Having cruised only once before with Royal Caribbean, we tried Celebrity Solstice because the timing suited and the ship got great reviews - deservedly! We booked through Vacationstogo.com - they were excellent! We booked an inside stateroom because we only sleep in the stateroom and this was true of this cruise too. There was too much to do elsewhere.
The shows at night were excellent with a wide variety of sensational acts. Some nights we would have 2 courses to get to the 7pm show then have desert in the Cafe. Other nights we would have the complete meal in the Dinging Room then go to the 9pm show.
The food in the main dining room Grand Epernay was well above standard and then we spent one evening at Murano. Murano would equal any 5 star restaurant. Particularly if you are lucky enough to get Ibraham as your waiter. We selected fixed time dining on a table of 6 people so met 2 other couples and got on so well, we looked forward to dinner each evening (I hope they did too).
We were originally in cabin 1084 but there is a pool filter above this cabin and we were woken at 05:30 each morning with staff attending the equipment. Guest Services moved us when alerted to 1144 on the same deck (10) and still in the middle of the ship. Great room with plenty of space and great to be in the middle of the ship crossing the Tasman which can be quite choppy - as it was on this voyage.
We caught a ferry to Devonport which is a lovely seaside village and hired bikes and cycled to the Naval Museum, North Head and around the district for a couple of hours then bought fish and chips and eat them sitting in the park near the pier. A delightful day.
We walked from the jetty top the Waitangi Maori Treaty Village and attended the cultural show, the Treaty House and the Museum. This is certainly worth a visit. It is well developed and handles tourists really well with plenty of staff happy to answer questions and show various aspects of Maori history.
The cultural show was a little bit different to the one on Rotorua and the performers were both friendly and really good fun, happy to answer any question and pose for photos afterwards.
We then hopped on the free shuttle bus provided by the town of Paihia back into the township which handles tourist well. We did the Opua Forest and Paihia Lookout walk which is a great way to get a view over the region and the forest is cool and pleasant to walk through in summer. You do need to be reasonably fit to do this walk.