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Looking for something to give me a feel good moment today I booked our hotel in Fort Lauderdale for our cruise on Reflection next February. My husband gets the email confirmation and calls me and asks me why I would do that and do I really think we will be cruising then. And I replied that I thought so and would proceed on that thought.  Plus we can always cancel the reservation. 
 

The biggest revelation was his reaction as he is ALWAYS the optimist and I am ALWAYS THE PESSIMIST.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity announced today that all global sailings have been suspended until May 12, 2020.

14 hours ago, ChuckL said:

Thank you for your comments on the Alcoves aboard the Solstice. Although we had a good experience in the Alcove on the Reflection last April with great service, the furniture was definitely not the most comfortable and our food choices were more limited. Having a dedicated attendant to service the Alcoves, a larger space with comfortable furniture, and multiple menus to choose from appears to elevate the experience on the Solstice up a notch. We can’t wait to experience our day at sea in the Solstice Alcove next year. 

On 12/29/2019 at 12:26 AM, mahdnc said:

Tuscan Grille tonight. The photo (blue from the tinted windows) doesn't do the sweeping vista view any justice. 

 

Our son has been given the responsibility for ordering tonight. 

Our first night aboard we had dinner in Tuscan Grill and recognized the waiter from your picture!  It's Allan, the best waiter ever, on Celebrity!  We ended up buying a dining package and asked for his section for another 5 nights!  He was leaving soon for his two months off. 

We just returned from our cruise on Solstice in NZ and AU and just wanted to comment on the service in the Alcoves. We do rent Alcoves on all our cruises so have had experience on other ships but we liked the Alcove itself better on Solstice. It is actually a different design than the other Solstice Class which makes it bigger, roomier and with more comfortable furniture. Our group of six could all be there at once, comfortably. 

The attendant is very-attentive!  Since there is no Lawn Club Grill- his only job is to take care of the Alcove. Throughout the day there were three staff changes with them hovering around to see if we needed anything. We had a wonderful cheese plate and fruit plate and water. When we wanted it he brought a bottle of "bubbly". Offered us sandwich menus and also dining room menus which we did order from. 

He also got us the Blu menu for the evening and arranged a specialty dining reservation for us. 

Just writing this makes me wish I was back there being spoiled!

On 3/3/2020 at 3:46 PM, Muffinz said:

how was boarding? were there delays because they are taking extra time to sanitise the ship?

We board in Auckland on 1 April and would like to get there before mid day - even though celebrity said we should get to Princes wharf 1:30pm

We boarded in Auckland on Feb. 17 and it started out not very well. We stayed at the Hilton Auckland on Princes Wharf which is just a short walk from where you drop your bags and enter for boarding. Our boarding time was noon(Elite) but went down about 11. And it was just a short walk to drop bags BUT there was a HUGE line in the other direction waiting to drop bags so we had to go there which was 2/3 of the way down the wharf.  We had plenty of patience and the weather was good and the line moved so all was good. 

So there was a reason for it as I found out. My sisters stayed at a Air BNB across the wharf and went down earlier and when they dropped off their bags they were asked to fill out a medical form, due to the virus, and this is what backed everything up. By the time we got in line they had abandoned the form and were just asking questions about your travel and travel to China. If you answered correctly they gave you an excursion sticker to wear when you got up to drop off bags and check in. 

The line for for check in went fast and we were on in no time. 

We have sailed them both. Maasdam for 14 nights to Alaska and Solstice was our first Celebrity cruise to the Caribbean. 

Will be joining the Solstice on Feb 17 for 12 nights to your lovely part of the world!  

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Don't feel like it was just you or the Main Dinning Room    We sailed Reflection only once and were in a upper suite.   Luminae was an absolute mess.   Not sure if it was the Manager (my personal opinion) vs the extra passenger load.  It was so bad that the Michael's Club Concierge insisted on escorting us done each evening and still even after she called to confirm the table was ready had to go into the back room to find the Manager to get us seated.

 

To be honest, we sat down with the Manager to have a talk near the beginning of our problems,  We told him we didn't care if he was backed up all he needed to do was call Michael's Club and tell them he was backed up and a table would be ready in XX minutes.  

 

As a result of this, we have never sailed Reflection again. 

When we sailed on Reflection, which is a couple of years ago, I had talked my sisters into booking Sky Suites instead of the Aqua class that we usually do. I had read so many wonderful things about Luminae that I thought we should splurge. And a splurge it was as it will be the only suite we will probably ever book because we are just run of the mill working stiffs. ( my husband and I are truck drivers). So, we are a group of 8, 4 sisters with our husbands and this size group seemed to be a huge problem for Luminae, although it never is for Blu. 

We worked with the staff trying to make arrangements around what would work. We offered to break the group up which we did some nights and staggered the timing. BUT ONE EVENING THEY TOLD US THERE IS NO ROOM FOR YOUR GROUP TOMORROW NIGHT at any time and any group size, they would be happy to make reservations for any of us in select dining. We double checked with all dining staff, our butler and anyone else that would listen but everyone said nothing could be done. 

The only thing that we thought it could be was that there was another group ( of 12) dining every night and they must have been more important because they weren't treated like we were. 

And yes I am still upset about the way we were treated. 

We've sailed in Aqua class since after our first Celebrity cruise on Solstice in select dining when we vowed not to do that again. 

On 1/18/2020 at 11:30 PM, wwcruisers said:

 

Finally giving HAL a try. Not just the disappointing IV's on Edge -- along with the high prices and marketing baloney (Goop -- REALLY??). Even if I still loved X as much as I did on my first Solstice cruise (10 years ago), X's diminishing presence on the West Coast is quite a deterrent for us. 🤨

 

 

 

 

 

In 2016 we did a last minute 14 night Alaskan cruise on HAL Maasdam and enjoyed every moment of the trip.  I really enjoyed their  pre dinner music and dancing ( only as a wishful observer-hubby doesn't dance) and the 2 for 1 cocktail hour. The first night I prebooked the specialty restaurant and it was very good.  We met many wonderful people including a WW 2 veteran and his wife and others that we still share emails with. We would sail on HAL anytime. 

Thank you very much for sharing the schedule. 

6 hours ago, nchpmn said:

From the Port Authority's schedule, the Solstice is to move from Athol Bay to the OPT from 21:00 onwards:

 

On 1/7/2020 at 10:36 PM, ericosmith said:

OK, I give...what's a "jumper"?

Thanks for asking it saved me from doing so. I've been wondering...

We are also on this cruise and just to make it clear passengers are NOT disembarking and embarking here. It is a port call and confusing as all heck. We arrive on Feb 26 aand have an overnight there and leave on the Feb 27 at 10 PM. I've also read that we will tender to shore the first day and the second day we will be docked.  So I'm assuming the ship will dock at some time after whichever ship is using it has sailed. 

We board in Auckland on Feb 17 and received an email telling us not to arrive before 12 noon. We are staying at the Hilton at the Warf where we embark so will be right there. Also wondering if we need to adhere to that timeline or is it like Ft Lauderdale/Miami Caribbean departures where we show up when we want no matter what our SeaPass says.

Which itinerary are you on?  On Feb 17 we embark Auckland to Melbourne. Our first Celebrity cruise was on Solstice that got us hooked on Celebrity!  How is the weather and are you in areas of bush fire smoke?  We have only ever sailed the Caribbean so we will be out of our comfort zone. 

11 hours ago, gfkcruiser said:

I really want to do this sailing but concerned about the long flight from the US.

 

As for Tea - I find that the Trans Atlantics draw a big crowd and our Caribbean cruises have been drawing a much smaller crowd.  On a recent sailing - we and a few others were told to go to Blu - but tea was actually in MDR.  Crew member came up a few minutes after 3 to tell us we were at the incorrect place.  

We too are concerned about the long flight but I guess we'll find out in about 40 days. Three sisters from Wis. and husbands. We sail on Feb 17th  and starting from Wisconsin with a flight out Wednesday the 12th to Houston for overnight at our sisters and then Thursday the 13 New Zealand Air 15 hours to Auckland.  Booked in economy but have upgraded to a Sky Couch. I don't even want to think of the return which is United Melbourne to LA to Chicago.  I've blocked out how many hours that will be. 

Last year when we sailed the Summit I think we were at the port shortly after 10:30 and they opened the doors at 11 and we were on board in about 10 minutes. We always go early because that's my first day of the cruise and I want to be enjoying it as long as possible. 

Our group sailed in 9125-9131 on Summit and they were great cabins.  They are under the seating area just as you enter the buffet area. No one had noise issues. We were aware of the overhang and would not in any way call it obstructed view. For our southern Caribbean sailing we welcomed the shade. A few years earlier we had also sailed Summit on 11 in 1105 and 1107 and did not like the NO overhang. We had to keep the heavy drapery closed or the room heated up and EVERY day there was water on the balcony as you stepped out the door. 

So since so many here have so much insight into the customs form I have a different question about it.  In February we sail on the Solstice out of Auckland and at one of our ports the last stop is a sheep ranch where we will see sheep sheering. So does that mean I have to fill out the customs form on return to US as I have visited a ranch?  Thinking of canceling the tour to avoid the hassle. Of course it will be different as we are re entering via airline vs cruise ship. And we have Global Entry. After doing only Caribbean cruises and not having to fill out the form as we've not needed to, I'm not sure how this works in this situation. 

5 hours ago, macaroni said:

We’ll be boarding in Auckland on February 17th....looking forward to any tips you can pass along. We sail 12 nights Auckland to Melbourne with an overnight in Sydney. Would like to know what your favorite activities in Sydney were...enjoy!

We'll be with you on the 17th!  

Looking forward to your Holiday trip report. 

I hope the Chef's Table lives up to your expectations and all goes well for the rest of your cruise. Celebrity is well known for a much better experience on board versus dealing with shore based personnel or the website. 

Waiting for more of your review as we sail Solstice in February. 

So today is my birthday!  I imagine others have gotten the really nice email from Celebrity for their birthday. It has a cute little video and also has a countdown clock which right now says 87 days 00 hours 16 minutes and 10 seconds to the Solstice12 nights New Zealand to Australia!

Solstice is not on the app yet. Only ships that have gone through"revolution" are on the app. 

9 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

do you know the easiest way to get an Uber from Pam Am pier?
there's a long line of taxi's.

where do you wait for the Uber? (Uber app said $9 this morning from Pan Am pier to sju airport.)

If I was anxious about getting to the airport I would forget the whole Uber thing and walk out the door and hop in the first taxi available. In my book I've just spent a lot of money on a cruise and spent money on the flight I'm trying not to miss and I'm worried about $10 extra for a cab?  In my opinion taxis were very reasonable in San Juan.