Questions on Solstice Class Ships

[DRWhit]

My DW and I are interested in trying this class, but have a couple of questions. The first is about the shows in the main theatre. We are not big fans of the cirque style shows, but prefer Broadway musical type shows. I read somewhere that the shows in these ships are more of the former. My question is do they have any of the singing/dancing entertainment on their big stage?

 

Also, we were looking at Eastern Caribbean routes and noticed that these ships did not seem to ever stop at the private island. Am I wrong on this?

 

We just recently tried the Century and loved that. Would we love a Solstice class ship more, or less?

[sptrout]

My DW and I are interested in trying this class, but have a couple of questions. The first is about the shows in the main theatre. We are not big fans of the cirque style shows, but prefer Broadway musical type shows. I read somewhere that the shows in these ships are more of the former. My question is do they have any of the singing/dancing entertainment on their big stage?

 

Also, we were looking at Eastern Caribbean routes and noticed that these ships did not seem to ever stop at the private island. Am I wrong on this?

 

We just recently tried the Century and loved that. Would we love a Solstice class ship more, or less?

 

1. Shows: Yes they having two (for a 7-night cruise) singing/dancing shows. IMO, the the third show, the as you call it the "cirque style" was much, much better.

 

2. Currently, the Solstice stops at a RCCL-owned, and very private area, in Haiti. However, this port has been dropped from all Celebrity sailings starting next year. Therefore, you are correct, Celebrity will no longer have a private island port.

[txsloth]

Someone posted itineraries for Silhouette yesterday (the 4th Solstice Class ship). I don't know how accurate these were, but they showed Labadee as a stop in 2011.

 

As for whether you'll like a Solstice Class ship better, that's very hard to say. Some refuse to even give them a shot for fear they will feel too large and overcrowded. I personally will have a very hard time ever booking anything other than a Solstice Class ship (at least on Celebrity).

[sptrout]

Someone posted itineraries for Silhouette yesterday (the 4th Solstice Class ship). I don't know how accurate these were, but they showed Labadee as a stop in 2011.

 

As for whether you'll like a Solstice Class ship better, that's very hard to say. Some refuse to even give them a shot for fear they will feel too large and overcrowded. I personally will have a very hard time ever booking anything other than a Solstice Class ship (at least on Celebrity).

 

I picked-up a 2010/11 Caribbean Brochure while on the Solstice 1/31 and it does not show any stops at Labadee during 2011. However, it does not mention the Silhouette at all (neither does Celebrity's web page) so that may be the reason that the OP is not seeing Labadee on any of Celebrity's sailings depending on what target date they are looking at.

 

BTW OP, Labadee, just incase you do not already know, is Celebrity and RCCL's "private" port-of-call although it is not an island so this may be confusing. It is not an island, but has very limited, and tightly controlled, land access.

[chessbriar]

Mercury stops at the private island on the 9 night cruises from Baltimore and the 11 night cruises from Baltimore

 

Since they are technically RCCL private islands, they don't have as much opportunity with the new ships coming out, Oasis and Allure.

 

Mercury did not have a Cirque style show when we last sailed on her or her sisters. They all had the same production company so the shows were pretty much all the same

[dkjretired]

1. Shows: Yes they having two (for a 7-night cruise) singing/dancing shows. IMO, the the third show, the as you call it the "cirque style" was much, much better.

 

2. Currently, the Solstice stops at a RCCL-owned, and very private area, in Haiti. However, this port has been dropped from all Celebrity sailings starting next year. Therefore, you are correct, Celebrity will no longer have a private island port.

 

Its funny how people can differ, I fell asleep during the cirque show as to me it was completely boring....

[eandj]

Its funny how people can differ, I fell asleep during the cirque show as to me it was completely boring....

 

 

How funny, dkj! I told my husband if I saw one more split I would freak. :rolleyes: I found it monotonous and just not that great. And I didn't think the couple shows I saw in Vegas were worth the money or so much of my time either. Are we strange???

[sptrout]

How funny, dkj! I told my husband if I saw one more split I would freak. :rolleyes: I found it monotonous and just not that great. And I didn't think the couple shows I saw in Vegas were worth the money or so much of my time either. Are we strange???

 

I do not think so. I said that the "cirque style was much, much better", however, I did not say how bad I thought the other two shows were.:eek:

 

We were going to walkout on one of them, but we were trapped deep in a long row. I would never walkout of a live event unless I could do so without being noticed, or unless there was a personal emergency of somekind. I have about decided just to skip production shows on future cruises; I rather just go outside and watch the real stars!

[dkjretired]

How funny, dkj! I told my husband if I saw one more split I would freak. :rolleyes: I found it monotonous and just not that great. And I didn't think the couple shows I saw in Vegas were worth the money or so much of my time either. Are we strange???

 

We are not strange, I spoke to a lot of people who were bored and others who thought it was the best show ever on board a Celebrity ship. People are just different. At least my wife told me I didn't snore....

[goldencruiser]

Its funny how people can differ, I fell asleep during the cirque show as to me it was completely boring....

 

We also fell asleep during the cirque show. That was our least favorite of all the shows on the Equinox.

[Softball20]

I don't know whether Celebrity will do a private island or not, but if you've never been to one, you're not missing much. Personally - AND THIS IS JUST MY OPINION - I find it a very sanitized beach experience. We call it "beach camp." It's like you're on a pretty beach, but you're in a very controlled environment. You get ship's drinks, ship's food, no interaction with local culture, etc. If it's a nice day, it's a relaxing day at the beach, but that's about it. For me I would much rather do another island where I can have the local food and drinks, learn about the local culture, etc.

[DRWhit]

Thanks for the input everyone. It sounds like with 2 broadway style shows, that should not be an issue.

 

For some reason I thought Celebrity went to the RCCL's Bahama Private Island, as well as Labadee, but it looks like thats not the case for any of their ships.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

How funny, dkj! I told my husband if I saw one more split I would freak. :rolleyes: I found it monotonous and just not that great. And I didn't think the couple shows I saw in Vegas were worth the money or so much of my time either. Are we strange???

 

The only Vegas Cirque show I have seen that I DID like was LOVE (Beatles). But then, it helps if you like the Beatles! This is definitely getting OT, but anyone traveling to Vegas MUST see Phantom and Jersey Boys!

 

Back OT now -- we are really looking forward to our Solstice cruise next month! :)

 

Tom

[cruie4ever]

The only Vegas Cirque show I have seen that I DID like was LOVE (Beatles). But then, it helps if you like the Beatles! This is definitely getting OT, but anyone traveling to Vegas MUST see Phantom and Jersey Boys!

 

Back OT now -- we are really looking forward to our Solstice cruise next month! :)

 

Tom

 

Tom I traveled LV in the past for 30 years on business from California . I have seen all the great entertainment there was to see during that time . We recently saw the Jersey Boys at the Palazzo Hotel & candidly I felt the quality of entertainment lacked & the prices were far too high. Better show is Cher at Caesars ,imo .The Phantom of the Opera is good quality entertainment & worth the price of admission.

 

We saw the cirque show on the Equinox trans Atlantic Nov 5th sailing & I though that show was fabulous.One of the very best we ever saw on a cruise ship

[Softball20]

I'm actually looking forward to the Cirque show on the Equinox. We saw one of the original Cirque shows many years ago, and my daughter and I just saw LOVE in Vegas a couple months ago and absolutely loved it!

[Denny01]

We greatly enjoyed the Celebrity Cirque show. Well done and fun to watch the different acrobatics going on at the same time, and the 'hi wire' type work overhead the theater seating.

 

As for Vegas, our favorite Cirque was 'Kaa'. A must-see in my opinion.

 

Denny

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Tom I traveled LV in the past for 30 years on business from California . I have seen all the great entertainment there was to see during that time . We recently saw the Jersey Boys at the Palazzo Hotel & candidly I felt the quality of entertainment lacked & the prices were far too high. Better show is Cher at Caesars ,imo .The Phantom of the Opera is good quality entertainment & worth the price of admission.

 

We saw the cirque show on the Equinox trans Atlantic Nov 5th sailing & I though that show was fabulous.One of the very best we ever saw on a cruise ship

 

I will agree that our (Jersey Boys) seats were pricey, but I expect that in Vegas. It is not uncommon to shell out $300 for a pair (of GOOD) seats - though comped tickets are the best! We saw the show last year (May or August - can't recall!) and it was right up there. Perhaps it was an off night when you went... or, tastes do differ. Most of the reviews have been excellent (which is what peaked our initial interest in the show).

 

Tom

[Tiggertastic]

Can anyone tell me what time the shows are on an evening - solstice class

 

We are trying to book our evening meals and want to make sure we don't mess up and miss the shows

 

thanks

 

Jan

[irishgirl]

Its funny how people can differ, I fell asleep during the cirque show as to me it was completely boring....

 

I thought I was the only person who thought the shows was boring!!! I walked out of that Cirque style show after 1/2 hour, I was in the upper level in the back so the door was right behind me. I was able to walk out unnoticed.

 

I thought all the shows were bad on the Solstice and the music wasn't much better. I ran the other direction whenever I seen that barbershop quartet group Ocean's Four or whatever their name was.

 

Tom & Cheryl - I hope to cruise with you again someday.

 

Judy

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

Tom & Cheryl - I hope to cruise with you again someday.

 

Judy

 

Ah yes - the Inspiration in 2008! That was a nice (short) cruise. :)

 

Tom

[dkjretired]

I picked-up a 2010/11 Caribbean Brochure while on the Solstice 1/31 and it does not show any stops at Labadee during 2011. However, it does not mention the Silhouette at all (neither does Celebrity's web page) so that may be the reason that the OP is not seeing Labadee on any of Celebrity's sailings depending on what target date they are looking at.

 

BTW OP, Labadee, just incase you do not already know, is Celebrity and RCCL's "private" port-of-call although it is not an island so this may be confusing. It is not an island, but has very limited, and tightly controlled, land access.

 

Silhouette will be going to Labadee in 2011 and 2012....

[librarylady19]

I do not think so. I said that the "cirque style was much, much better", however, I did not say how bad I thought the other two shows were.:eek:

quote]

Well put! I enjoyed the Cirque-style show but it certainly wasn't of the standard of Vegas Cirque shows and I wouldn't really expect it to be. It was however vastly better than the wretched song and dance shows that I have learned to skip.