On September 9 my wife and I boarded Celebrity's Solstice in Vancouver for a back to back cruise Hawaii and then on to Australia and New Zealand. This was our 12th cruise with Celebrity and we had already been on Solstice's sister ships so the layout and mechanics were very familiar.

Boarding itself was painless and Vancouver knows how to organize it right. We were checked and and onboard in less than 30 minutes. Our stateroom was also ready, a pleasant surprise. Our cabin steward turned out to be the absolute best we have had both on Celebrity and on other lines - amiable, discreet, learned our schedule and always had the room ready when we needed it. Absolutely top notch.

The first disappointment came with the Dining Room. We first noticed that the Menu format had been changed, apparently with the only purpose of discouraging passengers from ordering both an appetizer and soup or salad. Before,these had been presented as separate sections. Now, they are all lumped together, causing the impression that you need to choose one or the other. We continued to order both. Read more