dimiegirl Posted March 3, 2012 #1 Share Posted March 3, 2012 HELLO EVERYONE. Thanks to the helpful advice of the experienced celebrity cruisers, we just booked our first celebrity cruise on the solstice. As we have traveled only on RCCL and PRincess, I was wondering if there are any differences on what is included as far as beverages, etc... We are trying to decide if we need to buy a beverage package. ALso do they have a soft serve ice cream station like on RCCL or something similar? For those who have traveled on both RCCL and Celebrity if you could hightlight any signficant differences that would be great! THanks so much!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnb0529 Posted March 3, 2012 #2 Share Posted March 3, 2012 We were on the premium package, so didn't really pay too much attention, but from the Premium Drink Sticky in this forum: [bEVERAGES FOUND IN BUFFET (SELF-DISPENSED) AND IN RESTAURANTS/DINING ROOMS (SERVED FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE), BUT NOT NECESSARILY AVAILABLE ALL DAY:] Water (tap) Ice Tea Tea (hot, self-made with a teabag) Coffee (regular or decaffeinated) Milk (whole or skim) Lemonade Fruit Punch Passaguava (Passionfruit/Guava) Juice [at AquaSpa Cafe] Juices (some available in MDR, but not in buffet): Orange, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Prune, Apple, Tomato, V-8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lsimon Posted March 3, 2012 #3 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Just to recap, no extra charge beverages: Tap water, Brewed coffee (regular and decaf), instant coffee (taster's choice regular and decaf), Tea (good selection of about 8 or more popular tea blends including green, mint, etc), hot coca (Nestles instant mix), Milk (regular, chocolate and skim), juices, iced tea, lemonade, fruit punch. All of these items are available in any dining area or from room service. They are available 24/7 from room service and from beverage stations in the buffet area although some items are not available at all times in the buffet: Some milks are only available during meals in the buffet and the dispensers used for juices during breakfast times are used for iced tea, lemonade and punch at other times. For the most part there is an extra charge for any alcoholic, carbonated, or bottled beverage. Also most bars and lounges charge for any beverages served there. There are upscale versions of many no-extra-charge beverages available which do cost extra such as espresso based coffees, organic teas, bottled water, fresh sqeezed OJ, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloop-JohnB Posted March 4, 2012 #4 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Dimigirl, Re - ICE CREAM etc Didn't see any soft serve ice milk / ice cream on our recent Solstice Cruise. There is Gelato served at the Celebrity Gelateria (extra charge I believe)... or FREE homemade Ice Cream (yum-yum) served in the Oceanview Cafe / Buffet area. Personally, we never went to the Gelateria, we found we were quite satisfied... Happy :):):) with the choices on offer daily at the Buffet... many exotic or unusual combinations. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted March 4, 2012 #5 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Re - ICE CREAM etc Didn't see any soft serve ice milk / ice cream on our recent Solstice Cruise. There is Gelato served at the Celebrity Gelateria (extra charge I believe)... or FREE homemade Ice Cream (yum-yum) served in the Oceanview Cafe / Buffet area. To confirm, the Gelato is an additional charge. The Ice Cream at Oceaview is complimentary and they have soft serve. Not sure if it's ice cream or ice milk though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeriatricNurse Posted March 4, 2012 #6 Share Posted March 4, 2012 To confirm, the Gelato is an additional charge. The Ice Cream at Oceaview is complimentary and they have soft serve. Not sure if it's ice cream or ice milk though. Soft serve "ice cream" ( which is misnamed), is 'ice milk', and far lower in fat content than regular 'ice cream'! ;) Think 17% fat content as opposed to 2% fat content! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packyourpixiedust Posted March 4, 2012 #7 Share Posted March 4, 2012 You also asked for a comparisson, I think you will find the food to be MUCH better on Celebrity. And you will likely find the entertainment to be not as good as RCI. I do not have grand entertainment tastes- give me a decent dance/review type show and I am happy. Celebrity has that. So, in crusing, there are levels- Carnival and RCI is at the lowest level. They are fine, I cruise them. Celebrity is a premium level. And IMO you can tell they are premium. I loved my recent Solstice Cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TLCOhio Posted March 4, 2012 #8 Share Posted March 4, 2012 HELLO EVERYONE. Thanks to the helpful advice of the experienced celebrity cruisers, we just booked our first celebrity cruise on the solstice. As we have traveled only on RCCL and PRincess, I was wondering if there are any differences on what is included as far as beverages, etc... We are trying to decide if we need to buy a beverage package. ALso do they have a soft serve ice cream station like on RCCL or something similar? For those who have traveled on both RCCL and Celebrity if you could hightlight any signficant differences that would be great! THanks so much!:) Congratulations on your Solstice booking!! We found the range and locations for the free beverages throughout the ship to be excellent and the sweets at the Oceanview Cafe to be good and very satisfactory. No need for us to spring for the "added bucks" on the additional packages, especially if you are doing a fairly port-intensive cruise as we did. Just wanted to share one special place on the Solstice where we liked to hang out. It's a great ship that is well designed with many nice areas to explore and enjoy. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 67,741 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474 The Solarium was one of our favorite areas. Food and drinks were nearby and it was very relaxed and sophisticated. Quieter, too, as it is an adults-only area. Two hot tubs here. Not crowded, especially in the evenings. Nice art and design with this facility. Wonderful setting for relaxing and watching the outside water/shore views, enjoying subtle inside action, etc.: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimiegirl Posted March 5, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Congratulations on your Solstice booking!! We found the range and locations for the free beverages throughout the ship to be excellent and the sweets at the Oceanview Cafe to be good and very satisfactory. No need for us to spring for the "added bucks" on the additional packages, especially if you are doing a fairly port-intensive cruise as we did. Just wanted to share one special place on the Solstice where we liked to hang out. It's a great ship that is well designed with many nice areas to explore and enjoy. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 67,741 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at: www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474 The Solarium was one of our favorite areas. Food and drinks were nearby and it was very relaxed and sophisticated. Quieter, too, as it is an adults-only area. Two hot tubs here. Not crowded, especially in the evenings. Nice art and design with this facility. Wonderful setting for relaxing and watching the outside water/shore views, enjoying subtle inside action, etc.: Thanks everyone for your experienced imput! Terry, Thanks so much for attaching the picture. I love spending the day in the solarium of RCCl ships and this one looks amazing! So looking forward to our first X cruise!!:):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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