Another 5/15-5/22 Solstice Alaskan Cruise Report

Greetings,

I have been reading cruise critic for many years, but seldom post. However, I feel an obligation to report on our recent cruise experience on the Solstice 5/15-5/22 to Alaska, as the new "suite life" is apparently rolling out with varying degrees of success dependent upon the individual ship. I'm not sure how many installments this will take as I peck on the keyboard with 2 fingers, but I will do it in as few as possible.

First, the disclaimer- as always mileage may vary. This is MY experience, and I just want to share regarding things important to me on prior to my own cruise. In turn, I hope this will be helpful to at least a few others.

For a little background, this was our (wife and self) 8th cruise - 1 Carnival, 1 Princess, 2 Holland America, and 4 Celebrity. Typically we have a veranda or a mini-suite of some nature. This was our first cruise in what I think of as a "full" suite- Royal Suite rm 1609.

I booked this in direct response to Celebrity's marketing campaign of the benefits and perks of the new "suite life". I initially had great anticipation of the experience, but began to become concerned in the weeks prior, reading about shaky roll-outs on some vessels, and the failure to live up to promises in some cases- i.e. lunch in Luminae.

That said, this was our 3rd Alaskan cruise, and our 3rd trip to Seattle. In prior trips, we've stayed in the boutique hotels downtown, and spent several days pre and post cruise to see the city. So, in kind of a "been there, done that" perspective, this trip we decided to fly in a day before, and stay at an airport hotel and shuttle to the pier the next morning. After the requisite Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor research we selected the Hampton Inn and Suites on 28th Ave. for a bed, and Shuttle Express for transportation. We were very pleased with both. The king room at Hampton Inn and Suites was nothing fancy (not even the mini fridge and microwave one almost expects nowadays), but it was very clean, well maintained, and comfortable. The staff was very friendly and accommodating, and we were really impressed with how quiet it was, particularly, as an airport hotel. Quiet within the hotel (hallway and adjoining room noise) as well as the external noise from arriving and departing planes). I should note I am noise sensitive, and this will come up again when I discuss our suite- 1609. Anyway, I would not hesitate to stay there again.

So, after a restful night, we waited for our pick-up by Shuttle Express at 10:45 A.M., Friday morning. They were precisely on time, and got us to the ship at about 11:20 A.M.

Once in the terminal, we were directed by check in staff to the wrong check in desk, so this resulted in a several minute delay in finding our documents, and a staff member to escort us on board (this, of course, being a perk of the Royal Suite). Shortly Rose, the Captain's Club Host, arrived and escorted us to Michaels' Club. We had several encounters with Rose through the week, and she is a real pleasure- always a genuine smile, and a true desire to accommodate. In spite of the little miscue, we were on board, and in Michael's club within 30 minutes or so. We were immediately served canapés and drinks. I know there have been varying reports of the availability of canapés, snacks, and pastries In Michael's Club on the various ships. On the Solstice, something is almost always being served. We were in there everyday, sometimes more than once, and on only one occasion was nothing served, and that was because no staff was there at the time.

Samantha, the concierge, introduced herself, and explained the use of Michael's Club, and the things she could facilitate to provide a great cruise experience. Let me interject here, if I had it to over again, I would have requested Samantha to make specialty dining arrangements prior to boarding the ship. She sends an introduction email 3 or 4 days prior to boarding, and I wish I would have responded with dining requests. She would be glad to this, and I think we could have secured times more conducive with our schedule.

She was able to make reservations for us on board, but at times much later than we normally eat. We live in Missouri, so eating at 9:00 P.M. Juneau time is eating at midnight in Missouri.

Anyway, rooms weren't ready yet, so she encouraged us to grab some lunch, and come back afterwards, and Benjamin, our butler, would escort us to our suite. She suggested Luminae (Yeah! Luminae is open for lunch on embarkation day- maybe the promise is being fulfilled!) or Bistro on 5. As it was now almost 1:00 P.M., and Luminae was nearing their closing time, we decided on Bistro on 5, which IS now 10.00 on Solstice, but also is included in the unlimited specialty dining for Penthouse Suite/Royal Suite guests. Food and service were both good, but neither exceptional.

Okay I'm going to break here. Being wordy and unable to type is a bad combination.

If anyone has any specific questions, let me know, and I will do my best answer as I go through this. When I come back, I'm going to give summary reports on the suite and butler, dining - particularly Luminae, the ship, the bars, Michael's Club, my impression of "the suite life" in general, and whether we will pay that high premium again for the experience.

Keep pecking!!! LOL Enjoying it thus far!

Completely off topic, but I recall a time when Celebrity escorted EVERYONE to their cabin! Things change.

Spectres thank you VERY much for taking the time to post. Will be following your reports as we sail on July 24th.

I can't wait. I'll be in Royal Suite 1612, so all the info would be greatly appreciated?

Okay, Part 2. I left off with Bistro on 5 so maybe I should begin with

Dining: that was our only experience in Bistro on 5. We intended to go back, but so much to eat and only a week to do it. The vast majority of our meals were in Luminae, and overall we were very pleased with it. The staff in Luminae were great. From my observations the head waiters are Jesus and Dev. Both are very personable, and both go out of their way to charm the ladies. We had encountered Jesus on the Constellation or the Infinity, and he actually remembered us. While it is open seating, it appeared that Dev was our waiter, as we had him at least 90% of our visits. There are quite a few assistant waiters/waitresses in Luminae. All are smiling and eager to serve. That brings me to my first minor quibble. Never have I encountered so many people that genuinely wanted me eat pastries. I ate so many pastries I said to my wife the first morning we were home "you know what the best thing about this morning is?" "I don't have to eat a pastry" But hey, if that the worst problem you have, you're doing great.

Now back to the lunch issue. Unfortunately, embarkation day and the first formal night at sea were the only two days lunch was served. If I remember correctly, there were 3 days of brunch and the other two days breakfast. It appeared to me that the brunch menus were the same each day. Before boarding I was of the mindset this would be an issue for me if Celebrity didn't fulfill their newly restated promise lunch would served each day in Luminae. But, it really turned out to be a non issue. By day 3 or so I was so weary of eating, two meals a day rather than three turned out to be a blessing in disguise (especially with the non stop pastry service- and this happens in Michael's Club too dependent upon time of day). So, Luminae overall was a big plus. Rarely was it near full, much less crowded, so the closeness of the tables was not an issue at all, and sometimes it was nice to have some pleasant conversation with someone near by.

All that said, the second very minor quibble is that service still lacks full organization and coordination. I feel sure this will be rectified in coming weeks, but it's not there yet. This in no way sullied the overall experience though. Staff considers the menu to be 5 courses. That's perhaps a stretch, but often the amuse-bouche and dessert amuse-bouche were the highlights of the meal. The menu offers 5 appetizers and 5 entrees a night. I'm a pretty simple meat and potatoes guy, so I was a bit concerned prior to the cruise that I would find a suitable selection. Reality was I always did, and was always pleased with it. Presentation is very nice, and suitable for a fine dining restaurant.

In spite of having unlimited specialty dining we only ate in Silk Harvest once, and Murano once. We were scheduled in Murano the second night, but we cancelled when we received an invitation from Rose (CC Host) to dine at the Captain's Table. That was a pleasant surprise, and a very pleasant evening. We actually dined with the chief engineer Kosta and 3 other couples. That meal was the highlight of our dining experience. I don't where it was prepared, but every course was excellent.

Okay, Silk Harvest. Service was excellent, but the meal itself was only okay. For my tastes, I would not forgo Luminae to eat again in Silk Harvest- on the Solstice anyway.

But, I'm glad we had the experience anyway. I enjoyed the Japanese beer, and one course- a whole cooked fish was excellent.

Murano also had excellent service and good, but not excellent food. My wife loved her lobster. I had Dover sole. It was good, but again no better than what I ate in Luminae. The Risotto was much better in Luminae. But like Silk Harvest, I was glad we did it for a change of pace and the environment in Murano. We did not eat in the main dining room (except at the Captain's Table) or in Blu. We did stop in the Oceanview a couple of times. I only got a few selections, but what I got was disappointing. I love the food stations layout. We had only been on M and C class ships before, so this was a welcome sight. I remember the food in the Oceanview on those ships as always being at least average, and often good to very good. That was not my experience this time unfortunately.

Another thing worth mentioning is that we both found the coffee generally better through-out the ship than on past cruises. For both of us the bolder the better, so we generally find cruise ship coffee way to weak, unless from the coffee shop. While we often ordered coffee from Cafe de Bacio with dessert, in the morning we were satisfied with Luminae's regular coffee. Even in Oceanview it seemed to be better. Michael's Club has an expresso machine, and they can make a variety of full bodied coffees (to go with the many pastries).

Okay, I will pick up again tomorrow.

This is really interesting. We probably won't ever do a suite but it's still fun to read :)

Okay, Part 3. The Suite. I'm going to skip back to the end of my first post and pick up with our return to Michael's Club after we finished lunch. Unfortunately, Benjamin, our butler, was tied up, so Samantha arranged for one of the deck officers to escort us to our cabin. As I previously mentioned our largest cabin prior to this cruise was mini suite on Princess at 330 something square feet. So, when we walked into 590 sq ft. it looked spectacular- living room, bedroom, large master bath with jetted tub and glass shower with rainshower head, dining area, kitchen area with bar setup, and a half bath. I know Solstice is due for a dry dock fairly soon, so I was pleased with the general condition and cleanliness of the suite. The most problematic thing for us is that the seat and back support of the couch and loveseat have broken down a good bit, and we both have back problems, but we survived that, and thoroughly enjoyed the many positive things the suite provided.

The bar setup included a variety of canned mixers and soft drinks, as well as a bottle of DeWars Scotch and a bottle of Absolut Vodka. I considered asking Ben to swap the Dewars for maybe Makers Mark or Knob Creek, but I ultimately decided to see if I could develop a taste for Scotch. DeWars may not be the right place to begin that quest, but in any case it didn't work out very well. I never opened the Absolut (even though I like it) or the bottle of Champagne that was on ice. My wife and I typically stick to a 2 drink per day limit (when we do drink, which isn't often) so I already knew I wanted those drinks to come from the Molecular Bar. Some days, I must admit, we did hit 3 drinks. That's the problem of the premium beverage package, it's enticing to "get your money's worth".

Ben came around shortly and introduced himself, and explained the things he could provide as our butler. we are not high maintenance people so we only had a couple of requests; keep the fridge stocked with diet coke, and the beer fridge stocked with Alaskan Amber. We drank many, many diet cokes, but I never finished the first six pack of the Amber. There were several different beers and soft drinks already stocked including Bud, Amstel Light and Heiniken. The mini bottles of liquor had been removed, so no confusion with that. I was impressed through-out week how well Ben and Samantha coordinated their services. I had read many posts in which people talked about a butler they never saw, or concierge who only talked about what they couldn't do and not what they could. We experienced none of that. Ben, Samantha and Cheryl, our room steward, were all very accommodating and efficient..

Now, the noise issue. As I mentioned I am noise sensitive, and I had read posts which discussed cabin 1609 as being under the entertainment deck, and subject to the noise of foot steps, scraping chairs, etc. through-out the day and evening. I worried about this, but at the time I booked the 4 Royal Suites on deck 10 were already booked, so I forged ahead and took the risk. Well, everything I read was true- footsteps and scraping chairs on and off through day and late evening. But, by day 2 it really had faded in the backgound. Every cruise I've done I've heard a wide assortment on knocks, bangs, groans, etc. as the ship moves through the water. I mention this because if someone as obsessive compulsive as myself can quickly adjust to this, it will be a snap for the average person. I would have no problem booking 1609 again.

In a different vein, one of the unanticipated things the suite provided was insulation from the general announcements. My hearing is not the greatest, so while I knew some sort of announcement (or sales pitch) was being made, I could barely hear it.

I'll go ahead and mention the unlimited internet package. Samantha included a code for each of us in our welcome packet. It was a seamless process to open our accounts and start surfing. Each of us could associate 3 devices with our account, but only 1 device can be connected at a time. I never did a speed test, but it wasn't as bad as I remember it being in past cruises. You get kicked off occasionally, but overall pretty consistent.

This will be my only entry today. I'm leaving town for a graduation, but will check in again tomorrow and cover bars, the ship, and my final assessment of "the suite life".

Throughly enjoying your posts!

Kept pecking away. Most enjoyable posts - will be back looking for more!

Loving the review so far :)

Part 4. I probably should said have "bar" rather than "bars". We did get an occasional drink in Michael's Club or a restaurant, but 90% of our drinking was at the Molecular Bar. This was not only our first premium beverage package, it's the first beverage package we've ever had that included alcohol, so it was also our first experience

with the Molecular Bar. Having read quite a bit about it I had high expectations- and they all were fulfilled. Our M.O. was a drink before dinner, and a drink after dinner- the goal being to try as many different ones through-out the week as possible. We didn't get through them all, but we made a valiant effort. Linda (I think the name is right) is the head bartender and Pedro is her associate bartender. When we were there Linda usually was not, so Pedro mixed the vast majority of our drinks, and he did a masterful job. Favorite drinks for me were Scorpion Kiss and Watermelon Felon. For my wife, Mr.B and Violet Hummingbird were favorites. We both loved the Indulgence as an after dinner drink. But, everything we tried was excellent. I wish I had another week to get through the menu.

Prior to boarding the ship, the word was the 15th-22nd would be the final week of the Molecular Bar on the Solstice. I was lamenting with Pedro that I regretted waiting until the final week to try it. A couple of days later he told me they had just received word the MB would be extended another month on Solstice. So, that's good news for Solstice cruisers, through probably most of June. Pedro characterized the normal ship bar as flying economy class, the Molecular Bar as business class, and from all indications the World Class Bar would be an upgrade to first class. That is something to look forward to.

A lot has been said about the ship and weather in weather in Alaska the past couple of cruises, so it's not necessary to add a lot to that. I will say even though it's now an older ship, it's still the newest and definitely the largest Celebrity ship we have sailed on. We found the size very comfortable, and found the ship to be well maintained. An aside, when we had dinner with the chief engineer he said the new class, beginning with the Edge would be slightly smaller, but much more technologically advanced. We couldn't get a lot of details as to what meant exactly, but I think it will be worth the wait.

Anyway, the only quibble I had with the ship was that seating in theaters and similar public areas didn't seem to have drink holders- which I found odd.

We ended up not attending many shows, and the ones we did were usually in the afternoon. I don't remember afternoon shows from previous cruises, but 3:30 P.M. shows occurred most days. There was an illusionist and hypnosis comedy show that were both entertaining. The one primetime show we did attend was the Celebrity Singers/Dancers doing a Broadway tribute. It was too homogenized for me, so we didn't make a great effort to go back. we could have taken advantage of reserved seat suite perk for that show, but didn't. We ended up sitting in the balcony, and that was probably preferable.

Sometimes, you get what could be characterized as a "dirty look" when you take advantage of those type suite perks. I know that has been a big topic on cruise critic lately, and I will share my take on that tomorrow in my final assessment of "the suite life".

I will say now I felt neither guilty taking advantage of the perks when I did, nor resentful of the very few who cast a sideways look a time or two. I can relate to their position also.

As I mentioned this was our 3rd inside passage trip, so we had done the whale watching tours, dog sledding excursions, panning for gold, crab bakes etc. Therefore, we had not booked any excursions prior to boarding and ended up only doing two- The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's excursion in Ketchikan and my wife did Butchart Gardens in Victoria B.C.

The Bering Sea excursion was absolutely, without question, the best excursion we have ever done through-out 8 cruises. It's about a 3 1/2 hr. experience on the Aleutian Ballard, the boat hit by the massive wave on season 2 of "Deadliest Catch". In a very fast paced mixture of fishing and crab fishing techniques, history of the Aleutian Ballard, tales from the captain and fishermen, the time flies. The most spectacular display was when they carried us close to an eagles nest and threw fish into water. The air filled with swooping eagles. There must have been 40 bald eagles diving for fish, including 3 juveniles. One came so close to my wife (who was leaning over the railing) it's wing brushed her face. Seeing so many of those large predators in action was quite a show. Another interesting part of this excursion was that participants were encouraged to handle the creatures they brought up from the sea, with the exception of a few specimens. A prime example being Rockfish, which can inject poison through spines in their fins. I would recommend this tour without hesitation, particularly if watch the "Deadliest Catch".

I didn't go on the Butchart Gardens tour, but my wife took 500+ pictures, so I feel like I did. Needless to say, she was completely enchanted by it, and it did look beautiful.

Well. that pretty much covers the "facts" of our experience. Tomorrow, I will finish with my summary and analysis of "the suite life" on the Solstice, and disembarkation.

Again, if anyone has any questions, please let me know, and I will try to answer them tomorrow.

Spectres, absolutely loving your fabulous review! Thank you so much!

Final Installment. First, thank you to everyone for your kind comments as we've gone through this process. My goal was to give a little something back to the community I've taken so much from through the years. It's gratifying to see I accomplished that on some level.

I guess I should begin with disembarkation. Another disclaimer: In no way am I encouraging or suggesting anyone take any risks with their flight schedules, or transportation from the pier back to the airport. I'm reporting my experience, and my unnecessary worry about what was a non problem. But first- getting off the ship. One of the perks of upper level suites is being escorted off the ship any time you choose after disembarkation begins. We were invited to Michael's club beginning at 7:00 A.M. for coffee (and God help us) more pastries. When we chose, Samantha would escort us off the ship. This worked very smoothly, and as we used the luggage valet program that was no additional cost to Royal Suite guests, we didn't have to stop and find our luggage. This meant we simply went through customs and walked to our shuttle, which was waiting, all in a matter of 10 minutes. Again, kudos to Seattle Express, they were very efficient.

Note: I just realized I said Shuttle Express in the first installation. It is Seattle Express. I apologize for the confusion>

I need to add here the only glitch we experienced with the implementation of the suite perks was that we were billed by Celebrity for the luggage valet program. But, I didn't know this until I received a message from Samantha informing me this had happened, and that she had the charge removed. So, I guess reality was it wasn't a glitch at all.

Anyway here's where the disclaimer becomes important. I had worried all week, (not terribly, but somewhat) that our flight was cutting it too close -11:53 A.M. - on Memorial Day week-end. It didn't help that our shuttle driver informed us during the trip that that day was predicted to be the heaviest day at SEA-TAC in the whole of 2015. I've read countless posts from people asking "can I make an X flight time" as SEA-TAC is frequently over whelmed with departing cruise passengers. so, that also fueled my anxiety. We were off the ship and in the shuttle by 8:25 A.M. or so, and I felt good about that. Then I prepared for maybe an hour trip through Friday morning holiday week-end traffic. The driver made in about 35 minutes so we at the airport by about 9:00 A.M. In the terminal, it was indeed a madhouse. TSA agents at every checkpoint were trying to send travelers to a different checkpoint, because they were so crowded. People would shout back "we just got sent here from 3 or 2" So, we braced for an hour+ ordeal. We were sitting in the Alaska Board Room Lounge having coffee by 9:25 A.M., so we ended with a 2 hour and almost 30 minute time cushion. Again, things do happen, but I will never torture myself with that unnecessary worry again. I'll continue to follow the "not before noon" rule, but if I have to break it a bit I'll do it with considerably less anxiety.

So, was it all worth it? Do the benefits and perks of "the suite life" justify what seems to me an exorbitant premium? I mentioned before I'm an obsessive compulsive guy. And, for me that means my default setting is to try to find the most value for the least amount of money. So, if we viewed it from that perspective alone, if I were honest, I probably would have to say "no"- especially if we were still middle aged. But, we're not. We're much closer to the end of our lives that the middle. We are retired, in our mid 60's, and I view value differently now. There's "true" value and there's also "perceived" value. I include in that 1) the value of knowing assistance is available if you need it. 2) the value of knowing you have most selections available if you want it, and not having to go though additional payment gyrations. 3) the value of having a quiet place available to have coffee or a drink anytime you want it- whether you ever use it or not. 4) the value having the option to use a shorter line if you choose, even though you may seldom use it, and so on.

As we've aged, and joints ache, feet hurt, and stamina decreases, the value of comfort and convenience becomes much more important. Never in my wildest dreams, 15 years ago would I have imagined myself flying first class. My gosh, I could take 3 economy flights for the price of 1 first class flight. Suffice it to say, today, I fly business class if possible, and first class if business isn't available. Not because I want to feel above or superior to anyone else, but because I'm fatter, the seats get smaller, and the arthritis in my knees screams crammed into a space 3/4 my size. If I don't fly at least business class, I'll do very little traveling.

The same principle applies to cruising. The "true" value of the upper suite premium probably doesn't pass the scrutiny of a logical, objective analysis. Don't misunderstand me- there is a lot of "true" value there- particularly in the extra space, Luminae, the unlimited internet package, and Michael's Club. But, reality is, for us, the premium beverage package and unlimited specialty dining (while greatly appreciated) were more "perceived" value that "true" value. So, if I were 44 rather than 64 (unless I had a lot more money at 44 than I actually did) I would be buying children's shoes, putting braces on teeth, and saving so one day I could hopefully cruise in a suite.

So, would I do it again? The answer is a resounding YES! For us, the "perceived" value tips the scale. I think Celebrity is creating a great product, and in our experience it's already working pretty smoothly. Hopefully, they want price themselves out of the market. In the first installment I shared I had developed some concerns about what we would experience on the Solstice. What I didn't share is that we booked a British Isles cruise in a Royal Suite for May 2016, at about the same time we booked the Alaska cruise. I wondered if I would end canceling that after our week on the Solstice- especially since that one is at what I consider a super premium price. The answer to that is a resounding NO! We can't wait!

Thanks for following along. Again, if anyone has questions, please ask. Safe and happy sailing!

Thanks for "giving back" with a great review. I liked that you included so many details about your experiences. This is sure to be helpful to many of us.

Excellent review, Thank You!

Great insight. Thanks for your efforts, much appreciated.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Thanks for posting! So excited as we are headed to the Solstice next month! Thanks for your time and wonderful reviews!

Thanks for your review and insights. We are on Solstice in 2 weeks and I was especially happy to read that the Molecular bar should still be there!

Excellent review - I love the Solstice and Pedro in the Molecular Bar is great - happy to hear his take on the new bar as being "first class."

Especially the introspection on true and perceived "value" Now that was spot on! :D

We board Solstice tomorrow. Thanks for the insights.

We thoroughly enjoyed your reviews, and top marks to you for producing such a great report as a two fingered typist!

Again, Thank you, for hanging in there and typing such a complete review. We especially appreciate your comments pertaining to "value."

Wishing you many more incredible cruises!

Thanks for the excellent detailed review!

Many thanks for the detailed review, Spectres! While I don't think we'll be able to afford the "suite life" anytime soon (we're sticking with verandas for now), I enjoyed reading about your overall experience on the Solstice. We set sail two weeks from today; and like Danna (lovecruzin), I was thrilled to hear we may be able to enjoy the Molecular Bar for one final sailing!

Thanks again for taking the time to provide such a thorough review. Happy travels to you on your upcoming cruises!

~ Shay

Many thanks guys, and to those about to sail- have a great cruise! I think you will really enjoy the Solstice and the wonderful crew!