Celebrity Solstice Review
Great Cruise, Great Company, Great Fun, Great Ship
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our second cruise. We are a couple of 50 year olds and we travelled with another couple of the same age. We had adjoining stern cabins 7311 & 7315 on deck 7. The cruise was titled Australia’s Top End and travelled from Perth up around the top of Australia and finished in Sydney. All ports were Australian with the exception of Bali, Indonesia. 17 nights with 10 sea days. Incredibly calm seas all the way. Cyclones whipped up off Western Australian and Queensland after we cruised past.
We were in the bottom 10% by age group on the ship i.e. lots of older passengers, mobility scooters, walking frames etc. As one of the bar staff pointed out, the longer the cruise the older the passengers (generally speaking). The pax were predominantly Australian but with a good mix of North Americans, English and Europeans.
We had the Classic drink package as part of the 123 go promo and upgraded to the premium package before we boarded. We do enjoy a drink so this worked well for us. It cost us $11.50 per day to upgrade. So it paid for itself with one cocktail at USD $15/AUD$19 per day. It was just nice passing the card over and knowing that there were no more charges..
Cabin Review
Sunset Veranda
The Cabin – stern cabin so peaceful and wind free. There has been complaints about soot on the balconies of the stern cabins. We did not experience this at all – clearly it depends on what fuel they burn. No over hang on the balcony so it was very sun exposed. We had the balcony divider opened to share with our friends in the adjoining cabins – that works to a limited extent. The inter connecting doors at the cabin entrance are a bit of an odd setup and worked …sort of. Our cabin 7311 had the bed near the balcony whilst 7315 was near the bathroom. Good size bathroom with a proper shower screen. More than enough storage for us. We had Peter our cabin steward empty the fridge so we could bring back drinks and put them in there. It is however a 100 metre walk from the stairs/lifts to the cabin. Not an issue for us but if you had mobility issues it might be. All in all, very happy with the cabin.
Port Reviews
Perth (Fremantle)
I know Perth well as I have family there and visit regular. It's a great city with lots to see and do within easy distance of the city. Fremantle has a great old port town look.
Bali
took a private tour and went shopping and to Jimbaran Bay for lunch. The sales pitches are a bit overwhelming in the markets. Tendering shortens your shore time.
Darwin
We didn't travel far but we could spend a few days having a good look around. Hot and humid but it's a modern vibrant city. The WW2 bombing info was confronting and interesting.
Cairns
Hard to rate this. A midday arrival then tendering problems meant we didn't get on land until after 3pm and were back on board by 6.30. So no time to see or do much. I feel for the international passengers who missed trips to the reef etc.
Newcastle (Australia)
I liked Newcastle. The Fort Scratchley canon fire was interesting. The foreshore of the city is great but the town is suffering economically with many vacant retail shops.