cruiserchuck

We cruised on Celebrity last week for the first time since 2019. The only significant change not already mentioned that we noticed was an 18% mandatory charge at speciality restaurants.

We were on the Solstice last week, and the internet speed in our cabin was very slow, even for simple tasks such as checking email and surfing the net. However, we discovered that there were places on the ship where the speed was very fast. So speed seems to depend on your location on the ship.

I just did a search on Celebrity's website, and on one page, it shows ocean view cabins available. However, if you try to proceed to actually make a reservation, it says "no rooms found for this request."

I discovered that on some large cruise travel agent online sites, you can get the actual pricing for the Extraordinary Savings Sale for specific categories/cabins.

We cruised out of Los Angeles last week, and the wellness check was in the terminal and took about 30 seconds. Our boarding time was 12:30 pm, but we arrived early and did the wellness check at about 10:30 am. We were able to board about 11:10 am, since they gave priority boarding to Aqua/Elite Plus folks.

We were on this cruise, and saw a table outside the disembarkation door with many confiscated items on it. There was a full size toaster, an electric cooking pot, extension cords and several other items. When we boarded, security noticed the 6 foot long iPad charging cables in our carry on, and asked us to open it so they could look at the cables. Once they saw it they were just charging cables, they let us through with them.

When we went to Japan for a Celebrity cruise in 2018, there also was speculation about the trips being cancelled. To avoid potential airfare issues, we booked with Flights by Celebrity, so if Celebrity cancelled the cruise, we would get our airfare refunded. We also made refundable hotel and tour reservations.

That article also incorrectly states that the Millennium debuted in 2002. It actually debuted in 2000, and I sailed on it in October that year. You would think the name of the ship would help the author determine when the ship debuted.

I fold, but do not spindle or mutilate. 😀

In the past, we have been able to order as many courses/items as we liked.

We had a cruise that ended in Stockholm and the ship arrived the day before. Since we cleared customs the prior day, we were able to get off the ship at about 4:00 am on departure day to go to the airport to catch an early flight. The only small issue is that we were told we could call reception when we wanted to disembark, and they would send someone to help us with our suitcases. We could not get ahold of anyone at 4:00 am, so we needed to take our suitcases off by ourselves.

I just checked Celebrity’s website, and it shows availability for the May 2, 2024 Japan cruise. It allowed me to select a cabin. This seems to confirm that all of Japan has not been cancelled ( or the reservation system has not yet been updated.)

We were on Solstice last week, and the food was outstanding. It was our first Celebrity cruise since 2019. We were in Aqua class, so we had most of our meals in Blu. It was our tenth cruise in Aqua, and the food in Blu was the best of all ten cruises. We also had four lunches in the main dining room, and the food was very good, and was better than on our prior cruises.

I have noticed that Chic nights usually are on a sea day, but not the last night of a cruise. So for your cruise, I suspect Chic nights will be one of the first two sea days, and the second to last sea day.

The tap water in our cabin and at the buffet was warm/hot. I felt more comfortable drinking the canned water.

What is this Evian or San Pellegrino of which you speak? 😀 Pretty much all I saw on the Solstice last week was aluminum Rain cans. I had read that some folks thought the canned water had a strange aftertaste. To me, some cans did, and some did not. Kind of weird.

Yes, if the ship is there overnight, you can stay off the ship all night if you like. Tenders will stop operating at night (not sure what time), so you need to catch the last tender at night unless you want to stay off all night.

On Solstice last week, there was a special children's section at the buffet. They always had fish fingers and/or chicken strips, mac and cheese, and a few other items. Looked good. It was a spring break cruise, and there were a lot of kids on board. I am not sure if they have this section all the time, or only when many kids are onboard. The Mast grill has hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries every day from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm.

On the Solstice last week, my iPad barely fit in the safe. No way a MacBook would have fit. As others noted, I generally left my iPad, iPhone, etc out of the safe, with no issues. I did put them in a drawer so they were somewhat hidden.

On Solstice last week, buffet was open as follows on sea days: Early risers breakfast: 6:30 am to 7:00 am Breakfast: 7:00 am to 10:00 am Late breakfast: 10:00 am to 11:00 am Lunch: 12 noon to 2:30 pm Dinner: 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm Coffee, tea, juices: 24 hours Pasta, pizza, salad bar: 12 noon to 1:00 am Ice cream and frozen yogurt: 12 noon to 10:00 pm Chefs late night collection: 10:00 pm to 1:00 am. On port days, early risers breakfast started at 6:00 am, and breakfast started at 6:30 am. Other times were the same as on sea days.

There were tables for two on Solstice. We had a nice one by the window (which had the shades drawn for the show.)

We were on the Solstice last week, and noticed that the Premium internet speeds varied greatly depending on where we were on the ship. The ship has Starlink, and the speed was so slow that it was difficult to get email/ access the internet while in our cabin. However, we found some locations around the ship where the internet was almost as fast as on land.

We went to it on our Solstice cruise last week. My wife really wanted to see it, and I was not too excited about going. It was great. I have never experienced anything like it before. It was very entertaining, and the food was very tasty with large portions. I mixed/matched the menu to get the items I wanted. Service was very quick. They had a 30% discount on the first night, which we took advantage of.

Currently on Solstice, and there is room in mini bar/refrigerator to put personal items without removing any items. Very convenient.

There are more loungers all around the ship than I have ever seen before. Saw some today in front of the gym on deck 12. With more loungers, seems to be a lot less chair hogging, except right around the pool.