This was our 34th and 35th cruise, as we did two seven day back to back journeys. These were Eastern and Western Caribbean respectively. Embarkation was extremely easy and quick, especially as the Solstice is such a large vessel; we would not have been surprised to encounter a few delays. There were none, and we were onboard in less than twenty minutes after entering the embarkation area. We were offered the now obligatory welcome of champagne or fruit punch. With two carryons, having checked two large bags, we proceeded to our cabin to see if we could drop them off before having lunch. Our cabin, an eighth floor veranda, was in the process of being made up and so, the door being open, we were able to rid ourselves of our shoulder bags and find lunch in the ships buffet, the OceanView Cafe on Deck 14. Let's right now comment on our number one find on why the Solstice is truly truly a cut above all other ships we have been on and shows extraordinary attention to detail and creature comfort. All elevators are exceptionally well marked and signed, with large, easy to find, and colorful controls. A flashing arrow denotes if you are going up or down (not that you shouldn't know, but someone always seems not to), large emblems visible before the door opens giving you the floor location, and even show where the next stops are that have been called for. Other reviews denoted occasional lack of satisfaction with elevator bank placement but we did not find this a problem, although felt more than once that the programming seemed to not fit the timing of passengers waiting.

We found the OceanView cafe to be perhaps the best laid out with the best food, in general, of any ship we have sailed on. The layout of various islands for different needs is well thought out and eliminates long lines where passengers may be stuck behind other passengers where they have no need to be for the food they want, but have no reasonable recourse. How well thought out is it? At lunch there is one entire section devoted to Asian themed offerings, as well as Barbeque. Especially helpful for the male side of the family, having a dairy allergy, which is seldom if ever a problem with Asian cooking, though this took several days to get straightened out in the main Dining Room, the Grand Epernay. At breakfast, more well thought out touches were more than obvious. An entire station is devoted to, and marked: "English Breakfast". This comprises what is just that, English "Banger" sausages, British style fish dishes, baked beans, etc. Now here is real class and forethought, especially judicious on a large ship: at the omelette station, there is not one, perhaps two, chefs with a pan or two each to attend to, coming to the counter to take your individual request, but multiple chefs with multiple pans at work. A staff member takes your order for ingredients from a posted display, writes it down on a post it note, and it is put in front of a chef who can work directly and quickly from that. When ready, the chef simply calls your name from the note, and places your order with you. Well done, Solstice. As stated early on, and worth repeating, the quality of food is at least as good, and in most cases, better than any other ship we have sailed on.

After lunch we returned to find our cabin ready for us, and a quick look around found it (veranda) to be not huge, but more than adequate for a couple. Storage seemed a bit quirky at first, with two pull down cupboard type areas over the comfortable bed, which at first seemed rather odd, but then were realized to be a well thought out touch. Thought not the easiest thing to get to, they were perfect for storing items that needed no hanging or concern re wrinkling, such as socks, underwear, etc. Our very comfortable bed is thoughtfully planned with space beneath to slide large bags in without a problem, and was very convenient for our carryons. A sliding closet beside the bed contained a reasonable amount of space for hanging clothes, as well as perhaps the most convenient and largest safe we have seen. When there was a set up problem, a courteous and knowledgeable staff member quickly appeared and helped, as well as later when a minor difficulty with the TV remote surfaced. TV? Flat screen, with a retinue of available options for ship service etc., and a goodly number of channels thanks to a generally reliable Satellite connection. BW thought the design of the drapes leading to the balcony to be well thought out and attractive. We were also impressed with the excellent soundproofing. Read more