Live: Dec 22 2023 Solstice 12 Night Thailand & Vietnam Holiday Cruise!

[mahdnc]

Here are the Wi-Fi speeds that I measured during our trip--both on board Solstice and at our hotels. 

 

For comparison, I also threw in the Wi-Fi speed that we had while onboard Xpedition during our time in the Galapagos this past November.  Xpedition also had Starlink but somehow her Wi-Fi speeds were awesome unlike Solstice.

 

The days that I didn't post a Wi-Fi speed while onboard Solstice likely means that the Wi-Fi was so slow that I couldn't take a measurement.

 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Are sure about 7.36 speed on the Solstice, I bet it is suppose to 0.736 🤔🤣

[StopTheWorld]

Please tell me that was the basic wifi package 😲

[mahdnc]

4 hours ago, StopTheWorld said:

Please tell me that was the basic wifi package 😲

 

That performance was with the Premium Wi-Fi package.

 

 

I managed to buy the upgrade to premium wi-fi when Celebrity mistakenly priced the upgrade at $9.99 for the entire cruise and not per day like it was intended (here's a thread on that subject).  But Celebrity got the last laugh because the performance was pretty poor anyway.

 

 

There was a Wi-Fi performance warning published in the Celebrity Today (link).   It said that speeds would be slow when we were sailing within Chinese territorial waters which affected a few days towards the end of the sailing or us.

 

 

[Suzi66]

10 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Good morning, Suzanne.  I didn't realize that you had a second sailing.  How nice (and exhausting).  Well, when you recharge and recover, I would love to hear from you about both cruises.

 

David

A somewhat long summary of our S2S cruise, Hong Kong to Singapore then Singapore to Benoa.  It may be in multiple posts.

We left home (Mildura in the most northern corner of Victoria, Australia) on NYE and stayed in Melbourne for the night having a flight to Hong Kong the following morning.  For some strange reason they decided to book us into seats 20 rows apart and on opposite sides of the plane and no matter what I tried to do, we couldn't move them together.  As we got to the airport as check in opened there a few phone calls got us moved to a back row, which we didn't mind as we need to be one of the last to leave the plane in any case (mobility issues - me)
Hong Kong was lovely.  We were staying in Victoria Harbour itself in a not so expensive place as it was only for the 2 nights and we spent the day at Kowloon Park and the Harbour as well as eating some quite yummy food nearby.  Having food allergies meant that I needed to be a bit picky, but my husband enjoyed lots of different things.

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

10 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Here are the Wi-Fi speeds that I measured during our trip--both on board Solstice and at our hotels. 

 

For comparison, I also threw in the Wi-Fi speed that we had while onboard Xpedition during our time in the Galapagos this past November.  Xpedition also had Starlink but somehow her Wi-Fi speeds were awesome unlike Solstice.

 

The days that I didn't post a Wi-Fi speed while onboard Solstice likely means that the Wi-Fi was so slow that I couldn't take a measurement.

 

 

Hmmm.  Ours was around 4 or 5 Mbps around the same area but in a different ship.  Also with Premium.  Not very good for Millenium but better than Solstice.  I think that it must depend upon how many packages were sold...

[Suzi66]

We boarded the Solstice the next day and boarding was relatively smooth.  We had an early boarding time but it appeared that everyone had decided to turn up at a similar time.  A wheelchair had been requested by our TA to make it easier for me to board as I can't stand for long periods of time and although we did get that eventually we didn't get someone to push the chair so my husband had to push and handle our carry on luggage as well, which was disappointing.

There was at least one person who was very verbal in the fact that they thought they shouldn't have to provide Visa's for Vietnam.  I found it amusing as this person was also the most verbal on the ship demanding things.  There is always one.

We loved our Aqua room and our stateroom attendant was fantastic, as were all the staff in BLU that we had.  In fact all the staff we encountered were great.  However we did notice the drinks staff in Oceanview were almost invisible at lunch and breakfast as seems to be the norm.  For someone that has to eat GF and LF I was usually able to find a reasonable lunch in the Oceanview on Solstice and BLU always gave me a fantastic meal.  
One thing we have to say about the officers is that they were always very friendly and visible.  Lauren, who is the Hotel Director, was the Solstice's CD 5 years ago.  When she saw us, the first thing she said was "where is the possum?"  (he belongs to our grand-daughter and comes on all our trips and I make her story books about his travels).  It is great that they can remember things like that from years ago.

Our first stop was Ha Long Bay and we did a private tour booked through Viatour.  It was a trip through the bay and included a walk through the cave.  They didn't warn us about all the steps and I was sore for days 😄 but I loved it.  We just had a quiet day onboard the Solstice on the second day.

[Suzi66]

Stop 2 was Danang.  We got the message that morning that my husband's sister had passed away and he was not in the mood to go out at all.  It was also pouring with rain which convinced him even more, but I really wanted to go to My Son so I headed out on the excursion by myself.  It was a ship's excursion and we were told beforehand that My Son was a few hours drive from port so I was expecting it.  The rain continued the whole time we were at the historical site, but then we went into Danang and looked around.  This was really enjoyable.  Our guide was knowledgable and even though it was a big day, I think this was one of my favourite excursions for the whole cruise.

[Suzi66]

Stop 3 Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

Another ship tour (Cu Chi Tunnels) and the description didn't really tell us anything.  Not the 4 hours to get there, which meant 4 hours back as well, and that it was a push, push, push walk through and then a who wants to go shooting at the rifle range with an AK-47? and we had to wait around for those who wanted to do that to finish.  I would have rather have known that we had 2 hours at the tunnels and went through at my own pace rather than have to wait around for people to finish shooting.  Also the guide spent most of his time lecturing us.

I'm glad I went, but I would never have chosen it if I had known what it involved in the first place.


 

[mahdnc]

 Suzanne, I am so sorry about your husband's sister. 

[Suzi66]

Just now, mahdnc said:

 Suzanne, I am so sorry about your husband's sister. 

She had been battling cancer for several years but I think he would have preferred if she had lasted another month so he could have been home for his mum.  It is very hard for her losing a husband and daughter in the same year.

[Suzi66]

Bangkok Day 1
The description according to the ship.  
Essence of Old Bangkok
Enjoy the road less traveled in Bangkok, Thailand. Reward yourself by visiting some of the most important and beautiful Buddhist temples in the world. Start with Temple Wat Ratchanadda, known for its unique Loha Prasat. Then, visit Wat Suthat with its Viharn and gorgeous Big Buddha. A stop at Wat Po temple with the reclining Buddha is a must. Your tour ends with a traditional tuk tuk ride down Bangkok's ancient street before lunch.

Hubby says he was templed out after the first two (there was actually 4), then they did they tuk-tuks and had a fourth one.  The Tuk-tuks were so much fun, but the temples were beautiful.

[Suzi66]

Bangkok Day 2.

When I booked this tour (and others booked it from the comments made) the description said that we were going only 40 minutes from the port.  We ended up back in Bangkok and the description changed.  It also said we were getting a meal at the floating markets (something I was looking forward to), which has also now been removed from the description.

We went to Ancient Siam which is a "theme park" of sorts.  If we were staying in Bangkok we could easily spend a lot of time here exploring the different temples.  The park is in the shape of Thailand and replica temples from all over Thailand have been built on the site in the places that they would be in Thailand so that people can see them.  Some that I really wanted to see we didn't stop for, and only did drive-bys while I could see other carts did stop.

[Suzi66]

Koh Samui was the last stop for us and I was interested to see if we would be able to tender here considering the last cruise couldn't.

Something I hadn't mentioned is that I had got a letter from both guest services and shore excursions noting that I had used a wheelchair to board and for me to contact them about me getting off the ship at the different ports including the tenders.  I had done this for both letting them know that I used a walking stick, and that I had balance issues, but I could get myself on and off, it was just standing for long periods of time that was the main problem.

For Ho Chi Minh City letters had been delivered several times to say that the gangplank would be low and wheelchair users would have to wait until after the rush (approx 10am) to use it as they could then make it a ramp without disturbing everyone else trying to get off the ship.  It was also in the Daily Planners.  As you can guess there were people in wheelchairs lining up to get out the gangway as soon as it opened making it difficult for everyone else.

1. Back to Koh Samui.  We used the fact that we had priority tendering to get over to the island as it was a beautiful day and we had a private tour booked with Kohsamuitours who we discovered were a German company.  We were in small vans with 10 people per van and there were 2 vans in our group and one tour guide who was in the other van (who was an English speaker as was our driver).  We discovered during our Singapore tour that the other only pure English speaker was in the other van (also from Solstice), and luckily there were a couple of bilingual people in both vans translating what the driver/tourguide was saying for the rest of the van.

Mein Schiff 5 was also at Koh Samui at the same time so they were most of those on our tour.
Our tour was a round island tour to see the highlights of the island.  Our first stop was the Na Muang Waterfall, followed by the Mummified Monk.  A stop at Grandfather Rock was next (Grandmother Rock was underwater because of tides.  Then we went to a Buddhist Temple and lastly the Big Buddha.
The company supplied more water and wet towels than any other excursion than we had done so we were pretty impressed.  

 

 

[Suzi66]

On 1/9/2024 at 9:24 AM, WinterCruiseLover said:

Thank you @mahdnc for the wonderful information in this whole topic!  We will be sailing on this same itinerary on March 2, 2024 and this has been so helpful.  I have one question for anyone on this forum that has successfully applied for the visa to Vietnam.  I have seen multiple posts on other forums, but the answers vary.  When you applied for the visa for Vietnam, did you file for a single entry or multiple entry visa?  

I did single entry and it also wasn't rejected.  Just make sure you do the correct ports.

[mahdnc]

9 hours ago, Suzi66 said:

Bangkok Day 2.

When I booked this tour (and others booked it from the comments made) the description said that we were going only 40 minutes from the port.  We ended up back in Bangkok and the description changed.  It also said we were getting a meal at the floating markets (something I was looking forward to), which has also now been removed from the description.

We went to Ancient Siam which is a "theme park" of sorts.  If we were staying in Bangkok we could easily spend a lot of time here exploring the different temples.  The park is in the shape of Thailand and replica temples from all over Thailand have been built on the site in the places that they would be in Thailand so that people can see them.  Some that I really wanted to see we didn't stop for, and only did drive-bys while I could see other carts did stop.

 

That is a shame that the Celebrity shorex tour description changed to something less attractive to you after you purchased it.  I was looking through Celebrity's offerings (here's a link to the Mar 14 (aka PI Day) 2026 sailing; just be sure that you are logged off the Celebrity website for the link to work) but I now realize that the old tour description would not be listed.  Were you given any formal notification that the tour changed?

 

The floating market closest to the Laem Chabang port, Pattaya  Floating Market, had a serious fire last year and I wonder if that is the reason that the lunch was scrapped.  Nonetheless I can understand your disappointment.

[Suzi66]

10 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

That is a shame that the Celebrity shorex tour description changed to something less attractive to you after you purchased it.  I was looking through Celebrity's offerings (here's a link to the Mar 14 (aka PI Day) 2026 sailing; just be sure that you are logged off the Celebrity website for the link to work) but I now realize that the old tour description would not be listed.  Were you given any formal notification that the tour changed?

 

The floating market closest to the Laem Chabang port, Pattaya  Floating Market, had a serious fire last year and I wonder if that is the reason that the lunch was scrapped.  Nonetheless I can understand your disappointment.

We got told there would be no lunch, but not that we would be going back to Bangkok - that was a shock to most people on the tour as we all had the impression that we were going to Pattaya.  I think it was when they realised that the actual place we were visiting was nowhere near the floating market it got changed.  When we got back to the ship we had a look at the new description of the tour compared to what I had printed off.  Totally different descrptions.

They were still selling the Floating Market tour while we were on the ship and I wish we had changed to that, but I was under the impression that we were still going there, just not getting lunch.  Silly Me.

[Suzi66]

Which leads to Singapore.
We originally booked an extended stay on the ship which got cancelled and then we decided to do the tour/hotel drop off that was offered.  The description was "Experience the best of Singapore: enjoy a beautiful scenic drive through the Marina Bay precinct with its jaw-dropping view of Singapore's skyline; stop at Lau Pa Sat Market, the oldest foodcourt in town; get on a bumboat and glide down the Singapore River. Relax and sip on a cup of coffee in a Heritage café. "  The reality was slightly different.

Meet in Celebrity Central where we got our stickers and then they promptly lost us as we left to disembark.  I have no idea which way everyone went, but we did end up getting out when we said we were with the tour group.  Others that wanted to disembark were being held back.  The rain was bucketing down so luckily we were undercover for almost everywhere.   We found our bags and after getting through customs sort of found someone who directed us to where we needed to go.  The shore excursions team were not the most organised at this point.  Once we got to the carpark however they were very obvious and directed us to a bus.

By the time the bus filled up the rain had stopped and we set off for Chinatown.  No drive through the Marina Bay Precinct, or perhaps the drive was the one through the business district that we were shown getting to Chinatown, but definitely no skyline view.  Hop-off the bus at Chinatown and it was already melting in temperature.  A walk up and down some streets and into a cafe for breakfast - choice of coffee or tea and toast that gets dunked into the coffee.  As I can't eat toast, my husband got my sample.


Then back to the market for shopping or into the temple.  An hour and a bit to spend here.
A drive to the river and two bus worth of passengers to go on one boat.  Regretfully even though we were the first ones there, the other bus got to load on the boat first and we had to sit out in the open at the back and in the heat.  I quite enjoyed this part of the tour, including seeing otters in the water,  but my husband didn't as he was getting heat stroke and was feeling quite ill.  Not once during this excursion was water offered, unlike any other excursion that we went on, and putting two busloads of people on the one boat so that people HAD to be in the sun is very poor form.

At the end of the boat ride we were dropped off at the main hotel and we caught a taxi back to The Scarlet Hotel in Chinatown, which was absolutely magnificent and if we had known their policies we would have gone there directly.



 

[mahdnc]

Your possum photos crack me up.

 

How many nights were you in Singapore?

 

It was very hot (& humid) in Singapore when we were there in December.  

[Suzi66]

After a lot of rest and lots of fluids I was able to convince my husband to go to Gardens of the Bay.  "It had better be worth it" was muttered a couple of times as we waited for the taxi as he still wasn't feeling the best.  He changed his tune once we got there and told me that it would be difficult to find another garden that would be able to match it. 

We absolutely loved it and could have spent hours and hours there.

We wished we had gone straight to The Scarlet, and then out to the Gardens.  I know what the plans will be next time.

[Suzi66]

9 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Your possum photos crack me up.

 

How many nights were you in Singapore?

 

It was very hot (& humid) in Singapore when we were there in December.  

Just the one night. 
Our possum has his own social media accounts.  His name is Arthur Possum if you want to look him up.

[Suzi66]

Phase 2
Celebrity Millennium.
Jan 16 -28  Singapore to Benoa.

 

We had an arrival time of 11am but then received an email telling us not to arrive until 12.30.  
People everywhere as those with scheduled times of 11, 11.30, 12 and 12.30 all arrived at once as well as those who were trying to get in early.  Wheelchair boarding worked well and we were one of the first to get on as this time I had someone from the port assisting, and not just my poor husband trying to wrangle everything.

The ship was absolutely beautiful in all the common areas and we could see ourselves spending time in both the Rendevous Lounge which was our muster station and Cellar Masters (which is actually where we did spend most of our time).  We got asked to sit and wait for a muster station demonstation and while the area filled to about 30 people some decided this was beneath them and walked off.

Our room was nicely appointed but a lot smaller than any that we have had on Celebrity before, as was the bathroom, but it was still very comfortable.

We tried to eat at a similar time every night in BLU so we had the same servers (just because of my allergies) but all of the staff in there were wonderful and double checked everything.  We had very few complaints although I did get one very odd dessert one night (something made with sweetcorn), and that the buffet had very few options for GF and LF compared to the Soltice and previously the Eclipse.  Perhaps it was because it was smaller?  Who knows?  It did take several days for me to find where they had hidden the GF toaster. 

[mahdnc]

21 hours ago, Suzi66 said:

Phase 2
Celebrity Millennium.
Jan 16 -28  Singapore to Benoa.

 

We had an arrival time of 11am but then received an email telling us not to arrive until 12.30.  
People everywhere as those with scheduled times of 11, 11.30, 12 and 12.30 all arrived at once as well as those who were trying to get in early.  Wheelchair boarding worked well and we were one of the first to get on as this time I had someone from the port assisting, and not just my poor husband trying to wrangle everything.

The ship was absolutely beautiful in all the common areas and we could see ourselves spending time in both the Rendevous Lounge which was our muster station and Cellar Masters (which is actually where we did spend most of our time).  We got asked to sit and wait for a muster station demonstation and while the area filled to about 30 people some decided this was beneath them and walked off.

Our room was nicely appointed but a lot smaller than any that we have had on Celebrity before, as was the bathroom, but it was still very comfortable.

We tried to eat at a similar time every night in BLU so we had the same servers (just because of my allergies) but all of the staff in there were wonderful and double checked everything.  We had very few complaints although I did get one very odd dessert one night (something made with sweetcorn), and that the buffet had very few options for GF and LF compared to the Soltice and previously the Eclipse.  Perhaps it was because it was smaller?  Who knows?  It did take several days for me to find where they had hidden the GF toaster. 

 

What kind of formatting is that on your Celebrity Today itinerary??  Maybe an intern did it?  Normally looks like this:

 

 

[mahdnc]

On 12/22/2023 at 2:22 AM, mahdnc said:

3. Baggage drop off (10:55 am).  There is a person that checks your bags that you are going to drop off to make sure they are on the approved list.  We have a soft bag (like a tote bag) with dirty clothes in it that we were told we have to take with us as our carryon luggage.  I have a picture of the sign that says which bags are good and which aren't which I will post later.  Again this is for bags that you are dropping off to have brought onto the ship.  It does not affect bags that you carry with you.

 

This is a photo taken on embarkation day at the Singapore cruise terminal.  This sign notifies you which bags are approved for being dropped off at the terminal and which bags were not approved (you have to carry the non-approved bags with you onto the ship yourself).  There is an employee stationed by the sign at the cruise terminal who looks at the bags you are dropping off.

 

Edited February 3 by mahdnc

[Suzi66]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

 

This is a photo taken on embarkation day at the Singapore cruise terminal.  This sign notifies you which bags are approved for being dropped off at the terminal and which bags were not approved (you have to carry the non-approved bags with you onto the ship yourself).  There is an employee stationed by the sign at the cruise terminal who looks at the bags you are dropping off.

 

Unless they had wheels, they wouldn't take them.  One of our overnight bags didn't have wheels.  It was the only one we decided to drop off with our cases and was going to take the other as it had Steve's camera gear in it and my medication.  We ended up taking it with us which was no big deal.