Sydney to New Zealand Solstice review

We just cruised on the Solstice from Sydney to New Zealand Jan5 sailing in an AFT aqua class cabin.

We walked over from the Holiday Inn to the port and had gave them our luggage. They lost our luggage tags however and as a result the luggage did not get found until after sailaway. A real scare as we packed the meds since we thought how can it get lost if we gave them the luggage outside the ship. Never again!

Stateroom attendants - great and friendly.

Hansgrohe shower - great.

Pillows - yea could be better.

Persian Spa - did not use it.

Non smoking - loved it.

Blu - VERY noisy. It was difficult to have conversations at times.

Service was inconsistent and sometimes quite slow.

Menu was hit or miss and usually miss.

We ate at all the restaurants.

Aqua Spa Cafe - A pale knockoff of its former glory.

Why couldn't they have Lychee ice cream more than one day in the buffet even after I asked.

Silk Harvest is something I would not go back to. Sushi needs to be fresh and all their sushi just seemed to have old fish smell/taste even the cooked fish. To me it was comparable to a cheap land restaurant and not worth the copay.

Tuscan was decent but the Caesar salads just don't compare to my memory of 10 years when the dressing was made table side and it was artfully created. The case dressing in all the restaurants was very watery.

Haven't been on Celebrity on 10 years and the changes were quite a let down in Murano vs the old Specialty. I did like the smaller portions so we could order various item however. We ate at Murano twice and I did enjoy the various items but at twice the price of the old days the value proposition has definitely dropped.

Did the cooking class on the first sea day. A lot of fun. We made a starter and entree and got to eat with the Chef.

Entertainment was similar to memory. Some hits Will Martin, and Jane Cho and some misses. The Rat Pack, The Queen knockoff, and Nikki Bennett did not do it for me.

I definitely made use of the drink package but I wish the drink menus listed more drinks. Things like Mudslides or Daiquiris/Margaritas were not listed, you just had to know.

I miss the old custom chocolates on the pillows. The Halloween candy is a joke.

The Queenstown overnight is a MUST do add on.

The 7 hour bus ride nearly ruins Jetboat and TranzAlpine train ride tour. When is Christchurch going to get their port fixed.

Hobbiton was gorgous.

Loved the Bonorong refuge. We did the private tour and got in the cages.

Overall the itinerary is a 10 but I would probably tweak things that might make me think Princess as they have more variation. 12/14/15 day sailings.

I might skip Hobart and go to Brisbane/Melbourne pre-cruise. You can't hold Koalas in Tasmania but can on the mainland.

Good information here as we will be on Solstice next month.

Were the pools crowded?

What did you do in Wellington and Bay of Islands?

Did you get one of those "all-you-can-stuff" laundry bags, halfway through the cruise, cost?

Thank you!

Good information here as we will be on Solstice next month.

Were the pools crowded?

What did you do in Wellington and Bay of Islands?

Did you get one of those "all-you-can-stuff" laundry bags, halfway through the cruise, cost?

Thank you!

It was pretty cool some days and that affected the outdoor pool. The indoor pool was pretty much sold out on sea days.

In Wellington we choose to take the bus downtown to the restaurant area and ate at Sweet Mothers Kitchen. Most people went to the second stop which is the shopping area. Bay of Islands was rainy and we chose to stay on the ship and relax as all the activity was starting to wear us out. My wife has a hip issue and was getting tired of all the walking.

We did get two coupons for $20 all you can stuck laundry bags. We rolled up the clothes and did a good job stuffing. Did the job!!!

The Queenstown overnight stops at a famous bungy jump spot which you can do for $200 NZ if you let them know along the way. The hotel was great. Big walk in shower. Two King beds included full breakfast. We did watched a sheep shearing and had a great dinner at the sheep place as well.

Lots of Lord of the Rings mountain views in Queenstown as well.

In Murano I would say the following were

great starters: Crab stack parfait, Goat Cheese Soufflé, Pork Belly

great entrees: Lobster flambé

great dessert: Grand Marnier soufflé

For drinks try the Mudslide, and the Decadence Express Martini (vodka, kahlua, baileys, espresso), and the Molecular Apple Martini.

Please post your review when your done. I would love to hear comparisons. My comparison to Celebrity is ten years old so there were a lot of differences.

"When is Christchurch going to get their port fixed?."

Not for some time yet although it has been raised amongst the decision makers recently. The cost of a new cruise terminal is estimated at around $NZ30 million. There are people living in Christchurch who still haven't had their homes repaired from the earthquake, there are still streets without proper sewage, water and drainage.

Whilst for an overseas visitor a new cruise terminal would be great but for locals asking for the basics of modern day life to be the priority , a new terminal is still some way off and so it should be.

Who is the Solstice Captain and the Captains Club Host?

I might also recommend if you do the overnight that when you get to Queenstown that you buy a prepaid travel sim for your phone. Service is pretty fast in all the ports and much faster than the ships Internet. There are a couple of providers spark, 2 degree, and vodaphone. Spark was sold out in Queenstown and we ran out of time to try vodaphone. You may be able find a 2 degree sim at a convenience type store. Typically 10 dollars for the sim and 20 dollars to do a top up. Just make sure once you do a top up to buy a data pak otherwise you can burn the 20 dollars super fast.

You can then use the sim throughout the rest of the ports.

If your going south vs north then get a sim in Aukland possibly in the airport on landing.

I also bought an Optus sim in Sydney who worked in Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart. Optus has a 2 dollar a day rate which is nice and cheap.

"When is Christchurch going to get their port fixed?."

 

 

 

Not for some time yet although it has been raised amongst the decision makers recently. The cost of a new cruise terminal is estimated at around $NZ30 million. There are people living in Christchurch who still haven't had their homes repaired from the earthquake, there are still streets without proper sewage, water and drainage.

 

Whilst for an overseas visitor a new cruise terminal would be great but for locals asking for the basics of modern day life to be the priority , a new terminal is still some way off and so it should be.

Yea I get it but they are losing a lot of revenue to the community which locals might sure appreciate. Thousands and thousands of pocketbooks that are going to Akarora instead.

Good information here as we will be on Solstice next month.

Were the pools crowded?

What did you do in Wellington and Bay of Islands?

Did you get one of those "all-you-can-stuff" laundry bags, halfway through the cruise, cost?

Thank you!

The Hole in the Rock boat trip, Bay of Islands is really good...Book the first trip of the day with Celebrity and they collect you from Solstice, no time wasted tendering, then on return you still have time for something else...Not only on this trip do you go through the Hole (weather permitting) you will see Dolphins, seals....You can do this trip privately and a little cheaper but not as convenient. On boarding head for the top deck front seats.

If the pool areas on Solstice are busy just go up one deck, lots of sun beds and much quieter...One side is invariably breezier than the other so experiment.

We are back on Solstice again soon, can't wait!

We had one of those bags but as we are Elite it was free. Ask your room attendant on boarding, they are often not well advertised.

We did Sostice Auckland to Sydney over Christmas. Overall it was a great cruise. Here's a link to my review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2296404

We didn't get any laundry offers unfortunately. It would have been nice but we managed. Luckily we were able to do laundry in NZ the day before we boarded so only had to handwash a couple of items each. Plastic bag washing machines are great for travel! :rolleyes:

Yea I get it but they are losing a lot of revenue to the community which locals might sure appreciate. Thousands and thousands of pocketbooks that are going to Akarora instead.

Personally I think Akaroa is a much more interesting harbour than Lyttelton, although it certainly isn't as convenient for anyone wanting to go to Christchurch or on the Tranz Alpine train.

We just cruised on the Solstice from Sydney to New Zealand Jan5 sailing in an AFT aqua class cabin.

 

We walked over from the Holiday Inn to the port and had gave them our luggage. They lost our luggage tags however and as a result the luggage did not get found until after sailaway. A real scare as we packed the meds since we thought how can it get lost if we gave them the luggage outside the ship. Never again!

 

Stateroom attendants - great and friendly.

Hansgrohe shower - great.

Pillows - yea could be better.

Persian Spa - did not use it.

Non smoking - loved it.

 

Blu - VERY noisy. It was difficult to have conversations at times.

Service was inconsistent and sometimes quite slow.

Menu was hit or miss and usually miss.

We ate at all the restaurants.

 

Aqua Spa Cafe - A pale knockoff of its former glory.

 

Why couldn't they have Lychee ice cream more than one day in the buffet even after I asked.

 

Silk Harvest is something I would not go back to. Sushi needs to be fresh and all their sushi just seemed to have old fish smell/taste even the cooked fish. To me it was comparable to a cheap land restaurant and not worth the copay.

 

Tuscan was decent but the Caesar salads just don't compare to my memory of 10 years when the dressing was made table side and it was artfully created. The case dressing in all the restaurants was very watery.

 

Haven't been on Celebrity on 10 years and the changes were quite a let down in Murano vs the old Specialty. I did like the smaller portions so we could order various item however. We ate at Murano twice and I did enjoy the various items but at twice the price of the old days the value proposition has definitely dropped.

 

Did the cooking class on the first sea day. A lot of fun. We made a starter and entree and got to eat with the Chef.

 

Entertainment was similar to memory. Some hits Will Martin, and Jane Cho and some misses. The Rat Pack, The Queen knockoff, and Nikki Bennett did not do it for me.

 

I definitely made use of the drink package but I wish the drink menus listed more drinks. Things like Mudslides or Daiquiris/Margaritas were not listed, you just had to know.

 

I miss the old custom chocolates on the pillows. The Halloween candy is a joke.

 

The Queenstown overnight is a MUST do add on.

 

The 7 hour bus ride nearly ruins Jetboat and TranzAlpine train ride tour. When is Christchurch going to get their port fixed.

 

Hobbiton was gorgous.

 

Loved the Bonorong refuge. We did the private tour and got in the cages.

 

Overall the itinerary is a 10 but I would probably tweak things that might make me think Princess as they have more variation. 12/14/15 day sailings.

 

I might skip Hobart and go to Brisbane/Melbourne pre-cruise. You can't hold Koalas in Tasmania but can on the mainland.

Thanks for the review. We were also booked on this cruise but had to cancel in August. Your comments for the future are really helpful.

Personally I think Akaroa is a much more interesting harbour than Lyttelton, although it certainly isn't as convenient for anyone wanting to go to Christchurch or on the Tranz Alpine train.

Its all about priorities at the end of the day. You wont find those Akaroa locals complaining about a windfall arising out of the earthquakes especially as there have been so few of them in the area

Its all about priorities at the end of the day. You wont find those Akaroa locals complaining about a windfall arising out of the earthquakes especially as there have been so few of them in the area

Agreed, Akaroa seemed to have really blossomed since the cruises started stopping there. The last time we were there (pre-cruise) was in 2007 and it was still a charming but small, sleepy village / holiday town. I had been worried that the cruise visits would have destroyed its charm but, no, it was just as gorgeous as ever but with more cafes, restaurants and shops. But the tourism dollars have remained in the greater Christchurch region and that's important.

Personally I think Akaroa is a much more interesting harbour than Lyttelton, although it certainly isn't as convenient for anyone wanting to go to Christchurch or on the Tranz Alpine train.

Agreed. Loved Akaroa when we did the voyage NZ to Oz, we did the dolphin sightseeing boat then had a lovely walk around the town and local area. We weren't disappointed not to have done the tour of Christchurch at all.

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Am I to understand there is no smoking on the Solstice? I have friends going on this ship in a few days and I know she smokes, or is there an area for her to go to?

Marlster

Am I to understand there is no smoking on the Solstice? I have friends going on this ship in a few days and I know she smokes, or is there an area for her to go to?

Marlster

There are a couple of smoking areas on the Solstice

1. On the port side aft of the pool deck

2. On the port side of the sunset bar

and

3. port side aft on deck 5

Agreed. Loved Akaroa when we did the voyage NZ to Oz, we did the dolphin sightseeing boat then had a lovely walk around the town and local area. We weren't disappointed not to have done the tour of Christchurch at all.

 

 

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When one has only a day in any particular area some sacrifices need to be made and priorities determined because you aren't going to see everything. If after a day in port you leave satisfied then it has been a good day