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Review ~ Solstice 1/8/2012 ~ Loooong Ramblings … January 2012 vs October 2010

HeatherInFlorida

By HeatherInFlorida,
in Celebrity Cruises

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

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I'll submit this review to CC, but in the interest of time and those boarding her soon, I'll post here first. Photos will follow once I've edited them and I'll post a link as soon as they're ready.

 

A little about “us”: We’ve been cruising for 30 years on Cunard, Regent (long gone), Royal Viking (long gone), Seawind (long gone), NCL, Windstar, HAL and Celebrity. This was our 5th Celebrity cruise and the line remains our favorite. In October 2010 we cruised on Solstice and believing it to be the most beautiful ship we have ever sailed, I came home and booked this cruise to celebrate what I laughingly and lovingly call my Birthday of Many Decades.

 

I should preface this review by saying that during our cruise we received extremely sad family news so of course a pall came over the cruise for us and made it difficult to have a good time. Still, all in all this was another wonderful experience about which I have few complaints. I’ll get those out of the way first.

 

I booked the 2010 cruise through a travel agent and this cruise directly with Celebrity. I thought booking directly and having hands on control over my booking might provide even better attention to my requests if that’s possible. It made no difference and by booking with Celebrity we gave up the OBC we would have enjoyed.

 

We sailed in Concierge Class cabin 2105 each time. This is a terrific cabin location on the hump on Deck 12. We enjoyed the deep balcony which is great in every respect … in the sun if you like, away from bad weather if it rains and harbored from the winds on a bad day. It’s a quick one flight up to the Ocean View and easy access to all venues except the Solstice Theatre. I highly recommend this cabin because the ship never feels too large or too difficult to navigate.

 

TRADITIONAL DINING: In 2010, with the diagram in front of me, I requested a specific table and was thrilled when my request was honored. Again I requested a table in the same area, noting about 5 tables that would be perfect. So I was extremely disappointed to board ship and find us assigned to a table tucked away in a corner, under the stairs by a service entrance.

 

I spoke with the Maitre D' who told me he saw no problem in moving us since so many in 2nd sitting wanted 1st sitting and we could sit just about anywhere we wanted. Of course I knew this to be an overstatement, but we were assigned the next day to an 8-top round table I was very happy about.

 

In 30 years of cruising we’ve been fortunate to meet the most incredible people at dinner and some have become friends for life. So we choose a large table and we’ve never been disappointed. We have never changed our table. But with the introduction of specialty restaurants, we now take our chances because there is never a guarantee that anyone will show up even after they have requested a table for 8 or 10. I’ve never understood why anyone who intends to spend 3 or 4 nights at alternative restaurants would request a large table unless traveling as a group. It spoils the fun for those of us who enjoy socializing at dinner. Over the course of a week or more you really get to know the people you’re dining with and we always look forward to it.

 

We arrived at our table the 2nd night only to find we were dining alone at a round 8-top. As a group traveling together, the others had gone to Murano Restaurant that night. For reasons explained to me by one of the Asst. Maitre D’s, we were moved again. I won’t go into the explanation here, but I will say we were more than happy to be moved away from people who wanted no one outside their group seated with them. The 3rd night we arrived at our new table for 10 and there was just one person. He was a wonderful gentleman who we really enjoyed, but there’s something about 3 people at a table for 10 that feels lonely. On the 4th night we were joined by another couple and we all had a great time the rest of the cruise. But we were only 5 so I was disappointed.

 

And so ends the negative part of the cruise until disembarkation which was the absolute worst we have ever encountered so I’ll get it out of the way now. It was night and day between this year’s cruise and last year’s cruise. We smoothly took our leave from the Solstice about 9:20. But instead of descending the gangway, we exited from Deck 2 out into a frigid Ft. Lauderdale morning, wind whipping off the water. We were funneled through the equivalent of at least 2 football fields to another building where we were corralled like cattle toward our exit through Customs. I’m not sure why we were unable to exit the building through which we had embarked (as we did last year), but after going through this endless line and finally being freed into the sunlight, it only added insult to injury to be directed to “follow the green line” if being met by private car. Pulling 3 suitcases on my own, with my best years for such an activity well behind me:eek:, it turned out we had to walk all the way back to where our cruise began the week before (another 2 football fields).

 

The fault clearly lies with cutbacks in U.S. Customs; there can’t have been more than 4 or 5 agents for 3000 people. It sure took everyone down a peg or two after being treated like royalty all week to be herded together like so much chattel with no explanation as to why we were thrown off the ship only to have to wait endlessly in line and for many of us another walk all the way back to where we should have been in the first place … A sad and exhausting end to an otherwise wonderful cruise. We questionned one security guard who passed our line and his response was “This is nothing; you should have seen it yesterday with 6000 coming through” and off he went. Somehow it was small solace that someone else had suffered more than we were … that just never works. If it did we’d all be thanking our lucky stars we weren’t on Costa in the Mediterranean last week … but knowing someone had it much worse than you did doesn’t help when you’re going through it … later, definitely, but not at the time.

 

So now the high points:). First, in my opinion Celebrity’s Guest Relations still soars above the others. I have never had a bad experience no matter how small the request. And when our personal crisis arose back home, they were quick to offer assistance in every possible way they could. I applaud them.

 

If you’re a Captain’s Club Member do not overlook the “premium offers” in your stateroom. Most were completely useless to me, but there is a coupon for 25% off your first booked internet package. There are a few other offers that might be nice for you so be sure to check it out first thing.

 

OFFICERS & CREW: Everyone who served us from Silk Harvest (our first night), to our waiters in the Epernay Dining Room, to the Ocean View Café, was always there with a smile. No matter where we went, within moments of sitting, we would be offered something from the bar and if we declined we felt no discomfort in staying right where we were. In fact throughout the ship I cannot think of any member of the crew who didn’t greet me warmly wherever I went. The same can’t really be said of the Officers who I felt were a disappointment this time, but that's not ever a big issue for me as long as the ship stays on top of the water I'm good:D.

 

An added bonus came during the show on our last night. Captain Gerry Larsson-Fedde proved to be skilled in more than one department. I won’t spoil the surprise if you’re going soon, but don’t miss it if he’s mastering the ship when you sail.

 

Our CD was Stewart Turnbull. I have little to say about him; he could have been on board or not and it would have made no difference to me. I was happy with the few activities we took part in but beyond that, for me, his personality left a lot to be desired. On a positive note, he was in pretty good humor about his mistake in giving us the wrong showtimes one night, but that was the only hint I saw of a real person inside the mask. We had a fantastic CD on our cruise last year so this was in sharp contrast to that experience.

 

Despite reports of declining entertainment, we disagree. Antonio Salci at the piano is an amazing talent. Neal Austin’s “magic” (or lack thereof) and comedy was a delight and uproariously funny (although I did hear the usual whiners saying if this was the best Celebrity could do they were in trouble ... some people have no child in them and need to find it). David Burleigh’s comedy had me almost weeping with laughter at times plus he was adorable which never hurts;). We thought the Celebrity Entertainers, without exception, were particularly good this time. I was sorry to see such a poor showing at the shows for the 8:30 diners; it was very sparse which makes it hard for the entertainers.

 

We did not go to all the shows because they were the same as our last Solstice cruise and with the 8:30 dinner seating this time, some nights the show wasn’t until 10:30 or 11:00 and we just weren’t in the mood. We’re not getting any younger and we’ve noticed we fizzle out a little earlier than we used to ;). We’re going back to 6:00 dinner seating.

 

TOURS: We booked two tours through Celebrity and both were outstanding. If we did the Western itinerary again, I would rebook both tours only this time I would swim with the dolphins and not just encounter them. We did our Dolphin Encounter and Sea Lion Show at Chankanaab on Cozumel. Both my husband and I fell in love with “our” dolphin, Rachel, who was 24 years old and recently had a baby who wasn’t ready to interact yet, but swam near her mother and brought many smiles. Actually I don’t think any of us stopped smiling the entire time we were in the water with Rachel. They rip you off terribly with the pictures, but I’ll never regret the $110 we spent for 80 photos of our time with Rachel. I went in saying I wouldn’t purchase them, but how many dolphins will I kiss in this lifetime? This was without question the high point of our cruise.

 

The 2nd tour was a day at Maya Key Private Island Retreat in Roatan, Honduras, just a stone’s throw across the water from the dock. I should mention that I love the port of Roatan. Sure I know it’s manufactured just for us cruise passengers, but I don’t care. I loved the music playing below our balcony all day long and the quaint looking buildings with bougainvillea cascading over the 2nd floor walkway.

 

Maya Key is a wonderful private island which has been beautifully designed. It has wonderful walkways, a perfect quiet beach, wonderful snorkeling (we were told) off the long pier, a very nice pool, a delicious buffet luncheon and clean rest rooms. There are rescued and endangered animals, I saw a Jaguar, a Margay, and I was most drawn to the Black Howler Monkeys who enthralled me for so long that my husband was ready to send out a posse from the beach. It was a relaxing, wonderful day at a time we really needed it. The ferry ran back to the ship every 30 minutes so you could return to the ship at leisure.

 

Back on board, I fell asleep on our balcony to the sounds of the island’s music. We had to cancel our plans for Friday in Costa Maya which was a big disappointment because we had looked forward to our private tour to Maya Chan Beach Resort. If you have read or heard about this private tour, I was very impressed with Mark when I emailed the day before our tour explaining our situation. He was quick to respond and refund our payment for the tour. For that reason alone I would choose this tour again and I’m only sorry we didn’t get to meet Mark and enjoy their small piece of paradise at Costa Maya. In the end, it rained a lot that day so we didn’t even go ashore. To be honest the port didn’t look very inviting and had the longest pier I’ve ever seen. There was, however, a tram you could take a good part of the way.

 

Our last day at sea was very windy and quite cold as we made our way across the Gulf of Mexico so most people kept to the inside rooms. It was the only time we felt crowded. I will say that if we were people who enjoyed lying on the pool deck, it would not be something we could have done on sea days … way too many people. I couldn’t understand why the spa room was kept so unbelievable cold; people were huddled under towels which seemed to detract from the relaxation of the room, but what do I know?

 

I was extremely grateful to the Spa when my nails chipped the first day after my manicure and they completely redid the chipped nails and applied a new coat of polish on all of them. They refused to take anything for this and I was grateful and impressed … she even threw in an eye treatment for my puffy eyes.

 

FOOD: This is always a major topic on all cruises. Who can really say if the food is good or bad, different strokes and all that. It’s very subjective and we all have our own tastes. I read all kinds of stories about how the food had declined on Celebrity, but you could fool me. With rare exception, the food was delicious in all the venues we ate (we did not dine in Murano or Tuscany).

 

One caveat, and this provided many laughs at our table, was Day 5 when Pea Soup with Mint appeared on the menu. A few of us at the table love chilled soups and after 2 nights of delicious blackberry and strawberry soup, we took a chance with the pea. It was the the most abhorrent, disgusting food I have ever tasted. I took one sip and quietly pushed the bowl away. If I post any picture here it may be that. I thought it might only be me but as each person at our table sampled their soup the reactions were priceless. Order this soup at your own peril.

 

But I enjoyed rack of lamb which was out of this world and on lobster night our waiter recommended the beef tenderloin. I learned early on to always listen to him; he never led me down the wrong path. Even on pea soup night he had suggested something else. Those ordering the lobster were disappointed; people forget this isn’t Maine lobster … it’s Caribbean lobster which is a whole different story. It was ½ lobster with crabmeat stuffing. It didn’t come out of the shell well at all and it was very messy to eat. I don’t remember everything I ate over the week, but I know it was too much. Everything was delicious … poached eggs and smoked salmon on a muffin, cheesecake, shrimp cocktail, escargot, all the Danish, the donuts that appeared far too rarely, the spaghetti tossed with your choice of a gazillion ingredients, the afore mentioned lamb chops all come quickly to mind. And everyday a new and wonderful ice cream; the blueberry was one of my favorites.

 

One more word about food: I keep remembering the words “If we build it they will come”. That’s also true when creating buffet style dining. If you put food out, people will help themselves to more than they should ever eat. Breakfast is the most amazing meal on a cruise ship. People walk from station to station helping themselves to every imaginable morsel of food and then have the nerve to come home and complain about the decline in food … just a little pet peeve of mine. The waffles were so popular (and yummy J) there was a line.

 

True story: One plucky woman stood waiting for the waffles to come off the waffle maker while a line of about 8 people waited. Only 4 waffles come off the griddle at a time. Yet this woman grabbed 2, added a couple slices of stuffed French toast and a few banana pancakes. She then pushed in front of me and helped herself to toppings and, of course, whipped cream. I was dying to follow her to see if she actually ate it all. None of my business if people want to devour every morsel in sight … just don’t complain that the food just isn’t up to par on cruise ships anymore.

 

And finally … to the young man who’d enjoyed a few too many at the Pool Bar on our last day at sea who wouldn’t believe my age because his mother was a few years younger, I salute you. Tipsy or not, you made my day. Maybe Celebrity placed you there just to make me feel good as I make my way into the next decade, maybe there was money involved but who cares.

 

The cruise really was a nice way to ‘celebrate’ a banner year and having just a few things go wrong didn’t even cast a shadow. Celebrity still shines brightly and wears the crown for me:D.

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LouisV

LouisV

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Heather!

 

Thanks for your honest and informative review!! We cruise on the Soltice on November 23, 2012 out of Singapore. This will be our first time on an S class ship and we are very excited. Your blog looks very interesting...now only to find the time....

 

Mo

:)

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Ebvette

Ebvette

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"The fault clearly lies with cutbacks in U.S. Customs; there can’t have been more than 4 or 5 agents for 3000 people. It sure took everyone down a peg or two after being treated like royalty all week to be herded together like so much chattel with no explanation as to why we were thrown off the ship only to have to wait endlessly in line and for many of us another walk all the way back to where we should have been in the first place …"

 

First, my regrets to the sad news you received while on board. With all due respect, I am a US Customs Officer, and I love to cruise, and can understand your frustration with having so few officers in position, however, the US Congress and Senate have severly cut the budget of Department of Homeland Security by over 35% this year alone, this filters down to the Port of Entries and being able to have the staff needed to process all incoming passengers. As a result we can only do so much with what we are provided and cannot sacrifice not doing our jobs correctly, because your own life could be affected. I am sure if you put yourself in our shoes having the full responsibility of being the front line in the defense of our great nation, knowing that maybe one person or more among the 3,000 who have disembarked does not have the best of intentions once entering the US and your job is to pick out that needle in the haystack, well I think most rational people are understanding to the challenge and the responsbility leveled upon the US Customs Officers. As you know most of the resources have been dispatched to the southern borders to protect us from the drug cartels, human trafficing, and couterband from entering our nation. This in itself has put a drain our US Customs and Border Patrol resources. Last year we have lost many officers killed while on duty performing their assigned duties for our protection. It's nobody's fault the budget was cut, or resources are limited, but just a product of difficult times our nation is undergoing in a world that has changed during the last decade.

 

So I ask all of you to please show patience and control, the Custom's Officers want to process you as fast as you wish to be processed, but vigilence and professionalism must be adhered by every Custom's Officer. To all my fellow cruisers, please have the patience and understanding the Custom Officers are doing their best with what they are provided. In three weeks we board the Solstrice for a cruise, and upon return I too will be one of the thousands waiting in line to go through Customs, even I don't get a break, nor would I want one, thank you all. Maybe just a few good words to your Customs Officer after you pass, means a lot to us.

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

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First, my regrets to the sad news you received while on board. With all due respect, I am a US Customs Officer, and I love to cruise, and can understand your frustration with having so few officers in position, however, the US Congress and Senate have severly cut the budget of Department of Homeland Security by over 35% this year alone, this filters down to the Port of Entries and being able to have the staff needed to process all incoming passengers. As a result we can only do so much with what we are provided and cannot sacrifice not doing our jobs correctly, because your own life could be affected. I am sure if you put yourself in our shoes having the full responsibility of being the front line in the defense of our great nation, knowing that maybe one person or more among the 3,000 who have disembarked does not have the best of intentions once entering the US and your job is to pick out that needle in the haystack, well I think most rational people are understanding to the challenge and the responsbility leveled upon the US Customs Officers. As you know most of the resources have been dispatched to the southern borders to protect us from the drug cartels, human trafficing, and couterband from entering our nation. This in itself has put a drain our US Customs and Border Patrol resources. Last year we have lost many officers killed while on duty performing their assigned duties for our protection. It's nobody's fault the budget was cut, or resources are limited, but just a product of difficult times our nation is undergoing in a world that has changed during the last decade.

 

So I ask all of you to please show patience and control, the Custom's Officers want to process you as fast as you wish to be processed, but vigilence and professionalism must be adhered by every Custom's Officer. To all my fellow cruisers, please have the patience and understanding the Custom Officers are doing their best with what they are provided. In three weeks we board the Solstrice for a cruise, and upon return I too will be one of the thousands waiting in line to go through Customs, even I don't get a break, nor would I want one, thank you all. Maybe just a few good words to your Customs Officer after you pass, means a lot to us.

 

Mac, first let me say that your thoughts are extremely well written and I couldn't agree with you more about everything you say. Clearly I wasn't clear. I do not blame the Customs' OFFICERS who kept their cool in the situation. But I do blame the system and I do blame whoever is responsible for the process on the pier and the number of people allowed off the ship before they could possibly be processed.

 

It's just not realistic for the government to cut back to such a degree that you have 4, possibly 5, agents for 2800 people getting off a ship. It just doesn't work no matter how efficient they are or how easy they make the process (which they absolutely did once we reached them). Given the onslaught of people, I'm amazed at their cool calm behavior.

 

Also, what made it so much worse was the very long walk from the ship to the terminal we had to go through and then back again to get a ride. Just a little over a year ago we went back into the terminal we had embarked from.

 

So I'm not sure how this needs to be handled. Had they filtered people off the ship more slowly it would have been way more efficient. But then the ship can't ready itself for the onslaught of new passengers who absolutely ignore their documents saying boarding is at 1:00 or 2:00. Instead they arrive at 11:00 (or before) and want to be onboard. So maybe that just has to change.

 

I can understand your reaction, but in no way was I blaming the Custom's officials at the port. I was blaming the cutbacks and should have made that more clear. While I strongly believe that cutbacks need to be made, this is the last place we need to cut because it provides the security we need so badly in this country. It is vital.

 

If this is the new normal, maybe Celebrity has to move the embarkation to a later time so that people can disembark more slowly. I'd be happy to embark 2 hours later to avoid going through this horror. It was insanity; people were furious. I tried to be careful in my review to avoid any political discussion since this really was more about the Celebrity cruise than the disembarkation, but at the same time I can't leave it out because passengers need to know what they may face on their return to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

It's strange that I read on another thread somewhere that someone had come off an RCL ship and just breezed through. So maybe the disbursement of the Officers is out of balance. Whatever it is, I'm sure there's a way to improve the situation even with the cutbacks. When cutbacks happen, everything else has to change, too. It can't be done the same way.

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mitttocs

mitttocs

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Before leaving on the cruise, we had read several poor reviews of the Solstice on some of the December sailings, and it really gave us quite a lot of anxiety. However, having just finished the same cruise as Heather, there is not much I can add as she completely nailed it with her review.

 

Beginning with the food: it was terrific! I am fortunate to be someone who eats out quite a bit, and I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised at how balanced the quality of the food was throughout the week. As Heather mentioned, there are some people that you just can't please and who love to complain, but I swear to you that every meal in the dining room was a very pleasant experience from appetizer through dessert. All breakfasts and lunches that I had at the buffet were equally good, with a vast selection always available. I found the pizza to be great on the three or so occasions that I snacked. The grille at the AquaSpa served delicious lunches, mainly salads and "healthier" choices. The coffee bar on the 5th floor had great specialty coffees, and the complimentary pastries and finger sandwiches were delicious at all times. We did have dinner at Tuscan Grille and enjoyed it very much, but honestly did not think it was any better than the food in the main dining room. We were on the drink plan and hit just about every bar on the ship over the course of the week, and contrary to previous reviews, never had any issues with either the quality of the drinks or having to wait very long. All of the staff that we encountered throughout the week could not have been more friendly or helpful, though there did seem to be some language barrier issues on more than one occasion. On the one sea day with great weather, the pool admittedly was pretty packed, but then again, most sea days on most cruises face similar issues. That being said, the ship has many nooks and crannies on some of the higher decks above the pool, so it was definitely possible to find space even on the most crowded of the days. As Heather pointed out, I also thought the Solarium was kept quite cool, but then I prefer the sun and the warmth. All in all, from a food and beverage perspective and an overall cruise experience, I feel that this last cruise will be tough to beat the next time around. The ship is just magnificent, and I found it to be spotlessly clean (unlike some of the reviews from the past couple of weeks).

 

I am jealous for all of you that are set to cruise the Solstice within the next few weeks, and hope your experience is as good or even better than ours.

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Wolfie469

Wolfie469

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Well said, Heather! Like Mittocs, the December reviews had me thinking of trying to switch cruise ships. I'm so glad I didn't try. The cruise was perfect in just about every way. Staff couldn't have been friendlier, the ship couldn't be nicer and the food was delicious.

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

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Reading Mitt's comments reminded me I didn't mention the yummy gelato (extra fee but so what) on 5. Sheer heaven. And DH loved the sushi at 5:30 in the Oceanview Cafe. I just couldn't add another meal ... I'd already way overextended myself!!!:)

 

I guess many of us on this cruise boarded with trepidition given the many negative reviews since Solstice cruised from Europe. I guess my one hope was the drydock and it actually created the miracle I'd hoped for. It was a happy ship.

 

I'm just sorry I never got to meet anyone on the roll call because we never got an invite to the Connections Party which I had gotten an email confirmation for so I'm not sure what the mix-up was. Hopefully next time!:D

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bula squeak

bula squeak

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I'll submit this review to CC, but in the interest of time and those boarding her soon, I'll post here first. Photos will follow once I've edited them and I'll post a link as soon as they're ready.

 

A little about “us”: We’ve been cruising for 30 years on Cunard, Regent (long gone), Royal Viking (long gone), Seawind (long gone), NCL, Windstar, HAL and Celebrity. This was our 5th Celebrity cruise and the line remains our favorite. In October 2010 we cruised on Solstice and believing it to be the most beautiful ship we have ever sailed, I came home and booked this cruise to celebrate what I laughingly and lovingly call my Birthday of Many Decades.

 

I should preface this review by saying that during our cruise we received extremely sad family news so of course a pall came over the cruise for us and made it difficult to have a good time. Still, all in all this was another wonderful experience about which I have few complaints. I’ll get those out of the way first.

 

I booked the 2010 cruise through a travel agent and this cruise directly with Celebrity. I thought booking directly and having hands on control over my booking might provide even better attention to my requests if that’s possible. It made no difference and by booking with Celebrity we gave up the OBC we would have enjoyed.

 

We sailed in Concierge Class cabin 2105 each time. This is a terrific cabin location on the hump on Deck 12. We enjoyed the deep balcony which is great in every respect … in the sun if you like, away from bad weather if it rains and harbored from the winds on a bad day. It’s a quick one flight up to the Ocean View and easy access to all venues except the Solstice Theatre. I highly recommend this cabin because the ship never feels too large or too difficult to navigate.

 

TRADITIONAL DINING: In 2010, with the diagram in front of me, I requested a specific table and was thrilled when my request was honored. Again I requested a table in the same area, noting about 5 tables that would be perfect. So I was extremely disappointed to board ship and find us assigned to a table tucked away in a corner, under the stairs by a service entrance.

 

I spoke with the Maitre D' who told me he saw no problem in moving us since so many in 2nd sitting wanted 1st sitting and we could sit just about anywhere we wanted. Of course I knew this to be an overstatement, but we were assigned the next day to an 8-top round table I was very happy about.

 

In 30 years of cruising we’ve been fortunate to meet the most incredible people at dinner and some have become friends for life. So we choose a large table and we’ve never been disappointed. We have never changed our table. But with the introduction of specialty restaurants, we now take our chances because there is never a guarantee that anyone will show up even after they have requested a table for 8 or 10. I’ve never understood why anyone who intends to spend 3 or 4 nights at alternative restaurants would request a large table unless traveling as a group. It spoils the fun for those of us who enjoy socializing at dinner. Over the course of a week or more you really get to know the people you’re dining with and we always look forward to it.

 

We arrived at our table the 2nd night only to find we were dining alone at a round 8-top. As a group traveling together, the others had gone to Murano Restaurant that night. For reasons explained to me by one of the Asst. Maitre D’s, we were moved again. I won’t go into the explanation here, but I will say we were more than happy to be moved away from people who wanted no one outside their group seated with them. The 3rd night we arrived at our new table for 10 and there was just one person. He was a wonderful gentleman who we really enjoyed, but there’s something about 3 people at a table for 10 that feels lonely. On the 4th night we were joined by another couple and we all had a great time the rest of the cruise. But we were only 5 so I was disappointed.

 

And so ends the negative part of the cruise until disembarkation which was the absolute worst we have ever encountered so I’ll get it out of the way now. It was night and day between this year’s cruise and last year’s cruise. We smoothly took our leave from the Solstice about 9:20. But instead of descending the gangway, we exited from Deck 2 out into a frigid Ft. Lauderdale morning, wind whipping off the water. We were funneled through the equivalent of at least 2 football fields to another building where we were corralled like cattle toward our exit through Customs. I’m not sure why we were unable to exit the building through which we had embarked (as we did last year), but after going through this endless line and finally being freed into the sunlight, it only added insult to injury to be directed to “follow the green line” if being met by private car. Pulling 3 suitcases on my own, with my best years for such an activity well behind me:eek:, it turned out we had to walk all the way back to where our cruise began the week before (another 2 football fields).

 

The fault clearly lies with cutbacks in U.S. Customs; there can’t have been more than 4 or 5 agents for 3000 people. It sure took everyone down a peg or two after being treated like royalty all week to be herded together like so much chattel with no explanation as to why we were thrown off the ship only to have to wait endlessly in line and for many of us another walk all the way back to where we should have been in the first place … A sad and exhausting end to an otherwise wonderful cruise. We questionned one security guard who passed our line and his response was “This is nothing; you should have seen it yesterday with 6000 coming through” and off he went. Somehow it was small solace that someone else had suffered more than we were … that just never works. If it did we’d all be thanking our lucky stars we weren’t on Costa in the Mediterranean last week … but knowing someone had it much worse than you did doesn’t help when you’re going through it … later, definitely, but not at the time.

 

So now the high points:). First, in my opinion Celebrity’s Guest Relations still soars above the others. I have never had a bad experience no matter how small the request. And when our personal crisis arose back home, they were quick to offer assistance in every possible way they could. I applaud them.

 

If you’re a Captain’s Club Member do not overlook the “premium offers” in your stateroom. Most were completely useless to me, but there is a coupon for 25% off your first booked internet package. There are a few other offers that might be nice for you so be sure to check it out first thing.

 

OFFICERS & CREW: Everyone who served us from Silk Harvest (our first night), to our waiters in the Epernay Dining Room, to the Ocean View Café, was always there with a smile. No matter where we went, within moments of sitting, we would be offered something from the bar and if we declined we felt no discomfort in staying right where we were. In fact throughout the ship I cannot think of any member of the crew who didn’t greet me warmly wherever I went. The same can’t really be said of the Officers who I felt were a disappointment this time, but that's not ever a big issue for me as long as the ship stays on top of the water I'm good:D.

 

An added bonus came during the show on our last night. Captain Gerry Larsson-Fedde proved to be skilled in more than one department. I won’t spoil the surprise if you’re going soon, but don’t miss it if he’s mastering the ship when you sail.

 

Our CD was Stewart Turnbull. I have little to say about him; he could have been on board or not and it would have made no difference to me. I was happy with the few activities we took part in but beyond that, for me, his personality left a lot to be desired. On a positive note, he was in pretty good humor about his mistake in giving us the wrong showtimes one night, but that was the only hint I saw of a real person inside the mask. We had a fantastic CD on our cruise last year so this was in sharp contrast to that experience.

 

Despite reports of declining entertainment, we disagree. Antonio Salci at the piano is an amazing talent. Neal Austin’s “magic” (or lack thereof) and comedy was a delight and uproariously funny (although I did hear the usual whiners saying if this was the best Celebrity could do they were in trouble ... some people have no child in them and need to find it). David Burleigh’s comedy had me almost weeping with laughter at times plus he was adorable which never hurts;). We thought the Celebrity Entertainers, without exception, were particularly good this time. I was sorry to see such a poor showing at the shows for the 8:30 diners; it was very sparse which makes it hard for the entertainers.

 

We did not go to all the shows because they were the same as our last Solstice cruise and with the 8:30 dinner seating this time, some nights the show wasn’t until 10:30 or 11:00 and we just weren’t in the mood. We’re not getting any younger and we’ve noticed we fizzle out a little earlier than we used to ;). We’re going back to 6:00 dinner seating.

 

TOURS: We booked two tours through Celebrity and both were outstanding. If we did the Western itinerary again, I would rebook both tours only this time I would swim with the dolphins and not just encounter them. We did our Dolphin Encounter and Sea Lion Show at Chankanaab on Cozumel. Both my husband and I fell in love with “our” dolphin, Rachel, who was 24 years old and recently had a baby who wasn’t ready to interact yet, but swam near her mother and brought many smiles. Actually I don’t think any of us stopped smiling the entire time we were in the water with Rachel. They rip you off terribly with the pictures, but I’ll never regret the $110 we spent for 80 photos of our time with Rachel. I went in saying I wouldn’t purchase them, but how many dolphins will I kiss in this lifetime? This was without question the high point of our cruise.

 

The 2nd tour was a day at Maya Key Private Island Retreat in Roatan, Honduras, just a stone’s throw across the water from the dock. I should mention that I love the port of Roatan. Sure I know it’s manufactured just for us cruise passengers, but I don’t care. I loved the music playing below our balcony all day long and the quaint looking buildings with bougainvillea cascading over the 2nd floor walkway.

 

Maya Key is a wonderful private island which has been beautifully designed. It has wonderful walkways, a perfect quiet beach, wonderful snorkeling (we were told) off the long pier, a very nice pool, a delicious buffet luncheon and clean rest rooms. There are rescued and endangered animals, I saw a Jaguar, a Margay, and I was most drawn to the Black Howler Monkeys who enthralled me for so long that my husband was ready to send out a posse from the beach. It was a relaxing, wonderful day at a time we really needed it. The ferry ran back to the ship every 30 minutes so you could return to the ship at leisure.

 

Back on board, I fell asleep on our balcony to the sounds of the island’s music. We had to cancel our plans for Friday in Costa Maya which was a big disappointment because we had looked forward to our private tour to Maya Chan Beach Resort. If you have read or heard about this private tour, I was very impressed with Mark when I emailed the day before our tour explaining our situation. He was quick to respond and refund our payment for the tour. For that reason alone I would choose this tour again and I’m only sorry we didn’t get to meet Mark and enjoy their small piece of paradise at Costa Maya. In the end, it rained a lot that day so we didn’t even go ashore. To be honest the port didn’t look very inviting and had the longest pier I’ve ever seen. There was, however, a tram you could take a good part of the way.

 

Our last day at sea was very windy and quite cold as we made our way across the Gulf of Mexico so most people kept to the inside rooms. It was the only time we felt crowded. I will say that if we were people who enjoyed lying on the pool deck, it would not be something we could have done on sea days … way too many people. I couldn’t understand why the spa room was kept so unbelievable cold; people were huddled under towels which seemed to detract from the relaxation of the room, but what do I know?

 

I was extremely grateful to the Spa when my nails chipped the first day after my manicure and they completely redid the chipped nails and applied a new coat of polish on all of them. They refused to take anything for this and I was grateful and impressed … she even threw in an eye treatment for my puffy eyes.

 

FOOD: This is always a major topic on all cruises. Who can really say if the food is good or bad, different strokes and all that. It’s very subjective and we all have our own tastes. I read all kinds of stories about how the food had declined on Celebrity, but you could fool me. With rare exception, the food was delicious in all the venues we ate (we did not dine in Murano or Tuscany).

 

One caveat, and this provided many laughs at our table, was Day 5 when Pea Soup with Mint appeared on the menu. A few of us at the table love chilled soups and after 2 nights of delicious blackberry and strawberry soup, we took a chance with the pea. It was the the most abhorrent, disgusting food I have ever tasted. I took one sip and quietly pushed the bowl away. If I post any picture here it may be that. I thought it might only be me but as each person at our table sampled their soup the reactions were priceless. Order this soup at your own peril.

 

But I enjoyed rack of lamb which was out of this world and on lobster night our waiter recommended the beef tenderloin. I learned early on to always listen to him; he never led me down the wrong path. Even on pea soup night he had suggested something else. Those ordering the lobster were disappointed; people forget this isn’t Maine lobster … it’s Caribbean lobster which is a whole different story. It was ½ lobster with crabmeat stuffing. It didn’t come out of the shell well at all and it was very messy to eat. I don’t remember everything I ate over the week, but I know it was too much. Everything was delicious … poached eggs and smoked salmon on a muffin, cheesecake, shrimp cocktail, escargot, all the Danish, the donuts that appeared far too rarely, the spaghetti tossed with your choice of a gazillion ingredients, the afore mentioned lamb chops all come quickly to mind. And everyday a new and wonderful ice cream; the blueberry was one of my favorites.

 

One more word about food: I keep remembering the words “If we build it they will come”. That’s also true when creating buffet style dining. If you put food out, people will help themselves to more than they should ever eat. Breakfast is the most amazing meal on a cruise ship. People walk from station to station helping themselves to every imaginable morsel of food and then have the nerve to come home and complain about the decline in food … just a little pet peeve of mine. The waffles were so popular (and yummy J) there was a line.

 

True story: One plucky woman stood waiting for the waffles to come off the waffle maker while a line of about 8 people waited. Only 4 waffles come off the griddle at a time. Yet this woman grabbed 2, added a couple slices of stuffed French toast and a few banana pancakes. She then pushed in front of me and helped herself to toppings and, of course, whipped cream. I was dying to follow her to see if she actually ate it all. None of my business if people want to devour every morsel in sight … just don’t complain that the food just isn’t up to par on cruise ships anymore.

 

And finally … to the young man who’d enjoyed a few too many at the Pool Bar on our last day at sea who wouldn’t believe my age because his mother was a few years younger, I salute you. Tipsy or not, you made my day. Maybe Celebrity placed you there just to make me feel good as I make my way into the next decade, maybe there was money involved but who cares.

 

The cruise really was a nice way to ‘celebrate’ a banner year and having just a few things go wrong didn’t even cast a shadow. Celebrity still shines brightly and wears the crown for me:D.

 

no wonder no one wanted to sit with you at dinner, you could moan for England, and win the gold

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Knolmom

Knolmom

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Thanks for your wonderful review. We were on the Solstice Med in October, traveled in AQ and dined in Blu. They offered the cold Pea Soup with yogart, not mint. It was the least pleasant item I ate during the 17days I was in Europe, which included a meal of some kind of entrails, ordered by mistake, in Spain. So, even in Blue, the pea soup was a..shall we say...miss. Ugh!

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Ebvette

Ebvette

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Mac, first let me say that your thoughts are extremely well written and I couldn't agree with you more about everything you say. Clearly I wasn't clear. I do not blame the Customs' OFFICERS who kept their cool in the situation. But I do blame the system and I do blame whoever is responsible for the process on the pier and the number of people allowed off the ship before they could possibly be processed.

 

It's just not realistic for the government to cut back to such a degree that you have 4, possibly 5, agents for 2800 people getting off a ship. It just doesn't work no matter how efficient they are or how easy they make the process (which they absolutely did once we reached them). Given the onslaught of people, I'm amazed at their cool calm behavior.

 

Also, what made it so much worse was the very long walk from the ship to the terminal we had to go through and then back again to get a ride. Just a little over a year ago we went back into the terminal we had embarked from.

 

So I'm not sure how this needs to be handled. Had they filtered people off the ship more slowly it would have been way more efficient. But then the ship can't ready itself for the onslaught of new passengers who absolutely ignore their documents saying boarding is at 1:00 or 2:00. Instead they arrive at 11:00 (or before) and want to be onboard. So maybe that just has to change.

 

I can understand your reaction, but in no way was I blaming the Custom's officials at the port. I was blaming the cutbacks and should have made that more clear. While I strongly believe that cutbacks need to be made, this is the last place we need to cut because it provides the security we need so badly in this country. It is vital.

 

If this is the new normal, maybe Celebrity has to move the embarkation to a later time so that people can disembark more slowly. I'd be happy to embark 2 hours later to avoid going through this horror. It was insanity; people were furious. I tried to be careful in my review to avoid any political discussion since this really was more about the Celebrity cruise than the disembarkation, but at the same time I can't leave it out because passengers need to know what they may face on their return to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

It's strange that I read on another thread somewhere that someone had come off an RCL ship and just breezed through. So maybe the disbursement of the Officers is out of balance. Whatever it is, I'm sure there's a way to improve the situation even with the cutbacks. When cutbacks happen, everything else has to change, too. It can't be done the same way.

 

Thank you so much for your response and understanding. Believe me when I say those five officers certainly would agree with you, and only wish more officers were there to help. Customs does not like lines at all, as it is distracting to you performing your duties, puts excessive pressure to make the lines go through, and most of all, Customs Officers do not want to hold up anybody that does not have to be held up.

 

Go to the source of the funding, the current administration, the US Senate and Congress. They control the budget and who gets the funding and who is cut. Working in Customs I cannot suggest what to do, but you elect the officials who are our Government.

 

Thank you for understanding my comments.

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

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no wonder no one wanted to sit with you at dinner, you could moan for England, and win the gold

 

Thank you so much for sharing:). Unfortunately while you were able to quote the entire review, you failed to read it. First, the review is far from a moan; and borders on a rave. Further, I never said no one wanted to sit with us at dinner. It might help if you read and then make your comment, but thanks so much for stopping by.

 

Mac, I hear you 100%:D.

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tinky41

tinky41

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Thank you for your reviews. We've been booked for months and read so many negative reviews so finally glad to read something positive. I couldn't believe that if Celebrity Solstice was soooo bad that it could keep going. Finally a review that gives the truth. I can understand that issues happen and it must be awful for someone to experience the noro-virus but we need more people to be honest about their experiences and expectations. We hope to celebrate my husbands 50th on a beautiful ship with interesting people, good food and a 10% reduced premium drinks package -can't wait!!

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