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Solstice LIVE (3/18) Suite Review w/ Kid: Mexican Riviera w/ Mini Me

GenerationX

By GenerationX,
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GenerationX "Live from...." Rare

GenerationX

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LauraS
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"And another from GenerationX! Thank you for generously sharing your time at sea with everyone at Cruise Critic!"

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Greetings and salutations fellow cruisers!

 

Well, that was quick. It feels like just yesterday that my husband Jeremy and I were stepping off the Apex and now it’s almost time to head out to the west coast to board the Solstice!

 

If it wasn’t for the very different weather forecast between the Pacific coast and the Caribbean, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered fully unpacking.

 

I’m looking forward to seeing Solstice again for the first time since Jeremy and I sailed on her to Alaska for our honeymoon in 2018. I’m also looking forward to trying a new itinerary that will take me to a part of Mexico that I’ve never experienced before.

 

I think what I’m most looking forward to though, is getting to spend a week of uninterrupted mommy and me fun time with my cabinmate, who we shall call Mini Me or Gen Z, who will be sailing on her first S-class ship!

 

A quick about us for those who haven’t followed before:

 

I’m Charla, 40 (and fabulous, thank you) and an attorney from the St. Louis, MO area.  

 

Gen Z is 10, is neurodiverse, and has a love of the arts, food and travel that is surpassed only by her love of all things ocean and animal-related.

 

This will be my 20th Celebrity Cruise and Gen Z’s second.  

 

We tested the Celebrity cruising waters for Gen Z on a short 4 night sail in the Retreat on Millennium last year (just in case she found cruising or Celebrity to be boring or not a good fit).  At the end, she sulked off of the ship bitter that I didn’t book us a full week cruise.  In a few days, her wish will be granted, sailing again in the Retreat in a Celebrity Suite, and this time on an even bigger ship with more to explore!

 

Before we get too far into the review, I’ll address the elephant in the room (and I don’t mean the one doing crow pose on a half naked guy’s back at the end of the pool on Beyond)….

 

I respectfully request that the review not be hijacked for debate/commentary about the appropriateness of kids sailing on Celebrity.  

 

To reiterate from the start of my review of Gen Z’s first Celebrity cruise, every kid is different and what makes a “good cruise line” for one family may be a terrible fit for another.

 

Celebrity may not offer all the kid “bells and whistles” that some other lines do, but it’s also not Viking or Virgin Voyages (the latter of whom went so far as to do a whole marketing campaign around the many charms of its guaranteed kid-free cruise experience…And I promise I’m not being sarcastic, as a busy mom I do find MANY charms in guaranteed kid free vacations, and I usually book an adults-only resort trip each year in addition to our cruises for just that reason).

 

Celebrity is definitely NOT a kid FOCUSED cruise line.  However, based upon my experiences over my many cruises, one with my own child in tow, Celebrity can be kid FRIENDLY.  Perhaps even more so since they started targeting a young professional (and thus more likely to have small children) demographic.  

 

There is a kids club, the restaurants have kids menus and kids pricing (for specialties), there are family hours at the indoor pool especially during inclement and cooler weather sailings (apparently another hot button issue that I’d also prefer we not revisit debate on here) and there are family activities on the daily schedule.  I’ll be sure to report on the quality of all of the above on Solstice as we experience them.

 

That said, parents following and considering Celebrity, ye be warned.  On Celebrity there are no water slides, go carts, carousels, roller coasters, laser tag arenas, etc.  The vibe all around is relaxed and upscale.  If your child needs lots of high stimulation and to burn lots of energy daily, Celebrity is probably not the best fit.  

 

However, if your kids are used to more upscale restaurants and resorts, enjoy them and can handle the behavior expectations that come along with those environments, Celebrity may be a good fit for you.

 

Especially with Gen Z’s sensory condition, many of the things the other “kid friendly” lines offer (e.g., nonstop loud music/announcements everywhere, character parades/meals with people in huge masks, hundreds of other running, screaming children) would be too much for her.  If I’m honest, it probably would be too much for me as well. 

 

It’d be like a race to which one of us has an anxiety attack first. An anxiety attack I would have spent twice as much as sailing on Celebrity to trigger, at that. (Seriously, check out what Disney charges for their suites and what it costs to sail Star Class for a week on those Royal ships that hold more people than my entire Big 10 college did.  Makes the Retreat and what’s included in the fare look like a real bargain!)

 

Anyway that’s enough on that issue and now let’s move on to talking all things fun at sea!

 

Soon to come: a report on our plans for our week in the Mexican Riviera! 
 

Looking forward to taking everyone along on another cruise!

 

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zitsky

zitsky

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I think a lot of us can relate to sensory overload. Does Gen Z like the theater?

 

I think most people don’t mind that she is on board as long as she doesn’t wear a diaper in the hot tub.  See other thread.
 

I think we all want a trip with peace and quiet and not too much noise.

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GenerationX "Live from...." Rare

GenerationX

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6 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I think a lot of us can relate to sensory overload. Does Gen Z like the theater?

 

I think most people don’t mind that she is on board as long as she doesn’t wear a diaper in the hot tub.  See other thread.
 

I think we all want a trip with peace and quiet and not too much noise.


Gen Z loves the theater! Her favorite shows are The Secret Garden, Hairspray, Les Mis and Hamilton.  We sometimes do weekend road trips up to Chicago when the St. Louis theater scene is lacking in options.

 

Nope, no worries on her wearing diapers in a hot tub at all.  I do my best not to judge others’ parenting choices, but I really do struggle to find a legit reason why a child young enough to be in diapers would even want to be in water that warm, or why parents would want to put their kids in it.


Even at 10, I only let Gen Z in our private hot tub at home. I’ve seen enough suspect  practice by adults in the hotel and cruise ship hot tubs to not want to risk exposing a junior immune system to it.

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Gaynors

Gaynors

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My kids are now 22 and 19 but have been sailing on celebrity..and other lines since they were toddlers.  They enjoy all the bells and whistles on other lines but If you asked either of them they would tell you celebrity is their favorite.  

 

Hope you and Gen Z have an awesome trip!

 

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dlh015 Great Review Rare

dlh015

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And here you are yet again!!  Just loving your reviews and I know this one will be no different.

 

The apple certainly didn't fall far from the tree...it is easy to see the 'mini-me' in all those pics.

 

Wow. Bon Voyage!

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LisaLeone

LisaLeone

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Charla, I am thrilled to be able to read another of your travelogues! I was about to call it a review and it didn't really capture it.

Gen Z is beautiful, definitely her mother's daughter. Wishing you both a fabulous sailing! 💕

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zitsky

zitsky

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29 minutes ago, GenerationX said:


Gen Z loves the theater! Her favorite shows are The Secret Garden, Hairspray, Les Mis and Hamilton.  We sometimes do weekend road trips up to Chicago when the St. Louis theater scene is lacking in options.

 

Nope, no worries on her wearing diapers in a hot tub at all.  I do my best not to judge others’ parenting choices, but I really do struggle to find a legit reason why a child young enough to be in diapers would even want to be in water that warm, or why parents would want to put their kids in it.


Even at 10, I only let Gen Z in our private hot tub at home. I’ve seen enough suspect  practice by adults in the hotel and cruise ship hot tubs to not want to risk exposing a junior immune system to it.


That’s so nice.  I went to school in Chicago.  I wish I could have gone to more shows.

 

Some people find the Celebrity shows on the loud side based on recent threads.  Is noise a problem for her?  I avoid noise but it masks my tinnitus, sometimes.

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sciencegrrl

sciencegrrl

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Thank you for generously taking us with you.

 

I am really looking forward to this.  I have been lurking on your trip reports for a couple of years.  Love, love, love your reports - lots of good info and fun pictures.

 

I haven't cruised since the 90s (some very fun, wild girls cruises when I lived in Long Beach).  Taking the husband, mom, and auntie next April.  If they like it, we'll go more often.

 

Gotta say this: every child is different and I'm sad you even have to address the "elephant in the room." You as the parent know your child best and you should NEVER have to justify a well-thought out action you take on behalf of your child. People that jump to conclusions or judgement really wrinkle my shorts.  They may base their judgement on what they have seen or heard but that does not necessarily apply to you.  

 

My oldest is autistic and on vacation wears long sleeve shirts, pants, and a hat (didn't like the breeze on body hairs) as well as noise cancelling headphones.  Once we got that sorted when he was about 4, we had no worries about meltdowns and a sedate cruise would have been perfect. (Even with the DAS, Disney was a no-no😥).

 

The middle one is a cancer survivor who is an old soul.  He would have loved a Celebrity or Holland cruise.  Before he got sick, he hiked with his grandma's hiking group and would regale the seniors - he could discuss Hope & Crosby movies, recite Jeff Foxworthy's redneck bits, or sing (badly) 50s and 60s tunes while doing 8-10 miles in the desert (at 8!!)

 

The youngest, well, he would be bored stiff on a Celebrity cruise.  He loves the action (until he collapses - at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA we had to take a two hour time-out at Independence Hall and he had a docent all to himself.  It calmed him down and he learned some cool history - win, win!)

 

Sorry about the rant.

 

Also, just so you know, I read your reports out loud to my mother who has only cruised once in 2006 on HAL to Alaska and she LOVES them.  I have to show her the pics and she can't wait to go to the Caribbean next year.  Now she'll want to go to Mexico too!😄 

 

Thanks again for sharing your trip...

Edited by sciencegrrl
forgot "wears"
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chemmo Holiday Sharing Rare

chemmo

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Looking forward to following too.


To us, cruising has always been about quality family time. Our son was seven when we first cruised. When he was small, with us both having busy careers, cruising was when we found unlimited time to simply be a family and do family things. Even when we cruised on RC our son would (to our delight) hang out with us a lot of the time. Celebrity soon became the family choice. Our last cruise was just over a year ago our son (now in his thirties) and GF came with us. The focus still on family time and making family memories.

 

Sadly, my husband passed away earlier this year…Our son’s recollections in the service of remembrance were about time spent together and particularly “many evenings spent on the balcony discussing space, time and the antics of Manchester United (our soccer team)”.

 

Charla, I write this with ‘gladness not sadness’…So many people are so busy during their children’s early years and always going to ‘do things’ tomorrow. You have the balance so right! Important as careers are finding time to be a wife and a mum are more important, you clearly know that…
 

Sincere best wishes for an absolutely fantastic cruise. I will be following along and will make our family toast of “Making every second count” as I see the first picture of you both on board!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lena11033 "Live from...." Rare

Lena11033

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whoop another live review 😁

I hope you both have an excellent time

(kinda jealous although I'm in the UK in a couple of weeks and because everything is last minute may be looking at a last min cruise from there as I have nothing planned other than one day at a Star wars event).

 

Based on my experience and the other thread I don't think kids are the issue - it's the parents lol

I do not have kids, not that I dislike them I think Celebrity is a good mix I find there are children but it's not say a Disney cruise. Most kids I find behave well it's more about what the parents do/allow (like letting toddler's into a hot tub).

 

When I was a kid (I'm neurodiverse and an only child), our holidays were in the UK as we were poor but I never did the kids events at the caravan parks I either was with my parents or off by myself hiking/climbing on things.

 

 

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LouChamp

LouChamp

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Aloha. Once again looking forward to your reviews, food pictures and general thoughts. Please note that we fully support taking your young daughter on Celebrity. We started ours on Celebrity when she was younger in suites and on many cruises thereafter with Celebrity to the Caribbean and Mediterranean so any detractors will be met with vigorous thoughts by me!  We also brought her in suites on HAL, Cunard and some other upscale lines. As a result, I believe she is world traveled, has been blessed to enjoy the finer things in life and is now a success attorney who has followed in her now retired dad’s footsteps.  So enjoy and have total fun!

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CruiseNYC

CruiseNYC

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Hi Charla!  Looking forward to following along with you and Gen Z. It was a real pleasure meeting you in person last summer on the Summit.  
Somehow I missed your last Apex review (with Jeremy). I’ll need to go back and find that one. 
Safe travels - can’t wait to read along. 

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