We just returned from our 7 day Solstice cruise visiting San Juan, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. The ship was beautiful, the cabins were spacious with a good amount of storage space, balcony was standard size with 2 chairs and a table. There were plenty of shops on board, the casino was large and very tight, there were plenty of extra charge areas. There were 3 pools and 6 hot tubs. One of the pools was in the enclosed area with 2 of the hot tubs. Finding a deck chair didn't seem to be a problem. I'll post pictures soon.

We bought drink packages, I bought the frozen package and my husband bought the alcohol package. These were very restrictive and not worth the price of the package.

We did 2 snorkel trips through the ship. Both were very nice, but the one in St. Maarten, the Tiki Hut snorkel was the best. There was actually things to see from the Tiki Hut. It was a floating dock type set up with a bar, lounge chairs, and a pool for those who had not snorkled before. They had good equipment for rental if you don't have your own. The operators were really great. And the best part was you could stay as long as you liked. When you were ready to return, they would take you to town or back to the ship, free of charge.

If you're trying to quit smoking, Celebrity is definitely the line for you. Smoking areas are VERY limited.

The food and the service were less than stellar, in fact, IHOP is better. I hate to say that because I had heard such rave reviews. The entertainment was just ok. Definitely no "wow" factor.

There was a good age mix on board, including a pretty good group of children considering school was not out. I'm sure this last sailing was full of children.

I'm glad to say, Princess is still my favorite, since they are less expensive than Celebrity. This was my first and sadly my last cruise on Celebrity. They're just not for me. Happy Holidays!

Welcome back to soon-to-be rainy and nasty north Alabama.

That's a shame about the drink packages. If I paid $360 for a package and then got charged because the glass was bigger, well, let's just say I'd be disappointed. That whole program seems to be a muddled mess, first with the rollout and price changes, and now with all the hidden caveats.

We had great food on the Equinox, but I've read more than one report of inconsistency between Celebrity ships. My sister was on the Millenium and felt really let down by the food.

Welcome back, Penny, and thanks for the review. I'm sorry that the food and entertainment were so disappointing.

Did you use the grassy lawn areas? Did you see the glassblowing demo? What did you think of both? I didn't see anyone using the lawns during my short time on Solstice. Just wondering if people have come to use it since then.

We actually did use the grassy areas. I tried Bocce and they had a bean toss, too. That was fun. The glass blowing was very interesting. They used to raffle off the glass pieces made, but they weren't doing it on this cruise. Not sure why, something about the contract? They also had a type of putting on the grass areas, too. The attendant taking care of the grass was very happy to talk about what all he had to do and was very proud of how pretty it was. He told me he had to cut it 2-3 times a week. Thankfully, it's not that much grass

The entertainment wasn't as disappointing as the food and the service. The crew might have just been tired from the crossing, but they were down right rude at times. I even heard a waiter cursing at a table in the main dining room at night. It was definitely not what I expected. I've heard such wonderful things about Celebrity. Like you said, it might have just been the ship, but I think I'll stick to the other lines.

penny - Welcome back from your cruise adventure. It's wonderful to have you back among us....you are always missed. Some cruises(as you well know) are more pleasing and satisfying than others......My niece did the Solstice with her hubby and hasn't stopped raving about it!!! Then too....she raved about the Imperial Majesty when she was still on the Bahamas run!!!

Welcome back and....Merry Christmas!!!!!


BillyBuzzy

Welcome Back Penny you are very much missed. So very sorry your about the crew, they are going to have a tough time with the holiday crowd. Thanks for the update about the beverage packages, have been hearing that alot on other boards and forums. I didn't purchase one, gladly. Funny, I have been looking at Princess or a Millenium class ship next. My options are open, not such a one line gal anymore.

Thanks, billybuzzy. I really wanted to hop on another ship. Port Everglades was super busy when we docked. There were 6 ships in port that day. I'm glad your niece had a good cruise on the Solstice, she's a beautiful ship. Any cruise that I'm on board is a great cruise! Believe me, I had a good time

Welcome home, Penny... you were most definitely missed. So sorry to hear that several aspects of the cruise did not live up to expectations. I hope you at least had a great celebration!

Welcome Back Penny!

You were most definitely missed here.

Thanks for posting the review. I hope the casino wasn't too tight. I've got to try the Tiki Hut snorkel the next time I'm on St. Maarten. That sounds right up my alley so to speak. Sorry to hear about the food and service being not what was expected. It is very true about different ships and cruises being inconsistent within a brand as we all know. Yet, I would imagine one can still get a good feel for them as to whether they are a fit for us or not.

Dwayne

WOW, I am so sorry to hear this, what a difference a year makes. I am such a foodie, and loved Tuscan Grill and Murano's. What the heck went wrong, that stinks, and the service too... Well, I hope I am not disappointed in Feb on the Mercury...we will see and send a review.

Penny,
Can you tell us more about the Drink Packages and what you meant by "very restrictive" that would be very helpful, thanks.

Welcome back, Penny! I hope you had a great birthday. Sorry to hear that the crew wasn't up to par. That can make a huge difference in customer satisfaction.

I agree about the shows. In fact, we commented on them in our questionnaire at the end of the cruise.

It sounds to me like the food and crew on the Solstice was a complete opposite from the Equinox. I guess we were pleasantly surprised because the two times we were on the Summit, we felt the food was tasteless (I have heard that there is a different chef on that ship and the food is greatly improved from a few years ago).

At any rate, I'm glad you are back safely and had a fun time on your excursions.

Was your ship decorated beautifully? Ours was absolutely stunning. It added so much to the festive spirit.

Nadine

I've never been on a Celebrity Ship and I'm sorry to hear that you found sub-par food, service, and entertainment on the Solstice. I praise Royal Caribbean as much or more than you exalt Princess. A one time Celebrity Cruise Line was considered the best when it came to food and service. I probably would have been complaining to the Hotel Director if I would have been on that cruise with you. It doesn't matter what cruise line you're on...poor quality is unacceptable.


Sonny

I may be one of the few here who have cruised with Celebrity both before and after it's acquisition by RCCL. Under original owner Chandris (hence the "X" logo in a Greek language meaning) the line was truly upscale. Wonderful food and dining room service with staff provided by Apollo Caterers. It was almost a 1:1 ratio between staff and guests. Extra charge venues were few. After RCCL bought Celebrity many of us saw the line lose some of it's luster. Please don't take this as a slam at RCCL, which by the way is not RCI but rather the corporation which owns both lines (plus Azamara Club Cruises). However, RCCL changed things at Celebrity and expanded the line. Celebrity more than doubled in size and as is often the case, when you get bigger you lose quality. Of course, this isn't the only reason but it is a factor.

All that said, I still like Celebrity a great deal. I will also say it is one cruise line that can really be a sharp contrast for some passengers. It is easier to have a love/hate view of Celebrity than it is with many of the big cruise lines.

quote:

Originally posted by janfred:
WOW, I am so sorry to hear this, what a difference a year makes. I am such a foodie, and loved Tuscan Grill and Murano's. What the heck went wrong, that stinks, and the service too... Well, I hope I am not disappointed in Feb on the Mercury...we will see and send a review.

Janfred,
I don't see where Penny mentioned Tuscan Grill and Murano's. I think she was talking about the main dining room. So the reservation restaurants that you loved may not have changed at all. I know I loved the food when I went and it was very good in "Blue".

We have a new review posted by someone who was on the same cruise as Penny (they got the date wrong in the review). Anyway, the reviewer had an AquaClass cabin and says they were told on the last night in Blu that it was being changed to an open seating restaurant. I wasn't aware it was assigned seating for the Aqua guests.

Hi Dave. I was the one who wrote that review. We were assigned table #381 during that cruise. And I think because the restaurant was half full with the exception of the first formal dinner, they started seating people at different tables. As I said, the food in Blu was not to our liking. The head waiter did tell us that Blu would be open seating in the future.
**By the way, readers/cruisers should be aware that using the ship internet is NOT secure. Two people we know had their credit card info scammed for over $2000-as they have to use their room key (all personal info is on the magnetic strip)to access the internet, there was a "glitch" and someone charged airline tickets to their account. Happy to say that Celebrity Captains Club reps jumped on the case immediately and these people were quickly contacted, and credits issued. This is still being investigated. On a lighter note, they had cooking demonstrations onboard which were excellent! One chef they had is a judge on Chopped and he and his partner gave 3 demonstrations with guest participation which we loved. This would be an awesome thing for them to have steadily. Many guests attended.
I would take this ship again but not in Aqua Class-we really felt ripped off with the Persian Garden and paying for Blu tasteless food.

quote:

Wonderful food and dining room service with staff provided by Apollo Caterers.

quote:

Under original owner Chandris (hence the "X" logo in a Greek language meaning) the line was truly upscale. Wonderful food and dining room service with staff provided by Apollo Caterers.

Even more importantly, the head chefs on the Celebrity ships were trained directly by Michel Roux, a French chef whose restaurant in Britain was the first restaurant there to earn three stars from Michelin.

Michel Roux also developed all of Celebrity's dinner menus.

When Royal Caribbean acquired Celebrity, they started cutting back on the amount of money allocated for the food, one of several ways I feel they "Royal Caribbeanized" Celebrity. I still feel Celebrity is a more upscale cruise line than Royal Caribbean, but the differences are fewer than when Celebrity first started.

Susan,

Thanks for the review. I've never heard of that card problem happening, but wow!, that is scary. Glad they got the charges reversed.

I was in an AquaClass cabin on the Equinox preview cruise. Perhaps it was the setting (lots of us cruise writers, press, and hangers-on) but I wasn't impressed with Blu on that ship. I liked the main dining room better.

quote:

Even more importantly, the head chefs on the Celebrity ships were trained directly by Michel Roux

Plus, didn't he do periodic inspections of the ships to check on quality?