Just back from the 12/19 sailing of Celebrity Solstice. Our group was my husband and myself (40s), our two daughters (14 and 11), and my in-laws (70s). We have only cruised once before with the kids, and that was on Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas about 3 years ago. My in-laws picked this cruise as it seemed like a good deal for a nice ship and itinerary.

We had read that there are often not a lot of kids on the Celebrity cruises, but there were about 500 on this cruise as it was over the holiday break. So, I think the mix of ages on board was more diverse than the apparently usual older set.

We arrived at the cruise terminal around 11:30am and embarkation was relatively easy. The ship is indeed gorgeous like a posh hotel. We enjoyed the Oceanview Cafe for lunch and were able to get in our rooms around 1. Compared to other cruises, the veranda rooms seemed pretty spacious and the bathrooms were especially well designed. There isn't a lot of drawer space in the room, but plan to hang a lot of things and utilize the storage area over the bed. Our kids had their own room next door which was nice. Our room attendant did a nice job, although nothing out of the ordinary. As for food, we ate in the main dining room every night except one night we ate at the buffet. Our waiter and assistant were very good and attentive, although no better than the ones we had on Grandeur 3 years ago. The food was more "upscale" than what was offered on the Grandeur, and we enjoyed all our meals. The presentation was beautiful, although the quantities were sometimes a bit small. I wished they had some more "mainstream" choices for our girls, especially for the appetizers, but overall everything was delicious. Read more