Photo Review: Solstice 12 Night New Zealand Holiday Cruise Dec 23 2019

[h20cruzer]

Loving your review. Cant wait for you review of the ship.

Norma

[dani negreanu]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:05 AM, mickey89 said:

Most of the people on our cruise were really disappointed as the the ship was unable to enter Milford Sound due to high wind.  

Others need to be aware, nature can be a pain.  Glad you enjoyed the cruise itinerary, it’s one of the best.

 

 

I took this cruise specifically for Milford Sound. I was not aware, even though I've read many reviews, that there is a possibility of NOT seeing MS...

 

I was lucky indeed, because the cruise before us, didn't enter MS....

 

Imagine, flying all the way from Israel and then denied entry, like Moses to the "Promised Land" 😉

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I always enjoy your family’s adventures, and this year being a year of missing my own Christmas cruise, it’ll be an extra joy to read. 

[mahdnc]

I posted the wrong link to the Celebrity Today newsletters for this sailing.  Here is the correct link: Celebrity Today newsletters for Dec 23 2019 Solstice

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

 

Dec 23 (Embarkation Day)

 

While walking back to the hotel from the bridge, I saw this odd piece of Sydney architecture:

 

 

We arranged for a Maxi Taxi to arrive at the Marriott at 1:00 pm to pick up my family of 4 and our considerable amount of luggage.  

 

We arrived at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at 1:11 pm.  Our Xpress Pass had a 11:30 am to 5:30 pm check in time printed on it.

 

The taxi drop off location for embarking passengers is at the ground level while taxis pick up disembarking passengers one level above.  The upper level road can be seen at the top of this photograph: 

 

 

There was a Celebrity attendant at the front door who walked over to us to see our Xpress Pass so she could direct us inside.  I guess we must have looked lost to her which is why she walked over to us.  Actually what was lost was my Xpress Pass.  My iPhone suddenly (and for the first time since we arrived in Sydney) did not have a cell signal and I was unable to show my Xpress Pass since I had it saved on my Google Drive. I was pretty flabbergasted. We ended up showing her our passports along with my embarrassed looks and she walked us inside the Overseas Passenger Terminal and directed us to the escalator which would take us upstairs to check in.  

 

 

All the check-in lines were small.  I think we ended up using the Captains Club Elite line.  At this point I still could not produce my Xpress Pass, but the check-in attendant, wearing a reindeer antler headband, said that she did not need to see it.  

 

 

We were subjected to the simple pre-COVID health questions.  After a few minutes, we were given our room keys and were on our merry way.  By 1:52 pm we were in our cabin and my iPhone finally got its cellphone signal back.

Edited January 10, 2021 by mahdnc

[OUBaylor1]

Enjoying this thread.  Many thanks to mahdnc for documenting his Australian/New Zealand trip and cruise.  My husband and I did this cruise departing Auckland 2/12/2019 - 14/12/2019.  Because we spent two weeks touring South Island New Zealand, we did not have any time left to spend in Sydney except for the trip from the port to the airport.  Spending time in Sydney and other parts of Australia is definitely worth another long flight from the U.S. 

[poffles]

I've missed this!  People traveling and enjoying themselves ... AND sharing it with us.  THANK YOU!

 

I have considered an Australia/New Zealand cruise but it is so far to travel and I keep second guessing if I would like it enough more than cruises I've done in the Caribbean.  I've also been thinking a lot about a Europe cruise and wonder which I would like better.  Two totally different experiences of course so guess it would be a total coin toss in the end.  Until the day I get there I enjoy these adventures through people like you. 🙂

 

 

 

 

[mahdnc]

We were in a Family Veranda cabin 8107 which is at the front of the ship on the port side corner located on Deck 8.  Our balcony had a nice view of the Opera House. 

 

 

Two years earlier we were in the starboard FV (8108) which gave us a view of the Overseas Passenger Terminal and the Rocks area.

 

The cabin is pretty bright as it has two large windows that look over the bow and a glass balcony door on the port side of the ship.

 

The cabin is blessed with ample space for our family of 4.  It has two bedrooms.  The door for the 2nd bedroom is visible to the extreme right in the above photo.

 

618 sq ft of cabin + 112 sq ft of balcony, but one standard bathroom (and only one television).  The 4 FV cabins on Solstice are set to become Sunset Suites.

 

 

My wife uses a CPAP and the only electrical outlets in the cabin are by the desk in the living room.  So the extension cord provided by the ship is very long.

 

 

The second bedroom is furnished with 2 bunk beds.  The upper bunk folds into the wall.  The lower bunk is fixed in place.  Like in the past, our daughter would sleep in the lower bed while our son chose to sleep on the sofa in the living room.

Edited February 13, 2021 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

 

Sydney Harbour Sailaway

 

Like on our Great Barrier Reef cruise, we pretty much missed the sailing out of Sydney Harbour because we were having dinner at the time.   This also meant that we missed the roll call sailaway party.

 

 

Solstice left on time (6:45 pm) while we had main seating in the dining room which was 6 pm.  I was hoping that our table assignment would be near a window, but that was not to be.

 

 

We always ask for a large table so that we can meet other people, but frequently--like this time--we were seated at a table for 4 so we were stuck with each other.  Our service was excellent although it was a bit slow at times.

 

 

I occasionally see questions on Cruise Critic asking if the ship, upon leaving Sydney, rotates about the harbour to give all the passengers a nice view.

 

 

The answer is "no".  There is too little space and too much ferry traffic for such a maneuver to be practical.  

 

 

Missing the sailaway was not too big of a deal for me because during our last visit to Sydney, we spent several hours during New Year's Eve on board a party boat in the harbour. 

 

 

Ironically, I was able to watch our sailway from the Main Dining Room by watching it on two Sydney Harbour webcams for which I am providing screenshots.

 

 

By the time we finished our dinner, the pilot boat had come along side our ship to retrieve the pilot and Solstice was safely out in open water.   She was heading eastward across the Tasman Sea to call upon New Zealand.  We would be celebrating Christmas during the two sea days that it would take to get there.

Edited February 14, 2021 by mahdnc

[ipeeinthepool]

This is still one of the best reviews I've ever read.  Thanks

[mahdnc]

13 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

This is still one of the best reviews I've ever read.  Thanks

 

Thank you. It's been a bit difficult to write motivation-wise because of the cessation of cruising.  Usually I am putting the review together to help others plan their upcoming cruise--especially their shore excursions.  Now I feel I am writing something that belongs with Progressive Insurance's "Sounds of the Old World" commercials.

[mahdnc]

Some things that I forgot to mention in connection with the sail away:

 

The two Sydney Harbour webcams that I used were Webcam Sydney and one located at the Sebel Quay West Suites Sydney (again, thanks to @Suzi66 for making me aware of the latter one).  They both give marvelous views from different angles of the Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) along with the surrounding harbor.  Webcam Sydney gives a nice live view while the Sebel Quay West webcam has an interesting time lapse feature.

 

Occasionally a question will come up on whether Solstice docks with its bow pointed towards downtown Sydney or away from the city which makes a difference to those that are expecting a certain view from their balcony prior to sail away.  The answer is that Solstice docks with the bow pointed towards downtown Sydney which means the Opera House is viewable from the port side balconies.  This is true of the two times that we have sailed out of Sydney and every time I saw her or another cruise ship docked at the OPT including webcam views.  However @CupcakeSusiepointed out in our Jan 3 2021 Solstice roll call that several years ago Solstice docked with her bow pointed away from the city (link).  Either way the best times to see the Opera House from the ship is when Solstice sails in front of the Opera House on the sailing away (view is on the starboard side) or during the early morning sailing into Sydney Harbour (view is on the port side).

 

Finally I also meant to point out in my prior post that the ship along side Solstice in the photo below is an oil tanker, ICS Allegiance, loading Solstice with fuel as we were embarking.

 

Back to the real world: we are supposed to get 8 to 13 inches of snow here in the Chicago area during the next 24 hours.