Solstice Multi-Generational Cruise Review

[cruisewmn]

Cruise:

7 night Solstice, February 1 - 8

 

Cabins:

Connecting Corner Aft Sky Suite & Concierge Class Cabin (9299 & 9301)

Corner Aft Sky Suite (2146)

Connecting Concierge Class Cabins (2139 & 2141)

 

Travelers/Background:

My Family- My husband and I (early 40's), our son Jack (12 yrs)

This was our 13th cruise. Previously, we've sailed on RCL, NCL, and Disney -- mainly in suites.

My Sister's Family- Sister (mid-40's), Husband (50), daughters (7 and 11 yrs.)

This was their 2nd cruise -- previous cruise on Disney

My Parents- (Late 60's). This was their 4th cruise. They've sailed on Sea Goddess, Windstar, and Disney.

 

Review:

 

EMBARKATION

This didn't go quite as easily as planned. Before the cruise, I called Celebrity to find out if all of the family could check in together. I was concerned since while my parents and my family were in suites, my sister's family was not. They assured me that we could all check in together in the suite area. Wrong. Security would not let them through with us. As a result, they had to wait in a much longer line. We checked in and then sat around for 30 minutes until my sister's family met us at the top of the escalators. It wasn't a big deal, but it would have been nice to know in advance so that we could have simply made a plan of where to meet once aboard the ship.

 

THE SHIP

Beautiful. Solstice is stunning. It's elegant and modern, yet comfortable. Although I normally don't care about an atrium, this one let in a lot of natural light and warmed the surrounding areas (not in heat, but in mood). We liked the large windows in all of the dining areas. That connection with the water reminded us that we were on a cruise, not simply at a resort. The shops were upscale and had a wide variety of items. I'm not a big shopper, but my mom bought some nice Gucci sunglasses.

 

It was wonderful to walk through the casino and not come out smelling like an ashtray. In regards to smoking, the smell of smoke was quite strong by the pool on the smoking side of the ship. If you don't like smoke, pick your seating accordingly.

 

The lawn club was nice, but largely unused. It was very windy on our sea days and this made it almost unbearable to be on the top decks. We enjoyed the hot glass show and thought it was an excellent addition to the ship.

 

We had two big negatives with this ship: the pool/sundeck and the lack of aft elevators or stairs.

 

First, the loungers on the sundeck are literally packed in as tightly as possible. There is barely an inch of space between each chair. We couldn't stand relaxing by the pool because of the tight quarters. Unfortunately, whenever we went to the Solstice Deck, there were no cushions for any of the wicker loungers or seating. As a result, we ended up sticking to our balconies. Since we were cruising as a group, this meant we didn't get to spend as much time together as we would have liked.

 

Second, the ship needs elevators or stairs in the aft section. It was a LONG walk from our room to the elevators. It took a lot of time to get from the room to anywhere else on the ship. If you forgot something in the room and had to go back, you were going to be late. We're young, healthy people. I saw some older couples really struggling with the walk.

 

CABINS

The staterooms were lovely. We appreciated the earthtones and neutral color scheme. The suite had a lot of light due to the large sliding door to the balcony and the huge round window. We opened up the divider on the balcony between my son's CC cabin and our suite. It made the balcony nice and long, but it was still narrow. The sun was great and we weren't bothered by the lack of privacy. My parent's suite (2146) had a large overhang from the deck above it and the room was much darker inside. They also had significant noise from the Oceanview Cafe around 4 am every night.

 

The bathroom in the Sky Suites had plenty of storage. The shower had a shower head and a hand-held wand. You could turn both on at the same time and position the wand in it's holder to act like a body jet. Very nice. Closet space in the suite was adequate, but not generous. The closets in my son's regular cabin were tiny. There isn't a lot of drawer space, either. My sister's family had a hard time storing all of their things.

 

The flat panel tv's were nice and we enjoyed the interactive display. There was an excellent variety of movies (both free and pay per view). Lots of family movies as well as Cartoon Network for kids. My husband and I are CNN addicts and enjoyed both CNN and Headline News. WiFi in the rooms worked well.

 

Our Sky Suite (9229) had two poles: one large one by the bathroom, and another on the side of the bed closest to the balcony. They weren't a big deal. My parent's Sky Suite (2146) had one smaller pole right next to the bed on the side closer to the bathroom. They definitely didn't like it.

 

Connecting Cabins Info:

We liked the idea of having one outside door and a foyer when connecting the cabins. Celebrity goofed on the details, however. First, the "hall" light that normally would be outside the door is now inside the door and it doesn't turn off. If you're like most families with children in the next room, you'll have your heavy connecting doors opened with a door jam all the time. (If the doors were even partially closed by resting them on the deadbolt, you couldn't hear anyone calling from the other room). This means bright light is shining in both cabins all night long. Second, the hall music is playing all the time, as well. Celebrity needs to find a way to allow guests to turn off the light and the music. It drove both of our families crazy (literally, because we weren't sleeping well).

 

DINING

We generally liked the food, but weren't blown away. Overall, I was a little disappointed. I found the food on both Disney and NCL to be superior.

 

Oceanview Cafe - Nice layout and good variety. Quality was inconsistent. Everything, even the more ethnic dishes, was bland. It served it's purpose as a buffet, but wasn't somewhere I looked forward to eating.

 

Spa Cafe - Excellent food and service. We appreciated the variety of salads, appetizers, and desserts. The chilled soups were yummy. The entrees were tasty, but with only pork, chicken, tuna, or salmon, the selection was little boring after a while. Still, it was a terrific alternative.

 

Bistro on 5 - Great food and service. Crepes, salads, and panini sandwiches. It would be nice if they let you customize a crepe from a list of options. Definitely worth the $5.

 

Tuscan Grill - Our food was good, not great. The staff was friendly and tried to be attentive, but seemed like they had a lot of tables. Service was slow. It took 35 minutes to get the drinks. The whole meal lasted 2.5 hours because there were loooong gaps between courses.

 

Murano - By far our favorite restaurant on the ship. We enjoyed it so much that we added a another night later in the week. The staff seated us in the private room the second night and it made the dinner even more special. I can't compliment the staff enough for their service, conversation, and food. We were a big group and tried most of the dishes over two nights. The only dish which wasn't loved was the Mediterranean Sea Bass (too sweet a sauce). Everything else was out of this world.

 

Silk Harvest - Big disappointment. No one liked their meal. The sushi was okay, but everything else was sub par. I'd rather go to PF Chang's.

 

Main Dining Room - Our servers were excellent. The food was not. Appetizers and salads were okay, but the entrees were a let down. Everything lacked flavor. On the positive side, my father did say his steaks there were better than at Tuscan Grill.

 

Coffee Bar - Best coffee I've ever had on a cruise ship. Service was a little slow, but friendly.

 

Room Service - We had room service for breakfast each morning. It was okay, but nothing great. The pastries and muffins were fine. The bacon was a bit greasy and the pancakes were dry. I did like the fruit smoothies. The canapes delivered each afternoon were nasty. We asked our butler to bring us fresh fruit instead.

 

*** Peanut Allergy - My niece has a fatal peanut allergy. Celebrity was fantastic about preparing food for her that was safe to eat. The only place her needs couldn't be met was Bistro on 5 (cross contamination with the crepe cooking surface). We greatly appreciate the lengths the staff went to in order to keep her safe. Thank you, Celebrity!

 

ENTERTAINMENT

I realize everyone has different desires in entertainment, but I wasn't thrilled with the entertainment. I do need to admit that I didn't see everything offered.

 

The first night was the Super Bowl. Celebrity did a great job of putting together a party in the main theater with food, drinks, and decorations. Unfortunately, the "Solstice" show was moved later in the evening. We were too tired to stay up until 11pm to see the show. It sounded great.

 

We went to see the xylephonist. We sat in the back, and after a few minutes, my parents wanted to leave. My sister and I were pleased to go because we were bored out of our minds.

 

My parents and sister went to the Broadway review. They said it was okay, nothing great.

 

I don't expect all of the shows to be wonderful, but I would have appreciated a comedian or other variety act. I can honestly say that we were far more entertained on Disney and NCL.

 

In fairness, the live musicians around the ship were excellent. We also attended most of the Karaoke nights on board. They were fun, but many complained that the selection of songs was limited.

 

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS

The Fun Factory was a big hit. I think the kids on this cruise had a better time than the adults. They loved it. While there were 60 children on board, there were never more than 20 in the Fun Factory. The staff was enthusiastic and attentive. They had theme nights like OO7 night, Survivor night, High School Musical night, etc. I can't recommend Celebrity highly enough for families.

 

SUMMARY

We had a nice, but not wonderful cruise. It's not that Celebrity did anything really wrong, it's just that it might not be the best fit for us as a family.

 

My parents thought it was too mass market for them. They didn't like the crowds by the pool or in the Oceanview Cafe. Except for Murano, the food wasn't a big hit. They found the other passengers to be older and too sedentary for their taste. They would have preferred a livelier environment in the evenings. My parents were thrilled to see their grandkids having such a good time.

 

My sister's family enjoyed some aspects of the cruise. The Fun Factory entertained the children while the parents had time alone. The main comment my sister made was that she wished that there were more people there her age. I explained that it was during the school year and that the crowd was probably different during holidays and summer vacations. Still, she thought the entertainment was boring and would prefer more options in the evenings.

 

My family had an okay cruise. It was probably our least favorite cruise to date. We found ourselves comparing it to other experiences and it often came up short. In our opinion, Disney has better adult shows and bar experiences, NCL's main shows are better, NCL's specialty dining is better, the food in the main dining rooms on Disney is better, the suites on NCL are better, etc. Aside from the overall beauty of the Solstice, we couldn't find a lot that we preferred on Celebrity.

 

In summary, I was already booked in a Royal Suite on the Solstice in July for the Mediterranean. I'm going to keep that reservation. I think we'll enjoy the ship more because it is port intensive cruise and the pool area won't be as important to us. After that, it looks like my whole big family is going to cruise to Alaska on NCL's Pearl. My husband and I took the same cruise in 2007 and loved it. We'll put everybody in Courtyard Villas -- that will give us more elbow room when relaxing and reading. The Courtyard will be a perfect place for all the generations to really spend time together.

 

Obviously, the above review is just my family's experience and opinions. I hope that I have not offended anyone with my comments. Happy sailings!

 

Edit -- I forgot to say that we LOVED the Wine Harvest. The sampling machine was a lot of fun. A definite winner!

[aloanldy]

Great review. Thanks for sharing. We were on her for two days in November and we'll be on her in two weeks for 7 nights.

 

We love the new ship.

 

Charlie

[Schplinky]

Interesting review. I like your approach and comparisons. By the way, I wa son your sailing and there were comedians on one or two nights (in the Celebrity Central theatre) and a variety show the last night. I agree on the tacky xylophonist. It was like Sigfried and Roy had a baby with Zamfir. The entertainment was very ho-hummy for such a spectacular new ship.

[BurgerBits]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

 

Especially appreciated that you titled it in such a way that readers immediately knew it contained info pertinent to a wide age range!!!

 

Thank you!

 

Dawn

[cruisewmn]

Interesting review. I like your approach and comparisons. By the way, I wa son your sailing and there were comedians on one or two nights (in the Celebrity Central theatre) and a variety show the last night. I agree on the tacky xylophonist. It was like Sigfried and Roy had a baby with Zamfir. The entertainment was very ho-hummy for such a spectacular new ship.

 

Actually, we met in the elevator near the end of the week. My son was amazed when you listed all the ships you've sailed on!

 

I don't know how we missed the comedian. I went on to your website and found him -- at 12:15 am on Monday night. Honestly, I don't think I even looked at activities that late at night. I wonder how many stayed up that late to go to his show?

 

I enjoyed reading your review. Glad you found your new favorite ship (it is a beauty). One reason I love cruising is because there are so many options -- everyone can find the vacation that makes them happy.

:)

[Sky Sweet]

Hi Cruisewm :)

 

Thank you for your well balanced review which is excellent.

 

The title of your thread caught my attention because I am in the process of planning a multi generation family reunion cruise with my brothers and our children/grandchildren.

[Schplinky]

Actually, we met in the elevator near the end of the week. My son was amazed when you listed all the ships you've sailed on!

 

I remember that. Your son was very cute and fun to chat with.

[mickeysgal]

Very nice, balanced review. Thank you! Do you have any pictures of the Solstice? The few I've seen are simply spectacular.

 

I am surprised and a bit reassured to hear that you thought NCL's food was better. We've sailed other lines, Carnival, Disney, and Royal and I've been quite nervous over our first NCL booking. Food quality has been one of the points we've been hesitant over.

 

Thank you again.

[junglejane]

Thanks very much for your review. I was particularly interested in it because we have DD's who are 8 and 12, and the older one has a peanut allergy. We have enjoyed our cruises on Infinity and Summit and would like to try Solstice. We were actually looking at Solstice for our 2010 Spring Break but unfortunately the ship is chartered that week (March 7, 2010).:(

 

--Junglejane

[cruisewmn]

I am surprised and a bit reassured to hear that you thought NCL's food was better. We've sailed other lines, Carnival, Disney, and Royal and I've been quite nervous over our first NCL booking. Food quality has been one of the points we've been hesitant over.

 

I have to admit, all of our meals on NCL were in the Specialty Restaurants or the Buffet. We didn't go to the main dining room. We just went in with the attitude that we'd spend a little more on the added fees for dining and save elsewhere (we didn't use the spa, spent little in the shops, etc.). As a result, we ate extremely well and didn't spend anymore money than on a usual cruise.

 

While I was disappointed with our food on the Solstice, I have to remind myself that it was only one week on one ship of Celebrity. Even my local favorite restaurants occasionally serve a less than stellar meal. I'm glad I'm giving the Solstice and Celebrity another try this summer. It will be a good comparison.

[cruisewmn]

Hi Cruisewm :)

The title of your thread caught my attention because I am in the process of planning a multi generation family reunion cruise with my brothers and our children/grandchildren.

 

Good luck planning! It seemed to be so much more work to plan this cruise than when we're by ourselves. We don't see each other as often as we'd like and really wanted to spend the time together on the ship and on shore excursions. Finding the right fit for everyone was tough. I think the next cruise will be much easier to plan.

[cruisewmn]

I was particularly interested in it because we have DD's who are 8 and 12, and the older one has a peanut allergy.

--Junglejane

 

It was an eye opening experience for me. I had no idea how many things contained nuts. Even the bread and dipping tray in the main dining room had nuts. Luckily, our waiters put safe bread in a separate bowl each night. All of her meals were made to order. Everyone took it extremely seriously and that let my sister relax a little. I think my niece kind of liked all the attention -- it made her feel special.:)

[jerseygirl3]

Cruise:

7 night Solstice, February 1 - 8

 

Cabins:

Connecting Corner Aft Sky Suite & Concierge Class Cabin (9299 & 9301)

Corner Aft Sky Suite (2146)

Connecting Concierge Class Cabins (2139 & 2141)

 

Travelers/Background:

My Family- My husband and I (early 40's), our son Jack (12 yrs)

This was our 13th cruise. Previously, we've sailed on RCL, NCL, and Disney -- mainly in suites.

My Sister's Family- Sister (mid-40's), Husband (50), daughters (7 and 11 yrs.)

This was their 2nd cruise -- previous cruise on Disney

My Parents- (Late 60's). This was their 4th cruise. They've sailed on Sea Goddess, Windstar, and Disney.

 

Review:

 

EMBARKATION

This didn't go quite as easily as planned. Before the cruise, I called Celebrity to find out if all of the family could check in together. I was concerned since while my parents and my family were in suites, my sister's family was not. They assured me that we could all check in together in the suite area. Wrong. Security would not let them through with us. As a result, they had to wait in a much longer line. We checked in and then sat around for 30 minutes until my sister's family met us at the top of the escalators. It wasn't a big deal, but it would have been nice to know in advance so that we could have simply made a plan of where to meet once aboard the ship.

 

THE SHIP

Beautiful. Solstice is stunning. It's elegant and modern, yet comfortable. Although I normally don't care about an atrium, this one let in a lot of natural light and warmed the surrounding areas (not in heat, but in mood). We liked the large windows in all of the dining areas. That connection with the water reminded us that we were on a cruise, not simply at a resort. The shops were upscale and had a wide variety of items. I'm not a big shopper, but my mom bought some nice Gucci sunglasses.

 

It was wonderful to walk through the casino and not come out smelling like an ashtray. In regards to smoking, the smell of smoke was quite strong by the pool on the smoking side of the ship. If you don't like smoke, pick your seating accordingly.

 

The lawn club was nice, but largely unused. It was very windy on our sea days and this made it almost unbearable to be on the top decks. We enjoyed the hot glass show and thought it was an excellent addition to the ship.

 

We had two big negatives with this ship: the pool/sundeck and the lack of aft elevators or stairs.

 

First, the loungers on the sundeck are literally packed in as tightly as possible. There is barely an inch of space between each chair. We couldn't stand relaxing by the pool because of the tight quarters. Unfortunately, whenever we went to the Solstice Deck, there were no cushions for any of the wicker loungers or seating. As a result, we ended up sticking to our balconies. Since we were cruising as a group, this meant we didn't get to spend as much time together as we would have liked.

 

Second, the ship needs elevators or stairs in the aft section. It was a LONG walk from our room to the elevators. It took a lot of time to get from the room to anywhere else on the ship. If you forgot something in the room and had to go back, you were going to be late. We're young, healthy people. I saw some older couples really struggling with the walk.

 

CABINS

The staterooms were lovely. We appreciated the earthtones and neutral color scheme. The suite had a lot of light due to the large sliding door to the balcony and the huge round window. We opened up the divider on the balcony between my son's CC cabin and our suite. It made the balcony nice and long, but it was still narrow. The sun was great and we weren't bothered by the lack of privacy. My parent's suite (2146) had a large overhang from the deck above it and the room was much darker inside. They also had significant noise from the Oceanview Cafe around 4 am every night.

 

The bathroom in the Sky Suites had plenty of storage. The shower had a shower head and a hand-held wand. You could turn both on at the same time and position the wand in it's holder to act like a body jet. Very nice. Closet space in the suite was adequate, but not generous. The closets in my son's regular cabin were tiny. There isn't a lot of drawer space, either. My sister's family had a hard time storing all of their things.

 

The flat panel tv's were nice and we enjoyed the interactive display. There was an excellent variety of movies (both free and pay per view). Lots of family movies as well as Cartoon Network for kids. My husband and I are CNN addicts and enjoyed both CNN and Headline News. WiFi in the rooms worked well.

 

Our Sky Suite (9229) had two poles: one large one by the bathroom, and another on the side of the bed closest to the balcony. They weren't a big deal. My parent's Sky Suite (2146) had one smaller pole right next to the bed on the side closer to the bathroom. They definitely didn't like it.

 

Connecting Cabins Info:

We liked the idea of having one outside door and a foyer when connecting the cabins. Celebrity goofed on the details, however. First, the "hall" light that normally would be outside the door is now inside the door and it doesn't turn off. If you're like most families with children in the next room, you'll have your heavy connecting doors opened with a door jam all the time. (If the doors were even partially closed by resting them on the deadbolt, you couldn't hear anyone calling from the other room). This means bright light is shining in both cabins all night long. Second, the hall music is playing all the time, as well. Celebrity needs to find a way to allow guests to turn off the light and the music. It drove both of our families crazy (literally, because we weren't sleeping well).

 

DINING

We generally liked the food, but weren't blown away. Overall, I was a little disappointed. I found the food on both Disney and NCL to be superior.

 

Oceanview Cafe - Nice layout and good variety. Quality was inconsistent. Everything, even the more ethnic dishes, was bland. It served it's purpose as a buffet, but wasn't somewhere I looked forward to eating.

 

Spa Cafe - Excellent food and service. We appreciated the variety of salads, appetizers, and desserts. The chilled soups were yummy. The entrees were tasty, but with only pork, chicken, tuna, or salmon, the selection was little boring after a while. Still, it was a terrific alternative.

 

Bistro on 5 - Great food and service. Crepes, salads, and panini sandwiches. It would be nice if they let you customize a crepe from a list of options. Definitely worth the $5.

 

Tuscan Grill - Our food was good, not great. The staff was friendly and tried to be attentive, but seemed like they had a lot of tables. Service was slow. It took 35 minutes to get the drinks. The whole meal lasted 2.5 hours because there were loooong gaps between courses.

 

Murano - By far our favorite restaurant on the ship. We enjoyed it so much that we added a another night later in the week. The staff seated us in the private room the second night and it made the dinner even more special. I can't compliment the staff enough for their service, conversation, and food. We were a big group and tried most of the dishes over two nights. The only dish which wasn't loved was the Mediterranean Sea Bass (too sweet a sauce). Everything else was out of this world.

 

Silk Harvest - Big disappointment. No one liked their meal. The sushi was okay, but everything else was sub par. I'd rather go to PF Chang's.

 

Main Dining Room - Our servers were excellent. The food was not. Appetizers and salads were okay, but the entrees were a let down. Everything lacked flavor. On the positive side, my father did say his steaks there were better than at Tuscan Grill.

 

Coffee Bar - Best coffee I've ever had on a cruise ship. Service was a little slow, but friendly.

 

Room Service - We had room service for breakfast each morning. It was okay, but nothing great. The pastries and muffins were fine. The bacon was a bit greasy and the pancakes were dry. I did like the fruit smoothies. The canapes delivered each afternoon were nasty. We asked our butler to bring us fresh fruit instead.

 

*** Peanut Allergy - My niece has a fatal peanut allergy. Celebrity was fantastic about preparing food for her that was safe to eat. The only place her needs couldn't be met was Bistro on 5 (cross contamination with the crepe cooking surface). We greatly appreciate the lengths the staff went to in order to keep her safe. Thank you, Celebrity!

 

ENTERTAINMENT

I realize everyone has different desires in entertainment, but I wasn't thrilled with the entertainment. I do need to admit that I didn't see everything offered.

 

The first night was the Super Bowl. Celebrity did a great job of putting together a party in the main theater with food, drinks, and decorations. Unfortunately, the "Solstice" show was moved later in the evening. We were too tired to stay up until 11pm to see the show. It sounded great.

 

We went to see the xylephonist. We sat in the back, and after a few minutes, my parents wanted to leave. My sister and I were pleased to go because we were bored out of our minds.

 

My parents and sister went to the Broadway review. They said it was okay, nothing great.

 

I don't expect all of the shows to be wonderful, but I would have appreciated a comedian or other variety act. I can honestly say that we were far more entertained on Disney and NCL.

 

In fairness, the live musicians around the ship were excellent. We also attended most of the Karaoke nights on board. They were fun, but many complained that the selection of songs was limited.

 

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS

The Fun Factory was a big hit. I think the kids on this cruise had a better time than the adults. They loved it. While there were 60 children on board, there were never more than 20 in the Fun Factory. The staff was enthusiastic and attentive. They had theme nights like OO7 night, Survivor night, High School Musical night, etc. I can't recommend Celebrity highly enough for families.

 

SUMMARY

We had a nice, but not wonderful cruise. It's not that Celebrity did anything really wrong, it's just that it might not be the best fit for us as a family.

 

My parents thought it was too mass market for them. They didn't like the crowds by the pool or in the Oceanview Cafe. Except for Murano, the food wasn't a big hit. They found the other passengers to be older and too sedentary for their taste. They would have preferred a livelier environment in the evenings. My parents were thrilled to see their grandkids having such a good time.

 

My sister's family enjoyed some aspects of the cruise. The Fun Factory entertained the children while the parents had time alone. The main comment my sister made was that she wished that there were more people there her age. I explained that it was during the school year and that the crowd was probably different during holidays and summer vacations. Still, she thought the entertainment was boring and would prefer more options in the evenings.

 

My family had an okay cruise. It was probably our least favorite cruise to date. We found ourselves comparing it to other experiences and it often came up short. In our opinion, Disney has better adult shows and bar experiences, NCL's main shows are better, NCL's specialty dining is better, the food in the main dining rooms on Disney is better, the suites on NCL are better, etc. Aside from the overall beauty of the Solstice, we couldn't find a lot that we preferred on Celebrity.

 

In summary, I was already booked in a Royal Suite on the Solstice in July for the Mediterranean. I'm going to keep that reservation. I think we'll enjoy the ship more because it is port intensive cruise and the pool area won't be as important to us. After that, it looks like my whole big family is going to cruise to Alaska on NCL's Pearl. My husband and I took the same cruise in 2007 and loved it. We'll put everybody in Courtyard Villas -- that will give us more elbow room when relaxing and reading. The Courtyard will be a perfect place for all the generations to really spend time together.

 

Obviously, the above review is just my family's experience and opinions. I hope that I have not offended anyone with my comments. Happy sailings!

 

Edit -- I forgot to say that we LOVED the Wine Harvest. The sampling machine was a lot of fun. A definite winner!

 

Thanks for your review. I do have one question. Did I understand you to mean that your entire group ate at Murano? I was under the impression that children must be over the age of 12 to eat in the specialty restaurant. Is it different on Solstice?

 

Jo-Ann

[cruisewmn]

Thanks for your review. I do have one question. Did I understand you to mean that your entire group ate at Murano? I was under the impression that children must be over the age of 12 to eat in the specialty restaurant. Is it different on Solstice?

 

Jo-Ann

 

I'm sorry, I should have been more clear about that. You're correct, children must be 12 or older to eat in Murano.

 

My 12 year old son joined the six adults for dinner in Murano while the younger two kids went to the Fun Factory.

 

My son is an only child who has traveled extensively with us. As a result, he knows how to behave in a fine restaurant and actually likes being included with the adults. He loved Murano and wished he could eat there every night (he's a "foodie" like his mom:D). I don't think all children of that age would enjoy the experience or be able to sit there for a long meal.

[jerseygirl3]

I'm sorry, I should have been more clear about that. You're correct, children must be 12 or older to eat in Murano.

 

My 12 year old son joined the six adults for dinner in Murano while the younger two kids went to the Fun Factory.

 

My son is an only child who has traveled extensively with us. As a result, he knows how to behave in a fine restaurant and actually likes being included with the adults. He loved Murano and wished he could eat there every night (he's a "foodie" like his mom:D). I don't think all children of that age would enjoy the experience or be able to sit there for a long meal.

 

Thanks for clarifying. When we were onboard Celebrity Century, we (also a multi-generational family group) ate one night in Murano (it's also called Murano on Century). Four of the kids were under age 12, so the grandparents took them to the MDR for dinner while we (including my 16-year-old nephew) at at Murano. Having said that, my sister's 8-year-old twins sound very much like your son. They probably would have loved Murano (my sister is a trained chef, so her kids are definite "foodies").

 

Jo-Ann

[ottawapuppy]

Actually, we met in the elevator near the end of the week. My son was amazed when you listed all the ships you've sailed on!

 

That was so funny, we had two floors on the elevator to remember all 15 or so ships.

 

Mike

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

We are trying our first celebrity cruise. I'm 20 years old, I hope I will fit in. :p I've always been on Carnival or Royal Caribbean mainly. When I saw the new Celebrity ship coming out, I absolutely wanted to try her. I know a cruise is what you make of it and Celebrity has less activities. I'm sailing two weeks from today. :D I will probably end up going back to Royal Caribbean though on the Oasis. :)

[mickeysgal]

I have to admit, all of our meals on NCL were in the Specialty Restaurants or the Buffet. We didn't go to the main dining room. We just went in with the attitude that we'd spend a little more on the added fees for dining and save elsewhere (we didn't use the spa, spent little in the shops, etc.). As a result, we ate extremely well and didn't spend anymore money than on a usual cruise.

 

This is even more reassuring as we are planning on eating most of our meals in the Specialty Restaurants. When we booked we were able to get a lot of OBC, so this is how we intend to spend most of it. Thank you again.

 

Do you have any pictures of the Solstice? From what I've seen so far, it's looks simply fantastic.

[Schplinky]

This is even more reassuring as we are planning on eating most of our meals in the Specialty Restaurants. When we booked we were able to get a lot of OBC, so this is how we intend to spend most of it. Thank you again.

 

Do you have any pictures of the Solstice? From what I've seen so far, it's looks simply fantastic.

 

We have lots in the gallery in my signature

 

If you're on Sky when you try NCL, got to the pizza place for the free breakfast pizza. TASTY!!!!

[cruisewmn]

Do you have any pictures of the Solstice? From what I've seen so far, it's looks simply fantastic.

 

I took some photos of our sky suite, but that's about it. Here are some sites with great photos (thanks to those who posted them first!):

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/568644364uSAtNp?vhost=travel

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/568638933ntxpWp?start=0

 

http://maritimemattersdecked.blogspot.com/2009/01/celebrity-solstice-by-peter-knego.html

 

http://www.thepreismans.com/

[BurgerBits]

We are trying our first celebrity cruise. I'm 20 years old, I hope I will fit in. :p I've always been on Carnival or Royal Caribbean mainly. When I saw the new Celebrity ship coming out, I absolutely wanted to try her. I know a cruise is what you make of it and Celebrity has less activities. I'm sailing two weeks from today. :D I will probably end up going back to Royal Caribbean though on the Oasis. :)

 

Hi, Krystie --

 

you're on our sailing!! We have a family group on the Solstice 2/22/09 departure. My parents, my husband and I, my youngest brother, his wife, and their 3 boys. All of us except my husband are originally from the Detroit, MI area.

 

Stop by our Roll Call and read a few posts from your fellow cruisers... should be a great time!!

 

Here's a link to the last page... go to the beginning and page through. Sounds like we're going to be joined by some really nice people.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=18131195#post18131195

[Solstice23]

great Review.

 

1 thing

 

the food on NCL, every time i have gone or had friends go has been the worst food ever!!!! sorry not sure when you sailed NCL? they get the worst reviews ever.

 

Celebrity is trying new things it will take a while to get it fixed but the food will end up better then ever

[Riksha]

Thanks for the detailed review. I especially appreciated reading that you had a good experience regarding them accommodating the peanut allergy - we sailed NCL last year and they were so good about it, that I was almost nervous about booking with X but they have been pretty reassuring over the phone.

[cruisewmn]

great Review.

 

1 thing

 

the food on NCL, every time i have gone or had friends go has been the worst food ever!!!! sorry not sure when you sailed NCL? they get the worst reviews ever.

 

Celebrity is trying new things it will take a while to get it fixed but the food will end up better then ever

 

It has been a while since you sailed on NCL. We sailed twice on the Pearl (Alaska in August 2007 and the Southern Caribbean in December 2007).

 

I had read poor reviews of the food before my first cruise and was nervous. However, I was blown away with how yummy and flavorful the food was for our embarkation lunch at the buffet. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of buffets, but loved this one -- lots of ethnic choices and healthy options. All of our meals there were fantastic. Otherwise, we only ate in specialty restaurants. I'm not going to say that over the course of 16 nights we didn't occasionally have a dish that missed the mark, but that was a rarity.

 

Obviously, I can't comment on the food in the main dining rooms on NCL or on the food on older ships (I've heard there's a big difference in quality between the newer Jewel class ships and the older ships).

 

As I said before, I'm looking forward to trying the Solstice again this July to see if we have the same experience. I spoke with a lot of the staff whose contracts will be up at that time. Many will be on vacation and then will transfer to the Equinox. With so much staff turnover, I expect there will be some differences.

[vince b]

Great review. Thanks. I have some pinpoint questions. Did you ask if they could remove the light or shut off the music? We're in a Sky Suite connected to a SV on the August 12 night Med. sailing. Having been in connecting SVs on Solstice, I saw the unique hallway situation with the Sky Suites connecting to SVs or CCs. I can fully understand the light and music issues. They would only exist in a aft Sky Suite connecting situation, because of the way the hallway is designed in the aft corners of the ship. In fact, half way through our New Years sailing, the passengers in that Sky Suite/SV connecting situation opened their "hallway" door and closed their individual room doors. Now I understand why. The light and / or music issues. This would be a deal breaker for us. Did you attempt to have it rectified?