LonelyTraveler

Was on the Solstice to Alaska in July. The Free movies available on the TV included (to the best of my memory)

- Oceans 8

- Hotel Mumbai

- Avengers Infinity War

- Finding Nemo

- Incredibles 2

- Moana

- Hotel Transylvania 3

Only remember these since we actually watched them.. but there were a few more. And then there were the for pay selection which we didn't even bother to look at.

See my reply here: 

Short answer - Yes, you can bring water aboard at embarkation, as long as you carry it on yourself.

SHIP: Solstice

CABIN #: 6239

DECK #: 6

CLASS: Deluxe Veranda (1A)

AREA: Port side, back edge of the midship hump

BED NEAR: Balcony

QUIET?: YES! Super quiet

BALCONY VIEW: Excellent view of the sea and everything to the sides.Balcony is angled and also gives a nice view along the side of the ship to the stern. Lifeboats immediately below, on deck 5, so can't see the sea right below, but thats not a problem at all.

BALCONY SIZE: Okay, comfortable enough to accommodate a table and two chairs. Did not feel as if it was crowded, even when there were 4 people standing at the rail

WIND A PROBLEM?: Not at all. given the orientation of the balcony (angled inwards, looking to the stern), it is actually shielded from any wind blowing from the bow

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: Had booked this as a guarantee cabin so was not able to actually "select" this cabin. But given a choice, we would have loved to be able to select this.

On 7/13/2019 at 3:55 PM, judla said:

I know this is probably a stupid question, but I need the answer anyhow.  I just completed our on-line check in and it says to bring it plus your original cruise contract.  We have neve done this before.  Do they mean the papers we received from our travel agent?  Thanks for answering my "stupid question".

did it actually say "Original Cruise contract"? Or was it "Original travel documents"? I have seen the latter phrase used often, which means Original Passports, visas, etc - anything that indicates you are authorized to travel wherever you are bound to.

We just got off the Solstice to Alaska a week ago, and mostly ate from the buffet in the OceanView Cafe. The desserts there were excellent. The good part about themed menus (Taste of India, Taste of America, Taste of Italy, etc) was that they also had regional desserts/sweets you could experience. The Tiramisu was excellent, as was the After 8 chocolate cake - and these were available almost every day. The Fruit tarts were good too. 

My personal favorite - the bread pudding, with vanilla sauce. I could eat only that, for dinner 😍

SHIP: Solstice

CABIN #: 7260

DECK #: 7

CLASS: Deluxe Veranda (1A)

AREA: Starboard side, front edge of the midship hump

BED NEAR: Bath

QUIET?: YES! Super quiet

BALCONY VIEW: Unobstructed, clear view of the sea. Looking down, you can see some lifeboat equipment and the sea. The angled balcony on the hump means that you are looking towards the front of the ship and can easily see the bridge, and the view past the bridge towards the front. This also gives you a view of deck 5 with the lifeboats mounted alongside.

BALCONY SIZE: HUGE! Its Trapezium shaped, with the angle giving you extra room. Its big enough that we had 3 chairs, as well as a deck chair and a table, and yet had enough room for a toddler to run around.

WIND A PROBLEM?: Sometimes. The balcony is exposed to the wind coming from the bow, and a strong breeze can make things chilly. But not bad enough to keep you off the balcony.

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: The cabin is close to the elevators, yet we never heard any elevator noises, due to glass doors between the elevator lobby and the cabin area. The balcony is super large, compared to most cabins in this category, which was a welcome benefit! The bathroom does not have a clothesline, which was sort of a bummer. turns out no baths on this ship have clotheslines.

Reporting back here - on my cruise, during embarkation, we carried a 24-pack of 16 oz bottles of water, and no one cared. This was in addition to 2 bottles of wine, which also was not objected to at all. This was as part of carry on luggage, and involved running the liquids through an X-Ray machine, where again, no one raised an eyebrow... such a rarity in the day of TSA controlled checkpoints!

Actually replying to my own topic, so that the detail may help future readers.

The Buffet in the Ocean View Cafe has an Indian station for every meal (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) with atleast 2 vegetarian curries, one meat dish, Indian breads (rotis, parathas, puris), rice/khichdi and assorted accompaniments like raita, Indian pickles, chutneys etc. For every breakfast, there also used to be a big pot of masala tea at the station.

One of the nights, the buffet had a "Taste of India" theme, where the in focus cuisine was Indian food. There were 4 vegetarian curries and 3 meat curries with naans and pulav rice. And the desserts - Carrot halwa, Shahi tukda, Kheer, Sheera, coconut barfi. And then a couple of meails had Vegetable Biryani and Chicken Biryani (the chicken biryani was amongst the best I have ever eaten!)

In the MDR, there was a special Indian menu every night, with Indian appetizers (samosas, pakodas, rasam soup), two-three curries (vegetarian/meat based) and an Indian dessert. 

Short answer - there is Indian food available, as much as you can eat, and good quality too!!! My family had a whale of a time!

11 minutes ago, bbdscruise said:

Just returned from the Solstice and there was a variety of Indian food at the buffet every day. Not all of it was vegetarian, however. The soups in particular were fantastic. There was a tomato rasam that made our eyes water and sinuses clear- delicious! They had  There was a selection of vegan dishes (separate from the Indian food) as well. The MDR menu clearly indicated which dishes were vegetarian and Luminare had a vegetarian option as well.

 

I have to say that I was very impressed with the increase in offerings for special diets (vegetarian, vegan, lactose free, gluten free) on the Solstice as a whole as compared to five years ago. I have a true dairy allergy and was much more comfortable eating at the buffet this time around.

Did you disembark just today? If so, we were on the same cruise 😀, and yes, I agree... I was super impressed with the variety and quality of menu options at the buffet and in the MDR.

Looking to check in online for the Solstice, and it does not ask for a picture, just Passport information, and then generates an Xpress pass with a barcode. Is this normal, or did I miss a step?

We are due to sail to Alaska on the Celebrity Solstice. We have a category 1A Verandah stateroom. 

I was looking through the photo albums here on Cruise Critic (there isn't an album for 1A, so 1C is what I was looking at: ) and in none of the photos could I spot any extensible clothesline in the bathroom. 

Question to people who have travelled on this ship, in similar categories: Is there a clothesline available? It's a small thing, but since we are travelling with a toddler who loves getting messy, and no self service laundry on board, we were planning to wash articles of clothing in the bathroom, and dry them on the clothes line. Do we now need to "Bring our own" ?

From the "horse's mouth", via Facebook...

Hi all,

I am traveling on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska very soon, with extended family. My relatives have cabins that are on a different deck of the ship.  What are the best ways to communicate with them? I am assuming we can use the in-stateroom telephones to communicate (as long as we stay room bound). How about when people are not in their rooms, though? Can we use the Celebrity App to chat amongst ourselves while we are on board the ship?

I installed the Celebrity app on my phone and it says I cannot check in or see details for my trip on the app, since the Celebrity Solstice is not "on" the app yet. Not sure what that means - does that mean the app cannot be used for communication on board the ship?

I will be cruising on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska in July 2019, with my wife and kid, as well as my parents. My parents are vegetarian, and big fans of Indian food. I was wondering what does the Solstice have in terms of availability of Indian food? On previous cruises on Carnival/Princess, the buffet always had some Indian food options, and the MDR usually had unadvertised Vegetarian menus, which included Indian food.

Does the Celebrity Solstice have anything like the above? It is hard to tell from the restaurant descriptions on the Celebrity website or even the reviews on this site.

Thanks all for your comments.

To round off this thread - we just got back from the cruise, and had a fantastic time! We did take the kid to the Formal night in the MDR, and we thoroughly enjoyed it, and so did the kid. The guests on the adjoining table loved him too, especially when he enthusiastically joined in by clapping for a guest celebrating her birthday at the next table :D. He loved waving a napkin when the waiters danced, and in return the waiter at our table made him a rat from a napkin, which is now his favorite bedtime toy ;p

Thanks, everyone. The wife does love to dress up the kid, so she's going to be very happy :)

Cruise newbie here, off on my first cruise this coming weekend and excited about it.

We are traveling with a 15 month infant, so that already limits what we can do onboard the ship. However, how about the formal night dinner? Is that an adults only thing, or can we take our kid along for dinner?

Hey all,

I will be cruising next week on board the Carnival Imagination out of Long Beach CA, with my wife and 1 year old kid. We will not be carrying a car seat with us. What are the infant-friendly transfer options that we can consider?

I was thinking about going with the Carnival airport transfer - it's pricier than Uber/shared shuttles, but I was thinking more about the convenience. Does anyone have experiences of using this service? What is the frequency of the shuttles? Also, are you allowed to take infants on board the shuttles, without a car seat?

Cool, thanks for the pointers, all.

Hey all,

I will be cruising next week on board the Carnival Imagination out of Long Beach CA, with my wife and 1 year old kid. We will not be carrying a car seat with us. What are the infant-friendly transfer options that we can consider?

I was thinking about going with the Carnival airport transfer - it's pricier than Uber/shared shuttles, but I was thinking more about the convenience. Does anyone have experiences of using this service? What is the frequency of the shuttles? Also, are you allowed to take infants on board the shuttles, without a car seat?

My wife and I are taking a Carnival cruise that stops in Ensenada for a day. We have our 1 year old infant with us, which significantly limits our options on activities. Any recommendations on what we can do, and still have an enjoyable day?