Solstice cruise -â€" 10-23-11

This is a rather long review / recap of our trip to Europe via the Celebrity Solstice. Overall this was not our "Best" Celebrity cruise, mostly due to bad luck in our draw of Main Dining Room servers. Other cruise critic members on our cruise raved about their service team. If you just want the summary, scroll way down to the last few paragraphs.

Our flights from the US to Barcelona went well. We landed early, but rather than deplaning at a gate we were made to deplane on the tarmac and enter into shuttle buses. In all, it took 90 minutes from the time the plane "Parked" until we had our luggage. A quick taxi ride brought us to the Hilton Diagonal. We explored the immediate area (the nearby beach and a large shopping mall with many eateries directly across the street) while waiting for our traveling friends. Read more