Bali: Celebrity Solstice will be the biggest cruise ship to dock there (10/2023)

[fstuff1]

I'm currently on the ship.

 the Capt just said over the loud speaker that the Solstice will be the largest ship to dock there.

 

The cruise docs said we're docking but not the 1st time Celebrity docs were wrong.

(Ie: Iceland dock but announced tender 2days before which made people scramble because 3rd party excursions)

 

We are doing an overnight at Bali.

I assumed we were tendering because no ship this big has ever docked there so I planned accordingly.

 

Oh well. Planning for a tender but actually docking is a much better situation than the reverse. :o

 

[fstuff1]

 

 we're docked!

We made it past the shallow waters without a problem 

Edited October 30, 2023 by fstuff1

[catweazlecat]

Which harbour is this?

May I ask you how do you like the ship and food on board?

We will be on it in January and curious what it is like. Heard some complaints about it.

Wishing you a great time in Bali!

[fstuff1]

16 hours ago, catweazlecat said:

Which harbour is this?

May I ask you how do you like the ship and food on board?

We will be on it in January and curious what it is like. Heard some complaints about it.

Wishing you a great time in Bali!

Benoa cruise terminal.

 

I'm fine with the buffet food. I don't eat mdr except lobster night.

Heard complaints about mdr variety. I was told by another pax that it's almost the same options every night with a minor change on what's on the plate.

 

Ship is creaky.

Lots of metal flexing in my balcony cabin. I'm not the only one from people I've talked to.

If I didn't have a white noise maker, I wouldn't be able to sleep.

I'm elite plus with dozens of cruises and never had this problem on  other ships.

This is my 1st Solstice.

[Jim_Iain]

On 10/28/2023 at 7:32 PM, fstuff1 said:

We are doing an overnight at Bali.

I assumed we were tendering because no ship this big has ever docked there so I planned accordingly.

 

 

I have a question I hope you can answer.    I'm on Edge that will also be overnighting in Benoa.

A big question has popped up about the Customs Declaration that has to be filled out 3 days prior to arrival.    Some on our roll call have attempted to fill out and under arrival it only has drop down menus for Airports and the port is not an option.

Can you advise if you had to fill it out prior to arrival -   Currently Celebrity is telling us we need to fill it out but not how.  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Will you be at Benoa port, I assume?  Or are you there now?  We were there on another cruise line (Oceania, with a smaller ship) in Dec. 2019.  We embarked from there.  I can tell you there's not much there at the cruise port, unless it has changed since 2019. But docking is usually better than tendering, so that's a good thing  We flew to Bali early and stayed 2 or 3 nights before boarding our ship.  We hired a driver (Dewa, wonderful man; contact me if you'd like to hire him for your day there).  He's not expensive at all, has lived there his whole life, and has a good airconditioned, spacious vehicle.  He speaks fairly good English, and while his writing fabulous he doesn't mind you contacting him by email. And I can give you his phone numbers. We loved Bali, especially the city of Ubud.  But the heat and humidity were a challenge.  But I'd recommend you do and see more than just the beach.  The temples are pretty amazing, and I oved the rice fields.

 

Anyway, enjoy being the biggest ship to visit Benoa.  

[fstuff1]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I have a question I hope you can answer.    I'm on Edge that will also be overnighting in Benoa.

A big question has popped up about the Customs Declaration that has to be filled out 3 days prior to arrival.    Some on our roll call have attempted to fill out and under arrival it only has drop down menus for Airports and the port is not an option.

Can you advise if you had to fill it out prior to arrival -   Currently Celebrity is telling us we need to fill it out but not how.  

yes, had to fill it out but only 4 days or less before arrival.

then at customs at pier, show them the barcode. they scan it.

i filled it out on my laptop and took a screenshot with phone but couldnt find the pic because i've taken so many pics in those 4 days.

after 5min of holding up the line, the customs person at pier just waived me through. 😮 bali immigration came on board at Tahiti and checked passports/bali visa already.

so apparently the customs declarations form isnt that big of a deal if you're already been cleared by immigration. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by fstuff1