State of the Solstice

[Jim_Iain]

I'm curious to hear from those on Solstice now or the next week or so how staffing levels are and If their are any changes to the normal service levels we have all become accustomed to.   There have been many reports of staff on some of the other ships.

[Northern Aurora]

45 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm curious to hear from those on Solstice now or the next week or so how staffing levels are and If their are any changes to the normal service levels we have all become accustomed to.   There have been many reports of staff on some of the other ships.

 

Michael’s Club is fully staffed.  The standard number of waiters in Luminae, Murano and Sushi on 5.  Cafe al Bacio seems to be fully staffed as well.  

 

I spoke with the current MC head bartender yesterday.  He is extending his contract and expects to be onboard when you and Iain will also be onboard.  

[Jim_Iain]

1 minute ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

Michael’s Club is fully staffed.  The standard number of waiters in Luminae, Murano and Sushi on 5.  Cafe al Bacio seems to be fully staffed as well.  

 

I spoke with the current MC head bartender yesterday.  He is extending his contract and expects to be onboard when you and Iain will also be onboard.  

Thanks Gerry-   I know you said the bartender is really good.  What's his name?

 

Also do you know if the Retreat Concierges will be the same (We are not on until December).   Wondering if we know them.?

 

On Summit it seemed that Retreat and Luminae were fully staffed but butlers were down to 3 and one was suppose to go home but they extended him.   He was looking forward to going home as he had been on for over 7 months.

[canloan]

52 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm curious to hear from those on Solstice now or the next week or so how staffing levels are and If their are any changes to the normal service levels we have all become accustomed to.   There have been many reports of staff on some of the other ships.

We have been on the ship since Vancouver and are very sad to be leaving the ship tomorrow.

 

We were/are in a regular veranda cabin for each of the cruises and dined in the mdr all nights except one.

 

We have not noticed any staffing issues anywhere on the ship. Service has been excellent in all areas of the ship and she is in great shape and very clean and well-maintained.

 

We would not hesitate to sail on the Solstice again. For context, in the last eleven months we have also  sailed on the Millenium, the Summit, and the Eclipse.

 

[SunNFunCruzer]

Upon further inspection, there is only 1 track with clips in our veranda state room on the Solstice, so no way to hang a privacy curtain. Our state room shall remain privacy-curtain-less. Seems suite passengers are treated differently, in more ways than one.

[Northern Aurora]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks Gerry-   I know you said the bartender is really good.  What's his name?

 

Also do you know if the Retreat Concierges will be the same (We are not on until December).   Wondering if we know them.?

 

On Summit it seemed that Retreat and Luminae were fully staffed but butlers were down to 3 and one was suppose to go home but they extended him.   He was looking forward to going home as he had been on for over 7 months.

 

Mr. Singh, the head bartender in MC, has extended and expects to leave on December 11th. Both Retreat Concierges (who are also excellent) expect to leave in October/early November as does the equally excellent Suite Manager.  These are all folks who were on the ship when it resumed passenger operations.  

 

Gerry

[Cruising89143]

First, we love the S class. One of our favorite class of ships. As long as the ship is clean then we’re good to go. We don’t need shiny and new. We’re on one of the eight night cruises out of San Pedro in early December. Looking forward to it. 

[Jim_Iain]

20 hours ago, canloan said:

We have been on the ship since Vancouver and are very sad to be leaving the ship tomorrow.

 

We were/are in a regular veranda cabin for each of the cruises and dined in the mdr all nights except one.

 

We have not noticed any staffing issues anywhere on the ship. Service has been excellent in all areas of the ship and she is in great shape and very clean and well-maintained.

 

We would not hesitate to sail on the Solstice again. For context, in the last eleven months we have also  sailed on the Millenium, the Summit, and the Eclipse.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer.   Happy to hear you had a wonderful cruise and looking forward to getting my turn on board..   -   Millennium was the first ship we ever cruised in 2001 and I still have a fond place in my heart for her. 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, cruisingator2 said:

First, we love the S class. One of our favorite class of ships. As long as the ship is clean then we’re good to go. We don’t need shiny and new. We’re on one of the eight night cruises out of San Pedro in early December. Looking forward to it. 

 

Feel the same.   Hope to see  you aboard.   We are on the first two cruises in December.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

Mr. Singh, the head bartender in MC, has extended and expects to leave on December 11th. Both Retreat Concierges (who are also excellent) expect to leave in October/early November as does the equally excellent Suite Manager.  These are all folks who were on the ship when it resumed passenger operations.  

 

Gerry

Thanks.  I"m sure they are all in much need of a long earned vacation.  Thanks again Gerry.

[Cruising89143]

Just now, Jim_Iain said:

 

Feel the same.   Hope to see  you aboard.   We are on the first two cruises in December.

We will be on board with you. We’re usually at the martini or World Class bar for pre dinner cocktail. 🙂

[loerie]

My daughter and husband disembarked off the  Solstice This sat .Am.Gave it rave  reviews!

[mcrcruiser]

Whats not to like with Celebrity cruises ! 

[sbcs5390]

 

Did anyone go through the B2B process today? We're on 10/15 and 10/22 so curious to know how it is working now that this is the first possible RT LA B2B pair. Do you have to get off the ship? How's the champagne holding up? How was the Retreat boarding process in LA? How soon could Retreat guests board? 

[mauimary]

On 9/30/2022 at 5:29 PM, canloan said:

We have been on the ship since Vancouver and are very sad to be leaving the ship tomorrow.

 

We were/are in a regular veranda cabin for each of the cruises and dined in the mdr all nights except one.

 

We have not noticed any staffing issues anywhere on the ship. Service has been excellent in all areas of the ship and she is in great shape and very clean and well-maintained.

 

We would not hesitate to sail on the Solstice again. For context, in the last eleven months we have also  sailed on the Millenium, the Summit, and the Eclipse.

 

So very refreshing to read positive comments.  We were on the Solstice in June to Alaska and felt the same.   We are returning in less than three weeks to cruise to Mexico this time.  Very excited.   We are in a regular Sunset Veranda which we have done before and loved it.  

[SunNFunCruzer]

Heard from friends who boarded Solstice yesterday. The 6 foot pool was empty upon boarding. Crew told them the pools were extra warm because the ship had come down from Alaska. Apparently there were a lot of complaints about pool and cabin heat during the last cruise (1st to the MexRiv), so the pool was drained and the water temperature was lowered. Happy to see Celebrity being responsive.

 

Still no confirmation if berries are available. No blueberries or raspberries available to guests on our 9/24 sailing other than single fruits in random drinks or as cake toppers.

[inspfitz]

4 hours ago, SunNFunCruzer said:

Heard from friends who boarded Solstice yesterday. The 6 foot pool was empty upon boarding. Crew told them the pools were extra warm because the ship had come down from Alaska. Apparently there were a lot of complaints about pool and cabin heat during the last cruise (1st to the MexRiv), so the pool was drained and the water temperature was lowered. Happy to see Celebrity being responsive.

 

Still no confirmation if berries are available. No blueberries or raspberries available to guests on our 9/24 sailing other than single fruits in random drinks or as cake toppers.

On the Solstice now heading to PV. She looks beautiful! Great Motown show last night blew the lid off the theater. Love how they still have live musicians instead of canned music like most cruise lines switched to. Fish dinner was to die for. Could use more TV’s in the bars showing NFL games but oh well I can do that at home. Service is OUTSTANDING. Internet is spotty.

[cruzzzinma]

On 10/1/2022 at 1:00 PM, Northern Aurora said:

Mr. Singh, the head bartender in MC, has extended and expects to leave on December 11th. Both Retreat Concierges (who are also excellent) expect to leave in October/early November as does the equally excellent Suite Manager.  

If you consistently order something, he just brings it to you. We ordered the same drinks every night and he started making them when he saw us. I added a bottle of water, no ice, one night and from then on, we got a dirty martini, a lemon drop, and a bottle of water and a glass.

 

I do not think the Luminae experience is what it used to be. I couldn’t figure out whether it was the kitchen, the Maitre’D, or the staff. The staff works hard but service is slower. YMMV. We were on the ship 16 Sep-1 Oct. I am not typically a Tuscan fan but it was amazing on this ship. Murano and Sushi on 5 were excellent as always.

[3girlsmom]

1 hour ago, cruzzzinma said:

If you consistently order something, he just brings it to you. We ordered the same drinks every night and he started making them when he saw us. I added a bottle of water, no ice, one night and from then on, we got a dirty martini, a lemon drop, and a bottle of water and a glass.

 

I do not think the Luminae experience is what it used to be. I couldn’t figure out whether it was the kitchen, the Maitre’D, or the staff. The staff works hard but service is slower. YMMV. We were on the ship 16 Sep-1 Oct. I am not typically a Tuscan fan but it was amazing on this ship. Murano and Sushi on 5 were excellent as always.

Hi cruzzzinma, we were waiting to go into breakfast with you the last morning of the repositioning cruise. I was jealous you were doing a back to back and I had taken a picture of that great walker.  : )

I agree Singh is special and I know what you mean about Luminae. Overall we were very pleased with our experience and look forward to re-boarding a week from Saturday, but I think if there's an issue, it's the Maitre'd Bruno. Unlike all the other Luminae Maitre'd's we've experienced, he didn't go table to table to see how everyone is doing nor did he pitch in when needed to help clear tables or seat people. So different than what we are used to! We noticed if we saw him at all he would be just standing in the doorway to the service area. (We started playing "Where's Bruno" 😆) Nelly and the rest of the staff we had were all fabulous, (Marlon, Melissa and Angga) so I'm guessing if things are not quite up to speed, it's him. 

[dlh015]

22 minutes ago, 3girlsmom said:

he didn't go table to table to see how everyone is doing

Unlike any Maitre'D I've experienced on *any* cruise line...

[sbcs5390]

23 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Unlike any Maitre'D I've experienced on *any* cruise line...

Yikes. Anyone know when Bruno's headed to vacation? 

[3girlsmom]

30 minutes ago, sbcs5390 said:

Yikes. Anyone know when Bruno's headed to vacation? 

Most of the crew is leaving at the end of October or early November I recall. But no worries, Bruno was not rude or unpleasant in anyway, he just didn't seem to be as involved as what we are used to. Our service was still excellent thanks to the super efforts of Marlon, Melissa, Nelly and Angga, nothing I can complain about at all! I just felt bad for how hard they were working.

The suites are always full so Luminae is busy. The staff usually gets a little assistance from the Maitre'd when things get crazy, but not that we saw last cruise. 

[cruzzzinma]

1 hour ago, 3girlsmom said:

but I think if there's an issue, it's the Maitre'd Bruno.

And I noticed he chewed out staff whenever there was an issue. Our waiter was not responsible for my way over cooked steak….

[cruzzzinma]

I had a lengthy discussion with the Suite Manager about Luminae on the 16 Sep cruise when we were in a sky suite. Nelly, the hostess, is a shining light in Luminae. She was sick for most of the 24 Sep cruise and it was like the lights had mostly gone out.

 

We ate mostly in Specialties on the 24 Sep cruise.

[3girlsmom]

 

2 minutes ago, cruzzzinma said:

I had a lengthy discussion with the Suite Manager about Luminae on the 16 Sep cruise when we were in a sky suite. Nelly, the hostess, is a shining light in Luminae. She was sick for most of the 24 Sep cruise and it was like the lights had mostly gone out.

 

We ate mostly in Specialties on the 24 Sep cruise.

I'm sorry to hear Nelly was sick, I agree she is a shining star.  Unlimited specialties is a fabulous perk of a RS! : )