Eastern Med Solstice - some post cruise musings

[Fondofgoodtravel]

Firstly, apologies for the general rambling but I have literally put thoughts into words and typed them straight with little concern for structure or order! If you would like to follow the convoluted thought train of a 30 year old, first time British cruiser then read on!

 

 

 

We were first time cruisers and chose to sail on the Solstice in Aqua Class to the Eastern Med. We’d never cruised before and we’d never been to any of the ports so this was going to be an adventure! We enjoy seeing and experiencing new things so we expected to enjoy this cruise. What we didn’t expect was that we’d make a bunch of virtual friends (from the roll call) even before sailing, and that we’d like them even more in the flesh!

 

We were gently broken into the cruising lifestyle by the Solstice. In fact it was so gentle, we barely felt a thing! Certainly no need for travel sickness tablets and it took no time at all to become accustomed to margaritas at 11am, sailaway gin and tonics at the Sunset bar, pre dinner wine and cheese at Cellarmasters and generally being looked after 24/7!

 

We enjoyed many many things on this trip and these are the things that stand out good, bad and ugly!

 

Thoughts About Food and Drink

We expected the food to be banqueting style and not restaurant (except for the specialty restaurants) and given the volume of people that need to be fed and constraints cruise ship cooking, we felt that this was done very well. Even five star hotels struggle to produce good quality banqueting food at weddings and conferences and they face fewer kitchen and produce constraints and usually feed fewer people. It’s not out of this world food but then I don’t think it ever could be. Unless you choose to dine at a Michelin starred establishment every night of your holiday, no holiday is going to have mind blowing food every day. Three years ago, we went on a week long trip to Cornwall in England and the sole purpose was to seek out gastronomic delights so we booked into such establishments every night but we know that was a completely different holiday to this cruise so didn’t expect to experience that level of cuisine.

 

Although we were AQ we had two meals in the MDR with our friends and we wanted to do this for the company. In Blu we had a cosy little table just the two of us (hence it was nice to be able to join our friends in MDR on occasion) and were flanked either side by two tables of four. The tables in Blu tend to seat between 2 and 6. There are a couple of big tables of 8 where they mix up the parties but during our late seating they were never completely full. In fact I suspect one night, one of the big tables was filled with a non AQ party who just wanted to experience Blu.

 

As were able to compare MDR and Blu, the main observations are that the cuts of meat used for the entrees in Blu are superior. We were offered filet mignon regularly and I understand that this wasn’t as common in the MDR. Also the wait staff are able to be more attentive as they have fewer tables to wait on. I really noticed that the MDR wait staff were run off their feet with too many people to serve which affected service and interaction.

 

We also went to Silk Harvest and Murano. It was nice to go to Silk Harvest as it was a pleasant change to the usual European cuisine around and a change in scenery. There I enjoyed fruit flavoured sake (I had one apple and one lychee) which was interesting and new. The appetisers were flavoursome especially the dipping sauce for the spring rolls. The sushi was reasonable the best being the eel and there was a lot more choice than the sushi stand in the buffet which tended to edge on the side of tasteless. Main courses were ok – no better or worse than the local Chinese at home. The pad thai seemed to lack a bit of zip though. It needed more meat, more lime, more peanuts just more oomph really! What I did find funny here though was that the table of 4 next to us ordered by saying what they didn’t want! “We don’t want this one and this one but we’ll have everything else on the menu.”!

 

Murano was definitely restaurant quality. I thoroughly enjoyed my appetiser of scallop wellington and the lobster bisque was extremely flavoursome with a very deep flavour and not just salt which can happen. Surf and turf was cooked well. The lobster tail was huge but a little overdone and the drawn butter was bland. The mini desserts was great and I liked each one! My husband had goats cheese soufflé to start with and that was probably one of the most memorable goats cheese soufflés we’ve had. It vies with one I had at one of Gordon Ramsay’s eateries in London. Spinach and frisée salad was done well with a perfectly cooked soft egg which elevated it from mundane to tasty and his entrée of mushroom crusted rack of lamb was also excellent.

 

In all fairness, although Murano was probably our best meal we were impressed with the way meat is cooked on board. I enjoy my meat rare and my husband rare to medium and each time we ordered meat whether in MDR, specialty or Blu it was always cooked well so this consistency is to be applauded and is not an easy feat. Fish tended to be over cooked though and I never understand why people eat fish that has been cooked and then kept under the hot lamps as it just gets drier and drier.

 

Breakfast in Blu was lovely and it was never particularly busy. Nice to eat with a view of the water in calm and civilised surroundings. We had room service breakfast several times and it was a little erratic. However there was usually more right with it then wrong but each time there would be one flaw. For example, the first time they delivered the wrong order. The second time, they delivered excessive amounts of food that we hadn’t ordered as well as what we had and the third time the smoothies were all yoghurt and no fruit. We only went to the breakfast buffet in the Oceanview twice and if we’d known how good it was, we’d have probably done that more and room service less. The best thing there was eggs Benedict especially when you take one that is freshly made and not been sat under the lamps for a while.

 

Food at lunch at the buffet and the Mast Grill were good. We enjoyed the choice of salads and pasta as well as the nachos. Solstice does a good salsa – not just chopped tomato and onion but nicely seasoned with coriander and chilli.

 

In a nutshell, the quality of the buffet exceeded expectation and the MDR a little more lacklustre than anticipated. Definitely felt that Blu warranted the extra cost of AQ both from a food and service perspective.

 

Drinks service was always efficient and the cocktails potent which is what I like! Morning margaritas are the way forward! They chase the cobwebs away from the night before! We found our home at the Sunset bar most days and then Cellarmasters for pre dinner drinks. The Martini bar is great fun as others have said.

 

The tea wasn’t so great. At first we thought it would be as we saw Twinings teabags but sadly they were very weak so we rectified the situation by using two teabags per cup. And there’s just something a little askew when tea is made with long life / UHT milk. The discovery of double bagging helped the tea situation but nothing beats good old English tea on English soil with English fresh milk!

 

My one mini gripe on the drink subject (and this is in jest and those who know me definitely realise this) as I thought the drinks were great was that to make it perfection I’d have liked bendy straws for my margarita! The drink was so big that a bendy straw may have helped me attach it!

 

Oh one last impression about the food. We were on deck 11 and one night just as we were about to retire to the cabin we saw all these people head towards deck 14 and we realised it was the desserts buffet so we thought we’d stick our heads round the door to see what it was all about. I wish we hadn’t as my 5 minute experience in there was harrowing and has scarred me for life! They were animals in there. No queues just masses of people stuffing their places with food and when you looked at the food that was left at the stations it was smeared pieces of cake left or just crumbs. Honestly, you could have been killed in there; it was a stampede!

 

Stateroom Observations

We were in 1547 on the hump and we enjoyed the angled balcony. I thought we wouldn’t get any sun given the overhang but we did and saw some nice sunsets as we got ready for dinner. My ten pairs of shoes found their home in the wire basket under the bed and the life jackets found an alternative home in the bottom of the wardrobe. All our clothes fitted in the storage areas with spare space and we packed a lot! I had at least half a dozen dresses as well as daywear and hubby had tux and lots of shirts as well as usual daywear.

 

Storage in the bathroom was more than adequate also with a tall thing cupboard and shelving. The shower that comes in AQ cabins is definitely good and I prefer a detachable head so that combined with the food and service in Blu accounts for the extra we paid and I was happy we got our money’s worth.

 

Our safe was a bit dodgy and we had to get someone out to look at it but she fixed it quite quickly. I’d ordered a bottle of gin to be delivered but it didn’t arrive until day 3 of the cruise so at first I was worried we wouldn’t get through it but that was a needless concern. We killed that litre of gin! Our stateroom attendant kept the limes coming. After we finished the tonic that came with the gin we bought some more at one of the ports. The tonic we had in the room and that is served on board and the stuff we bought ourselves is not a patch on Schweppes though. It’s a lot less sharp and doesn’t have as much flavour but we didn’t let that stop us from making G&Ts!

 

The in room tv was good and we watched a few of the free films. Our friends tell us that the documentaries on the making of Solstice were very interesting but we just didn’t have time. It was fun seeing the photos on screen too.

 

Stateroom attendant was friendly and efficient. He was prompt at keeping the limes coming and getting us ice and wine glasses upon request. He also made sure we had enough water and noticed we weren’t drinking the iced tea so provide extra water instead without any prompting.

 

We asked for the canapés to be exchanged for a cheese plate which was done for the first 3 days and then we received nothing but that wasn’t a problem for us as we weren’t getting through the cheese plate anyway. The cheese wasn’t great. I described it as hamburger cheese – rubbery and tasteless and the crackers weren’t crisp enough. Not sure if that’s because of the humidity.

 

Also found it a bit odd that on occasion we received the Spanish version of the port guides that were delivered inside Celebrity Today.

 

Port Ponderings

I did very little research and relied on my roll call members for this! Basically we just joined other people’s tours and enjoyed the fruits of their labour! Santorini we joined our friends and followed them to Oia. We went there by taxi and had a wonderful day wandering through the streets and taking picture. Whilst waiting for a return taxi the local bus came so we hopped on that instead. Santorini was probably my favourite port.

 

We also had arrangements for Athens, Naples and Istanbul and we enjoyed seeing the sights before the big tour buses arrived each time. At Kusadasi we went hookah shopping and then spend the rest of the day by the pool seeking respite from the heat. Mykonos was similar and we basically wandered around.

 

Traffic in Istanbul was an eye opener. It took us about 50 minutes to get from the Blue Mosque to the port and it’s not very far! Athens was a mixed bag; the sights were great but the city itself was like any other dirty, busy city with minimal character.

 

My favourites were definitely Santorini and seeing Pompeii which was just fascinating.

 

Other Musings

I really enjoyed seeing people dressed up for formal night. I think it’s interesting to break up the monotony and give the ship a different vibe for the night by having people dressed up. It was good to see people get into the swing of things. I’m sure not everyone took part but in our group it was fun to get dressed up and take pictures.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation was handled efficiently. We did pick a busier time to embark so it was a little crazy with lots of people hanging around the gangway but we got through it quickly. I saw my Seapass picture and boy was it unflattering. Looking down into a camera does not give a good picture! I hope the crew got a good giggle at it.

 

I liked the age range on board. We’re at the younger end of the thirties but we didn’t feel out of place although admittedly we were in the minority. Fellow passengers were friendly except for at that midnight dessert buffet.

 

I couldn’t understand the draw of the Hot Glass Show especially when I found out it was 2 hours long but once I saw it happen it front of me I could see why people find it so enjoyable. I have to admit I didn’t see the whole show from beginning to end though and tended to drop in and loiter round the back. Having said that, the day I was there for longer I was lucky enough to win one of the pieces they were auctioning off which was thrilling and if I may say so, although admittedly I am biased, I won the best piece – a large lilac vase with shades of pink, lilac and yellow running through it.

 

I didn’t think I would be that impressed by the Lawn Club. I expected it to be a patch of grass but actually loved it. It was pleasant to walk on and great fun to play bocce on although we have to admit we made up the rules as we went along.

 

The attention to detail regarding the ship’s décor was second to none from the artwork through to the counter tops. Everything just looked decadent and the workmanship excellent.

 

I also loved our roll call sailaway experience. We commandeered the Sunset Bar and there were so many of us there. We had little name badges with the CC logo on and because it was so busy, they had to bring in reinforcements! Highly entertaining to see these officers speaking into their walkie talkies demanding extra bar staff. Maybe they thought we’d post bad reports if they didn’t provide top notch bar service? Whatever their thoughts, we were glad there were extra people to serve us for we are a demanding bunch that don’t cope well with no drinks!

 

Sadly the chair hogs were out in force. We secured prime seats and used them fully on a couple of the days. We saw a family secure seats across the pool from us and they used them for about an hour and then that was it and we were there till 4pm and they must have left before midday. So that’s at least 4 hours where someone else could have taken advantage but all their belongings were strewn everywhere. Our friends tried to tell the pool butler, the barmen and tried to get out other friends to take the chairs when they came to say hi but they didn’t fancy sunbathing that day. None of the staff could do anything. They expressed their annoyance (they were prime seats and given that no one was in them, it affects their revenue too as no drinks were bought) but they can’t move the guests’ possessions.

 

I lost my mobile phone aboard too. It was my own fault in that I left it on the table at the Oceanview Café and forgot to take it with me when I left and when I returned to get it, it was gone. I hoped (optimistically) that someone would return in to Guest Relations but when my husband tried to call it, it went straight to voicemail and I just knew that someone had taken it and thrown out the SIM card. There was only a short time between leaving it and returning to try and find it again. Anyway, it’s only a mobile phone so I thought I best go to Guest Relations to file a report and get some paperwork to prove the disappearance so I could claim on my travel insurance. I filled in a form and left it there for the Supervisor to sign and I was assured they would send it back to my stateroom. Three days later and still no form. I had chased it up during that time (each time having to queue) but each enquiry was met with an assurance that I would get it soon. By then it was our last night so I knew there was small chance of it being delivered in the morning so had to face the queue at Guest Relations once more. It’s a queue that moves S-L-O-W-L-Y! This time the officer I spoke to went to go and find the form and returned with it. Bit of a palaver but we got there in the end.

 

In summary, we experienced a few blips but nothing that brought a downer on the trip. More often the blips gave us something to talk about. The fact that we want to cruise again with Celebrity says it all really. Heck - maybe I should have just posted that one last sentence and need not have been so long winded about it all!

 

If you would like to see pictures:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114604&id=564109601&l=4fbcb064e2

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114602&id=564109601&l=dca984d529

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114597&id=564109601&l=9ea30cb86b

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114590&id=564109601&l=e1db063936

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114586&id=564109601&l=6d4829df17

[Gerrym]

Minda, brilliant review. I was going to write mine tonight but you have set the standard very high so I may have to take a few days over it!!

 

Cheers

 

Gerry

[KY Deb]

Minda, It was nice meeting you and Steve at the sailaway party. Having read your review, it reminded me of things I had forgotten about. It seems you need more than 11 days to enjoy all of the Solstice. Congrats on winning that glass piece. We watched the glass blowing the first day. Never made it back up to the Sunset Bar after the sailaway. We really enjoyed our balcony.

[nps001]

Great review. I very much enjoyed all the detail you wrote.

[hcat]

An excellent & well written review--sorry about losing your phone....

[cruise47]

A great review sounds like you and your cc friends had a nice time in the Med. and on the ship.

[Karynanne]

Thank you for your great review. It sounded like you had a wonderful cruise.

[Texed]

Thanks for posting. :)

[skier girl]

Thanks sooo much for the great report. skier girl

[beechfor]

Great report and wonderful pictures! Can't wait to go.

[Chameleon]

Brilliant review, really enjoyed reading it. We are so looking forward to our July 27th Sailing on Solstice, it sounds like we should have fun - unfortunately we're not in Aqua Class and we just have a balcony cabin! Although our roll call is quite quiet I have made some 'virtual friends' and look forward to meeting them !:)

[Fondofgoodtravel]

Thanks for the positive comments. After taking so much info from CC it's only right to return the favour!

 

I had dinner with one of my friends today who uses similar sites like this although not CC as she has never cruised and she admitted that she only takes from the sites and doesn't give enough back! My comment was she really should share experiences and I scolded her accordingly. Her husband's comment was that she really shouldn't give any advice because it's not worth following!