We chose this cruise as it was a long time since we had been on a larger ship (Celebrity Alaskan cruise 11 years ago) and we felt like an end of summer holiday through Australian ports that we are fairly familiar with. We flew to Perth from Auckland 4 days prior to the cruise and thoroughly enjoyed this delightful city. Embarkation was a nightmare as no training had been given to the local staff who were trying their best to process the guests with no help from the bored Celebrity staff who were wandering behind them. Once onboard we ran the gauntlet of Celebrity staff trying to sign us up for drinks and dining packages( we had been warned but they are very annoying). The cabin war excellent except for the wardrobe doors which supposedly slid and got in the way. No doors or bifold would be s vast improvement. Food in Blue and the main dining room was excellent. Also good in the buffet restaurant but the huge number of people there turned us off. We enjoy good lectures but these were scheduled at 9.00am on sea days which is crazy especially as you had lost an hour due to time changes. We also enjoy playing bridge on sea days as did a lot of fellow guests but nothing was organised. Flying paper aeroplanes and throwing bean bags is not everyone’s idea of entertainment. Shows were mixed with some very good and some less so. Overall our experience was enjoyable and good value for money but could have easily been better Read Less

This cruise is a disappointment.The food in the restaurant was never hot and the menu choice just seemed to be juggled about each night.Restaurant staff very good as usual but the wine waiters seemed to give you one glass then disappear.The cafe is a nightmare and very difficult to find a seat not because there are not enough of them but the over 70 groups seem to just sit there for hours after they had finished breakfast and refuse to move.The Itinerary is lacking in ideas with too many days at sea and two of the ports Esperanza and one of the New Zealand ones were just stop to refuel.The Dunedin trip is a waste of time as we wandered a botanic garden for over an hour when only getting 25mins in downtown Dunedin not even time to enjoy the shops or have a coffee.Your tours are also overpriced compared to the local tours when you disembark.I have never seen such disorganisation than at Fremantle port where preferred guests are ok but others waited for over 2 hours to board.Perhaps you could cut New Zealand out of the tour and let us see Brisbane and Canberra and please arrange to dock in Sydney and not tenders.Lastly your staff on board were impeccable as usual but the bands were somewhat lacking in variation.I would not recommend this cruise to the under 30s unless they want to sit about playing cards,knitting,or sleeping in the library.CELEBRITY can do better than this Read Less

CELEBRITY SOLSTICE embarked in PERTH for a back to back of 29 nights, to SYDNEY/AUCKLAND/FIJI/SAMOA/TONGA and back to AUCKLAND. A wonderful experience of personal service, excellent dining in the Luminea / Murano / Tuscan restaurants, especially the Luminea where all the staff were very attentive and obliging, our thanks, and deserving recognition were KAVI ( nothing was ever too much), RYAN (thanks Sunshine), DOMINIC, ALEX and JURUS ( Christine is now hooked on 'Pinot Gris'). Although the food in Ocean View ( renamed: Bread Pudding Café) a little more imagination there please Chef, was good with a wide choice to please any calorized diet. But it was MANIC a frenzied throng weaving around the food stations and hunting elusive seats and slow Bar service. ALAN from excursions was amazing, he tirelessly coordinated, organised, arranged and lectured upon forthcoming excursions, whilst expediting the vast numbers of guests ashore on their trips. LEWIS..mmm..with his extensive wardrobe, still forgot his socks! The theatre productions were very professional, enhanced by the brilliant ACROBATIC TROUPE who were phenomenal. The guest acts varied depending on your personal choice, but generally good and entertaining. All guest areas were busy and noisy, apart from the 'Silent Disco', very good ( we even joined in!) Fortunately our sanctuary was the suite guest club room, and the delightful OLGA and helpful bar steward. Now our Suite Attendant & Butler, ALDRIN (Buzz) was so friendly, caring and efficient he deserves an award, along with ROGELIO and his constant smile and attention, he made sure we wanted for nothing. The Suite Manager ANASTASIA and the lovely ALANA Guest Relation Director, whom had the unenviable task of being front line to guest complaints, including our suite issues, they deserve medals and a salary hike, they did all they could in an impossible situation, thank you both. Celebrity and RCCL as a company, seriously need to address the problems on the Solstice and others in this class during the forthcoming refurbishments. We will avoid any concierge or S2 suites on Deck 12 on these vessels. Again our thanks to all the dedicated staff and crew. Read Less

We chose this cruise as we had done the cruise from Auckland to Perth the year before and were very impressed with the Solstice . What a difference a year makes , the ship was showing a lot of wear. The entertainment on the cruise the year before was excellent , this trip it was less than average. The drinks packages had gone up and the discount they offered on board was 10% , 15% ,20% respectively as apposed to the 30% we received of the basic package last year. When we embarked we ticked the box which indicated that our account would be charge direct to our visa card at end of cruise . that didn't happen and we were charged through the cruise lines bank which resulted in a lot higher conversion rate. BE WARNED. Overall the service on board was excellent , the crew were very good and were always polite and helpful which certainly goes to making a pleasant cruise. We thought the food was a bit ordinary this time around , we dined in the GE , anytime dining . Overall an average cruise and we will probably try a different cruise line next time. Read Less

We have previously sailed on Celebrity and enjoyed the upmarket ambiance and cultured environment BUT alas this seems to have been eroded into what has become a very ordinary cruise line. The harassment we experienced form staff as soon as we boarded to 'purchase a package' was beyond annoying. On no less than 45 occasions we were asked to purchase on day one. This continued for 3 days and on one occasion I was even challenged to explain why I did not want to buy a 'package' .. by a wine waiter. After declining to purchase a package we then found it literally impossible to get served on deck and in the theatre unles we were standing at a bar. The other great dissappointment was the total lack of discernable dress code. Evening chic - a joke. On dressier nights it was common to see formal attire mixed with shorts and thongs. TRhe redeeming factors were .. the dining room staff who were excellent .. the room steward who was also excellent .. the Lighthouse string duo who were beacons of entrertainment .. and the best show on the ship The Hot Glass blowers .. Read Less

We researched heavily before we picked a cruise line and ship, broken down into tonnage, amenities and restaurant choices, as well as general destinations. We chose to book a deluxe verandah stateroom, and got placed starboard on level 7. We feel that our travel agent should have indicated to us that by paying more we would have had included all the perks and extras that we paid for anyway, but hey, she didnt, we didnt know, there you have it. The embarkation process in Perth was actually not that bad at all - a small wait in a holding area but that wasnt a drama. Do not understand why people grizzle about that when they are trying to process through as many people as you could find living in a small town. We got on board and found our cabin - it was tidy and clean. We realise that unless you board a vessel of ANY sort on its maiden voyage of course things will feel a bit pre-used, but on the whole they have gone to length to make it feel clean and fresh. For those grumbling about the black line around the toilet, I suspect that has to do with the sanitation system so maybe is just the way it is - it didnt make our bathroom smell nor did it detract from the use of the loo in any shape or form, so hey - get over it! The staff are nice and very helpful, but also pushy - a constant push to buy more, upgrade more, do this, do that. Some are extremely aggressive, some try to do it in a more subtle way - but the outcome is the same, it isnt nice when we have already paid a bit to get there and prepaid for packages and extras before we even embarked. We found the household staff a bit intense - we do not want our cabin turned down at night, dont want our things picked up and moved and dont want our already folded clothes refolded and put in one big pile. we tried to explain we didnt need the evening service thanks, which sort of fell on deaf ears so we started to put up the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door. A morning spruce-up of the cabin is nice, fresh towels etc (which sometimes when the old ones were removed no new towels were left in replacement) but this constant in and out was a bit much. The premium non-alcholic drinks package was a brilliant investment - we used that a lot. Really liked that we had this as we are frequently at Cafe el Bacio on level 5, where most of the staff who prepare coffees etc do a sterling job. We had one staff member who made ghastly coffees, frappes etc - I mentioned to the wait staff who brought the coffee that it wasnt very good at all, she made excuses for the fact it was awful, then must have gone back and told the girl who was acting as barista that day. We heard "expletive you" from behind the counter, so we consequently made a decision to AVOID the cafe if this staff member was on the machines. Because so many of the rest of the staff were really nice and some made really quite good coffees, we did not go down to Guest Relations and make a complaint. On the mainland it would have been very different. OCEANVIEW CAFE - is really okay actually, they try really hard to turn out a good selection for the masses, I think they do very well and have no complaints. A great staple with a stack of selection. Whats not to like. I will say though that real vegetable selection was sparse but once again it must be hard to carry enough of everything on a ship. GRAND EPERNAY - We went twice. It was a horrid experience and is the fly-in-the-soup of the restaurant dining experience for us. We refused to go back there again, rather using speciality restaurants most nights or good old ocean view cafe. Epernay was like a factory, noisy, seated almost right on top of the next couple where too many 2-seat tables had been crammed together. The cruise demographic did not help Epernay I suspect, all trying to turn up at the same time for dinner and of course the staff will attempt to accommodate them, but its not nice when you just want to eat in peace and the neighbours who are almost sitting on your lap feel obliged to talk to you. Other half and I obliged somewhat, but werent really there for the chitchat with others beyond the odd hello here and there so found that felt like a difficult transaction that was forced upon us because of the tight space. The food was okay but not outstanding. MURANO - We love Murano and have been many times. Small portions but you will feel stuffed when you leave, nicely prepared food. A definite 10 out of 10. SUSHI ON 5 - a hidden gem! Once again suspect because of the demographic on the ship it has been under-utilised on this trip. Good sushi, great serving staff - this was our other 10 out of 10. A really great sushi chef. MARTINI BAR - loved it. Good martinis pre dinner - candied apple martini and dessert martinis scrumptious. A fair few happy martinis pre dinner were had. The whole laundry service isnt a good concept - I have woollen items that I am NOT paying someone else to wreck, and anyway we refuse to pay at least 25USD per day on Laundry. Its not that we cant afford it, its that they warn you that its a case of caveat emptor when it comes to using laundry services. No thanks. We did pre-order two cakes off the web site for the stateroom - one choc raspberry for one week, and one choc coffee. We got the same choc raspberry each time which wasnt that great so consequently ended up getting binned. We just let it go because sometimes things can be very hard to sort, and when we mentioned it to the housekeeping girl who brought it to the room (that they had got it wrong and we received the same thing two weeks running) she just looked blank, and to be honest I couldnt be bothered going there. Be careful when ordering cakes in advance as a room treat. We didnt do organised shore packages - more just a trip into town in whatever port we were in. It was really great. Didnt go into adelaide but went everywhere else. Shop staff in esperance WA rude. We didnt do theatre etc - for us this has been about catching our breath and decompressing on a real break. The Gym and the Persian garden top up have been great. For better or worse we feel like we had a break. This has been our learning curve cruise - we now know how it works. The mistake we made is that we didnt go for suite class in the booking phase. It might have given us a bit more respite from some of the faux snobbery that seems to prevail amongst certain of the demographic, but on thorough dissection we have decided we are going to bite the bullet and go for royal suite or penthouse suite class next time if we go celebrity as that will give us the extras and packages that we bought anyway if I understand correctly, plus a suite with a bit more room will be a bonus! Dont get me wrong through - I have never felt like we are falling all over one another, but a bit more space will make it really amazing. We went down to future cruises and tried to secure something for approx 2 years away in July 2021 - the very helpful lady there told us that we could find 2021 cruises up on the site by the end of this year - that works for us. We've already worked out that we want to do St Petersburg 14 nights, Viking cruises does a better itinerary of stops in Scandinavia but we are debating giving Celebrity another go and see if booking a different sort of class of accommodation irons out the wrinkles, so to speak. All in all, a very good experience, we feel rested and like we have had a real holiday, someone else has done the driving and the cooking and the cleaning. Loved seeing Melbourne and Sydney again, the sounds are stunning and Dunedin is a southern gem. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. It satisfied the ports we wanted to visit. The food was great, the desserts were amazing, The ship and stateroom were immaculate. The entertainment overall was soso compaired to other cruises we have been on. The shining star was the Piano player from Geelong. The big screen is hidden up on a deck where nobody visits. It would be better on the swimming pool deck. Cruise went from Fremantle so we spent 4 days in Perth investigating the area then one night in a BnB in Fremantle. First stop at Esperance was interesting but a bit of a waste of time (Hobart would be better). Was a bit disappointed with the amount of smoke from the funnels in our beautiful Milford Sounds. The in room videos about the pod motors, electric generators, and the side thrusters were very informative, The free movie channel had to be reset twice during our voyage. Read Less

Good itinerary and ships reviews. Pablito in Al Baccio was the hardest working member of staff on the ship, a real asset to Celebrity. Platino, Kevin and Thia looked after us very well in the restaurant, very pleasant and professional service received from them all. Kadek our steward friendly and helpful, made us feel very welcome and did a good job. Disappointed with the evening offering in the restaurant, quite repetitive, especially for desserts, would have welcomed a cheese board. Entertainment was poor, for the general age of the guests on board, most of the activities were quite childish. Artists in the theatre were not of a good standard with the exception of the magician. Lighthouse, the two young ladies with electric violin and chello were excellent, really enjoyed their music. Embarkation in Fremantle was very slow and we had nowhere to stand in the shade whilst waiting to enter the port building. All other disembarkation went without any hitches. Did not do any of the ships 'extortions' as we found the cost to be prohibitive. Read Less

We chose this cruise because old friends from the US had booked it and we were able to board in our home town of Perth (Fremantle), and enjoy another cruise with them. Unfortunately the cruise was ultimately disappointing on too many levels and we will probably never cruise with this company again. 1. Too many sea days. 3 sea days from Perth to Adelaide, then only 9 hours in port. Another 2 sea days to Melbourne and only 7 hours in port. Melbourne deserves at least 2 days in port - so much to see and enjoy in and around the city. After Melbourne we were supposed to have 2 more sea days then one full day cruising through and around Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and Dusky Bay. However the ship had to return to Melbourne (after we were already 6 hours out) as there was a sick passenger who could not be medivacced by helicopter. Total loss - 12 hours, therefore decision made to cancel the visits to the Sounds. Sorry, but this story about the sick passenger started to sound more and more like a fairy story as the day, and the constant video loop by the Captain and the cruise director, wore on. Milford Sound is a NZ ICON. To cancel this was very poor. So another boring day at sea. 2. Very badly organised tender departures and a DEARTH of information beforehand. Too bad if you had a train to catch at 10am...you could not leave on the tender until all the ship's tours passengers had departed. We managed to sneak onto the tender and did manage to catch our train. Others were not so lucky. No-one was told beforehand that the tender would take almost half an hour to reach the dock so people were missing their tours all over the place. How dare the "Guest Relations" staff treat their "guests" so rudely. Trying to get a straight answer from them on any question relating to being able to leave the boat to take a privately organised excursion was impossible. Obfuscation, confusion, wrong information and straight out lies seem to have been their forte. The boat did not offer a tour of the sort which we wished to take in one port so we organised our own special interest tour. But we were told we would have to wait until all the boat tour passengers had left before we could use the gangway. Well...poop to that said we, and off we went down the gangway when it suited us. 3. Overly loud music from Take 5 on deck 3 at 7.45 Couldn't hear oneself think, let alone converse with others. Ray Brown Jr was more pleasant. The Take 5 singer had already overstretched her voice trying an overly loud and screechy version of RESPECT, and no-one was enjoying her singing any more. The demographic on this tour was 60+ - we like to converse over a drink and hear each other. 4. Flavourless, insipid food How many chefs are on board this vessel??? And not one of them could produce an interesting, authentic, spicy Asian dish. Bland, boring, insipid, with plenty of pseudo French and Italian food also. The Tuscan Grill, for which we paid US$45pp extra, was horrible. Not a genuine Italian dish on the menu. Dry chicken schnitzel smothered in melted rubbery tasteless cheese is not an Italian dish. We were rushed through our meal and did not enjoy it at all because of this also. ALL the cheese at every meal was the same - tasteless, unidentifiable, and rubbery. Occasionally a brie or camembert, and a blue cheese appeared but these were a very rare occurrence. 5. Tired and dated cabin decor. Bed with sunken patches, small, uncomfortable pillows. KMart quality toiletries - adequate but not special. KMart quality chocs on pillows - not nice. The choice of ports in New Zealand was quite good, but the activities onshore were fairly limited in these small towns. The cancellation of the Sounds also affected all of the Wilderness tours, as they all had to be cancelled. The room stewards were always delightful, as were many of the bar and waitstaff. The waitstaff attending our table in the Epernay Dining Room were very good also. Fortunately we had the company of friends to enjoy our days with. We will probably revisit New Zealand later this year and hopefully see the Sounds and the Wilderness areas which we missed on this cruise. Ultimately, for us, this cruise was very unsatisfying. Read Less

After sailing on smaller cruise ships, we decided to try one of the larger ones, and Celebrity was recommended to us, a party of six. Many pro's and con's. Solistice, is a beautiful ship, luxurious and with many small hideaways, bars and restaurants. The buffet in the Ocean Cafe, was AMAZING, the choice of food each day was original and themed. You can get very carried away with the amount on offer, one of the best i have seen. We enjoyed the outside table, but it is a bit of a challenge to find a seat sometimes, and on especially, sea days, very packed out, busy and off putting. Shore days, no problem. Bars: Many great bars, but again, when busy, takes a while to get a drink, sometimes, you can only see one person serving..we walked away from a few pool bars, as staff were busy chatting to guests, which is ok, but service still should be maintained. Cabins: Nice comfortable cabins, with the best beds we have ever slept on...best nights sleeps on any of the cruises we have ever done. Entertainment: half the shows are brilliant, half, not too good, sit at the back in case you need to leave early. Cabin Charges: this was hard to manage, with constantly over charging and checking on a daily basis, not a fan of showing your card for every single thing...even for water. All inclusive should be an option. The main dining restaurant was excellent, our watiers, Mathew and Happy, were some of the best we have ever encountered. Felt like we were on a luxury cruise with their level of service Read Less

The embarkation process was a madhouse. We had a suite, so we stood in line for an hour less than our friends who had a balcony stateroom. But once onboard, our cabin wasn’t ready for 2 hours. Since we had a “suite”, we had free WiFi but only for one device at a time. Non-suite guests had to pay over $300.00 for WiFi, again for only one device at a time. This cruise had 9 days at sea. Onboard entertainment was good but for 9 days. We booked this cruise specifically because it cruised the fjords of New Zealand. Due to medical emergency we returned to Melbourne. We lost 12 hours. Rather than use more fuel to get to New Zealand, the captain decided to skip the fjords. We had a suite that was simply a roomier stateroom so a sofa could be placed in the cabin.....so not really a suite. Common areas of the ship were well maintained. Not so in our “suite”. Sofa was so used that you sank into it....very uncomfortable. Fabric on arms was frayed. Bath towels were so old, they were thin and hems were coming out. Mattress was worn out. Deep indentations from previous occupants. Food was very good in sit down restaurants...not so good at the Oceanview Cafe (a buffet) which was only lunch option if you stayed aboard in port. The bright spot on this cruise was the staff. All were extremely friendly and helpful. Our butler was especially attentive. The bar tenders at the Martini Bar were exceptional and very entertaining. Shore excursions were so what. In Melbourne, we road a bus for an hour to take a 20 minute “vintage” train ride, then an hour back to the ship. In Akaroa (near Christchurch), the ship docked in the bay and we had to take tenders into shore. Our tour was cancelled so on our way back to ship, we sat on top open deck to get some pictures. The sea became so rough (without warning from staff) that we were nearly washed overboard. We had to sit on the floor and scoot to the stairs with help from crew. Doors were left open and the Greek Cowboy at the helm sped through waves causing us to get even wetter. The ship did launder our clothes. I was covered in bruises from bouncing around and trying to get down the stairs. The Picton tour was worse. We road yet another train for over an hour and dumped in a very small town with only one decent restaurant for lunch. Shopping and sightseeing were very limited. Another hour back to ship. Mediocre wine was sold for $5 for a tiny plastic cup. Only scenery from the train were a few vineyards. Read Less

We wanted to see the NZ sounds and also to try the Solstice - so this cruise seemed a good pick. Previously cruised on the Century and multiple RCI. Stayed in Fremantle a few days before the cruise, where we had a great time. Lots of nice bars/restaurants , good music scene. Come embarkation day we were let down by the chaotic boarding process - disorganised and rude staff, long queues and more queues - nowhere to sit, in a hanger/shed like, dated terminal. Has put me off traveling from Freo ever again..... The ship:the Solstice is nicely presented and modern. Still they try to upsell everything for $$ and boring over priced art sales are still going strong. Alcoholic drinks are very expensive ($US14 glass of wine) so we availed ourselves of the Elite Lounge happy hour each evening and went without a beverage in the day - which suited us just fine. Our inside cabin was spacious, for an inside, and kept immaculate by our cabin attendant. At 2k pp for 16 nights not too bad price wise. Happy with the standard of cleaning that was always evident, everywhere around the ship. Nice decor and lovely seating areas to find a quiet spot to contemplate life. The food was the let down - not up to RCI standard imo. Buffett food in the Ocean view Cafe varied a lot. We had some undercooked/overcooked/stale/some good. Pick your own stir fry was brilliant one day - next day with a different server was horrible. The quality depended on the day and who served us. Inconsistent. The Grand Epernay restaurant was better at lunch time. Nice service and food. Evening service in the Grand Epernay was not very good, the waiters seemed over burdened and rushed. Our waiter disappeared just before dessert on every occasion leaving the assistant to fend on his own. I had cutlery and water dropped on me on several occasions and once elbowed in the head by the waiter...gave it a miss after that. Aqua spa cafe I would not recommend at all- healthy maybe – limited choice and not in the least yummy. Mast grill - not to labour the point but this was utterly awful. First time I've ever encountered blatantly rude service staff, inedible turkey burger. I walked away never to return! Elite lounge served hors d'oeuvres on platters that were taken around each and every guest –& put right under their noses -needless to say didn't fancy any of that germ fest.......Enough of the food... We went to several shows and enjoyed the headline singers and comedians - but not the in house singers and dancers - boring and low quality. Loved the ports of Adelaide, Melbourne(recommend the free tram, Southbank and Arts centre),Dunedin,Wellington,Picton. Always do our own thing as the on board tours are not our bag and very very expensive. Unfortunately never got to see a nary one of the sounds,as a guest became ill with Pneumonia and Captain decided we had to sail back to Melbourne! Lost 6 hours and the sounds went as well. Sad about that but couldn't be helped. Overall I would only do a Solstice cruise again if the price was right – like a late deal or the like. Read Less

Thought we would try Celebrity as we have done eight cruises with Princess and have booked two more. We prefer Princess and feel more comfortable with them. Celebrity offered drinks upon arriving on deck which was a nice touch. On both ships food was amazing and MDR waiters were exemplary. The main food buffet is much better on Celebrity and takeaway option for coffee was a plus. They also use ceramic cups and Princess use plastic cups for coffee and tea which is not as nice. The deck space on Princess is huge and has an amazing atrium where Celebrity’s foyer is very small in comparison. Entertainment space is better on Princess and there are plenty or bars and seperate areas to escape to. We never waited in line for dinner on Princess whereas Celebrity was poorly organised as shows finished and the dining room wasn’t open for another half hour or so so queues built up. Bars were on the side of walk through areas so it was annoying having crowds of people walk past constantly and if music played and people danced there was no room. Drinks packages were pushed onto you and you were continually asked to dine at a specialty restaurant. I think the restaurants took up a lot of deck space. Areas for entertainment were very small and the entertainment crew were not a patch on Princess. It was worth a try but disappointing for us. There was much more drinking on board and sitting at bars whereas Princess have designated intimate areas where you can have a drink in a pleasant surroundings. Read Less

I chose this cruise because of places I would see. We flew about 22 hours to Australia from Finland and one of the highlights was Millford Sound in NZ. One of the revuers told here why visiting came to nothing. Something fishy about the decision not to go to Sounds, we could have speeded up a bit to see at least one of the three. Ship is well maintained, food tasteful, gym good, cabin nice and cabin service excellent. We had a balcony cabin, but mostly we were outdoors by the pool or skybar. Thank you for the breakfast porridge. I put on 3 kg while cruising though I used the walkingpath and gym. Other harpours and towns were interesting and exciting. Too many seadays for not-so-good-english speaking traveler and the entertainment was too loud to a senior, exspecially bar in third level and the theatre. We had shore excursions in our own language so I cant say nothing of ships excursions. I have been earlier Independence of Seas, Royal Caribbean, There was more entertaiment for forigners, danceshows, skating show and mini-golf. I liked it better. Read Less

Family members rated Celebrity and the itinerary was just what we were looking for, so we opted for this particular cruise. What we were not told about was the constant, loud and inane "background" music, from which it was so difficult to escape. Even on the helipad, for our departure from Wellington, we were unable to escape! On the tender from the ship to Akaroa, we were blasted with loud music, interrupted only briefly by the safety announcement which was nigh on impossible to hear clearly. A complaint to Guest Relations was met with total indifference. Compared to the dining we enjoyed on our Emirates Business Class fights from the UK to Australia, the dining on board the Celebrity Solstice was rather disappointing, although, to be fair, we found the fried bread in the Oceanview cafe to be outstanding. Our meal in the Tuscan Grill is also worthy of mention, although, even at a reduced cost of $35 each, it was overpriced.. The big plus for us was the excellent service we got from our cabin "stewardess" Marion - friendly, cheerful, polite and very helpful in getting a damaged shoe repaired for us. In conclusion, Celebrity will need to up its game somewhat if we are to be persuaded to sail with them again. Read Less

This ship was recommended by our travel agent as being most suitable for us as we are pensioners and into our upper 70's .The ship is very clean, well run and efficient, all the crew are delightful and very helpful at all times. Our cabin was comfortable and in good condition and we were very well looked after by Marychristi, our cabin steward. However, we found we were a long walk from an affordable cup of tea from from our cabin on Deck 6 to the Ocean View Restaurant on Deck 14. The staff in the restaurants were efficient and attentive, especially Mathew and Happy in the Eperney? restaurant on Deck 4. The food in these restaurants was always excellent with interesting variations and well serviced by the many waiters. We enjoyed the very good shows put on in the comfortable theatre and the many interesting talks given throughout the voyage. Our shore excursions were well organised and we thoutoughly enjoyed our many new experiences onshore and viewing from our cabin verandah, which is what we really wanted to see. But it was very unfortunate that our visit in Milford sound had to be cancelled. I think our response to "would we go again", sadly has to be in the negative. We found that the extra expenses for the wide variety of activities on board were beyond our means (on a pensioners income), so we spent quite a bit of time looking for quiet spots to read. The $350 required for wifi connection also exceeded our budget and we had to rush about on shore visits loacting wifi hotspots. We also found that the large number of fellow passengers and loud music all around the ship quite overwhelmed us. We can sum up our voyage as a very interesting and enjoyable experience on an excellent ship, efficiently run - but we have ticked it off our 'to do bucket list' and will look for other experiences whilst we remain fit. Read Less

A cruise to New Zealand featuring a day in Milford sound & vicinity was the highlight we were looking forward to. We left Melbourne. 2 hours out Captain advises us that he had to turn the ship around & return to Melbourne with a sick passenger Through the loss of time they would have to cancel the Milford sound visit & go straight on to Dunedin So 2799 passengers missed out on the key feature of the cruise? Surely some gesture from Celebrity acknowledging the fact that we did not get what we paid for would have been good PR ? The organisation on board for so many passengers was very good Choice of restaurants made it such a culinary delight, Wait staff exceptional Entertainment was a mixed bag Half the performers professional but some very ordinary singing from the chorus ,made up for by excellent choreography Top speakers spoke on very interesting topics Accents!! From the Captain down we found it often very difficult understand many speakers The captain ,very broad accent The Cruise director too many words too fast All the cooking demos were very difficult to understand. Bear in mind the average age group & their probable lack of good hearing The excursion were great Its pretty easy to show off this beautiful country Marlborough Sound was the highlight Read Less

We booked the 16 night cruise for our honeymoon, all we received as an onboard perk was a flyer wishing us a happy honeymoon with $5 each free play in the casino, some discount in the overpriced spa and an option for a photo shoot but the photos were charged as an extra. Last time I cruised with Celebrity in 2011 with my late husband to celebrate 25years of marriage we received many extra perks, obviously CC’ s are now saving costs. The whole cruise was based around extracting as much money from clients as possible despite already having paid a substantial amount of money to purchase the cruise. I sang the praises of CC’s to my new husband (a first time cruiser) and I was very disappointed, we will think twice about sailing with them again. The main reason for choosing this itinerary was visiting the “Sounds” in NZ which where cancelled due to some passengers being off loaded due to illness. Instead of flying them off by helicopter we had to turn around and go back to Port (we were already 5 hours out of. Melbourne) then cruise back out to sea, due to the loss of hours the scheduled Port visit was cancelled, the whole ship was disappointed, we took out cruise cover but we will only receive £200 in compensation. Read Less

We had cruised with Celebrity Cruises in the past and had been pleased we had.Liked the ports of call on this relaxing cruise. Food was great as was the service. Good choice of restaurants and bars as you would expect from Celebrity. We had great service from our cabin and dining stewards. The staff everywhere were obliging and friendly. Embarkation was hassle free and we were on board within the half hour from our arrival at the port. Our stateroom was ready within a short time after embarkation which was good. We were on the waiting list for My Time Dining before the cruise. Once on board we saw the concierge and no problem being reassigned to my time from the 8:30pm which was great as we were able to dine with our friends. We had done a similar cruise calling at some of the same ports but this was not a problem as you can't see eveything in the one day so visiting again was not a problem. All in all a good cruise from a great Cruise line. Read Less

Here we are on the second leg of our back to back Celebrity Solstice Cruse, returning to the ship for the second leg at the Port of Fremantle. We found embarkation excellent with no hassles whatsoever. Here again, we give the five star rating mainly because of the excellent service by the staff, including our room attendant for the second leg, again this was Raymundo who looked after our every need and his service was quite outstanding. As we were in Aqua Class, we dined in the restaurant for Aqua Class guests, which is called Blu. This time in our serving section of Blu, we received outstanding service from "Uncle Jimmy", ably assisted by Sabar, with our wine sommalier, Ben, plus all other staff members in Blu who also attended us from time, ten out of ten to these assistants too. We must also mention Dimitri in the World Class Bar, who gave us superb service during our second leg. After leaving Perth, our first port of call was Adelaide again. Here we found the disembarkation a lot smoother than the previous forward visit to this port, as Celebrity used two gangways which made ease of offloading of guests much smoother. Our next stop was Melbourne. Here the ship docks at Port Melbourne which is in close proximity to the shopping district of Port Melbourne and trams into the Melbourne city precinct. Our next stop was supposed to be the Sounds, including Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound, but due to a medical emergency by one of the guests, the ship returned to the dock of Melbourne after an announcement over the PA system at about midnight. Here we lost approximately twelve hours of sailing time and it was the decision of the Captain and the Company to miss visiting the Sounds. A large number of guests were very unhappy about this decision as the Sounds are the major highlight of this particular voyage. A more practical solution would have been to miss either Dunedin, Akaroa or Wellington. As we ourselves had seen the Sounds before, we were not quite as upset as many other guests on board. The next port of call was Dunedin followed by Akaroa, Wellington, Picton and then the final leg to Sydney Australia. As we had seen many of the shows on the previous back to back cruise, we omitted to view these on the second leg, but they did have a few new single artists who were entertaining. We noticed during both cruises that some of the entertainers we had seen previously on Celebrity Solstice cruises and these entertainers need to have "fresh" material for guests, as you are hearing the same jokes and material. The public areas throughout the ship were always kept spotlessly clean by a highly efficient maintenance team. Hand sanitisers are provided at the openings to all restaurants, but we noticed on this second leg of the cruise there were a lot more people sneezing and coughing, which even after our own stringent hand washing with our own personal hand sanitiser, we still managed to still pick up head colds and flu. As is the case, it is not the ship that causes the colds and flu, it is the guests with no consideration whatsoever for the health of fellow passengers with their sanitising procedures. Arriving home sick with colds and flu is no fun. Read Less

Our first visit to Australia and New Zealand was in October 2015, when we cruised from Sydney round both Islands of New Zealand, returning to Sydney. Unfortunately, storms prevented us from visiting Fiordland, Dunedin and Akaroa on that occasion, with two days spent in Wellington, an unscheduled port, instead. Despite the long journey from the UK, when we spotted the Celebrity Solstice cruise from Perth (Fremantle), along the south coast and on to South Island NZ, finishing in Sydney, we thought it too good to miss, with the Southern Autumn offering a different season for our visit and, hopefully, better weather for Fiordland, which is the major attraction on this and similar cruises. We always spend a few days at the departure port to avoid the risk of missing the ship! Perth was enjoyable, with beautiful weather. Our travel agent provided a taxi to take us to Fremantle and we were on board Solstice before lunch, after a very swift embarkation process, with our Concierge Class room being available at around 14.00. The required safety briefing for us took place in the Art area, with very little seating and a limited view of the small screen, where an adventure-style film, presumably aimed at young people, rather failed to bring across the important safety points which would have been much clearer in a traditional presentation and was somewhat insulting to adults, in my opinion. This was our first voyage with Celebrity. Our room was fairly centrally placed, on deck 10, not far from the library area, which provided a useful land mark! We were between the two projecting areas and found the overhang above us useful in providing shade, although we were limited in our view of the stars on some clear nights. We chose the port side of the ship to place us on the landward and sunny side during the cruise. The view was slightly spoilt by the window cleaning gantry off to the right above us, but otherwise everything was fine and we had a good degree of privacy. Solstice has a central atrium, reaching to deck 14, with glass fronted lifts and an interesting living tree in an enormous pot suspended in the space. Live entertainment took place at times on the lowest deck, deck three, which also housed the Customer Relations desk. Unfortunately, the live entertainment could be devastatingly loud, making communication difficult with the desk staff as well as being extremely unpleasant. The noise reached high up through the atrium space and we were thankful to be far enough away not to be disturbed. We choose to eat all our meals in the self-service area on deck 14, mainly because we like to watch the world go by and also because we like the relaxed atmosphere. The area is often quiet in the evenings, but not always so. A concern was the fact that the hand sanitisers were placed near the entrance, but a good distance from the serving areas, meaning that a return to the sanitiser took longer than on most ships, where they are available next to the food area. They were manned at busy times by a member of staff, who also dispensed the sanitiser as you passed, but in the evenings it was up to the individual to use them, and not everyone did. We were told that the particular liquid in use on Solstice took time to dry and could not be placed close to the food area. On one occasion, we asked if French Onion soup was on the menu during the cruise and we were assured it could be requested from the MDR on any evening. We tried this and it was not so simple, but we did eventually receive our excellent soup! Generally, there was a good choice of food at various stations and usually no long queues. The staff were quick to clear tables and remove trays. The bar staff also were friendly and helpful. Because we don’t use the entertainment facilities and only used the bars to order our drinks with our complimentary package, plus preferring to eat all our meals in the self-service facility, our experience of the ship was fairly limited because we could access most places quickly from the central area. We did enjoy the hot tubs in the evenings, when it was quiet, and the promenade area on decks 15 and 16, with the interesting Hot Glass Show, but the lack of a lower, covered promenade area on the lifeboat deck was somewhat disappointing. Only a small public area was available on that deck. My general impression of Solstice was that it was somewhat characterless, but very pleasant nevertheless. We had on-board credit and put it towards a Wifi package, which covered the whole cruise. The Wifi was excellent with high speeds and we made the most of the facility to post photos to our family and friends, at home in the UK with the Beast from the East. Our first port of call was Adelaide, where we took the train into town to visit the Botanical Gardens. Afterwards, we waited for an overdue free bus to tour the town, but got off after ten minutes as we had hardly moved in the heavy traffic and thought we had better return to the ship! Melbourne was our next port, where we met up with family and enjoyed a tour of the Diamond Valley Railway with my cousin, a founder member of the miniature railway group. By the time we had enjoyed lunch and visited my cousins’ homes, our planned tram ride in the city had to be abandoned, but we made the 16.30 deadline at the ship with 20 minutes to spare! Concierge Class passengers were invited onto the Helideck for the sailaway, a very windy location that afternoon, but the views of Port Philip Bay and the strong currents, The Rips, were worth facing the stiff breeze. The forecast for our visit to Fiordland was looking good, as bad weather frequently prevents entry into the Sounds. However, late in the evening of our departure from Melbourne, the Cruise Director made an announcement directly into staterooms, an unusual procedure other than in emergencies. Unfortunately, a passenger had been taken seriously ill after our departure and needed to be taken back to Melbourne. Other methods of evacuation were not possible, we were told. Consequently, the morning of the next day found us leaving Port Philip Bay once again and we were informed that the time lost meant our scenic cruising in Fiordland was cancelled. This being the highlight of the cruise, most passengers were far from happy about the cancellation, although the needs of the passenger concerned, who apparently was recovering, were not disputed. It was felt that at least one of the Sounds might still have been a possibility, but a film made by the Captain and the Cruise Director, shown all day, explained the decisions made. Our conclusion is that Fiordland is best visited by land! We had spent time in Doubtful Sound in 2015, but were still very frustrated by the second missed visit. Thus we had an extra day at sea, on top of the eight sea days already in the itinerary, so Dunedin was a welcome chance to go ashore, especially after missing the port in 2015. Again we visited the Botanical Gardens, with an extensive aviary, then the delightful Chinese Gardens. The shuttle bus from Port Chalmers should have cost 20 US$, but the charge was removed with no explanation. The sailaway was another spectacular journey. Akaroa was a tendered port, another missed in 2015. We had booked an independent trip with Akaroa Dolphins for midday, thinking that we might not make the earlier boat, but email messages informed us that forecast bad weather meant that our boat was cancelled and offered us places on the earlier trip. Tickets are required to take the tender boats, but we were still able to disembark in plenty of time. We were lucky enough to see a good number of dolphins, better than the four seen the previous day! The weather did indeed deteriorate and the tender boat back to the ship provided some unfortunate passengers with several cold showers, as waves washed through the open door. Our only port in North Island was Wellington. This time, the ship had to dock further from the town following earthquake damage after our previous visit, but once again the shuttle bus was unexpectedly free of charge. From the town, we went by free shuttle to Zealandia Wildlife Park, which we visited in 2015, well worth visiting for the bird life as well as the setting. There are also Tuataras to spot in a protected area. The shuttle returned us to the top of the Botanical Garden, where a “cable car” or funicular can be taken down to the town, but we walked down through the gardens. Picton is a pleasant small town. The ship docks in a nearby harbour so once again a free shuttle bus was needed. The bus driver mentioned the EcoWorld Aquarium, where Tuataras can be seen at close quarters, so we called in after visiting the Craft Market and enjoyed the Little Blue Penguin, almost ready to be returned to the wild, as well as the other inhabitants and especially the Cook Island Tuatara we were allowed to touch. Cook Island Tuataras live in temperatures which dictate that their eggs are female, so they are not threatened. On the other hand, Brothers Island Tuataras live in warming areas which means they produce males and are threatened, with very few females left. EcoWorld has two males but cannot introduce a female until one male proves to be dominant over two years. These two have not decided the issue yet. Nothing is fast in a Tuatara’s life. The sailaway through Queen Charlotte Sound was once again a wonderful experience. We enjoy cruising for the scenery and the wildlife we encounter along the way and we were not disappointed, being treated to visits from dolphins on several occasions, but you have to be looking, of course. We prefer to self-disembark, carrying our suitcases, so we were off the ship around 07.00, having watched Solstice enter Sydney Harbour in the dark, and we had deposited our cases in the Shangri-La and were out enjoying Sydney by 08.00. In the evening, we watched Solstice depart, while we still had several days left to reacquaint ourselves with Sydney. Read Less

We finally had a window of time to travel to this part of the world. Our sixteen-night cruise was sandwiched in between two road trips to explore this beautiful area. We arrived a week before our sail away from Freemantle and were glad we had this time to explore a small part of WA. We spent four nights in Margaret River and four in Perth. Great wine, delicious food, and sandy beaches are the best way to kick start any vacation! We stayed at a Quest property in Perth across from King's Park that was an apartment hotel. This worked perfectly as it provided a way to launder a week’s worth of clothes before setting out on the cruise. It also was close enough to return the rental car and walk back to the hotel. We took a taxi from Perth to the port in Freemantle, a thirty-minute ride and $38 AUD. Once you board the ship and go through passport control you are not allowed to go back off the ship. However, you can drop off your luggage and board later if you want to see a few more things in port. Embarkation was smooth and we were in our Aqua 2 cabin by 1:30 pm. Our aft location had staterooms above and below and we found it to be very quiet. Our configuration had the sofa nearest the balcony which had two chairs and footstools. Our luggage arrived before the muster drill and there was adequate storage space to unpack. The luggage fit under the bed. Before we had lunch, we confirmed our dinner reservations in the specialty restaurants (purchased onboard 4/$125,) manicure in the spa, and purchased an internet package with our Captain Club discount. Connection speed was good during sea days. Demographics-Mostly American, Canadian, British, Australian, Kiwis. There were only 16 children on board. Dining/Drinks-Liked the Classic Beverage Package and the fact that you could pay the difference if you ocassionaly wanted something more expensive. Also, the package was convenient for getting bottled water at the bars or coffee at Café al Bacio Blu was a big factor in our decision to book an Aqua class cabin and we were not disappointed. We appreciated having a smaller venue for dinner and always got a table for two at our preferred later time. We were fine with getting a drink at the World Class Bar if we had to wait a bit to get a window table or to be seated in a preferred area. We found the food to be very good and enough choices including a few that were always available from MDR menu. Favorites were short ribs and corn soup volute. The sommelier was available when you needed him. The breakfast menu was ok but you could get both your bacon and English muffin crispy if requested! Tuscan Grill-excellent food with matching service. We wanted to try a few appetizers and they accommodated us with smaller portions. Veal Marsala with polenta fries and pappardelle were favorites. Silk Harvest-great variety of dishes to try and they also portioned them just right. All delicious with favorites being Black Bean Chicken and Orange Beef. Excellent service as well. Murano-Exceptional food and service. We recommend the Chateaubriand for 2. As we had visited some wineries before the cruise, we purchased a couple of bottles to enjoy with dinner knowing there would be a corkage fee. We brought one bottle with us for dinner but it appeared somewhat awkward as though this was more an exception. We just wanted to enjoy a local wine and something not available to us back home Chef’s Table-a definite splurge but well worth it. We started at Celler Masters getting acquainted with our fellow tablemates enjoying Champagne and canapés. We were then treated to a tour of the MDR galley and the Murano kitchen as well. The multi-course dinner and wine pairing with the chef was a lot of fun and delicious too! Oceanview Café-good for a quick bite with some buffet menu items changing from day to day. A large variety from breakfast options, salads, sandwiches, hot items, desserts. My favorite was Caesar Salad. Aquaspa Café-I tried this twice and did not find what I wanted. Only plain yogurt not basic vanilla. The turkey wraps were seasoned well but the tomatoes made them soggy. Too bad as I liked the seating area. Mast Grill-great burgers and you could get cooked onions on them too. Tables close to the rail in this area as well World Class Bar-great service either at the bar or in the comfy chairs. A good place to have a pre or post dinner drink. Usually entertainment offered as well Martini Bar-this iced bar was always buzzing and Espresso Martinis the best Cellar Masters-a cozy clubby atmosphere but service not the best Café al Bacio-great coffee and desserts. Often difficult to get a seat. Best get a take-away and go down a level to find a place to sit and read/plan your day The Lawn-a favorite spot but getting a seat is like winning the lottery Room Service-we used it three times and our breakfast arrived on time (even early) and at the right temperature. Even if you forgot to request something obvious like butter or jam for your toast it was included. Entertainment –We were pleasantly surprised with the entertainment onboard. Throughout the ship you would find a variety of musical genres being performed whether it was classical, R&R, jazzy, music in the Atrium for ballroom dancing. In the theater a variety of performers entertained us with song, comedy, and acrobatics. Some like Andy Joy and Belinda Marks even performed matinee shows on the many sea days we had. We also can’t deny how funny the “Newlywed and Not so Newly Wed” show and similar ones were as well as the Silent Disco. Things we never thought we would participate in. Also enjoyed the Corning Glass Show. Staff-Can’t compliment them enough for their hard work with a smile to ensure guests have a wonderful cruise Ports Freemantle/Perth-Great history with lots to see and do. We were so glad that we got to spend time in Western Australia and at the end of our long trip on land and sea it stands out as one of our favorite places. If you embark from here arrive early to enjoy this part of the country. Adelaide-Only an 8-5 stop and we arranged for a trip to the Barossa Valley wine country and liked it. Melbourne-Wish we had an overnight here as short time provided only an overview of the city. Would definitely return. Fjords-Dusky, Doubtful, and Milford Sound. Unfortunately, ours was the cruise that experienced a medical emergency and after sailing six hours away from Melbourne we had to return. This prevented our sailing through the Sounds as timing would not be viable once we were back on course. We understand this decision but for some guests it was a great disappointment after traveling so far. Dunedin-We booked a small group tour which included a visit to Larnach Castle. A fascinating story to a beautiful place. Akaroa-This is a tender stop. There is a small cluster of shops and cafes when you get off the tender. We walked around the shore and then walked up to The Giant’s House. It was definitely worth the $20 NZD as the life-size mosaic sculptures created by Ms. Martin are stunning as is her lovely garden. A real gem of a photo opportunity. Go inside and watch the video as it gives you a good background story. There is also a café on site. This is definitely an Akaroa highlight. Otherwise, as scenic as this stop is you may be underwhelmed for things to do if you plan to just stay in town. Wellington-Visit the National Museum Te Papa Tongarewa. The modern museum is well done and entry is free. A good place to learn about Maori art and culture. There was a free shuttle from the ship to the Tourist Information Center and you could walk to the museum from there. You can also visit the Botanic Garden riding the cable car up to the top. We explored this on our own by walking but it is a bit of a walk once you leave the garden if you don’t take the cable car back down. You can catch the free shuttle for your return to the ship. Picton-Marlborough Valley is a beautiful area. Book a tour and enjoy some wine! Sydney-sailing in at dawn and seeing the Sydney Opera House.....as they say...Priceless! Disembarkation Sydney-As at the end of any cruise I've taken, when you get off the ship you will find your luggage grouped somewhere in the terminal. It was pouring rain when we got off the ship and we were flying to Aukland to do a land trip. We had booked an airport transfer and glad we did. The only difficulty was having more luggage than was easily carried outside to the street where the coaches were parked without having a luggage cart or any porters to assist you and rain! This was a great cruise but I believe the contributing factor was having the drink package, Aqua with Blu access, and OBC that covered most of the extras. All perks that made a difference for a hassle free time. It would have been nice if more wines from Australia and NZ were on the ship's wine list since it spends a lot of the year cruising in this region. Read Less

Because it was going to the countries we have always wanted to visit and we wanted to do it in luxury.We were a bit disappointed we did not see the Sounds but understood the circumstances,the Captain made the correct decision to save somebody"s life.The staff were excellent and we cannot single anyone out because they were very professional in their roles and are a credit to Celebrity Cruises. The variety of restaurants catered for everyone and the food was excellent. The shows were brilliant and all the acts were professional. This cruise was a celebration of our Golden Wedding Anniversary and we could not have wished for a more wonderful and exciting. It is something that will live in our hearts for ever.It also gave a wonderful opportunity to see our old neighbours who emigrated to New Zealand 47years ago.We had a wonderful day with them recalling many memories and Celebrity Cruises made it all possible. Read Less

My husband and I booked this cruise as seeing Australia and especially Bali and the Great Barrier Reef was on our bucket list. Ha, saw many days of ocean and very little Australia. The ship canceled the Bali port due to possible "terrorist threats" during the Bali New Year (we were scheduled to stop on March 7), the new year was on March 9th, I call it an overreaching. So they added another day in Darwin. Our main goal was to see the Great Barrier Reef so we booked a private tour on our own. However, tendering was a joke and so unorganized that the ship was not able to get to the dock on time and thus, our private Great Barrier Reef tour had to be canceled. So no problem we thought. We had booked a second Great Barrier Reef tour (Whitsunday Island) with the ship at an outrageous $300 a person. Now here is the kicker. Another chaotic, unorganized tender with the Excursion Director, Karen. If she spent less time making jokes and paying attention to what she was doing, we would not have ended up with the wrong colored sticker for the wrong tour! We were sent on the rainforest tour instead of the Great Barrier Reef tour! I was heartbroken. Let me tell you about the rainforest tour. Another rip-off on a crammed bus with a driver who knew nothing. I was told by others on this tour that it was going to be ok even though I was on the wrong tour, as they were stopping for a "gourmet lunch" and to view the ocean by a park. Well the "gourmet lunch consisted of tupperware with cold cuts and bread that you could make yourself and a charge of $2.00 for a bottle of water. The tide was out a good three miles and all we saw was mud. The ship refunded our money for the tour, but that still doesn't make the mistake any easier to swallow. Boring evening entertainment, we saw few shows, and boring music. The main dining room was ok, service was very good each night. I was impressed with Tuscan Grille and Murano where the food was top-notch. If you wait a few days, they are usually outside of the café trying to get you to sign up for the specialty restaurants and you can get them down $10-20 less. We had a substantial amount of cabin credit and it was a good thing, because they nickel and dime you to death. Shuttle in ports is $13-15 dollars, internet $79 for 90 minutes. We had the classic beverage perk, but had to upgrade it to premium as you would have gone over your daily allowance of $65 per day just paying for water, not to mention any cocktails or soft drinks you wanted. Any fitness classes you wanted to take were $11. We were very happy to get off the ship and will have to think long and hard about another cruise. We have been on Royal Carribean and Holland America and these were much more enjoyable. Read Less

This was our 3rd Celebrity cruise & we were extremely disappointed! Having had 2 great trips on the Millenium class, this entire voyage missed the mark! Our cabin steward was fantastic but the cabin itself (6249) was extremely noisy with mechanical ship noise throughout the night. The 2 twin beds they pushed together were sunken & about as comfortable as a cot. Every night the room heated up regardless of how cool we set the temperature. Also we had a non-smoking veranda that we couldn't enjoy because we were directly over one of the ships smoking areas! It's shocking that Celebrity can justify putting a customer in this cabin! The entertainment on board was awful (of the 17 nights we only enjoyed 3 shows). The food in the dining room was inconsistent & they couldn't get the cook right on steak so we stopped ordering the beef ... except at the Tuscan Grill (a specialty restaurant) which we thought was amazing!! However, the high-pressure pitching to make a specialty restaurant reservation (that we endured every day of the cruise) took away from the experience. Internet was way too expensive (.79 US / min or $59 US for a 90 min package) & way too slow (it took about 12 mins to log on & send a simple email)! The excursions are a total rip off. Celebrity charged $300 US for a Great Barrier Reef tour, but you could get the same thing in port for $88 AUD. Here's the problem, Celebrity doesn't give you enough time ashore to book on your own, leaving you stuck with their disorganized overpriced & disappointing tours! We're extremely disappointed in this trip because up until this voyage, we had been BIG Celebrity advocates! Not anymore. Read Less