Photo Review: Solstice 12 Night Great Barrier Reef Jan 2 2018

A few more photos of giant clams that we saw during our dives at the GBR.

As I have mentioned earlier, I had not seen them before as they are not present in the Caribbean as they are native to the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. They were present at every dive we did in the Great Barrier Reef.

Giant clams can grow up to 4 feet long and weigh over 400 lb. They are the largest living bivalves. Their life span can exceed 100 years.

Their iridescent color can make them visually stunning. I remember seeing my first one at the Heart Pontoon moored at Hardy Reef during our day at Airlie Beach. I did not know what it was but I could not take my eyes off of it, it was absolutely amazing.

It turns out their vibrant color allows sunlight to reach the algae that inside the giant clam's tissue. The algae produce food for the giant clams. Because this symbiotic relationship depends on sunlight, giant clams are found only on shallow reefs no deeper than 20 meters.

Once born, a little giant clam has a couple of weeks to find a spot to settle down. Once it attaches itself to a spot, that's where it stays for the rest of its life.

As you would guess, their population are in jeopardy because of excessive harvesting by humans. But there have been re-seeding programs to try to restore their numbers.

WOW!! just WOW!!

Love the giant clams!! We saw some snorkeling, but the view and photos from the diving is just amazing!!

I believe many of you that are on the Mar 30 GBR cruise are right now making your way to Sydney. I hope for all of you a most fantastic cruise.

Here are some additional photos we took during our GBR dives of fish and coral:

Hello again. I fly out tomorrow morning. With Sydney being "just over the ditch" I've visited many times before so 1 night before and after is plenty.

Once again thanks for all the information.

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Wow, what a wonderful review! Thanks for all the time you spent. Much appreciated!

Arrived in Sydney yesterday and the weather has been amazing. Watching the sunrise as it lit up the Opera House was awe inspiring. Had a wonderful fish and squid breakfast (yes, I know it's a little weird) at the Fish Market which was also fantastic. Time to rest and then off to do the Bondi to Coogee walk.

Another huge thanks to you doing this thread so all of us feel much more confident in our planning than we ever would have felt trying to do this on our own.

Wow, what a wonderful review! Thanks for all the time you spent. Much appreciated!

Thank you and you're welcome!

Arrived in Sydney yesterday and the weather has been amazing. Watching the sunrise as it lit up the Opera House was awe inspiring. Had a wonderful fish and squid breakfast (yes, I know it's a little weird) at the Fish Market which was also fantastic. Time to rest and then off to do the Bondi to Coogee walk.

 

Another huge thanks to you doing this thread so all of us feel much more confident in our planning than we ever would have felt trying to do this on our own.

You're very welcome. Have an awesome GBR cruise!!

Bon voyage, Mar 30 Solstice GBR! Ya just left Sydney. Next stop, Newcastle!

Susanne,

 

Have an awesome cruise! It's nice to be back aboard so soon.

 

David

Thank you. It was actually lovely to have several staff members welcome us back as we got on or when we saw them in the first few days. It is back to reality now as we got home late last night.

Weather was not as nice as we had, Rough seas for 3 of our 4 sea days. The inside pool was empty for the first 2 days, and we had rain every day. At least most days we were able to spend the morning on the islands and then come back to the ship as it rained, except for Lifou which was the other way around. They ended up adding more activities to the daily schedule mid-morning as they expected many people to stay on-board the ship.

Northern Queensland is currently being hit with storms and the remainders of cyclones (the reasons we had rough weather) so I hope those on the current sailing still have a good time.

Susanne.

Thank you. It was actually lovely to have several staff members welcome us back as we got on or when we saw them in the first few days. It is back to reality now as we got home late last night.

 

 

 

Weather was not as nice as we had, Rough seas for 3 of our 4 sea days. The inside pool was empty for the first 2 days, and we had rain every day. At least most days we were able to spend the morning on the islands and then come back to the ship as it rained, except for Lifou which was the other way around. They ended up adding more activities to the daily schedule mid-morning as they expected many people to stay on-board the ship.

 

 

 

Northern Queensland is currently being hit with storms and the remainders of cyclones (the reasons we had rough weather) so I hope those on the current sailing still have a good time.

 

 

 

Susanne.

Wow, interesting to hear about the rough seas. According to MarineTraffic, Solstice is currently experiencing 36 knot winds. She is right now making her way to Airlie Beach and should be there in a couple of hours. Here is a photo of Solstice when we were at Airlie Beach back on Jan 6:

While we are Solstice/Airlie Beach photo sharing here is one from 2017

I was happy when you posted the photo of the broken tinder window. From your first description of passengers being cut, I thought Celebrity had put not approved for use non safety glass. From your photo I do see that they had installed safety glass that shatters into pellets and not into shards. I am so glad that Celebrity does follow the regulations!

While we are Solstice/Airlie Beach photo sharing here is one from 2017

 

 

Loving the memories :hearteyes:

It looks like Solstice skipped her stop at Airlie Beach. According to MarineTraffic, Solstice is now (12:30 pm local time) 55+ miles northwest of Airlie Beach sailing away at 12 knots. She was not scheduled to leave Airlie Beach until 5 pm. MarineTraffic lists the winds as 41 knots at Solstice's current position. It is likely due to the nearby cyclone. If so, how disappointing for the passengers. Hopefully their 2 day stop in Cairns is not adversely affected.

Wow, interesting to hear about the rough seas. According to MarineTraffic, Solstice is currently experiencing 36 knot winds. She is right now making her way to Airlie Beach and should be there in a couple of hours. Here is a photo of Solstice when we were at Airlie Beach back on Jan 6:

 

They are skipping Airlie Beach altogether and going straight to Cairns. Someone on board has posted this on FB.

I was happy when you posted the photo of the broken tinder window. From your first description of passengers being cut, I thought Celebrity had put not approved for use non safety glass. From your photo I do see that they had installed safety glass that shatters into pellets and not into shards. I am so glad that Celebrity does follow the regulations!

The tenders don't belong to Celebrity, they are contracted from Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas.

I was happy when you posted the photo of the broken tinder window. From your first description of passengers being cut, I thought Celebrity had put not approved for use non safety glass. From your photo I do see that they had installed safety glass that shatters into pellets and not into shards. I am so glad that Celebrity does follow the regulations!

The tenders don't belong to Celebrity, they are contracted from Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas.

Thanks for the clarification on the tenders -- from the photo it didn't appear to be one of the ship tenders. And when we did a variation of this cruise in 2016 both private and ship tenders were used at the tender ports.

Hope they will have smooth sailing after Cairns and will be able to tender with few problems into Yorkeys Knob.

It looks like Solstice skipped her stop at Airlie Beach. According to MarineTraffic, Solstice is now (12:30 pm local time) 55+ miles northwest of Airlie Beach sailing away at 12 knots. She was not scheduled to leave Airlie Beach until 5 pm. MarineTraffic lists the winds as 41 knots at Solstice's current position. It is likely due to the nearby cyclone. If so, how disappointing for the passengers. Hopefully their 2 day stop in Cairns is not adversely affected.

Radiance of the Seas did not survive her attempted stop in Airlie Beach. She's broken an Azipod and her April 6th cruise is cancelled. Smart move by the Solstice Captain.

Looks like Cairns is a go for Solstice. She is anchored off of Yorkeys Knob with only 9 knot winds.

Looks like Cairns is a go for Solstice. She is anchored off of Yorkeys Knob with only 9 knot winds.

Great news for the folks onboard! We’ve got neighbors (here north of Dallas) who were set to be on Radiance on the 6th - they’re very disappointed and shocked that they’re trip was canceled.

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Radiance of the Seas did not survive her attempted stop in Airlie Beach. She's broken an Azipod and her April 6th cruise is cancelled. Smart move by the Solstice Captain.

That's interesting. I did find this post on the RCI board: Radiance cruise cancellation

The post says that the motor wiring on the starboard Azipod burnt out while fighting the winds/current at Airlie Beach.

Meanwhile at Cairns, Solstice is in calm seas (6 knot winds) with Cyclone Iris safely heading away from them.

While we are Solstice/Airlie Beach photo sharing here is one from 2017

 

 

 

Very nice photo. You don't get that view of a ship every day.

Calm seas today Day 2 at Cairns for Solstice. Here's a photo of Solstice as we tendered back to her on Day 2 Cairns (Jan 8):

Thank you (and Suzanne) for this wonderful review! We’re booked on the Oct 29 sailing and this provided us with very valuable information. We’re researching excursions now.

I really wish we had the extra two stops. Feels too much like putting all our eggs in one basket (especially in light of the March cruise). But this cruise is actually an “extra” for us in the middle of a bucket list land trip to Australia and NZ. Some we’re trying to treat all the excursions as bonuses we can take or leave and not be too disappointed.

Btw, the extreme version of the Australia Zoo is my sister’s #1 bucket list item. So we’ll be sure to post a review.

Thanks again for all the info. I expect I’ll be referring back to it many times before we go.

Terri

Hi, Terri. On behalf of all the people that have contributed to this review, you are welcome. Despite the "missing" two days at the GBR, you are gonna love your cruise. Overall, it sounds like you a wonderful trip planned. Have fun with it.