This is a trip we are glad we took, but probably wouldn’t take again. On the plus side, it is a relatively inexpensive way to visit Hawaii, which is hideously expensive. Room and food cost us about $180 per person per day on the boat. Comparable accommodations and meals would probably cost at least twice as much on land. Not to mention we saved some on air fare. Flights to Vancouver are much less than flights to Hawaii. In addition, we got to visit three islands, one with two stops. On the downside, tendering at Kona and Lahaina limit how much time you have to visit these ports. There are some sights we would like to see, especially on Maui, that would better be done while staying there. The first day in Lahaina the sea was pretty rough and getting on and off the tenders was challenging, especially for people with mobility issues. We were on the Solstice in June to Alaska and liked it so much we booked onboard for Hawaii. Many of the same crew members were still on board and some remembered us. The ship is very well run, and the crew were all accommodating. We never ventured into the specialty restaurants since the food in the main dining room is excellent. Naturalist Brent Nixon was onboard on both cruises. He brought a lot of expertise to explain the natural world we would be experiencing. We took advantage of the adults only Solarium many times. The pool was the perfect temperature and it seldom felt crowded. The Alaska cruise was out of Seattle, most of the guests were Americans and there were 315 children. The Hawaii trip began in Vancouver, and at least half the passengers, perhaps as many as two thirds, were Canadians. Many were from British Columbia. Alberta and Saskatchewan were also well represented. There were also several Aussies traveling all the way through to Sidney. Most of the Americans seemed to be from the Pacific Northwest. We enjoyed meeting and sharing experiences with people from all over. This is definitely an older crowd. Most were retired. We probably had fewer than 20 children. For those of you wondering about the weather, it was 58° and raining when we left Vancouver. The first sea day it was 60°, the next 65, the 3rd sea day it hit 70, the 4th it was 75 and finally the last sea day as we neared Hawaii it hit 78°. Of course in Hilo it was about 85° and humid. The first two days the swells were running about six feet and people who were prone to motion sickness experienced some problems. After that, the ride was pretty smooth. Hilo – We rented a car for $48. The car rental shuttle will pick you up from the pier and take you to the airport, about three miles away, where you can rent a car. Couldn’t have been easier. We met a couple at Kilauea who hired a car and driver for $325. They said they wish they had talked to us first. Perhaps they should just read Cruise Critic. The first stop was Akaka Falls. Do this one in the morning because the falls face east. The sun will illuminate the falls perfectly in the morning. If you do it in the afternoon, the sun will be behind the falls and your pictures will be backlit. Next stop was Kilauea. While Akaka Falls was sunny and hot, Kilauea was rainy and cold. We wish we had our sweatshirts, but when it’s 85°and sunny, how do you know? This was kind of a good news bad news experience. The rain and mist kept me from getting really sharp pictures of the caldera, but the steam vents certainly stood out. I leaned over one to see how hot the steam actually was. Take my advice and don’t try this yourself. Steam is hot. We stayed at Kilauea about two hours and headed back to Hilo. I would have stayed longer, but the rain showed no signs of letting up and we had done all we could do without getting soaked. Kona – Here we took the ship’s excursion. It was billed as the snorkeling and dolphin adventure, but they apparently forgot to tell the dolphins, who didn’t show up. The cruise on the catamaran south along the Kona coast was picturesque. The excursion includes equipment rental, but we take our own. The rental equipment looked to be first class if you are interested. The spot they picked for the day had good coral and lots of fish. Three-foot swells made snorkeling and getting back on the boat more of a chore than you want, but overall it was a fun trip. Maui – Renting a car on Maui is substantially more difficult than on the Big Island, and more expensive. The nearest car rental outlet to Lahaina harbor is Hertz at the Hyatt. They claim they have a shuttle, but it runs just once between 8:30 and 9:30 and we never saw it. So it’s a $30 cab ride to rent a car. The car was $98 a day versus $48 on Hawaii and $53 on Oahu. We went south the first day looking for a beach to snorkel. The conditions were terrible. Because of the height and direction of the swells, waves were breaking right on shore and the water was churned up. We should have checked the daily report https://thesnorkelstore.com/maui-snorkeling-conditions-reports/. Then we would have known that. The next day we went to Honolua Bay. This is a terrific snorkeling spot and it’s always calm. It’s surrounded by land on three sides and facing Molokai, so no swells can get in. The shore itself is very rocky, so it’s strictly for snorkeling. Also, parking is very limited and it’s at least a 300 yd. walk from the road to the water. Hawaii is not California where they have large paved parking lots at all the state parks. Most of the fish and coral formations are on the eastern side of the bay. Turtles are found on the western side. Dolphins also made an appearance. Honolua Bay is a must stop for snorkelers. We would like to spend some more time on Maui. Some of the sights like the road to Hana and Haleakalā are too time consuming to be done from a ship while tendering. The cruise finished up in Honolulu. This was the smoothest disembarkation ever. We go off sooner than advertised, found our luggage immediately and got a cab to the airport to pick up our rental car. Hertz says they have a location the pier, but when I checked online, they said there were no cars of any kind available. Very suspicious. The cab to the airport was about $35. It is only 3.7 miles from the airport to Pearl Harbor. I was impressed by what the National Park Service and the Navy have done there. It’s a very solemn experience and well done. One very important note…they do not let you bring bags in through the gates, not even ladies’ pocketbooks. You can check them for a $5 fee. My wife took hers back to the car while I stood in line for tickets. I have to say I was not impressed by the Honolulu airport. Much of it is open air (not air conditioned) until you get to your gate. We had showered just prior to leaving the hotel and didn’t want to work up a sweat turning in the car and getting our bags through the agricultural inspection and airline check-in. Some on our cruise got off the ship in Maui, one day early. They then spent several days on Maui and flew home from there. I didn’t realize that was an option. If I took this cruise again, I would probably do that. Read Less

We boarded the Solstice in Vancouver destination to Hawaii. It was our 25th Anniversary and we couldn't of made a better choice. The 5 full days at sea gave us time to relax and decompress from our everyday routine. We were in Aqua class and the service was in excellence. Our room with balcony was excellent and well taken care of by the room attendant (Devan). We dined in Blu every night and looked forward to our dinning experience each night with the wonderful service of our waiters (Yogender, Preyan and Nick) as well as received by beautiful Larissa each evening. I can't say enough about the food and variety we received on this ship. There was nothing missing. We visited and took advantage of the Persian garden spa which also delivered excellent service. On the first couple of days, the waters were a little rough and was a little on the cool side. They had fleece blankets available near pool side for everyone, I thought that was a nice touch. There was also always fresh towels available and as for loungers, there was always a seat available. The excursions we booked went well without any issues, well organized for tender ports as well. I will not hesitate to sail with Celebrity in the future. Good Job!! Read Less

We took this particular cross pacific cruise from Hawaii to Vancouver for the route it was sailing and also, the price was very attractive. We sailed in Concierge Class and we enjoyed the little extras it gave us, like priority boarding, tender service, sparkling wine and snacks every day. Our cabin was located on deck 10 in the forward part of the ship, it was very quiet, hardly any noise at all, we could hardly even hear the engines. Our first of five sea days threw us into a scale 11 storm with 55 knot winds and 25 feet waves. The ship handled it VERY well. Yes, there was movemnet, lots of people were sea sick, but there was nothing failing of the tables or anything like that. Luckily, none of us were prone to sea sickness. The ship itself is very beautiful, lots or artwork and spotlessly clean! It is ten years old and in the cabins the age is beginning to show just here and there. Nothing to be concerned about, and I understand that all cabins will be replaced during her major refit in 2021. The ship has plenty to do, you can do it all or nothing at all. The choice is yours. The service onboard is impeccable and the food is of a very high standard. Even the buffet and room service was excellent, ask for crispy bacon and you will have just that.. Personally, I did find some of the tastes to be a bit bland, but that is purely a matter of personal taste. The wines were excellent and all cocktails equally delicious. We had a few ports with tender service and that can be a bit of challenge, but sail in a Concierge cabin and you will not experience any of that. There were a few flaws here and there. For instance, the music in the lounges and bars is simply too loud. It discourages conversation and it fails to meet its purporse of adding to the ambiance. Furthermore, there were no change in the music during the day, why have Madonna blasting from the speakers on the aft deck outside the buffet, where people were having breakfast at 8 am?? Why not play some lovely classical music or piano, even some soft jazz would have done better. The bands on board and shows were very good as well. There was always plenty of seating to be found, both in and outdoors, no shortage of nice sun loungers either. We did not take any of the organized tours as we preferred to arrange it ourselves. Travelling as LGBTs we were greated with a social hour each evening, that was a nice touch! Read Less

This was my first time cruising with Celebrity, but I had sailed with other lines previously. The demographic was what I expected, mostly 30 or 40-somethings and up. The staff onboard worked extremely hard to ensure I had everything I needed and that my experience was a positive one. The captain always had a good sense of humor, and I enjoyed his commentary during daily announcements. The area I enjoyed most was the solarium--super relaxing. For entertainment, I loved going to see the string duo, Lighthouse. They were so fun and such great performers. The only criticisms I could think of are regarding the thermal suite and the wifi. The thermal suite is fairly small for the ship size and the amount of money you pay to get access. It could use a refurb. The wifi was just not good. I realize most like to disconnect while on vacation (I understand this), but unfortunately I have to keep up with my house/dog sitter at home. The connection was just very poor for most of the cruise, and I did not like paying that much for something boasting access to all streaming apps, surfing, etc. Overall, the experience was a very positive trip. I would consider Celebrity again, and I do believe the solstice class ship could be a lot of fun in the caribbean. Read Less

Love leaving out of my home town, and wanted to try 5 days at sea! Cruise was great, good activity staff and a great roll call who had many activities to help fill up those days at sea. Love the fact that Celebrity now does Silent Disco one or two times per trip. Do not miss this, as it is hilarious. Guest speakers Brent and Mary Amanda were very knowledgeable and enjoyable. Celebrity Life activities sharing information about other itineraries and ports were very informative as well, and helped us pick out our next cruise. Dined in the main dining room which was quite good, with lovely table mates. Only issue was that they had us originally as Select Dining, when we were a set seating but that was quickly sorted out on the first night. No problems with embarkation ( >15 mins!) and disembarkation was great. Ports were good, tendering was a bit painful in Hilo, but they sorted it out for Lahaina! Highly recommend this cruise Read Less

Firstly, the ship is in excellent shape. This was our 7th Celebrity cruise, the first time to Hawaii and also the most sea days we have experienced. Much of the staff was top notch, as friendly as you would expect on a Celebrity ship. Food was excellent, except a bit of a hiccup in Murano one evening, but no one is perfect. We have never participated in so many activities, specifically the dance classes (keeping busy during the long sea days) The Hawaiian dancers/instructors were amazing. I really enjoy working out and they actually had a couple of super tough workout classes which had no charge. My workout experiences were excellent. Our cabin was not the cleanest when we arrived, major fingerprints on the doors. Cleaned it ourselves. The biggest problem with the cabin was the noise, neighbor’s phone sounded like it was in our cabin, there must have been a speaker right outside our door, so even though we were trying to sleep in, we had to hear every single tender announcement. All the way to “39 and 40”. We love to sleep in on vacation, was only able to once. Room attendant would vacuum the neighboring cabins shortly after 8 am.... Biggest beef is the entertainment and specifically the music. Must have heard “Rock around the Clock”, four times.......either performed by one of the house bands or a DJ. I googled the song, it was released in 1954........really??? So you would have to be 80 to have “grown up” with music that old, I have nothing against 80 year olds as I plan to be one someday but I don’t think they were up dancing at 11 pm.. Was told that Celebrity carefullly pre-selects music. I don’t expect to hear Eminem but a song that is 64 years old played at least 4 times is crazy. That was just an example of how poor the music was. Clearly Celebrity is aiming at a demographic much older than we are, and we are in our 50s. I planned to discuss this with the cruise director but he was no where to be found. Bottom line, we had a pretty good time but we would never cruise to Hawaii again, it is too beautiful to spend 5 days to get there, fly straight there and enjoy the beautiful islands longer. Secondly, we are taking a break from cruising. Some people cruise to stuff themselves with food and booze, cant deny we do a bit of that but we also cruise to enjoy dancing, getting out at night etc. This had to be the worst cruise for music we have experienced as Celebirty seems to be catering to the 70 plus set. I don’t think I will ever like songs like Rock around the clock but perhaps in a decade or two I won’t mind so much... Read Less

We sailed on the Celebrity Solstice from Sydney to Hawaii via Auckland & Tahiti in April 2018. This ship was breathtakingly fabulous. We stayed in the Celebrity Suites and this we could not fault. Our private dining room for breakfast lunch dinner was outstanding. Nothing was a bother for them. The food was simply delicious and the staff were absolutely brilliant. Although we could have dined here every night on our 19 day cruise we chose to eat in Murano Restaurant. This restaurant is not to be missed. The food and the staff are very very professional. The service is akin to six star fine dining restaurant. The meal selection is very varied and they will offer you something else if you can’t find a suitable selection from the menu.. Being Suite guests we had the opportunity to visit Michaels. Michaels is a suite only private area where you have canapés and drinks before dinner. Our female bartender was brilliant. She could remember everyone’s drink orders and was an asset to the ship. Our Butler was very attentive and prompt. We are sailing on the Queen Elizabeth in February 2019 for 12 days around New Zealand. This ship has got some very big shoes to fill. I have my doubts. Read Less

Hawaii Celebrity Solstice review April 29 - May 11, 2018 We had a enjoyable cruise despite some bumps along the road. We embarked in Honolulu. The lines were short but the woman we had checking us in just couldn't get it together. We stood waiting for her to check us in. It took 30 minutes. We were not happy with that but couldn't do anything about it. Finally, we got on board. They were giving out Champagne and mimosas as we boarded. The ship looked great. It shined and sparkled. The rooms were not ready yet. So we found some lunch and then found a comfortable place to wait. We had the Classic beverage package and enjoyed some drinks while waiting. We booked a handicapped accessible cabin on deck 11 Aqua class. I use a scooter to get around as I have muscular dystrophy. The cabin was barren as usual for handicapped cabins but did not have enough storage. We had only one closet and only 4 small drawers. The balcony had a lovely built in ramp to get out to the balcony. We had two chairs and loved having matching foot stools for each. We spent may hours out on that balcony. The door to our room was automatic which was wonderful for me. It is so hard to drive my scooter and open the door at the same time. I found the whole ship to be wonderfully accessible. All the doors were automatic all around the ship. I was able to get everywhere. Waiting on elevators after shows were awful. I would wait for my turn however able bodied people wouldn't let me get in the elevator. By the time I was able to get to elevator door it was full of able bodied people. I would have to wait and wait. Most of the time I would have to travel to the back of the ship just to find an elevator. Then had to travel back to the front of the ship where our cabin was. I would have loved to travel the stairs but my disability makes it impossible. We booked no excursions thru the ship. We booked them on shore. Much cheaper and just as good as ship excursions. Since we were in Aqua class we were able to eat in the Blu restaurant. It was open for breakfast and dinner each day. We went to breakfast there a few times, however, I like waffles and Blu didn't serve waffles at breakfast. The buffet did serve waffles so we preferred to eat there. The buffet was quicker too. The buffet food was delicious. Two lunches in the buffet they had fish and chips which were wonderful. We ate all our dinners in Blu. The food was good. The waiters were very nice and knowledgable about the menu and food. I liked having a cosmopolitan at dinner. After 3 days the wine waitress in Blu would recognize me and would always bring me my cosmopolitan with out me even having to ask. This made me feel so special. I went to all the shows. I was always entertained. My favorite shows are usually production shows but I found these productions shows to be lacking. I enjoyed all the game shows. The newly wed game and liar liar were hilarious. All the comedians were funny and clean. We experienced an earthquake in Hilo. We were on the ship at the time. The whole ship shook while we were at the pier. It was quite the adventure. Not for one man. I went down to guest relations to find a man yelling at the poor guest relations attendant. Earlier in the day he went on a ship excursion to the Volcano. He wanted a full refund. He couldn't understand how Celebrity would take passengers to a place that had earthquakes and that Celebrity should have known a earthquake was going to happen. I had to laugh. I don't even think all those specialists with all their expensive equipment knew that an earthquake was going to happen. I don't know if he got a refund or not. Getting a bar drink during the day was next to impossible. We would go to the pool bar to find one bartender trying to get drinks for 10 people in line. This was a daily thing. However, at the show room at night it was super easy to get a drink. The bar waiters were abundant. We had the classic drink package and liked it. The only drinks I couldn't get were at the martini bar. It worked for wine, beer and drinks of the day. I spent most of my money at the spa. I do not get the popularity of the Persian Garden. It was included in our Aqua class cabin. Lovely view but those tile chairs are hard and uncomfortable. I got two massages which were wonderful but expensive. I also got a facial. I was not told to buy this cream and that cream. No hard sell. Actually no sell at all. I really liked that. I also got my teeth whitened. It worked really well. I went 7 shades lighter. I was happy at the time but it sure doesn't last very long. I am now home and my teeth look the same as they did before the whitening. Next is the horrible problem we had in our cabin. Bugs. We found 7 in total. 3 we found in our bed. They were not bed bugs. I was told they got in thru our balcony. We did not leave our balcony doors open. Only when we went in and out. This really was a problem. I have been on over 27 cruises and I have never had bugs in my cabin before. Despite the bugs, and the earthquake we really enjoyed our Celebrity cruise and still believe that there is no such thing as a bad cruise. Read Less

We have sailed Celebrity Solstice class ships several times before, but we chose this itinerary as our first trip to Hawaii. Overnights in Oahu, Maui, and ports on both sides of the big island were much enjoyed. Our last day in Hilo we experienced two earthquakes about 1/2 hour apart while on a bus tour in Volcanoes National Park and its environs. It was great and very exciting. All our excursions were from Celebrity, and all were well organized. We had one guide on the island of Hawaii, Anthony, who was very knowledgeable and entertaining. We actually enjoyed him on 2 separate tours. We learned a great deal about the history and geology of this island. I also really liked the "Beyond the Podium" lectures that were offered on the 5 sea days, especially the ones about the art of the south Pacific. I joined the choir, directed by Isaac, and had a great performance on our last night of the cruise in Victoria, B.C. A great way to get back to Canada! Read Less

We have sailed with Celebrity for years, enjoying many of their ships and cruises. We booked this cruise, starting in Hawaii and going on to Canada. It's fair to say that we are now unkeen to remain with Celebrity. Starting by saying that the room steward and our waiters were fabulous. I have simple dietary needs. Well, simple to explain, but apparently almost impossible to deliver on board, it seems, for reasons too mysterious. The hotel before the cruise managed fine. Other restaurants on land manage fine. The hotel after the cruise managed fine. I am not a chef and can manage to feed myself effortlessly. On Celebrity, the chef for Blu managed by just not giving me food. For example, each day, I'd watch the other diners with their basket of bread. For me, nothing. Their meals had sauces. For me, nothing. They had a full range of desserts. For me, same one offered every night, barring one where the lovely waiters took pity on me. Cakes -nothing. Pastries - nothing. The actual waiters and staff were good. But I was left truly hungry on the ship. The cafe had foods that nearly all contained the things I can't eat. The grill likewise. The 'highlight' for me was a main course which consisted of one dry piece of meat balanced on two burned brussels sprouts. I actually burst into tears afterwards. Interestingly, the male diner next to me was given sauces I could easily eat, so the chef could do them. He just didn't bother with mine each time. The waiters tried their best to improvise, but they are not the chefs. Then, there was the nightmare flight on their preferred partner from LA to Honolulu, Delta, booked via Celebrity. We arrived in pain and exhausted, unfed and with nothing to drink. Crammed into tiny uncomfortable seats for six hours. Having paid for an upgraded service, we even had to pay for a snack that I couldn't then eat. Then, their transfers to and from the ship and hotels, again organised by Celebrity. Don't ask how two of the four of those went. But if you enjoy paying a lot of money for a car transfer that turns up an hour late, or one that drops you unexpectedly in the middle of an unknown town at near-midnight, some distance from your hotel, with four heavy cases, you're in the right place. "Oh the road's closed ahead - I'll have to leave you here. The hotel is just round the corner". It wasn't. No attempt to find anywhere closer. Again, left in huge pain trying to get the cases to the hotel. As a disabled traveller, Celebrity have always been good until now. This time...I just can't explain how exhausting it was. Celebrity, you need to do better than this. We've been very loyal and, as normally-suite-level customers, spent a lot of money with you. We are in conversation with their guest relations people. Read Less

This cruise was basically a repositioning cruise. It went from Vancouver BC to Hawaii and then continued on to the South Pacific and Australia. Our cruise spent 5 days at sea and then another 5 days in the Hawaiian Islands. The ship itself was very clean, and it's a beautiful ship. We were initially in cabin 3126 but it had some kind of mechanical noise coming through the floor that sounded like a hydraulic pump. The service department was very attentive and helpful and they moved us to another cabin, cabin 3133 on the port side of the ship. Our new cabin was very quiet and our new cabin attendant was awesome! On this cruise, we decided against visiting the specialty restaurants and ate dinner mostly in the Main Dining Room. Apparently many other guests did the same thing because the specialty restaurant staff was constantly walking around the ship advertising the specialty restaurants. The MDR was great and our waiter and assistant waiter were very attentive and pleasant. Also the food in the MDR was very good! We usually had both breakfast and lunch in the Oceanview (the buffet) and enjoyed the food and the service there. Although at times it was quite crowded, we never had a problem finding a table for 4 people. We didn't attend all of the shows but the ones that we did attend had great entertainment. Yes, some of the shows were excellent and some were just a little better than average. But, none of the shows were "bad". Also the musicians around the ship were all pretty good and we enjoyed all of the entertainment in general. We found the staff around the ship to be very friendly and attentive. They all seemed quite happy and it showed. An example of note was in the Elite Lounge in the Sky View from 5pm to 7pm every night. Our main server always had our regular drinks on a table for us when we got there at 5pm. She was awesome! And, she was one of the many that we interacted with that showed genuine attentiveness to the guests. The only thing that we didn't like about this cruise is that the "Early Seating" was moved up from 6pm to 5:30pm. This was only a half an hour but it was not pleasant and we were always about 15 minutes or more late for dinner because of it. Read Less

We had previously sailed on the Solstice in Alaska and also in Australia/New Zealand. We recently cruised on Solstice on a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii because we love the layout of the ship and the professionalism and friendliness of the crew and we had not visited Maui or the Big Island before. Snorkeling in Kona and Maui as well as Ziplining in Hilo were outstanding excursions - all booked through Celebrity. This was our first stay in a suite and we are ruined for life! Stevo, our butler went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed and Lezlie kept our room spotless! The suites-guests-only (Illuminae) restaurant really spoiled us, too - we haven't eaten filets, NY strips, and chateaubriand anywhere that were even close!! We will ALWAYS book a suite or will stay home! The service (and room) was outstanding! Can't wait to go again. Read Less

Choose this cruise to return to Hawaii after 33 years. We are from the east coast, so we thought it would be a good way to get accustomed to the time change to Hawaii (it was). With five plus sea days to start out, it was relaxing, but everyone was getting a bit stir crazy. Since it was late in the season for Vancouver, the first few days were cloudy and cool. The remaining sea days were sunny and progressively warmer. With so many sea days up front, one had to rely on Celebrity to keep you entertained. The speakers talking about Hawaii were very good. On Board sporting events (one/two per day) were very spotty and very poor (there was not one ping pong tournament which is a first in any of our cruises!). Other entertainment were typical cruise activities, Evening entertainment was normally very good with several acts from Vegas. The Celebrity singers and dancers were average at best. This is the first cruise that we used anytime dining. Our last few cruises at the late seating for dinner were frustrating as we typically dined by ourselves. This cruise, we ate with different people every night and met several other couples at different tables. We thought this was very enjoyable. As typical for Celebrity, the food was excellent and the specialty restaurants were very good as well (Murano twice and Tuscan). The shore excursions in Hawaii were expensive, but were very enjoyable (Snorkeling in Kona, lava flows in Hilo, and waterfall hike in Maui). None of that compared to seeing the lava flow hit the ocean at midnight as the ship passed within a half mile. Make sure you book the excursions you want before you board the ship or you may be on a waiting list. Read Less

We chose this cruise because the last time we sailed on celebrity we had a wonderful time and rated celebrity as the top of the line. We were originally planning to sail on Norwegian but switched to the Solstice when we saw it. Big mistake. It was the most boring cruise I have ever taken. I have been on 15 cruises on 4 different lines. Celebrity is now at the bottom of my rating. The entertainment throughout the ship was very good especially the cello and violin duo and the band featured on deck 3. The big problem with the band on deck 3 was that there was no room to sit and listen them. there was rarely even room to stand on deck 4 or 5 and look down at the band. The entertainment in the theater was pathetic. This was a cruise to Hawaii and their big entertainment was a dance school recital. Great if you happen to be a parent of one of the children who did 5-10 minute hula but not what you would expect as entertainment on a cruise ship. There was an acrobatic show that was very good. Everything else was mediocre at best. The on board activities were a joke. There was a lie making class, held in a small bar with not enough seating not enough needles for making the lie and not enough flowers. people had to make lies in shifts. They made Hawaiian bracelets. Unless you got there early you were out of luck. They had enough supplies for about half the people who showed up. The third non athletic activity on the 10 day cruise (5 sea days) was adult coloring. They had enough coloring books but not enough colored pencils. They also scheduled the activity in a small bar along with the trivia. There was no place for people to sit and those who did have a place had to compete with the trivia groups. When the trivia was over, about 30 minutes, they took back all the colored pencils. The food was terrible. There was only one main restaurant depending on whether or not you had a scheduled eating time or had open dining. The service was generally slow and the food wasn't anything to get excited over. There were some really good menu choices, unfortunately they were all offered on the same night. If they were open at lunch time we were not able to find which one was open and when it was open. We made the mistake of eating lunch in the cafe and then going back for dinner because there was nothing appealing in the main restaurant. We were surprised to find that the choices were the same as they had been for lunch with the exception that there weren't as many choices. The menu choices were the same every day for 10 days. The only thing that changed was the carving choice. It alternated between chicken and pork. there was at least one time when there was beef. A few of the other dishes changed. If it was good you never saw it again. The bread was often raw in the middle. On one occasion when we came back on board and tried to get something to eat, the staff was picking up the food as people were trying to put it on their plates. The ports do not compare to the ports we stopped at on an earlier Hawaiian cruise with another cruise line. Read Less

We wanted to see Hawaii and thought this would be the best way to go. Stayed at the L'Hermitage Hotel in Vancouver for 3 nights before our cruise--an elegant hotel within walking distance of many conveniences. Vancouver is a beautiful modern city, very clean and friendly. We rented bikes and rode around the sea wall in Stanley Park and the following day we went to Grouse Mountain. Embarkation was extremely easy especially since The Solstice was the only ship in port that day. Amazingly all rooms on the ship were ready by 1:30. This was our fourth trip on Celebrity, all of which were in AquaClass. We like the fact that we can dine in Blu where there are tables for two and there is no scheduled dining time. The service in Blu is incredibly good and everyone is very friendly and welcoming. We think that some of the meal choices are becoming too "foodie" or too odd for normal diners. Yes, you can always choose one of the three everyday choices but that gets a little tiring sometimes. We did just go to the buffet a few times and ate in Lahaina one night. We received excellent service as we usually do on Celebrity. The crew was extremely friendly. We attended many of the excellent Beyond the Podium talks given by Brent Nixon, Eric Ball, and Mary Amanda Fairchild. Had a lot of fun with ukulele lessons with an excellent teacher. The production numbers were not that enjoyable for us though the singers and dancers are extremely talented. It's just that the shows are not really shows but just a mélange of singing and dancing. Did enjoy the singer Jesse Hamilton and the Australian singer from Las Vegas. Really enjoyed the classical music duo and some of the other entertainment in smaller venues. The Atlantis Submarine excursion was just great as was the walk across the Volcano Crater in Hilo. We would definitely recommend against the Road to Hana excursion. The guide was excellent and he was a very good driver, but the trip was 9 1/2 hours--just too long with not that many things to see and the last hour was in the dark. The trip to Haleakala the next day also was just too much driving and not enough to see. Stayed a few extra days in Honolulu at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort--a great place to stay! Had a balcony overlooking the beach where we had breakfast each morning. Took an E noa tour to Pearl Harbor which turned out very nice. We had a great guide and everything was well paced. And the next day we climbed Diamondhead and then enjoyed the beach and water. All in all, a great trip. Read Less

This was our first time cruising with Celebrity and first time in Hawaii! Overall we really loved the cruise! We had five days at sea and loved the relaxing, slow paced days! We could be as busy or as not busy as we wanted... it was wonderful! We loved exploring Hawaii and we thought doing that via a cruise was awesome! It was nice being able to spend at least a day or two in each place and take the time to see all we could. Each evening after exploring the islands we were excited to go back on the ship as it just felt like home! We loved that! We heard the food would be absolutely amazing on this ship and we didn't necessarily be the case. The food in the dining room was good, but not jaw dropping. We did love the buffet and thought the breakfast was amazing... fresh waffles with whipped cream? Yes, please! We missed having more "typical" foods in the buffet and dining room.. perhaps thats the point with a higher class ship, but we missed some of those comfort foods. Don't forget to try the free pastries and treats at Cafe El Bacio- they were amazing and I didn't learn about them until our cruise was almost complete. You cannot get those same pastries and tarts anywhere else on the ship. YUM! Don't miss out! Overall our service was amazing.. people were ready and willing to help whenever and wherever they could! The only place we had a bit spotty service was in the dining room. We had a different server every evening and some were great and some were not so great or friendly. I think they were just busy, but there was definitely a noticeable difference. We would definitely cruise on Celebrity again and had an AMAZING cruise, but don't think we will make Celebrity our go-to cruise line. Norwegian felt to be on a similar scale to use with more restaurant options! But we really did love this cruise! Hawaii was incredibly beautiful and we loved visiting many islands! Read Less

Once again, Celebrity provided top quality, top service and a great experience. From cabin steward, Dominic to our wait staff Ian and Vincent to Debbi the Event Coordinator and Josef, the Concierge everyone was very professional; service oriented and provided excellent service. The main dining room: excellent service for our large group. Wait staff, Ian and Vincent were exemplary. From remembering each cruisers drink request to special requests for "back pillows" for shorter legged women; our menu selections were varied, from fish to filet to lobster. Great selection. Cafe au Bacio: Variety of coffees and pastries. Spa service: easy to make reservation and great service. Ice Bar/Martini bar: We met up with a bartender, Yodi, whom we had met on the Equinox two years prior. Bartenders were entertainers while serving a mass of cruisers each and every day! Stores/shops on board: Usual variety if merchandise, They were selling all Alaska items at discounted rate since we were headed towards Hawaii. Photos: Finally, they have stopped printing photos! The kios where you swipe your sea pass cards were easy to use and after viewing photos, you could delete those you did not want. Read Less

We really enjoyed this cruise. Be ready for smaller portions than the usual American size that I have come to know. There is plenty of more portions, all you have to do is ask. The buffet was not portions, so make your picture. I did not like the 5 specialty restaurants. We did eat at the Asian Silk Harvest one time. They advertised king crab legs. They should have said ONE king crab leg. Same smaller portions. Ok, I get that. I ordered the unlimited photo package, it is two days post cruise and we are still waiting to get the so called easy download. I emailed twice, and they said that I should have downloaded them on the ship, but if you don't have the wifi package, then how can you download them from the Celebrity wifi. 250 dollars cost? Hawaii, well worth visiting, I was very impressed with ALL the onboard activities and the talks From Beyond the Podium! Hey were all great as well as the shows. Equal to or better than Las Vegas. You won't be disappointed. Read Less

The itinerary was great, service was fantastic, with so many of the staff that we could name that went the extra mile. One waiter was Bobby, although there were many others. The ship, although the largest we have siled on did not appear too big as getting around was not a problem, the lifts were so convenient. Even when we had to use a tender for getting ashore it all went very smoothly and no great waits even with the number of passengers. The food was very good and even when there was nothing that we liked on the menu there was always a choice of steak, chicken or fish available each night. The entertainment was average as having sailed with Thomson they take some beating for entertainment. There was plenty of activities to get involved with as we were 5/6 days at sea, with quizzes, table tennis and talks. The captain was really funny when making his daily announcements, but very good at making sure we saw all the sights such as the volcano lava flowing inti the sea as we passed. Wonderful cruise, brilliant ship and great staff, thank you Read Less

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We love Hawaii and wanted to do a cruise around the islands, and we thought it would be good to cruise to Vancouver to have a longer cruise and be back close to home. We picked the Solstice because we love the Hot Glass Show they have on board. Embarkation went very smoothly. We arrived around 4pm and went right on. Disembarkation was a big mess. We were told that we should have the transfer shuttle to the airport as there were going to be 3 ships in port at once and it could be 3 hrs to wait for a taxi. So we paid the $30 each and went to get our bags. We were told to go in and go out the same place to get our luggage. That was not very smooth. Then we were in a crowd and there were no signs to tell you were to go for the shuttle. We found out there were 2 ships in at that time, and finally found the line for the shuttle. We waited at least 1 & 1/2 hrs to get on a shuttle! Some people missed there flight. We made it, but no time to get lunch. We should have had a few hrs to spare. The ship is very nice. The cabin was good. We were in Aqua with a balcony. We got to dine in Blu , the specialty restaurant for Aqua class. It was very nice. Smaller and more intimate than the MDR. It was smaller portions, but still plenty and you can always order more. The did have a lot of sea food and lamb... that we don't like, but there was always steak. Deserts were really good, especially the chocolate cake and the cheese cake! Entertainment was disappointing. It was very loud, everything, and not many good guests. However we loved the Hot Glass Shows and went to all of them! Service is great! We had really great servers in Blu, we got them most nights. Also our room attendant was so friendly and helpful! We enjoyed the Ports. You can't go wrong with Hawaii. We did a ship excursion in Maui, Lahaina , the Dolphin and Snorkel tour to Lanai. It was good. They took us to a bay in Lanai. We saw 3 bottle nose dolphins on the way. The snorkel spot was kinda deep, so it was hard to see a lot, but we saw some turtles and fish. If I go again, I think I want to spend more time in Maui or Kona...so probably not a cruise. It was hot the first day at sea, but it got colder after that . I would go on the Solstice again . Read Less

The captain of the Solstice made this journey very memorable. He was very personable, and approachable. He genuinely wanted to do what he could to ensure the passengers had a good time. He did a 360 as we passed the lava flows on Kona so everyone got a good chance to see it as it hit the ocean. I'd like to see this cruise hit another island -- maybe Kaui. Maui, Hawaii, and Oahu are getting fairly commercialized. However, the big Island never fails to give a good show and we enjoyed both our days there. We had a private jeep tour in Maui that was an excellent introduction to Maui and it's history. The only ding/con for this cruise (and it's minor) was the breakfast. The scrambled eggs out on the buffet were so soupy that if you wanted eggs, you generally lined up for omelettes or eggs benedict to order. It's always nice to have your eggs made to order, but sometimes you'd like to just grab and go. I could never seem to get cheese on my omelette that I ordered -- I ordered cheese each time, but when I got it, there was never cheese on the omelette. As I said, it's a very minor ding. The rest of the cruise was wonderful. The crew members went out of their way to provide lots of entertainment and relaxation. All 5 days at sea ended up being cloudy, windy, and cold, so the crew had their work cut out for them. Our cabin steward kept the room spotless even though we were constantly heading back to the room (we both caught a bit of a cold and needed to get extra sleep). Our dining staff were very attentive. Our waiter and his assistant learned our tastes early and kept our water filled (something important to me). We enjoyed our dinner mates and learned a lot from them. The sommelier was always prompt getting our wine and suggesting alternatives so we could try everything available on the drink package we had. We tried a specialty restaurant for our anniversary, but weren't really impressed. There was way too much food. And for the extra money, we would have been just as happy eating in the main dining room. Embarkation and Disembarkation were handled efficiently with little waiting. The ship notified us that there would be 3 ships in Vancouver on the day we were there and offered additional chances to get a direct transfer to the airport which worked out well. The crew of the Solstice made the journey and we thank them for a job well done! Read Less

This was our second cruise on the Celebrity Solstice and we enjoyed it very much. We stayed in Aqua Class cabin 1538 which was very large and well maintained. Our ports of call were excellent. We had most of our breakfasts and dinners in Blu which was outstanding. We had several lunches in the main dining room which was very good. I thought the Ocean View Cafe, the buffet, quality of food and service had dropped substantially from our previous cruise on the Solstice 10 years ago. The pools were great and the hot tubs were wonderful. Both the entertainment and the ship's activities were very good. We attended every evening show and enjoyed them very much. We visited Honolulu, Maui, Kona and Hilo which were beautiful. We booked private excursions for each port with friends we met on cruisecritic. I highly recommend both the Celebrity Solstice and the Honolulu to Vancouver cruise. Read Less

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This cruise was amazing. All the ports were outstanding. The Solstice is in excellent condition. There were lots of activities for sea days: ukulele lessons, hula lessons, Maori Poi Ball dance, cooking classes, a passenger chorus, outstanding lectures (Pacific Ocean, WWII, Women of Pearl Harbor, Volcanoes etc). Blu and Oceanview Cafe were both great. Crossing the Equator ceremony was lots of fun.. Damian our CD was very entertaining. The crossing was smooth with only one day out of New Zealand a little bumpy with 15 ft swells. The Sail Away from Sydney is the most beautiful I have ever experienced. We sailed at night and the Opera House was all lit up. Unfortunately the new production shows are not very good with the worst one the supposedly "Mozart" show. The guest entertainers were very good. One of the best tours we took was on Oahu from Escape Waikiki Tours. Kevin was a high energy fun and knowledgeable guide and the warm breakfast donuts are not to be missed. He will tailor a tour to the size (2-14 people) of your group and include whatever you like, but his knowledge of secret beaches and views on the island really sets this tour apart. The other tour was "Patrick's " snorkel tour on Bora Bora. It was an amazing experience with snorkeling and a pig roast on a private motu (small island) with wine, champagne and beer. Definitely plan on staying in Sydney at least three days before the cruise. It's a beautiful city and there is so much to do. Read Less