We were traveling with a group of 47 public safety professionals, many of whom we travel with annually. I've been on multiple cruises before, but this was my girlfriend Jodi's first one! She certainly wasn't disappointed --but I may have set the bar a little high with Celebrity! We arrived in Fort Lauderdale via JetBlue the day prior to the ship's departure. First time flying with them, and will definitely do it again. The built in entertainment on every seatback make the flight go by quickly! We stayed at the Cambria Suites, which were very nice & reasonably priced. For dinner, we walked over to Islamorada Fish Company in the Bass Pro Shops store for a really great dinner! The hotel had an $8 breakfast buffet ($10 after tax/tip) in the lobby the next morning that was decent. At breakfast I talked with a guy who was going out that day on the Ruby Princess -& he heard that they had some norovirus issues on the previous sailing... more on that later.

The Ship:

Our first experience on the Solstice was disappointing --a stop at the pool bar for a Bud Light & a Captain/Diet --neither of which they had! It's difficult to believe that they don't have the ability to stock 2 of the most popular (& revenue generating) beverages for their guests until the next day in their bars --but it's true. Read more