Solstice review: Good cruise, bad norovirus.

[Busterbunny]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=52572

 

(Please note, I am not a native english speaker. My first language is french, so some of the words or expressions used might be odd!)

 

I've never considered doing a cruise in my life. To me, walking in Paris, London or New-York, discovering those cities, would always be preferable to being stuck with other tourists on a boat, visiting for an hour or so a small city, all bunched up together.

 

That view changed drastically in 2006, when I did my first cruise, with my wife, on the Celebrity Millennium. Despite having access to a cruise boat all summer, we feared back then that we might be sea sick, and decided to take a cabin on the low level of the ship, in the middle. That way, we would feel the waves a little less. That trip on the Millennium, in the eastern caribbean was simply amazing. And we never once got sea sick.

When we heard about the Solstice, and my parents planning a trip on it, I suggested we might accompany them, with another couple as well. We dared to book a room with a veranda, seeing that we had not been sick on the previous trip, and that... it was pretty much the most available type of room anyhow!

 

My wife and I are in the early 30s, and she was 9 weeks pregnant. We don't children yet.

 

AIR TRAVEL

Booking of the air travel was done through our travel agent with Celebrity. We liked the concept, because we figured when everything is under Celebrity's control, the process for a late plane and other contingencies is perhaps better managed. The suggested flight from Montreal, Canada, flew directly to Fort Lauderdale, with Air Canada. We like the concept, since you pass the US custom in Canada, in Montreal, so when you get off at Fort Lauderdale, you don't have to anything to wait for, except your luggage.

 

The planed flight to go back was with American Airline, from Miami to Montreal.

 

This will be the last time we will book flights with Celebrity. In order to cut back on costs, Celebrity don't discriminate too much on flights.

The flight with Air Canada was such an apparently cheap ticket, that we couldn't decide on our seat until we got at the gate. Not the automatic registration booth, not the luggage check in stand. The GATE. As if we were on standby. We clearly weren't on standby, but still, that was the procedure. I never had that before. Air Canada had a magnificent plane, however, with interactive screens that gave 10 fairly recent movies to watch, and complimentary drinks. The airplane was a clean Airbus 320, well maintained.

 

The flight with American Airlines, when we came back, at least allowed us to choose our seats at the luggage check in. HOWEVER, I was surprised to see an additional fee for luggage. As we had, in total, 3 luggages to check in, we paid an extra 65$ USD. It's odd to have to pay for that in a package that seems "All included". Bringing luggages on a cruise seems to be something quite normal. I would have expected Celebrity to identify that potential cost. The airplane was cheap. It was equal to a plane for Cubana (for you American folks, that's the Cuban airline that services Canada). It was dirty, most emergency exit release mechanism was hanging with velcro that had lost all it's binding material, and the movie screens were small, 20 inch screens in the middle of the rows. Are we so used to having trouble with airlines that we don't even care about airline experience anymore?

 

The lesson here is that I will choose my flights next time. And not do business with Celebrity for that part of the trip.

 

EMBARKATION

 

We met with the two other couples we were with at FLL airport. One of the couple was in its early 70s, the other in their late 50s. Both had taken Concierge class. We weren't. At FLL airport, the Celebrity cruise met with us, and were very kind, if perhaps misinformed about the ship and embarkation. In their word, there was a line for Captain's Club member and Concierge Class members, and a line for the other people. That CC and Concierge class line was faster, had coffee and cookies, and who knows what else. When we got the the pier, we found out that there was a line for Concierge and CERTAIN TYPE of Captain's Club members. As we had only one trip under our belt, we were standard members, and had no right to that line. It was much better that way. The normal lines went much, much faster, and there was no coffee nor cookies to be seen anywhere on the special line. As we came in at around 1h30 PM, the whole process was done by 2h00 PM. I can't say we really waited all that much.

 

I guess that would be the right time to say that the ship, from a distance looks great, and we felt a chill when we saw it, so much we were excited. I get very stressed when I travel, because of the logistic, and getting on the ship, and being served that white bubbly wine is just a relief. This is when I really relax!

 

Please note. I have seen many reviews, and I will give the benefit of the doubt to people, but they didn't serve Champagne on the ship for us. It was a white bubbly wine. A very good one, quite tasteful, perhaps more than a Champagne. But Champagne is a white bubbly wine that comes from the region of Champagne. If it says "Napa" on it, it's not Champagne. That's like saying your car is a Toyota when it's a Honda. Both are good. But it's not the same name.

 

CABIN

As I said earlier, we had 3 luggages, and add to that 3 carry-on bags. Everything fit in the closets/drawers. Even the luggages did fit under the bed. I won't add too much to what was already said, except that it is clearly a place where you could even pass alot of time, on the veranda, in the roome, even getting a meal is not too complicated.

 

I have to say I was impressed by the TV/interactive system. When we were getting ready for our late seating dinner, we'd come back to the room, get a shower, shave, etc. Having music in the room, like Frank Sinatra or some tango, why doing your tie or shaving, and then going on the Veranda to check the sunset is just a pleasure for all the senses! Especially when your wife is doing the same :) And all that feel is brought with that TV-entertainment system. It has a very large scope of music type. From Big band to rap, from tango to j-pop, the variety was one of the most complete I had ever seen. Perhaps the number of songs in each category was not as deep as one would wish for, but still, it's an incredible system in my view.

 

For rooms, the Sunrise deck (deck 7) is completely quiet. I highly recommend it. If you want a concierge class, however, I DO NOT recommend deck 12, port side at least, as beginning at 5AM, there is some sort of rolling *thing* that starts to roll on deck 14, and it makes quite some noise for the room directly below.

 

PUBLIC ROOMS

 

The ship has style and elegance like I have rarely seen. It's what I would expect from Celebrity. I know when I will have kids, I might not have the time to appreciate this (and might go with another cruise line altogether), but taking a walk on the different decks, from the Tuscan Grill view to the Fourteen Forward (Sky Lounge), sitting at Michael's Club (which remains my favorite style, I guess, the kind of place where you don't look completely off set sitting down in a tuxedo and having a fine glass of port) or at Cellar Master, I could only come to the conclusion that everything had been measured in style and sense.

 

Bathrooms were clean, the shops were varied enough that you could waste an hour or so in them, the art gallery was also refined. Odd thing for the art gallery, however, as there was a heavy smell of cigar there that I couldn't explain. The whole ship is non-smoking, except for a few spots outside, and one inside (14 forward, port side) And that smell remained for the whole cruise.

 

Design-wise, there is only ONE disappointing feature. As luxurious as the Grand Epernay is, I missed the great view you had on the main dining room of the Millennium, where the back of the room was a two floor high, ship-wide window that gave the most incredible view on the back of the ship. This view is now available at tuscan grill, but not on Grand Epernay.

 

For the pool, I see they improved a bit about what people complained about seating. There were chairs everywhere, on both decks surrounding the pool. The way they were placed allowed for many, many chairs, and despite the ones right next to the pool being already reserved on sea days at roughly 7 AM, the ones on the higher deck (deck 14 I think) were still available at 9AM. But what we enjoyed the most, as a group, was those group of seats (kind of like wicker chairs, but in plastic) that allowed for small groups to get together. They weren't there to get some sun, but rather for quiet reading, as they were more in the shades. Each day, we'd take those, and our whole group stayed there and talked and ate and did pretty much everything there.

 

I don't understand, however, why they allow smoking on the port side of the pool, especially since they allow it on the port side, aft side of the lawn club. That area, near the pool, has a small roof, and the smoke, on hot day, tends to stay there. It even gets kind of sickening. I don't smoke cigarettes, but I do smoke the cigar. The place reserved for cigars is the Sunset bar, in the Aft-port side section of the lawn club. It's a perfect spot to smoke a cigar. As you don't have the right to have a lighter, the barman has one. It... doesn't work too well, but it's still there and available.

 

Another surprise was to see that people were allowed to smoke in the Sky Lounge, port side. I don't understand why. Why can't it be limited to outside? In Canada, you can't really smoke anywhere inside a public space.

 

I seem negative, but those are very small things when you think of it. I didn't think they could improve many things compared to the Millennium. But that ship kept on surprising me every day.

 

DINING

 

This is where I will have a tendency to divert from the general opinion expressed by many so far. When I was on the Millennium, it was the Roux-era, and the food was incredible. The food on the Solstice was different. It was perhaps a little bit wilder in some places, trying to push the envelope. Even Roux, you had hit or miss, and it was not different here. Late seating had this advantage that the people tending our table could tell us what seemed to have been appreciated, and what was not, on the previous serving. Most of the time, the guy admitted that the fish was a little dry. But I liked the new menu (with specials for the night, but also a static card that didn't change for "safe bets"). I also liked the new presentation. The man tending our table told us that they were finally "getting their act together", both with the people serving at the table than the chefs. In a way, it's better that this be the point to improve, I guess. You can always improve people, but you cannot improve a badly designed ship. The ship is well designed, give people time to improve and make this the best ship.

 

Another criticism that was made in some review was the inability for people to help you: they tried hard, but couldn't do it. When we saw that a mistake had happened at Grand Epernay and that our group wasn't together, we went to the Maitre D' and started to say "I wonder if it would be possible" and he cut us by saying "Nothing is impossible sir". He wasn't the only one to say that. People taking reservation at the specialty restaurant said the same. What a nice mentality! And you know what, they really tried alot to accommodate us, even if we always were very last minute for our specialty reservations. Every time, they found a way. At Murano, they put a few tables together, and rearranged all the others so that would have enough space. At Tuscan Grill, they tried to work with the reservation hours to accommodate us.

 

Finally, I was also impressed by the Oceanview Café. Though admittedly perhaps a bit too small for the ship (seating wise), it does present with an impressive variety of food. People are there to help out as well, if you have too many plates, and freshen your coffee during breakfast. They will also ask you if you want anything else. Especially if you're a woman. Not just a young woman. Any kind of woman. I thought it was them trying to hit on my wife at first, but when I saw them being as insistent with every other women, I figured it was rather gentlemanship.

 

Special kudos goes to our sommelier at the Tuscan Grill. It was the same one who was at the Olympic when we were on the Millennium in 2006. He knows his wine. Trust him.

 

SERVICE

 

On the third day of our trip, I caught a norovirus. So I can review something few of the others could, that is the medical center and the care they give.

 

After perhaps the most hellish 3 hours of my entire life, my wife called for assistance, and the staff of the ship came to help me get to the medical facility. It's a small clinic with an impressive array of first line of intervention equipment. As I got there, my dehydration rate was considered critical, and the doctor, within 5 minutes, had inspected me, confirmed it was a norovirus, and had a full protocol ready for me. The nurses were very quick to respond, efficient, and calm. I must have taken a bag of "water solution" (I lack word skills in english medical field) in 20 minutes, and they gave me a shot to calm the pain, as well as immodium and two other type of pills.

 

The doctor then told me that there was a good news and a bad news. The good news: I'd feel much better from now on. The bad news, I had to be quarantined for 48 hours. 24 hours for my wife. She had no symptoms, but they wouldn't take a chance.

 

Everyone was very patient with me. I had difficulty going back to my room, even in a wheelchair, and they waited for me. When I came back, the room had been disinfected, and the cleaning protocol was established. Heavy chlorine had been used.

 

I slept well, and got better even the day after. A few things about quarantine.

 

- They will come and clean your room twice per day, and disinfect everything. Which is very nice.

- You can go on your veranda, but can't leave your room

- Guest service will call your regularly to make sure everything is all right. Of course, they do this also to make sure you're still there ;)

- You will receive a compensation. It's a discount for your next cruise, within one year. It's not the best they can do for someone who will have a 3-months old baby by then... As of yet, I still have no news about the compensation process, a month later.

- You will receive a letter from the captain explaining everything. Be careful. The doctor might recommend things the captain won't (citrus juice or bananas, for example). The captain is not a doctor. TRUST THE DOCTOR.

- Free pay-per-view movie.

- Free room service

- After 48 hours, you call guest service, and they will ask you to go check with the doctor. If you had no more symptoms, you're free to go.

 

HOWEVER, if you want to go on shore, once you pass the magnetic card in the disembarkation machine, it will beep to tell people you are/were on quarantine. It's normal. It's a heads-up. The guy might not read it correctly, and ask you to step aside (as if they're military folks or something), but they'll let you go, don't worry :)

 

Having a norovirus sucks! In many ways. Make the most of the perks you'll get.

 

That being said, service-wise, everything was excellent. Except for one small thing.

 

Stop pushing us into buying water bottles everywhere. Oceanview café, pool, etc. The pressure to buy is immense. On the Millennium, the guy would walk by, and if you needed something , you could ask. On the Solstice, they harass you. The worst was at the Sky Lounge. The people there don't have assigned tables to serve, so, within 5 minutes, we had 7 (yes... 7 people) come and ask us if we wanted something to drink. We were just there for the ballroom hour. We didn't need drinks. We told one guy we were just here to dance, and another guy came back, 30 seconds later, to ask the same. We left.

 

Concierge class, asking for a breakfast, is funny. If you ask toasts, you'll get toasts. No butter, no jam, or anything. If you ask for eggs, you'll get eggs. Not salt or pepper. So, say you want bacon eggs and toast. Ask TWO strips of bacon (else, you'll get one strip), two eggs, sunny side up with salt and pepper, TWO toasts, with butter and jam. It might be a cultural thing though.

 

Disembarkation

 

It was perfect. On time, we went down, took our luggage, got on the bus, and arrived quite early at the airport. Compared to the complete mess we had experienced on the Millennium, this was... just... too efficient!

 

 

Overall, I'd recommend this cruise to anyone. I gave this trip a nice rating because it was just an incredible experience. I was in my room for 2 days, and I still found it one of the most incredible experience in my life. Don't hesitate to plan a cruise on the Solstice, you won't be disappointed.

[Doc07]

Hi Busterbunny

 

Thanks for the review,very detailed with a lot of information.

Apart from the illness it sounds like you had a nice cruise but even that sounds very well handled,was there any charge for the treatment you were given?

Very good english even though it's not your usual language.

 

Cheers Doc07

[Busterbunny]

I have had no charge for the medical treatment, which confused me at first. I was worried about that, as I have no clue how much a doctor actually costs (in Canada, healthcare is public, so you never pay a doctor directly... just with your taxes). But I came to three potential conclusions about that.

 

a) At the clinic, it says in the waiting room "A 30$ surcharge will be applied for off-hours". Perhaps that means that there is no charge during the opening hours of the clinic, which was from 8AM to 12PM, and then from 1PM to 5PM... or 8PM, I don't clearly remember. During that time, I guess, the doctor *is* there, and it doesn't make much difference if he's doing nothing or treating someone. But that wouldn't explain why they didn't charge for the medication (one shot to calm the stomach muscle tension and help me sleep, some cyprofolaxin to stop the infection, some immodium and another pill which I don't recall). All of those pills were free as well, yet there *is* a cost related to that for the ship, so I figure that might not be it. Which leads me to...

 

b) Since it's a norovirus, and that it brings such a bad attention to the cruise line if it gets in the media (should there be an outbreak) it would cost them much more to have me not treated, and potentially infect the whole ship, than having me get diagnosed and treated for free. After all, being Canadian, I might not have private insurance while traveling, and might REFUSE to get treated, because of lack of money. No worries, I did have insurance :D But you get the idea. It's the same logic for the pay-per-view and room service. They do everything possible to keep me in my room and not infect anyone.

 

c) They forgot. And I sure won't go ask them which one it is, if it's that case ;)

 

Nice cruise indeed! And thank you for your compliment about my english!

[jspirit]

Great detailed review! Very helpful for future cruisers.

Sorry you got the noro. Was your wife ok, being so close to you for those 24 hours?

[Busterbunny]

She was, thank you for asking! She didn't catch a thing, and she was 9 weeks pregnant.

 

That surprised me. I would have expected the cruise line to reallocate her to another room (or me...)? When I was talking to the doctor (as tired as I was at that point), I told him my wife was pregnant. His face changed, and I could see he was a bit worried. He then asked an odd question "Was this a willing pregnancy" as if to ask if we wanted to keep the baby. He understood we did want the baby, since he came after three failed artificial insimination treatment and a successful IVF treatment ;)

 

I mean, being pregnant, it was even more crucial that she wouldn't get that sickness. The again, if there was no other available rooms...

 

But by being very careful, sleeping apart, washing our hands after touching pretty much everything (and being Purell freaks), she was out after that 24 hours without problem.

[jspirit]

Especially under those circumstances you both must have been extra concerned. So glad it all passed and good luck !

Did you hear if the virus went through many passengers? Did the ship take extra precautions after that or did they keep it quiet?

[Busterbunny]

My parents and their friends continued on the cruise during my quarantine and never heard of anything specific to this virus. As well, after my 2 days, I did have to go down to the clinic, and there were only two people in the waiting room, both for sea sickness.

 

Overall, I get the impression no one was really affected aside me.

[CathyCruises]

Excellent review (so sorry about your illness!) and one would never know that English is not your native language. MUCH better grammar/spelling/syntax than displayed by many posters here. You have nothing to apologize for!!

 

Cathy

[Karynanne]

Thank you for the balanced review. I hope you're feeling well now.

[Busterbunny]

That cruise happened a month ago. I was feeling weak for perhaps a week after, and I'm a-ok now! :D

[Longboysfan]

Thank you for the nice review. Always good to see a different perspective and writing style.

[ottawapuppy]

I am so sorry you had to go through a bout of Noro on your holiday. That is awful.

 

I do appreciate your detailing of the experience for us. I often wondered how a quarantine would be handled.

 

I can't believe that AC would keep you waiting until the gate for a seat assignment. They have some crazy procedures some times... They do keep their planes in good shape though.

 

Thanks again for posting.

Mike

[Busterbunny]

Thanks for the kind words. I also loved your review, I wish I had that talent!

[ellbon]

I too am sorry you wre so sick. I have read of people being in their cabin but did not realize you get free medical along with free movies. you mention food- i thought you would not be hungry but I am sure your wife was.

 

At least you got to enjoy some of the ship and ports.

[davmik]

I amazed to read about people on cruise ships who are infected with norovirus and return to normal after 48hrs. I was infected during a widespread norovirus outbreak in the Las Vegas Hilton a couple of years ago. The norovirus was confirmed by the Clark County Health department - several hundred were affected. I have never been sicker in my life. It was a full week before I was feeling better. The Clark Co. health department advised the one could be contagious for up to two weeks. I'm not challenging anyone here, but I wonder if a gastrointestinal problem that passes in 48 hours is truly a norovirus. I would guess the most conservative approach would be to treat every ailment with similar symptoms as a norovirus. And I also wonder if it was indeed a norovirus, would one still be contagious after such a short period. I've told my wife if I get infected on board a cruise, I hope to be in a veranda cabin, so it will be convenient to jump overboard and end it quickly. Norovirus is a bad, bad bug that I never want to meet again.

[Busterbunny]

That's a fair question. I was sick for 4 or 5 hours. I've had gastro-intestinal sickness before, and this was nothing like it.

 

I guess the heavy dehydration was perhaps the clear indicator for them. But I'm no doctor. They did say to take careful precaution for the week after, and I cannot say I was 100% full health. For the 5 days after, I felt up and down.

 

The clearance wasn't a very big exam. Mainly taking my temperature, blood oxygen level, and that was it.

[CruisinNewb]

Thanks for your review. I'm glad you were able to enjoy the cruise in spite of your illness.

 

Congratulations and best wishes for your new addition!

 

Ron

[Amerie]

Thank you very much for posting your very interesting and informative review.

 

You have an excellent writing style...very fresh and engaging!

 

I am also glad that your wife managed to avoid the virus. Must be the baby protecting her with all those great antibodies (as well as your careful precautions, of course),

 

I'm very glad you were able to enjoy most of your trip. At least both you and your wife had a chance to put that veranda to good use!

 

Best wishes to both of you and the new little one that will arrive before you know it!

[ellbon]

from what i have read on the boards 48 hours is normal on the cruiselines. I guess after that you can not spread it,

[NC LD Traveler]

This is a review from two years ago.

[Lois R]

Just read their review and realized it is 2 years old:eek:.

[NC LD Traveler]

This may be from two years ago, but it still applies. We were on the March 13 and 20, 2011 cruises that had outbreaks. Celebrity handled the situation as well as possible.

 

The crew was excellent and made the best of a tough situation.

[Lois R]

Let's try this again. I got caught by the 20 minutes editing rule in my previous post.

 

This isn't a post from two years ago, It is current.

 

This is an excellent review We really enjoyed the viewpoints on the ships and the food.

 

We were on this cruise and the following cruise. The crew was fantastic making the best of a tough situation. Celebrity hires people with excellent skills.

 

Hi:) I didn't say it was a bad review but if you look at the date of

the first post is says March 2009 so it is 2 years old. We are in

March 2011.

[Lois R]

This may be from two years ago, but it still applies. We were on the March 13 and 20, 2011 cruises that had outbreaks. Celebrity handled the situation as well as possible.

 

The crew was excellent and made the best of a tough situation.

 

Ok...you win:)I was just making a comment about the date.

Glad you had a good crew. Sorry you had an outbreak.

[c-legs]

This is a review from two years ago.

 

So ?

What made YOU look for that particular thread just to remind us it is two years old ??

I'm missing your point here....

 

Cheers