Celebrity Solstice Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,220 reviews

Excellent cruise with some quibbles

Review for Australia & New Zealand Cruise on Celebrity Solstice
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wuziq
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

Rating by category

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2019
Cabin: Inside Stateroom 9

First cruise with Celebrity, had previously done 2 Alaskan cruises with HAL. We prefer a more sedate and classy vibe, but the reviews for the analogous HAL cruise ship were poor in comparison.

In general I think this cruise is targeted towards the livelier of the older crowd.

Itinerary was fine. I would've preferred fewer cities and more nature. It's a bit of a tradeoff, though, since it'd be difficult to get rental cars. Didn't do any excursions, just went touring independently.

Cabin Review

Inside Stateroom 9

Cabin 09

Very clean. Spacious for our needs, which was just a place to sleep. Analog temperature control was good. Adequate power outlets (3 outside, 1 in bathroom - 3 are US, 1 is European). Good size shower stall. The only downside is that it's easy to hear people outside in the hall, which I suppose is very dependent on your neighbors.

Port Reviews

Dunedin

Free public wifi by the octagon. Otago Settlers Museum was really interesting, and surprisingly free. Port Chalmers itself is very nice and I would recommend taking a walk along the water there.

Melbourne

Visited the library and Shrine of Remembrance, both nice. Getting around on public transit was easy.

Akaroa

Went on a driving tour that took us up to the Duvauchelle area and the Hilltop Hotel. Amazing views.

Wellington

Did laundry here at Mall Drycleaning on Johnston St, which is about a 5-10 min walk from where the shuttle drops you off. Then took cable car up to the top of the botonical gardens. There we found a free shuttle to Zealandia, which we took. Zealandia was awesome, lots of birds. Botanical gardens were OK. Old Church of St. Paul was nice as well - it was cool seeing the old wood structure.

Sydney (Australia)

Too tired, didn't do much, just looked at the opera house from the ship.

Tauranga

Rented a car and drove to Wai-o-tapu and Waimongu, both of which had interesting thermal features. If pressed for time, just do Wai-o-tapu.

Bay of Islands

the one-hour driving tour we took wasn't great. It's nicer to just walk along the water after tendering - no need to take the shuttle into town. Took a short swim at the beach near the tender spot - pretty nice.

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