Just Back - Celebrity Solstice Medit...

[cigloo]

Hell all,

I had wanted to write something while at sea but for several reasons I was unable so now I am writing on my return. We were first time cruisers with Celebrity (normally a preferred HAL cruiser but also have sailed several different lines). We decided to try Celebrity/Solstice because the itinerary, a new ship and friends recommendations about Celebrity. We sailed in Concierge Class in a Verandah, Sky Deck, 12 days Mediterranean. We were 6 of us and ages 39 - 51

These opinions/notes are our personal experiences and as we all know, everyone has there good and bad cruises :D

The Good ~ :)

Solarium – just loved this adult area! Quiet, lots of chairs could do laps in pool, shower to rinse off, lots of sunlight and no wind.

Shower – the one in our stateroom – Lots of room, doors that closed and stayed closed! You could shower and someone else could be using the sink and there was plenty of room.

Room Steward – He was great, attentive and smiled.

Concierge Class – loved it, worth the extra money.

Beds – Fantastic and so comfortable

Color – all around the color of the ship was nice and light

Martini Bar – you have to give these guys credit they make it rock with their gymnastic skills with the shakers!

Lawn – LOVED this – we played Bocce Ball, Croquet and just laid on it like we were in a park. Keep it!

The Bad ~ :(

Food – It was fair to worse. The menu in the main dining room had so many non descriptive wording that you never knew what you were ordering. It all tasted bland, boring selection and nothing jumped out in flavor. They said that they have a new chef on board and there are working on it. We also thought this about the buffet also.

Ports – getting off the ship in ports was not good. Santorini we were tendered and had to wait forever as the boats were so small. In Mykonos, we had to pay $12.00 a piece for a shuttle. Istanbul was no better - if you didn’t get one of the first or second tickets to leave you basically didn’t get off the sip until 2.5 hours later. Funny thing was, they said they had pre – given the earlier slots out and it had been in the daily bulletin but we never saw it.

The internet – the satellite was constantly down whether is was at sea or in port. Pricing was .65 a minute unless you bought a package and then it wasn’t that much better. It wasn’t until the last day that they offered any kind of special for this and then it was way too late and not that good.

Spa – way over priced than the normal over priced. Discounts as the cruise went on not that good. Services fair.

Specialty dining – about the same as above – fair to worse

Music after dinner – there was none! We ate at the early seating and when we were done, there was never any music playing. I have to say that this ship was pretty boring for a night life if you wanted music or something besides the show.

Closet – this was by far the worst closet I have ever had on a ship. It was worthless and once again, they have not hung the rod high enough for the ladies evening gowns not to hit the floor. The safe took up half the closet and to get into it, you had to go on that side as the other side was blocked by the bed/frame and too close.

Sink in our stateroom bathroom. The faucet was huge and took up/stood over the sink so it was very hard to wash your face or brush your teeth with out splashing.

The not so sure? ~ :confused:

Service – it was hit or miss. Our cabin steward was great, dining table staff good, wine steward horrible, buffet area stiff – non welcoming.

Room Service Food – It was hit or miss. We liked the fact it was always on time and hot, but they would bring items you didn’t order and forget what you order. A 50/50 on this.

Show/Entertainment – Most of the time good, then others what were they thinking.

Pool / Deck area – We never had a problem finding a deck chair in the sun or shade. Most people stayed put once they had a chair. Music was hit or miss along with bar service.

That’s about it - pretty general. Would we sail again with Celebrity, probably not. It would have to be an awesome itinerary and maybe for curiosity sake, possibly one of their smaller ships to give them a second chance???

If anyone has any specific questions, post them and I will try to answer.

Happy sailing,

Jennifer

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.

[safari njema]

Yes thank you!

 

Just wondering what the deal was for Istanbul. Why did you need tickets to get off? Is Solstice not docked?

 

Are there any alternatives to the Mykonos shuttle? I thought you tendered directly into town (according to itinerary) and the shuttle only for those who dock (not Solstice)?

 

Please advise -- I'm on the may 25 sailing.

 

Thanks again!

[jojop]

Just off this cruise as well.

 

I have to agree with tendering in Santorini. Fastest way to get off the ship is to book one of their shore excursions OR be one of the first in line to get a tender ticket (I did the latter).

 

DO NOT...I repeat DO NOT buy the shuttle tickets for Istanbul. Traffic is a nightmare especially if you are in port on a Friday (for the 11 night itinerary). We made a huge mistake of using the shuttle the first day and it took us 1.5 hours to get back to the ship. What a waste of time! Additionally the shuttle only runs until 6:30 or so. Doesn't make sense when the ship is in port overnight. Others taking the tram got back to the ship in less than 15 minutes. We chose to take the tram the 2nd day...a much better choice and only a couple of Lira.

 

I'll be posting a more thorough review soon. Have have a different experience from cigloo but loved the ship so much we booked a 14-night Northern Europe for 2010.

 

Cheers!

[jojop]

Are there any alternatives to the Mykonos shuttle? I thought you tendered directly into town (according to itinerary) and the shuttle only for those who dock (not Solstice)?

quote]

 

Audrey, ship is docked in Mykonos. The walk to town is pretty far...and not very scenic. Also, you'd be walking on the side of the road (no real safe pedestrian walk). We took the shuttle and it was worth it. I think it was only $10 per person and ran frequently. Other alternative from walking or taking the shuttle is to take a taxi. However, I don't recall seeing many cabs at the dock when we reached the port.

[RME]

I was on this same cruise. This was my first cruise on Celebrity. I usually cruise Princess and love it.

 

The ship is absolutely beautiful. Most of the staff is excellent. Our cabin steward and waiters were among the best I have ever had. The major exception here is the shore excursion staff. I have been on several cruises and have never seen more confusion regarding ship excursions. I realize this was the maiden journey on the Mediterranean, but it seems to me that organizing excursions should not vary that much from place to place or ship to ship. Fortunately, we had also arranged for several private tours, separate from the ship tours, and these were fantastic.

 

Besides the organization issues, several of the ship tours were not as described. For example, in Santorini we took the ship's excursion so as to be able to disembark early. The description we saw indicated that the bus could take us back to the tenders. However, we later learned that quite a bit of walking was involved and we had to use the cable car, or donkeys, or walk down the steep hill to get back. If you have any difficulties walking, be sure to take the cable car. You do not want to walk down that hill with the donkeys.

 

The food varied from a few excellent selections to some not so good. I love fish and apparently their fish is frozen. I do not understand why we could not get fresh fish in the Mediterranean. One day, I was tempted to go fishing myself and bring some back to the ship, but thought better of it. We tried one specialty restaurant, Tuscany Steak House, and were very disappointed. The room is gorgeous. The staff is wonderful. The food is another issue. I make better filet mignon than they do. It was very tender, but had no taste. We were not overly impressed with any of the other dishes either. However, friends went to Murano and loved it, so perhaps we chose the wrong restaurant.

 

Our room and balcony was gorgeous and very clean and comfortable. We were on Deck 10, which seemed to be a good place to be. We did hear some noise from the cabins next to us, but it was not too bad. Friends who stayed on Deck 12 had many complaints about noise from above.

 

I enjoyed all the Sostice Theater shows except for one. However, Princess always had a few choices for entertainment, such as a show or a comedian, and that was not the case here. Most evenings we went to the show and then the casino for a bit. We did enjoy karaoke a few times though. Oh, and the Newlywed and Not So Newlywed Game of course.

 

The pools were nice. Somewhat smaller than what I had expected, but they did not get too crowded generally. Chairs right around the pool were grabbed up early, often by people who did not actually show up for hours, but we were always able to find chairs somewhere.

 

I loved this cruise. We met some wonderful people and had a great time. However, this did not live up to my expectations regarding Celebrity. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

[eurosteve]

Hi - Getting ready for the 25 May departure...

 

For Santorini, what time does one need to get on line to make sure to get a ticket on one of the first tenders? Any other helpful hints - due to the short time in port and late arrival time?

 

For Mykonos, sounds like Celebrity changed their mind about tendering here. Any idea if this was due to rough seas (one time exception)?

 

On other topics - was there any special discount offered for wine packages or internet on the day of embarkation? I read one review that said that internet access was almost always out of commission. Any experience with that?

 

Lectures/ speakers - were there any lecturers or speakers on the ship? If so, what did you think?

 

Thanks,

Steve

[Albert Ross]

Istanbul was no better - if you didn’t get one of the first or second tickets to leave you basically didn’t get off the sip until 2.5 hours later. Funny thing was, they said they had pre – given the earlier slots out and it had been in the daily bulletin but we never saw it.

Why on earth are you buying a shuttle in Istanbul - you can see the tram stop from the port, trams are clean, new, airconditioned, run every 5 minutes and costs about $1.50 a ride. It is about 5 stops to the main sights. Everything is signposted in English.

[willysgrandma]

Having been on the Solstice in the Caribbean, your experiences were very similar to ours. I am glad we aren't the only ones who were disappointd with the food. Since their disassociation with Michel Roux, the food is certainly not what is used to be.

 

If you are disappointed with the entertainment, I hope you indicated that on your questionnaires at the end of the cruise. I've spoken directly with the head of entertainment for Celebrity. They are trying somethign different with the shows on this cruise - few headliners and no comedian until midnight in the small theater. I told him a lot of people were disppointed with the entertainment. The sole "headliner" was a xylophonist - which was entertaining for 10 minutes, but no 40.

 

Is that xzylophone guy still on the ship?

[buramiko]

Hi - Getting ready for the 25 May departure...

 

For Santorini, what time does one need to get on line to make sure to get a ticket on one of the first tenders? Any other helpful hints - due to the short time in port and late arrival time?

 

For Mykonos, sounds like Celebrity changed their mind about tendering here. Any idea if this was due to rough seas (one time exception)?

 

On other topics - was there any special discount offered for wine packages or internet on the day of embarkation? I read one review that said that internet access was almost always out of commission. Any experience with that?

 

Lectures/ speakers - were there any lecturers or speakers on the ship? If so, what did you think?

 

Thanks,

Steve

 

 

The official time to get tender tickets for Santorini was 9:00am, but we were there at 8:25am and there were already around 20 peoples ahead of us, we were able to get tickets for the 2nd tender and got off the ship pretty early (the 1st tender was reserved for suites I guess).

 

We docked at Mykonos, not tendered. It's far to walk to town and there were no cabs around, so I guess shuttle was the only option unless you join a tour.

 

Wines/internet special package only available towards end of trip, but still expensive.

[hcat]

Sounds very mediocre-- I accept the comments but so hard to believe because we were on Solstice in January & loved it competely, from food to shows to service to the ship itself--there was music all around----Did you try the Passport bar--it was lovely.. Hope you had a nice time anyhow--how were your ports?

 

I have a few questions for anyone who does not mind answering:

 

1) Where do you get shuttle tickets in Mykonos? Is it US or Euros? Was it $10 pp each way--that's a bit steep if it is! What did you do in the port..? Did anyone go to a beach? The only excursion seems to be to Delos..did anyone take that & if so how was it?

 

2) When you docked to depart the ship in Cv, what is the range of times is there for getting off the ship? W-we have no flight that day but may be elgible for early disembarkation as Elite...Would 9 am be a good time to have our driver pick us up?

 

3) Did they have a deck party night? if so what port was it held in & what time was it held?

 

4) What time was early dinner seating?

 

5) Was it very smoggy in Athens?

 

Thanks so much..we are looking forward for our Sept return to the Solstice!

[Bridge Maven]

For any cruise that includes Mykonos, I highly recommend the shore excursion to the Ancient Island of Delos. It was one of my most memorable experiences during our Mediterranean Cruise.

[Solstice23]

WOW, Not what my Clients and family have said returning recently from the Solstice. Happy Sailing

[Solstice23]

Ohh and by reading post on all cruise boards...food has suffered on all lines do to the USA and world economy. IMO we are all paying in many ways for the people who messed up the economy throughout the world. Its sad it has to affect such small details in life like food on a cruise

[buramiko]

Sounds very mediocre-- I accept the comments but so hard to believe because we were on Solstice in January & loved it competely, from food to shows to service to the ship itself--there was music all around----Did you try the Passport bar--it was lovely.. Hope you had a nice time anyhow--how were your ports?

 

I have a few questions for anyone who does not mind answering:

 

1) Where do you get shuttle tickets in Mykonos? Is it US or Euros? Was it $10 pp each way--that's a bit steep if it is! What did you do in the port..? Did anyone go to a beach? The only excursion seems to be to Delos..did anyone take that & if so how was it?

 

2) When you docked to depart the ship in Cv, what is the range of times is there for getting off the ship? W-we have no flight that day but may be elgible for early disembarkation as Elite...Would 9 am be a good time to have our driver pick us up?

 

3) Did they have a deck party night? if so what port was it held in & what time was it held?

 

4) What time was early dinner seating?

 

5) Was it very smoggy in Athens?

 

Thanks so much..we are looking forward for our Sept return to the Solstice!

 

To answer a few of your questions :

 

1. Mykonos shuttle bus tickets can be purchased at shore excursion desk. They will remind you on Celebrity Today newsletter. It was US$10 both ways, the fact is, nobody checked our tickets on our way back to the ship.

 

2. We rented a small car and drove to Paradise Beach at Mykonos. It was still chilly so there were only a few people sunbathing, no one was swimming. The water was beautiful but not an incredibly lagoon kind of beach, the sands were rough as well. I'm sure there will be lot more people in September. If you don't join tour then all you are left to do is to sightsee the windmills, the pelicans, and the little venice white houses. That's why we were able to be back to the ship right after lunch.

 

3. We arranged our ride to come pick us up at CV at 9:00am. It was already a late check out time, many people have already left starting from 6 in the morning. And it took us 10 mins to walk down, get our luggages, and leave. No crowd at all.

 

4. Early dinner 6:15pm

[bradford bull]

I,m cruiseing on the solstice from Cv on 5th june and wondered if anyone managed to see the town of Lindos on rhodes as i,m told it is one of the most beautiful villages in the world, if so how far from the port and how much or was there an excursion there from the ship, also any info on any of the itinerie would be greatfully received,thanks Dave.

[tom_uk]

I,m cruiseing on the solstice from Cv on 5th june and wondered if anyone managed to see the town of Lindos on rhodes as i,m told it is one of the most beautiful villages in the world, if so how far from the port and how much or was there an excursion there from the ship, also any info on any of the itinerie would be greatfully received,thanks Dave.

 

Rhodes is no longer included in the 11-night E Med cruises on Solstice, so the people just returning (from the 4 May cruises) won't have called there. It is still included in the 10-night itinerary, so those on the current cruise (15 May) will be going there. You'll need to wait until they return on 25 May for reports.

 

But I'm pretty sure that Celebrity run an excursion to Lindos, so I would expect that a number of passengers will go there.

[decocamp]

3. We arranged our ride to come pick us up at CV at 9:00am. It was already a late check out time, many people have already left starting from 6 in the morning. And it took us 10 mins to walk down, get our luggages, and leave. No crowd at all.

We will be on this cruise in September. If we can disembark at 6 am it would seem we can make the 10:15 am flight I am considering. I have been discourged from reading various posts. Any thoughts anyone?

[safari njema]

So when the OP was referring to waiting 1.5 hours in Istanbul for tickets.. was she referring to the shuttle bus the ship offerred? Or something else? Because I am NOT about to wait 1.5 hours to get off this ship!

[safari njema]

We will be on this cruise in September. If we can disembark at 6 am it would seem we can make the 10:15 am flight I am considering. I have been discourged from reading various posts. Any thoughts anyone?

 

I'm on this cruise next week with a 10:40 flight. I'll let you know how it goes

[decocamp]

I'm on this cruise next week with a 10:40 flight. I'll let you know how it goes

Thanks. I trust that you have done your homework and feel comfortable. Care to share what you have found out your game plan?

[RME]

We will be on this cruise in September. If we can disembark at 6 am it would seem we can make the 10:15 am flight I am considering. I have been discourged from reading various posts. Any thoughts anyone?

Do not feel discouraged. The cruise was wonderful and I am so glad I took it. I was on a beautiful ship, met some wonderful people, and visited beautiful places. I have no regrets. I had just expected more from Celebrity. Perhaps all lines have had to cut back though. Have a wonderful cruise. I would book private shore excursions though and try to avoid ship excursions. We had two excursions that were particularly great, Ekol in Ephasus with Yelda Celik as tour guide and Athens Taxi, where Paul's youngest son, Jim or Dmitri, was our driver. In Ephesus, we also saw the village of Sirence and the House of Mary and in Athens, we also saw Sounion. I highly recommend all of these.

[KY Deb]

We will be on this cruise in September. If we can disembark at 6 am it would seem we can make the 10:15 am flight I am considering. I have been discourged from reading various posts. Any thoughts anyone?

Celebrity does not suggest a departure before 10 AM. We are on the 5/25 with American departing at 10 and Delta at 10:20. We have Rome Cabs picking us up at the pier at 6:30. I am comfortable with this, and will report back on it!

[decocamp]

Do not feel discouraged. The cruise was wonderful and I am so glad I took it. I was on a beautiful ship, met some wonderful people, and visited beautiful places. I have no regrets. I had just expected more from Celebrity. Perhaps all lines have had to cut back though. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Our last experience on X was a Baltic cruise a few years back which we thoroughly enjoyed. If food quality does fall below expectation our plan B will be more lunches and dinners ashore. All the ports seem to have great eating (seafood!) opportuniites. I already booked 2 evenings at the Murano and hopefully will not be disappointed.

 

And I agree we will enjoy the ship, the people and the ports regardless.

[decocamp]

Celebrity does not suggest a departure before 10 AM. We are on the 5/25 with American departing at 10 and Delta at 10:20. We have Rome Cabs picking us up at the pier at 6:30. I am comfortable with this, and will report back on it!

That is good to know. I have been concerned with the notorious traffic jams on the highway. Hopefully 90 minutes will be comfortable travel time from CV port to FCO early Friday morning.

 

I look forward to your report. Thanks.