Semi-live from the Solstice | Mexican Riviera, Oct 22-29

[bubbachief]

the disembarkation instructions said no carrying off luggage, so we set out our luggage and retired to bed for the evening.

 

Is this correct? In the past we have always been able to carry off our luggage first thing.

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, bubbachief said:

the disembarkation instructions said no carrying off luggage, so we set out our luggage and retired to bed for the evening.

 

Is this correct? In the past we have always been able to carry off our luggage first thing.

 

I would like to know as well.  Also you would have to imagine some people will forget to put their luggage out, then what do they do?

[briguy1314]

45 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I would like to know as well.  Also you would have to imagine some people will forget to put their luggage out, then what do they do?

I want to assume that this was due to the arrival at the different pier that this specific cruise arrived at. I don’t think it’s the same for all San Pedro sailings. But maybe anyone who sails next can confirm/deny. 

[Northern Aurora]

Thank you to OrcaGirl for this great review.  With somewhere around 60 Celebrity cruises I always enjoy the view of a relatively new Celebrity cruiser.

 

We were on the September 24th cruise which was the first of the Mexico itineraries.  We apparently were lucky -- we used Pier 93 to disembark.  We were B2B with the preceding cruise being the Pacific Coastal re-position itinerary from Vancouver.  We just stayed onboard on turnaround day but I believe the boarding passengers also boarded at Pier 93.

[NutsAboutGolf]

14 minutes ago, briguy1314 said:

I want to assume that this was due to the arrival at the different pier that this specific cruise arrived at. I don’t think it’s the same for all San Pedro sailings. But maybe anyone who sails next can confirm/deny. 

 

2 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

Thank you to OrcaGirl for this great review.  With somewhere around 60 Celebrity cruises I always enjoy the view of a relatively new Celebrity cruiser.

 

We were on the September 24th cruise which was the first of the Mexico itineraries.  We apparently were lucky -- we used Pier 93 to disembark.  We were B2B with the preceding cruise being the Pacific Coastal re-position itinerary from Vancouver.  We just stayed onboard on turnaround day but I believe the boarding passengers also boarded at Pier 93.

 

Thanks!  Yes, I see that the Solstice used per B50 on Oct 29th; from now until April it will be using B93.

[BJW123]

My husband and I were also on this sailing in cabin #1634, Aquaclass.  I upgraded since I felt sorry for myself and needed a treat.  🙂  We cancelled our Honolulu-Sydney Celebrity Equinox cruise earlier in the month due to my long Covid symptoms and this cruise was a consolation prize since we live locally didn't have to deal with airports.  Here are some random thoughts:

• The Solstice crew was one of the best parts of the cruise for me; always smiling, friendly, helpful and genuinely seemed to be glad to have us on board.  
• The ship itself was spotless and crew were in abundance, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.  The decor is dated but it was fine.  The upholstery in the Encore lounge, for example, looked the most worn and threadbare, but we only passed through on our way to Blu and never hung out there.  
• We were invited to a Puerto Vallarta 'sail away' party with officers on the helipad.  One of them mentioned that there were 1,260 passengers on board (less than half capacity), with similar numbers in Nov/Dec, exc. during the holiday sailings.  We LOVED having fewer passengers on board, with what seemed to be full staffing.
• Aquaclass cabins are on deck 11 and there is a 'secret' stairway toward the bow from deck 11 up to 12, where the gym, spa, Persian Garden and pools are.  I used the gym 3-4 times and there were at most 8-10 people there at the same time.  I was thrilled with the Manduka yoga mats, which I'd expect to find on luxury lines, as they are pricey.  🙂
• I used the Persian Garden a few times (free for Aquaclass) and really enjoyed the steam room and heated tile loungers.  I also had a great 75 minute deep tissue massage with Kea, who gave me a 10 minute sample neck/shoulder massage on embarkation day, which convinced me to book it! (still in self-treating mode!)
• We dined in Blu most nights since there were fewer passengers and a more personal experience, I felt.  I ordered dishes from the MDR menu many times since the Blu menu was limited.  I enjoyed the food and rated it a B to B+, although my husband rated it a C+.  I  brought my own baggie of Malden smoked sea salt, which really elevated the steaks, especially.  
• We passed on the specialty restaurants with the exception of Sushi on 5 for lunch a few times.  My husband didn't care for his sushi, although my ramen was VERY good, which surprised me.  
• The only outlet in the room is at the desk, with no USB port, so I'm very glad I brought an adapter.  (Although it did look like there was an additional outlet-thing that was broken, so that may have been the USB.)
• The debarkation process on the ship at pier 46 was fine until we had to schlep to an area across from the ship to catch an Uber/taxi.  We waited for 1+ hour for our Lyft since my husband didn't want to pay $250 for a 45 mile ride home, so we waited until after the surge was over and was charged $65 instead.  Next time, we'll catch a ship transfer to SNA and Uber/Lyft home from there.
• For those who asked about carrying off luggage, see the photo of the disembarkation instructions under Self Assist and schedule.  We couldn't carry off because of the steep gangway and shuttle bus situation at makeshift pier 46. If you are disembarking at the regular terminals, I assume that carrying off your luggage is fine.
• While waiting, it would have been nice to have chairs, canopy, water, better restrooms and Celebrity staff to assist as I felt we were just dumped off the ship with no support services.  I had to lean on a security person to use a chair from the tent area (for embarking passengers later in the day) for my elderly husband. There were 5 port-a-potties to serve hundreds of passengers and security staff, and they were overflowing, smelly and obviously hadn't been serviced recently.  A very sad ending to a wonderful cruise.  😞

[pspatti]

On 10/30/2022 at 4:02 PM, SHIP TRAVELER said:

Thanks so much for this response.  Thank Goodness it looks like we will not have Princess and NCL to contends with on our Dec. 19th disembarkation day.  This sounds like a big mess.  Our original flight was at 12:45 and the airline changed it to earlier.  The only other choice was a very late flight and all day at LAX so we went with the early flight based on past experience at San Pedro.  I was concerned that we might need to change to that late flight after reading the OP's post.  I will bet Uber had very expensive surge pricing with all those ships off loading on the same morning.  Thanks again for setting my mind at ease.

I disembark on Dec. 12.  How can I find out if we will dock at 93 or at the outer berth with all the logistic/luggage and bus hassles?  TIA   Oops - found the answer is several other posts.  If I knew how to delete this post, I would!

Edited November 2, 2022 by pspatti
To clarify, answer no longer needed.

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 minutes ago, pspatti said:

I disembark on Dec. 12.  How can I find out if we will dock at 93 or at the outer berth with all the logistic/luggage and bus hassles?  TIA

 

It's 93, it's all on the previous page.

[pspatti]

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

It's 93, it's all on the previous page.

Yes, thank you.  I saw that as I kept scrolling and reading.  Thank goodness we will be at 93.  The alternative sounded like a horrible hassle.  But if I was going to have to deal with it, I would want to have prior knowledge to prepare myself for it!

[spielerin]

I was also on this cruise and originally supposed to fly out of SNA. They did not offer transfers to any other airports, just LAX. I ended up changing my flight to LAX the next day and staying near the airport. 
 

Disney trivia was MUCH harder this week than the week before. That one I knew 14 out of 15 myself

Edited November 2, 2022 by spielerin

[Jim_Iain]

18 hours ago, pspatti said:

I disembark on Dec. 12.  How can I find out if we will dock at 93 or at the outer berth with all the logistic/luggage and bus hassles?  TIA   Oops - found the answer is several other posts.  If I knew how to delete this post, I would!

 

If I'm not mistaken you will be disembarking on Dec 11 --- I'm on the Dec 3 and Dec 11 Solstice Sailings and we are at sea on December 12. 

 

 

[Milhouse]

Another big thank you from me too, @OrcaGirl.  Appreciated the thread for both the information and entertainment value 😃in prep for our sailing departing this weekend. 

We'll likely book the post cruise bus tour just to kill time too.  

[NitaBcruising]

43 minutes ago, Milhouse said:

Another big thank you from me too, @OrcaGirl.  Appreciated the thread for both the information and entertainment value 😃in prep for our sailing departing this weekend. 

We'll likely book the post cruise bus tour just to kill time too.  

Yep, we figured it beat a day at the airport! Plus, they take us there, so no need to pay for a taxi, too! 

 

Enjoy your cruise! I'm starting to get excited about mine, right after you! I already started to pack, LOL! 

 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

On a December 2021 NYE cruise we did an Uber DIY trip to Malibu to kill the day.  We took an Uber to LAX, checked in and dropped our bags.  We took one small back pack with us. We took another Uber to the Malibu pier, walked around the area and the pier and had a long seafood lunch.  We took another Uber back to LAX when we got tired (3 and a half/4 hours total LAX to LAX).

We went through security and met our travel buddies who were at the gate having spent the entire day at the airport playing cards.  We were not exactly thrilled with Malibu but it was a way to experience something that felt historic and it was certainly not the biggest waste of the excursions we paid for on this trip.  Our total was $28 port to LAX, and then $25 each way to the Pier and back to LAX so a little cheaper than the bus excursion offered by X.  X goes to Hollywookd and Venice I think but we had been to those in the past so were not interested. Whether this is a good deal depends on your mobility and the amount of luggage you can't check at LAX.  This is just another idea of how to fill a day in LA waiting for a late flight.

[Milhouse]

We were trying to determine the feasibility of dropping off luggage at the airport and then uber'ing off to somewhere nearby.  But our flights after 7pm and I don't think our airline accepts luggage more than three hours before departure.  We also considered some form of left luggage/luggage storage at the airport but it looks like all the luggage storage is offsite.  Plan B was to head back to our pre-cruise hotel and see if they would consider storing the luggage but I think we're going to have seen all we wanted to see of Long Beach precruise.  Worst case, we may even consider heading to Santa Monica directly (that's one of the places we enjoy visiting when in LA) from the port and temporarily storing our luggage with some kind of service (eg Bounce) or hotel that would take them and then picking them up and heading to LAX closer to departure.  And the post cruise sightseeing is the default option.  🙂

[cabogal]

On 10/31/2022 at 2:53 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

 

Thanks!  Yes, I see that the Solstice used per B50 on Oct 29th; from now until April it will be using B93.

We were on the Oct 29 sailing and returned yesterday. The Solstice was at Berth 46 for embarkation. If you drive, like we did, there was a large parking lot at a make shift terminal at 46. You drop your luggage there and also check in and go through security. A shuttle will take you to the Solstice which is about 2 blocks away.  We returned to Beth 93. You only have to return to 46 if you parked your car there. A shuttle is provided which can hold your luggage and has a lift that allows for wheelchair passengers.  You disembark at 93, pick up your luggage, and go through the facial recognition ICE. There is a line for those needing transportation to airports. If you are going to 46 to pick up your car there is a shuttle provided.  We left the ship at 9:00 and were in our car and on the road by 9:40. It was very fast and easy.

[Mike45LC]

On 10/30/2022 at 4:26 PM, Texed said:

In my opinion San Pedro is the worst embarkation/disembarkation port I have ever sailed in and/or out of. Yes, I believe it is always that way.  

My two San Pedro disembarkations in 2022 were both efficient and rapid.  Earlier this month (Sapphire Princess), I requested late disembarkation.  After breakfast, we waited onboard in the Elite Lounge until our group was called at 9:30.  I was in my car at pierside parking loading the baggage by 10:00!

 

Facial recognition has speeded up Immigration/Customs incredibly.

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

This was such an informative thread for those of us doing these sailings; thank you to the primary blogger as well as everyone else who contributed! 

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 11/8/2022 at 8:47 AM, Mike45LC said:

My two San Pedro disembarkations in 2022 were both efficient and rapid.  Earlier this month (Sapphire Princess), I requested late disembarkation.  After breakfast, we waited onboard in the Elite Lounge until our group was called at 9:30.  I was in my car at pierside parking loading the baggage by 10:00!

 

Facial recognition has speeded up Immigration/Customs incredibly.

 

 

I'm speculating they were NOT on berth 93.

[Cruising89143]

On 11/6/2022 at 8:17 AM, cabogal said:

We were on the Oct 29 sailing and returned yesterday. The Solstice was at Berth 46 for embarkation. If you drive, like we did, there was a large parking lot at a make shift terminal at 46. You drop your luggage there and also check in and go through security. A shuttle will take you to the Solstice which is about 2 blocks away.  We returned to Beth 93. You only have to return to 46 if you parked your car there. A shuttle is provided which can hold your luggage and has a lift that allows for wheelchair passengers.  You disembark at 93, pick up your luggage, and go through the facial recognition ICE. There is a line for those needing transportation to airports. If you are going to 46 to pick up your car there is a shuttle provided.  We left the ship at 9:00 and were in our car and on the road by 9:40. It was very fast and easy.

In a chance that either you or another member sees this post, can you drop luggage at terminal 46 and then drive and park at terminal 93? Would there be a shuttle back to B46 for checking in? Seems that it would make the debarkation process easier on our return as we will docking at B93 on our return. It may be easier to leave our car at the hotel during the cruise and grab a taxi to and from the port.