yoshi

We were on the 5-Day Solstice (1/2/23-1/7/23) cruise down to Cabo and back, it was a wonderful getaway. I never get tired of living on the ocean. They did indeed do all of the cooking and cleaning for us 😁 and the crew gave us great service. Yes, there were some changes from pre-pandemic but not deal breakers. I hope that you all have a wonderful cruise, enjoy those sunsets!

11 hours ago, kokopelli-az said:

Stand at the ramp.   They will come to you.   The crew is waiting to help.  If one of the crew us not there to immediately assist, a supervisor will call them over.   

Thank you, it is good to know that we can keep cruising and Celebrity is probably the best fit for us still.

6 hours ago, kokopelli-az said:

If you want to book an accessible stateroom, you will need to do it sooner rather than later.   The fill up fast.  

Make sure you contact Celebrity's Access Department and advise that you will be bringing mobility equipment.    https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs

 

There will be Celebrity employees at the ramp to assist those needing assistance up or down the ramp.  Don't try to use the ramp without them; wait for them if they're not right there. 

 

From  Celebrity's website:  Many ports provide easy access for wheelchairs and scooters, however due to various conditions: steepness of the gangway, tendering, weather, tidal and sea conditions, and shore-side facilities, guests using assistive devices may be precluded from getting on or off the ship.  We will make reasonable efforts to assist our guests, but for safety reasons, our staff is not permitted to lift guests or equipment. Assistance with manual wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. will be provided.

 

 

Thank you Kokopelli-az, I can usually push the wheelchair if necessary but sometimes the ramps are steep so its nice to know they will help. Do you just ask at the exit area or would I need to contact a certain department ahead of time?

17 hours ago, Mosttoyswin said:

I am a 99% full time wheelchair.  I can do transfers and walk three or four steps provided  I'm wearing my braces.  We have not traveled on all of the cruise ships by any stretch of the imagination. We have pretty much settled on celebrity S and E class.  The primary reason is power doors for the cabin and all outdoor access points.  While it is possible for me to Open a cabin door it is very difficult. With celebrities accessible cabins on S or E class simply insert key card and the door opens. Sounds like a little thing but it makes a big difference to me.  Obviously a tender port is out of the question for me. However we will take a Cruise that has a tender port if my wife wants to see that location she can take a tour. Honestly it's kind of fun to run around the ship what is 99% empty.  .In most Caribbean ports celebrity offers an accessible tour.  

Thank you Mosttoyswin,

We did a short cruise out of Los Angeles earlier this month but DH did not get off the ship for a tour. We had a regular balcony so maybe we should book the accessible cabin if available, that would make it easier for him to get around if I take an excursion. 

Does Celebrity offer to have any help for persons in wheelchairs exiting the ship off the ramps at each docked port? They were very helpful with assistance upon embarkation and debarkation.

We are not new to cruising but new to DH using a walker and transport chair aboard ship.

Our favorite lines have been Celebrity for ocean and AMA for river, but we are just starting out trying to travel with some mobility limitations. We are realizing that we should probably book independent tours rather than ship tours. I know that cruises with tender ports are not recommended for disabled but was hoping to read about positive experiences with certain cruiselines or destinations that are easier for a disabled person to navigate.

Which cruiseline is the best for disabled (walker/wheelchair) and what is the best/easiest itinerary to navigate for a person using a walker?

And on the bright side of your covid infection, now you two have hopefully developed the natural immunity which may be the best protection for your next travels. I do hope you feel back to normal soon.

We have done two cruises since covid but still have not caught it (yet), we did not fly for either cruise.

10 hours ago, TeeRick said:

In the evening with the reduced buffet dinner offerings?

I only stopped by in the afternoons but I would think they have a full selection as long as the ice cream station is open (I think until 10pm?)

Thank you for another great read...until the next cruise 😀

On our Solstice cruise 1/2/2023 we had some of our favorite flavors of Celebrity Ice Cream in the Oceanview Cafe; Cinnamon, After Eight, Butter Pecan, Pistachio, Coconut Sorbet, Lemon Sorbet...

They also had soft serve with various toppings available but we like the regular ice creams. And they always had a sugarfree flavor every day if that interests you.

Ok Norris, I am enjoying an iced coffee with a little Sambuca while reading up on the latest Gentlemen's Seafaring Journal/Deck Chair Queen adventures. This episode is especially relevant because we just finished up a short 5 day Baja CA cruise on the Celebrity Solstice. Thank you for the pictures and reading material, already pining for my next cruise.☺️

My favorite = Sidecar 🥰

On our January Solstice cruise, we brought our 2 bottles  of special wines to Murano and paid $35 each for corkage. The sommelier chilled the white and decanted the cabernet in his special decanter. He was very nice and professional about this. We did not have the beverage package.

We also brought 2 bottles to MDR and paid $35 each for corkage, different sommelier, not as personable as in Murano. 

Also, if you do not finish the bottle, they will save it and bring it out at your next dinner no matter which dining venue you go to.

We just got off of the Solstice yesterday and although we did notice fewer dining room choices and no double lobster tails 😞 , really, the MDR food was still very good. Is it as good as 20 years ago? No, the lobster lemon was tiny and not wrapped in netting (not to mention the lobster is smaller) and formal night the waiters were not dressed in white gloves like the good old days. However, our waiter, Charlie still gave us excellent service and was welcoming and had a good sense of humor. We had a wonderful trip and were well fed.

One change that was very disappointing to me was that there were no Enrichment Guest Speakers, I always looked forward to attending those lectures on sea days. 

Hotel 1898 on Las Ramblas, nice balconies and not too far a walk from La Boceria (sp?) Market.

We walked all the way to the harbor from the hotel. We wished that we would have stayed more than one night, there is so much to do in Barcelona.

Thank you for your review and pictures Orcagirl, I'm glad you got to cruise with your friend. Have a good Disneyland trip with Hubby too!

1. Thank you for the live review, such a nice jellyfish, Did you preorder the class or just sign up on board?

Another thank you for the review. We are booked on both Solstice in January and Discovery in March and looking forward to both. 

Did you get off the ship at any ports? any excursions?

Masking is optional except the tour guides have been requiring masks on board the buses.

DS also said tours have been fantastic (all ports are new destinations for him) they have all been under 30 people with the tour in Turkey there were only 8 in their group. 

DS only went to main dining room on the first night and reported "marginal", french onion soup and caesar salad were good but prime rib was tough and overcooked. He said the breakfast buffet is good with omelets and waffles.

They dined at Chefs Table, Giovannis, and Chops Grille which were all very good.

He heard they are sailing with about 1,700 passengers but the staff is limited so spread thin. 

Hi, DS did the Chefs Table and said it was "worth it" and it included 7 drinks so it got loud, he only sends limited texts so didn't provide pictures or extensive detail. He enjoyed the comedian/magician and was thinking about attending a vocalist doing a tribute to Celine. He will ask about the passenger count. I believe they will be in Santorini tomorrow doing a ships tour. 

My adult son is on board the Rhapsody this week and texted us just a few comments so far. He said that they were signed up for specialty dining on days one and two but specialty dining was postponed until at least day 3. He said the buffet was fully open, no comment on food quality. He thought service is not up to speed yet although they are trying. Weather was nice, up in the 80s. If I hear more I will let you know. It sounds like a great itinerary. 

On 2/25/2022 at 5:08 AM, duffinvt said:

New to big ship cruising and doing a July trip on Majestic in Alaska. Have signed up for several excursions.  Do they supply bottled water/ponchos?   American  Queen steamboat did for each passenger as they left for their excursion.  It was nice  !   OR , where to get a bottle of water?  

 

We learned on our last Princess cruise that you can pre-order ( for like $7 or $8) a case of bottled water to be delivered to your stateroom. It will be waiting in your cabin. We ordered this even though we also got the water bottles with the beverage package, it is a very nice and convenient way to start off with a great supply of water. Also note that you cannot order the case of water during the cruise so make sure to take care of it in advance.

Enjoy that cruise to Alaska, I'm sure it will be wonderful!

We we went on the Lobster Lunch Snorkel Tour off of the Equinox in 2016, it was wonderful!!!

I could have just stayed forever if we had the groundhog-day-do-overs! btw, that nice lady is not me or my group, she happened to be in my picture of the lobster chef.