Solstice Review - 21,000 Pieces Of Pillow Candy!

[Massnatives]

3,000 passengers on the 6/30 cruise! So much wrapped candy!

Absolutely loved our cruise! A marvelous way to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary - and Celebrity's 20th! Fun ribbon-cutting with the captain in the morning and big party in Sky at night (pretended it was for us).

I'm 63 and hubby 72 - most people seemed to be our ages. Lots of 30 and 40 year olds too...and we would see the younger kids (20's) at night. Kids from infants to older were all around too.

We finally caught the hot glass show late in the week at night - best time to see it.

Creme Brulee, lunch in Bistro on 5 on embarkation day (it was full - people are catching on), cinnamon buns in the buffet, long breadsticks, Banana, nutella pistachio crepes in Bistro (yum) - all per Cruise Critic things to look for - thanks!

Murano was one of the best dining experiences we've ever had. After we had our desert, I mentioned to our waiter that we chose Murano to celebrate our anniversary and he brought out a beautiful little moouse cake - he had it sent to our cabin.

We never passed a crew member who didn't speak to us. Our waiters, Setyomo and Mihai in the first seating were great! Always remembered our names along with our wine steward, Yuris.

The roaming entertainment was the best - check your daily paper for times - we chose to stalk (I mean follow) young Will Foraker most days and nights. He set my cruise off to the best feeling when he played Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah at the first night's show and played it again when we mentioned how we loved it in one of the lounges. If you are reading this now, he will be going on his vacation next week. Loved Sipra, the acapella group, I Tones - so cute - caught the singer who is in Michael's nightly. The live music at different venues during the day was one of my favorite things. Alas, not so for the stage shows - loved the cirque-style. Pulse started out with such promise, but went down hill - I finally figured what it was about this production - An enthusiastic high school variety show could have done the same thing. The magician was almost embassassing - glad we only caught him at the Farewell show.

Favorite place to just sit - Sky - we actually sat in the forward section to watch the docking in San Juan - it was raining outside at the time. Great to read or watch the ocean during the day.

Loved the TV for checking up-to-the-second accounts (yikes!) and finding our latest pictures taken around the ship.

I attended 3 scrapbooking sessions - must have been the only activity that you don't have to pay for that gives you 'stuff' to take home.

Hazy in ports (sand) so pics weren't so good - but better than rain!

Some fun pool parties for those who enjoyed that. Quiet lounges for cocktails - some with great snacks!

Always found a table at the buffet - most times we shared with other passengers - fun to see where everyone is from. Liked the stark whiteness of the MDR - and the nightly lights of different colors.

I could go on and on - even more than I already have!

This could have been a trip of a lifetime for us - but not if we can book another cruise!!!!

Laurel

[texkan]

Glad you had a great cruise. Also tried to catch Will Foraker and his jazz group every evening. He is a very talented young man.

[BroncosFan2010]

Thanks for a wonderful review. Your descriptions of the food made me hungry! I like the idea of being able to view the pictures on the cabin TV. Has Celebrity been dong this for a while, or is this a new thing?

[bchbum4000]

We were on the same sailing and agree with all of the above. We ate in Murano three times and in the Tuscan Grill twice. The food is outragous in both speciality restaurants and the staff were all so very attenative. We loved all of the informative classes that were offered, learn to work with imac, digital photography; spanish, italian lessons, botox treatments, and many more, too many to list. The martini bar was one of our favorite places to sit and mingle and have a drink made by the bartenders who put on a show by preparing 10 to 15 drinks all at once in cocktail shakers and then standing on the bar to pour each drink in a glass without spilling a drop. All in all this was one of the best cruises we have been on by far. I would recommend it to all no matter what age group you fall into.

 

[portofrome]

Glad you had a great cruise. Thanks for the review.

[mollyvicto]

Great review - thank you. After many Celebrity cruises, this will be our first on the Solstice. We're curious about Bistro on 5 - some of the things on the menu? and what is the charge for eating there? Thank you for your help - we are also MA natives!

[LBumb]

thanks for posting

[Massnatives]

I think of our experiences night and day - anticipation for months before - a marvelous cruise and now endless memories!

 

I don't know how long Celebrity has been doing the pics on TV - when you board at the terminal, you have your picture taken - so it is 'facial recognition'. You can also visit the Photo Gallery - pics aren't cheap - but I'd love to know if the ship made more money on drinks or pictures!

 

Martini Bar was my favorite, too!

 

Bistro on 5 - You can eat all you want off the menu - for a $5.00 cover charge per person. I don't think it was on the list of places to eat the first day - so everyone there already knows about it.

Great salads, daily soup, paninis and oodles of crepes - desert and 'food'.

It is not to be missed. Very calming and nice alternative to buffet. It's open from 6 am to 2 am.....closed for 4 hours!!!