Solstice Jan 27, 2015 + Air + Hotel

[DaisyRose]

Overall, our Solstice cruise to Australia and New Zealand was excellent. We enjoyed the ports, and service and food onboard was excellent. However, there were a few disappointments, mostly weather related, which we know is no one’s fault.

 

 

FLIGHTS: We purchased our flights thru Choice Air, and flew on American and Fiji Air, Las Vegas to Los Angeles to Nadi to Sydney. In Las Vegas, we got boarding passes for all three flights, and our luggage was checked thru to Sydney. Upon landing in Los Angeles, we had to walk outside of the domestic terminal and over to the International terminal, just one building to the left, so not too long a walk. However, the surprise was that we had to check in again at the Fiji Air desk, even though American in LV had given us boarding passes for all three flights. This was not a problem for us, as there was only a very short line, but the lines on a couple of the other airlines were really long, so you need to allow enough time to check in again and go through security again. The security line was also long, but there were so many lanes open that it did go quickly. We liked Fiji Air; the aircraft were clean and comfortable, the flight attendants pleasant, and of the four meals we had, two were very good and two were OK. Upon landing in Nadi, we had to go on line to a transfer desk, where they had a list of transferring passengers. We had to show them our passport and tell them how many bags we checked, and then off to security again. The only thing we did not care for was the airport. We had a 4 hour layover, and there was no restaurant, just a couple of small cafes where you could get a sandwich, cake, pizza, or beverage, including Fiji beer. There was a small souvenir shop and a large duty free shopping area. The gate areas are very small, so no seating at the gates. Everyone that was waiting for a connecting flight had to wait in a very large waiting area. The seats were covered with fabric, so not easy to wipe clean, and many of the seats had stains on them. Some announcements were easy to understand, some you could not understand at all. It was a small old airport, and not very comfortable in our opinion. Of note: on the ship, sharing a table with another passenger, she mentioned that she flew to Los Angeles from Portland on Delta, and they did NOT have to change terminals. They got off one plane, and on to another just a few gates a way. Saved a lot of connection time with not having to go to a different terminal and go through security again. I don’t know if this is true of all Delta flights, but might be something to look into.

 

 

Upon landing in Sydney, we took the airport link train. It was easy to use and comfortable, but rather costly: over $17 per person. I think this train is very crowded at rush hour, so I would not plan to use it, when carrying luggage, at those times. But it was great to use mid day. We took it to the Wynyard station; also convenient, as we stayed at the Travelodge Wynyard, and the hotel was only a block away – easy to walk to. Travelodge Wynyard was clean, comfortable, good price, great location, and very friendly and helpful desk personnel. However, our room was a little noisy. We heard a whirring sound, early in the morning and late in the evening. We think it may have been nearby rooms using the showers, as it lasted about 10 minutes at a time. That noise is our only complaint. The price was great, and the location was great, too, being near the train station and about a 15 minute walk to Circular Quay in one direction and Darling Harbor in another direction. George Street one block away had a lot of shopping, and entrance into a small mall with a McDonalds and Hungry Jack (I think Australia version of Burger King). Disappointing was that many restaurants and some stores are closed on weekends. I think this is because it is a busy business area, and on weekends there just isn’t enough business for them to stay open. Even the restaurant in our hotel was only open for breakfast on the weekends. Of note is that a number of businesses are under street level, and not a lot of signs, so do your research before you arrive to find out locations and business hours. We went to a Coles (supermarket) that was under street level on the corner of King and George Street. This Coles had a small liquor store in the middle of it where we bought our two bottles of wine that were allowed on board, as well as some snacks for our hotel room. Wine prices were very reasonable. We walked to Darling Harbor, and found it a fun place to spend a few hours. We walked across the passenger bridge, then down stairs, and discovered a Margaritaville and an indoor shopping mall. We found a great spot for reasonably priced souvenirs on the upper level. We also found some reasonably priced meals near the entrance to the mall, I think it was called Pancakes on the Rocks.

 

 

We took a full day tour of the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife Park which was booked through Viator and fulfilled by a local company called AAT Kings. Unfortunately, we had terrible weather – heavy rains and dense fog. So, the stop at Scenic World was really a waste of time – you could not see a thing. Had it been a nice day, it would have been a wonderful tour. We also did not enjoy the lunch at a restaurant that we paid an additional $21 pp for. The restaurant was busy, crowded, and noisy, and the meal was not very satisfying. However, the good part was that our order was called in ahead, so we were served within five minutes of arriving. It might be hard to order, wait for food to be prepared, eat, and get back to the bus in the one hour that was allotted if you did lunch on your own. The rain stopped in time for our stop at Featherdale Wildlife Park, and that was great! We got to see many of the local birds and animals, including kangaroos and koalas. There was a really nice gift shop there if you are interested in souvenirs. My only complaint is that I wish we had more time there!

 

 

Embarkation in Sydney was OK. We had planned to walk, but it was pouring, so we took the train to Circular Quay; again, convenient, because the train station was only a block away from our hotel. When we got to the terminal, we did not have to wait too long until checkin began. There was no seating, so we had to stand on a line until checkin began. I thought that was unusual, but not too bad since it was not too long a wait. Once started, checkin was fast and efficient.

 

 

Once onboard, the ship was beautiful and clean. We found all food excellent, except one lunch steak in the dining room which was quite tough. Great choices at the buffet. Enjoyed the ice cream station. Early in the cruise, there was “After 8” flavor ice cream which was delicious. I watched every day for it to be repeated, but never saw it again. Wished I had taken two scoops on the day they had it. They seemed to have vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry every day, plus an additional flavor or two. I saw cinnamon and ginger a number of times, which did not interest me, but no repeat of that delicious After 8 flavor! On the last sea day, there was a chocolate fountain in the buffet at lunch time. Lots of fruits to dip in the chocolate. I did not see this advertised anywhere, so if you didn’t happen to go to the buffet, you would miss out.

 

 

We had the Classic beverage package. All of my favorites were included in that package – whiskey sour, pina colada, Bahama momma, Bailey’s Irish Cream. There were enough wines included in the package to satisfy DH, but also lots of wines that were not included. The first two days, at two different bars, they did not have the pina colada mix “yet”, and I wondered what was going on, but then it arrived and was available for the rest of the cruise. They ran out of two included wines my DH enjoyed in the middle of the cruise, but he did find others that he liked. Beverage service was excellent everywhere – never a wait for a drink. They even had lots of waiters (I think I counted 8) in the theater at show time. Most people did have a beverage package; I did not see too many people signing for drinks.

 

 

The Captains Club and Senior Officers Cocktail parties were disappointing. There was a very small selection of drinks available; about five wines, five cocktails, and some beer and soda. All other beverages would be charged to your account. Not many choices of snacks, either. I was disappointed that the Captain did not make any kind of speech; it is the main reason I like to attend.

 

 

Since DH and I like to travel light (so we can take trains and buses), we always plan on doing some laundry (on ships that have passenger laundromats) or sending some laundry out. Fortunately I had a “Select” coupon for one bag of laundry for $20; otherwise, laundry prices seemed high: $6 for pants, skirt, long sleeved shirt, or sweater, $5 for a short sleeved shirt or pajamas, $2.50 for an undergarment or a pair of socks. Regular laundry service came back the next day.

 

 

I only have two complaints about the ship from the entire cruise. First was the Internet service. It was so so so slow. I have used Internet services on many ships on many cruise lines, and I have never experienced such slow service, to the point, in my opinion, that it came close to being unusable. Paying 66 cents a minute for the 90 minute package, I felt like I was throwing away my money. I tried on three different days on three different computers in the ILounge to log in to my email. It took at least five minutes to log in, and then when I clicked on something in my inbox, another 5 minutes to load the email. And, I could not generally do it myself – I had to ask the ILounge manager for help – so another five minutes waiting my turn for help. He clicked on some things, opened a new window, and had me log in again to get to the email. The same for sending one. After clicking on “send” I’d wait about five minutes while it said “working” only to get an “oops – server error” message and asking me if I wanted to try again. After waiting 5 more minutes, the same “oops” message. I’d go on the line to get help from the ILounge manager, and after waiting my turn, the same thing – he’d do some clicking, open a new window, have me log in again, and then the message would go through. So, approximately twenty minutes (or $13.20) to read/respond to a short email, and then, only with the help of the ILounge manager. I even tried in the middle of the afternoon on a port day (in the capital city of Wellington) when a lot of passengers were off the ship with no better luck. I do plan to send a polite letter of complaint to Celebrity. With a frail 96 year old mother at home, it’s very important to me to be able to exchange a few sentences with family every few days to make sure all is well. I can’t enjoy myself if I’m worried about the home front. In desperation, I wrote to my daughter that I was giving up on email, if there was an emergency, call Celebrity and have them get a message to me.

 

 

My second disappointment with the ship was the lack of information on ports. They had some port lectures, but at least the ones I went to were really only about the shore excursions they were offering. I realize they want to sell their shore excursions, and I do buy one in most ports, but I’d still like some basic info on a port, such as how far it is to shopping, where a post office or bank might be located, local transportation options, etc. Other cruise lines I’ve been on do give you at least a small amount of port information. Do your port research before you get on board!

 

 

Entertainment was enjoyable. Ann Burgess did some lectures with “Beyond the Podium” program that were very good, mostly about the wildlife we would see. Les DeMerle Jazz Quartet in the Ensemble Lounge was very good, but his contract was ending. If he comes back onboard another Celebrity ship, definitely worth listening to. Sean Golden, guitar and vocal, was also very enjoyable.

 

 

We had one meal in the Tuscan Grill, a gift from my travel agent. The food was very good, and the service was very good. A Caesar salad was prepared tableside, which was a nice touch, and the bread basket was more interesting than in the MDR. However, in my opinion, it was very overpriced. We paid $45 per person, and with a delicious included meal available in the MDR, I just don’t think it was worth the $90 extra DH and I paid. You were really mainly paying for the atmosphere, which was a smaller, quieter dining room, and without having the next table three inches away from you.

 

 

I liked the shampoo and conditioner that was provided, but not the moisturizer. No shower gel, just soap. Large safe in the closet easily fit my netbook and other valuables. Stateroom and bed were comfortable. There were many free movies on the TV that you could watch in your room, a nice way to quietly unwind after a busy day in port. Here is an interesting incident that happened to us: we were sitting in bed watching TV, and we heard a really terrible noise that sort’ve frightened us. About two minutes later, we heard voices in the hallway. We looked out through our peephole, and saw security there, and heard them tell the people in the room next to us to keep the door closed. Next thing I knew, we saw security on our neighbors balcony looking over into our balcony. We were wondering what the heck was going on. In the morning, we saw some pebble sized pieces of glass, and some slivers of glass, on our balcony. We asked about it, and found out that a room above us and over one had a “shattered” balcony door. Seems that they had their balcony door opened, and not in the locked position, and from wind, the door slammed shut very hard and shattered. So, if you open the balcony door, put the door handle in the locked position so it can’t slam across and shatter!

 

 

Ports: Hobart, Tazmania – could walk into a small town shopping area, and found a nice gift shop. Had an afternoon excursion to Bonorang Wildlife Park which was very enjoyable, saw a lot of local wildlife, including a mother kangaroo with a baby (Joey) in her pouch. Also, a koala bear, taz devil, wombat, and others. Then on to a town called Richmond, a cute town with lots of little shops. Found a good souvenir shop, and an inn where we could buy a local beer and wine. We enjoy trying some local beers and wine.

 

Dunedin, NZ – Went to Penguin Place to see penguins, really enjoyed it, but only saw four penquins. About 100 steps down (and then back up again) so consider this if stairs are difficult for you. Also a bus tour of the town with a stop at a pretty railway station. A rather long excursion with no food/snack break. Could not take our drive down the steepest street in the world due to rain. Dunedin did not offer a shuttle, so Celebrity offered one for $15 per person, which I thought a bit high. Way too far to walk into town – I think they said it was a 2 hour walk, 25 minute bus ride.

 

Akaroa: We went on the Harbor and Wildlife cruise, which was GREAT. Saw penguins swimming, Hectors dolphins, NZ fur seals, and lots of birds. Rain came down right after we finished, and some afternoon tours were cancelled. This was a tender port. The town was very small, and we found the shops to be very expensive.

 

Wellington: We took Zealandia Sanctuary and Cable Car Experience. I did not enjoy this shore excursion too much. Saw about 6 species of birds, but not much else. Was expecting to see more. The sanctuary tour seemed to focus more on the plants than animals. Cable Car was crowded, had to stand, ride was short. Some table mates at dinner took the shuttle in to town ($10), and from the shuttle stop could walk to the cable car ($4 one way, $7.50 round trip) and could walk to the TePapa museum (free entrance) which they were very impressed with. I think they had a nicer day than we did, and it cost them a lot less. Windy Welly, as it is known, was really, really, windy down by the port area.

 

Tauranga: We missed this port due to wind. (Heard this was the first time this port was missed, don’t know if that’s true). I think it was the most anticipated port for many passengers. After so much rain, to miss this port due to wind was another big disappointment. I will give Celebrity credit here; they put together a days worth of activities on short notice. Also, a tea service which included champagne at no charge. They had many snacks, including scones that were delicious. More credit to Celebrity: we had purchased online 5 shore excursions during a promotion in November that was to give us each $25 in onboard credit if we took all five excursions. Since our fifth excursion was cancelled, I figured there goes our $50 on board credit. I hoped they’d prorate it, since I did not cancel it, but didn’t expect them to. Surprise: even though we didn’t get to take that fifth shore excursion due to the cancelled port, they gave us the full $25 per person onboard credit! Thank you Celebrity.

Bay of Islands: This was the only port where we did not purchase a Celebrity Shore Excursion. It was a beautiful port, lots of islands in the bay. We tendered ashore, and there was a free shuttle bus into town. You could walk to town, but it would be a pretty long walk – maybe about ½ an hour. We found a few nice souvenir shops, a very nice local craft market, and a nice pub to try some local beer and wine. Again, some showers, but luckily we were in the pub during the showers. In the craft market, at the table where I purchased, they only took New Zealand dollars, so might be a good idea to get yourself some local currency if you want to do some shopping here. There was a post office only about 1 block from the shuttle bus stop if you wanted to mail post cards. It was $2 for a stamp to the United States.

 

All in all, a very nice cruise, but lots of rain, wind, and fog in the mountains in Sydney put a damper on our enjoyment. Of course, weather is unpredictable, and no one’s fault, but still disappointing. This trip was a huge investment for us, between cruise fare, air fare, four hotel nights, and shore excursions. We made the best of it, though. Not sure if I’d make this very long trip again (16 hours flying time, 26 hours total journey with connection time). We loved the Australian culture of no tipping, and tax included in the listed price. So, if a shirt said $15, or a meal said $25, that is exactly what you paid. We found the Australian and New Zealand people to be pleasant, polite, and helpful, and very beautiful countryside, too.

[tompeter]

Thanks for the detailed review.

[carlandlyn]

Thanks for the review, sorry about the weather though. We were I Tauranga about 15 months ago on RCI (Solstice was there at the same time). Its a pity you missed it as it was a lovely place. Better luck next time.

[AntjeG]

Thank you for the review. I was on the same cruise and it is always nice to read a different view on the same cruise.

[DaisyRose]

AntjeG, yes, it's always interesting to hear someone else's review of the same cruise you were on. Different people have different experiences, depending sometimes on what they did and who they met.

 

I hope my review has given others some helpful information, as I am always appreciative of the information others report that helps me in planning.