When asked what he thought of Celebrity Solstice when he saw her completed, Dan Hanrahan, President and CEO of Azamara Cruises and Celebrity Cruises said, “We did it. Four years later, we accomplished what we set out to do.”Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd likened seeing the ship for the first time without protective coverings on the floors and furnishings to seeing his daughter dressed for her prom. Like Mr. Fain’s daughter, Celebrity Solstice is simply stunning.
There’s no question that Celebrity Solstice is a beautiful cruise ship. The public rooms all fit together and flow nicely one into the next. I regard the décor as contemporary, with just enough edginess in the artwork and accessories to make it interesting. There is a lot of cream and blue (my favorite color) with a punch of richer hues. Marble and silver metals add sparkle and flair. The vibe is sophisticated, elegant, and comfortable.
While touring Celebrity Solstice’s restaurants I decided that Murano (pictured above) would probably be my favorite. Talk about good fortune—I was assigned a table there last night and it proved to be an evening of fine dining in fashionable surroundings.
Our brief time aboard Celebrity Solstice has drawn to a close, but we’ve packed some terrific experiences into our short time on board. Watch for more reports and a complete ship review in the coming days. There’s the dining, the pizza, the gelato… and so much more.
I also was on the ship this weekend and although the ship is stunning the food was horrible and it was difficult to communicate with the staff in english. There were also charges for most restaurants....
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear you had problems when you were aboard. I presently have a temporary mobility challenge (recovering from a broken leg) and found crewmembers to be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteYes, the specialty restaurants on Celebrity Solstice do assess cover charges, as do those on other cruise lines. They are particularly nice if you are celebrating a special occasion during a cruise, though.
we as well were on the ship and found it not ready. the travel agents we talk to said the same. we have 27 cruise to see that maybe in a few mo's things will change. one hot tub working? food at two spec.restaurants were the the best we have had ,we heard the food at the main dining room was not good..over all the ship is great and easy to get around.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this ship has enough to interest children in the 7-9 years of age range? I'm not referring to kid's playroom, but actual daily program activities that would interest a curious child. Are there any enrichment programs that a child may attend?
ReplyDeleteYes, Michael, there are daily programmed activities and, in some areas (particularly Alaska) enrichment type programs. I don't have a full list, but you can find information under Youth Programs on the Celebrity Cruises web site.
ReplyDeleteI just completed a 7 night trip to the Eastern Caribbean on the Solstice. It was my first and last cruise. I am 50 and most of the passengers were at least 20+ years older than me. The at-sea days were boring as there are no "active" activities during the day. The pools are small and there are no pool games or water aerobics. There isn't even room to swim a decent lap. There is no track on the top deck unless you count the space between the sets of lounge chairs where you are dodging passengers getting up, sitting down or simply strolling the deck. Playing bocce, watching glass blowing or attending lectures on cholesterol and acupuncture bored me to tears. I had the choice of lying in the sun all day or watching TV in my stateroom. The food was excellent, however, and I enjoyed ordering room service for breakfast every morning.
ReplyDeleteThe nights were fun - there were music trivia games and plenty of dancing (the ship's band, Sipra, was fantastic!). Personally, this ship was too mellow for me. We chose the aqua class but I don't think the "perks" were worth the extra money. I did love my balcony, though...
All in all, from what I have heard about other cruise lines/ships, I would not recommend the Solstice to anyone who is young or young at heart. As one of the crew actually said to me, "It's a floating nursing home."