FunCruiser56

We sailed on the Solstice 2 years ago Hawaii-mainland US. They did have a group that stayed on the ship and did some shows, classes while we were in the islands. Otherwise there was not much offered other than what you could find in port.

We are looking at the Polynesian Cruise for 2017 and I would love to hear the answer you get.

Bev

thanks for the replys, just the info I was looking for.

if you can get the AQ cabin then go for it. We had a very similar situation when we sailed on the Solstice from Hawaii. The AQ cabin actually was $6 less than the balcony cabin we paid for. This was 4 weeks before the cruise. I put the cabin on a courtesy hold to make sure we could get it as it was a weekend and my TA was closed. After a couple calls with X via TA we got the cabin, as did our friends traveling with so 3 cabins. We were super excited and really enjoyed the AQ cabin and especially Blu and the Persian Gardens, so much that we booked the same cruise for next year and AQ. Hope it works out for you. Breakfast in Blu is a wonderful start to the day!

Bev

Now not wanting to start a debate on smoking, just want to know where the smoking area on dk 5 is located. Thank you.

Bev

We have sailed both and currently have a cruise booked with each line. I will say that we do prefer Celebrity- the Solstice Class ships are just wonderful. We are not much into rock climbing, ice skating or surfing but that's OK a cruise is a time to enjoy and wind down. Both have pluses and we sure can enjoy. We are just thankful we can afford to cruise and enjoy life so much.

All that for $50! Wow! I want to go where you go!

 

For $50' date=' all I get is a pedi.

 

On the ship, I find many are tranfers from Steiners. Some are better than others.[/quote']

 

Lincoln, Nebraska there are so many nail salons here competition is fierce!

That is so overpriced! I get a shellac mani, hand and arm massage and a pedi with a hot stone massage for $50 plus a tip. When I sailed Solstice 2 years ago the gel they make you use everytime you come near food ruined my shellac mani so I went to the spa to book just the Shellac mani. I was kept waiting 45 min beyond my appt and then the tec tells me she does not have time to do it cuz she has another appt! I was not happy at all, they offered me to come back the next day with a free hand and neck massage. Forget it, I'm not sitting in a spa wasting my vacation time.

Ship spas are nice but the prices are terrible.

We did Celebrity Solstice, flew to Hawaii and had a few days there to explore and relax on the beach. Sailed and visited the islands and 5 relaxing sea days back to US. We really enjoyed those 5 days and adjusted back close to our time zone. We really had no issue with the time difference (5 hrs) going to Hawaii. Loved it so much we booked the very same cruise for next April and will spend a few days in Vancouver/Seattle after the cruise.

For Pearl Harbor, get your tickets ahead of time. $1.50 surcharge per ticket. We had pretty early ticket times so we took a cab to Pearl, around $20 and then the bus back to our hotel. Bus was very cheep and the driver made sure we got off at the right stop.

Renting a car is easy but on Ohau the traffic is terrible and if your in a hotel you will pay $$ to park.

I signed up for Groupon for Hawaii and get alot of great offers, including dining and tours

Bev

We sailed in 2013 on Celebrity Solstice, Hawaii-Mexico. The cruise was wonderful, we flew into Hawaii 3 days ahead and did all we wanted in Honolulu before we boarded. Big Island and Maui and 5 wonderful- relaxing sea days. Not boring at all, plenty to do or not do. The only negative was having to get off in Mexico and go through that hassle of a bus to San Diego.

Now ports have changed and we end in Vancouver- much better! We booked the same cruise for next April and looking forward to it and as we have never spent much time on the west coast we will stay a few days.

We love the Solstice Class ships and their crew, must have a good following as our Roll Call has been very busy since last July. It is a repo cruise comming from Australia so alot of friendly Aussies onboard.

Read some of the reviews for the ships you have narrowed down to and see what works best for you.

Bev

We too booked Giovannis and had a very relaxing lunch, watching all the lines of people going into Park Cafe and sitting on the ground eating their lunch. We got lunch for half price of dinner. Once we were finished our cabin was ready. If we sail this ship again we would do the same. A wonderful way start your cruise.

Bev

Same as The Coach store on Oasis, lots of high prices, a few lookers not many byers. The prices and selection at the Coach Outlet near me was better. Unless I have alot of OBC then I would not be spending hundreds on a high end purse.

the original post is over 1 year ago ;)

We have sailed on several Solstice class ships and the Brilliance of the Seas also. We love all of these ships. 2 years ago we sailed the Solstice from Hawaii and had a wonderful cruise, we loved it so much we booked the same cruise for next April. It would be hard to choose between the two, we prefer Celebrity. The Radiance class ships are different from other RCI ships- no big mall type area down the center of the ship. Your teens will enjoy either ship, if your looking for a more adult cruise then Solstice! The Hot Glass Show is amazing!!

The crew on both is wonderful. As a previous poster mentioned pick the ship for the islands it visits, of course price factors in also :)

Bev

i am on my tablet so your signature and link does not show, can you please post a link in a reply? thanks alot1

Bev

I would check with your dr before the cruise, with that being said- while we were on the Solstice in the middle of the Pacific I had a scary medical issue. As soon as we got to the med center I was treated very well given a complete run down and a EKG and thankfully nothing life threatening was found. My husband and I were very impressed with the compentence of the staff and what seemed available for them to handle. After our return I visited my own dr and he also was impressed and said he would have handled it just the same way. I would feel comfortable using the med center in alot of situations and feel the staff will handle it in a manner necessary for me.

we have used that big online agency in New Hampshire :} and have been happy with them our last 8 or so cruises we booked. We have found them to be prompt calling back and taking care of any issues we might have. We booked a cruise while on Oasis and then transfered it to the agency because of the perks they offered. Now the only negative I can find is that they will charge you cancellation fee anywhere from $50-100 pp. And while they used to be great about giving you price drops now if you want to get a drop or improvement in perks you have to rebook and cancel the original booking. I did this just yesterday and all was handled with a email, but I came out $800 ahead so it was worth it to me to do it. I have called local TA's and they just cannot offer me the perks I want so my business goes to the big agency.

Bev

We cruised on Celebrity Solstice in April 2013, flew to Hawaii and spent 3 days in Honolulu then boarded the ship 4 ports then 5 wonderful sea days, too bad it ended in Ensenada. Now we loved the cruise (except mexico) so much we booked the same cruise for April 2016 only this time it ends in Vancouver :). We really loved seeing the different islands and also having a beautiful ship to come back to each day.

Bev

we sailed on the Brilliance in 2006 for a Panama Canal cruise and just fell in love with this ship. This July we will sail her again for a Norway-Iceland cruise so 12 wonderful days! Enjoying seeing the pictures as a nice memory and a precruise excitement builder!

Congrats on the Engagement, a cruise would be a wonderful Honeymoon!

Bev

We did a 7 hour tour with 62N, they took us to Torshavn and a couple of other islands, we stopped for lunch and a coffee break again in the afternoon. We booked our tickets online, cost about $80 if I remember right, suggest you email them for details.

 

62n incoming <incoming@62n.fo>

I looked at this company and thought they sounded great. My only concern is getting back to the ship at 4, we depart at 5 and that seems to be cutting it a bit close if we have any problems that would delay us. Did you have any concern for that?

Thank you. Bev

Thank you!

We will visit the Faroe Islands this summer on our cruise. I just cannot find much information for what to do. We will port at Klaksvik Royal Caribbean offers a few tours and I did check with a local tour company but their cancellation policy was not good. So wondering what other cruisers have done. Don't want to rent a car.

Thanks for your experiences or suggestions

Bev

We cruised this area a few years ago and had wonderful weather except in Costa Rica it just poured. Try GA again some time and do the stingray tour lots of wonderful private guides. We are also huge fan of the hot glass show! I think any cruise in Dec will be very Christmas oriented and lots of holiday music ;) on rainy sea days we like to spend a lot of time on the outside area back of the windjammer and sit and read gets us out of our cabin and close to snacks and drinks hope to read your other review. Congrats on your marriage, we just celebrated 40 years!

thanks, as long as there are coffees we are good ;)