Live from Solstice - Jan 28th to Feb 4th - First Time X Cruiser

[LaCal]

Updates? 

[Janthere]

I am enjoying following along on your Live from Solstice. It's interesting to read about X from someone with fresh eyes so to speak. I cruised on Solstice from LA in November and am doing so again in April (both comped - first one in Sky Suite and second one in Aqua). Thanks for posting the pics of video poker etc. I hope you find Lady Luck soon! 

 

I have read some reports that they have recently replaced some of the old slots with new ones. When I was on in Nov many were broken especially the Video poker triple play machines. It looked like they were in the middle of upgrading some of the touchscreens for accessing your points etc as well. Are you able to get cash on your room through the machines yet or do you know if you still have to go to the cashier to do so? 

 

So far do you think you have a preference between Holland and X? 

[SLOTheta]

On 1/31/2023 at 5:38 AM, LaCal said:

Loved that you saw so many whales.  We go on a Mexico cruise every November and get lucky each time 

 

Can you post what the Shows/Entertainment are on the ship this week? 

 

Hope you get lucky in the casino and hit a Jackpot 🍀🍀💰💰🍀🍀

Hi there! There isn’t an easy way to post all the shows since it’s in the daily calendar in the app and there are a million things going on. DJs, Broadway type shows, musicians of all types, dancing, movies, trivia, etc. There’s literally something for everyone.

[SLOTheta]

On 1/31/2023 at 7:10 AM, Spurs Fans said:

Could you tell us what the minimum bets generally are on BJ, 3 Card Poker??  I realize they will vary at different times of day.  Just curious for our Summit cruise in August.  Thanks! 

For black jack, there were 4 different tables - single card and multiple deck. They ranged for $10, $15, $25 and $50 min per hand. 
 

For 3 card poker, it’s $10 for ante and pairs plus, it ends up being $35 a hand if you play. I scored trip 2s! 
 

Craps is $10 and Roulette is $5. I played hours of roulette 

[SLOTheta]

On 2/1/2023 at 6:12 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Reading your remarks of fruit drinks at OVC.    At the entrance bar they sell Premium OJ and Grapefruit which are included with the Premium Package.   Much better than what comes out of the self serve -  basically sugar water.   The drink waiter will also get them for you. 

We learned the best thing to do was to go to Blu for breakfast and get glasses of fresh orange juice and grapefruit juice. We picked up the juice in the buffet the first day and decided it wasn’t worth the calories.

 

The fresh juices in Blu were delicious 

[Fly and Sail]

On 1/30/2023 at 4:09 PM, SLOTheta said:

Hello,

From my experience on Holland, you get comped or reduced fares based on casino play. I received this Celebrity cruise for almost free, due to my MGM platinum status in vegas. I would suggest the next time you are on a Celebrity cruise, make sure you spend time in the casino every day. When I’m on Holland, I gamble every day, about $1000 a day…I’ve been doing the same on this cruise, so it will be interesting to see what offers I get when I’m done. We are on day 2 and I’ve lost quite a bit ($1500), hoping I get something good from all my gambling. 

 

You should now be enrolled in Blue Chip Club. Do you remember how many points you have? VP earns 1 points per $2 wagered. Regular slots 1 point/$1.

 

Onboard Casino offers are usually offered to you by day 3 in form of a voucher to your room.

 

Isn't the MGM Platinum cruise just 5 days max? Hope you had a better experience than me trying to book my NOIR cruise benefit. Also, make sure your $200 OBC was applied properly.

[Fly and Sail]

14 hours ago, janbear said:

I am enjoying following along on your Live from Solstice. It's interesting to read about X from someone with fresh eyes so to speak. I cruised on Solstice from LA in November and am doing so again in April (both comped - first one in Sky Suite and second one in Aqua). Thanks for posting the pics of video poker etc. I hope you find Lady Luck soon! 

 

 

Is your Sky Suite an offer through Blue Chip Club? Given that they comped you a suite (rare) you're probably SapphirePlus or above? Never been able to get a suite comped so far even as Sapphire.

[SLOTheta]

Our 2nd port day was Mazatlan. I had stopped here before on our last Mexican cruise before Covid in 2019. There isn’t a ton to see or do, but I wanted some nice beach time. We decided to go to Stone Island. We had to take a trolley out to the gates of the port. We walked right and ran into a bunch of construction so we hailed a pulmonia, which is a golf cart like vehicle that has been upgraded. It was $3 to get to the ferry pier. It’s 40 pesos each person for the round trip to Stone Island. It’s best to bring pesos, since you’ll get up charged by using USD. The ferry ride was quick, it’s a small fishing type  boat that fits about 20 people  

 

We walked 10 minutes across the island, through unremarkable roads and arrived at Lety’s. I had read good reviews about the food and drinks. We asked for spots near the beach and they had 2 loungers available. If you buy food, the umbrella and lounge chairs are included. We ordered guacamole and 2 Don Julio Palomas. It was $20 including tip, great deal for a few hours of lounging by the beach. It was quiet and didn’t have a ton of people, and very few tourists. 
 

We walked back to the ferry stop and there were several boats waiting. We arrived at the port and took the 20 mins walk back to the ship. We bought a few trinkets and souvenirs at the shops right before you board the ship. Very good pricing 

[Janthere]

22 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Is your Sky Suite an offer through Blue Chip Club? Given that they comped you a suite (rare) you're probably SapphirePlus or above? Never been able to get a suite comped so far even as Sapphire.

My husband just corrected me on the suite - it wasn't fully comped - the price was significantly reduced and we paid the difference. 

[Janthere]

Last time we were in Mazatlan we hired a guy to drive us around and show us the points of interest. So its nice to know there is another option with Stone Island. Thank you for posting the pics - looks nice - we will check it out! 

[Spurs Fans]

On 2/3/2023 at 2:09 PM, SLOTheta said:

For black jack, there were 4 different tables - single card and multiple deck. They ranged for $10, $15, $25 and $50 min per hand. 
 

For 3 card poker, it’s $10 for ante and pairs plus, it ends up being $35 a hand if you play. I scored trip 2s! 
 

Craps is $10 and Roulette is $5. I played hours of roulette 

Thanks so much! 

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/3/2023 at 12:11 PM, SLOTheta said:

We learned the best thing to do was to go to Blu for breakfast and get glasses of fresh orange juice and grapefruit juice. We picked up the juice in the buffet the first day and decided it wasn’t worth the calories.

 

The fresh juices in Blu were delicious 

They really are good.   Our Assistant Waiter's job was to get up every morning and 5AM and squeeze it.   She said the only places that get the fresh squeezed was Luminae, Blu, Elite CC and Retreat.   She actually told me how many pitchers she squeezes for each but don't recall.  

 

The Premium is factory squeezed like you buy in the Grocery and the regular is from frozen concentrate. 

[SLOTheta]

After our beach day in Mazatlan, we headed to Murano for the Veuve Clicquot dinner. The max was 10 people, but there were only 6 of us. My sister and I were seated with a group of 4 around a circle table in the front. They were from LA, and very lovely dinner guests. We had 3 champagnes and 2 still wines. All were carefully explained, with historical tidbits about Madame Clicquot. The sommelier was very knowledgeable. Each dish was perfectly paired. I don’t eat red meat and was able to sub out the filet Mignon with lobster. Everything was delicious and was worth the $200. Even though they added tax and gratuity to our account, the service was excellent, we left a nice little extra for the staff. We had plenty of champagne after all was poured and they would pour out whatever was left if you asked. 
 

I would definitely do this dinner again and was surprised so few people took advantage of it. 

[SLOTheta]

Our final port day was in Puerto Vallarta. I have a friend who lives there, she was able to book us a reservation at the El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club. It’s a bit if a taxi mafia as soon as you get off the ship. The exit was about a 5 min walk to the right from the port lot. We walked across the street to the VIPS restaurant, in front of walmart and I called a Uber. I was taken advantage of the last time in PV, where we were charged $20 for a quick ride. It was $7 including tip with Uber.

 

At the El Dorado, there’s a minimum spend of $25 per person, but no additional rental fees. They had super comfy loungers and great food. It was our last day and we hadn’t bought any souvenirs or gifts. There was a constant flow of sellers coming by, all very nice if you didn’t want to buy anything and moved on quickly. We bought very well priced hats, shawls, jewelry, carvings, etc. the beach was pleasant and water a decent temperature. The only thing about the beach club is we were chastised by one of our servers for buying fresh oysters from one of the sellers who came by. Seemed a bit needless since we spent $120 USD in food and drinks at the restaurant already. The oysters were a few dollars. Other than that, It was a great day on the beach 

 

We received an invite to the sail away on the Helipad when we’re back in the room. I’m not sure why we received it, but glad we did. They served champagne and mimosas. Several of the crew members were there and it was a beautiful sail away. 

[SLOTheta]

On Thursday, we had a sea day. On our first day in the ship, the had a raffle at the spa. It was packed waiting for the prizes. We didn’t win anything, but we were given a flyer for the “Managers Special” that was $199 for a message if you booked that day. We were looking to get a massage during our trip, but most were $299 to $399. We had our massages on Thursday at the same time. It was really nice experience. My therapist was very good and I loved the Elemis products. I didn’t but then in the ship since I buy directly from the site when they have 20% off sales. 
 

After our massage, we spent time in the Persian Garden. We loved the heated loungers and the warm sun that came through the room.

 

I spent about 4 hours gambling on the sea day, with no huge successes. But, lots of free drinks and enjoyment out of gambling.

Thursday was another dress up night. It was nice to see people dressed up (to varying degrees) 

 

We had another delicious dinner in Blu that included lobster. I also ordered Duck a l’orange from the MDR and it was huge! Even though the duck was great, I wish I had ordered 2 lobster tails. I ordered a dry rose to go with my lobster and it was very reasonable at $10. My sister had the filet mignon that was cooked perfectly (more rare). 

[boontj2003]

On 1/29/2023 at 11:15 PM, KikisDad said:

We are on Solstice next week and are enjoying your posts

We Just got off yesterday. FABULOUS time!!! You will enjoy!

[Laurab23]

On 2/4/2023 at 8:01 PM, SLOTheta said:

After our beach day in Mazatlan, we headed to Murano for the Veuve Clicquot dinner. The max was 10 people, but there were only 6 of us. My sister and I were seated with a group of 4 around a circle table in the front. They were from LA, and very lovely dinner guests. We had 3 champagnes and 2 still wines. All were carefully explained, with historical tidbits about Madame Clicquot. The sommelier was very knowledgeable. Each dish was perfectly paired. I don’t eat red meat and was able to sub out the filet Mignon with lobster. Everything was delicious and was worth the $200. Even though they added tax and gratuity to our account, the service was excellent, we left a nice little extra for the staff. We had plenty of champagne after all was poured and they would pour out whatever was left if you asked. 
 

I would definitely do this dinner again and was surprised so few people took advantage of it. 

Do you have a copy of the menu? Thank you.

 

Laura

[Canuker]

On 1/31/2023 at 2:49 AM, SLOTheta said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sunbathers on the pool deck have a good tan..