On February 3rd, 2018, we sailed on the Celebrity Solstice on a 14 night cruise from Sydney, Australia-Auckland, New Zealand. We hit magnificent weather, although it had been over 100 degrees in Sydney before we arrived, It was actually cool while we were there. I was curious about the conditions in the Tasman Sea because I had always heard that it was rough, just like going around the tip of South America. The cruise before ours had skipped a couple of ports due to weather, but we had fantastic weather and the ocean was like glass our entire voyage.
We were in cabin 1667, a Sky Suite (S2) on Decl 11. This cabin had a great veranda that faced aft, which was a great advantage because yo can go out and see the view on both sides of the ship. We had selected Deck 11 over 12 because the Sky Suites (S1) are right under the Ocean Cafe and so they could be subject to noise. There was more than enough storage space and the mattress and pillows were some of the best I have ever experienced.
With the Suite, you get access to Michael's Club, which is a tremendous benefit because they have afternoon tea and you can always pop in for a drink. I would get ready for dinner and then go down for a glass of wine while my wife got dressed, we would then go down to Luminae, the special restaurant for Suite guests.
Large cabin with a tub and plenty of storage. The cabin has a veranda and faces aft. There is Butler service and it is a very quiet part of the ship.
Sydney is a wonderful, dynamic city.
We simply walked around Hobart, which was a quiet, seaside town. People that went to the Art Museum; winery or other sites were very excited about their experience.
This town was destroyed in 1931 by an earthquake and quickly rebuilt. As a result, most of the town is in the Art Deco style. We happened to hit the annual Art Deco Festival. Great place to walk around.