The Solstice is well appointed and the staff generally great. The Captain was an amazing navigator thru the Tracy Arm which turned out to be a trip highlight. There did not seem to be announcements in the rooms, so we may have missed out on some information. The Excursion staff was a weakness cancelling excursions early and not being helpful for those who arranged on their own as we did part of the time in advance--their attitude seemed to be you did not buy from us so forget any help.

The food was the weakness with great items and some poor. Fish was superbly prepared (salmon especially) but some meat dishes were poor like the veal and chicken. Why not a good fried chicken? Other weak areas were the pizza (like cardboard) and the bread with few "healthy" multigrain type selections. How about great donuts. Salads were excellent and fresh. Wine selections were good and price fair for a cruise at $8 to 10 per glass. Desserts were also quite variable with the Creme Brulee very good. Dining room service was attentive and fast considering the number of diners. We did not do the special dining but heard the food was about the same. This was our first cruise and we would take Celebrity again, but had high expectations. Situations like lines in boarding were expected and the staff seemed to manage well even with waits, but the food was a real surprise.