Onboard Celebrity Solstice January 21 - 28, 2023

[mariners]

After reading so many negative reports on changes to Celebrity, I was quite concerned about sailing on this cruise.  My worries were needless.  Yes, there have been some changes, and, yes, most things cost more money.  However, boarding the ship has never been easier.  The welcome onboard provided by staff and crew (without a drink that I aways wanted and took, but found awkward as my hands were full) was the same as always except for the drink.  Perhaps, it was even better as there are only 700, or 800 passengers, on this sailing and we all had individualized attention. The lunch buffet had as many options as one could want (should want?), and the food, with a couple of exceptions (which has always been the case for me) was as good as ever.  We have set seating in the dining room at early dining (first time on Celebrity as we always have flexible dining), and we are in a location that works well for us, and they are able to provide distance between diners given the few passengers onboard.  The service was excellent, as was our meal.  I will write more later in the cruise, or on our next segment when I have internet.  Right now, I am using my cell phone as I have cell service when we are in port (Catalina Island which is absolutely beautiful as is our weather).  I will not have wifi until the next segment so, if I don't respond, it's not because I am a "troll", it's because I am choosing to disconnect from the world for this segment and just relax and enjoy every moment.  My reason for posting is so that some people who might have the same concerns that I had might feel reassured about life onboard Celebrity.   

[Reisdawg]

We are on the February 11th sailing and you are making us feel better.  With all of the negative comments so far this year I will set my expectations to enjoy what is available.  

[mariners]

Glad that you feel better.  I have to log off now as I'm using my phone as a hub and it only works well on the balcony (Canadian cell phone issue).  It's the middle of winter at home, and I'm not wearing sunscreen and can feel the sunburn starting.  Oh, such problems! 🙂  

[Georgia_Peaches]

Following...have a wonderful time!

[mahdnc]

Enjoy your cruise.  We hope to be back on Solstice in December.  

[fishmongerrules]

53 minutes ago, Reisdawg said:

We are on the February 11th sailing and you are making us feel better.  With all of the negative comments so far this year I will set my expectations to enjoy what is available.  

will be on that one as well. i hope things settle down by then. looks like the ship will have a lot of extra rooms available so maybe we will have about the same number of people onboard.

[LaCal]

Thanks for your review and looking forward to more later in the week 

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for posting.  I'm along for the ride.

 

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, mariners said:

Glad that you feel better.  I have to log off now as I'm using my phone as a hub and it only works well on the balcony (Canadian cell phone issue).  It's the middle of winter at home, and I'm not wearing sunscreen and can feel the sunburn starting.  Oh, such problems! 🙂  

Get that sunscreen on!!!

 

bon voyage

[Chase101]

Looking forward to more information! My friend & I board Saturday the 28th! 
Barbara

[mariners]

We are in San Diego, and, Bo, I do have the sunscreen on😀.  It’s been a great cruise.  We’ve found workarounds to most things such as not going to late breakfast as the selection doesn’t work for us.  Lots of happy passengers.  Lots of unhappy passengers.   Each person has to choose what’s the most important things and whether Celebrity still fits the bill.  The ship has way more passengers boarding tomorrow so it will be interesting to see what happens with a larger passenger load.   I have shorthand notes written from this cruise and will try and get them typed up and posted tomorrow.  No photos until I get home though as I can’t get them to upload properly on my cell phone.  The weather is beautiful today.  I hope it’s the same in San Pedro tomorrow.  Thanks to all who have read and those people who have responded. 

[mariners]

Barbara, I have found it best to explain to the crew or bartenders exactly what I would like and they have all tried their best.  For example, drinks are made different ways by some of the bartenders and I explain how I like mine made.  Our room attendant is fantastic and I just leave a note and he remembers exactly what I like, for example, extra ice.  I hope you have a great time boarding tomorrow.  

[kelleyd]

On 1/22/2023 at 5:10 PM, Reisdawg said:

We are on the February 11th sailing and you are making us feel better.  With all of the negative comments so far this year I will set my expectations to enjoy what is available.  

Would love to know how long it takes to get off in Cabo.  I'm not sure which board is the most appropriate to post this question.

[Jim_Iain]

14 hours ago, kelleyd said:

Would love to know how long it takes to get off in Cabo.  I'm not sure which board is the most appropriate to post this question.

 

I did a B2B in December so probably representative.    They use tenders for the ship's excursions first.    They then started using 2 exits from the ship about 20 minutes after scheduled arrival time.   At Cabo they were using tenders provided by the port as well as Celebrity's. 

 

There are many priority privileges -   Suites,  Captain's Club Elite and Above, Aqua and Concierge and they meet in lounges and escorted to the tender on a priority basis.   Suites are generally the first to be escorted to the tenders.

 

On our cruise they gave out tender tickets and would call them by groups. 

 

The tender take 15-20 minutes to get to pier depending where anchored.

[mariners]

I kept short notes on this cruise of information that I thought might be of interest to some people who read this thread.  I hope that anyone else who was on this cruise will chime in or create a separate thread if they prefer. 

 

We took this cruise as we got an offer from the Blue Chip Club.  We chose to take this segment in a balcony cabin, and did not purchase wifi or a beverage package.  We also did not pre-pay tips.  There are, according to the officers with whom I spoke, approximately 700 passengers onboard.  Of those passengers, at least 80 of them have remained on the back-to-back for this new segment.

 

The itinerary for the first segment was not one that we would have chosen, but it ended up having some highlights that we enjoyed, and we love being on a cruise ship so it worked out well.

 

My first recommendation is not for this cruise specifically, but is for flying into LAX and the transportation from LAX to any destination outside the airport.  The International Terminal where we landed does not have pick up by taxis, uber/lyft, group transport, etc. at the present time.  One has to take a bus to a huge parking area and get the transportation at that area.  It took us almost 20 minutes to arrive at the parking lot once we were on the bus.  There, we chose to take a taxi as the other prices were high.  Each type of transport has  its own line and area to wait.  Little did we realize how expensive the taxi, or any other transport, was going to be to get to San Pedro.  It ended up that the cost for the taxi and the other transportation was exactly the same.  We hit Los Angeles during rush hour on a Friday night.  If that timing happened to us again, we’d stay at an airport hotel and travel to San Pedro the next day.  The ride was well over an hour and, much of the time, the car travelled at 5 miles an hour or was at a complete standstill. 

 

However, it was an easy ride to the port the next morning, and Uber was a great deal (less than $10).  We arrived a bit early as we thought it would take longer to get the Uber and also to get to the port.  Arriving early was not an issue.  A porter took our luggage as soon as we got out of the car, and we were directed to the check in area.  There were plenty of seats and boarding for passengers began exactly at 11:00 a.m.  The first passengers for general boarding were Aqua Class, Concierge Class, and Blue Chip cruisers.  It was very easy as all one had to do was show the boarding card through the App, or a printed copy.  There was a quick check of the completed boarding material (health check), and passport control.

 

Unfortunately, the person who checked us in told us we could not go and pick up our cabin cards or drop things off in our cabin until after 1 p.m.  Instead, we could have gone directly to our cabin, taken the cards from outside our door and placed our luggage in the cabin (which is what I had read on CC but figured it was just another change).  Still, it wasn’t a hardship as we just lugged our carry-on up to the Sunset Bar and they served us our first drink by confirming our cabin number on our boarding pass.  Great service!

 

The lunch buffet has lots of different selection including:  American, Mexican, East Indian, Carving Station, Salads, Breads, Cheese, processed meats, Pasta, Pizza, Stir Fry, and others.  The cheese, for those people who enjoy cheese, is mainly processed sliced cheese and offerings are quite limited.  I saw many people who chose pizza add additional toppings from other stations on their pizza slices which I think is a good work around if the set toppings are not what you like.

 

Dinner menus have been posted by other people and I suggest that anyone who would like to know what is offered check out those posts.  Most dinners have been good, a few really good, and one not so good.  However, what we like, other people might not like so I’m just going to make a couple of general comments.  If one likes spice, it will be necessary to ask for additional spice, and add as much as one would prefer.  There are very limited choices for anyone who has lactose intolerance.  Although our wait staff were knowledgeable about dietary restrictions, there was only so much they could do given the menus. 

 

The dinner buffet is definitely limited, but worked well for the couple sitting at the table next to us.  They preferred the food in Oceanview Café and did not care for most of the menus in the main dining room.  IMO, it would be beneficial for them to provide more options so that not all of the salads are pasta salads/Caesar salads and have healthy dressing as a choice (not high fat/high milk/high cream/etc.).  For those people who enjoy eating a lot of carbs, there are usually a decent selection of foods that would meet that criteria.  Service is excellent and tables are quickly cleaned.

 

Although I only tried it one time, I would not recommend the late breakfast in Oceanview.  There is a limited number of choices, and almost everything is filled with fat and grease, or dried out because it has been sitting there for so long.  The fruit was still good.

 

Many bar staff appear to be fairly new and each bar has different selections.  When serving wine, the bar staff should know the correct names of the wines and not just say that there are a couple of red wines, and a couple of white wines.  We could see them learn over the last week, and really try to remember the different types as well as what a passenger was drinking.  I have no doubt that within the next couple of cruises that the issue of not knowing wines will change.  Cellar Masters is as good as ever and remains the best place to go for passengers who want the best selection and the most knowledgeable sommelier. 

 

Mixed drinks are more difficult.  As I previously stated, if one explains exactly how they like a drink, most of the time the bartender will make it to those specifications.  However, with some wait staff, they continue to learn English and things are lost in translation.  A smile, and more of an explanation, usually make things right and is, IMO, helping the individual learn a job that is new to them.  I’m sure there are people who think that is not “our” job and  crew should have been trained ahead of time, but, the way I see it is that the world has changed for everyone.  I want to see travel continue in the future, and I believe in the “walk a mile in my shoes” philosophy of life.

 

Now, changing to the ports, Catalina Island was wonderful.  It has an amazing amount of things to do for such a small island, but just wandering around is also interesting.  Prices are quite high and most shops had similar items.  The Catalina Island Conservancy had some unique t-shirts, sweaters, puzzles, etc.  It supports island treks, camping, enjoying nature, and taking care of the environment.  There are public washrooms on the pier and they are clean and well kept.

 

Cabo is a tender port.  Celebrity uses both Celebrity tenders and local tenders.  If you are on a local tender, they pass around a tip bag for passengers.  It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to load some of the tenders before they leave, and then it’s another 15 minutes or a bit longer to Cabo.  Timing depends upon the number of people, the time of the day, and the waiting for one tender to load/unload before the next tender can dock.  We were there at the same time as a Disney ship and I can’t imagine being there with more people.  The hustlers were out in full force.  The weather was great, and we enjoyed walking around outside of the harbour area.

 

Now, San Diego was a highlight for me.  Coming into port, the ship was surrounded by dolphin.  In my estimation, there would have been hundreds of them.  They were beside the ship, and out into the ocean as far as one could see.  They all put on a show just by doing what dolphins always do – play in the waves.  Not only did I get videos of them, but I have still photographs that are great because I couldn’t miss getting a photo.  Of course, San Diego and the docking location is great.  There’s lots to see walking around the area, and there are shuttle busses to other areas if people choose. 

 

Now, I’ve written as much as I’m writing today.  It’s time for me to go back out and enjoy the ship.  We have our new key cards, and can’t wait to enjoy this next segment.  How lucky we are to be onboard again! 

[Sillyjilly]

I'll be on her next month. Thanks for sharing your information. I plan on having a great time!

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Is there shopping inside the secure port area of Cabo? 

[mariners]

Sorry for the delayed response.  We just arrived home late last night and had no access to CC onboard the ship.  In fact, we had very intermittent internet for the last few days of our cruise and couldn't even send texts.

 

Cabo is a tender port, and the tender goes to a pier.  I'm not sure what you mean by "secure port area" so I'm providing information about the port itself.  

 

There are two types of tenders going from the ship.  One is a Celebrity tender and the other is a local tender.  On the local tender, there is a request for tips and a tip jar is circulated amongst the passengers onboard.  When either of the types of tender arrive at the pier, there are Celebrity tour operators right there for people who are going on tour.  If you are not going on a Celebrity tour, you have to walk past a "security" area where they check bags to make sure that you are not bringing food ashore.  As soon as you pass that area, there are numerous vendors trying to sell different excursions, and entice you to shop at whatever shop they are representing.  There is no shopping until you are off the pier so there is no port building or what I would consider a secure port area.  

 

If this doesn't answer your question, please let me know what information would be beneficial.  We were in the port twice as we were on a back-to-back.  IMO, other that the fabulous sea life, it's not a port where I would choose to spend much time and I hope that someone else who enjoyed the shopping experience will post to provide you better information.

[cruisequeen4ever]

On 2/5/2023 at 6:21 AM, mariners said:

Sorry for the delayed response.  We just arrived home late last night and had no access to CC onboard the ship.  In fact, we had very intermittent internet for the last few days of our cruise and couldn't even send texts.

 

Cabo is a tender port, and the tender goes to a pier.  I'm not sure what you mean by "secure port area" so I'm providing information about the port itself.  

 

There are two types of tenders going from the ship.  One is a Celebrity tender and the other is a local tender.  On the local tender, there is a request for tips and a tip jar is circulated amongst the passengers onboard.  When either of the types of tender arrive at the pier, there are Celebrity tour operators right there for people who are going on tour.  If you are not going on a Celebrity tour, you have to walk past a "security" area where they check bags to make sure that you are not bringing food ashore.  As soon as you pass that area, there are numerous vendors trying to sell different excursions, and entice you to shop at whatever shop they are representing.  There is no shopping until you are off the pier so there is no port building or what I would consider a secure port area.  

 

If this doesn't answer your question, please let me know what information would be beneficial.  We were in the port twice as we were on a back-to-back.  IMO, other that the fabulous sea life, it's not a port where I would choose to spend much time and I hope that someone else who enjoyed the shopping experience will post to provide you better information.

That’s very helpful; thank you. 

[Vagabond Knight]

Thank you for all the information, @mariners.  I will be on the Solstice in 19 days (but who's counting, eh?) with a friend of mine and found your posts to be very encouraging and helpful.  If you don't mind me asking, how much was the taxi from LAX to San Pedro?  

[scott45]

On 1/22/2023 at 3:05 PM, fishmongerrules said:

will be on that one as well. i hope things settle down by then. looks like the ship will have a lot of extra rooms available so maybe we will have about the same number of people onboard.

 

[scott45]

My wife and I are also on this sailing…

we expect a lovely experience 

[mauimary]

We were on a similar sailing to you only we did not stop in Catalina or San Diego.   Enjoyed your review.  You certainly described everything very accurately.  We too really enjoyed the cruise with less than 50% capacity.  
 

We did fly into LAX the day before and got a very good rate at the Marriott there.  We even had a shuttle to the hotel.  The next morning we took an Uber to the Port.  Which made life a lot easier with no traffic. 

[Oldsweets]

Thank you, for the great info as this will prove helpful for our March Cruise.  Appreciate the time you took to write these comments!

[mariners]

Vagabond Knight, my apologies for the late response to your question.  The taxi to San Pedro during the Friday night rush hour was $75.00 USD including tip.  Uber was offering the trip at $85.00 USD when I checked.  However, your experience might be different as there were also other large ships at LAX ports and I believe that Uber prices are based on supply and demand.

 

Our return trip, by Celebrity bus, was $35.00 USD each.  I am sure that we Uber and other similar rides would be much cheaper as it took us almost no time to get to LAX.  Still, I'm glad we went the Celebrity route as I didn't want any issues with getting to the airport, had never been to San Pedro before, and wanted a relaxing (as much as it could be) end to our holiday.

 

If we were to arrive at LAX on a Friday night at rush hour, my choice would be to stay close to the airport and take transportation the next day to the port.

 

I'd also book my hotel well ahead of time as prices definitely go up closer to the cruise.