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We sailed on the Solstice July 25th from Barcelona staying overnight in Barcelona which was recommended by our travel agent and was a very good idea as it helped with jet lag. Barcelona is a beautiful city. We bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus. Really worth the money.
We boarded the ship at eleven without any problem. We were sitting having lunch by 12:30 in Bistro on Five. Enjoyed our first meal. There is a $5 cover charge at this restaurant.
The Solstice is a lovely ship. Our stateroom was great. Plenty of room, very clean and well supplied. Our attendants were excellent. Never had to ask for a thing.
We booked concierge class but feel it was not necessary We were supposed to get priority disembarkation but this never happened. We had to line up on deck four like everyone else. We only had a problem in Kotor all the other ports were just fine. We were off the ship in good time. Kotor was the only port where we booked a ships tour. It was very good and well worth the money.
We booked two other tours with Rome in Limo. Rome and Naples. Both tours were very good and I would recommend their services.
We chose Celebrity Select Dining and we would do so again. The food in MDR was alright just nothing special. They have a standard menu every night which does not change and another menu which does change. Lots of choices. The ocean view cafe for lunch and breakfast was excellent. We had no problem getting seats at any time. It opened at six so it was a perfect choice when we were taking a tour. We tried the express breakfast in the MDR and it was not a good experience. We had breakfast once delivered to our room and it was hot and exactly as we had ordered and on time. They call before they deliver which is a nice touch.
We booked the Tuscan Grill for three nights and cancelled the last night as I personally did not think the food was worth the extra charge of $60. The pasta at this restaurant is wonderful but I found the fillet to be tasteless and not tender. We eat a lot of fillet at home so perhaps I am spoiled. We had no difficulty in getting our money refunded for the cancellation.
We booked the premium beverage package and felt it was well worth the money and we made very good use of it. Lots of water, freshly squeezed juice, specialty coffee and of course drinks and wine. We never once had to ask for a refill of wine at dinner, very attentive. We really enjoyed the Cellar Masters before our dinner. Would book this package again
The entertainment was not as good as we expected. The jazz singer and the barbershop quartet were nice to listen to. We enjoyed the Captain's announcements at noon.
The pool area was very crowded on sea days but we were always able to find a chair. They do try to control the area by placing cards on your chair if it is left for too long. There were many children on board and we enjoyed watching them. Never really saw any misbehaving even on the elevators.
We met lots of wonderful people and really enjoyed our holiday. I would have to say the service was top notch and we have already booked for next year.
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