Solsticized vs real Solstice

[TomMMD]

Looking into a cruise next winter into the 'solaticized" Summit in the Caribbean.

 

We have been on the Equinox and the Solstice - both in Aqua.

 

Any feedback on differences?

 

I saw in the Summit write-up that the Summit has a "healthy, continental breakfast"? What is that? No eggs, bacon, sausage?

 

Will will we miss from a real Solstice ship?

[Kevnzworld]

The solsticied millennium class ships are smaller, which is nice. The Aqua cabins on the 11 th floor are brand new, which is nice.

It's always nice to be n a completely refurbished ship.

[TravelerThom]

Be aware that Constellation, the first M-class ship to be Solisticized, does NOT have AQ or Blu. AQ and Blu were added during the other Solsticizations.

 

Thom

[Lois R]

Looking into a cruise next winter into the 'solaticized" Summit in the Caribbean.

 

We have been on the Equinox and the Solstice - both in Aqua.

 

Any feedback on differences?

 

I saw in the Summit write-up that the Summit has a "healthy, continental breakfast"? What is that? No eggs, bacon, sausage?

 

Will will we miss from a real Solstice ship?

 

I think maybe they were describing the Aqua Spa Cafe. Which is

healthy but I don't consider it a "Continental" breakfast. Unless

I missed something.....

 

Bacon, sausage, and eggs will still be offered in the regular buffet

so nothing will change in that area.

 

The Solsticized ships will have more cabin categories....additional

AQ class cabins and Blu restuarants. They are also adding restaurants

but your bacon and eggs will still be available:D

[marieps]

The healthly breakfast is behind the T pool in a small cafeteria line dubbed Aqua Spa cafe. Not as nice as the ASC on S class, but still fine. You can get egg white omlets, nice parfaits, smoothies and fresh squeezed juices of many types. It has a healthy lunch as well.

 

The Matini Bar is smaller on Solsticised M class, on Deck 4. It's not in a main thoroughfare like on S class, so the people watching is not as good.

 

The staff is still very entertaining.

 

Bistro on 5 seemed like an undiscovered country. No one was ever in there, although we heard from friends it was wonderful.

[Lsimon]

Solsticized only goes so far and the ships are pretty different in terms of size, types of lounges (other than the Martini Bar and Cellarmasters which are now similar), and other ship features. It's hard to cover all the differences as the ships are just a bit different overall despite having a few common features (mostly common areas) added in the Solsticization. The M class ships are also a fair bit older than the S class ships which doesn't bother me at all but does bother some some people.

 

Personally, all things being equal I think I liked the M class ships before they were Solsticized more than the S class ships. I really liked to old martini bar and really missed it on our last Constellation cruise and one of my favorite things to do on a sea day was walking the long track area on the M class ships which has now been seriously shortened to add the cabins at the aft of deck 11.

 

But all that is history and no longer a choice. Overall I'd say it is either a draw or a slight advantage to the S class ships. The M class has larger cabins with more storage and several other nice features including the rendevous lounge and the thalassotherapy pool. The S class has a design and decor that only a newer ship can give, more specialty restaurant options, a nicer buffet layout and some other nice common areas.

 

As for food: Other than the extra specialty restuarants on the S class the food selection, including hot breakfast items, is pretty much the same throughout the Celebrity fleet.

 

Personally, if I was in your position my decision would probably be based more on the itinerary as I'd go on either ship. The Summit can reach more great Eastern and Southern Caribbean ports on a 7 day cruise from San Juan than the S class ship's can on an equal length cruise from Florida and San Juan is a great place to explore if you fly in a day or two before your cruise. Of course San Juan is also further, and usually more expensive, to fly to. We even did a pre-cruise stay of a few days in St. Thomas before sailing out of San Juan after discovering that the island hop flight between the two is pretty inexpensive. Of course if you could cruise longer the 14 night Eclipse cruises next year, from Florida, are an even better option for reaching the South Caribbean.