790 words on my two night Solstice sailing

[flagger]

I want to state firsthand that I know that I took a shakedown cruise. It was two nights to allow the staff and crew to serve actual guests before the true crowds arrived. My review and comments refer to this particular cruise, not to this ship as a whole. I did not take a “normal” cruise and as such this is not a normal review.

 

We arrived at FLL on Monday morning after a short flight down the east coast. We were fortunate in that fact that our landing pattern had taken us out over the water before lining up with the runway. There she was off to our right as we came in for landing. We were already excited about this trip since the moment we learned we had been invited on a two night preview sailing of Celebrity Solstice. What follows in the next few paragraphs is some of my impressions of this new class of ship in the Celebrity fleet.

 

I think this is a lovely ship. There are so many little touches that Celebrity just got spot on. The artwork on Deck Five is a thing to behold. The passageway that runs portside between the theatre and the mid-ship elevators which allows one to avoid the casino is a welcome change. The lights above the lifts that switch from blue to red when a lift has arrived at your floor is just genius.

 

I also love the Hot Glass show and Lawn Club. Whoever did the lighting in the Oceanview Bar area should get a raise. This place was simply stunning in the evenings. I also want to say that I think the sound in the theatre is really fantastic. I heard nuances not normally heard in a cruiseship theatre.

 

Now for some random impressions that I felt are in need of improvement:

 

Gone are the trays from the Oceanview Café. I wonder if personnel from Celebrity will help guests carry their plates as they go in search of a table.

 

Speaking of the Oceanview Café, they really needed labels for the food. Many I know have various allergies and there was several times when the people behind the counter could not identify what was being proffered.

 

The panels that break up sound in the Oceanview being solid make it hard to find our table mate.

 

As mentioned before, they should reverse the placement of the waffles and the toppings. It will be interesting to see if they have done this. The current placement made no sense.

 

Like many things there were areas where form triumphed over function; one of these being the colour of the sofas in our stateroom. Off-white? Really? In a stateroom that will see at least 104 guests per year? I have the same thought about the hammocks for two in the Solarium.

 

There is very little seating out by the Mast Bar Grill. There are very few tables by the deck chairs. It is awkward to get food and then wander looking for a place to nibble on fries and a burger. The cheese for the nachos was ice cold one of the days.

 

I foresee flow problems coming out of the theatre. While you can avoid the casino, guests are funneled into a small area between Celebrity Central (a small theatre for lectures, comedy shows, etc.) and Quasar the disco. If there is an event in this area, a bottleneck quickly develops.

 

We had no ice in our stateroom the entire time we were there. I don’t know if this was by design, but it was missed.

 

Finally, I have to say that the other guests on board do make or break one’s feeling about your vacation. There were a lot of industry people on board and some of them can be quite demanding and very seemingly unappreciative of the opportunity they have been given to sample a new product. That’s all I am going to say about that one.

===================================================

 

I honestly cannot wait to one day return to Celebrity Solstice or one of its sister ships. As said in the onboard video and at a Q&A session, this is a PROTOTYPE ship. They are listening to their guests and are making changes when and where they can. There are some things they will not do because it does not make economic sense from a revenue standpoint, but there are other areas they can learn from this first experience and improve on it.

They strive for 100% perfection, but know that that is really impossible. I love the Celebrity product. It fits what we want out of a cruise vacation. I hope you will get a chance to one day sail on this ship. I think you will be pleased.

[hylasgirl]

I want to state firsthand that I know that I took a shakedown cruise. It was two nights to allow the staff and crew to serve actual guests before the true crowds arrived. My review and comments refer to this particular cruise, not to this ship as a whole. I did not take a “normal” cruise and as such this is not a normal review.

 

We arrived at FLL on Monday morning after a short flight down the east coast. We were fortunate in that fact that our landing pattern had taken us out over the water before lining up with the runway. There she was off to our right as we came in for landing. We were already excited about this trip since the moment we learned we had been invited on a two night preview sailing of Celebrity Solstice. What follows in the next few paragraphs is some of my impressions of this new class of ship in the Celebrity fleet.

 

I think this is a lovely ship. There are so many little touches that Celebrity just got spot on. The artwork on Deck Five is a thing to behold. The passageway that runs portside between the theatre and the mid-ship elevators which allows one to avoid the casino is a welcome change. The lights above the lifts that switch from blue to red when a lift has arrived at your floor is just genius.

 

I also love the Hot Glass show and Lawn Club. Whoever did the lighting in the Oceanview Bar area should get a raise. This place was simply stunning in the evenings. I also want to say that I think the sound in the theatre is really fantastic. I heard nuances not normally heard in a cruiseship theatre.

 

Now for some random impressions that I felt are in need of improvement:

 

Gone are the trays from the Oceanview Café. I wonder if personnel from Celebrity will help guests carry their plates as they go in search of a table.

 

Speaking of the Oceanview Café, they really needed labels for the food. Many I know have various allergies and there was several times when the people behind the counter could not identify what was being proffered.

 

The panels that break up sound in the Oceanview being solid make it hard to find our table mate.

 

As mentioned before, they should reverse the placement of the waffles and the toppings. It will be interesting to see if they have done this. The current placement made no sense.

 

Like many things there were areas where form triumphed over function; one of these being the colour of the sofas in our stateroom. Off-white? Really? In a stateroom that will see at least 104 guests per year? I have the same thought about the hammocks for two in the Solarium.

 

There is very little seating out by the Mast Bar Grill. There are very few tables by the deck chairs. It is awkward to get food and then wander looking for a place to nibble on fries and a burger. The cheese for the nachos was ice cold one of the days.

 

I foresee flow problems coming out of the theatre. While you can avoid the casino, guests are funneled into a small area between Celebrity Central (a small theatre for lectures, comedy shows, etc.) and Quasar the disco. If there is an event in this area, a bottleneck quickly develops.

 

We had no ice in our stateroom the entire time we were there. I don’t know if this was by design, but it was missed.

 

Finally, I have to say that the other guests on board do make or break one’s feeling about your vacation. There were a lot of industry people on board and some of them can be quite demanding and very seemingly unappreciative of the opportunity they have been given to sample a new product. That’s all I am going to say about that one.

===================================================

 

I honestly cannot wait to one day return to Celebrity Solstice or one of its sister ships. As said in the onboard video and at a Q&A session, this is a PROTOTYPE ship. They are listening to their guests and are making changes when and where they can. There are some things they will not do because it does not make economic sense from a revenue standpoint, but there are other areas they can learn from this first experience and improve on it.

They strive for 100% perfection, but know that that is really impossible. I love the Celebrity product. It fits what we want out of a cruise vacation. I hope you will get a chance to one day sail on this ship. I think you will be pleased.

 

Thank you so much for the review and the pictures! I have enjoyed both.

 

I think the trays are being eliminated all over the place. HAL has gotten rid of them as well. It seems most are not loving the idea.

[ccletzgo]

no trays? wow , I always use a separate plate for fruit and salad. So I will be carrying two plates plus utensils to find a table? Humm.. :confused:

 

Thanks for the review.

[WatchHill]

Flagger, though I'm not a TA, I can "read between your lines" about the lack of appreciation and inappropriate behavior of some guests. Dan H's presentation to members of the industry was poorly attended. On another pre-inaugural like this, they stopped serving at the bars and that seemed to increase attendance. Of course, the presentation was at 9:30 AM and some may have been trying to get over a bit too much to drink the night before.

 

The worst display of juvenile behavior was on Tuesday afternoon in the Solarium when one rather drunk passenger started to berate a pool butler about the spa being cold. Things escalated to the butler calling security. Before long, an officer and plain clothes security person were called to calm this idiot down. Well, it was the best comedy act by a drunk.

 

I thought the glass show was great. DH won one of the items and somehow I managed to get it home in one piece. I do wish they would sell some of the glass pieces. Nice shops on board, too. With a new vendor running the shops, the quality and variety is evident.

 

I very much liked the ship and am seriously thinking about Europe next year.

 

 

Darcy

[c-legs]

Flagger, though I'm not a TA, I can "read between your lines" about the lack of appreciation and inappropriate behavior of some guests. Dan H's presentation to members of the industry was poorly attended. On another pre-inaugural like this, they stopped serving at the bars and that seemed to increase attendance. Of course, the presentation was at 9:30 AM and some may have been trying to get over a bit too much to drink the night before.

 

The worst display of juvenile behavior was on Tuesday afternoon in the Solarium when one rather drunk passenger started to berate a pool butler about the spa being cold. Things escalated to the butler calling security. Before long, an officer and plain clothes security person were called to calm this idiot down. Well, it was the best comedy act by a drunk.

 

I thought the glass show was great. DH won one of the items and somehow I managed to get it home in one piece. I do wish they would sell some of the glass pieces. Nice shops on board, too. With a new vendor running the shops, the quality and variety is evident.

 

I very much liked the ship and am seriously thinking about Europe next year.

 

 

Darcy

Good evening,Darcy

Well. I am a TA...:o and your point is very well taken. I must admit I've been put to shame by some of our peers' behaviour during past functions on board cruise ships. Our profession has ''earned'' an unfortunately well deserved reputation for including some of the more demanding and unappreciative folks in the trade.....we've also been '' observed'' for sometimes quite unelegant and unprofessional behaviours when attending ship tours and mini-fam sailings. It sometimes escape people's attention that when a cruise line invites the trade folks on board, it's still THEIR ship and they are extending a courtesy, not granting us a right !! When sales presentations are on the menu, specially presented by a top exec., for OUR benefit, basic courtesy and business protocol dictate we ought to attend, with at least a modicum of quiet interest.

While we TAs are ALL guilty of slipping off the conduct chart at times, the few of us who really fall way off it label us with the reputation you're very justifiably talking about.

Cheers:)

[MVPinBoynton]

Flagger,

The labels for the food items at the Oceanview Cafe were on order and had not arrived for our pre-inaugural cruise. So that issue should be solved for this sailing. I never realized how important they are until they weren't there. There is such a wide selection of food, everyone was having to ask the folks behind the counter what everything was.

[GeriatricNurse]

I want to state firsthand that I know that I took a shakedown cruise. It was two nights to allow the staff and crew to serve actual guests before the true crowds arrived. My review and comments refer to this particular cruise, not to this ship as a whole. I did not take a “normal” cruise and as such this is not a normal review.

 

We arrived at FLL on Monday morning after a short flight down the east coast. We were fortunate in that fact that our landing pattern had taken us out over the water before lining up with the runway. There she was off to our right as we came in for landing. We were already excited about this trip since the moment we learned we had been invited on a two night preview sailing of Celebrity Solstice. What follows in the next few paragraphs is some of my impressions of this new class of ship in the Celebrity fleet.

 

I think this is a lovely ship. There are so many little touches that Celebrity just got spot on. The artwork on Deck Five is a thing to behold. The passageway that runs portside between the theatre and the mid-ship elevators which allows one to avoid the casino is a welcome change. The lights above the lifts that switch from blue to red when a lift has arrived at your floor is just genius.

 

I also love the Hot Glass show and Lawn Club. Whoever did the lighting in the Oceanview Bar area should get a raise. This place was simply stunning in the evenings. I also want to say that I think the sound in the theatre is really fantastic. I heard nuances not normally heard in a cruiseship theatre.

 

Now for some random impressions that I felt are in need of improvement:

 

Gone are the trays from the Oceanview Café. I wonder if personnel from Celebrity will help guests carry their plates as they go in search of a table.

 

Speaking of the Oceanview Café, they really needed labels for the food. Many I know have various allergies and there was several times when the people behind the counter could not identify what was being proffered.

 

The panels that break up sound in the Oceanview being solid make it hard to find our table mate.

 

As mentioned before, they should reverse the placement of the waffles and the toppings. It will be interesting to see if they have done this. The current placement made no sense.

 

Like many things there were areas where form triumphed over function; one of these being the colour of the sofas in our stateroom. Off-white? Really? In a stateroom that will see at least 104 guests per year? I have the same thought about the hammocks for two in the Solarium.

 

There is very little seating out by the Mast Bar Grill. There are very few tables by the deck chairs. It is awkward to get food and then wander looking for a place to nibble on fries and a burger. The cheese for the nachos was ice cold one of the days.

 

I foresee flow problems coming out of the theatre. While you can avoid the casino, guests are funneled into a small area between Celebrity Central (a small theatre for lectures, comedy shows, etc.) and Quasar the disco. If there is an event in this area, a bottleneck quickly develops.

 

We had no ice in our stateroom the entire time we were there. I don’t know if this was by design, but it was missed.

 

Finally, I have to say that the other guests on board do make or break one’s feeling about your vacation. There were a lot of industry people on board and some of them can be quite demanding and very seemingly unappreciative of the opportunity they have been given to sample a new product. That’s all I am going to say about that one.

===================================================

 

I honestly cannot wait to one day return to Celebrity Solstice or one of its sister ships. As said in the onboard video and at a Q&A session, this is a PROTOTYPE ship. They are listening to their guests and are making changes when and where they can. There are some things they will not do because it does not make economic sense from a revenue standpoint, but there are other areas they can learn from this first experience and improve on it.

 

They strive for 100% perfection, but know that that is really impossible. I love the Celebrity product. It fits what we want out of a cruise vacation. I hope you will get a chance to one day sail on this ship. I think you will be pleased.

 

 

Why have the trays been removed from the Oceanview Cafe?

[GeriatricNurse]

Thank you so much for the review and the pictures! I have enjoyed both.

 

I think the trays are being eliminated all over the place. HAL has gotten rid of them as well. It seems most are not loving the idea.

 

 

Is this accurate? WHY would HAL want to eliminate the food trays (?in the Lido)? I guess that they must have hired more staff to clean up the floor resulting from all the food (and drink) spillage resulting from people carry all sorts of dishes up their arms (like an experienced waiter) to their tables (or while standing in place looking for a place to sit?!

[lysolqn]

Why have the trays been removed from the Oceanview Cafe?

 

Just a guess but my bet is the absence of trays is somehow $$$-related. Perhaps they've concluded that without trays pax take less food, thereby reducing consumption and waste, which in turn results in lower food costs.

[txsloth]

Just a guess but my bet is the absence of trays is somehow $$$-related. Perhaps they've concluded that without trays pax take less food, thereby reducing consumption and waste, which in turn results in lower food costs.

 

That's part of the reason. School/university cafeterias across the Country are getting rid of trays, primarily for water conservation. Each tray used must be washed. I imagine Celebrity will have plenty of staff on hand to help carry food to table.

[curiouscat]

I personally don't think it's a big deal about the trays... and it is tacky... and this is and upscale ship.

 

Not only was the Q&A not too well attended but the questions asked were unprofessional... very nasty comments and things that should not be asked publically. I asked some serious questions offline and they were addressed accordingly.

 

The only thing I didn't care for on the ship was Quasar.. and the 20 somethins on board agreed... very strange venue.

 

I think this is a wonderful new ship for upscale first time cruisers and cruisers who want a different experience then the regular X and RCCL ships.... This is not a ship for everyone... it 's very modern.

 

I too didn't get ice and the roulette wheel was missing the number pole...and the food was a bit inconsistent which was to be expected so early in the sailings... would like more of a follow up in a few months. :p

 

 

CC

[Jacqueline]

If the platters are an appropriate size why trays ? they remind me of college.

Princess has never had them and even with 3 small children and grandpa we never had a problem or missed having trays.

[jeffreytg]

and the roulette wheel was missing the number pole...

 

CC

 

Not having a number pole benefits anyone who thinks that that little white ball has some sort of memory and knows what numbers were landed on during previous spins. Wheel charting DOES NOT WORK. Lack of a number pole should be considered an advantage.:rolleyes:

[Richiebaseball]

We had an opportunity to witness some pretty outrageous behavior while on this cruise as well. It's a shame that it happens unfortunately it's not unusual.

 

Personally we liked Quasar and it certainly filled up later in the evenings.

[MVPinBoynton]

We asked our cabin steward for ice and he filled it up both days.

[cvat]

Flagger, though I'm not a TA, I can "read between your lines" about the lack of appreciation and inappropriate behavior of some guests. Dan H's presentation to members of the industry was poorly attended. On another pre-inaugural like this, they stopped serving at the bars and that seemed to increase attendance. Of course, the presentation was at 9:30 AM and some may have been trying to get over a bit too much to drink the night before.

 

The worst display of juvenile behavior was on Tuesday afternoon in the Solarium when one rather drunk passenger started to berate a pool butler about the spa being cold. Things escalated to the butler calling security. Before long, an officer and plain clothes security person were called to calm this idiot down. Well, it was the best comedy act by a drunk.

 

They should have def. warm up the spa for this gentleman!

What were they thinking!

He can be glad he didn’t receive a more of refreshment form the security guy.

He could than report about the quality of the pool!

 

 

 

 

Flagger, thank you much for review and the video you posted!

[signman]

Curious Cat, why didn't you like Quasar, and by all means share your serious questions and answers with us. We are the ones paying for our cruise.

[ellbon]

someone named carol Ann loved it and dance to 2 am. I am sure I will enjoy it as well as other venues.

 

Host Ann said that place was way to cold for comfort. guess they need to warm it up for us.

[I Fly]

Why have the trays been removed from the Oceanview Cafe?

 

We just returned from the Nov 21th-23rd 2-day cruise and missed the trays in the Oceanview Cafe. There were many lovely attractive additions made to the Solstice. In some circumstances I think aesthetics played too much a factor in the many choices that were made. Getting rid of the trays allowed to get rid of the tray tracks that ran along the entire buffet line. In the oceanview cafe there are many food stations and tray tracks would "ruin" the look, at least in some people's eyes. I'm a practical person. I don't care how nice something looks, if it isn't practical I'm many times against the idea. I made multiple trips from the food stations to my table because I didn't have a tray. I spoke to several parents, whose small children didn't join them on this cruise, but on future cruises, can't imagine how they are going to carry their food and their children's food without trays. Hopefully Celebrity will bring back the trays, even if on a request basis.

 

Steve

[hylasgirl]

I don't think getting rid of the trays has anything to do with aesthetics. They are getting rid of them all over the place. I think they have done many studies on different lines all over and have proved that getting rid of trays saves money. People don't load up on as much and leave wasted food all over. You really can't carry as much. Yes, it is a bummer for many reasons, but it does cut down on how much you pile on a tray. Holland America has gotten rid of all of them as well. They don't have to wash all the trays (which is HUGE)... they don't have to keep replacing trays... they don't have to have a place to put the trays... no one has to pick them up all over the place. I think there are many practical reasons for getting rid of them. I just think it is going to take some getting used to.

[MVPinBoynton]

Until I read about there not being any trays, I hadn't even realized it. I knew something was missing. I will say it is easier to get to the stations without having to avoid the tray rack and people carrying large trays. Since we normally sit down before we get drinks, it wasn't a big deal for us.

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks for the insights - you made some valid points that seem reasonable for the future.

 

Can you tell us how to find your youtube video?

[hcat]

This is an informative thread all arond--thanks to all who shared! Keep those comments coming..

[flagger]

Thanks for the insights - you made some valid points that seem reasonable for the future.

 

Can you tell us how to find your youtube video?

 

This is the YouTube Video:

 

 

These are the photos:

 

http://s475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/smctfa/Celebrity%20Solstice/?start=all

[Peregrina651]

 

Gone are the trays from the Oceanview Café. I wonder if personnel from Celebrity will help guests carry their plates as they go in search of a table.

 

 

Seems to be the latest eco-trend. I was just reading in the Beloit College alumni magazine that the campus cafeteria has eliminated trays. Studies have been done and have shown that eliminating trays not only saves the water need to wash the trays but reduces food waste because students just don't take as much.