Solstice 12/7-12/14/08 Short Review

[ryndam]

We recently returned from the 12/7-12/14 cruise on the Solstice. We sailed with another couple and were in Aqua Class rooms on Deck 11. We generally do not care for ships this large (there were approx. 2600 pax on this sailing), so we embarked with fairly low expectations. We chose Aqua Class specifically because of the dining assignment in Blu, and not in the main dining room. Blu was open seating for Aqua Class for breakfast and assigned (early or late) seatings for dinner. We thought the service, variety, quality and ambiance of the food, wine lists and staff in Blu met or exceeded anything that we have experienced on many voyages on Crystal Cruises. We were so pleased, we never even tried any of the other additional-charge specialty restauarants on board. Blu was the hottest ticket onboard for other non-Aqua Class passengers who wanted to dine there (reservations were available on a space-available basis if there were empty tables).

 

Each dining room on Solstice has its own unique wine list. Our sommelier routinely brought the other dining room wine lists if we could not find anything to our liking on the Blu wine list. Prices were reasonable and there was a huge variety of wines (much larger collective wine list) than we have ever seen on any cruise ship.

 

There were so many options for lunch and snacks, we never even attempted to order from the room service menu, which, at least in the Aqua Class rooms, was as extensive as anything offered on Crystal.

 

The cabin and balcony were larger than Crystal's Cat. A or B verandah rooms. The bathroom was more than adequate with a glass-enclosed shower, massaging shower heads, and huge amounts of storage. The cabin safe was large enough to store two laptops. The 32" flat screen TV swiveled so it could be seen from the bed and the full-sized sofa. Aqua Class rooms receive complimentary bottled water, teas, fruit and afternoon canapes (caviar on two days!). We asked for cold-boiled shrimp one afternoon and a massive platter arrived (i.e. Crystal's Grand Buffet-sized shrimp and portions).

 

Bar service was fantastic. It was amazing that our drink preferences were recalled, without asking, by the waitstaff/bartenders in every bar that we returned, even on a short 7-day cruise, and even with 2600 pax onboard. It was very impressive.

 

We thought the entertainment was unique for a cruise ship. The three big production shows utilize the latest theatrical technology. There was a 1-hour mini-Cirque duSoleil type of production with actors flying all around the theater on high wires. The ubiquitous Broadway-song-and-dance poduction show had excerpts from current Broadway productions (Rent, Wicked, etc.) and used the high wire acrobatics to full advantage. There were specialty performers on the non-production show evenings that received unanimous standing ovations. Every evening there was a Comedy Central type of performance in an intimate 100-seat venue that started around 11:30pm or midnight. And it was SRO every evening. We closed down the Martini Bar several nights at 2-2:30am. There were people enjoying the ship everywhere.

 

The Corning Hot Glass show was fascinating. It proved to be so popular, they were englarging the seating area during our cruise and we were told that modifications will be made on the Equinox and the other ships to accommodate the unexpected popularity of this experience.

 

For such a large ship, Celebrity really has it's act together on crowd control. On the outdoor decks, there were many, many lounge chairs available, either in the sun or in shade, depending on your preference. There were so many lounges, bars, dining areas, gym equipment, etc. we never had to wait. The Oceanview Cafe (Lido) was crowded during peak lunch time about 12:30pm-1:30pm, but if you ate earlier or later, there was really never a problem. Check-in was amazing; we went from taxi-at-the-curb to onboard the ship in 15 minutes. Disembarkation was equally fast; from foot-on-the-gangway at 8:45am to in our hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale (we stayed after the cruise) at 9:20am.

 

That said, we would certainly sail on Solstice, Equinox or the other sister ships, but probably only in Aqua Class, which, in our opinion, was really like a ship-within-a-ship experience.

 

We booked this cruise for the ship, not the ports (San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Kitts). We had visited all three ports many times, and other than three short strolls from the gangway into town, we spent most of the time in port onboard the Solstice.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, I will be glad to respond.

[nps001]

I enjoyed reading your review. Especially with comparisons to Crystal. I have never sailed them but I know they are ranked highly. Welcome to X.....I discovered them about 2 years ago and am now hooked.

[luvtocook]

Thanks for such a well written & descriptive review.:D You just made me even happier that we have selected AQ & Blu for our Equinox cruise!!!! Glad you had such a wonderful experience.

[BurgerBits]

Happy New Year, and thanks for taking the time to review your cruise!

 

Just wondering... when and where have you sailed Crystal? We're big fans, and found your comparisons very pleasantly surprising. It was especially nice to read that the gym and other areas weren't always crowded, though I realize that can easily change cruise to cruise on any ship.

[cruisebunny32]

Ryndam...thanks for the nice, well rounded review. I can't wait to get on that ship in April. We also are chosing the ship as the destination instead of ports. Glad to hear the service was amazing. That is what we have come to love from Celebrity.

[ellbon]

I sail in 3 days. I am so glad I picked AQ.. But i plan to enjoy all the DR's at night.

[Rick-cruiser]

Thanks for the review. We were on the 12/7 sailing as well, so we might have run into you.

 

We also spoke with another couple from Houston - Bob and Sandy, who ran a construction company and said they were traveling with other friends from Houston, and that they too usually sail on Crystal... do you know them? We had lunch together at the Spa Cafe and they were a great couple to talk with.... they also loved the ship. We were hoping to sail again with them in the future.. either on Celebrity or Crystal.

 

In any case, your review was right on... we enjoyed everything you mentioned.

 

- Rick

 

Rick_cruiser0910@yahoo.com

[CUTTERSAM]

We are sailing CC May and I am re-thinking the AQ about know. What does the AQ cost add to the base cost? We are 10 nights May 15 Med. Anybody know the figure???

[ryndam]

Sailin' Sam, you will need to talk to your TA about the cost differential on your sailing. Cruise prices seem to change as frequently as airline fares these days. On our 7-night Solstice cruise, it was only about $100/pp more for AQ over CC, and in our opinion, was worth the extra.

[ryndam]

Rick-Cruiser, what a coincidence! You had lunch with our good friends Bob & Sandy who were on the Solstice with us. The four of us (plus two other couples) will be sailing together again in November 2009 on the Crystal Symphony from Miami-Manaus. (Sorry, Celebrity.....your ships are too large to travel up the Amazon.....)

[Andy]

We are sailing CC May and I am re-thinking the AQ about know. What does the AQ cost add to the base cost? We are 10 nights May 15 Med. Anybody know the figure???

 

Hi Sam !

 

I agree with Ryndam. As of today's prices, it is 100 - 200 PP additional for AQ, but that could be different in you case, depending on what you paid for your cabin. I would suggest calling your Travel Agent, or Celebrity if you booked directly.

 

If Blu is important to you, then you may wish to consider upgrading to Aqua Class. Either way, you should be very happy with Aqua Class or Concierge Class. Enjoy your Cruise !

[ladyeight]

Thank you so much for the upbeat review. We are sailing 1/11/09 in Aqua Class. I have other comments (which have been mixed) but I would not expect anything less from Celebrity. It has become our favorite even though this is only our 3rd Celebrity Cruise. There will be many more! Like you, we have been to the same ports and usually just get off, walk around and go back to the ship. Actually, my husband goes back and I stay and shop. Can't remember if we have ever been to St Kitts...is there anything special or different about this Island that we should see? I do have a question about AC..are there any "specials" in the spa offered to AC guests. How would you compare this to Concierge Class? Thank you.

[Andy]

Hi Ryndam !

 

Thank you for your excellent review. I am pleased to hear that Celebrity is upgrading the seating at the Corning Hot Glass show. We thought the show was wonderful. It seems the Corning Hot Glass show is proving to be a huge success. I feel it is a "must see" when onboard Solstice. It is nice to see that Celebrity is making changes to handle the larger audiences.

 

I'm glad to hear you had a great Cruise onboard Solstice, and Welcome Home !

[ryndam]

Having sailed on many cruises with Crystal and Holland America, this was actually our 2nd cruise on Celebrity (but there will be many more, based on this great experience). Our first was on the Millenium about 4 years ago. We did not sail CC, so I don't have a basis of comparision.

 

That said, we were rather underwhelmed with the spa facilities on Solstice, especially when compared to other lines, and even when compared with the Millenium. The Aqua Class exclusive perk to the relaxation room and steam room was, shall we say, of dubious value, since we thought the facility was not designed with the same care and thoughtfullness as the rest of the ship's facilities. Perhaps this will be addressed on the 3rd-5th versions of the ship before they go into construction.

 

Aqua Class passengers have a separate spa check-in desk on Deck 11, directly off the cabin corridor at the front of the ship. There were always two attendants at that desk, and there was never a crowd or line. The main spa desk on Deck 12 did appear to be crowded during peak times. You trade your AQ room card-key for a separate card-key to gain access to the steam room area only. The gym, changing rooms and sauna areas are free access to all passengers.

 

I do not recall any special spa packages or treatments offered exclusively to Aqua Class guests that were not also offered to all other passengers.

[Rick-cruiser]

Rick-Cruiser, what a coincidence! You had lunch with our good friends Bob & Sandy who were on the Solstice with us. The four of us (plus two other couples) will be sailing together again in November 2009 on the Crystal Symphony from Miami-Manaus. (Sorry, Celebrity.....your ships are too large to travel up the Amazon.....)

 

what a coincidence! yes...we had a nice lunch together and they mentioned we should try to find you guys... They did talk about your upcoming cruise in November on the Symphony and we said we would be interested in possibly going. If you wouldn't mind emailing me, it would be great to get some details about that sailing... thanks!

 

- Rick

 

Rick_cruiser0910@yahoo.com

[Smoke Fan]

ryndam - I enjoyed reading your reivew, but based on that I'm sorry we didn't try Blu for dinner. It really sounds like we missed an enjoyable dining experience. It was also interesting to hear your comparisons to Crystal. At times I wonder if we're missing out by only cruising with Celebrity, but it seems that we're doing just fine. We really do enjoy everything about their ships.

Again, thank you for an excellent review.

Patty

[CaroleLee]

We recently returned from the 12/7-12/14 cruise on the Solstice. We sailed with another couple and were in Aqua Class rooms on Deck 11. We generally do not care for ships this large (there were approx. 2600 pax on this sailing), so we embarked with fairly low expectations. We chose Aqua Class specifically because of the dining assignment in Blu, and not in the main dining room. Blu was open seating for Aqua Class for breakfast and assigned (early or late) seatings for dinner. We thought the service, variety, quality and ambiance of the food, wine lists and staff in Blu met or exceeded anything that we have experienced on many voyages on Crystal Cruises. We were so pleased, we never even tried any of the other additional-charge specialty restauarants on board. Blu was the hottest ticket onboard for other non-Aqua Class passengers who wanted to dine there (reservations were available on a space-available basis if there were empty tables).

 

Each dining room on Solstice has its own unique wine list. Our sommelier routinely brought the other dining room wine lists if we could not find anything to our liking on the Blu wine list. Prices were reasonable and there was a huge variety of wines (much larger collective wine list) than we have ever seen on any cruise ship.

 

There were so many options for lunch and snacks, we never even attempted to order from the room service menu, which, at least in the Aqua Class rooms, was as extensive as anything offered on Crystal.

 

The cabin and balcony were larger than Crystal's Cat. A or B verandah rooms. The bathroom was more than adequate with a glass-enclosed shower, massaging shower heads, and huge amounts of storage. The cabin safe was large enough to store two laptops. The 32" flat screen TV swiveled so it could be seen from the bed and the full-sized sofa. Aqua Class rooms receive complimentary bottled water, teas, fruit and afternoon canapes (caviar on two days!). We asked for cold-boiled shrimp one afternoon and a massive platter arrived (i.e. Crystal's Grand Buffet-sized shrimp and portions).

 

Bar service was fantastic. It was amazing that our drink preferences were recalled, without asking, by the waitstaff/bartenders in every bar that we returned, even on a short 7-day cruise, and even with 2600 pax onboard. It was very impressive.

 

We thought the entertainment was unique for a cruise ship. The three big production shows utilize the latest theatrical technology. There was a 1-hour mini-Cirque duSoleil type of production with actors flying all around the theater on high wires. The ubiquitous Broadway-song-and-dance poduction show had excerpts from current Broadway productions (Rent, Wicked, etc.) and used the high wire acrobatics to full advantage. There were specialty performers on the non-production show evenings that received unanimous standing ovations. Every evening there was a Comedy Central type of performance in an intimate 100-seat venue that started around 11:30pm or midnight. And it was SRO every evening. We closed down the Martini Bar several nights at 2-2:30am. There were people enjoying the ship everywhere.

 

The Corning Hot Glass show was fascinating. It proved to be so popular, they were englarging the seating area during our cruise and we were told that modifications will be made on the Equinox and the other ships to accommodate the unexpected popularity of this experience.

 

For such a large ship, Celebrity really has it's act together on crowd control. On the outdoor decks, there were many, many lounge chairs available, either in the sun or in shade, depending on your preference. There were so many lounges, bars, dining areas, gym equipment, etc. we never had to wait. The Oceanview Cafe (Lido) was crowded during peak lunch time about 12:30pm-1:30pm, but if you ate earlier or later, there was really never a problem. Check-in was amazing; we went from taxi-at-the-curb to onboard the ship in 15 minutes. Disembarkation was equally fast; from foot-on-the-gangway at 8:45am to in our hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale (we stayed after the cruise) at 9:20am.

 

That said, we would certainly sail on Solstice, Equinox or the other sister ships, but probably only in Aqua Class, which, in our opinion, was really like a ship-within-a-ship experience.

 

We booked this cruise for the ship, not the ports (San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Kitts). We had visited all three ports many times, and other than three short strolls from the gangway into town, we spent most of the time in port onboard the Solstice.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, I will be glad to respond.

Thanks for the review. DH & I and friend are on6-5-09 E. Med & can't wait. What cabin were you in? If you have menus & or wine lists pls post. DF likes to shop anything interesting in the shops on board?

Carole

[ladyeight]

I had really been looking forward to the Corning Hot Glass show and everybody has positive things to say about it....but I am very disappointed that the pieces are not for sale. I understand that they raffle them off on the last night. Do you have any other information.

 

Also, was wondering if anybody smokes and if there were convenient places to smoke. My husband and the other couple we are going with do not smoke, but I am concerned about how far I will have to go to feed my BAD habit. I was especially surprised to hear that there was no smoking in the casino. I know it is irritating for non smokers, but thought they should at least have a small section for us! I guess this would be a good time to stop but I probably will not.

[ryndam]

They do not sell the pieces that are made onboard. A very thorough explanation will be given during each glass blowing show. On our sailing, several pieces made during the cruise (about 10 pieces +/-, I believe) were given away in a free auction (you must be there to win) during the afternoon demonstrations on our last sea day before returning to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

There are beautiful glass pieces for sale onboard, however. There are several display cases near the Deck 5 & Deck 4 elevator lobbies with pieces by Chiluly and other artists. Of course, they were not cheap....the Chiluly pieces started around $2800, if I remember correctly.

[ryndam]

Smoking was pretty much restricted to very limited areas on very selective open decks. There was a smokers' area set up on the open promenade on Deck 5 with benches, chairs and tables. Smoking was also permitted on Deck 12 around the Mast Bar and on the port side of Deck 11 forward of the main pool. No smoking anywhere inside the ship's public areas, cabins or on cabin balconies. I believe that there was also a very small smokers' area aft of the Lawn Club way up on Deck 14.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I'm so glad the OP said Solstice is enlarging the viewing area for the glass blowing. I felt they desperately needed bleachers or some multi-layered seating, so that more people can see better. There are two flat-screen TVs to watch "second-hand" but I did not feel that experience was as good as seeing the actual action. The view on the TV sets is too narrow. You need to see the "big picture."

 

The glass pieces are raffled off for free. I mean to say, the tickets were free to the raffle. You can't get your glass peice right away because they have to be cooled at a special, slow rate fo speed.

 

I wish we could have eaten in Blu. We did go in and look. I thought it was one of the most beautiful and elegant restaurants I had ever seen...most of all on a cruise ship!

 

Hubby said the elliptical machines in the gym were the BEST he has ever used in his life!

 

Solstice is a spectacular ship inside and out. We were docked beside her in St Martin when we took Independence of the Seas on a cruise the week after we sailed Solstice. It was fun to get the different perspective of looking at Solstice from beside and above her. The grass lawn was still holding up pretty well except in the same area where it was brown on our cruise.

[ladyeight]

Thanks for the info...I better pack the nicorette gum. Hopefully, I will be to busy to think about it. 9 more days to go maybe I should give it a try now. I can't wait to get on the ship. We have been on 14-15 cruises, but I think I am the most excited about this cruise and this ship. Ten days would have been nice!!