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This was our first time on a large cruise ship and I was very impressed with Celebrity and the Solstice in particular. Embarkation was smooth and we were on the ship by 1pm having lunch. We had our cabin by 1:30pm.
The cabin was very spacious with great storage. The balcony was very nice. The bed was an oversized queen and was very comfortable. The bathroom and shower were much larger than expected. The interactive TV was excellent. I was very impressed with how nice the cabin was.
The first day was quite rough and we had to use the patches for motion sickness but we were fine after that. The rest of the cruise had very calm seas.
The ship is absolutely beautiful and the staff were friendly, helpful and always cleaning. There were hand sanitizers everywhere and they were ensuring everyone entering the dining area cleaned their hands first. This seemed to control any outbreak of Norovirus.
The public rooms and dining rooms were beautiful. We had dinner the first night in Morano's and it was excellent. Definitely worth the money if you want a special dinner. The first night of sailing had 20 percent discount in all the restaurants. We had pre-booked the restaurant but it was not necessary and I would not recommend doing that since it is discounted when you walk in.
We ate the rest of our dinners in the main dining room and they were excellent. We were on the Select Dining but if you don't book your times when you first get on the ship you will not be able to get the prime times. It is not as flexible as it sounds.
We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches in the cafe and the food was good and it never seemed crowded due to the multiple serving stations. We were always impressed with the food and the varied selection.
The entertainment on board was excellent. We went to every show each night and they were very well done. Much better than I expected. We saw the comedian and he was very funny. The theatre was beautiful and it was not a problem getting a seat.
We purchased the premium non-alcohol drink plan and I would not recommend that as we ended up losing money. You need to drink at least 5 specialty drinks each day to break even and that is tough to do especially when are in port.
On disembarkation we were off the ship in the parking lot by 9:30am and I had no complaints with the process considering how many people they are dealing with and they have to clear customs.
I was very impressed with the ship and it's staff. They seemed to go out of their way to do small special things like having water and cold towels at the dock when you returned to the ship at port. I heard someone from an RC ship comment they were going Celebrity next time when they get treatment like that. I think that sums it up. The Solstice was a wonderful ship with great service and the cruise was excellent. Highly recommended.
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