Celebrity Solstice attachments and long review

[kk99]

Hi everyone,

My friends and some of the family were able to sail on the Solstice on the November 30, 2008 sailing. My Mom was originally scheduled to go on the inaugural with myself and some of my siblings, but then had a serious accident that prevented her from sailing. I personally want to thank Host Joe for being one of the kindest individuals, for taking time out of his holiday inaugural sailing to make a dvd of the ship for my mother, and purchasing a shirt and some miscellaneous items for her when I requested help on this board. Celebrity management should give him a penthouse suite for being such a wonderful enthusiastic cruiser who promotes Celebrity and takes the time to post on these boards with helpful information. Some of the family was able to book last minute cabins on this sailing, and decided to go. They returned late last night, and I have scanned the shopping guides for the ports, Aquaspa information, casino information, the ship dailies, the shore excursion insert, the ship's smoking policy, wine ad information and in room bar charges, Captain's Club elite invitation to ship events, and general miscellaneous information. I've set up a google page with the attachments at https://sites.google.com/site/celebritysolsticesite/ Please note that it will take a long time to load some of the attachments as they are quite large, so please be patient. This review is a composite of my family and friends who were on the sailing. Overall, it was an extremely positive experience, and they all hope to sail Solstice again, especially after the kinks are worked out. I'll add pictures to the webpage later in the week showing the ship decorated for the holidays.

Review

Saturday November 29, 2008- Everyone flew Saturday afternoon to Fort Lauderdale, and took a 10 minute(at max) 12.90 cab ride(for 2) before tip to the Embassy Suites. They all obtained the room on a discount hotel site for 85.00 for the one night.

 

Sunday November 30, 2008

After eating the full breakfast the next morning(included with the room), the group all caught cabs at 11:30 a.m. to go to the pier which for two people was 14.00 with the luggage per cab. All of them were required to flash their passports at the security control prior to the cab entering the pier area. They didn't take a close look, but I guess it is just an extra needed security measure. The cab ride was again less than 10 minutes from the hotel to the drop off to the terminal entrance. Everyone goes inside, and it takes about 15 minutes to go through getting the room cards and boarding the ship. Everyone gets the arrival boarding pictures made, and for the first time on Celebrity that anyone of the group remembers, they scan your seapass, so you will be able to review your photos from your cabin TV screen and purchase them from the interactive television. We are told repeatedly that the rooms will not be ready until 1 or 1:30 p.m., but after boarding the ship, all of us were allowed to drop the bags in the room, and proceed to Deck 14 where the Oceanview Cafe is located for lunch. They now have several stations like RCL does where you serve yourself from the hot entrees, hamburgers, salad bars, pizza and pasta bar, cheese and bread station dessert area, ice cream area, and drink stations. Water, coffee, tea, lemonade, orange juice, guava-passion juice are free. Sodas, bar drinks are extra costs. At night there is also sushi, and late night pizza. There always seemed to be a long line at lunch for the ice cream station. In future tweaking, they should put a second station in, especially when the ship is at full capacity, or if there are more children on board in the summers. They also only have three waffle machines, and there was always a line for waffles in the mornings. They could easily add another three waffle irons so that cruisers like Texed would not have to wait so long!

Some of the group stayed in Aquaclass cabins, others in concierge class, and regular balcony cabins. The main differences were in the small amenities offered. CC class rooms had the thicker bathrobes, thicker towels, afternoon canapes, binoculars to use and the bottle of champagne. Aqua class cabins had in addition the Frette thicker bathrobes, Jadro multispray shower panel, lemongrass bath gels, soaps and aromatherapy products, a diffuser, and only two people in the room, and dining in Blu. There was a separate desk for AQ class to book spa appointments. AQ class and the suites could use the Persian Gardens , steam room and relaxation room included in the price. The majority of the group said that these facilities were vastly underused, and to allow other passengers who want to use them perhaps, it would be a good idea for time reservations to be made for a 45 minute or 1 hour slot, so that other passengers could enjoy them as well. No one in the group had any difficulties in getting reservations for treatments. Most waited for the spa special of the day, and then booked one of those, as they were usually about 60 or 70 dollars less expensive than the regular treatments offered. Steiner has the contract on the services. None of the guys or girls reported any hard sales tactics for the products following a treatment.

The pool area and solarium indoor pool were very nice with lots of loungers with thick cushions, and double day beds. The water in the solarium was brisk, but the hot tubs worked nicely. The group was very impressed to see (and about time for it to be on all ships) a handicap access chair that can be lowered into one of the hot tubs. The Aquaspa cafe is located at the end of the solarium, and would have juices, coffee, teas, cereals, yogurt, oatmeal, and pastries for breakfast if you wanted a fast and light breakfast. On deck 15 at the front of the ship(below the spinning sonar) are really nice double chaise loungers to relax on.

 

So after gorging at the oceanview cafe, and making spa appointments, everyone wandered around the ship checking out all of the public spaces. The ship's drill was done in the restaurants, where everyone sat at the tables, watch a short film on safety on tv screens, and then back to the cabins. No outside standing on the decks, and this was much faster and easier. They had a nice sailaway party from Fort Lauderdale and then on to dinner. Since the group was dining in both Grand Epernay and Blu, they tried to move everyone to Grand Epernay, but the maitre'd could not accommodate the group. So for the first night everyone ate at their respective places. The comments from the people in Blu was that service was good, it is a nice intimate space with lots of tables for two, the bread basket was good, but the food was underseasoned and somewhat bland. The service in Grand Epernay was inconsistent, some tables were great, others had a long wait between courses, and the food was fine, although the portions(for meat and fish) seemed smaller than the last cruise two months ago on another Celebrity ship. The chairs were extremely comfortable in both restaurants. After dinner, several bought the internet packages, and with the 20% more minutes for elite members and the additional discount by booking it on the first day, the price dropped from 65 cents a minute to 40 cents a minute for the package. Whether on your own laptop or in the internet room on deck 6, service is relatively slow compared to land based internet. Cellphone signals worked the majority of the time except when not close to a shoreline. Everyone finished the night in the casino on deck 4 and then Quasar, the nightclub also on deck 4. To my brothers' credit, they did ask everyone who wanted to dance to dance,(and this was every night on this ship) as they had more energy than their wives or girlfriends.

 

Monday December 1, 2008 the first sea day

After rolling in late the night before, several got up to play Team trivia at 9:15 a.m. Everyone had a blast, and met lots of wonderful people especially Lin and Rich. The top team of four every morning won either a metal Celebrity luggage tag, a blue Celebrity minipillow, a seapass cardholder,or a pen. Some of the smarter of the group racked up 5 or 6 of these things by the end of the cruise. My family's personal preference to get as many people on the ship to join in group activities would be give everybody 1 ticket for participation, an additional ticket to the winner of that event, and on the last day of the cruise, let people redeem the tickets for different prizes. That way, the poor activity staff doesn't have to lug around all of the little prizes to each event. One day 3 teams of 4 tied in one of the trivia contests, and she didn't have 12 prizes with her. She had to go back, get everyone's names and then deliver the luggage tag to those passenger's rooms. our group can't say enough positive things about the activity staff. Not only were they fun and engaging, several wrote personal notes to the people who participated in the events thanking them and hoping to see them again as future cruisers. Some of the best activities were the latin dance classes held in the entertainment court right outside Quasar and in Quasar. There was one lady who my younger brother called the "music goddess" as she would have perfect scores in the Guess that Tune trivia naming the artist and title of the song from a few seconds of the song being played. My family members and the eighties seemed to be a black hole- as they were complete failures on that one. They also played bocce and did golf putting. The lawn is a novel concept, but the group opinion is that it will not be repeated on future ships, as the maintenance is tricky. Everyone went to at least one hot glass show put on by the Corning Museum, and Lewis, the main gaffer was extremely talented. This was a great addition to things to do on the ship.

After some more pool time, the group decided to try every restaurant on board. The second night which was a formal night was at Silk Harvest which is an upcharge restaurant. We liked the food, as everyone likes spice and some heat in their dishes. Then off to the theatre to see the Solstice show. The theatre is a hugh improvement over other Celebrity theatres in both the sound system and sight lines. The show was sort of Cirque du Soleil like with entertainers flying through the air, and acrobatic stunts on the stage. We heard the men's acapella group Ocean's Four perform, and they were fantastic everywhere they performed, usually before and after the shows. At lunch the steel pan artist, Robert Symons performed, and it made for a nice Caribbean vibe. Back to the casino, and then again at Quasar to close the evening. Very late night room service for a few, and it was slow in coming but the order was correct. Service kinks, that I am sure that they will try and correct.

 

Tuesday December 2, 2008 San Juan

Since the ship wasn't arriving in San Juan until 2:00 p.m. ,everyone went to Bacio for coffee and pastries. The pastries are free, but the speciality coffees were 3-4 dollars. Needs a lot of work. They have the proper machinery, but the expresso ( very weak) was served in the wrong size cup, and they had never heard of a doppio. Before this ship gets to Europe, they need to train the employees in all of the drinks. We tried Cafe al Bacio on two other occasions, and it still wasn't up to par. Members of the group played trivia, music trivia and Battle of the Sexes. By the end of the week, they put up yellow hazard tape dividing the room in half as some people got overly aggressive in wanting to win. It was fun for others to watch. We then ate in Bisto on Five (a 5.00 surcharge per person) for lunch and had good crepes and sandwiches. Although we did not have a problem with service issues there, numerous people we met did, when only 4 or 5 tables in the area were occupied. One couple reported waiting 45 minutes for their entree to arrive after ordering. They weren't serving filet mignon in there, so just unacceptable for service. They need to make this area surcharge free ,horten the hours to just about 1/2 of the time and train the staff better.

Off the ship, and since everyone in this group had been to San Juan many times, just walked around El Morro, El Convento, hung out at the bar that invented pina coladas(7.50 each, and yes they will give you to go cups) and strolled around. Since we had a late departure, ate in one of our favorite cafes in San Juan, with great salsa music playing in the bakcground. We caught the late show with Louis Johnson at 11:00 p.m(very entertaining but they need to put on the flyer for mature audieinces as some of the material some would raise an eyebrow at), and then the late night glass show where they gave away some of the pieces made and back to Quasar to close it out.

 

Wednesday December 3, 2008

The ship docked at 9:00 a.m. in Saint Maarten, but the group didn't get off the ship until 11:30 a.m. Trivia and golf putting was first up, by an early lunch in the oceanview cafe. Expensive watches are by far the best bargain of the island. Several members of the group bought the shopping guide for $25 because someone wanted to purchase something specifically from one of the stores and it would have discount coupons in it. The shopping guides, Kyle and Leanne(who are very personable and newly engaged) are more than willing to write up a Vip card for you if you tell them specifically what you are shopping for. A couple of the guys knew they wanted a particular brand and model number of some high end watches. They went to two or three stores for price comparisons, then waitied until 15 minutes before closing to make the deal. Normally you save 15% off the manufacturer's price, plus no sales tax or duty tax, and they saved between 30-40% on the watches because the sales manager wanted to fill their quota that day. They still had to pay U.S. customs tax as the exemption amount is only 800 a person(1600 a couple), but still saved a significant amount. The jewelry is nice, but hard to know if you are getting a great price, as it is somewhat subjective. The water taxi in Philipsburg goes to the downtown shopping district which is the second stop. An all day pass is 6.00 a person. It took about 10 minutes to get from the pier to the shopping district. The group also headed to Orient Beach for a few hours and just enjoyed hanging out. we got back on at about 6:00 p.m. as we went to Murano's for dinner that night which is a $30 per person upcharge, and worth every penny. The food was great, service was wonderful, and the ambiance is of a very small club. The wine list is extensive, with most bottles falling in the 70 dollar range. If you are in one of the suites, you get two speciality restaurant dinners included. Also if you earned 2500 points in the casino on your seapass card, you can also get the charges waived. After about three hours there, we went to the casino before the late show called Pulse. The group consensus was that it was better than the Solstice show. Louis Johnson had an 11:45 p.m. show which was even funnier and a little bluere than the first one.

Off to the pool deck on 14 to dance to Top Secret, and back down to close Quasar. You would have thought someone would not have gained weight on the cruise because of all of the dancing, but no-just didn't happen.

 

Thursday December 4, 2008 St. Kitts

It arrived early at 8:00 a.m. and left at 5:00 p.m. Late start after trivia, and golf,got off about 11:00a.m. The island was hit very hard by hurricanes in October, and it eroded a large part of the coast. The duty free shops are just as you get off the ship. There are plenty of taxi drivers and tour guides. Some people thought they were somewhat aggressive, but they are all just looking for work after having none for a period of time after the storms. For $60 for four people in a van(and we had more), we went to the fort, Caribelle Batik and Romney Gardens, and general sightseeing for several hours. The island is quite lush and beautiful, and it was fun to see a goatherder with his flock, and a large jersey cow, just taking a sunbath on the main road. It did take some encouragement for the cow to get up and move to the side of the road. They had several people in native costumes like Junkanoo dancing for tips. Many people took pictures of them in their heavy costumes and didn't leave a tip. Knowing the hardships on the island we left a 20 in the jar, although none of us had cameras on us at that point. The sunset was great, and then off to dinner at Tuscan Grille, the Italian steakhouse another upcharge dining venue. Loved the ambiance, the wine list(with many more reasonably priced bottles), loved the view off the back of the ship, and more importantly, everyone loved the food. It felt like Little Italy in New York only a little fancier. Service was great, so we booked a second night in here for Saturday. Of course we went to the Captain's Club cocktail party, and saw the show of David Myer who does synthesized xylophone and drums. extremely talented and fun to watch.

after a short top in the casino, it was on again to the Martini bar to try our more varieties. It was the most convivial bar on the ship(although sad to say but I'm sure Celebrity is happy about it, we tried all bars out for test taste comparisons). In the entertainment court the entertainment staff and some of the dancers dressed up in 60's garb, and some of the male passengers dressed up as the Beatles, and Quasar rocked all night long. It was like a group dance for everyone. There was one lady who said she was eighty that twisted better than some of the twenty year olds. It was great to see so many passengers staying up.

 

Friday December 5, 2008 Second Sea Day

This was a chillout day, spa day and wine tasting day. The consensus of the group is that they liked the Thai poultice massage the best, followed by the bamboo(which is a deep tissue) and the aroma stone massage. As for manicures and pedicures, they were not impressed by the fire and ice treatment, and said it was more relaxing to just add the hot wax treatment to either the manicure or pedicure. They use creative nail polish on board. The facials like the best was the procollagen facial combined with a scalp massage. Several went to the art auction held in the Sky Lounge on 14. Instead of the former Park West Gallery offerings, there is a new company called the Millenia Fine Art Gallery onboard offering upscale contemporary paintings, photographs, and glass sculptures from very well known artists. The consensus was, it was wonderful to look at, but well above the average price point for a nice cruise souvenir. This was also the day to check out all of the onboard shops. Celebrity has a new vendor for the shops, and it is definitely more upscale in the clothing, watches and jewelry. A one carat Solstice diamond was 25,000. There were nice polo shirts for men and women at $45.00 They had Steuben, Kosta Boda, and Glass Eye Works crystal from 50 or so up to 30,000. They had a fabulous trunk show by Robert Manse of jewelry that was Balinese silver with semiprecious gemstones, as well as spectacular diamond jewelry. There was not much in the way of inaugural items, which was puzzling. There were some caps and shirts that said inaugural season, but no ship's model, no inaugural season book, playing cards or other items that could be branded as inaugural. There was a paperweight that was $45 in the glass shop, but again the consensu was that they missed the opportunity to sell more items like pens, bookmarks, books etc. Several people purchased Reidel stemless tumblers that came 2 to a box that said Solstice on the bottem of the glass with sun rays for $75. Some people went to the Medispa Seminar with the physician who does restalyne, and botox on the ship. The price was 650 a tube(or syringe ) for the restalyne. One of my brothers talked with Dr. Mona(sorry can't remember her last name) who said she was extremely busy all week long with appointments. We also listened to Jefferson Ang, a very good guitarist and singer whose voice reminded me of a young James Taylor. It was formal evening tonight so some went back to the Grand Epernay, and some went to Blu. Service was good in Blu, food still found to be underseasoned, and slow to show the wine list. Service again was inconsistent in Grand Epernay, but everyone really liked their meals. Everyone met up at the third production show which was Ghostlight, a medley of Broadway tunes. The lead singer, had an amazing voice, and the ballet dancers were lovely to look at. The orchestra for the show was again outstanding. drink service was good for all of the performances. We then made the mistake of going to the karaoke show in the Sky lounge. A few of the people had outstanding voices, and some were so bad who were being serious about it, that our captain had to turn his head away so people couldn't see him trying to supress a laugh or two. The funniest thing that happened all cruise long was an older gentleman wth a good voice got up to sing, and a tall attactive middle aged blond got on the stage and danced very suggestively up to him. The number ends, and as we walks off the stage, he says an audible I'm sorry to his wife. He had never met or talked to the dancer before, and everyone assumed perhaps it was his wife. Once everyone heard it wasn't his wife, I'm sure he got a few extra votes for best of the night!

So , the group leaves tries some video texas hold'em and back to another midnight show with Louis Johnson, followed of course by more dancing at Quasar.

 

Saturday December 6, 2008 Third and final day at sea

So much to do the last day at sea! The group enters all trivia contests, and redeems itself by not placing last overall in music, and wins tribond, and final ship trivia. Another lunch day at Bistro on Five, followed by gelato which weas worth every penny of the 4 dollars(several scoops) Service was okay at the Bistro but still not up to what it can be. We then hang at the pool, clean up and go to Elegant Tea. They need to fix this as well. High tea is brewed loose teas with strainers, not tea bags. The savories were good as well as the scones and tarts. They need to get double cream to serve with the jam, and loose teas. The main dining room is lovely and it made for a festive afternoon, but this can be done without much additional cost , much much better. We had an early dinner at Tuscan Grille, and it was still our favorite. We dined as the sun was setting, and it just infused the room with light that played off the glass sculptures in the room. We put the luggage out in the halls prior to going to the show. The last variety show had the cruise director singing, and doing a little schtick, David Myer playing the xylophone and drums, and the best bit by far was the band leader playing two trumpets at the same time. The 10 piece orchestra also played after the show doing big band tunes which everyone danced to out in the main foyer. a final farewell to Quasar and off to bed at 2 or so for everyone.

 

Sunday December 7, 2008

The ship docks at 7:00 a.m. Everyone goes to breakfast at Oceanview Cafe, and we go to the departure lounge around 9:00 a.m. Ten minutes late we get off the ship, go through immigration, pay the customs tax for those who bought big ticket items, and were in the taxis 15 minutes late. Probably the easiest time ever with departure. Hopefully all of our family(instead of the half that went) and friends can meet up and go together as a group soon.

 

Final thoughts

Dining service needs to be improved in the main dining room and in Bistro on Five. They need to figure out Italian coffees and how to make them properly before they get to Europe this summer in Cade al Bacio. They need to institute policies so that everyone who wants to pay to use the Persian Gardens and steam rooms can do so, which will generate additional revenue for the ship. The ship's photographers are for the most part learning on the job other than the supervisors. The casino staff and bar staff in the casino definitely need to circulate more among the players, and they definitely need a live texas hold'em table instead of the computer tables. The positives far away the minor points. The staff was unfailing polite, and couldn't do enough for our group. The activities staff were a riot, and by the second day know the members of the group that participated by name. The hot glass shows were great, and the upgraded entertainment and bands was a hugh plus for us. I think adding more and more activity options will defintely attract a younger demographic to Celebrity hile still retaining the laid back casual elegance that we want from a vacation.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post, and thanks for reading this lengthy review.

kk

[cruzmaven]

Very nice, balanced review. Thank you.

[The Grumpus]

Kelcie, great review so far. I'm only at day two but wanted to pipe in and say WOW! Great to hear you were able to play bocci as I wanted to try it out for the first time on Solstice. I'm sure Texed will be fine with 3 Waffle stations, the question would be what about the rest of us. J/k Ed. ;)

 

Thanks for all the tips like interent and scanning the info sheets. Okay, I'm going back to reading, see you in the RC! :D

[BAPON]

Thanks for an excellent review KK.

[Conrycol]

Thanks for the review. Can't wait until February:D.

[RCCLCARIB]

You have out done yourself!! Thank you so very much for the review and the attachments!!

 

 

Glad you had a nice cruise :)

Thanks again

~RCCLCARIB~

[Texed]

I'm sure Texed will be fine with 3 Waffle stations, the question would be what about the rest of us. J/k Ed. ;)

 

I can pick up a couple at each station, and that way they won't know I am a hog. :rolleyes:

[Springchicken]

Thanks so much! We're sailing next Oct. 19 in the Eastern Med/Greece so hope some of these kinks will be corrected by then. I wonder if there will still be a tree? :confused:

[Host Anne]

kk ~ thanks so much for taking the time to write such a well written and detailed review. Wish we had all sailed together. I'll let Host Joe know about your review, too. Please be sure to post it to the REVIEWS section of Cruise Critic as well.

 

Thanks again and happy sailing!

[eleang]

Great review KK99, thank you for taking the time to share your views iwith us!!!

Ele

[JFontaine]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review and for posting your attachments. Hope that your mom is doing better and that she will be able to join you next time.

[mslaabs]

KK,

First of all great review. You mentioned that you "cleaned up" for high tea. I'm a tea drinker so this sounds like an event I might attend. Exactly what was the dress code? Will shorts and nice top do or will I have to put on my evening attire to attend? Also is there entertainment, like a piano player or something during the get together?

 

Sheila

[ellbon]

Kelcie

 

A wonderful review. loved al lthe details. sounds like your brother loves to dance. wish he was on my cruise.

[hylasgirl]

Thank you kk99... Nice review. I really really hope that the coffee place gets its act together. We found the specialty coffee bar (and every other place for that matter) on the Century to be the WORST coffee experience we have ever had at sea. For us, this was a MAJOR disappointment for a 12 night cruise. There are many many things that we can overlook but we really like our morning coffee. We found everyone on the Century to be very disorganized and awkward in the coffee shop. Like you said, they had all the right equipment, but seem like they don't understand it. We could NOT get a decent cappuccino. This should be easy!!! Royal Caribbean is so good in this area. They had two people at the counter that had NO idea how to work the frother!!

 

I am VERY excited about trying the Solstice. It look amazing in many areas. I think their coffee situation across the board has gotten a lot of flack. I just don't understand how they can't get this easy thing fixed?? I really hope that the Solstice finds a way to make good coffee. And figure out a way to make it "to go". The girls on the Century thought I had lost my mind when I asked for a large cafe mocha... had not a clue what I wanted.

[aamiee]

thank you for the review, i cant wait til Jan4th ;)

[cunn9004]

Thank you for the detailed review, and even with the "kinks" sounds like you had a great time. I find it so interesting to see what is important or not to individual cruisers.

 

We are sailing over New Years and I was wondering if you could share the name of the bar in San Juan (pina coladas) and the little cafe as it sounds wonderful! I've only ever been to San Juan to sail from there and have never spent any time in the city so any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[hcat]

Thanks for the comprehensive review & all those links--

 

looks like the Top to Toe Treatment at the Spa will be a definite for me!

 

We have the same itin in Jan so now I can see if any of the Elite events conflict with res we have booked at Specialty dining etc...

 

Thanks again!

[wolfganghowell]

The bar in San Juan sounds like Barrachina.

 

kk99 - thanks for an excellent review. I very much appreciate all the casino info. :)

[mloca]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on 1/4...can't wait. Glad to hear the clubs were hopping. We love to dance late night! We are eating in Blu...hearing such mixed reviews. I am sure it will all work out!

 

THANKS!

Michelle

[kk99]

Hi everyone,

I've posted pictures on the web page which is here as well as all of the attachments. https://sites.google.com/site/celebritysolsticesite/ It's great reading everyone's opinionson our sailing. I'm sure Celebrity will work hard to improve it for future cruisers. In the pictures is the drink menu from Cafe al Bacio. As to the question about high tea, no shorts,flip flops , or tank tops. Most men had on slacks with a polo type shirt, women had on slacks, sundresses or skirts with sandals. It definitely was fairly casual. The bar in San Juan with the famous pina coladas with a liberal serving of rum is Barrachina, and another excellent place for drinks in old town is Maria's at Calle del Cristo 204. For dinner we like to go to Parrot Club at Calle Fortaleza 363, Pikayo in the Museum of Art or El Picoteo at the El Convento Hotel at 100 Calle Christo. For pastries and great coffee and juices goto La Bombonera at Calle San Francisco 259 I guess I know why none of us ever lose weight while on vacation. Any other questions, I'll be happy to answer,

kk

[Host Joe]

Hi KK99, thanks so much for the great review... glad that your family had a great cruise with us!

 

Your words are so kind about me, thank you! :o

 

Hopefully you have received the package... it went out early this week!

[kk99]

Hi Joe,

I received the package last night, and I went this morning to my Mom's rehab facility (about an hour away from here)to take it to her and play the dvd you created and give her the shirt and postcard.. Let me tell you, she was so happy, that it brought tears to my eyes. We had to play it twice as she was enthralled. I hope you post up your slideshow and music for everyone to enjoy. I also sent you back a letter today. You should be honored by the Cruise Critic community and Celebrity for your thoughtfulness and generosity of spirit. I hope to cruise you with and your family on a future cruise to once again thank you in person.

Kelcie

[Host Joe]

Hi Joe,

I received the package last night, and I went this morning to my Mom's rehab facility (about an hour away from here)to take it to her and play the dvd you created and give her the shirt and postcard.. Let me tell you, she was so happy, that it brought tears to my eyes. We had to play it twice as she was enthralled. I hope you post up your slideshow and music for everyone to enjoy. I also sent you back a letter today. You should be honored by the Cruise Critic community and Celebrity for your thoughtfulness and generosity of spirit. I hope to cruise you with and your family on a future cruise to once again thank you in person.

Kelcie

 

Yeah! I am so happy that she enjoyed it! Thank you very much for your kind words. It was fun to have a "mission" on the cruise!