My wife and I decided to sail with Celebrity on the Solstice after much research and picked the March 15th sailing to celebrate her 50th birthday on the 19th. We are not frequent cruisers but have been on three other cruise lines: Disney, Norwegian and Princess. Here are some of our thought on this new ship.

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Boarding was a breeze as Aqua Class passengers had priority. However, clearing customs at the end of the trip was a somewhat long process. The whole process from walking off the ship and gathering our luggage to the line for customs was about 40 minutes. This could be because we had a post cruise tour and could not use our priority disembarkation.

Stateroom: Aqua class cabins are of course the same layout as deluxe verandahs. The various perks are nice but don't bother with the canapEs. Storage for a one week cruise was more than enough even though we are heavy packers. The balcony was of average size and the reclining chairs and foot stools were a nice touch. The spacious bathroom and large shower were also a delight. Our bed was near the balcony and although we would have preferred the bed near the bath we found it to be very comfortable and slept well except for the last night when we encountered some rough seas. Read more