My GF and I are in our mid-30s and cruised on the Solstice 12/5 to 12/12 with my parents, who were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. This was our first Celebrity cruise and the first at all for either of us in more than a decade. We had been on many cruises as kids. My parents are self-described cruise addicts, having sailed 41 times since the 80s on a wide range of ships.

Overall:

The Solstice is an impressive and attractive new ship. Service was generally attentive and the food was good though not spectacular. One caveat for younger and middle-aged passengers is that the typical clientele of Solstice (and perhaps other Celebrity ships) is quite old. This translated to mostly empty bars and few late-night activities, a virtual traffic jam of motorized scooters and events largely geared towards this demographic. Even the cruise director joked about what the scheduled "80s dance night" meant. We went and there weren't more than a dozen passengers dancing to the tunes of Duran Duran and the Pointer Sisters. My GF and I are also used to more adventurous and authentic travel experiences. The food gluttony, sterile environment and crass selling of products and services were abundant, but of course that's cruising in America (or just life in America) and nothing unique to Celebrity. All said, we had an enjoyable time and never lacked for things to do. The Solstice is likely as fine a mega-ship as there is cruising the Caribbean. It's certainly a far cry from the tackiness of Carnival and some of the other new ship offerings. Read more