1st time cruiser questions CELEBRITY SOLSTICE

My husband and I are crusing for the first time, on the Celebrity Solstice. We both have Multiple Sclerosis are a little nervous about getting around. Our cabin is on the Aqua Class deck 14? Do I have a better chance of getting sea sick that high? We do have a balcony. Also, we smoke ciggarettes currently. How far do we have to go to have a smoke? There is no smoking in abins or balconies.. I think everywhere they are making it difficult and inaccessible to do so. Maybe this trip will force us to quit.

My husband and I are crusing for the first time, on the Celebrity Solstice. We both have Multiple Sclerosis are a little nervous about getting around. Our cabin is on the Aqua Class deck 14? Do I have a better chance of getting sea sick that high? We do have a balcony. Also, we smoke ciggarettes currently. How far do we have to go to have a smoke? There is no smoking in abins or balconies.. I think everywhere they are making it difficult and inaccessible to do so. Maybe this trip will force us to quit.

Have never cruised with Celebrity so really can't answer any questions specific to the Solstice other than to say that there are no cabins on deck 14. According to the deck plans Aqua Class is on deck 11.

Have you ever gotten sea sick or had motion sickness before as that's a consideration as to whether or not you might be prone to having it on the cruise ? As a safety precaution you might consider taking Bromine before leaving home. However since you both have MS and might be taking on of the disease modifying medications (as well as other medications) it would be best to place a call to your doctors office to see what he/she suggests you do to prevent a possible onset of motionsickness. Should you become sea sick your bet option is to eat crackers and apples as that these will help to calm your stomach. All cruise lines have this readily available just for this purpose. Also all cruise lines will generally supply a sea sickness tablet free of charge at the guest services desk .

Not that you have to disclose this but you do not say how ambulatory you both are and whether or not you have booked an accessible cabin ? As you know energy management is a big part of living with MS. Even if you and your husband are what is termed as being invisible , meaning not having to use any mobility device at the current time , fatique is a well known symptom of MS and you're bound to get tire tired walking this big ship as well as excursions. So I would suggest either bringing walkers with a seat or even renting mobility scooters ( if you don't already have these) for the cruise so that you can fully enjoy the experience with being overwhelmed by fatique. However you will need an accessible cabin if for the mobility scooters as you cannot leave them in hallway. Mobility scooters must be stored in your cabin. Make certain you take time out of the day to relax. Don't over do it and certainly don't stress over anything.

Celebrity does provide wheelchair assistance on embarkation day and disembarkation day so if needed take advantage of this service. Also if the ship has any tendered ports ( meaning the ship is not docked and you have to transfer from the ship into a small boat ) you need to know that you must be able to take steps and use a collapsible manual wheelchair in order to be allow to board the tender. In addition, motorized wheelchairs and mobility scooters can not be taken on tenders, unless roll-on capability is available. You must inquire about tender roll-on capability at Guest Relations Desk while on board. Please note roll-on capability is not guaranteed. Those of us that travel with motorized scooter and wheelchairs just plan on staying on board ship that day and if allow to tender than we consider it to be bonus. Here's the link to Celebrity's website regarding Special Needs http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_special_needs&cS=Footer&ICID=Cel_10Q4_web_hp_ftr_accessibility#onboard_special_needs_overview_tab/onboard/twoColPanel.do%3Fpagename=onboard_special_needs_overview

Have MS and cruise regularly so if you have any futher questions that you think I might be of assistance don't hesitate to ask. Personally I find cruising to be the best way for me to travel living with MS .

In answer to the sea sickness question, the general advice is that the lower down you are and the closer to mid-ships you are the less chance of any motion sickness.

Ship height is really much less important than where you are fore-aft unless the seas are pretty dramatic and there is a lot of rolling. You can get a gentle up and down movement in a stern cabin even in fairly un-dramatic seas, depending upon the ship. That's the reason why mid-ships cabins tend to be more expensive (plus, of course, the more central, accessible location).

Of course, a major factor is where you are going. The Bay of Biscay in winter or the Carribean in the hurricane system is going to give you much more chance of the occasional problem than bumbling around the Med in the middle of summer.

Good luck with it, but unless you are normally very prone to motion sickness on buses and in cars I wouldn't worry too much - big ships are very stable nowadays. Do enjoy yourselves!

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My husband and I are crusing for the first time, on the Celebrity Solstice. We both have Multiple Sclerosis are a little nervous about getting around. Our cabin is on the Aqua Class deck 14? Do I have a better chance of getting sea sick that high? We do have a balcony. Also, we smoke ciggarettes currently. How far do we have to go to have a smoke? There is no smoking in abins or balconies.. I think everywhere they are making it difficult and inaccessible to do so. Maybe this trip will force us to quit.

We cruised the Solstice in January. She is very accessible. If I remember correctly, all the doors are automatic, including cabin door.

My son gets sorta seasick and he takes Bonine everyday of the cruise. It doesn't have any side effects for him. He takes one a few hours before he gets on the ship and he's fine.

My son is also a smoker and we had cabin 6137 port side and the smoking section was just below us. I could talk to my son while he was smoking. There is another section on port side at the back half of the ship. Looks like you must be on deck 11 starboard side. Thats where I see the handicapped aqua class. I don't know where the smoking sections are around there. Go here and go to post #4 click on the pdf for Eclipse.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1526401&highlight=smoking+areas

The only cabin doors that are automatic are the ones for accessible cabins. The doors for regular cabins are NOT automatic.

And Solstice does not have roll on capability for their tenders, so if you're in a scooter or can't handle steps, tendering is not possible.

First of all, there are no Aqua Class cabins on deck 14. That deck is the buffet and pool area along with the Observation Lounge. Aqua Class is on deck 11 only. I've been on Deck 11 a number of times and I didn't notice much in the way of additional roughness. But, our cabin was midship.

OP, I've cruised Solstice a number of times. Do you have an accessible cabin? Do you use mobility scooters or wheelchairs? If you use wheelchairs, can you push yourself? If you don't have an accessible cabin, and you use scooters, there's no way you will fit both scooters in a cabin unless you're in the PH. Not even the RS will accommodate two scooters---I checked out a Royal Suite and there's no way to maneuver a scooter from the main area, into the bedroom and then into the bathroom. Just can't do it. You definitely need an accessible cabin.

As for smoking, Celebrity is the most restrictive line against smoking. There's no smoking in ANY interior space and only three places outside. One is on deck 15, way in the back, at the Sunset bar, one side only. The second area is on Deck 5, port side, in one small area of that deck. The third area is near the outdoor pool, again on the port side. But like I said, Celebrity takes their no smoking seriously and will put any passengers off the ship if they are caught smoking in their cabins, balcony or any other no smoking area. They recently threw off an entire family for smoking on their balcony and in the cabin, and there is a fine of $250.

We use collapsible walkers with a seat for short trips and scooters for longer ones. We have a handicap accessible cabin in Aqua Class. I think 2 scooters will fit (I hope). We will probably use scooters for longer distances on the ship (getting to restaurants, entertainment, etc. and on excursions. Once we are in the cabin, either walkers or holding on to the walls or whatever is available will do. Walkers can be folded flat and put against a wall. Thanks for telling me about the smoking rules. We will probably use scooters to get to smoking areas (If this trip doesn't force us to quit, meaning "not to easy to get somewhere to do it") Thanks for all your info.

The doors of the public bathrooms on Soltice are also automatic. Just be aware that both there and in the cabin you will need to allow time for the doors to close befor you have privacy. This can somtime be an issue if one of you leaves the cabin before the other is dressed.

My experience is that two scooters and two walkers will fit fine in an accessible Aqua class cabin.

Have a wonderful cruise and don't forget you can dine in Blu.

We use collapsible walkers with a seat for short trips and scooters for longer ones. We have a handicap accessible cabin in Aqua Class. I think 2 scooters will fit (I hope). We will probably use scooters for longer distances on the ship (getting to restaurants, entertainment, etc. and on excursions. Once we are in the cabin, either walkers or holding on to the walls or whatever is available will do. Walkers can be folded flat and put against a wall. Thanks for telling me about the smoking rules. We will probably use scooters to get to smoking areas (If this trip doesn't force us to quit, meaning "not to easy to get somewhere to do it") Thanks for all your info.

are the handicap stalls on the ship large enough for a scooter to fit in? I hope so. We will be using scooters on the ship also. vAs well as on excursions. I can walk only one side of a city block with the walker..

are the handicap stalls on the ship large enough for a scooter to fit in? I hope so. We will be using scooters on the ship also. vAs well as on excursions. I can walk only one side of a city block with the walker..

My wife has MS and uses a TravelScoot brand scooter. The restrooms on the Solstice class ships of Celebrity are fantastic, and "yes" are large enough to accommodate a scooter inside. Overall we find the Solstice class ships wonderful for accessibility [unlike HAL, who despite their older clientele, is terrible!!].