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

[Bohemian]

Thanks for the great review. We were on the same cruise and I'm planning on posting some photos I took on the ship.

 

We ate at Silk Harvest on the first night as well and it was great. The food was not the usual Asian take out fare but more of a gourmet spin on it, I thought. The service was exceptional. Tuscan Grille was fantastic too as was Bistro on 5, my favorite place to have breakfast.

 

While I agree that the food in the MDR was good and as you said food is subjective, I would say that the food on the Allure the previous week was better. Where the Allure really shines is the pastry and dessert department, I've never had anything that good at sea before.

 

As I mentioned elsewhere, disembarking from the Allure the week before took less than 10 minutes (most of it just walking) at about the same time - 9:30 AM as we were disembarking from the Solstice so if the problem was really due to government cutbacks, how did RCI manage to offload 6,200 passengers so efficiently? :confused:

[HeatherInFlorida]

..........................

As I mentioned elsewhere, disembarking from the Allure the week before took less than 10 minutes (most of it just walking) at about the same time - 9:30 AM as we were disembarking from the Solstice so if the problem was really due to government cutbacks, how did RCI manage to offload 6,200 passengers so efficiently? :confused:

 

I'm still working on my photos, but will post a link on a separate thread when I finally get them up on Picasa.

 

I remembered reading someone had an easy time coming off an RCL ship so glad to see that again. I wondered whether you came in on a Saturday? I think less ships come into port on Saturdays so maybe that would make a difference?? Or perhaps something else made this particular weekend so difficult. I'll have to watch coming weeks carefully to see if it's an ongoing issue or just a fluke.

 

After all, there are far more people on Allure than Solstice. But when we came into port I remember at least 5 or 6 other ships.

 

I'm very appreciative of all the really nice comments about my review. I really do try to offer a balanced view. We all know 'stuff happens' and we can't sweat the small stuff. Our experience should focus on the overall feel of the cruise rather than some small slight here or there. Sometimes I think some people's expectations are set way too high. I come away from every Celebrity cruise feeling I got more than I paid for and what more can we ask than that?:)

[Texed]

H.I.F.,

Thanks for posting. :)

[BananaAnna]

Glad I finally got a moment to read your review. I really enjoyed the comparisons to Oct 2010 cruise since we met you back then! That, for me, would have been a really hard cruise to top!

[librarylady19]

Thanks for a very interesting and honest review. Glad you had an enjoyable birthday cruise. I know what you mean about the buffet. We only had a couple of breakfasts , snacks and sushi as a ) there were other more relaxing dining options and b) I didn't enjoy seeing the gluttony of some. I had an English passenger comment to me in the waffle line that he couldn't believe how Americans eat. What to say to that!!

[Bohemian]

I wondered whether you came in on a Saturday? I think less ships come into port on Saturdays so maybe that would make a difference?? Or perhaps something else made this particular weekend so difficult. I'll have to watch coming weeks carefully to see if it's an ongoing issue or just a fluke.

The Allure and Solstice both come to Port Everglades on Sundays and I think there were 7 or 8 ships in port on both Jan. 8th and 15th so that shouldn't make a difference. We took a cab from the Allure straight to the Solstice on Jan. 8 - a very short $5 ride - two ship B2B sort of thing. :D

 

Our flight wasn't til 1:40 PM so the long line didn't affect our schedule in any way but it sure was unpleasant standing in that wind.

[Dunmore2]

I enjoyed reading your thoughts. It sounds like the time in dry dock was necessary. Lots of positive feedback since the hiatus.

You gave us tips, humor and even started a controversy( not sure how!). The only time we had seating issues was on the Solstice. We moved from being the only 2 at a table for 4 to being seated at a table for 8 with a family of 3.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

I would love to see any updated menus from the MDR if there were any changes.

[Cruizer Bill]

Heather,

Thanks so much for you warm review. I enjoyed it very much!

Bill

[sunnyescape]

Hi Heather, I really enjoyed your review. Thank you for posting. We sailed Solstice two years ago and had a wonderful experience. So wonderful, we have booked her again on April 8th. On the first cruise, we sailed through customs and were to the airport very early. Believing he could get a flight out earlier, my DH has booked us a 10:50am flight. I have told him Celebrity doesn't suggest anything before 11:30 but he doesn't think it will be a problem. After reading your review, I am a bit worried. Did you carry your luggage off or check it the night before? Could you have left the ship earlier than you did? Any advice or info you or anyone else can give would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thank you!

[BugsyCruiser]

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

 

Heather first off great review! I'm sailing on Silhouette in April 2013 so I really appreciate what you had to say about Celebrity. And as far as you bula? Ignorant and uncalled for. Get a life or better yet, go away

[HeatherInFlorida]

Glad I finally got a moment to read your review. I really enjoyed the comparisons to Oct 2010 cruise since we met you back then! That, for me, would have been a really hard cruise to top!

 

You are right :). This cruise lived up to the last one, but what made 2010 special was our wonderful roll call and meeting so many of you. I did prefer this itinerary because we got to do some new things. We hadn't down the western itinerary for a long time.

 

I enjoyed reading your thoughts. It sounds like the time in dry dock was necessary. Lots of positive feedback since the hiatus.

You gave us tips, humor and even started a controversy( not sure how!). The only time we had seating issues was on the Solstice. We moved from being the only 2 at a table for 4 to being seated at a table for 8 with a family of 3.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

I would love to see any updated menus from the MDR if there were any changes.

 

I wish I could help. I should have taken pictures of the menus, but I completely forgot! I took very few photos of our meals, too. I always mean to, but then I get chattering and forget:).

 

Hi Heather, I really enjoyed your review. Thank you for posting. We sailed Solstice two years ago and had a wonderful experience. So wonderful, we have booked her again on April 8th. On the first cruise, we sailed through customs and were to the airport very early. Believing he could get a flight out earlier, my DH has booked us a 10:50am flight. I have told him Celebrity doesn't suggest anything before 11:30 but he doesn't think it will be a problem. After reading your review, I am a bit worried. Did you carry your luggage off or check it the night before? Could you have left the ship earlier than you did? Any advice or info you or anyone else can give would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thank you!

 

I hope more people will report back in coming weeks about their experience through Customs. I don't know if this is the new normal with cutbacks or not. But based on Bohemian's experience off the Allure the week before it doesn't seem to be consistently bad. Who knows what held it up? I know we cleared early enough so it wasn't a back-up from that.

 

I would not book a flight that early. I think you're just asking for trouble. But we chose the 9:30 debarkation because we had friends meeting us. When you have an early flight you can get off much earlier.

 

That being said, even with long lines it took us about an hour from the time we left the ship until we were through Customs. So if you were off the ship by 8:30 (which is possible) you would just make your flight. My advice, though, is if you can change the flight until later you'll relax a whole lot more:).

[sunnyescape]

Thank you for the info. We are flying out of Ft. Lauderdale and that is a 15-20 min. Taxi ride. Then we will need to check bags. I know you are right about it being more relaxing at a later flight time but so far, DH is not swayed. I will keep reading the reviews and praying things get figured out down there. I'm thinking this could be a really big, 'I told you so' moment...hope it isn't. If he doesn't change it up, I will take a really long book. ;)

[MartinsCruise]

Heather, I loved your review. We were on the Solstice in December while it was still in "Noro lockdown" so we weren't able to enjoy it as much as we would have during a normal cruise. It was our first cruise on an "S" Class and we were a little disappointed but realize it was because of circumstances beyond their control. The ship is beautiful and the staff was wonderful as always with Celebrity although I agree with what you said about the CD. We had an aft cabin which was not as good as on the M class ships. We booked a hump cabin for our next cruise.

 

SunnyEscape, We had an 11:20 flight out of FLL and made it with plenty of time to spare. The worse part of disembarkation for us was when we did a "walk-off" from the ship and they shut down some of the elevators. We were on the 11th deck and it was just about impossible to get an elevator. My DH walked down with two suitcases and I finally squeezed on an elevator with my suitcase. If you do this, take your luggage down early so you are prepared to leave when they begin to disembark.

[HeatherInFlorida]

........... I'm thinking this could be a really big, 'I told you so' moment...hope it isn't. If he doesn't change it up, I will take a really long book. ;)

 

That's one of those times you really don't want to be right! You very likely will be fine unless there's some delay. I'm just one of those people that guards against those times ... a little over cautious!

 

Heather, I loved your review. We were on the Solstice in December while it was still in "Noro lockdown" so we weren't able to enjoy it as much as we would have during a normal cruise. It was our first cruise on an "S" Class and we were a little disappointed but realize it was because of circumstances beyond their control. The ship is beautiful and the staff was wonderful as always with Celebrity although I agree with what you said about the CD. We had an aft cabin which was not as good as on the M class ships. We booked a hump cabin for our next cruise.

 

SunnyEscape, We had an 11:20 flight out of FLL and made it with plenty of time to spare. The worse part of disembarkation for us was when we did a "walk-off" from the ship and they shut down some of the elevators. We were on the 11th deck and it was just about impossible to get an elevator. My DH walked down with two suitcases and I finally squeezed on an elevator with my suitcase. If you do this, take your luggage down early so you are prepared to leave when they begin to disembark.

 

You'll love the hump! Hopefully next time you won't have Noro onboard and it will be a whole different feel:)

 

I started a new thread with a link to my photos here if you're interested: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=32051435#post32051435

[Tansy Mews]

Good review! I found the beef tournedos excellent although I did have to order "rare" to get pink inside. Great ice cream in the Oceanview Cafe. The lamb was wonderful - I had it twice (shank wrapped in phyllo and rack). I found the room service coffee too weak. I was a little disappointed in the special buffet. Nice ice sculptures but the food wasn't much nicer than usual. The chocolate fountain was fun though. BTW, we did the "select" dining - i.e. dine anytime. We found it quick and easy to get a table in the Grand Epernay. You can also prebook a table there.

[kidz_rn]

We are back from our Jan. 22 W. Caribbean on Solstice.

 

See 24 pix at link below.

 

http://photobucket.com/solstice-01-2012

[bighairtexan]

Heather, I also sailed the Solstice in October '10 and then in Dec 11 and I could just add a big DITTO to almost everything you described.