We are a young at heart (50s) couple who were looking to do something different for our holidays and so decided to do our first ever cruise. Using our local travel agent, we were initially booked on another cruise line at the start of March, but due to unforeseen circumstances at my husbands work, we had to cancel that and we switched to Celebrity Solstice.....and think we got the better cruise!!! Three weeks before the cruise, we booked a guarantee balcony room and drinks package and OBC as perks. When I went to pick up the tickets a week before travel, our TA delightedly told me that we had been upgraded free of charge to Concierge Class ....I was delighted, obviously.

Despite having to fly to Sydney from Melbourne, we were excited about the cruise. We stayed at the Four Season's Hotel in Sydney the night before and I was beyond excited when we woke at 5.30am and watched this huge, beautiful ship, all lit up, glide into Circular Quay and dock....all from our hotel window!!

After a leisurely breakfast, we took a ten minute walk to the OPT and went through embarkation with minimal fuss...the staff were very helpful as we had no idea what to do or where to go..with no bother we were soon welcomed onto the ship with a glass of champagne. As our cabin was not yet ready,as Concierge Class, we were able to make use of the Welcome Lunch in the MDR where we were seated with two other lovely couples and soon got chatting away. The 3 course meal was superb, and after lunch we went to our cabin, 1087 on deck 10, and settled in for the next 9 nights of luxury and relaxation. The next morning we met fellow Cruise Critic members at the Cellar Master's Bar for the Meet and Greet, and became firm friends with a couple of people .... Read more