This review joins others covering the recent cruise from Sydney to Singapore on the Celebrity Solstice. As with my other reviews on this site, I always want to start by describing myself as someone you will find at the bars, restaurants, gym and casinos - not the shows.
First to confirm what others have said - the ship is tired in places. (No comparison, for example, to the Diamond Princess, which was truly spotless.) I don't think the 9 day dry dock that was scheduled at the end of the cruise (and which is now presumably complete) could possibly be enough. For example, in my (Royal) suite, trim was missing from a couple of the doors, reflective film on the glass on my balcony (making part of the signature X that you can see mid-ship when you look at the ship from a distance) was peeling in a number of places and more than a little bit of rust was pushing through the white paint on the balcony. Also, even though drinks and specialty dining were included in my fare, I can see why people are commenting on the shameless commerce sales job on drink packages and specialty restaurants - which was constant....and I agree that north of $75/day is too much for the premium booze package. The shore excursions were not that great. Getting to them was ok - typical meet in the showroom and get your numbered sticker - although the person in charge at the microphone treated the passengers much like a third grade teacher handling her unruly students. From the tone of the voice and repeated commands the words "ladies and gentlemen" morphed after a while to sounding like "boys and girls"........... Finally, although I had priority, if you had to get off the ship via tender - good luck. The ship did hire local (faster) vessels to assist - but it was still slower than normal for a ship that size getting off.
I found the staff overall to be very friendly - everywhere, including the casino.