Solstice reviews: have you noticed this or am I mistaken?

[Michidoeme]

We are Europeans and Elite Plus (just to show we have done many cruises on X, mostly S class, several on Solstice incl Alaska, in Europe when they were here couple years ago and transpacific).

Overall X has declined - is still good but cutting corners and no comparison at all to X 6-10 years ago.  Last November cruise on Solstice Australia - New Zealand was the worst (on a rating scale of the cruises we had with X, although we still enjoyed the trip, itinerary, stops, people, etc. and any cruise is good and we had a good time which we did not spoil complaining.  Food in MDR was so so, often just Luke warm.  Towels and bathrobes very shabby. Upholstery, carpets getting worse for wear and not always clean. We found staff on ship was friendly, worked hard, but seemed stressed out and not too happy with situation.  Guest relations and higher level staff snotty, take it or leave attitude, officers not very visible.  Ship seemed understaffed and to have a severe management problem.

We even said our next booked cruise this Spring might be last one with X as we wanted to try something else then.  But we found our experience on the transatlantic on Silhouette to be better again - here we were in Aqua so don t know how MDR was, but staff, guest relations etc was a lot better.

Just the nickle and diming and constant sales pushing is getting to us more and more.  The worst so far was a personalized invitation for Aqua passengers to learn about smoothies etc which turned out to be a sales speech about Canyon Ranch offers; massages, acupuncture, etc.  Only connection with smoothies is that they had a display of 3 different colored ones !  Just felt like idiots to fall for this con.

Edited May 20, 2019 by Michidoeme

[kowhairob]

What other lines are you looking at as an alternative?

[Michidoeme]

14 minutes ago, kowhairob said:

What other lines are you looking at as an alternative?

Have not really done this yet.  So far only ever sailed with X and booked still next Spring Cape Horn on Eclipse, which is on our bucket list and did not want to have an unknown quantity so far from home.

But would consider MSC, Norwegian, Oceania where our friends were very happy, maybe German lines as wehave no problem with language and heard good things about Mein Schiff and another one which name I don t recall right now.

We will have to do some investigation as we are really ready now to try out something else.

Maybe will go for some good last minute deals in Europe this Summer or Fall as samplers.

Edited May 20, 2019 by Michidoeme

[kowhairob]

We have tried Seabourn and love it . Relatively cheaper than Silverseas and even Oceania but that's dependant on  itinerary and time of the year . You can get some bargains as we have found recently. Seabourn Encore Bali to Sydney 17n $3699 plus taxes and $500obc pp. Now that is all inclusive with no extras at all . Compare that to some of the 5.5 and 6 star lines and its very competitive.   

[Michidoeme]

Sounds good, will have a look at them for sure.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

32 minutes ago, kowhairob said:

What other lines are you looking at as an alternative?

 

We saw Solstice in Honolulu on April 30.  I can certainly relate to the cutbacks you described, just off Eclipse ourselves.

[bonsai3s]

ChiliJim, you'll be fine, you'll have a great time on the Solstice.  We sailed her in 2010. 

We decided to see how she was and sailed her again just last week.  We were onboard the Solstice for her first week in Alaska for 2019.

Captain Tasos will have you rolling on the floor with his wonderful humor.  Yes, the food seems to be less, but you can always ask for more.  The crew was there to please you...all of them were friendly.  We found everyone, passengers and crew included, all to be in a good mood because it was sunny and warm at every port we visited.

Happy Sailing!

[kowhairob]

22 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

ChiliJim, you'll be fine, you'll have a great time on the Solstice.  We sailed her in 2010. 

We decided to see how she was and sailed her again just last week.  We were onboard the Solstice for her first week in Alaska for 2019.

Captain Tasos will have you rolling on the floor with his wonderful humor.  Yes, the food seems to be less, but you can always ask for more.  The crew was there to please you...all of them were friendly.  We found everyone, passengers and crew included, all to be in a good mood because it was sunny and warm at every port we visited.

Happy Sailing!

• Captain Tasos is moving onto the Equinox which is in drydock at the moment. He finishes on the Solstice July 26th 2019 after 4 years on it .

[Yoshikitty]

On 5/20/2019 at 4:25 AM, Michidoeme said:

We are Europeans and Elite Plus (just to show we have done many cruises on X, mostly S class, several on Solstice incl Alaska, in Europe when they were here couple years ago and transpacific).

Overall X has declined - is still good but cutting corners and no comparison at all to X 6-10 years ago.  Last November cruise on Solstice Australia - New Zealand was the worst (on a rating scale of the cruises we had with X, although we still enjoyed the trip, itinerary, stops, people, etc. and any cruise is good and we had a good time which we did not spoil complaining.  Food in MDR was so so, often just Luke warm.  Towels and bathrobes very shabby. Upholstery, carpets getting worse for wear and not always clean. We found staff on ship was friendly, worked hard, but seemed stressed out and not too happy with situation.  Guest relations and higher level staff snotty, take it or leave attitude, officers not very visible.  Ship seemed understaffed and to have a severe management problem.

We even said our next booked cruise this Spring might be last one with X as we wanted to try something else then.  But we found our experience on the transatlantic on Silhouette to be better again - here we were in Aqua so don t know how MDR was, but staff, guest relations etc was a lot better.

Just the nickle and diming and constant sales pushing is getting to us more and more.  The worst so far was a personalized invitation for Aqua passengers to learn about smoothies etc which turned out to be a sales speech about Canyon Ranch offers; massages, acupuncture, etc.  Only connection with smoothies is that they had a display of 3 different colored ones !  Just felt like idiots to fall for this con.

 

We have been on Solstice until 20th September and had our best cruise ever!

 

I don‘t dispute your experience and towels don‘t get shabby over night, but many of our fllow passengers shared our positive experience.

 

Can it be that the soft factors ( food, staff motivation and friendliness etc.) drops when she‘s going into service in Australia?

 

Maybe the op is on to something?

 

[Tourist1292]

We just got off Solstice last Friday. The food at MDR was great. We don't notice small portion size as we always get a few starters and sometimes even 2 entrees. You can also order more if you really need more food. There were some complaints on downgrading the menu which I also found not true. We had Creme Brulee almost every night.

[Muffinz]

We cruised on Solstice in March / April 2018 from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef and back over 12 nights and we loved every minute of it... so much so we've booked another cruise on Solstice in April 2020 and a 3rd (on Millennium) in March 2021

It was our very first cruise and we had done a lot of research before booking with Celebrity

Our TA got us a good deal that included OBC and a classic beverage package, so we didn't have to worry about paying for drinks or anything.

 

We thought the staff on board were amazing and everyone including the cleaners polishing the handrails on the elevators were friendly

We thought the food in the MDR was fantastic - just like dining at a 4/5 star restaurant at home in NZ, and we thought the buffet was amazing with the different choices / options - you could eat as healthy or as unhealthy as you pleased!

The range of activities available on sea days was also great - we were never bored on Solstice

 

I did a review on cruise critic and was surprised to read some reviews where people said the food was 'ordinary' or 'bland' and I wondered if they were talking about the same MDR / Buffet... some people also commented that the ship was 'run down' and 'looking tired' - but we certainly didn't notice anything to suggest that

 

Being our first cruise we had nothing to compare Celebrity with, but we loved it so much we are too scared to try another cruise company, just incase it does not meet the same standard as Celebrity and leaves us disappointed.

 

there are of course people who will complain about anything and everything..... my wife's friend & husband went on Edge in the Caribbean recently for her 50th birthday and when we asked her what she thought she said she thought Celebrity was just 'average' and nothing special at all...

Edited May 22, 2019 by Muffinz

[K12Guy]

On 5/19/2019 at 1:01 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Be careful what you wish for...  I’m willing to trade you the Edge for the Solstice in an even trade. There are many of us in the US that much prefer the S class ships.

In a heartbeat. No interest in the Edge class ships, at all. I just hope the S class changes are not severe.

[BINDY31]

We are from ?Australia and will embark on our 4th Solstice cruise in October. We have only had one bad experience onboard that was 2 years ago when we decided the timing was too good to miss, there was a mini 2 night cruise for hubby’s birthday so we booked. Never again!! Ship was full of people taking  advantage of f the drink package, most Australian lines don’t offer the packages unless sailing for 7 nights or more. There were people literally falling down drunk, so no more quick getaways for us. 

Never had a problem with the food, either in MDR, Blu or the specialty restaurants. Service has always been impeccable. Is she getting a little tired? Perhaps, but she is still in great shape. I just hope that when she gets her big makeover in 2021 that they put in more comfortable seats in the theatre....lol..  

still my favourite 

[GUT2407]

8 minutes ago, BINDY31 said:

We are from ?Australia and will embark on our 4th Solstice cruise in October. We have only had one bad experience onboard that was 2 years ago when we decided the timing was too good to miss, there was a mini 2 night cruise for hubby’s birthday so we booked. Never again!! Ship was full of people taking  advantage of f the drink package, most Australian lines don’t offer the packages unless sailing for 7 nights or more. There were people literally falling down drunk, so no more quick getaways for us. 

Never had a problem with the food, either in MDR, Blu or the specialty restaurants. Service has always been impeccable. Is she getting a little tired? Perhaps, but she is still in great shape. I just hope that when she gets her big makeover in 2021 that they put in more comfortable seats in the theatre....lol..  

still my favourite 

We did a two nighter, might have been the same one, noticed the same issues, but we knew going in it was likely to be a booze cruise, wanted a weekend away, wanted to try Solstice. My other comment about these short cruises is that everything is crowded as everyone wants to try everything with no “down time”

[BINDY31]

On 5/23/2019 at 6:37 AM, Muffinz said:

We cruised on Solstice in March / April 2018 from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef and back over 12 nights and we loved every minute of it... so much so we've booked another cruise on Solstice in April 2020 and a 3rd (on Millennium) in March 2021

It was our very first cruise and we had done a lot of research before booking with Celebri

We were on that cruise as well.  What I found funny was someone writing on Facebook during the cruise and saying  the food was crap, no bars open, no entertainment etc etc. I certainly couldn’t figure out what ship they were on, but it couldn’t have been the same one as me.....lol

 

cheers

Belinda

 

 

[GUT2407]

2 minutes ago, BINDY31 said:

We were on that cruise as well.  What I found funny was someone writing on Facebook during the cruise and saying  the food was crap, no bars open, no entertainment etc etc. I certainly couldn’t figure out what ship they were on, but it couldn’t have been the same one as me.....lol

 

cheers

Belinda

 

 

But I’ve found that to be the case on numerous cruises, read reviews after the cruse and think “ was that the same one I was on, sounds nothing like our experience”. But then you listen to what some people complain about and wonder what  they expect. We did 33 nights with Princess one year and I made a list of complaints we heard and probably 80% of them were just ridiculous.

 

Too many sea days (read your itinerary)

RoughSeas

Too Humid

Missed a Port (due to weather) sure it can be disappointing, but if the. Capt doesn’t want to go there nor do I.

Food (such a subjective issue and so many options it’s hard to believe they couldn’t find enough choices to satisfy them)

and on and on they went.

 

all the while we were having the time of our life.

Why didn’t we visit X port (read the itinerary fore you book)

[Suzi66]

Other thoughts about reviews is that possibly Australians and Kiwis who are often known to be easy going, don't often submit reviews so the ones that are negative are not from us.

I agree with some of the above posters that I have read some of the reviews for cruises I have been on and have been scratching my head wondering was that really the same cruise I was on, and some of the complaints I read seem to be so amazingly petty i.e. we had to ask our room steward to bring us our complimentary wine (shock horror) - well if you don't ask him, how does he know you want it that day.
I have also heard some very rude people on the ship berating the stewards for not preparing their room early enough in the evening (as in by 6.30!).  Some people just love to complain.

[Joelstone]

I was on the first cruise of the Alaska season on the Solstice, May 10-17, 2019.  I plan on doing a more in depth review but below is quick synopsis I threw together for someone looking for the daily planners which I have posted as well.  Didn't really take notice of shape of ship.  Did see some carpet patches.  But my recent cruises have mainly been on Disney Wonder which is an "older" ship that does have things catch my attention.  Did notice that staff everywhere were quick to say "hello", "good morning", good evening", etc.  Think I read that earlier some reviews had stated staff was not friendly.  They are definitely working on that!

 

Most telling about my experience is that I booked another cruise in March 2021 on Solstice in same cabin.

 

"Quick synopsis:  We were in corner aft balcony cabin, 9374.  Cabin great.  Cabin services outstanding.  Suite dining great.  Micheal's Lounge so so (one example: VERY crude fellow passengers and bar staff joking around in front of me and my 19 yo daughter.)  Shows pretty good (we are spoiled by Disney and RCI Broadway style shows.)   Sky Lounge Bar bad (inconsistent drinks of what seemed poor quality and had trouble figuring out what some actually were since it wasn't what was ordered.)  Basically was not impressed with bar service anywhere.  Wine was consistent though 🤣.  Celebrity Life was fun (we had an amazing cruise critic group that met up for most of the trivia competitions.  We even won glass cases 😂.)  We had amazing weather and you can't mess up the views and beauty of Alaska even if we had experienced bad weather.  Overall was outstanding vacation. "

[mick70]

Jo,

Who was the Micheal's Lounge Concierge?  Getting  on  this Friday.

[Joelstone]

4 minutes ago, mick70 said:

Jo,

Who was the Micheal's Lounge Concierge?  Getting  on  this Friday.

I get confused between cruise lines.  But I think Michael's is for suites.

[mick70]

Jo,

Yes I know, We are in a suite. Where you not also?

[Joelstone]

2 hours ago, mick70 said:

Jo,

Yes I know, We are in a suite. Where you not also?

yes.  sky suite.  but Celebrity also has concierge cabins that i don't think are included in Michael's or Luminae.

[mick70]

I guess I should have asked who was the Micheal's  Club Manager?

[ORV]

This is turning into a real Who's On First? routine. 🤣

[ChilliJim]

Well, after reading the replies to my original post and the recent reviews from cruisers to Alaska on Solstice, I'm starting to believe I was imagining things from the start.  

 

I appreciate all of you who took the time to reply your thoughts.  My wife and I are anxious to start the adventure in just under 3 weeks!