Firsthand sneak peak at Solstice (Merger of Several Threads)

[denb]

Nice catch FC. I'm seeing the same thing for ours. I hope it really hasn't changed. Our last cruise on Millennium was supposed to stop at Tortola. After I booked it they changed it! We've never been to Tortola, so that was part of the reason for booking this one. I sure hope they don't do the same thing to us. :confused:

 

Let us know what Celebrity says FC.

 

The 2010 itineraries show alternating between St. Kitts and Tortola/Labadee.

[MVPinBoynton]

The March 15, 2009 CC Group Cruise is still showing Tortola and Labadee. Thank goodness.

[SCCAcruiser]

Guess what??? The ITINERARIES have all been changed for the spring '09 cruises! Our cruise is no longer Tortola and Labadee.:eek:

 

Time to make some phone calls!!!

 

Edit: The face page shows different itineraries, the exact date still shows the itinerary I booked. Too much confusion. Must make calls.

 

What "face page"? When you pull up Solstice itineraries for Jan., Feb. and March '09, they still show the alternating weeks. And log in to your reservation itself (for our 1/18 sailing, it's all the same)....

[denb]

This is the 'page' we are referring to. The conflict is that (for example) March 29, 2009 shows St. Kitts instead of Tortola and Labadee on this 'page'. Note that your cruise (1/18) is also listed. This page was returned from doing a search of cruises on Solstice. Hopefully it's just a webmaster glitch. Other pages are correct, as the OP originally stated.

 

 

Cruise Ports:

 

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Basseterre, St. Kitts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

2008 Departure Dates:

 

Dec 07, 21

 

2009 Departure Dates:

 

Jan 04, 18; Feb 01, 15; Mar 01, 15, 29; Apr 12

[jwattle]

When I actually went into my reservation for March 15th and pulled up the cruise calendar, it showed what you said denb, but then I looked; the cruise calendar has the wrong dates showing too, so I'm thinking it's a webmaster problem... :o

[gregjm]

We just decided to change from the 1-4-09 sailing to the 11-30-09. The price was too good to pass up. :) I'm glad I kept checking this site and the celebrity website and found the last minute addition of the 11-30 sailing.

 

Greg

[pro-am]

Hey Crew,

 

Im still watchin the thread and wishin I was goin with yas.

 

Oh well, our cruise is closin in, I hope you all have a great time.

 

Check out the time lapse link at the bottom for build progress. Ill keep it goin till it floats !

 

Pro-AM:cool:

[Schplinky]

I wouldn't mind too much if they changed the itinerary. We're really going more for the ship. Bsides that, we really looked forward to Tortola on Westerdam and thought it was just ho-hum. You definitely want an excursion or you'll be back onboard in 60 minutes.

 

Now Labadee, I'd be sad to lose. It ties St. Martin as my favorite stop.

[Lois R]

Hi Lee, I have never been to St Kitts so am looking forward

to going there:)

As for St Martin....I can take it or leave it;)

 

But your ship statement is 100% correct~its really

ALL ABOUT THE SHIP this time:D

[Schplinky]

Hi Lee, I have never been to St Kitts so am looking forward

to going there:)

As for St Martin....I can take it or leave it;)

 

But your ship statement is 100% correct~its really

ALL ABOUT THE SHIP this time:D

 

We actually wish we had one less port (I could stand to lose Tortola or San Juan) so we'd have more time to scamper around the ship. We'll likely just stay on in SJU to do that. We try to pick one day each cruise to have the ship to ourselves.

[Lois R]

Hi, that sounds like a good plan to me:)

And I will be doing it too.....wonder if I will get around

to seeing all the "secret places" that seem to be on

every ship.:D

 

This time it will be really different. You probably know I sail

solo and I always request an 8 top for dinner in the main

dining room. I am one of those people who feels dinner

is one of the most fun parts of my whole day.:) And yes,

(before anyone flames me) I love traditional dining and getting

to know my waiters, maitr'd, etc.

 

But since there are so many restaurants I am trying to

decide if I just want to step outside my comfort zone

(outside the box) and just eat at the different places~

decisions, decisions:eek:

[Schplinky]

Maybe you could see how you like your tablemates and suggest going to the specialties as a group one or two nights?.

[Lois R]

Not a bad suggestion:)....I won't stress over it.

I ate at Murano's on Century on my own and it was

fabulous:D....that wait staff doesn't care if you eat

by yourself;)

[Daphna101]

Hey Lois,

 

I am so happy for you in booking 12/9. I looked into it. Good pricing indeed.

We booked 10/10/09 on the equinox aqua class to the med / Egypt and Israel.

Come join us! Rates are excellent now-17 months out.

 

Daph

[Lois R]

Hi Daph, its actually 12/8;)

to be exact its 12-7-08.....you are going next year:D

[rolfecms]

Does anyone know whether Blu will open only for dinner or for other meals too? How much will the supplement be for non-AquaClass pax?

[kcantrell]

We booked the Nov. 30 sailing. Love those prices.

 

B

Just booked this sailing today, Is there a roll call started yet? Please send link it there is.

[Host Anne]

You'll find the roll call for Nov. 30 Soltice on the roll call boards! ENJOY!

[Daphna101]

I was told that extra cost for non Pax in AQ to dine at Blu will be 30$ pp.

 

I too asked about lunch and dinner and never recieved an answer.

[eroller]

What do you guys suggest?

 

Aft facing Concierge Class (which I am already confirmed in) on Penthouse Deck

 

or

 

for a total of $100 more upgrading to Aqua Class on Penthouse Deck (on the hump)

 

 

To be honest, I'm not sure I like the idea of being assigned to Blu. What if I have friends sailing that are not in Aqua Class. Can I dine with them in the regular dining room?

 

Any other significient benefits of being in Aqua Class over Concierge Class (besides entry into the relaxation room which frankly is not a big deal to me)?

 

Thanks for your advise.

 

Ernie

[Lois R]

Hi Ernie,:) I am not Aqua Spa:eek: .....so somehow we will have

to have dinner at one of the other restaurants!

[eroller]

Hi Ernie,:) I am not Aqua Spa:eek: .....so somehow we will have

to have dinner at one of the other restaurants!

 

 

I'm not either .... at least not yet. Just something I was thinking about since the cost is minimal. I'm just not sure I want to eat in Blu or give up my aft facing cabin. Everything is a tradeoff you know.

 

Ernie

[Lois R]

oh...ok...well, I have an inside cabin and was actually looking

to get a window but right now its showing about 300.00 more

so I am staying put!

Its not worth that much more money to me!

[The Hotel Guy]

A warm welcome from Southwest Washington State. My wife and I are booked on the Dec 4, 2009 cruise on Equinox and I've loved reading this thread.

 

I was told by a Groups department agent that couples booked into Aqua Class rooms are assigned to Blu and if you want to eat in the main dining room you had to wait until you are on board and then talk to the

Head Maitre d to see if he could find room for you. That was enough to keep us in our C-1 cabin. We have a group with us and we all want to dine together.

 

So now another question.....I haven't found any information on the propulsion system for these new Solstice class ships. I assume they have moved away from the GTV and went back to bunker oil and deisel electric engines, with shafts, because of all the problems with the aziopods. Just curious if anyone has read about this.

 

I look forward to reading your responses. It great to see this new class of ship being built and finding so many other people watching and waiting with us.

 

Jerry and Patty.

[eroller]

 

So now another question.....I haven't found any information on the propulsion system for these new Solstice class ships. I assume they have moved away from the GTV and went back to bunker oil and deisel electric engines, with shafts, because of all the problems with the aziopods. Just curious if anyone has read about this.

 

 

 

The Celebrity Solstice will use diesel engines and pod propulsion systems. These will provide a total output of 63,000kW or 86,000hp.

 

Keep in mind there are different brands of "pods". "Azipod" is actually a brand name and these are the types of pods used on the Voyager Class ships and many ships within Carnival Corp. all with relatively few problems. The pods used on Celebrity's M-Class ships were Mermaid pods by Rolls-Royce. These were the pods that created all the problems.

 

At this point I'm not sure who will manufacture the Pods for Solstice, but even if it is Rolls-Royce again, they have come a long way. QM2 uses a newer version of the Mermaid pods (compared to the M-Class ships) and has had relatively few problems.

 

Ernie