Celebrity Solstice Christmas & New Years 2020 Sydney to New Zealand

[MissMB]

Hi All,

 

Our family has just booked 10 nights on Celebrity Solstice for Christmas & New Years. Australia - New Zealand.

Just wondering if anyone has done this cruise that time of year? How are the seas that time of year? Are their lots of kids?

 

Also, is anyone else booked on this cruise? Interested to know if anyone has any concerns that the cruise will not go ahead due to the current pandemic?

 

We are hopeful that things should be fine by end of December but still have concerns of the unknown..

[Nang]

Relatively short cruise over the holiday period = families with kids.

 

I fully expect to be able to travel to/from NZ by December but am less confident the Australian Govt will be "over" the Ruby Princess experience by then and have allowed cruise ships with their international crew from all over the world back to Australia. What is my opinion worth on this - nothing, as is the worth of all opinions on this matter you will get in the responses.

[MissMB]

10 minutes ago, Nang said:

Relatively short cruise over the holiday period = families with kids.

 

I fully expect to be able to travel to/from NZ by December but am less confident the Australian Govt will be "over" the Ruby Princess experience by then and have allowed cruise ships with their international crew from all over the world back to Australia. What is my opinion worth on this - nothing, as is the worth of all opinions on this matter you will get in the responses.

 

Thanks Nang - we were having much the same thoughts,  not  knowing how it will work with the crew.

Just a matter of wait and see. Fingers crossed for a good result :)

[OzKiwiJJ]

We did a similar cruise on Solstice at Christmas in 2015. There were quite a few kids. Mostly we didn't see much of them but we certainly heard them running up and down the hallways late at night.

 

We did have 5 metre seas one night crossing the Tasman Sea but Solstice handled it very well. We were at dinner on Christmas Day as the seas got heavier and were having so much fun we didn't even notice it until we came to head back to our cabin.

 

NZ weather can be variable at any time so you should pack layers, including a rainproof jacket, plus a warm hat, gloves and scarf for the Fiordland scenic cruising as that can be surprisingly chilly especially in the morning.

 

The big question is whether cruising will be happening by then and that is just too hard to predict. Fingers crossed it will be.

[MissMB]

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We did a similar cruise on Solstice at Christmas in 2015. There were quite a few kids. Mostly we didn't see much of them but we certainly heard them running up and down the hallways late at night.

 

We did have 5 metre seas one night crossing the Tasman Sea but Solstice handled it very well. We were at dinner on Christmas Day as the seas got heavier and were having so much fun we didn't even notice it until we came to head back to our cabin.

 

NZ weather can be variable at any time so you should pack layers, including a rainproof jacket, plus a warm hat, gloves and scarf for the Fiordland scenic cruising as that can be surprisingly chilly especially in the morning.

 

The big question is whether cruising will be happening by then and that is just too hard to predict. Fingers crossed it will be.

 

Thanks 🙂

 

Did Celebrity do anything special for Christmas Day or Christmas eve etc?

 

I would assume they will have a big party for new years but curious about Christmas...

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 minutes ago, MissMB said:

 

Thanks 🙂

 

Did Celebrity do anything special for Christmas Day or Christmas eve etc?

 

I would assume they will have a big party for new years but curious about Christmas...

There were Christmas carols on Christmas Eve in the centrum, and a special Christmas show which included a song by all of the kids onboard. Turkey and Christmas pudding for both lunch and dinner on Christmas Day. Oddly enough they had Christmas crackers at lunch but not at dinner. The ship was beautifully decorated but the poinsettas up the sides of the centrum stairs were a pain - they looked pretty but they narrowed the stairs to much so it was really one way traffic.

 

I don't know what they do for NYE, our cruise finished before that.

[martin jenkins]

we are booked on the majestic dec 23 to nz, pain in the back side at the moment as can't book any accommodation or flights until we find out if its a goer or not.

[MissMB]

43 minutes ago, martin jenkins said:

we are booked on the majestic dec 23 to nz, pain in the back side at the moment as can't book any accommodation or flights until we find out if its a goer or not.

We booked flights out of the Sunshine Coast to Sydney, We know we may have to cancel them if the cruise is a no go but we have taken the risk 🤞 However we have decided to wait to pay our full cruise balance until October. 

The unknown is just a bugger at the moment. Its still 7 months away however anything could happen between now and then.

 

[SinbadThePorter]

19 hours ago, MissMB said:

We are hopeful that things should be fine by end of December but still have concerns of the unknown..

 

I'm curious as to how you intend to get around the travel insurance problem.

 

I've got a December cruise booked which I'm going to have to cancel, because even if the borders open up, there will be no insurance for covid-19 related problems.

[MissMB]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I'm curious as to how you intend to get around the travel insurance problem.

 

I've got a December cruise booked which I'm going to have to cancel, because even if the borders open up, there will be no insurance for covid-19 related problems.

 

Unfortunately we have accepted the fact that no covid 19 related problems will be covered by our travel insurance. 

 

We can cancel our cruise up to 48 hours prior to departure and receive a full credit or choose to do the same cruise the following year for the same cost. We would normally cruise several times a year so we would be satisfied with a credit.

 

 

 

[Chiliburn]

I’ve done NZ a few times over Christmas.
The weather can be anywhere. There was a dusting of snow on the alps in fiordlands one Christmas Day. The ocean can be wild also.

I think your cruise will be a goer.

[MissMB]

10 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I’ve done NZ a few times over Christmas.
The weather can be anywhere. There was a dusting of snow on the alps in fiordlands one Christmas Day. The ocean can be wild also.

I think your cruise will be a goer.

Yes I've been told to prepare for rough seas to calm seas and anything in between 😂

Realllly hope its a goer

haha we need something to look forward to after the last few stressful months!!

 

 

[Chiliburn]

31 minutes ago, MissMB said:

Yes I've been told to prepare for rough seas to calm seas and anything in between 😂

Realllly hope its a goer

haha we need something to look forward to after the last few stressful months!!

 

 

Yes ,we need a break from this run of bad luck.
The crossing of the Tasman is the roughest part and only lasts for half a day.

One crossing it was very calm and we had our cabin door open (I recommend it).

In the middle of the night I sensed something moving in the cabin. I turned the light on and there was a couple of birds in the cabin. I shoed them out and they were heaps on the balconies.

At the captains talk someone mentioned it .The captain said sometimes they get 10s of thousands on the decks. Migrating birds looking for somewhere to have a rest.

[MissMB]

20 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

Yes ,we need a break from this run of bad luck.
The crossing of the Tasman is the roughest part and only lasts for half a day.

One crossing it was very calm and we had our cabin door open (I recommend it).

In the middle of the night I sensed something moving in the cabin. I turned the light on and there was a couple of birds in the cabin. I shoed them out and they were heaps on the balconies.

At the captains talk someone mentioned it .The captain said sometimes they get 10s of thousands on the decks. Migrating birds looking for somewhere to have a rest.

🤣 that would have freaked me out waking up to birds in my room!!!

Something to keep an eye out for!!!

I do miss resting on the bed in the cabin listening to the waves on the side of the ship.... Cannot wait to be able to be on a ship again!!