Solstice Alaska Review May 31-June 7

I have sailed many different lines including Norwegian, Disney, Carnival, and most often RCCL. This was our (2 adults, 2 children) first time on Celebrity. Solstice is a beautiful ship and definitely a step up in many regards. However, I found it lacking in entertainment and attitude of the servers and many of the patrons.

This Celebrity ship obviously caters to an older age group. No rock walls, no water slides (although not needed in Alaska), no Sky Course or flow riders. You get croquet and a hot glass show. We found ourselves on sea days just sitting in our rooms or in the library reading because we didn't want to attend art shows or ballroom dancing classes.

We upgraded to a Concierge Class stateroom. It was in an EXCELLENT location (1122) very close to an elevator and the library. Easy up/down to the Ocean view Cafe.

I will break this review down into the Great, Good and Bad categories.

GREAT-

Balcony- This was the biggest balcony we've ever had on a ship. Two lounge chairs you could actually lounge on and 1 nice sized table. Great for the morning in Tracy Arm.

Decor- Really liked the elegance of the ship

Adult Solarium- Very pretty, relaxing, and always able to find a seat. I liked that it had a drink bar available.

Anytime Dining- We never made a reservation and never waited for a table.

Flat screen TV Menu- Loved being able to see our photos onscreen without having to go to the photo center. Also, the ability to read the US news headlines every day.

Ship Design- Laid out very well and easy to find your way around.

Self Debark-Very easy, smooth process. We were at our airport gate by 8:40.

Brent Nixon- He MADE this cruise for me! He is a naturalist and does presentations in the theater about Alaska, Bears, Whales, etc. He has such an excitement about the things he has seen over his lifetime. When we went out for our whale excursion I was able to see/point out things he had said to the kids. I know they were soooo impressed with my knowledge (sarcasm).

Spa- I had a massage and I LOVED that she didn't try to sell me anything afterward. It wasn't even mentioned. So different than what I've seen on other cruise lines.

GOOD-

Comedians- We liked the Sin City Comedy show, but could have done without the burlesque portion. There was really no point to her routine as they didn't tell any jokes about her.

Entertainment- Hit and Miss. The cirque type show was very good, but I saw no point to the guy running around juggling during the middle of it. I wasn't interested in the piano guy so didn't watch that. The others were “ok”.

Dining Room Food- Overall a good experience. I only had 1 or 2 dishes that I didn't like and I never left hungry. The service here was very slow though. Often people who came in after us were served before us.

Stateroom Attendant- He was fine. Not great. We didn't get our bathrobes until we asked for them on the third day of our cruise. He said they were being “washed”. I could find no real value in being concierge and would never book it if I had to pay for it.

Glass Show-This was a good show. I think I was a little jaded because I saw a great show in Dearborn last summer.

BAD-

Ocean view Cafe- The layout of this place is the WORST. The many different stations made it hard to find what you wanted and people wouldn't form a line, they would just cut in and out. I hated it. The servers acted like you were putting them out. I don't mean the crew patrolling the tables, I mean the ones cooking. The pizza guy, the stir-fry cook, and the made-to-order omelet stations all acted like they were annoyed to be there. Lines were long.

No self serve ice cream- I know this is probably a minor annoyance to some people, but I have grown accustomed to it on other cruises and didn't like having to stand in a line of 20 people to get ice cream, thus I only ate it once, which was probably better for my waistline anyway.

Patrons- The cruise director said that of the 2800 people on board that 2000 were Americans. Well, to me, those 2000 were completely overshadowed by 2 nationalities (which I won't name) who were the rudest people I have ever encountered. I'm sure there must have been some very nice people amongst them, but they would push onto a very crowded elevator and basically bulldoze their way through to get their entire group on. They would arrive at the theater shows anywhere from 15-30 minutes late and walk up to the very front to get a seat. We were once the first in line before the dinner seating started and just as they opened the door this large group rushed forward to get in front of us. It was just amazing. Forget trying to say anything to them because they didn't understand, or at least pretended not to. By FAR, they were the worst part of the cruise, and there was just instance after instance -over and over.

Juneau Tendering-Really, really bad!! We were in line 20 minutes early to get tendering tickets. At 3:00 they were tendering #6. We were #12. I had to go to guest services and it took a lot of complaining before she got us on a sooner tender. I just knew we were going to miss the excursion we paid $2000 for.

Overall, I enjoyed this cruise, but I doesn't rank in my top 5 or anything. I probably won't sail Celebrity again until I am about 20 years older.

I wanted to mention a few excursions that I enjoyed.

In Ketchikan we watched the lumberjack show. We didn't book through the ship, just walked up and purchased our tickets. Its a little cheesy, but it is good for kids and made us laugh.

We also booked a helicopter tour/dog mushing on our own in Juneau. This was the highlight of our trip. Solstice also has an excursion to do this, but we paid $100 less and had our own van, whereas they came on a bus after us.

Last, we did the whale watching tour through the ship in Victoria. It was AMAZING. We saw tons of whales and had a great time. However, they told us 3 days before that they had taken a tour and didn't see any, so we feel very lucky.

Thanks for posting your review and tender experience.

We're on the same cruise Aug 9 and tendering as well. Ugh.

Big debate on the value of the concierge class and I realize it isn't for everybody. We like the extra cruise credit and we booked so far out that we saved a lot.

We were in your cabin last year. You did say you loved the large balcony in a great location which is one benefit of the concierge class. Up to each of us if that is worth the cost.

We're trying to decide if we want to book a specialty restaurant and if so what night. Was there a special lobster night?

What did you do in Skagway?

Thanks again.

Thanks for the great review. My wife and I will be on the Solstice in 6 weeks and am becoming very concerned about the tender situation in Juneau. We also booked a private tour and will be really upset if we have to miss it.

I can appreciate how frustrating it is traveling with people who's culture has very different norms and expectations. We sailed on the RCI Liberty of the Seas a few years ago with a large group who behaved similar to those on your sailing. Wow, that was a really long week.

I have sailed many different lines including Norwegian, Disney, Carnival, and most often RCCL. This was our (2 adults, 2 children) first time on Celebrity. Solstice is a beautiful ship and definitely a step up in many regards. However, I found it lacking in entertainment and attitude of the servers and many of the patrons.

 

This Celebrity ship obviously caters to an older age group. No rock walls, no water slides (although not needed in Alaska), no Sky Course or flow riders. You get croquet and a hot glass show. We found ourselves on sea days just sitting in our rooms or in the library reading because we didn't want to attend art shows or ballroom dancing classes.

 

We upgraded to a Concierge Class stateroom. It was in an EXCELLENT location (1122) very close to an elevator and the library. Easy up/down to the Ocean view Cafe.

 

I will break this review down into the Great, Good and Bad categories.

 

GREAT-

 

Balcony- This was the biggest balcony we've ever had on a ship. Two lounge chairs you could actually lounge on and 1 nice sized table. Great for the morning in Tracy Arm.

 

Decor- Really liked the elegance of the ship

 

Adult Solarium- Very pretty, relaxing, and always able to find a seat. I liked that it had a drink bar available.

 

Anytime Dining- We never made a reservation and never waited for a table.

 

Flat screen TV Menu- Loved being able to see our photos onscreen without having to go to the photo center. Also, the ability to read the US news headlines every day.

 

Ship Design- Laid out very well and easy to find your way around.

 

Self Debark-Very easy, smooth process. We were at our airport gate by 8:40.

 

Brent Nixon- He MADE this cruise for me! He is a naturalist and does presentations in the theater about Alaska, Bears, Whales, etc. He has such an excitement about the things he has seen over his lifetime. When we went out for our whale excursion I was able to see/point out things he had said to the kids. I know they were soooo impressed with my knowledge (sarcasm).

 

Spa- I had a massage and I LOVED that she didn't try to sell me anything afterward. It wasn't even mentioned. So different than what I've seen on other cruise lines.

 

GOOD-

 

Comedians- We liked the Sin City Comedy show, but could have done without the burlesque portion. There was really no point to her routine as they didn't tell any jokes about her.

 

Entertainment- Hit and Miss. The cirque type show was very good, but I saw no point to the guy running around juggling during the middle of it. I wasn't interested in the piano guy so didn't watch that. The others were “ok”.

 

Dining Room Food- Overall a good experience. I only had 1 or 2 dishes that I didn't like and I never left hungry. The service here was very slow though. Often people who came in after us were served before us.

 

Stateroom Attendant- He was fine. Not great. We didn't get our bathrobes until we asked for them on the third day of our cruise. He said they were being “washed”. I could find no real value in being concierge and would never book it if I had to pay for it.

 

Glass Show-This was a good show. I think I was a little jaded because I saw a great show in Dearborn last summer.

 

 

BAD-

 

Ocean view Cafe- The layout of this place is the WORST. The many different stations made it hard to find what you wanted and people wouldn't form a line, they would just cut in and out. I hated it. The servers acted like you were putting them out. I don't mean the crew patrolling the tables, I mean the ones cooking. The pizza guy, the stir-fry cook, and the made-to-order omelet stations all acted like they were annoyed to be there. Lines were long.

 

No self serve ice cream- I know this is probably a minor annoyance to some people, but I have grown accustomed to it on other cruises and didn't like having to stand in a line of 20 people to get ice cream, thus I only ate it once, which was probably better for my waistline anyway.

 

Patrons- The cruise director said that of the 2800 people on board that 2000 were Americans. Well, to me, those 2000 were completely overshadowed by 2 nationalities (which I won't name) who were the rudest people I have ever encountered. I'm sure there must have been some very nice people amongst them, but they would push onto a very crowded elevator and basically bulldoze their way through to get their entire group on. They would arrive at the theater shows anywhere from 15-30 minutes late and walk up to the very front to get a seat. We were once the first in line before the dinner seating started and just as they opened the door this large group rushed forward to get in front of us. It was just amazing. Forget trying to say anything to them because they didn't understand, or at least pretended not to. By FAR, they were the worst part of the cruise, and there was just instance after instance -over and over.

 

Juneau Tendering-Really, really bad!! We were in line 20 minutes early to get tendering tickets. At 3:00 they were tendering #6. We were #12. I had to go to guest services and it took a lot of complaining before she got us on a sooner tender. I just knew we were going to miss the excursion we paid $2000 for.

 

Overall, I enjoyed this cruise, but I doesn't rank in my top 5 or anything. I probably won't sail Celebrity again until I am about 20 years older.

 

I wanted to mention a few excursions that I enjoyed.

 

In Ketchikan we watched the lumberjack show. We didn't book through the ship, just walked up and purchased our tickets. Its a little cheesy, but it is good for kids and made us laugh.

 

We also booked a helicopter tour/dog mushing on our own in Juneau. This was the highlight of our trip. Solstice also has an excursion to do this, but we paid $100 less and had our own van, whereas they came on a bus after us.

 

Last, we did the whale watching tour through the ship in Victoria. It was AMAZING. We saw tons of whales and had a great time. However, they told us 3 days before that they had taken a tour and didn't see any, so we feel very lucky.

Thanks for your review. We were on the cruise just before you, but after reading your review I would have thought we were on the same sailing. What's sad is the problems you stated are standard practice, rather than an occassional occurrence.

We had already heard bad things about the tendering, so the night before Juneau, we went to the concierge desk to see if we got priority tendering. We were told that it was only for embark and debark. We explained our concern with needing to make sure we could meet our driver at 3:45. We were told that at 3:00, if we hadn't yet been called, to come back to guest services and they would get us on the next tender. When 3:00 came and they weren't near our number we went back. There was a different crew member there at that time and she basically said, "Sorry, the numbers have all been handed out. There is nothing I can do". That's when I asked to speak to someone else and gave them the name of the person I had talked to the day before. Suddenly, priority tender tickets appeared out of the blue!

In Skagway we rented a jeep and drove to Emerald Lake. It was very beautiful, but boring for the kids. There was an excursion on the ship for this, but it was $300 cheaper to do it on our own, and we moved at our own pace and stopped where we wanted to.

Thanks for taking the time to write a review.

Keith

Thanks for your review.

Thanks for your review.

Being on the same cruise I'm surprised that they stated there were 2000 Americans onboard, seemed like much less. Or perhaps I should say that it appeared that caucasians were in the minority on this cruise. There is rudeness in all nationalities though I've noticed. Being a big person I refuse to be intimidated by pushy people as I will get in their way and will not be run over or pushed out of the way. I realize that not everyone has that nature.

For the most part I agree with your review. Like you, I certainly didn't feel overwhelmed by this cruise, and I really like Celebrity. I'd give it a 6 or 7 out of ten. I really enjoyed the natural beauty of Alaska, but much prefer warm weather cruises.

I went to the second night show and felt that saying the singers were a step above amateurs would be being kind. I did like the dancers, but didn't go to any other shows.

I didn't have any issues with service, but I tended to go to bar areas that were not as busy.

For those folks worried about service with the drink package, not once did I experience an issue.

Thanks for your review.

Regarding your issue with people not forming a line in the Oceanview Cafe...

You are NOT supposed to line up at the various Islands and stations. you go around the islands and pick whatever you need. no lines. the whole concept is to eliminate lines. some people do still form lines, like sheep, however, but that is totally counterproductive of the concept.

Thank you for your review.

My husband and I have been on Royal C., Princess and Celebrity. But, the last 13 cruises were with Celebrity. This time we were traveling with 4 other couples who have all cruised before, in varying degrees, on lots of different cruise lines.

Since the inception of the Solstice class, we have always gotten an Aqua Class cabin...just so we can dine at Blu. I will never understand why the powers that be did not think to make Blu restaurant big enough to hold not just Aqua Class, but Concierge and Suite class as well. Makes no sense. We never liked the huge impersonal experience of the main dining room....no matter how beautiful it is made.

We love the layout and elegant decor of Celebrity. The Solarium pool is wonderful as is the Persian Garden.

I agree with the op that Brent Nixon was a highlight. I wonder what coffee he drinks? He has so much energy! I also agree that there were many rude passengers on board, but that is not the fault of the cruise line. Many cultures seem to be rude. In Rome, I was hit with an umbrella by a little old Italian lady, wearing a babushka, as she pushed in front of me. Americans are just so nice!

I agree that the entertainment is hit or miss. We only went to 2 shows.

We had all watched the Liberace movie on HBO a couple weeks ago, so we decided to go to see the pianist, who was mentored by Liberace at a young age. Normally, we wouldn't go to see a pianist...even too boring for us old farts. Turns out he was unbelievably great! He did everything from classical to Lady GaGa and did it very well. He was funny and high energy...a great show. The other show was the juggler. I liked him, my husband, not so much. Hit or miss.

We like the Oceanview Cafe and use it a lot. It gets busy at times, but it seemed to me that some of the staff has been cut or they are working them too many hours. I remember the days, when someone took your tray (yes, there were trays) and carried it to your table...set your food out on the table for you and took the tray away.

Another area that we noticed that they were spread thin, was in the Martini Bar. Twice, we had to go to the bar to get our own drinks. Wow! That has never happened before. Also, I think the room attendants are doing more rooms that they used to do. Although, the room is always clean as can be...we never saw them unless we had a problem. Used to see them all the time and chatted with them.

Juneau disembarkation? As an Elite member, we got off right away, but, our friends did not. It needs to be addressed.

We would rate this cruise a 7 out of 10...Alaska itself was awesome! We've been thinking that we need to check out maybe a different cruise line. Regency? Crystal? They are pricey, so we would have to go every 2 years instead of every year. Anyone? We would not ever go on RC or Carnival, since we are past the rock climbing stage of our lives! ;)

Regarding your issue with people not forming a line in the Oceanview Cafe...

You are NOT supposed to line up at the various Islands and stations. you go around the islands and pick whatever you need. no lines. the whole concept is to eliminate lines. some people do still form lines, like sheep, however, but that is totally counterproductive of the concept.

Yes, that works real well at the Pasta station, the omelette station, the ice cream bar and the other stations where you have food cooked to order. :rolleyes:

Thanks for your review. You mentioned not sailing Celebrity again

for at least 20 years? How old are you?

Sorry you found things so disappointing.

It sounds like you went to Coastal for your trip to the glacier. It is an excellent trip....as is the dogsledding. My dogs were there last year...and it is $100,00 cheaper as they do not have to give the cruise lines $$$$$$.....and it is actually much better than the one you book on board. More experienced pilots and mushers. All of them have race experience and most have done either Iditarod or the Yukon Quest. :)

I sailed on June 7th on the Solstice, after reading the review it must be the people that are cruising at that time, I didnt find a problem at the Cafe at all, I felt that it was much more organized than the cruises on other cruise lines. Our waiter in the dining room was exceptional, we never waited for anything he was awesome. Our room steward was always around so if we needed anything he was there to help, we never needed anything we had recieved what we were suppose to have in a CC room, not that you get alot with this room but our little munchies were there everyday at 4. Our steward would see us coming down the hall and make sure that he opened our cabin door for us, he went above and beyond, and I have had stewards on other lines that we never saw half of the time. This was my first Celebrity sailing and I enjoyed the entertainment, the comedy show was funny but the female dancer, stripper was not needed for the show, it was rather stupid to have her there at all. But over all I think our excursions with the ship went well and they were organized and I would definetly sail with Celebrity again. Just my opinion and we all have our own so I am not saying that all of us will feel the same, I just hope that for the most part you had fun.

Regarding your issue with people not forming a line in the Oceanview Cafe...

You are NOT supposed to line up at the various Islands and stations. you go around the islands and pick whatever you need. no lines. the whole concept is to eliminate lines. some people do still form lines, like sheep, however, but that is totally counterproductive of the concept.

In America, we stand in line or say excuse me when trying to get to whatever it is we want. On the whole we don't push our way in front of others to get "Whatever we need" or we ask to be able to step in. It's called common courtesy. I for one, when doing this, don't feel like "sheep" but a well-mannered, considerate person.