Droop

I was wondering if anyone had comments (pros/cons) on the AFT cabins on the Celebrity Solstice?  If there were any on the other threads maybe I'm missing them but if there are any please let me know.  I'm planning on taking a back to back out of Sydney when I retire in 2022.  The cruise that I'm looking for is in April which would not be too hot or too cold.  The first one is 11 days out of Sydney up the coast of the Barrier Reef.  The other one is also out of Sydney 18 days approx (again on the Solstice) and this goes to New Zealand, Bora Bora etc. and ends up in Hawaii. 

I wanted to make sure that the location and cabin is one that I'm going to be happy with since I would be spending approx. 28 days. We are possibly having some family and friends on the same cruise as well. 

On other cruises on other lines we read the reviews and I remember some stating that there was an issue with the vibrations/smell/soot and other things that were an issue.  (this was on Princess).  We had taken the risk and we ended up with an AFT cabin which had the worst smell when you were outside due to the vent being right above us.  We paid for a balcony cabin but ended up with ocean view due to not being able to spend any time outside. Please mind you I don't want to sound negative but I just wanted some reviews of what they have experienced. 

That's what I love about c/c. 

Absolutely not true. Long's does not own the property and would have no authority to sell parking.

Thanks Silver! This is what is great about CC. You hear different things from drivers people along your travels and sometimes can and cannot believe what everyone says. I would be apprehensive about parking a rental car in a shopping center because that one decision can put a damper on a trip (having vehicle towed). The safest bet would be to park it at the airport and pick it back up the next day.

We were on the POA Jan6-13th and we rented a large SUV because we were not sure if everyone in our party was wanting to go to a couple of areas we wanted to check out. We rented through Costco (they had the better price and they didn't charge for your spouse to drive). It was through Budget rental. My thoughts/opinion about Budgets are not very favorable. First of all they were not clear where they were going to pick us up at. It was not clear when we came off the ship and asked the crew where rental car place was going pick us up at. We walked through the maze of fencing all the way out to the main drag to the shopping center. We found out after asking the crew again and they said that they would pick us up right off the ship. (That was irritation #1) The shuttle had taken us to the satellite to pick up the vehicle....there was only 1 other couple in front of us so it didn't take very long to get checked in. BUT after that we ended up waiting almost 45 mins for them to wash etc the vehicle. (irritation #2) After waiting quite a while (watching the rooster make a nest under someone's wheel well we asked one of the ladies working there if they knew what was taking so long and she stated that "I don't know." and continued walking on. So the customer service leaves little to be desired at Budget. When we brought the vehicle back the gentleman behind the counter was pleasant and there were no problems turning the vehicle in early.

We originally were going to have the vehicle until the following day but due to a change in an excursion the following day we didn't want to have to deal with rushing back to turn in the vehicle before the ship left. I had heard that people have parked their rental over near the shopping center on the main drag not too far the port. Other wise you make possibly get the vehicle towed. I was talking to one of the drivers and I found out that long's drugs sells parking for $10 a day. I didn't partake of this but it could be an option. I hope this works out for you.

Silver my BIL next door didn't receive it (Verizon) but that was due to not having his alert app on. DBL check your alert app and make sure that it's on.

We were on the POA as well that day. We were still in our cabin (waiting to get off the ship) when our phones went off. Just as Oboedot had mentioned....shortly after the alert came over our phones the Capt. stated that they were still assessing the situation. Shortly before our phones gave us the all clear the captain gave the all clear announcement.

My husbands first thought when the alert came out was that someone pushed the wrong button....because the sirens were not activated. I had talked to someone later on that stated that the sirens were going off at pearl harbor but I'm not sure if that occurred or not.

We were not affected by the incident because we were staying an extra day on the island. It was a little unnerving but on the positive side it lets those involved (Law enforcement/military/disaster prepared etc. ) that there are bugs in the system that need to improved upon.

Thanks SillyJilly!

Does anyone know if they changed it on The Legend? We are sailing on that ship in June up to Alaska. This will be our first cruise on the Carnival line.

Kitt I'm like you.....really curious about how the cabin is going to be.

Rinalouise Thanks for the info on all of the pool areas. We probably will not be in the pools but maybe the hot tub depending on how busy it is.

Hunter69 that's wonderful to hear about the serenity area. I'll tell the hubby the news.

I've always been impressed by the great info/tips that people share on C/C. It gives you something to look forward to. :)

Thanks everyone for the info and tips. That's wonderful that they have warmed blankets. The hubby likes to go some place quiet and enjoy reading a book. I was hoping it would be an area that was closed in (due to cool weather)....and from the pictures that I've looked at I was wondering if it was going to be warm enough. It's good to know about the kids as well.

We booked kind of late so we were not able to get a 4K cabin that was in between the lifeboats. I've been keeping my eye out just in case one came up but this close to the date (June 27th) it's getting pretty full.

Again thank you so much for the info...and if anyone else has any ideas/suggestions please let me know. :) Ya'll are AWESOME! I love C/C!

I've only seen a couple of threads that have anything about the Serenity Adult pool area. We are going on a cruise up to Alaska in June and we are new to Carnival. I was wondering if anyone has been on the Legend and wanted to know if they have the roof closed while traveling up to Alaska. On other cruise lines/ships they usually close it due to cool temps. On one ship they allowed under aged kids in the area if an adult was there to supervise.

We don't have any kids but we wanted to know if it is a nice closed area to relax with no kids? Are there any tips for the area etc? There are not too many reviews on this ship and we were just curious if anyone had in comments about the ship.

We are also booked in the inside cabin with the french doors (we have been on other cruises up to Alaska) and find this type of cabin interesting. Any comments?

Thanks ahead of time for any info. :)

Like others have stated you have to shop around for a good TA that gives you more "perks". I found that you need to get someone who specializes in cruises.

As for the insurance....I think it would be very wise to book it separate from the TA...actually I've had a TA say that you need to purchase it separate from them. We usually get our insurance through Travel Guard. There are different levels that you can book. My main concern would be if you had to be air lifted from the ship. That in itself could cost you $50.000 to $100.000 depending on where you are. You need to check the medical aspect as well. We also check our personal insurance as well as credit cards also. Every little bit helps. Good luck with what ever you decide. :)

I hear you about seeing the sights. We have been to Alaska twice on two different lines and the sights to see are stunning. Although the casino's were closed I can't see not going out and taking everything in. :D

We have not sailed on Carnival before and we will be on the legend in June. We sailed on Royal and Celebrity and while in any port the casino's were always closed. It didn't matter which port you were in. It would be really interesting to hear that they would be open while in port in Alaska. Does anyone know if this is true? If so....that would be great!:D

I was struggling with the vacation issue and decided to pull the trigger. initially we had picked a 4K cabin (with the french door) that was between the life boats but we wanted to wait and decided on the cruise. Apparently on Carnival the deposit was nonrefundable so we didn't want to rush into it without thinking about it.

Due to waiting we were not able to get the one between the lifeboats and ended up getting the last 4K cabin #4129. I know that there is a possibility that another one may pop up again but at least we were able to get one.

We noticed that the cabin is located below the shops which is better than the other areas. I know it could change but has anyone ever had cabin 4129?

Before we know it.....it will be time to go. :)

Thanks canlr! I would prefer deck 7 because of no common areas. Thanks for the info on mid ship. :)

oops....I need another coffee. Thanks serene. Thanks for the info. :p

Jenng1976 I know that all of the ocean views are sold out from the web site that we can't mention on this site. It's usually pretty accurate and sooooo much easier to see what is available. I have it listed to alert me if something comes available.

I also found out from my TA that if you make a deposit on this cruise and you decide that you don't want to go on the cruise they said that we would lose the deposit which is $400 ($200 each). I'm thinking that I will wait a little and see if we want to commit and I realize that I may lose the cabin that I'm thinking about. It's a gamble.

Yes I have but they are sold out on OV unless someone cancels. Thanks for the info. It's good to know that there is no noise but the 4104 cabin is booked.

Hi Serene56! I completely understand about the balcony being the way to go when you are going to Alaska. We have sailed to Alaska twice and both times the balcony is the way to go. I had recommended the balcony when going to Alaska to my cousins (which they have already booked). One of them has booked the extended balcony which I believe is the one with the picture that you sent. The other was unable to get the extended balcony.

Since we have sailed twice and have experienced that we figured to cut cost by getting the inside cabin. I would be all over the one with the French doors but not on deck 4. It worries me about the common areas. I was wondering about the cabins you suggested. They look like they are bigger than the other cabins and they are located right next to the elevator. The only thing I can think of is that they may be considered handicapped cabins. I also notice that they are already booked so that kills that idea unless someone cancels which is also a possibility. I'll keep 4205 /4203 just in case I just pull the trigger on those cabins. :) I really do appreciate the suggestions.

We are thinking about going on an Alaskan cruise (we have been on 2 already with 2 different other cruise lines) and were toying around with going on another one because some of my cousins are wanting to go on their first cruise to Alaska. I have never sailed on Carnival and I was wondering if anyone had a preference on an inside cabin? My cousins are already booked on balcony cabins and the outside cabins are already booked.

I'm usually pretty picky about not having any cabins with common areas above or below me because of the possible noise issue. I've read on some of the threads that they have the inside cabins what have french doors but those are on deck 4 which have the common areas. I noticed that there are inside cabins on deck 7...does anyone have a preference? :) Any comments pros cons?

Iwant2batC and greatlakesgirl thanks so much for letting us know about the lava flow and the experience that you have. That is what I love about cruise critic. Every bit of info that we share makes a huge difference with their planning.

Everyone has different likes and dislikes or preferences and it is wonderful when you can hear all of comments people on this board make. I think we are going to keep the port side balcony's at this point.

The next thing to plan on would be the excursions. We have been to Oahu a couple of times (on land) and made a hop over to the big island for a full day. I was looking at some of the excursions on the ship and some a pretty pricey. I know that Hawaii is a little on the high side anyway but since we have 2 days on 2 of the islands I'm thinking of possibly looking at some of the excursions off the ship. We still have a ways out so we have some time to look. I've looked at some of the threads on c/c about a few of the excursions so we will see. :)

Cruise Critic ROCKS! :p

Thanks Franknbeans and bluesea. I was hearing on other threads that the cabins were a little smaller than some of the other ships. On this particular cruise due to the ports at all of the islands it's really coming down to being a floating hotel (which is really is anyway). ;) It will be the first time that we will have had extra days at two of the ports. Usually we are there just for the day so this will be a treat.

It's funny when I was talking to my TA yesterday she was pretty confident that we were on the correct side of the ship to view the possible lava flow. She said that she also had sailed on this cruise as well. Maybe they had sailed a different direction at that time...I don't know. I really do appreciate all of the comments and suggestions. I've noticed that a lot of the threads for the POA are older ones so it's nice to hear some new ones. :) Thanks! :)

Blue Sea ....silly me for some reason when I was looking at the route I was thinking that it was going around the other way. I must have been looking at something else. I had specifically picked those cabins because of the fantastic views of the Na'Pal. Good catch...I'll change the cabins. Have you stayed in any of the cabins on the ship and what are your thoughts? Thanks for the advise.

Does anyone have any comments or reviews for cabins 8096 and 8098 on the Pride of America? Also if there are any for the solo studios? We are planning a cruise with some of our family members and I wanted to know if there are any reviews. I've looked on some of the threads but I've not found any.

My hubbys Aunt is also possibly going with us and we were wondering about the studios.

Anything would be welcomed. :)

I was wondering if anyone had any comments/reviews on balcony cabins 8096 and 8096? It will be our first cruise on Norwegian and it's the only one out of Hawaii for a 7 day cruise.

I'm planning it in Jan 2018 for my BIL and SIL and I want to make sure that I have the right cabins. I usually pick cabins where there is no common areas above or below us. I also want to make sure that they are not obstructed. Any comments would be appreciated. We usually sail on Royal and Celebrity so I'm a little nervous about Norwegian. Any comments would be appreciated. :)