LIVE FROM SOLSTICE INAUGURAL - Nov. 23 - From Your Cruise Critic Hosts

[alfiemom]

This is too cool. The Princess webcam is showing Solstice leaving the harbor. Ain't technology great! Next week, that's us!

 

Bobbie

[Hypo]

What is the website?:confused:

http://www.mortgagemobile.com/Ft_20_Lauderdale_2c__20_Florida_20_Web_20_Cam.html

[FinelyCruising]

:) Bon Voyage Solstice Cruisers!!!! :)

[BarbJ52]

Best wishes for a greaat cruise! I know we all have many questions, but but your first priority should be enjoying your cruise.

 

That being said, I would love to see pics of an AQ accessible cabin - if you get a chance. If not, I will still follow this thread.

 

Best wishes!!

 

Barb

[Kevin's girl]

Thanks HYPO, I watched her the whole way out. First on Princess webcam, then on Mortgagemobile (really cool web cam), then on the Ft Lauderdale beach cam.

Bon Voyage to the CC cruisers.

[cvat]

From the Crown Princess in Port Everglades you can see the Solstice

 

http://www.princess.com/bridgecams/kp/crown_bridgecam.html

 

Thanks a lot for this link.

Princess has not left the port so it was possible to see Solstice saling.

[Mancuso]

It's so exciting that you're all there right now. We're on the 12/21 sailing and we're really starting to feel it now. Can you inquire about Tortola? We're heard that calls have been cancelled because of pier damage.

Thanks.

[cruisinelsewhere]

Thanks HYPO' date=' I watched her the whole way out. First on Princess webcam, then on Mortgagemobile (really cool web cam), then on the Ft Lauderdale beach cam.

Bon Voyage to the CC cruisers.[/quote']

I watched the same webcams...and with a smile, as she sailed off into the distance, I said to myself.....the next time she leaves that port I will be onboard!:D Have a great cruise to all onboard now!

Judy

[InletCam]

Have a bad cold but I was able to go snap some pix just as she was leaving. Will post later.

[jwattle]

Hope you feel better soon Inlet!

[Kevin's girl]

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well, we will be looking forward to seeing your pix..

[Festive]

Hi Anne,

 

Boarding her one week from today, and will be hanging on your daily/hourly posts. One question -- How does the $5 charge work at Bistro on Five? Does it only apply to crepes? Can one still grab fresh pastries in the morning, like from the Cova in other Celebrity ships, to take back to the room at no charge?

 

-- Ron

[martodd]

Car rental place (lots of names in one building) has a bus to the various piers. Also can rent cars the same way after the cruise.

 

Have a great time guys and take care of her for us. We follow next Sunday. Interested in the time they open the terminal and the time they let you on.

 

Bobbie

 

Thank you so much. That makes my planning so much easier.

[hylasgirl]

Anne... could you check on the waffle issue?? There are people getting super sad over the stories of them being in a holding pan.:D

 

Inlet Cam... I hope you start to feel better soon!

[signman]

One more for you Anne......Re: the refrigerators in each stateroom...........are they loaded with sodas, etc...........are you charged for an item if you so much as jostle it.........will your steward clear it our for you.

[Host Walt]

Bon Voyage to our CC hosts!

Anne, you're so sweet, you didn't even say: "Neener, neener, neener" to those of us who AREN'T cruising this week.:D

Not even to me, who she left behind to watch the Celebrity Boards.

 

No, I'm not jealous. Nope. Not me. Really I'm not. Honest. :(

[Cruisenouvelle]

Hi Anne,

 

Boarding her one week from today, and will be hanging on your daily/hourly posts. One question -- How does the $5 charge work at Bistro on Five? Does it only apply to crepes? Can one still grab fresh pastries in the morning, like from the Cova in other Celebrity ships, to take back to the room at no charge?

 

-- Ron

I'm not Anne, but I will tell you that when my DH asked if he could have a pastry at the B.O F., the server said no, he would have to come into the bistro, pay the fee, and be served. It was said very politely, of course, so we left it at that. The Cafe al Bacio across the hall does allow you to take pastries with you without being seated. Hopefully Ann will be able to give you the latest info, as we were on the revenue 2 nighter.

[keiki40]

Anne,

hope you really enjoy your time on Solstice.

 

Would you please be so kind and check whether the use of the Persian Garden is free of charge for Suite guests?

 

Thanks for your reply and have a wonderful inaugural cruise :)

[erms]

Would love to know if Chai tea is served there. What is cost of internet access.

 

Enjoy!

[Buckeye Geo]

Happy Cruising to all on the INAUGURAL Sailing. We will be greatful for any and all first hand info.

[Host Anne]

SOLSTICE DAY 1

Greetings from Solstice! What a wonderful day. After a couple of hours of exploring (or re-exploring in our case), we headed to the Sunset Bar for a wonderful Sailaway from Ft. Lauderdale. Many Cruise Critic members showed up to meet one another as the shoreline faded away to a spectacular sunset. A very special thanks to Bonnie & Bob for their wonderful Cruise Critic member name tags (a wonderful memorabilia item) they prepared. They were AWESOME! And thanks to C 2 C (Arno) for maintaining the list of member names for the cruise.

After Sailaway, we spent some time at the Oceanview Bar (just below the Sunset Bar) listening to Jefferson (a fantastic guitar player) while we chatted with Joy, the bartender at the Oceanview Bar. Joy had previously been on Millennium and Century. Many of the crew on board have been on other Celebrity ships. We’ve already run into six or seven crew members we know from previous cruises. This is one of the nice things about sailing with Celebrity on a regular basis.

It was off to get ready for dinner after enjoying the music of Jefferson and the conversations with Joy. I will add that there was nothing special today to celebrate this inaugural sailing. It was a little surprising and a little disappointing after waiting for this sailing for 18 months that other than a mention from the Captain during the muster drill, nothing was mentioned about this being a maiden voyage. We’ll see how the rest of the sailing goes in that respect.

Now that we are on board for a full seven-night cruise, we’ve had the chance to unpack and check out the storage in the cabins. I’m not wild about the location of the closets, but for us there is more than enough storage. We still have unused space after completely unpacking. I also need to say that now that we are in our aft sunset veranda, the cabin is very nice and the veranda doesn’t seem as small as it did last weekend when it was an open cabin for viewing. I think because our veranda last weekend was a bit bigger, when we saw the sunset veranda, it felt “smaller.” But walking into the cabin today, the veranda seems fine. It’s still a shame that they didn’t elect to extend these verandas somewhat since they certainly could have, but it’s nice. I do think that the blue extension that is the roof of Tuscan Grille is an eyesore (already dirty, catching items that blow off the upper decks) for the verandas just above it (decks 6, 7 & 8) and that they would have been well served to extend the aft verandas over this area.

We chose to meet in the Martini bar for pre-dinner drinks. Some semi-private alcoves surround the bar itself and we ordered drinks from one of these. But the piped in music honestly was too loud and had the “hip” beat that after about 20 minutes started to get on your nerves. We moved to the Ensemble Lounge for a soften atmosphere where a jazz trio provided the perfect background to drinks and conversation.

The BEST thing about tonight, however, was dinner in the Grand Epernay restaurant (main dining room). Our table was on the lower level and our servers were outstanding. The menu (I am taking photos and will post when we are home) was interesting and varied. Appetizers received rave reviews – Two of us had the pork potstickers while everyone else had the eggplant Parmesan. Everyone love both of them. The spinach salad that followed was equally as good. But the highlight of the evening was the entrees. Andy had the lamb chops with a mixture of other lamb items such as lamb sausage. He raved about it. The rest of us had the beef tenderloin and veal filet with scalloped potatoes and creamed carrots. I’m not kidding….it was terrific. It was followed by crème brulee, a chocolate parfait (really a mousse) and sugar free crepes for dessert. If the food in the main dining room is as good the rest of the cruise as it was tonight, Celebrity has found a way to return to its outstanding food. Our waiter explained the entrees may take a bit longer than normal because they are being prepared as the orders are placed instead of mass plated ahead of time. It seemed to make a difference. Additionally, the varied plates (mine was oblong while my husband’s was a wide bowl-like dish) and presentations made for a perfect dinner experience. Boy, was it good!

Sadly, while there are still lots of things happening tonight, I’m too tired to do anything else. A good night’s sleep will get us ready for a full day at sea tomorrow.

Those who are sailing soon, be prepared for a great time.

SOLSTICE DAY 2

 

I don’t think my little report posted last night. I lost internet connection as soon as I hit “submit.” So I’m reposting what I wrote last night….except for the questions I answered. Since it’s kind of expensive for internet time ($.65/min unless you buy a package….I’ll get the package prices and include them in a later report), I will probably limit my posting to our experiences and answer questions when we get back to Florida next week.

It was a bit of a “rocky” night. Pretty high seas to start this cruise. While we are experiencing some good movement, I think Solstice is handling the waves pretty well. We had some brief showers early this morning but the sun is now out and the skies are blue although it’s still on the rough side and very windy. There is lots to do inside so people will have the chance to get to know Solstice pretty well.

We ate breakfast in the Oceanview Café. We lost an hour last night so we were in the café pretty early (7:30 eastern time; 8:30 ship time) so there weren’t many people around. The variety of food is good but the quality is hit and miss. The waffles when hot off the waffle maker are great (I waited for some) as those in the warming tray aren’t the same. Carved ham and bacon were very good but the sausage links were not. The omelet I had last weekend was great. I’ll be anxious to see how the waffle station works once it is very busy in this area. They still have things backwards here. The butter/syrup, etc are before you get the waffles/pancakes so you have to go “back” to the beginning of the line to get these things. It won’t work when this area is busy.

I just went down to purchase an internet package. It was a bit chaotic as they were trying to start a computer class and help people trying to just use the internet. The ship is wireless throughout. So if you are using your laptop in your cabin you must set up a wireless account (User ID and password) and then purchase a package when you log on to the internet. I think you can do this from your stateroom but since I had a Capt Club coupon that gave me 20% more minutes when I bought a package, I had to go to the internet café to turn that in.

Internet Charges are:

$.65 per minute

75 minute package - $40.00

125 minute package - $60.00

185 minute package - $80.00

263 minute package - $100.00

I’ll let you know how it works once I log on again. I have a feeling it’s going to be slow.

Off to our Cruise Critic Party is scheduled for 11:30 AM in the Sky Lounge. I will check to see if this is the same time and location for upcoming parties.

Happy Monday to all!

[Muushka]

Thank you for the reports!

[Lois R]

Hi Anne:)another thanks for doing this....and please

tell Arno and Joanne how wonderful it was for me to have

finally met them:)

Oh, and it was great seeing you again too!!!

[BurgerBits]

Wow! Thanks so much for all the detailed info.

 

My questions:

 

1. Is the lack of trays at the buffet causing any logjams or problems?

 

2. Where are you storing your luggage?

 

Thanks SO SO much!!!

[Ft. Lauderdale Native]

Host Anne,

 

Thanks so much for your updates. We are on the Solstice 12-7-08. I just booked this cruise on Saturday (11-22). What time do they open up for embarkation? I was told 1 PM by the agent I booked through, but, it sounds like you got on earlier. We don't have any Captains Club type membership, so, we will be with the herds trying to all get on at the same time. :eek:

 

We were originally planning on joining some friends on the Carnival Liberty. While I really would have enjoyed cruising with them, the itinerary was the exact same as the Christmas cruise (Star Princess) we took the family on in 06. I had tried to book the Liberty this past Friday morning, but was told the travel agent was just getting off the Solstice. I was told she would be back in the office by 2 PM. When she didn't return my phone calls, I started looking around on the internet, and, well, here we are.

 

We are Cruise newbe's I guess you could say. So, any helpful tips or ideas you, or others on here have would be greatly appreciated.

 

Inlet Cam, thanks for the excellent pix.

 

I just paid my real estate taxes, which were bad enough, but I don't live anywhere near the ocean. With the price of yours, I am surprised you don't have a $10 fee per picture. Oop's, never mind that, don't wanna give you any ideas. :D I'll look for you and your pup on 12-7 on our way out.

 

My grand parents used to live in the Breakwater Towers. That's the rounded building behind you. It's been thirty years now since my grandfather passed away, but when we were kids we used to always wait on the balcony for the cruise ships to come and go, to wave to all the happy people.