are a couple of smaller type drawers; shelf space under the safe in the closet and plenty of storage for us in the bathroom. If you are a heavy packer for a cruise, you might think it isn’t as much as other ships but for us it’s fine.

  • Which cabins have the larger balconies, other than Suites? While I was not in all of these, I was in some and believe that the cabins above or below the ones we saw have larger balconies as well. Here’s my initial list: 9215; 9237; 9270; 9292; 8259; 8281; 8232; 8254; 7219; 7241; 7264; 7286; 7354; 7305; 8334; 8343

  • What is the hairdryer like in the cabin? Aliseo is the brand and it has three settings – 1200 watt; 600 watt and cool. It’s free standing (not attached to the wall) and is in the desk drawer where the mirror and chair (very nice chair by the way) are located. The only thing I didn’t care for is that you must hold the on switch “on” in order to keep the dryer going (kind of like having to hold the handle at the gas pump if they don’t have the handle lock).

  • We would like to know if there is a pattern for which cabins have beds by the balcony door & the reverse on deck 9....we have two cruises booked on that deck. Yes there is. Every other in-line cabin goes the opposite way. For example, we were in 9106 and the bed was at the veranda. The cabins on either side of us had the beds next to the closet so the cabins on either side of those would have the bed at the veranda door. Cabin 7317 has the bed at the closet and those on either side have the bed at the veranda. You’d have to take the deck plan and know the layout of a particular cabin and work it from there. I’m don’t think an actual layout exists at this point telling which cabins are which way. It would take someone a bit of time to create it but I’m sure someone on CC will do it before long.

  • Now that the reg. veranda rooms are the same size as cc, what are they doing to make the cc cabins stand out? Is the decor and bedding upgraded? Are the bathrooms any nicer? Not much, really. I don’t think the CC cabins on other ships were really that much different (the cabins existed before they created the Concierge Class). You get flowers, nicer robes, a foot stool with the chair on your balcony and whatever other CC amenities you always get (pillow choice, etc). The actual cabin and bedding is pretty much the same. We were in a 1B cabin and I thought the beds were great. I’m not sure you could make them much better.

  • Are the slippers provided in Aqua Class disposable? I picked them up and looked at them. I’m guessing they are take-aways. I wouldn’t want to use them if someone else had. There wasn’t anyone available to ask when I was in the room. I’ll see if I can find out next week.

  • What is "spa concierge" provided in Aqua Class? Pretty much someone to make your spa appointments for you.

  • How does the connecting cabin vestibule really work? I will post a link to my photos later tonight.

  • Can you see the tv from the bed? Yes….the flat screen tv can pulled away from the wall and then is swivels. At first, it doesn’t seem like it will move as the latch is pretty secure. But if you pull firmly from the lower right corner, it will unlatch and swivel whichever you’d like.

  • Is cabin 6242 obstructed? Did not get into the cabin from looking at the deck plans and way the lifeboats sit, I would say it’s a good chance this cabin has some obstruction. It won’t be completely obstructed but I’m guessing there will be some.

  • Where are electrical outlets located in the standard cabins? On the desk next to the TV and several in the bathroom. Are there any near the bed? I didn’t see any near the bed but I didn’t pull the bed out to see if there was any behind the bed (there were none behind the little night stands).

  • What is the available balcony space, level of coverage by overhang (personally I do not want any but I know there is some) and so the uprights supporting the upper canopy impinging in the balcony space on the Celebrity Suites (1619/1620 number range). I’ll break this out by cabin category. Didn’t have anything to measure exactly.

Standard cabins – nice size, two chairs with tall wooden table. Completely covered by an overhang

Sunset verandas – slightly smaller in depth than standard cabins. Depending on the cabin, the width of the verandas varies quite a bit (you cannot tell this by the deck plans). I’ll see if I can determine next week which ones have wider balconies and by how much.

Sky Suites (in-line) – more than totally covered. They have an additional 12 – 15 foot of metal canopy that extends out over them. They feel very enclosed. This does not apply to aft Sky Suites.

  • Is the veranda of the angled bump-out cabins larger? Yes, considerably

  • Photo of a Sky Suite and how much of an overhand is there? (Cabin 2122) The overhang is significant. I will be posting a link to photos soon.

  • Are there refrigerators in standard cabins? Yes, and they are very nice.

  • Photo of beds set in a twin configuration. I will be posting a link to photos soon.

  • How large is the shower in a standard cabin? Larger than any other show I’ve seen in a standard cabin on a ship….and they have a shaving bar for ladies (nice touch)

  • Sky Suite 1663…is the porthole really a window? How is the furniture laid out? Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to see one of these cabins. I’ll try to do that next week.

  • How fast is the wireless connection in cabins? Didn’t work on the pre-inaugural. I’ll try next week and let you know.

GENERAL SHIP

  • How close is the interior of the ship to the original renderings on Celebrity’s website? Very close but the real thing looks much better than I could have imagined. This ship is stunning!

  • Where will smoking be allowed? Port side of the SKY Lounge; Mast bar & Mast grill; port side of the pool deck and the sun deck (no smoking in solarium); starboard side of the Casino – slot machine areas only.

  • What brands of make up are they selling in the on-board shops? Darn, the night I went into the shops, I didn’t have anything to write with and I can only remember they sold Clinique (and about five or six other brands….I’ll try to remember to get them next week.)

  • Can cash be used in the casino or must everything be done on your seapass? You can use cash. Can you get cash from casino instead of having to use the ATM? If yes, is there a surcharge from the casino? There is a surcharge to get cash from the casino.

  • Do the armrests go up in the theater? No, they do not, but each seat has a drink holder.

  • Do they allow lawn chairs on the lawn? No, they don’t.

DINING

 

  • How are the Specialty restaurants are? They are all beautiful. Only ate in Silk Harvest and the food was great but with the other restaurants to try, I’m not sure I’d pay a surcharge to dine here on a 7-day cruise.

  • Does the Blu menu change every night, or even at all? They change every night.

  • How are the main dining room chairs? Is the spacing between tables comfortable? Are the better locations on the upper level or anywhere else down below? Dining room chairs were great. I found them to be very comfortable. There was sufficient

  • Can you eat lunch outside at one of the restaurants? Yes, at the back of the Oceanview Café. And it’s FANTASTIC !!!!!

ENTERTAINMENT

  • Will there be music and dancing in the observation lounge or only in the nightclub? Will there be a live band here or other types of music? Yes, there will be dancing in the Sky Lounge and they will have live music (they did last night).

POOLS

  • Is the pool in the aqua spa heated? It was not heated this weekend.

  • Does it appear that there is adequate deck space around the pools, or are the concerns expressed in here that it seems too minimal valid? To my surprise, the pools and the pool decks are great. Lots of lounge chairs, plenty of deck space. It appeared that there were as many or more pool lounge chairs around the main pool. It’s really a wonderful area.

I don't know HOW you came up with so many answers in so few day! Thanks very much for taking the time with this. I have a bit of a dilemma (minor)....I booked #8344 initially, then changed to #8347 because I gathered from some postings this verandah was wider. Then I read a posting that mentioned #1206 (directly above #8344 has 3 glass panels as opposed to 2 making it 3 ft wider (he measured). Now I think I gave up a bigger verandah. Is there any way you can tell from up above which has the bigger verandah? It seems the pattern of 3 and 2 follow the line all the way up.

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Host Anne "Live from...." Rare

Host Anne

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Oceangoer ~ the width of the sunset verandahs on 6, 7, and 8 do vary. I'll check them out for you and let you know. 1206 is a C1 and those balconies are definitely larger than the sunset verandas. It's the depth of the sunset veranda (and I'm in one this week) that is less than all the other verandas I saw. So which sunset veranda cabin you choose can make a difference. I'll see if I can check it out and let you know which one has a wider veranda. I'm pretty sure 8344 has the widest of the regular SV balconies. I'll post as soon as I know for sure.

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Oceangoer2

Oceangoer2

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Oceangoer ~ the width of the sunset verandahs on 6, 7, and 8 do vary. I'll check them out for you and let you know. 1206 is a C1 and those balconies are definitely larger than the sunset verandas. It's the depth of the sunset veranda (and I'm in one this week) that is less than all the other verandas I saw. So which sunset veranda cabin you choose can make a difference. I'll see if I can check it out and let you know which one has a wider veranda. I'm pretty sure 8344 has the widest of the regular SV balconies. I'll post as soon as I know for sure.

Thanks...I changed back to 8344...and try to enjoy your time on this beautiful ship!

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signman

signman

Posted
Posted
Anne - If you happen to pass by 8252 or 8279 and can sneek a peek at what's up with this hump cabin, if it's longer from corridor to balcony door, I'd be very grateful.

 

It's not. The deck plan is wrong. It's forward by one cabin. Look at 7 & 9. Those should be 1B's but are mislabeled as 1A's. If Anne doesn't check on it for you I will in 2 weeks. Do you really think 8232 and 34 connect. Wrong wrong wrong.

 

And if you are in one of those cabins you are being overcharged.

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FinelyCruising

FinelyCruising

Posted
Posted
It's not. The deck plan is wrong. It's forward by one cabin. Look at 7 & 9. Those should be 1B's but are mislabeled as 1A's. If Anne doesn't check on it for you I will in 2 weeks. Do you really think 8232 and 34 connect. Wrong wrong wrong.

 

And if you are in one of those cabins you are being overcharged.

 

Howard let's figure this out....Both of these cabins are ont he hump, and I love hump cabins from my RCCL days, that's why I took it.

 

I also took it because it is a non-adjoining cabin, even though X found a way to make connecting cabins better than ever, these particular cabins are stand alone.

 

If you look at the exterior photos, the angled balcony cabin next door shows this cabin extends out at least 4 feet beyond the angle balcony cabin, so my question is what is going on in the corridor...I am certain that the corridor does not angle four feet toward the ocean in such a severe line as the exterior shows.

 

Even if the doors open out and there is a niche in the corridor to accommodate a 36 inch swing outward, I continue to think something is going on with this location. If not, then I still have an excellent view from the balcony, and my nickel says this is a stretch cabin.

 

If not, oh well, I can tell others here what its all about and why the RCCL humps are better.:D

 

So...I guess sooner or later we wil find out with your help. ;) Thanks!!!

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BurgerBits

BurgerBits

Posted
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Just a gentle reminder to please remember your adapter this time - you know how much we look forward to your live reports! :)

 

My DH will be doing some work from our cabin during the 2/22 sailing and the WiFi access is critical to him. I'm a desktop, not a laptop, user and am baffled by your reference to an 'adapter.' May I safely assume that my DH has the required wire/plug (he's sailed before with his Mac laptop), or will we need to get a new thingamajig?? THANK YOU!!

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rolfecms

rolfecms

Posted
Posted
My DH will be doing some work from our cabin during the 2/22 sailing and the WiFi access is critical to him. I'm a desktop, not a laptop, user and am baffled by your reference to an 'adapter.' May I safely assume that my DH has the required wire/plug (he's sailed before with his Mac laptop), or will we need to get a new thingamajig?? THANK YOU!!

 

I was referring to the standard AC adapter needed for laptop computers when the battery runs out.

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Rubinof

Rubinof

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I was concerned, when reading your wonderful report, on the Solstice, regarding the outlets. My husband requires one, in order to plug in a medical device, near the bed. Did you have an opportunity, to recheck that issue. I realize, that you did address that, but, thought you might have had a chance to revisit it, since it's such an issue, for those of us, with medical devices.

 

Many thanks! Loved the Q and A's!

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dmk

dmk

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I was concerned, when reading your wonderful report, on the Solstice, regarding the outlets. My husband requires one, in order to plug in a medical device, near the bed. Did you have an opportunity, to recheck that issue. I realize, that you did address that, but, thought you might have had a chance to revisit it, since it's such an issue, for those of us, with medical devices.

 

Many thanks! Loved the Q and A's!

 

I would bring an extension cord to be on the safe side.

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4Suzyq

4Suzyq

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Posted

We are RCL cruisers taking our first Celebrity cruise on the Solstice. We are used to an assigned dinning time at an assigned table. We are traveling with another couple. We have reading postings and are a little confusing. In the main dining room, are you assigned a table and time on the Solstice or are you assigned a time and when you arrive are given a table. If we want to eat with our friends, do we have to show up at the same time?

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