We were on the Jan 4th sailing of the Solstice. I have been on 15 cruises on various lines, was actually reaching the point where cruises were starting to blend. They didn't seem special. Still, enjoyable but not special. The Solstice changed this for me. It was a new experience. That is not to say it was perfect. I have enjoyed every single cruise I have taken and none of them have been perfect . And just because a cruise is not perfect is not a reason not to go. So any criticism I have is absolutely not a reason not to take thisEmbarkation. This has to me always been the weakest part of the Celebrity experience however on this cruise I felt they have made a vast improvement. We arrived around 11:30 and they had people sorted by cabin level with suites in one area elite and concierge in another aqua level in still another and finally everyone else (was there any one else?)
When they opened for business the person in charge said in a commanding voice how to proceed and there was no mad rush as there has been in the past. With the number of people in front of me (at least 50 -60) I thought I might be in for a long wait but it was only about 15 minutes.
They let us on the ship but informed us our room would not be ready. We went to the buffet but surprisingly they had breakfast items but not lunch. The Lunch items appeared about 15 minutes later. I have never gotten on a ship where the lunch was not ready but again this was really minor. The lunch was regular buffet not bad not good. Just normal .