Celebrity Solstice Review

Solstice Eastern Caribbean, 2/27/11 – 3/6/11

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Solstice
User Avatar
bailey57
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Feb 2011

Ports: San Juan, St Kitts and St MartinThis was a great trip on a beautiful ship. Though there are some "dislikes" and annoyances below, I had to dig for them, and none are serious or would keep me from sailing this ship again. Travel details / embarkation:Mom and I drove Tampa to FLL - cheaper than flying - the day before sailing. Spent Saturday night at the Renaissance Hotel in FLL, won on Priceline at $65 bid + taxes. The hotel was very nice, and an easy 10 minute drive from the port. We parked for the week at Park 'n Go with $6.99 internet rate (total about $52.00).Sunday, got to the port about 11:15, and on the ship within 30 minutes. Very fast and efficient embarkation. One note - when the parking shuttle dropped us, we walked by the port guys who load the luggage on the ship, and one of them actually "hinted" that a tip for said handling would be appropriate. I was quite put off by it, and I guess it showed because he then turned down the tip we offered... several times. I finally went to someone else and pushed the tip into his hand and we walked off as the first guy continued to argue... Even if they should be tipped, he was wrong to ask for it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.So we boarded, got our champagne/mimosas and started exploring. Everything you've read about the ship is true: it is beautifully decorated, well maintained, and very well laid out. At 1:30 announcement was made that cabins were ready, muster was at 3:45 and sailing was just after that. Our larger bags delivered about 3:00, but the small bag with 2 - 12 packs of soda and 2 bottles of wine didn't arrive until 5:30 or so. It had a note in it that it had been searched, but nothing was confiscated. Cabin:#8259, 1st cabin on the flat part of the hump, port side. Cabin details are on the sticky on the boards. Fantastic location, not a hike to anywhere on the ship, we heard no noise off the elevators just outside our door, and we would happily book this cabin again.Just a few comments: 1) Storage: the closet set-up with bed by bathroom is a little tight, but it's not really a problem. It's a reasonable trade-off for the larger bathroom. A few more drawers would be helpful. The storage over the beds is a nice idea, but of very limited use to two very petite women. 2) Bathroom: the best layout and design of any of the dozen or so ships I've been on. The nightlight, hard plastic shower doors that actually close (!!), very good shelf space, etc., all wonderful. The only complaint - and this is throughout the ship (and nit picking) - is the design of the toilet paper dispensers. Sounds ridiculous I know, but one end of the roll "rod" is open, and rolls pull off mid-use. I'm sure it's for ease of refilling, but they are not user-friendly, and I'm not sure rolls falling on the floor is very sanitary... ick. Dining:We had early fixed seating. Waiter Djordje (George/Serbia) and asst Eduardo (Phillipines), were both very nice and service overall was very good, with the exception of one night that was very slow. George's English could be improved upon; he'd go into these long explanations, smile and walk off, and we'd all look at each other and say, "Did you catch any of that?" The unanimous answer was no... Still, he couldn't have been nicer. Even put out his arm every night and escorted mom to the main doors (and our table was waaay at the back of the room). He was quite charming, even if we couldn't understand anything he said. Our 8-top (#154) was made of two 4-tops and was located window-side. One couple at the other table was chronically late. The daily newsletter said doors would be locked 30 minutes after seating time, but this was not enforced and they were allowed to come in 35-45 minutes late every night. Of course, George and Eduardo were accommodating and rushed around to get them up to the same stage of the meal as the rest of us, but we thought it was rude and inconsiderate. Open seating is available for those who want flexibility in their dining time; signing up for fixed seating is a commitment to both staff and tablemates. Just my 2¢.We also ate dinner at Silk Harvest ($25 pp + tip) and Murano ($35 pp + tip). Food and service were excellent at both. We ate at Bistro on 5th once ($5 pp), and had breakfast a few times and one lunch at the Spa Cafe in the Solarium. All were good. And we had breakfast at the MDR twice. The buffet... well, is the buffet. Lots of choices, and everything I had there was pretty good. I liked the layout visually, but thought it was difficult to navigate and had no logical "go this way" order to it...An on-going ship design conundrum. Entertainment:Every evening there was music all over the ship. Loved the a cappella group, Metro Park, that did 15 minute sets in various locales around the ship most nights, but never more than that - which seemed odd. Every night there was a band and dancing in the grand foyer. Second formal night, the Solstice show band provided an entire evening of old big band music and it was wonderful. I know we missed a few performers, but we saw most, and everyone was very good. As for the nightly shows: "Solstice - The Show" was their nod to Cirque du Soleil and was, um... okay. It started very slowly, and they could lose that first 5 minutes entirely and not compromise the show; the trapeze artists were good, but curiously, there were never any spotlights on those folks hanging in the middle of the auditorium - the major novelty of this show - so they were very hard to see... It was all a little peculiar, though the talent was very good. The consensus was "a poor man's Cirque"... which is unfortunate. With just a few tweaks & slightly better staging, I think this show would be incredible, as it is certainly unusual for a cruise ship and had some very creative elements. There were also two production shows, neither of which I saw in their entirety (always a bit too cheesy for me), magic/comedian Neal Austin who I thought was very funny; and Karen Grainger, singer - very talented, and people really liked her. I loved that they played nice quiet adult-type jazz music in the buffet area and around the ship, especially in the early morning. Only saw about 10 minutes of the glass show, and wish I'd made a point to see more of it... somehow knew that would happen even before I boarded... General observations about the ship and such:Chair saving: What can I say - it happens. I saw a "Pool Butler" (it actually says that on the back of their shirts) walking around one day writing the time on cards and leaving them on chairs that were being saved with towel, or tanning lotion, or book. The cards said 30 minutes saving is okay, anymore is not, and this card was dropped at XX time, and if the stuff is gone, it was removed at XX time... I did not see them actually remove anything. Doesn't mean they didn't; I just didn't see it. There was A LOT of chair saving, and for much more than 30 minutes. Pool space is very small for a ship this size, and it's rarely easy to find seating near the pools. There is lots of seating one deck up, but that area tends to be windier on sea days, and isn't quite as comfortable for that reason. The Lawn: Beautiful, a novelty, but a waste of valuable real estate. My guess is the guy who has to water it every day thinks the same thing. The Solarium: Loved this area and we both spent a lot of time here. Most ships have an all-adult area, but usually I'll see kids at some point; not this time - adults only. There is a shallow pool there (about 3.5 ft) and the last two sea days, the waters were somewhat rough. Though you couldn't feel the ship moving, that Solarium pool became like a wave pool - to the extent that they actually closed it several times because it was perceived as too dangerous... Okay, so this ship isn't supposed to have a wave pool, and the insurance wouldn't cover any injuries incurred, but this was probably the most fun I had the entire trip. The pool was full of adults acting like kids - jumping waves, just letting the water carry them along...it was incredibly fun. Staff & Crew: Everyone was friendly, helpful and had a smile. Other than the rare bathroom attendant seen on a cell phone (huh?), absolutely no issues here. Cruise director Lisa was less annoying than others I've seen, and was a very talented singer in her own right. Casino: I play mostly video poker and roulette, and had more luck / play here than I have on other ships. By cruise standards, the machines were relatively loose. I still left more behind than I came with. So it goes. Ports/itinerary: I loved this itinerary - first day at sea, afternoon arrival to San Juan day 2, mid-morning arrival to St Kitts day 3, early arrival to St Martin day 4, then two sea days to wrap up. The ship was the primary destination for us for this vacation, so not having to rush off the ship every port day was perfect. I would do this one again. That's it. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend Celebrity, or the Solstice.

Cabin Review

previous reviewnext review

Find a Celebrity Solstice Cruise from $399

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.