Review of Aug. 15 Solstice

[tripkat]

Hubby and I sailed on Celebrity for the 1st time after quite a few on RCCL. We sailed for our 25th Anniversary and chose the Western Carib for snorkeling. Overall, it was a marvelous cruise. This ship is so beautiful and it was a great choice for us as we were looking for some quiet time, relaxation, and good food. Loved how they laid out the public spaces, very easy to navigate and ship never felt crowded. Also, touche to the lovely and very comfortable sitting furniture in the public spaces. We had a great week and I think the Celebrity product and their staff worked hard to ensure that.

 

Aqua Class - we were in cabin 1604 on the hump. Very pretty cabin with nice touches, clean, but a bit smaller than we are used to on Royal Caribbean. It was our home away from home and it felt cozy and comfortable throughout our cruise. Loved, loved the shower and appreciated the herbal iced tea daily. We both felt the A/C was not great and our room steward, Jose, called for a maintenance person who changed the filter on day 3....not too much better though. As far as noise from above, yes we did hear and feel chairs moving early in the a.m. or late at night and things got pretty loud on the night of the poolside Black/White party (I think that's what it was called). Honestly though, we never let it bother us....just kind of shrugged it off...if you pick a cabin under the pool deck, it's to be expected. I liked the location very much otherwise...close to elevators and quick stairs up to Deck 12 smoking area. Really enjoyed the deeper balcony with the over hang...did breakfast and reading out there quite a few times.

 

Food- while I found this overall to be THE BEST food I've ever had on a cruise, we were both less than thrilled with Blu. As a public space...it was lacking unless you were lucky enough to get a window table right off the water...which was lovely at sunset. We didn't get such a table till our last night there. We both weren't really feeling the contemporary look, but that is of course subjective. It wasn't the quality of the food, but the choices that didn't quite blow us away as I was expecting after reading the boards. We ended up eating there only three nights out of the week...and who knows...maybe more desired choices were on the menu the nights we weren't there, but not too much when we were. Service was just okay with the exception of our assistant waiter Andy on night 1. On night 1, I asked our waiter about the possibility of getting Beef Carpaccio as an appetizer for my husband on the other nights and was told that he thought it would be on the menu at some point....not what I thought I'd hear....kind of felt like my request was dismissed...didn't see it on the next night at least. I can't say enough though about our two meals in Murano...food and service were amazing and there were more good choices than nights to try them....Dover Sole Veronique was superb as were their lobster bisque, salad choices and cheese cart for dessert. Also enjoyed the layout and the choices in the buffet as well as the crepes in the spot on Deck Five I can't name right now. We did dinner room service one night and was pleasantly surprised at how warm the food was upon arrival. Breakfasts were either in the Aqua Cafe...which I loved...room service, or the buffet.

 

Public spaces - all so beautiful, but particularly enjoyed the Solarium, Persian Garden and Cafe Brecio for great specialty coffees to the accompaniment of the string quartet. I really like how spaces flowed off of the atrium on Decks four and five and didn't really miss the Royal Caribbean promenade as I thought we would. Loved the Martini Bar....the frozen bar top is a sweet touch. Didn't go to the glass show because I just didn't want to be out in the heat for 2 hours, but heard others loved it. Casino got some of our money...but not too much :)

 

Ports- with the help of these boards, I think we made some good choices for our time in port. We rented a car in Grand Cayman and enjoyed a wonderful day at Rum Point...very tropical and pretty with some decent snorkeling....particularly the barracuda under the pier. The snorkeling was as good as we hoped at Chankaanob (sic) Park in Cozumel with many colorful fish in all sizes and a surprise sting ray. Had a good lunch there too...really enjoyed the ceviche. We had decided to stick to the ship on the Costa Maya day and relaxed most of the day in the Solarium pool. Finally, my favorite was our time at the Sante Spa and Wellness Center in Roatan. $105 for an amazing 90-minute hot rock massage and a day using there dipping pool and hammocks watching many colorful hummung birds as we enjoyed lunch on their veranda. Angela and Leon have built a little bit of paradise on their property and hope to get there again sometime.

 

Other comments - as soon as we boarded I went straight to guest services, as I'd read to do on these boards and had them take my husband's name down for a possible bridge and/or engine room tour. It was a pleasant surprise to see his invites in our room the night before the 2nd sea day and he said both tours were a real highlight of his time on board.

 

I've seen some posts about late night teenager noise, but didn't really experience this and didn't see as many kids as I expected after reading some of the reviews from the cruise 2-weeks prior. Did see some teenagers daily playing board games or cards in the Card Room, but very well behaved...a testament to their folks I would think.

 

We have already decided that Solstice will be our next cruise....not so sure if we need Aqua class as long as we can get a balcony cabin, thinking even of a Sky Suite. Thanks to the wealth of useful info on these boards....really helped in planning our fun, relaxing week on the Solstice! She's a beauty....don't miss her ;)

[IrishLassie]

Thanks for the great review. We sail on Oct. 3rd. (DH birthday) & he might want to do the bridge/engine rm. tour so I'll make a note to go & sign up for that. Glad you enjoyed your cruise & Celebrity.

[Solstice23]

Thanks for the review

 

Just having sailed Aqua Class on the Equinox we found the food to be our favorite of any cruise, and the room stunning yet simple and intimate

[riandei]

Thanks for your review

[yogagal47]

we were on the august 8th sailing in cabin 1606 and had a great experience. Jose was excellent and our a/c worked very well! We enjoyed dining in Blu. The food was occasionally mixed but service was attentive and we loved dining in the smaller venue. We ate late so a window table was not an issue. We mostly sat at the round "6" table in the front and once at the other table for 6 on the other side of the partition. Our group had a lovely dinner in Murano the first night(we booked with the maitre d when we first toured round the ship once we boarded) and our last night had a nice dinner at Tuscan Grill. I felt that Murano was a bit more formal. Our group had a private room to ourselves right in front and the sommelier decanted and served the wines for us. We enjoyed the cruise so much we booked a January 8th Western Carib. on the Eclipse in Aqua Class.

[FTLcruisers]

as soon as we boarded I went straight to guest services, as I'd read to do on these boards and had them take my husband's name down for a possible bridge and/or engine room tour. It was a pleasant surprise to see his invites in our room the night before the 2nd sea day and he said both tours were a real highlight of his time on board. ;)

 

We have sailed numerous times and I'm always on cruise critic but somehow I missed out on this! Do all Celebrity ships have the engine room tour? We've done the bridge tour many times and wouldn't be interested in that but I know my husband would love the engine room tour. We'll be on the Constellation in November for a TA for I'm sure they could do these tours during our 7 days at sea!

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[tripkat]

we were on the august 8th sailing in cabin 1606 and had a great experience. Jose was excellent and our a/c worked very well! We enjoyed dining in Blu. The food was occasionally mixed but service was attentive and we loved dining in the smaller venue. We ate late so a window table was not an issue. We mostly sat at the round "6" table in the front and once at the other table for 6 on the other side of the partition. Our group had a lovely dinner in Murano the first night(we booked with the maitre d when we first toured round the ship once we boarded) and our last night had a nice dinner at Tuscan Grill. I felt that Murano was a bit more formal. Our group had a private room to ourselves right in front and the sommelier decanted and served the wines for us. We enjoyed the cruise so much we booked a January 8th Western Carib. on the Eclipse in Aqua Class.

 

Yes....I saw folks in that room and thought it looked like a coolo place for a group to have dinner. Jose was very attentive. I also spoke to folks who said the A/C was blasting in their room....not sure why there was a difference by cabin. Enjoy your next one:D

[tripkat]

We have sailed numerous times and I'm always on cruise critic but somehow I missed out on this! Do all Celebrity ships have the engine room tour? We've done the bridge tour many times and wouldn't be interested in that but I know my husband would love the engine room tour. We'll be on the Constellation in November for a TA for I'm sure they could do these tours during our 7 days at sea!

 

Don't know if they all do it, but let me clarify.....it was the engine control room, not the actual engine room.

[rigldbrg]

Thanks for the great review and tip about the bridge and engine room tour. I'll be sure to sign up for this on our Feb Eclipse tour, and wish I would have known about this when we sailed a few weeks ago.