Solstice LIVE (3/18) Suite Review w/ Kid: Mexican Riviera w/ Mini Me

[KKB]

@GenerationX If you have a chance, could you snap a pic of the Future Cruise booking flyer?

We are looking at Retreat to AK on Edge next May (7 days) & would like to see what extras we might get.

Thanks so much--your review is so much fun. Gen Z's joy comes thru in her photos.

See you 2 wks from Sunday!

[clochette]

just caught up with your, as always lovely report, I am really enjoying the matching dresses, you are both adorable.

[GenerationX]

Buenos Dias from beautiful Cabo San Lucas!

 

This morning we slept in and had Ronald bring us a late breakfast on our veranda as we watched one of the tenders be brought back onto the ship.

 

I noticed last night that Gen Z was running extremely low on a few clean essential laundry items so I gave Ronald the items this morning for rush service (return by tomorrow morning at latest) at a 50% rush charge. It’s going to cost over $50 for what’s maybe a quarter of a load of kids laundry, but we still have over $400 in OBC to spend thanks to the refund for our Catalina excursion fiasco (I know I still owe that story). 

 

I have a bag of laundry free as an elite perk but was told the turn around time for that is now 2 days, and I wasn’t going to have Gen Z running around in dirty shorts for that long.  

 

I’ll likely put in my free bag this evening to lighten the load on my post-cruise laundry when we get home.  I also used my complimentary pressing Elite perk on the first day of cruise to have my less suitcase friendly evening dress for second chic night pressed.  To give a sense of timing I gave it to Ronald on the afternoon of embarkation day and got it back late morning on day 3.

 

Gen Z is at a model plane building class at Camp at Sea (apparently there IS something that can pull her away from whale watching) so I’m sipping a mimosa by the pool.

 

While I’m chilling, about the rest of our Cabo day yesterday:

 

We did the Luxury Whale Watching Tour booked through Celebrity.  I think the tour can also be booked independently through Cabo Adventures for a lower price, but we got so much OBC with this cruise booking our excursions through Celebrity made more financially sense.  We met in the theater and tendered over as a group with the other “speedboat” whale watching tour through the same company.

 

I’d read that both tours book up quickly so I booked right after I booked the cruise in Fall.  I heard that both were completely sold out by the first day of the cruise.

 

I went back and forth between the two when deciding which to book and it seems like there are pros and cons to each.

 

For the luxury tour, we were on a very nice two story catamaran with bathrooms, shaded areas and padded couch seating. The speedboat tour boats were essentially small outboard fishing boats with bench seating.  

 

Because it was essentially a small yacht we weren’t required to wear life jackets on our boat and were free to get up and move around.  The group on the speedboats were seated shoulder to shoulder with life jackets on for the duration.

 

I can’t recall if food or beverage were included in the speedboat, but our tour came with an open bar and after an hour or so of whale viewing the crew passed out bento boxes with a nice assortment of canapés.  The fried shrimp was especially good.  

 

I think the whales were fans of our snacks too because while we were stopped so the crew could pass out the trays, out of nowhere, a humpback with a head the size of my Jeep Cherokee breached the water no more that 20 meters from our boat and crashed back into the ocean creating a wake that rocked that 2 story, 60 person capacity catamaran so hard that it threw Gen Z across her seat (giggling with delight) and scared the shrimp out of all of the adults! Our captain had to fire up the engine and back up quickly for our safety.  I had to make a run to that (very clean) bathroom after that.

 

I think a big pro to the speedboat tour is that the smaller boats are much faster and more maneuverable so when we’d see blowhole or breaching activity, they were able to get over to the whales much quicker than we were and I think they got better views.  

 

We still got to see several whales though (in addition to Moby Dick the happy hour canapé crasher).  While we were snacking our guide also put a an underwater microphone into the ocean connected to a speaker on the boat and Gen Z was so excited to hear a few whales singing!

 

Our tour also included a professional photographer who took picture of us and the whales and gave us an email address to write to to get the pictures.  I sent my email requesting the photos this morning and will be sure to post the good ones when I get them.

 

When we got back to port, we came face to face with the most massive line to get to the tender area I’ve ever seen.  It went all the way to the back of the port area. Then I started to realize that I didn’t recognize any of the people in line. And, how can I say this nicely, their behavior seemed a bit more typical of a Cabo spring break crowd than what I’ve experienced so far on Solstice.

 

After looking around a little I figured out that there were 3 separate (but not well marked) entry lines for the tender area for the 3 ships anchored.  The massive line was people waiting to get on Norwegian Bliss.  There was a tiny notebook paper sized sign next to a separate line entrance for tenders back to Solstice (with no wait whatsoever).  

 

When heading back to the ship when multiple ships are in port be sure to pay attention and look for these tiny signs.  The port workers weren’t really paying attention to seapass cards or directing traffic to the right tender lines at all.  I saw a family that was supposed to be boarding the Bliss almost head down to a tender to the Disney Wonder until they noticed all the families in matching mouse head t-shirts around them.

 

I’m gonna take a dip in the pool and grab one more cocktail then will report on last night’s dinner.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GenerationX]

On 3/21/2023 at 4:38 AM, momofmab said:

Always love your cruise outfits (and Gen Z's matching ones!)  Do you have a designated closet at home, just for your cruise attire?  Where do you find all of the matching outfits?

Thank you! Amazon and The Children’s Place have really good selections of Mommy and Me/Family matching outfits.

 

For cocktail and formalwear, I use one of our local bridal and pageant dress shops that can order evening dresses in my size with matching fabrics in junior bridesmaids sizes/styles for Gen Z.  The sales associates get very excited when they see us coming. 😂

[GenerationX]

20 hours ago, hobo1937 said:

I have really been enjoying your review and photos. Since Gen Z loves whales you may want to get  her a book called "Humphrey the Lost Whale". It's available on Amazon in kindle and paperback. 

We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980's, when this took place, and  he captured the interest and hearts of a lot of residents. Amazing what what done to make sure there was a happy ending. 

 

 

 

Thank you! I’m going to order it today. It will be a nice surprise to cheer her up from post-cruise back to reality funk once we get home.

[GenerationX]

On 3/21/2023 at 9:56 AM, Essiesmom said:

I believe you can do the remote ordering on Princess with the medallion and app.  I understand performance can be spotty…EM

Well now you’ve opened a can of worms…I just spent a little poolside time sniffing around Princess’s Alaska cruise prices for this summer (feeling like a creepy dude texting his mistress while sitting right next to his wife) and they look a fair bit more reasonable than Celebrity for the weeks I was interested in but were out of budget on Solstice…dare I try another new cruise line?  Dare I broach the subject of adding yet another cruise to my calendar this summer with my office and my husband?

 

Tabling further thought on this one till I’m not 3 mimosas deep!

[lovecruzin]

I’m loving this review, we did a similar itinerary last month so I can relate to the itinerary, I also am having fun seeing it thru Gen Z eyes.

We loved meeting the lovely ladies from Kenya…Mercy, Pauline? and the barserver in Luminae (i know its not Kezia, but similar?), their smiles would always make my day.

If you havent tried the other adult Camp at Sea, the World Class Bar, Shetty is great. 

Looking forward to your next installment.

 

 

[tcmagnum]

On 3/21/2023 at 11:44 AM, GenerationX said:

 

 

Gen Z is growing up into a very pretty young lady.

You and your hubby should be so proud,

Love the matching dresses!!

 

[hcat]

Hi Charla

..If you have any left over OBC,  you and Gen Z  might enjoy a visit to the salon... for mommy- dtr  mani pedis. It might be fun !

 

loving the review..

[tcmagnum]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

Well now you’ve opened a can of worms…I just spent a little poolside time sniffing around Princess’s Alaska cruise prices for this summer (feeling like a creepy dude texting his mistress while sitting right next to his wife) and they look a fair bit more reasonable than Celebrity for the weeks I was interested in but were out of budget on Solstice…dare I try another new cruise line?  Dare I broach the subject of adding yet another cruise to my calendar this summer with my office and my husband?

 

Tabling further thought on this one till I’m not 3 mimosas deep!

Since you brought up adding another cruise this year...

Check out the pricing on the Edge for May 31 - Alaska.

 

I saw a post earlier today about a decent price drop.

Might be worth checking out....

[cw2go]

Just want to pop in to give a tad bit of information and you may already know this but... 

 

If you're serious about Alaska you may want to read a tad over on the Alaska Forum, I have sailed with Celebrity and Princess, have also done Northbound/Southbound and round trip cruises. 

 

For whales, Juneau is your jackpot! ISP with Celebrity is also fantastic.🐳

 

If you desire Glacier Bay then Princess is the next best match to Celebrity which can't sail there. Hubbard Glacier is pretty incredible and I'd bet your Lil' Gen Z would love it! 

 

You'll see many opinions regarding ship life but for me port times are top priority. Both will have kids on the sailing. Both will have lecturers and some entertainment, typical of any other sailing. 

 

Love following your travel adventures,

Patty 

[boxkite]

Charla, enjoy reading your great cruise report and pictures!

 

The two of you look wonderful in the matching outfits, no wonder your local bridal shop associates are so happy to see you coming!

 

We have taken our kids on several cruises both when they were younger and when they were in their teens. Treasure every moment with your daughter!

[san diego spartan]

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Well now you’ve opened a can of worms…I just spent a little poolside time sniffing around Princess’s Alaska cruise prices for this summer (feeling like a creepy dude texting his mistress while sitting right next to his wife) and they look a fair bit more reasonable than Celebrity for the weeks I was interested in but were out of budget on Solstice…dare I try another new cruise line?  Dare I broach the subject of adding yet another cruise to my calendar this summer with my office and my husband?

 

Tabling further thought on this one till I’m not 3 mimosas deep!

Enjoying your review and wanted to add a comment about Princess Alaska cruises since we were just on one in September 2022 and did a HAL one in May 2019.  I much preferred the HAL cruise since they had the ability on their ships to close the pool area roof in case the weather is too chilly/inclement.  The Princess ship we were on (Discovery Princess) did not.  While the Princess pool area was lovely, it was rarely used on our cruise because of the weather.  You may have great weather on your cruise, but you never know in Alaska.  Just something to think about if that would be a concern for you. 

 

I did like the ability to order drinks and food to where ever you are on the ship on Princess via their Medallion App - it worked almost all of the time for us.  I heard it was hit or miss for others - but it is a nice concept Princess offers. 

 

Also I would highly recommend the inside passage itinerary - it is much more scenic. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by san diego spartan
additional info

[abbydancer2003]

8 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Just want to pop in to give a tad bit of information and you may already know this but... 

 

If you're serious about Alaska you may want to read a tad over on the Alaska Forum, I have sailed with Celebrity and Princess, have also done Northbound/Southbound and round trip cruises. 

 

For whales, Juneau is your jackpot! ISP with Celebrity is also fantastic.🐳

 

If you desire Glacier Bay then Princess is the next best match to Celebrity which can't sail there. Hubbard Glacier is pretty incredible and I'd bet your Lil' Gen Z would love it! 

 

You'll see many opinions regarding ship life but for me port times are top priority. Both will have kids on the sailing. Both will have lecturers and some entertainment, typical of any other sailing. 

 

Love following your travel adventures,

Patty 

That's exactly it.  Celebrity offers a better minisuite (and suite) experience, but if you want Glacier Bay, it can't be Celebrity.  Princess is a closer experience, but I think Norwegian can do it, and I've heard the Haven is pretty nice.  That said, Hubbard is a pretty great glacier.

[maggieq]

3 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Well now you’ve opened a can of worms…I just spent a little poolside time sniffing around Princess’s Alaska cruise prices for this summer (feeling like a creepy dude texting his mistress while sitting right next to his wife) and they look a fair bit more reasonable than Celebrity for the weeks I was interested in but were out of budget on Solstice…dare I try another new cruise line?  Dare I broach the subject of adding yet another cruise to my calendar this summer with my office and my husband?

 

Tabling further thought on this one till I’m not 3 mimosas deep!

We are looking at Alaska for next year and as much as I would like to do that with celebrity, Princess and Holland America have much better itineraries and glacier bay.  I’ve looked at the encore and bliss on NCL but there times at port do not match up to P and HA. Although, their entertainment is probably better.  

[Essiesmom]

If you become serious about Princess Alaska, I suggest Grand or Sapphire from Vancouver/Whittier.  Both ships have a covered pool.  When in Glacier Bay, a group of park rangers come on for commentary, and they run a junior ranger program for the kids.  They are older ships, but this trip would be for the itinerary.  EM

[GenerationX]

Ah just another afternoon in paradise…when I picked Gen Z up from kids club she asked if we could have room service lunch on the veranda and watch for whales. I’ve never really eaten much from the room service menu outside of breakfast and late night hours.  Ronald was on break but another butler brought everything within a half hour and set it all up on the veranda for us.

 

The Caesar salad and pasta primavera were pretty decent once I added a little salt and pepper.

 

After lunch we made a quick trip into port for some souvenirs.  When we pulled in port yesterday and I saw 2 other ships in I knew that wasn’t the time to get the best shopping prices.  Especially looking for kid items for Gen Z with a Disney ship around.  Far better leverage to wait to haggle the second day a couple of hours before last tender back, and pick a shop where I could get multiple things we were looking for to negotiate volume discounts.  

 

For other parents following, when shopping in Mexico for kids items I usually try to leave Gen Z with my mom or Jeremy. The vendors often up their prices significantly if you have a kid with you and they know you’re buying for them. They bank on you not wanting to disappoint your kid by walking away empty handed.  

 

This trip taking Gen Z along was unavoidable so I briefed her appropriately before we left about how negotiations work in Mexico and reminded her about “poker face”.  No acting super excited over anything she saw and liked or begging.  

 

When she saw the souvenirs she really really wanted she was just to point and very casually and calmly say the code sentence: “hey mommy would this be good to bring back for Bailey/Johnny?” (Bailey is our chihuahua mix and Johnny Cash is our Labrador Retriever, not that the vendors need to know that.) Then move on to looking at something else disinterestedly while I inquired about and engaged in price negotiations in Spanish.  

 

Worked like a charm.  We got two hand made stuffed animals (initially quoted a price of $35 each), matching t-shirts (initially quoted at $20 each) and a very nice chrome, engraved key chain shaped like a whale with blue and silver crystals embedded in it (initially quoted at $12) for her travel key chain collection all for $45 total.

 

When we got back to the ship, Gen Z had a voicemail on our phone from her girlfriends asking to meet up at camp at sea for charades at 3pm.  Because there are less kids today (with families in port) the 10-12 group is in the the X Club teens.  I was a little nervous about that but Gen Z was so excited to hang out in the “teen room” and the counselor assured me the handful of 10-12 year olds would be closely supervised and not actively doing group activities with the older teens.  A copy of the activity schedule below for anyone interested.

 

While my little social butterfly does her thing I’m by the pool again.  I figured while in Mexico I’d best have a margarita and Robert my server suggested I try one with a brown cane sugar rim instead of salt.  When I decided to take him up on the offer I saw him going running off the pool deck. The man went to an entire other bar to get the sugar to make my margarita.

 

While I’m waiting for him to bring round 2, about dinner in Le Petit Chef last night:

 

Because of the overnight in port there was only one seating at 8:30.  After her day Gen Z was pretty tired by that point but adamant that she didn’t want to miss this dinner she’d been looking forward to. It was the same dinner/menu that Jeremy and I did on Summit in Bermuda but Gen Z had never done it before.  This was also the first time I learned that, in addition to the main show menu and alternate menu, for the less food adventurous kids they can also do kids menu courses of chicken nuggets, Mac n cheese and a Kobe beef burger.

 

I did the straight show menu and Gen Z had the chicken nugget starter but then the poached shrimp from the main menu and bronzino alternate entree.

 

For dessert we both got the strawberry cake from the main menu then our server also brought us the chocolate alternate dessert to try.

 

She didn’t care for the sweet sauce on the poached shrimp (I rather liked it) but other than that cleaned her plate for every course.  I didn’t even get to try a bite of that great looking bronzino for review purposes!

 

I never thought Gen Z would take strawberries over chocolate but she ended up liking that dessert much better and I tend to agree.  The puff pastry was done properly unlike on Summit and it made all the difference.

 

The short rib main course with wasabi mashed potatoes was just as tender and flavorful as it was on Summit.

 

We were both full and exhausted after eating so we went straight back to the cabin after dinner and were in bed before 10pm. On the walk back Mini Me tried to convince me to eat dinner at LPC for the remainder of the cruise.  Sorry kiddo, mom’s digestive system will definitely not tolerate her eating short rib nightly for 4 days straight.

 

I’m going to enjoy my taste of the Mexican riviera for a bit longer then it’ll be time to drag Gen Z back out of kids club for sailaway and to get ready for tonight’s dinner in Tuscan Grille.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GenerationX]

[fishmongerrules]

39 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Seems fun activities. My mom was worried about taking my nephew on celebrity so decided to go carnival. I am sure he would have done perfectly fine. Between activities and looked like Xboxes on the other post. Maybe next time. Thanks for sharing.

[SkystheLimit]

9 hours ago, cluso said:

Maui whale season December-March.  The best month is February.  You can even see them from shore/balcony.  🐳🐳🐳

Agree completely.  We stay in Wailea and you can see the whales from the shore as you state.

[bunnyette]

Love another great review by @GenerationX…but puh-leese post about your Catalina excursion 

[cluso]

Not to hijack, but all the people that responded about Alaska cruises/ cruise lines.  We did a 9 night Celebrity cruise out of Vancouver/and back several years ago as far as Hubbard.  Looking to go again, at least 9 nights.  But we don't care about a covered pool, or entertainment, and don't want to be on a bigger ship than Celebrity S class.  Any suggestions?

[MarKay525]

3 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

 

 

 

We've seen 3 of the LPC shows, and this was our least favorite. The Family and the Cooking Contest have far more animation and we found them much more engaging. (Food has always been delicious, however.)

 

Your outfits are precious, as is your daughter.

 

Hope you have recovered from Catalina and will have fond memories of all of the rest of the trip. (Your itinerary is very unique with just 2 ports of call.)

 

What do you think of the CS bathroom? We were in a CS on Silhouette last month and I hated it - very claustrophobic for me, and I usually don't have that problem.

 

Enjoy your sea days.

Edited March 23, 2023 by MarKay525

[MarKay525]

46 minutes ago, cluso said:

Not to hijack, but all the people that responded about Alaska cruises/ cruise lines.  We did a 9 night Celebrity cruise out of Vancouver/and back several years ago as far as Hubbard.  Looking to go again, at least 9 nights.  But we don't care about a covered pool, or entertainment, and don't want to be on a bigger ship than Celebrity S class.  Any suggestions?

Solstice is doing a 9 night out of Vancouver on May 3rd.

 

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Edited March 23, 2023 by MarKay525

[Northern Aurora]

I also am following the adventure and want to read more of your adventures.  While I hope this this thread returns to its original topic just a comment about Alaska cruises from someone who lives in Alaska.  For hose interested in whales seriously consider an itinerary which includes Icy Strait Point.  And I do not think that any one cruise line is superior for our state.

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Northern Aurora
Complete post