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First Cruise Ever - Solstice March 13-20 - What I didn't read anywhere else

MiaS13

By MiaS13,
in Celebrity Cruises

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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Just got back yesterday, I researched exhaustively on here before we left, and here's what I found out that I didn't know before -

 

- There aren't many TV channels, but there are several recent GOOD movies available for Free on demand in your stateroom... an awesome perk that is unadvertised... movies that are currently only available on PPV through my cable provider.

 

- Solstice was the only ship on any of our ports of call that laid out a little red carpet for its guests with a little sitting area, cold drinks, and cold towels for its guests returning from shore.

 

- There is excellent live music available all over the ship... this was very impressive!

 

- There is excellent shopping on board... competitive liquor, perfume, jewelry prices as St. Thomas. Towards the middle of the cruise, stuff starts going on sale! Great deals to be had.

 

- No irons on board, but charges for ironing aren't so bad. $2 for a short sleeved shirt, $3 for a long sleeved one. I'd gladly pay someone $2 to iron for me!

 

- The officers and upper management make themselves very available and interact frequently with guests. The captain was hanging out at the gangway at the end of one of the ports of call... saying hi to people.

 

- Disembarkation SUCKS! HUGE lines... 4 customs agents for 3,000 people! If I were to do it again, I would pack VERY lightly (maybe have some laundry done on board) and do the self-disembarkation first thing in the morning at 7:00AM. You have to be out of your room and breakfast ends pretty early, so it's not like you can just hang out waiting for the crowd to clear. And I wouldn't want to drag a big suitcase across the ship.

 

- Plenty of drink options at no charge - water, coffee, hot tea, iced tea, milk, lemonade, orange juice, apple juice, fruit punch, guava-passion fruit-mango juice...

 

- Everywhere I heard/read, people said that you do not feel the motion of the ship during the trips... this was not at all true. We had 20mph winds, and at 20 knots, that ship was ROCKING big time. I took Dramamine before boarding and was fine, mom and grandma did not and spent their first night at sea, sea sick.

 

- If your cruise is packed, sorry, but they DO NOT save room for last minute onboard bookings for dining times, shore excursions, and specialty dining. I was expecting this and was disappointed on all three fronts. And honestly, how could they? Just beware, because I've read here in several posts otherwise.

 

- The Caribbean was not what I expected. In between the beautiful beaches, there is a lot of poverty... even in US territories like San Juan and St. Thomas... We felt unsafe at both. Also, as tourists, they treat you like idiot cash cows... ridiculous cab prices only to be crammed into a van like SARDINES. Don't like it? tough, you can walk or try to find public transportation. This was true even in St. Maarten, where they supposedly have an official taxi association with tabulated prices. They were extremely rude to us... at one point, everyone who was already packed into the van walked out in protest.

 

- Dining Overall - When I visited San Francisco, Gary Danko was the #1 rated restaurant on trip advisor. We had high expectations and went... it was quite good, but didn't blow our minds. I tried to have no expectations in terms of Dining on the Solstice, and here's what happened - the MDR was very, quite good and pleased in every aspect... on par with Gary Danko in San Francisco! Murano blew our minds... so it was even better.

 

- Murano has way bigger portions than the MDR...don't be a fool like me and order two appetizers... you won't enjoy dessert.

 

- People here who complain about bread on board. I honestly, no offense, don't get it. I bake my own artisan crusty baguette at home and have had the best French bread in Montreal ... The croissants, ciabattas, and brioche on Solstice was everything I'd ever want from the best of bakeries... the crusty baguette was crusty and tasty ... where's the problem? We all thought the bread was very good.

 

So, a little long-winded, but those are the highlights... I'm literally still feeling the motion of the ocean!

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Denny01

Denny01

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Great criuise, huh? It takes my wife a few days to get her 'legs' back after a cruise. funny.

 

Agree with your bread comment. Couldn't believe some who were complaining, but it is all subjective. We are shooting to get back on an S-Class next year...for sure!

 

Den

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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Sounds like you enjoyed your first cruise!!!! Are you now addicted like the rest of us??

Patty

 

Well I'm certainly addicted to Cruise Critic, that's for sure! :D

 

Celebrity was "X" ellent... hehe.

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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Great criuise, huh? It takes my wife a few days to get her 'legs' back after a cruise. funny.

 

Agree with your bread comment. Couldn't believe some who were complaining, but it is all subjective. We are shooting to get back on an S-Class next year...for sure!

 

Den

 

Yeah, I'm wondering if my office mates are seeing me swaying in my chair. Certainly feels like it. LOL!

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

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Love, love, love your review with the 1st timers insights and perspective. Very well written! THANK YOU for sharing your experiences, some which made me laugh out loud. Lots of lessons to be learned here and passed on from your cruise on Celebrity SOLSTICE. :D

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sarahc78

sarahc78

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Great review, loved the highlights and lowlights. After reading about the caribean I am not sure I would enjoy going there. I guess Bermuda has spoiled us. We never saw any poverty areas, locals are warm friendly & helpful, the whole island was gorgeous and clean.

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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Mia, so you had the new Murano's menu. Would you mind sharing what you and dining companions had?

 

GLADLY! Although, to be honest, at that point I was so stuffed with food from everything else, I didn't take very detailed notes, so we're going to have to settle for generic terms like "mushroom" instead of "morrel" and liquor instead of "Cognac" :)

 

They started with an amouse bouche of cold red pepper soup with red pepper foam.

 

For appetizers, I had both the Goat Cheese Souffle so glorified here on CC and the mushroom risotto ... the Risotto was PHENOMENAL and had this great mushroom foam on top, creamy parmesan flavor, with lots of mushrooms. The Souffle was very good also, fluffly and creamy without being gamey. It had nice crisp microgreens on top and a wonderful sauce on the bottom... I think it was a pesto, but there were some sweet notes on it as well. DH had the lobster bisque... Perfect! The liquor they used on it really came through and shined on the dish. One of the best soups we've ever had. My mom had a Salmon and crab parfait... it was creative, flavorfull, and full of salmon roe that burst into flavor in your mouth... though I'd still prefer the souffle/bisque/risotto to it. I also saw a scallop wellington on the menu that sounded terrific... just like the beef version, but scallop.

 

Main Course, 5/6 of us had the lobster prepared tableside - AMAZING!!! The preparation was quite a show, flambe and all, and there was a very very generous portion of lobster tail on our plate ... removed from the shell and ready to eat, in a glorious white wine/butter/shallot sauce. It was served with mashed potatoes and vegetables julienned, but at this point, I ignored the accompaniments in favor of all the lobster.

 

My dad had a roasted rack of lamb, and insisted on having everyone try it as it was the best lamb he or my mom had ever had. It was crusted with herbs and sat on mashed potatoes.

 

Other things I saw on the menu were Duck Breast Confit and a Sea Bass dish.

 

The cheese cart came by, and we all passed except for my grandfather... they all looked beautiful, there were about 10 varieties ranging from mild to stinky. My grandfather said they were very good cheeses.

 

At this point, we were all very, very stuffed... so I will not opine on the dishes, just tell you what they were -

 

Pineapple and Pear gelee napoleon with cassis sorbet

Chocolate Soufflle (They had this as a suprise in the MDR one night and it was the highlight of our whole trip)

Grand Marnier Souffle

Trio of (apples, I think?)

5 of 6 mini desserts (for two) "Best of Murano" all served in shot glasses.

Trio of sorbets

 

They finished with a plate full of petit fours, truffles and maccaroons. VERY memorable, and as I said before, better than any other "best of" restaurant I've ever been to.

 

Oh, and one other thing about Murano... The sychronized service was so much fun and over the top. I could actually hear the head waiter count to three in french under his breath so that they would all remove the silver domes from our plates at the same time and/or take the plates away at the same time. Very very cool. There were like 4 waiters serving our 6 person table.

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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Thank you. I enjoyed this post even more than I enjoyed your comments on the norovirus thread. As a first-time cruiser coming up on the Solstice April 3, I especially appreciated your perspective as a fellow first-timer. Now I'm looking forward to it even more than I already was.

 

I hate to even mention the noro stuff... it honestly did not affect our party at all... And none of us witnessed any incidents.

 

And for a fellow first timer - I'm not sure what you expect of the cabin and the restroom ... both are BEAUTIFUL, but smaller than what I expected. Going into the bathroom really lets you know that you are on a ship. My parents who have been on other cruises said it was bigger than what they had seen before, so it was just my rookie assumption... but I did imagine it like a full sized hotel room, and that it is not (Maybe NYC sized hotel room ;))

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o_neill

o_neill

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Thank you for your review, very enlightening :)

Got one question I was hoping you could answer me though, the no-charge drink options that you mention; where was the juice/punch drink options available? Are they only available in the buffet or are they it available in other parts of the ship? Thanks :)

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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Thank you for your review, very enlightening :)

Got one question I was hoping you could answer me though, the no-charge drink options that you mention; where was the juice/punch drink options available? Are they only available in the buffet or are they it available in other parts of the ship? Thanks :)

 

I saw them in the buffet, the pool bar/grill, and the spa restaurant... in the MDR, I asked for iced tea and the waiter didn't flinch, and had it ready for me at my table every night... so I assume they're all available there too?

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mrpie90

mrpie90

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Just got back yesterday, I researched exhaustively on here before we left, and here's what I found out that I didn't know before -

 

- There aren't many TV channels, but there are several recent GOOD movies available for Free on demand in your stateroom... an awesome perk that is unadvertised... movies that are currently only available on PPV through my cable provider.

 

- Solstice was the only ship on any of our ports of call that laid out a little red carpet for its guests with a little sitting area, cold drinks, and cold towels for its guests returning from shore.

 

- There is excellent live music available all over the ship... this was very impressive!

 

- There is excellent shopping on board... competitive liquor, perfume, jewelry prices as St. Thomas. Towards the middle of the cruise, stuff starts going on sale! Great deals to be had.

 

- No irons on board, but charges for ironing aren't so bad. $2 for a short sleeved shirt, $3 for a long sleeved one. I'd gladly pay someone $2 to iron for me!

 

- The officers and upper management make themselves very available and interact frequently with guests. The captain was hanging out at the gangway at the end of one of the ports of call... saying hi to people.

 

- Disembarkation SUCKS! HUGE lines... 4 customs agents for 3,000 people! If I were to do it again, I would pack VERY lightly (maybe have some laundry done on board) and do the self-disembarkation first thing in the morning at 7:00AM. You have to be out of your room and breakfast ends pretty early, so it's not like you can just hang out waiting for the crowd to clear. And I wouldn't want to drag a big suitcase across the ship.

 

- Plenty of drink options at no charge - water, coffee, hot tea, iced tea, milk, lemonade, orange juice, apple juice, fruit punch, guava-passion fruit-mango juice...

 

- Everywhere I heard/read, people said that you do not feel the motion of the ship during the trips... this was not at all true. We had 20mph winds, and at 20 knots, that ship was ROCKING big time. I took Dramamine before boarding and was fine, mom and grandma did not and spent their first night at sea, sea sick.

 

- If your cruise is packed, sorry, but they DO NOT save room for last minute onboard bookings for dining times, shore excursions, and specialty dining. I was expecting this and was disappointed on all three fronts. And honestly, how could they? Just beware, because I've read here in several posts otherwise.

 

- The Caribbean was not what I expected. In between the beautiful beaches, there is a lot of poverty... even in US territories like San Juan and St. Thomas... We felt unsafe at both. Also, as tourists, they treat you like idiot cash cows... ridiculous cab prices only to be crammed into a van like SARDINES. Don't like it? tough, you can walk or try to find public transportation. This was true even in St. Maarten, where they supposedly have an official taxi association with tabulated prices. They were extremely rude to us... at one point, everyone who was already packed into the van walked out in protest.

 

- Dining Overall - When I visited San Francisco, Gary Danko was the #1 rated restaurant on trip advisor. We had high expectations and went... it was quite good, but didn't blow our minds. I tried to have no expectations in terms of Dining on the Solstice, and here's what happened - the MDR was very, quite good and pleased in every aspect... on par with Gary Danko in San Francisco! Murano blew our minds... so it was even better.

 

- Murano has way bigger portions than the MDR...don't be a fool like me and order two appetizers... you won't enjoy dessert.

 

- People here who complain about bread on board. I honestly, no offense, don't get it. I bake my own artisan crusty baguette at home and have had the best French bread in Montreal ... The croissants, ciabattas, and brioche on Solstice was everything I'd ever want from the best of bakeries... the crusty baguette was crusty and tasty ... where's the problem? We all thought the bread was very good.

 

So, a little long-winded, but those are the highlights... I'm literally still feeling the motion of the ocean!

hi.

i think you made a good choice for you,r first cruise.

we have tried several lines and celebrity is our favourate.

have you booked another yet?

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STEVE-O

STEVE-O

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I especially appreciate your perspective as a "first-timer". Too many of us ( ME INCLUDED) sometimes fall into the trap of saying "this or that" isn't as good as it used to be.

 

It takes an objective review like yours to remind us......it's all still pretty, dang good!!.......Food, service, accomodations...all of it!

 

I would caution you on one matter......This can be an expensive addiction especially for someone living in the cruise capital of the entire world. Pace yourself, honey!!!

 

Thanks again!

Steve

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Sherrie74

Sherrie74

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Mia ... thank you so much for your comments here and about the Noro situation. Looking forward to everything and the food experience. My companion has many "I wont eat .... " things so I know I will be going to Bistro on my own and may want to try Murano also but will play it by ear. He already knows he wont stop me from doing what I want to do.

 

We are not going to be in a mad dash to get off ship as our plane doesnt take off til 12 anyway. I did see the ship arrived at 6:10 yesterday which would give anyone enough time to get off and hop over to airport.

 

I am planning on having a wonderful first cruise regardless. Thanks again ...

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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hi.

i think you made a good choice for you,r first cruise.

we have tried several lines and celebrity is our favourate.

have you booked another yet?

 

Well, to reply to you and STEVE-O... DH says I can't book another cruise until we go on a couple of other vacations:eek:! As awful as that sounds He really balances me out, so that's probably a good thing :o

 

On my wish list now are Australia/New Zealand, The Mediterranean, and the Fjords! But no future plans just yet :o

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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We got off Eclipse march 19th took only 20 minutes including customs ?

 

As for the winds they were rough your weeks as it was sane as ours it's not normally like that as we sail the same week every year

 

Thanks for your review :)

 

WOW. What time did you disembark? Maybe Sunday is busier than Saturday?

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MiaS13

MiaS13

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Mia ... thank you so much for your comments here and about the Noro situation. Looking forward to everything and the food experience. My companion has many "I wont eat .... " things so I know I will be going to Bistro on my own and may want to try Murano also but will play it by ear. He already knows he wont stop me from doing what I want to do.

 

We are not going to be in a mad dash to get off ship as our plane doesnt take off til 12 anyway. I did see the ship arrived at 6:10 yesterday which would give anyone enough time to get off and hop over to airport.

 

I am planning on having a wonderful first cruise regardless. Thanks again ...

 

As far as picky eaters, there are SO MANY choices everywhere, it's really hard for your picky eater not to find something they like. MDR/Murano/Anywhere... really, many many choices.

 

And as far as the mad dash... we were scheduled to get out at 10am... our number was called at 9:40... It took us about 45 minutes to go through customs... then there were 3 accidents on the road (VERY UNUSUAL for a Sunday Morning), So we were home around 12 something ourselves. I guess if you left the ship by 8 you'd be safe? You have to be out of your room by 8, and breakfast ends at 8 in the MDR, 8:30 in the Buffet...

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