questions from a new X cruiser

[NoWhiners]

Hi All

 

We will be on Solstice next March for a coastal cruise in and out of Sydney. We have cruised HAL and Princess before but never X. Questions:

 

Does anyone have any advice on the beds? We are used to a medium soft mattress at home. But, I have a bad back and need a decent mattress (i.e., not too soft) to sleep. We will be in cabin 6301. Can anyone provide insight as to beds on Solstice, or our cabin in particular. I know I can request an egg crate/mattress topper, I just want to be prepared.

 

How big will our shower be--little like Princess or a reasonable size like HAL? We have a partially obstructed balcony cabin, if that makes a difference.

 

Can anyone explain what our room service options are? We like to have an occasional room service breakfast and I am not sure if we can get only continental breakfast, a few hot items, maybe some limited omelets, or what?

 

How is the basic buffet coffee? I know this is subjective but I can't drink the HAL coffee, it upsets my stomach. I like tea as well and usually pack some tea bags as a backup. But I have read it can be hard to get coffee/tea in the cabin. Any input you can share?

 

Thanks for any help. These are minor things that we can manage around (well, maybe not the bed :D) but it would be nice to know in advance.

 

Thanks

ML

Edited December 3, 2016 by NoWhiners

[Duanerice1]

Welcome to Celebrity!

 

I can't comment on your particular cabin but I find the beds a little firm. Not hard, just firm. We sleep good.

 

Shower seems decent size, especially with the doors and not the curtain. Makes it feel bigger anyway.

 

One of my favorite things about Celebrity is that they do have hot items for room service breakfast. Forget exactly but Google it and you'll find a menu. They do have basic omelets, bacon, etc.

 

Coffee.... Some will say it is not drinkable, I drink it just fine. Is it good? I wouldn't go that far :), especially when it gets cold. You can order coffee or tea pretty much anytime through room service so it's pretty easy to get it in the cabin.

 

enjoy!

[claudiniusmaximus]

We were on reflection which is a sister ship so I imagine similar.

 

I found the beds really comfy, slightly firm but not hard at all. The showers were great, decent size, I've had showers in my own home that were smaller, and they have glass doors and tiled floors etc so feel very nice for a cruise ship.

 

Personally I found the coffee in the buffet to be vile. I'm not a coffee snob but it tasted awful.

 

We didn't do room service so can't help there sorry.

 

 

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[Jayneykul]

The room service menu has quite an extensive hot food range it has always been delivered on time and we have had no reason to grumble about it sure you will be pleased

[PostcardJar]

We've been on four different X ships (never Solstice) but the beds are the same on all of them I think. I'd agree they are firm but not hard...and we also slept very well. They say they are "queen" beds, but I think they seem a little bigger.

 

The shower isn't huge but it is certainly manageable.

 

The coffee is just coffee like you'd get in any buffet...nothing special. With most beverage packages, you get specialty coffees included which are very good.

 

Room service has a good menu and breakfast is very tasty. We enjoy eating on our balcony in the morning.

[vickykay]

For some reason I have found that room service coffee is better than what used to be available in the ocean view cafe. That said, the ocean view coffee was much improved on our last cruise in March on the equinox. When I do order room service coffee, I ask for hot milk on the side so the coffee will be hot when I drink it.

[Kmangel]

When I do order room service coffee, I ask for hot milk on the side so the coffee will be hot when I drink it.

 

Thanks for this tip! I hate cold coffee and I plan to order room service coffee in the morning.

[need2bespoiled]

Last year the ship changed over to Lavazza coffee which greatly improved it.

 

ALL of the balcony cabins are the same size on Solstice, regardless of obstruction or location. Fina pic of one, and you've found a pic of your cabin. The only things that change are the balcony sizes and whether the bed is near the balcony or near the entrance. You should be able to search the sticky above to figre this out.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[daydreamer16]

I agree with most of the other posters that the beds are pretty good, better than Princess where I always get the mattress topper. I've only sailed Princess and Celebrity and therefore I would say that the coffee is way better than on Princess. Celebrity uses Lavazza brand in the buffet and in the dining rooms, probably room service too---we like it!

[need2bespoiled]

I agree with most of the other posters that the beds are pretty good, better than Princess where I always get the mattress topper. I've only sailed Princess and Celebrity and therefore I would say that the coffee is way better than on Princess. Celebrity uses Lavazza brand in the buffet and in the dining rooms, probably room service too---we like it!

 

Lavazza on the entire ship now. The only place it is "better" if Cafe Al Bacio where you can get specialty coffee (and in specialty restaurants, and suites for room service).

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[NoWhiners]

Thank you so much everyone, this is great info. Really happy to hear about the beds and showers, coffee and room service breakfast are also a pleasant surprise.

 

Thanks again.

 

ML

[Sheeba67]

We just got off the Summit a few weeks ago and requested the egg crate foam pad and that made a huge difference from cruises past. The room steward was a little resistant to provide it for the whole bed, but then took care of us. We find the beds a little too firm for our liking. The coffee at Cafe Al Bacio is much better than the buffet, and we would just stop there on our way up every morning.

[LuAnn]

We just got off the Summit a few weeks ago and requested the egg crate foam pad and that made a huge difference from cruises past. The room steward was a little resistant to provide it for the whole bed, but then took care of us. We find the beds a little too firm for our liking. The coffee at Cafe Al Bacio is much better than the buffet, and we would just stop there on our way up every morning.

 

I found the tea on X in the buffet and "Blu" not that great...so I would stop by "Café Al Bacio" on my way to breakfast at "Blu" and pick up a tea bag of "Earl Grey"....IMO the "Forte" tea offered there is much better than the standard fare...sorry...can't remember the name of that brand...but to me "Forte" is much superior. LuAnn

[ChucktownSteve]

I usually request an egg crate topper when I've sailed an M class ship. I don't know if they have them on S class but I'll find out next week. Another option is to fold the comforter and place it under your bottom sheet. That worked for me on one cruise and the cabin attendant left it for the whole cruise.

 

Regarding coffee, if you have the drinks package as a perk, then Cafe al Bacio's coffee is included at no extra charge. It's worth the trip even for Americano. Plus if you like, with the package, you can add a shot of liquor. ;)

 

Another side note, all the pastries/cakes at Cafe al Bacio are no charge even if you don't have the drinks package.

[cb at sea]

I've always found the coffee in the dining room and room service to be MUCH better than what's in the buffet......

[merinski]

What do you do for tips for room service. We have rarely had room service, but never sure what to do.

[NoWhiners]

I usually request an egg crate topper when I've sailed an M class ship. I don't know if they have them on S class but I'll find out next week. Another option is to fold the comforter and place it under your bottom sheet. That worked for me on one cruise and the cabin attendant left it for the whole cruise.

 

Regarding coffee, if you have the drinks package as a perk, then Cafe al Bacio's coffee is included at no extra charge. It's worth the trip even for Americano. Plus if you like, with the package, you can add a shot of liquor. ;)

 

Another side note, all the pastries/cakes at Cafe al Bacio are no charge even if you don't have the drinks package.

 

Hmm. Neither of us has a drink package and we only drink about 2 (large) cups of coffee each day. I think we'lll try the buffet and RS. If that doesn't work, we'll make a new plan.

 

Thanks for the tip on the beds.

 

ML

[SHIP TRAVELER]

The Celebrity Reflection had self serve take away coffee and hot water/tea in the Hideaway on deck 7 in the morning.

This is nice to take back to the room when one person takes longer to get ready or needs a cup to get going.

 

I am not patient enough for room service so this option was nice for us.

 

I have sailed multiple times on Princess and I think that the balcony cabins

on Celebrity are better. Princess has a great closet but I do not need that much closet space.

I would rather have the space in the room instead of in the closet.

I love having a sofa to sit on in the cabin and on most Princess ships you have to have a mini-suite to get more than a side chair.

 

I also like the Celebrity bathroom counter space and shower better.

Enjoy your cruise.

[spendless]

We were on reflection which is a sister ship so I imagine similar.

 

I found the beds really comfy, slightly firm but not hard at all. The showers were great, decent size, I've had showers in my own home that were smaller, and they have glass doors and tiled floors etc so feel very nice for a cruise ship.

 

Personally I found the coffee in the buffet to be vile. I'm not a coffee snob but it tasted awful.

 

We didn't do room service so can't help there sorry.

 

 

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I like good coffee and find buffet coffee OK on X ships. If you want something better then order from drinks bar via waiter/waitress

[UpcountryTravelers]

Can you write in breakfast (room service) items like Princess, or are you limited to the printed options?

[wrk2cruise]

What do you do for tips for room service. We have rarely had room service, but never sure what to do.

 

We generally tip at least a couple of bucks for room service delivery unless it's done by the butler or OUR steward. In that case we do extra at the end of the cruise.

 

As always tipping is a personal choice. I've never had anybody look at me like they were expecting a tip when delivering room service. I generally have it in my hand and have to chase them to the door to catch them before they are gone.

[NoWhiners]

The Celebrity Reflection had self serve take away coffee and hot water/tea in the Hideaway on deck 7 in the morning.

This is nice to take back to the room when one person takes longer to get ready or needs a cup to get going.

 

I am not patient enough for room service so this option was nice for us.

 

I have sailed multiple times on Princess and I think that the balcony cabins

on Celebrity are better. Princess has a great closet but I do not need that much closet space.

I would rather have the space in the room instead of in the closet.

I love having a sofa to sit on in the cabin and on most Princess ships you have to have a mini-suite to get more than a side chair.

 

I also like the Celebrity bathroom counter space and shower better.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

This is very helpful, thank you. I agree that the Princess closet is great but a tad too long and the extra space would work better in the room. It would be very nice to have a sofa. And that Princess shower--ughh! Worse than the tiny shower we get when we rent a cabin on the lake every summer LOL. I'll keep my fingers crossed :)

 

Thx

ML

[goodycruising]

We generally tip at least a couple of bucks for room service delivery unless it's done by the butler or OUR steward. In that case we do extra at the end of the cruise.

 

As always tipping is a personal choice. I've never had anybody look at me like they were expecting a tip when delivering room service. I generally have it in my hand and have to chase them to the door to catch them before they are gone.

 

I agree, we think that a couple of bucks, or 5 if it it something complex like dinner, is fair for coming all that distance with our stuff. We have been caught with getting the money out of the drawer and the attendant was out the door too quickly!