This was our 3rd Celebrity Cruise and first time on the larger Celebrity Solstice class ship. (Our other cruises having been on the smaller Millineum class Summit & Infinity.) While initially we were not sure we would like the larger ship, we found only a couple instances (as noted below) where the number of passengers was noticeable or caused a wait. As experienced cruisers we’ve not had a better Embarkation or Debarkation process than on this ship. It was all fast and efficient although we note upfront that some of our positive experiences no doubt relates to being a Suite class passenger and springing for some extras as well. See comments about stateroom below. Dining: as suite class our main dining was in Luminae. The service and food was excellent and as usual if we wanted we could order anything off the main dining room menu as well as the daily Luminae offerings. We did purchase the specialty dining package so had occasion to also eat at Murano, Tuscan Grill, the Lawn Club, Qsine and Sushi on 5. All had excellent food and service but if we picked a favorite it would be Tuscan Grill. We also attended a Chef’s Dinner (at Murano) and while not cheap at $279 couple it was an experience and well worth the splurge for the unique courses and paired wines and included a galley tour. My guy got coffee each morning at Cafe el Bacio and was happy with the Americano coffee quality and great service provided there. Perhaps of the differences from prior sailings that we preferred on this ship was that Michael’s Club for suite passengers was actually set up with a “real” bar and stools and that became our go to place for drinks and socializing. This and a really congenial staff based there created a fun “neighborhood bar” environment that fostered getting to know other passengers and fortunately was a delightful mix of people for the 14 day cruise. Many Brits chose to partake of late Afternoon Tea in this locale as well. It used to be that this would be a stateroom choice but it has now been moved to Michael’s with the butlers attending to it there instead. That provides one more opportunity to socialize for those that appreciate this tradition. While we also had the premium drink package it meant that almost everything (there are some limits on pricey wines) we could want from that standpoint was included and not charged for, but the self serve refrigerators for water, soft drinks and beer was very convenient. The bartender soon knew our preferences and set us up the minute we walked through the door and hit the stools. Additionally there was a wine that was served in Michael’s that I really liked and they would make sure whatever restaurant we were dining in would have it even if they had to walk it there. (Did I mention superb service?) Our butler kept the suite refrigerator stocked so we didn’t often have to reach in nor ask for anything as far as self serve but it was there.

The only negatives in our opinion: Oceanview Cafe was not to our liking. Yes, it is a buffet and there was plenty of food but there wasn’t much in the selection that we found any better than mediocre. I’m purposely not using the word bad, as individual taste dictates, but it did not approach the quality food-wise in taste nor presentation anywhere else. But we don’t remember that it was near as mediocre on the smaller Celebrity ships and we had more meals from the buffet on prior cruises. We do understand that they are trying to serve many more people. Seating for breakfast was beyond hectic and at times near impossible when everyone knew they had to be off for ports and so crowded that your choice for eggs was horrendously runny/undercooked scrambled eggs, hard boiled in shell or a long line for a cooked to order omelet when time was short. The coffee was so strong it could put hair on your chest. LOL. So our choice was to get up early enough to have time to eat in Luminae or mostly pass. We likely had other options but didn’t pursue. The fact that Luminae is not “open” for breakfast or lunch while in port maybe helped us to keep the calories down and with the active ports we managed to not gain weight which is a plus to the negative! The other negative was while the elevators were pretty fast there were only two locations on ship with two banks of them; mid-ship and at the front and they would generally go all the way from top to bottom which meant sometimes you were waiting for them to make the full up/down of 15 decks or they would be full even if they stopped. I just mention it but it wasn’t an all the time problem, probably more noticeable while everyone was trying to get off ship or someplace all at the same time but certainly something that a little patience could handle. One lovely positive was that we did not encounter a single crew member that wasn’t cheerful, helpful or efficient regardless of which area they worked in. Many knew our names after presenting our cruise card ONLY ONCE. It was the best kind of customer service. Our room attendants quickly learned our habits and quickly were in and out between our comings and goings and took care of us flawlessly. All of this adds up to why we have already booked our next Celebrity Cruise and look forward to another fabulous cruise with them. Except for one detail I did not go into the specific port info here. That is you cannot get through immigration in St Petersburg without a tour that includes a visa. So either book a tour with celebrity or another tour operator or you will be seriously disappointed that you can’t get through immigration and off the ship! Otherwise, suffice to say that every port was one where we said we would easily return to again if given the chance. St Petersburg should be on everyone’s wish list as it rivals any great European city, like Paris or Rome. Except for Bruges which we booked a tour via Celebrity (and it was good) we booked all other port excursions using Alla Tours from St Petersburg. They were absolutely terrific and I can’t rate them high enough. For those of you wondering the age demographics and generally this applies to Celebrity globally. Mostly 50-70 yo empty nester cruisers but some below or above these ages. Maybe only 10% that 40 yo or below and very few children. (Alaska may be a bit of an exception.) Part of this is the price point of Celebrity. Most of the tours are minimum 2 or more miles per day of walking on uneven surfaces or with stairs and some seniors maybe don’t yet realize their physical limitations. This is one reason we mainly booked tours outside of the Celebrity excursions as they may be more discriminating on this physical capability point as well as the group sizes being smaller. Value for the money rating takes into consideration that this cruise line is not focused on the economy market but rather on people with more disposable means and looking for a more luxurious experience.