Solstice once again 3/28

[RhondaPerr]

I am not going to repeat what previous posters have said in their reviews. Everyone already knows what a beautiful classy ship the Solstice is. I will start this by saying this was my 2nd time sailing her, and would not hesitate for a second to book again! Except for a single person at the Guest Relations Desk, any negatives that you might hear were about some extremely inconsiderate passengers.

 

We stayed at the Atlantic Hotel, and if you ever want to treat yourself this was a wonderful hotel. It was about 20 minutes from the airport and 15 min from the Port. Embarkation took a while. We got there after 1pm which was not the problem...here is point #1 where passengers not being considerate held up both the line for documents being checked and then again in Check In.. We went straight to our cabin and then to lunch.. Mustering wonderful no life jacket required a first for me... This was my 23rd cruise and 6th on Celebrity.

 

We met informally with some people we had talked to on Cruise Critic at the sailaway and then got ready for dinner. Our luggage minus one bag was waiting for us. Dinner in Blu..okay here comes the gushing.... I have severe spice and seasoning allergies, and I can not even describe how much they catered to my needs. I Can't say enough about the staff in Blu and when I stay staff I mean each and every person that works there. By the end of the cruise they all felt more like friends than crew. I was very concerned about the no fixed time, but we came every night the same time, we had a table by the window, and had the same waitress... Mildred who was absolutely one of the best we have ever had.. Santos our assistant waiter who was excellent. The tables are close enough where you can talk to your neighbors or not, and we met some lovely people..

 

I can't emphasize enough what a wonderful experience Blu is and how it is worth the extra money. Its quiet and so elegant. The Chef came out each night and talked to the guests, and was so personable! I could go on forever!

 

I thought the shows were very good. Our CD changed from James to John in the middle of the cruise, and I can't even tell you how much the energy of the activities changed for the better. The music around the ship was excellent... There wasn't anything that we did where we didn't have fun... I don't understand how anyone could say they were bored, because there were not enough hours in a day.... For those who followed Young and Restless, the actor who played Brad and who now plays Bill on Bold and Beautiful was one of the guest lecturers and he was very good... There were history seminars, learning seminars... etc....

 

We only did one excursion this time and that was the Segway in St Maartin... Our only complaint was it was too short! Our time was changed because Oasis was snapping up all the excursions, but it turned out well.. earlier would have been too hot and its on a busy boardwalk so too crowded... If you are anywhere where Oasis is at the same time, don't wait till the ship to book, because we got closed out in San Juan.. Labadee...we waited a little while, while 55 Palets of supplies were off loaded to the waiting UN trucks.. We didn't make it there last year because of a medical emergency so I hadn't been there in almost 10 years...Wow! No fighting for chairs, 3 beaches and many activities... There is a little marketplace but I have to say they were so aggressive that they actually made us a little nervous...I understand their plight but we did not feel safe!

 

I mentioned earlier about the negatives all stemming from passengers behavior, and let me preface this by saying it did not effect the enjoyment of our cruise in the slightest.. The usual things like the pool chairs, that seems to have been even more ridiculous this time, with people saving many chairs and other people not taking kindly to it.. There was a shouting near altercation in the theatre when a couple were saving 18 seats... A line meant nothing to some people, they would just walk right in front of you... There were 600 kids on board and you never would have known it...they were better behaved than some adults.

 

One thing that became abundantly clear is that Celebrity is listening and wants your feedback. Around the 3rd day of the cruise we received a postcard that is called "Attention to Details." I wrote a glowing letter about Blu, and that night the Blu staff thanked me, they had received a copy of the letter..apparently that postcard is typed up like an email and sent to everyone who works on the ship. If you make a negative comment they will do the same thing and follow up with you..

 

I love the Solstice, and Celebrity.. and if you are a newbie you should not even think twice about sailing this ship. Warning though, you may never want to sail on anything else once you experience the Solstice Class Ships..

[STXCruisers]

Hi Rhonda! We sailed with you in April last year on Solstice. We sailed her again this year (in February). I actually did a B2B for the first time.:D

It was good to hear you had a great cruise. One of these days we will have to try Aqua Class. We are kind of hooked on sky suites, but sometimes a little change is good! Blu sounds great.

There always seem to be some people who don't want to follow the rules (i.e., saving seats at the pool or in the theater) and cause unpleasantness for others. I guess they will always be with us.:rolleyes:

Thanks for posting - it was good to hear from you.:)

Doris

[Denny01]

Boy, one couple saving 18 seats in the theatre! Wow, that's got to be a record. I'm truly impressed that some group has the gall to try to pull that one off. I kind of feel for the couple who got stuck with that job - Not. there is a time to use your own common sense.

 

 

Denny

[Eliz]

Rhonda, thanks for your great review. We sail next Sunday on Solstice (our second time aboard)...CAN'T wait!! We loved the ship the first time and I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time next week.

 

You say you arrived at the pier around 1 pm and were delayed in boarding. Was it a huge backup from earlier passengers? We usually go early, around 11 or 11:30 and have been pleased with how quickly they handle everyone. Hope it's not too bad on Sunday...I'm always so anxious to get on board!

 

Elizabeth

[DocJohnB]

Boy, one couple saving 18 seats in the theatre! Wow, that's got to be a record. I'm truly impressed that some group has the gall to try to pull that one off. I kind of feel for the couple who got stuck with that job - Not. there is a time to use your own common sense.

Denny

 

I've told this one before on C/C, but once on the Millenium we were traveling with my BIL and his wife. Now the BIL is a big brute of a fellow and with a full face full of beard just looks intimidating, when in actuality his is a teddy bear. We got to the theater somewhat late, but still 10 minutes or so before the show. Not a lot of 4 seats together. Looked and around one row in the middle of the theater was empty save for a couple on either end. As we started to go around one of the couples they informed us rather loudly that "these seats are reserved". As we stepped around them, I (just as loudly) said to the couple, "And I thank you so much for doing so". The guy stood up and started to say something, took one close look at the BIL and sat down. Other people right behind us took up a few of the seats. A minute or so before show time a bunch of loud folks with drinks in hand came in. The guy on the end, said something to the effect that, "these #&$&$&@'s stole their seats". We truly enjoyed that show.

[RhondaPerr]

Rhonda, thanks for your great review. We sail next Sunday on Solstice (our second time aboard)...CAN'T wait!! We loved the ship the first time and I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time next week.

 

You say you arrived at the pier around 1 pm and were delayed in boarding. Was it a huge backup from earlier passengers? We usually go early, around 11 or 11:30 and have been pleased with how quickly they handle everyone. Hope it's not too bad on Sunday...I'm always so anxious to get on board!

 

Elizabeth

 

No,

 

It was passengers who did not have their act together, which caused the person who was checking passports and tickets to get backed up...The same people who still did not have their act together, then managed to hold up the check in lines..Unless they are sailing again or you encounter someone who is equally ridiculous, you should be fine :)

[RhondaPerr]

I've told this one before on C/C, but once on the Millenium we were traveling with my BIL and his wife. Now the BIL is a big brute of a fellow and with a full face full of beard just looks intimidating, when in actuality his is a teddy bear. We got to the theater somewhat late, but still 10 minutes or so before the show. Not a lot of 4 seats together. Looked and around one row in the middle of the theater was empty save for a couple on either end. As we started to go around one of the couples they informed us rather loudly that "these seats are reserved". As we stepped around them, I (just as loudly) said to the couple, "And I thank you so much for doing so". The guy stood up and started to say something, took one close look at the BIL and sat down. Other people right behind us took up a few of the seats. A minute or so before show time a bunch of loud folks with drinks in hand came in. The guy on the end, said something to the effect that, "these #&$&$&@'s stole their seats". We truly enjoyed that show.

 

Love your story! I don't let it bother me, was just worried if it did result in physical fighting that I was in the line of fire :)

[RhondaPerr]

Hi Rhonda! We sailed with you in April last year on Solstice. We sailed her again this year (in February). I actually did a B2B for the first time.:D

It was good to hear you had a great cruise. One of these days we will have to try Aqua Class. We are kind of hooked on sky suites, but sometimes a little change is good! Blu sounds great.

There always seem to be some people who don't want to follow the rules (i.e., saving seats at the pool or in the theater) and cause unpleasantness for others. I guess they will always be with us.:rolleyes:

Thanks for posting - it was good to hear from you.:)

Doris

 

Hi Doris,

 

Nice to hear from you... I hope all is well!

 

Rhonda

[FTLcruisers]

Love Solstice but love Y&R and Brad too - what was his lecture on?

[Texed]

Perr,

Thanks for posting. :)

[librarylady19]

Thanks for the Solstice update. We loved Blu and the whole Aquaclass experience on Equinox. That was only a 4 nighter so we've booked the Solstice for late November. I know what you mean about the "solsticizing" Would like to try a Summit itinerary but not sure if I would like an older ship.

[Domina X]

Hi Rhondaperr,

 

Who was the captain on your 3/28 cruise?

[BuckeyeTraveler]

Rhonda, thank you for the review. I am sailing on the Solstice next month and am looking forward to my first time on Celebrity. Would you know if there are church services on board? I contacted Celebrity but the person I spoke to was not too certain.

 

Thanks.

 

Pat

[ck8mom]

My family was also on the 3/28 sailing for the 2nd time on Solstice. It was a fabulous cruise but we also witnessed the saving seats fiasco in the theatre. Celebrity really needs more ushers and saving seats should not be allowed at all. They were really obnoxious!! I felt this cruise was not as refined as last years due to some of the guests, but also agree with Rhonda that the children behaved classy!

 

The food was fabulous and the service also fabulous. We did not let a few jerks ruin it and we saw one of the guys wearing the same flowered shirt the entire cruise. EEK.

 

Don Diamont was a motivational speaker. His wife is lovely and he was very personable and I would definitely see him speak again! He spoke about his Y&R character death, and loss in his family. Overcoming challenges in life was the main theme. I took my 14 year to his first talk and even though I've said the same thing to him, my son absorbed it more I think because it was coming from someone else. And he doesn't even know who Brad Carlton is or was! And he is still HOT! And his family is beautiful.

 

Service was top-notch this year in the MDR and the food was great. You could order whatever and however much you wanted. Our servers were the best, but last year they were not. We loved every aspect about this cruise except for the rudeness of a few passengers that was loudly done in plain view of everyone. We had a wonderful family next to us in the MDR and that made dining even more fun.

 

The only other complaint I had was the beach chairs on Labadee should have been cleaned more frequently. They were filthy and I made sure we covered them with the towels. Excellence should be maintained on the island just like it was on the ship.

 

This was a top-notch cruise and I enjoyed every part of it. Even teaching my children about how not to behave as an adult in a theatre!

[betmust]

I enjoyed reading about your Solstice cruise. I will be on the Solstice 4/25 and I can't wait.

Years ago I was on Disney and in the last 5 years, I have been on Royal Caribbean, Holland, Princess and now I will try Celebrity. I LOVE to see and try different ships, but I think this will be my favorite.

 

Bette

[melkan]

My family too (2 adults, 2 kids, and both the kid's grandmas) were on this cruise as well. We had a wonderful time. Booked a veranda and two inside cabins in November, and then, when the price dropped in January, I moved to 3 verandas, all in a row. Had the stewards open the balconies so we could go between all 3 state rooms without having to go in the hallways. We thought the food and service in the MDR was excellent - Aries, Arnold, and our wine steward Ronaldo, entertained the kids every night with brain teasers and magic tricks. It was great. We enjoyed all the stops as well. Went to Fort Cristobal in San Juan, had a private day-long tour in St. Martin (booked through Bernard's tours - excellent), did the half-day snorkeling in Tortola (great snorkeling spots), and did the zip-line in Labadee (even my 78 year-old mother in law went). We really enjoyed the ship. My only complaint would be the difficulty we had at times finding a place for six at the Oceanview Cafe during breakfast and lunch. But the food there was great.

 

To answer a poster's question from above, the captain was Dimitrios Kafetzis. His daily announcments were a blast. He did mention at the Captain's Club reception (which was pretty good by the way - lots of food and drink!) that he would only be captain for a couple more cruises before he would be taking vacation.

 

Chris

[RhondaPerr]

Rhonda, thank you for the review. I am sailing on the Solstice next month and am looking forward to my first time on Celebrity. Would you know if there are church services on board? I contacted Celebrity but the person I spoke to was not too certain.

 

Thanks.

 

Pat

 

Hi,

 

I am of the Jewish Faith so to be honest I did not pay attention to the Church Services. I know there was something a while back from some posters who had said that the services were discontinued, but I can't say for sure..

[RhondaPerr]

My family too (2 adults, 2 kids, and both the kid's grandmas) were on this cruise as well. We had a wonderful time. Booked a veranda and two inside cabins in November, and then, when the price dropped in January, I moved to 3 verandas, all in a row. Had the stewards open the balconies so we could go between all 3 state rooms without having to go in the hallways. We thought the food and service in the MDR was excellent - Aries, Arnold, and our wine steward Ronaldo, entertained the kids every night with brain teasers and magic tricks. It was great. We enjoyed all the stops as well. Went to Fort Cristobal in San Juan, had a private day-long tour in St. Martin (booked through Bernard's tours - excellent), did the half-day snorkeling in Tortola (great snorkeling spots), and did the zip-line in Labadee (even my 78 year-old mother in law went). We really enjoyed the ship. My only complaint would be the difficulty we had at times finding a place for six at the Oceanview Cafe during breakfast and lunch. But the food there was great.

 

To answer a poster's question from above, the captain was Dimitrios Kafetzis. His daily announcments were a blast. He did mention at the Captain's Club reception (which was pretty good by the way - lots of food and drink!) that he would only be captain for a couple more cruises before he would be taking vacation.

 

Chris

 

I watched the zipline from my beach chair, I wouldn't have even made it to the top in the little car much less zip :) I did enjoy Segways though in St Maartin that was more my speed. We stayed away from Oceanview Cafe because it was always so crowded and had no problem finding lunch in a number of other places :)

[RhondaPerr]

I enjoyed reading about your Solstice cruise. I will be on the Solstice 4/25 and I can't wait.

Years ago I was on Disney and in the last 5 years, I have been on Royal Caribbean, Holland, Princess and now I will try Celebrity. I LOVE to see and try different ships, but I think this will be my favorite.

 

Bette

 

The problem is once you try this ship you will never want to sail any other :) You don't get the hard sell on the Solstice like you do on Princess or even RCCL... Its really I think a step up from most cruiselines...I feel I can say that after 23 cruises :)

[RhondaPerr]

My family was also on the 3/28 sailing for the 2nd time on Solstice. It was a fabulous cruise but we also witnessed the saving seats fiasco in the theatre. Celebrity really needs more ushers and saving seats should not be allowed at all. They were really obnoxious!! I felt this cruise was not as refined as last years due to some of the guests, but also agree with Rhonda that the children behaved classy!

 

The food was fabulous and the service also fabulous. We did not let a few jerks ruin it and we saw one of the guys wearing the same flowered shirt the entire cruise. EEK.

 

Don Diamont was a motivational speaker. His wife is lovely and he was very personable and I would definitely see him speak again! He spoke about his Y&R character death, and loss in his family. Overcoming challenges in life was the main theme. I took my 14 year to his first talk and even though I've said the same thing to him, my son absorbed it more I think because it was coming from someone else. And he doesn't even know who Brad Carlton is or was! And he is still HOT! And his family is beautiful.

 

Service was top-notch this year in the MDR and the food was great. You could order whatever and however much you wanted. Our servers were the best, but last year they were not. We loved every aspect about this cruise except for the rudeness of a few passengers that was loudly done in plain view of everyone. We had a wonderful family next to us in the MDR and that made dining even more fun.

 

The only other complaint I had was the beach chairs on Labadee should have been cleaned more frequently. They were filthy and I made sure we covered them with the towels. Excellence should be maintained on the island just like it was on the ship.

 

This was a top-notch cruise and I enjoyed every part of it. Even teaching my children about how not to behave as an adult in a theatre!

 

I got interviewed by him after the second seminar..Oh my gosh who could concentrate. I watched him on Bold and Beautiful yesterday...have never watched it, have no idea what was going on, but for all I cared he could have been reading the phone book. I think I saw you and your son sitting in the front. I am a teacher and was curious how a teen would accept the messages, your son was hearing every word! I loved his stories... I did not attend the last one because it was too painful for me having suffered the same losses as he did and more...I am sure it was great though!

 

My only complaint about Labadee was being harassed by the vendors in the marketplace..I understood but it was a little scary! Otherwise I thought it was a wonderful day!

[RhondaPerr]

Perr,

Thanks for posting. :)

 

You can call me Rhonda and you are most welcome :)

[FTLcruisers]

You all are making me jealous that I wasn't on your cruise with Brad...I mean Don.:D

[RhondaPerr]

You all are making me jealous that I wasn't on your cruise with Brad...I mean Don.:D[/QU

LOL sorry I don't feel the least bit guilty :)

[Longboysfan]

I've told this one before on C/C, but once on the Millenium we were traveling with my BIL and his wife. Now the BIL is a big brute of a fellow and with a full face full of beard just looks intimidating, when in actuality his is a teddy bear. We got to the theater somewhat late, but still 10 minutes or so before the show. Not a lot of 4 seats together. Looked and around one row in the middle of the theater was empty save for a couple on either end. As we started to go around one of the couples they informed us rather loudly that "these seats are reserved". As we stepped around them, I (just as loudly) said to the couple, "And I thank you so much for doing so". The guy stood up and started to say something, took one close look at the BIL and sat down. Other people right behind us took up a few of the seats. A minute or so before show time a bunch of loud folks with drinks in hand came in. The guy on the end, said something to the effect that, "these #&$&$&@'s stole their seats". We truly enjoyed that show.

 

One of thwe reasons I don't go to the shows anymore. Unless there is a comedy act like this......

 

I am in the same mind set a Rhonda. Once you have gone Solstice class - there is nothing else like it out there. But.... I may try Azamara to see what the small ship do.

[RhondaPerr]

One of thwe reasons I don't go to the shows anymore. Unless there is a comedy act like this......

 

I am in the same mind set a Rhonda. Once you have gone Solstice class - there is nothing else like it out there. But.... I may try Azamara to see what the small ship do.

 

I can't do the small ships....wish I could because I would love to go to the Galapagos!